Great men are rare beings, and the Catholic world has lost one this evening.  Few Pope’s have been more loved than the Polish Pope or meant more to non-Catholics, too.  May he rest in peace.

The long-running saga of Kenniwick Man enters a new and potentially final stage when, perhaps as early as next week, the US Senate votes on S.536.  Section 108 of the bill has been amended unanimously and all but in the dead of night by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.  The import of this amendment is to replace one word “is” with two, “or was”.  If passed by the Senate the bill will bring old KW within the definition of “Native American”.  The tribes will take possession of him, and will have won a great victory for myth and anti-science.

An article explaining the full significance of the amendment can be read here.  Do you really think the Senate will turn its back on a sacred minority and vote for expanding the realm of human knowledge?

Thanks to Steve Risher for the link.

The Times reports today on the sad - or, at least not gay - closure by the local education authority of the Lady of Elche International School in Alicante province of Spain.

“Mr Drewitt and Mr Barlow sold their dermatological- testing business for £3.8 million and moved to Spain with their children two years ago. They felt that Spanish attitudes to homosexuality were more relaxed — under legislation introduced by Spain’s Government, they will be able to marry soon — yet their twins, Aspen and Saffron, were bullied at their school in Torrevieja, 27 miles south of Alicante, because of their parenthood.”

Yes, you read that right.  The lovers have twin five year old sons born to a surrogate mother.  You can buy anything you want today.  Except psychological stability.  Those of the love that used dare not speak its name now dare give those they cannot adequately love daft bloody names like Aspen and Saffron, and deny them for ever both the inner substance and the deep love of Woman which is every son’s birthright.  Poor little sods.

A nicely-timed if squalid example of the low art of politically progressive journalism appears in this Easter Sunday morning’s edition of The Observer.  It is written by Jay Rayner, son of “the nation’s favourite agony aunt”, Jewish authoress and Labour Party supporter, Claire Rayner.

Jay is a well-regarded restaurant critic and occasional novelist who writes for pretty much any mainstream newspaper that will pay him.  Evidently, he has an abiding interest in the hate-filled English.  Four years ago he marched briefly to the fore of the restless crew who would release us lovingly into our golden, non-English future.  This he did by producing the cover article for an ICM/Observer investigation into “hate crime” - not in multi-ethnic inner-cities but in the cruel heart of the countryside.  All thoughtful people would necessarily conclude thereby that diversity brings not conflict, as the racist right claims, but peace and the wisdom of Karl … and Walter … and Theodore … and Max.  No, the “hidden truth” is that it is in bucolic, sheep-filled, racially white, white, white rural England that the dirty-stained face of hate – the real face of the English – snarls and leers murderously at innocent difference.

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A new book has been published detailing the slave raids on Europe from 1530 to 1780. The raids were carried out by corsairs - North African pirates - who delivered their European captives to Muslim overlords to work as galley slaves, labourers and concubines.

Although most were captured in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, there were also raids as far afield as Britain, Ireland and Iceland. In fact, in 1631 nearly all of the inhabitants of the village of Baltimore in Ireland were captured by Barbary Coast pirates.

Professor Davis, the author of the book, claims that white slavery has been minimised or ignored because academics prefer to treat Europeans as evil colonialists rather than as victims.

The cause of the month in Australia is refugees. The left are pulling no punches in their latest campaign. Over 300 activists have descended on the private home of the immigration minister, Amanda Vanstone, in Adelaide, and there have been violent protests outside the Baxter detention facility in the north of South Australia.

Which makes me wonder if any of these left-wing protesters are aware of what happened in Paris earlier this month. The left there organised a large protest by high school students against education reforms. But things didn’t go according to plan.

The student protest turned violent ... when up to 1000 young immigrants showed up, some with clubs, to beat up and rob the protesters. One young Tunisian immigrant admitted “I didn’t go for the protest but to take cell phones and hit people. There were little groups running, agitating the crowd. And in the middle of these clowns, little Frenchies looking like victims” (see here and here for some very interesting reports).

The racist contempt the “casseurs” showed for the French student protesters, and their willingness to violently disrupt a left-wing protest, might be something for the Australian left to consider as they agitate on behalf of illegal immigrants.

The Village of the Year competition is a celebration of English middle-class rural life, a world of civility, kindnesses freely given,  roses around the door and perfectly trimmed privet.  But even this harmless throwback to 1930’s England is not insulated from the winds of the culture wars.

... In 2005 outsiders of a different kind are influencing the decision-making process.

As entry forms drop through letter boxes, parishes around Britain have reacted with anger and indignation after discovering that the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has added its own set of questions.

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The great Bussorah, a man who has never kept his Wicked Thoughts from his friends, has a new blog up and running.

Strange Justice draws together plainly unjust and contrary instances of the law in action.  The current page features mystifying cases from America, Australia and Britain, all for real.  They won’t give you much faith in due process.  But they are all worth knowing about.

Do go visit.