Jock Tamson's Bairns (05/05/24)


David Aaronovitch had a bit of fun at Ed Miliband's expense in a recent column for The Times and made the point that if you dig down deep enough, just about everyone has Jewish roots.

Which reminded me of a couple of previous posts to the blog site on the subject of Jock Tamson's bairns. 

Nobody is more Jewish than an atheist Jew

By David Aaronovitch


Notebook

A strange argument has broken out after Ed Miliband’s public hope, expressed on a visit to Israel, that he would be Britain’s “first Jewish Prime Minister”. Within milliseconds, the Torysphere was aglow with indignation. What had Ed done with Benjamin Disraeli? And how dare he?

With little more than Ed’s reported comment to go on, Conservative columnists and bloggers began to speculate on the reasons for omitting from Jewishness the late, great Tory Prime Minister. Could it be, they asked themselves and each other, that Ed was discounting Ben because back in the 1830s the latter, aged 12, had converted to Christianity? In which case Ed had a nerve because was he not an atheist Jew, and why should that count as more properly Jewish than being a Christian Jew?

On Twitter one or two Miliband partisans had a desultory go at suggesting just that, but soon gave up. They should have stuck at it because, of course, atheist Jews are far more Jewish than Christian Jews. Arguably they’re the most Jewish Jews of all, the ones with the greatest inheritance of Jewish traits. In my father’s family the observant Jews changed their surname to Arnold so no one would know they were Jewish, which they were. The atheist Jews hung on to Aaronovitch so that everyone would think they were Jews — which they weren’t. So, of course, they absolutely were.

Atheist schmatheist. Ed Miliband is so Jewish that if he grew a beard and took up an accordion, the whole cast of Fiddler on the Roofwould materialise around him. If he put on a Homburg and went into the Today studio he wouldn’t be let out until he’d recorded a crinkly Thought for the Day on the meaning of Passover.

The truth, I reckon, is that Ed had just forgotten about Dizzy when he committed his minor error, as he had forgotten the golden rule of The Jewish Chronicle. Which is that just about everyone who does anything turns out to be or have been Jewish, if you dig down. Including you.


Not Just Any Atheist (13 April 2014)

Please tick one box only - for obvious reasons
I loved the reports in yesterday's press which told the nation, somewhat breathlessly, that while Ed is an atheist he's not just any old atheist - he's a Jewish atheist! 

The Labour leader is already on record as saying that he does not believe in God - but says he does still have ‘faith’, apparently, and as far as I know this was said without the benefit of prescription or any other drugs.

Now I would have no problem with Ed Miliband proclaiming his Jewish heritage as part of who he is and where he came from, bit all this faith business is a bot bonkers if you ask me, as if Ed's trying to have it both ways at the same time.

On a trip to Israell, Ed explained to reporters that his new found faith is ‘part of who I am’ and is compatible with being an atheist, before going on to claim that like many religious believers, he hopes to ‘change the world’.

The only fly in the ointment that I can see with this stance though is that other religious believers don't hold themselves out to be atheists, so I'm completely baffled by the following comment: 

"I have a particular faith. I describe myself as a Jewish atheist. I’m Jewish by birth origin and it’s a part of who I am.

"I don’t believe in God, but I think faith is a really, really important thing to a lot of people. It provides nourishment for lots of people.

"In terms of faith for me, it’s a faith about how you change the world. And that is actually true for a lot of religious people as well."

Maybe Ed's just trying to ingratiate himself with as many people as he can in a desperate attempt to garner more votes - if so, he's certainly cornered the market when it comes to Jewish atheists.

You Gotta Have Faith (3 October 2012)


I listened to Ed Miliband's 'leader's speech' at the Labour party conference yesterday - the full bhuna I have to confess - not just the sound bites that made their way on to TV or into the newspaper headlines.

The whole affair left me completely unmoved - I also have to say - because the speech was full of platitudes and empty slogans - while saying nothing much at all about the tough times and choices facing the country.

What did interest me though was Ed's bizarre description of his commitment to politics as a 'faith' - because Ed, like myself, has always held himself out to be a non-religious person.

Now I couldn't really care two hoots whether Ed is an atheist, agnostic - or whether he believes in God for that matter - to my mind that's a personal matter and has nothing to do with his role as a politician.

But I detected a bit of fancy footwork here - a bit of careful repositioning or political 'spin' you might call it - so that Ed looks rather less frightening to the God brigade.

Which is presumably why Ed got married recently - after years of living perfectly happily with his partner - Justine Thornton - albeit in a previously unwedded state.

The fact that politicians do things to appear more 'normal' is not new - Tony Blair once famously told Gordon Brown he would never become Prime Minister unless he (Gordo) gave up his bachelor days and ways - and got himself married.

