Let's Talk Toilets.

It must be a bloggers highlight, a posting devoted to the khazi. But then I don't write Daily Star headlines, so there we go. The headline above refers to the installation of two "Nile Pans" (one for the ladies, one for the gents loos.) at the Rochdale Exchange shopping centre (Rochdale has a large Muslim community.) These are squat toilets, popular in Asia, parts of France and Italy, instead of the good old British throne set up. I don't really give a shiny shit about shitter setups, but I was taken aback by the Stars take on this. It seems that quite a few facts have been flushed away like turds too! So let's have a look at the some floaters that refuse to budge shall we (No more toilet metaphors!)

"Muslim Toilets."

They aren't just Muslim toilets. These loos exist in all sorts of places. I have it on good word that they are the norm in Korea, and very common in Japan too. They were never "Muslim Only" either, anyone is free to use them. This is purely an attempt to imply that Muslims receive special treatment. In this case no.

" Middle East-style squat holes."

Nice choice of words there. I'll leave it at that.

"PLANS for Muslim-only loos at a major shopping centre are going down the pan."

There is a vague implication that" "normal" loos are being phased out. Not true, there is only one per sex.

"But wasting public money on stupid ideas like this cannot be allowed."

It's a private business. No public money is being used.

"We get hole in the ground toilets banned"

The vague report only says they are considering it.

Truly truly a new nadir in Desmond journalism.

ADDENDUM.

There are two sort of funny additions to this story. The first is a soundbite from Shipley MP Philip Davis, quite possibly - after stiff competition, the stupidest man in parliament. Seems Davis is keen to preserve the sensibilities of Christian crapping, with this unintentionally brilliant quote:

"'This strikes me as a classic case of excessive pandering to a politically correct minority,' said Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley.

'We in Britain are rightly proud of our toilets, and the onus is on people who come to this country to appreciate them for what they are.

'It's absolutely ludicrous - Thomas Crapper would be turning in his grave!"

Proctology defined! Oh yeah! Thomas Crapper didn't patent the flush toilet either!

All joking aside, it is pretty bad when the Star is printing blatantly false anti-Muslim sentiment on the front page. Stuff that could be corrected with even cursory research. This strikes me as material deliberately designed to incite racial conflict, and it's staring us in the faces of news stands all over the country. Hmmm.