Christopher John Myers

  So sad that six young Iranians who posted a version of Pharrell Williams' hit song ‘Happy on YouTube have been arrested by police and paraded on state television for hurting public chastity.   See the video here, LBC . But even sadder that Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation in the UK who is, apparently, trying to promote better understanding of Islam, got all defensive and intolerant when asked on an LBC Radio Phone-In what it was about people’s interpretation of the faith that explained the Iranian’s actions. He wouldn’t answer this question and instead berated presenter Nick Ferrari for the tone of his question which, he said, was itself causing offence. His intolerance was mirrored by the Iranian’s action and shows what a huge gulf we have of understanding.   There’s a cultural gulf too – the very phrase ‘hurting public chastity’ seems to be a literal Google Translate term that doesn’t reflect the true meaning.   Perhaps the Farsi t...

LBC radio’s James O’Brien did the same kind of character assassination on Nigel Farage yesterday as Eddie Mair did on Boris Johnson during Newsnight recently.   It makes for uncomfortable viewing - see the interview here online. (Yes, ‘viewing’ – LBC put these interviews on camera and on the interweb) I listen to James because he’s an extremely eloquent and clever interviewer with a fairly liberal-lefty-PC outlook and Farage needed this kind of forensic interview.   But did James O’B need to be so damn personal and nasty? The interview was illuminating, in a way, but the viewers’ comments even more so – Farage supporters still support Farage: the man, the policies and the radio victim. Here are a few: What an absolutely narrow-minded and biased idiot James O'Brian has shown himself to be in this interview. Another disgrace to the UK media. That was by far the best live radio interview!! James just made my weekend brighter. We now know more than we did know ...

Collecting for Christian Aid Week can be a rewarding experience, but the most insightful part is to experience some people’s complete social inadequacy – they don’t know how to say no politely. All too often those who don’t want to donate – which is fine, by the way – feel the only way they can say no is to make some kind of excuse.    St Barnabas’ Christian Aid organiser once offered a prize to the collector/volunteer who came back with the best excuse.   I didn’t win that year, but am hoping to this year with this one – “We’re all right, thanks.”   How about that, from a local woman?    What does it mean? Did she mean it in the sense of “I’m alright Jack,” with the implication that the world’s needy can go and get stuffed?    Or was it just a kind of easy-to-say slogan; the kind of thing you’d say to a door-to-door salesman?   The poor Christian in me prefers that explanation. How much more satisfactory to just get a ‘no’, w...