Small But Perfectly Formed ...

Natalie Solent has a beautiful little item on the award of Most Islamophobic Media Personality to the Guardian's Polly Toynbee.

But give the self-styled Islamic Human Rights Commission, who present the 'awards', their due. I searched their site for 'Darfur', expecting, I confess, to find nothing. Instead among other things I found this.

We are saddened and outraged that even as the world focuses so much attention on conflicts in the Middle East, so little is spared for Sudan. Is this what the war against terrorism is about? That as long as the terrorised are Africans anything goes?

This campaign, which will stretch through the summer and fall, began on Saturday with a 24-hour vigil outside the UNHCR office in Millbank Towers. Friday’s protest will be the continuation of this campaign. We expect 300-600 people to participate.

I guess they couldn't resist a crack at the Great Satan - they could have asked 'is this what defending Muslims is all about ?' which might have been more apt. But I'm pleased they mention it at all. Let's see how much coverage the Guardian give the protests. My guess is sod-all unless they turn into 'evil US won't send troops' demos. For which, see my previous post.

UPDATE - David Clark, former Foreign Office adviser, on Darfur in the Guardian.

The Chomsky/Pilger left, which led the charge against the Iraq war, has been morally disarmed by its insistence that the use of force by the west must always, by definition, be wrong. Like Tony Blair and George Bush, it has nothing to offer the suffering of Sudan - so it affects not to notice them. This explains the silence.