Trevor Phillips, New Labour hack to perfection, is Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission – and his re-appointment has caused nearly half of the commissioners to leave.
At a time when human rights in the UK have come under sustained attack, with the effective extinction of habeas corpus, extraordinarily intrusive “Anti-terrorism Acts”, and growth of the surveillance society, Phillips has ensured the Equality and Human Rights Commission has remained absolutely silent on these issues.
Nor have they said a word about the now overwhelming evidence of UK collusion in torture abroad. When Islamophobia was at its height, and Jack Straw chose to make a populist attack on veiled Muslim women, Phillips waded in to back his long term political ally. He has been entirely silent on, but privately is a strong supporter of, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Phillips is one of that extraordinary roll of former Presdents of the National Union of Students. As members of the far left, they showed an authoritarianism and disregard for democracy in their student days which has stood them in good stead as leaders, cheerleaders and administrators of New Labour’s authoritarian and aggressive right wing state. They are all ruthless careerists, and also fervently anti-Palestinian.
Jack Straw, Trevor Phillips, Charles Clarke, David Aaronovitch, Sue Slipman, all ex-NUS Presidents – a roll-call of shame indeed. Some on the left are surprised that my CV includes being a leader of the succesful movement to bring Scottish universities out of the NUS in the 1970s and 1980s. I rest my case.
(I knew Mike Phillips, Trevor’s brother, slightly and once had dinner at his home. A lovely man).
I remember when Trevor Phillips exposed his own stupidity when he accused Ken Livingston (of all people!) of being a racist in reply to Ken’s offering him the post of deputy mayor.
The fact that he is somewhat dim should obviously not be held against him but it does rather help in showing up his evil disregard for anything other than that which serves his own vanity.
@Craig – what I don’t understand is, with the student body often finding left-wing and socialist politics attractive, how has the NUS of today become so Blairite? I would have thought that the sum of radical student politics would have had them keenly condemning the Israeli aggression against Gaza in January, for example. Is there a process within the NUS that inculcates conservative views in formerly optimistic radicals?
The really rather sad thing about those you list is that they they are just so servile and dumb.
And ultimately that’s their burden.
I pity them as much as i loathe them.
‘Is there a process within the NUS that inculcates conservative views in formerly optimistic radicals?’
It seems to be the highly unfortunate case that, particularly on the Left, followers are easily duped into accepting leaders who are charismatic and who *claim* to be Leftists but, in fact, are simply opportunistic thugs seeking power. The idealists who make up leftist/progressive movements are, apparently, easy pickings for such people, who then wind up driving the movement into the depths of authoritarianism or totalitarianism, qv Stalin, Mao, Blair, etc.
The same kinds of people take over right-wing movements as well, but the difference there is that their followers typically *agree* with their philosophies, hence their appeal to nationalists, racists, etc.
These people are simply sociopaths who will do whatever it takes — tell any lie, adopt any ideology — to rise to the top and wield authority over others. Actually, from what I can see, most politicians — certainly those seeking high national office — fall into this category.
I really can’t see any other explanation for how people who were formerly supposedly utopian idealists became such right-wing bastards.
This reminds me of something that happened in 1997. At that time I was a Nulab supporter but had a friend who was blind (literally, using Braille) who told me that he didn’t trust Tony Blair. When I asked him why, he said ‘It’s the sound of his voice’. He passed away a few years ago, but I remember this.
Let’s not forget the Deputy President of the NUS, the firebrand Man of Straw in 1969. Thought we needed a laugh.
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10315422
When these disparate commissions merged a few years back, I couldn’t help thinking that they were showing signs of panic. The kind of herd panic you see when the individuals jump about each other to distract the hunters from targeting anyone in particular.
Let us take the opportunity to smash the lot of them, now they’ve jumped into one basket.
The aggrieved would do better to act independently than to rely on the self serving commission jockeys.
In my view the entire political landscape has changed drastically over the last 40 years, such that the labels of left vs right are no longer appropriate and have become almost meaningless. The change has accelerated under Blair, such that now with the sole exception of opposition to the Iraq War within the Liberal Party, the 3 main parties are virtually indistinguishable.
The same process has occurred in the EU and in the US. It’s as if the entire political process has been silently infiltrated by an external very determined force across all party lines and all national borders.
The result is the centralisation of real power such that very small numbers of very powerful people can dictate policy at an international level.