Shortly afterwards Gordon found himself a wife - of course.

Take another example - the one involving Ed Miliband going to his local comprehensive school instead of some fee paying school - for privileged toffs.

Which makes Ed 'one of us' in the Labour Tribe - instead of one of them.

Yet dig a little deeper in the Labour Party and what do you find?

Well you find that its deputy leader - Harriet Harman - went to an exclusive fee paying school as so did one of the new rising stars of the party - Labour's business spokesperson Chuka Umanna.

An even more obvious example is that of Labour's most successful leader ever - Tony Blair - who led the party to three successive general election victories.

Tony Blair was privately educated in Edinburgh of course - as was Labour's former Scottish leader, Iain Gray.

Yet no one in the Labour Party made a fuss at the time.

'Pot and kettle' is the phrase that springs to mind.

All this political spin and manipulation - is enough to try the patience of a saint. 

Ebony and Ivory (17 November 2013)



Here's a great news story from the Independent which tells the tale of Craig Cobb, a White supremacist from America, who was confronted on live TV with the fact that his  DNA is 14 percent of Sub-Saharan African heritage.

Now that made me laugh, especially as Craig was presented with the happy news by an African American TV presenter, Trisha Goddard, which must have been a doubly bitter pill for him to swallow - as I've never found these chaps to be too hot on equality issues of any kind.

I must try and track down a YouTube recording of the event - sounds like a real hoot- and as people say here in Scotland 'We're all Jock Tamson's bairns (children)' - so get over it Craig.
      

White supremacist Craig Cobb told he is 14% African in televised DNA test
Craig Cobb dismissed the DNA results as 'statistical noise'


By HEATHER SAUL

A self-proclaimed white supremacist underwent a DNA test to 'prove' his genetic heritage, only to be told on live television he was 86 per cent European - and 14 per cent of Sub-Saharan African heritage.

Sixty-two-year-old Craig Cobb claims he follows the 'Creator' religion which "favours racial awareness" and has been attempting to create a "white enclave" in North Dakota by quietly buying up land in the small town of Leith, despite anti-racism rallies and town meetings against his plans.

He submitted his DNA as part of host Trisha Goddard's Race in America series, who gave him the results to a delighted audience, telling Cobb: "You have a little Black in you". However, Cobb can be heard dismissing the results as "statistical noise" and refused to fist bump with the host.

Cobb, who lived in the town for a year before residents became aware of his agenda, has allegedly harassed the only bi-racial couple in the small community, leaving notes pinned to their door asking Sherrill Harper, who is married to African-American Bobby Harper: "What are you doing married to a negro?", reported the Mail Online.

Cobb has also placed a sign reading "Village of the Damned" on one of his plots of land, accompanied by a red swastika.


Cobb refused to fist-bump with Trisha after she revealed the DNA resultsThe married father-of-three has already courted controversy for his infamous far-right 'Podblanc' video sharing site because YouTube bans racist content.

Speaking to the Mail Online, he later described the DNA results as "short-science" used by the programme to "promote multi-culturalism". He said: "I agreed to the test because I assumed it was science.[...] It was a scientifically bankrupt procedure", from "craven and debased executives, whose goal is to shock."


Qatar (12 October 2011)

Something remarkable happened yesterday - the blog site had 30 visitors from the Gulf state of Qatar.

Now don't ask me what interests 30 people in Qatar - about a blog site with the name - Action 4 Equality Scotland.

Maybe it's my insightful reports about equal pay - or the daring deeds of the Scottish football team - or the debacle of Edinburgh's trams.

But what do I care - because everybody's welcome - one and all.

And after all we're all Jock Tamson's bairns as they say - though I imagine my  reference to Jock Tamson's and his bairns will cause a bit of head scratching - in Qatar and elsewhere.

Anyway what these events led to is a short exercise on me finding out more about Qatar - and here's what I found from my boy's 'bumper book of knowledge' - nowadays known as the Internet.

Qatar is hosting the World Cup in 2022

Qatar sponsors Barcelona Football Club - in a deal reputed to be worth £148 million    

Qatar is a former pearl-fishing centre - and was once one of the poorest Gulf states

Qatar is now one of the richest countries in the region - thanks its mighty oil and gas reserves

Qatar has been dominated by the Thani family for almost 150 years

Qatar's ruling monarch or 'emir' is Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa who deposed his father in 1995 - while dad was out of the country

Qatar owns the satellite TV station al-Jazeera - one of the most important broadcasters in the Arab world

Qatari women have been allowed to vote and stand for public office - since 1999

Qatar has a small population of only 1.5 million people

Qatar's capital is Doha

So just in case any of my visitors from Qatar are looking to support the blog site - and throw their weight behind the fight for equal pay - just drop me a line.

I'm sure we can come to an amicable arrangement.

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