Sunny Hundal's 'Liberal Left" Model

When I wrote recently of the way the blogosphere was dominated by a self-appointed uber-elite of bloggers, one of the bloggers I had in mind was a man called Sunny Hundal (above)

Sunny, despite having won no popular election, (if he has, I've missed it) genuinely seems to believe he is the sole arbiter of what views and stances constitute being on the ’liberal-left’. And woe betide those who, in Sunny's eyes get it wrong.
He furiously shouted down one of his own group blog’s contributors for the crime of- wait for it- congratulating me on my recent award of Best UK Blog. The reason: because I had broken the three-line whip, imposed by Sunny and other 'liberal-leftists' on the Iraqi interpreters issue. Needless to say Sunny, like other members of ‘the not very left-wing or liberal 'liberal- left' tendency is a strong supporter of linking up with notorious neo-con warmongers in the campaign to grant asylum to Iraqis who betrayed their country by collaborating with the the illegal occupying forces. (the reason why the neocons are so keen on this campaign is that they are worried that in any future illegal invasions of sovereign states the locals might not be so keen to collobarate - it is for this reason that anyone who is genuinely left-wing, anti-war and anti-imperialist should have nothing to do with it).

Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that Hundal is open to debate: I did write a friendly email to him once to praise his stated support of free speech, but his response was pompous and condescending. I certainly won't be writing to the man ever again.

Hundal’s 'liberal leftism' is as artificial as that of the other so called ‘liberal-left’- who supported the Iraqi interpreters campaign and, if you still have your doubts, here’s the clinching proof.

On the Guardian CIF blog, Hundal has a piece drooling about a certain country which he believes can be a model for others. And which country do you believe Britain's self-appointed leader of the 'liberal-left' is so taken with?
Austria- with its world class national health system? Norway, with its egalitarian right of public access on all land? Denmark, with its low levels of inequality? Or perhaps Belgium, with its fantastic publicly-owned public transport system?

No, the country Hundal regards as a model which ought to be copied by others is- I kid ye not- the feudal dictatorship of Dubai - which he praises for "its enthusiastic embrace of capitalism", which apparently is "exactly what the city and the Middle East needs as a whole."

Hundal called me an "idiot" for my line on he Iraqi interpreters issue. Well Sunny, after reading your quite ridiculous piece on Dubai I can assure you the sentiment is reciprocated. I think anyone who calls themselves ‘liberal-left' and who writes pieces praising a feudal, shopping-mall dictatorship for its ‘embrace of capitalism' is not only an ‘idiot’ but has absolutely no cause to call themselves ‘liberal-left’ ever again.

Why on earth does the BBC (owned by us, dear reader, let's not forget) see it as its mission to promote this very silly man, whenever they have a programme on blogging?

UPDATE: David Lindsay writes on Hundal and his choice of model state here.