Craig’s post mentions individuals all of who’m would appear to have strong previous connections to the Extreme Left, yet now who appear to exhibit the policies of the Extreme Right.
It seems to me, that what all these people are about is Control by Dictatorship using the Instruments of Fear. There is very little real difference between Communism and Fascism.
Whilst the great mass of the population have been asleep watching Big Brother and other mindless, soul destroying, dumbed down nonsense, the extremists – the highly politically motivated have taken over control.
I don’t believe that their objectives have anything to do with making life better for ordinary people nor even to improve the environment. Their real objective is to crash the entire economic system. It is not to make things better, but to make things worse.
Whilst on the surface Friedman and Thatcher might have appeared to be their worst enemies, by starting off the process of Globalisation (which has deskilled, deindustrialised and is now impoverishing the West), the closer you look the more similar they appear.
Around 25% of Americans are now approaching a state of desperate poverty largely as a result of the fact that they no longer produce anything of value – as their jobs have been moved to slave nation states. This poverty is likely to grow rapidly and spread around the World.
The reasons are NOT due to lack of resources, nor even Overpopulation. I am convinced not only that Peak Oil is a myth, but that the Planet is extremely rich in energy resources, most of which are not even researched let alone utilised.
I believe all our problems are due to extremists taking control of the highest positions within society via stealth and deception. The classic example is Tony Blair who these people still see as an amazing success.
What many even active members within the mainstream parties do not realise is what the real agenda is. The corruption and lies are now so endemic, that virtually no one in a position of power is telling the truth, and many even is such positions do not know the truth.
The real agenda of World Dictatorship resulting in for example the insanity of mass conversion of Food into Ethanol (across the World) can only have one ultimate objective – mass human depopulation by starvation and poverty.
It is now hitting the USA, though very little is published in the mainstream. e.g. The State of Texas has 25% Child Poverty rate with 23% of under 5’s going hungry.
You don’t believe it?
feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-map.aspx
Tony
@mary,
Do you think JS is using his position of power in revenge of his detractors as a youth?
The nerds probably gathered round him to make themselves look better.
Where was Moira Hindley when we needed her?
The massive lie about “sleepwalking into segregation” did it for me. Either that, or TP is just plain ignorant.
Bit off topic but I see today Esther Rantzen is now officially running for Parliament.
Not very surprised, good luck to her, but point in she will be an independent candidate and she will get significantly more media coverage than any other independent in the land. What would be interesting will be to hear the BBC and others explain why.
Indeed Ed, a very good point. Her coverage, without any political recvord whatsoever, should in reality be far less than Craigs, but I can feel a Damascene conversion coming on.
The argument could go as follows:
‘The BBC has become the target for complaints over their coverage in the Norwich North by election, hence we will try and pilot covering an Independent (Esther Rantzen) at the next general election to see what response we get from the public.
This will only be a one off as we cannot allow that smaller more radical parties get the same coverage than the moderates.
We will start by having a massive debate between Ann Widdecombe and Esther Rantzen on Radio 4, just to get you all used to Esther, she is after all one of us who cannot possibly be frozen out of election coverage.’
Thats how it will be explained.
@ NomadUK – I agree.
@ tony_opmoc – I agree with your first six paragraphs, but then:
1) I think that these people are just addicted to power. Why do you think that they’re trying to crash the economic system?
2) I agree that Earth is rich in energy resources, but most of it isn’t in the uniquely useful form of liquid fuel. What makes you think that that Peak Oil is a myth? I find the rate of oil discovery vs. the rate of oil usage really quite convincing, as well as all the geopolitics, ie net oil consuming nations’ foreign policies towards net oil producing nations, wars in and around oil producing regions, etc.
3) As to biofuels production leading to starvation, isn’t this just the heartless machinery of the “Free Market” unleashed upon a massively unequal world? If all nations were roughly equal in wealth, supply vs demand would establish a workable equilibrium of price between food and liquid fuel, but as things are, there is more profit to be made selling liquid fuel to the rich than there is selling food to the poor.
Frank Zappa claimed that there was more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe. I tend to agree; humanity’s problems seem more likely to be caused by collective stupidty than the intelligence of evil individuals.
Or we will get the more prosaic and circular argument that “we’re covering her because it’s what the public is interested in”.
Bottom line however is that Craig’s campaign should have gotten better coverage because of who he is. Esther Rantzen will, for that precise reason; difference being that she’s passes the Daily Mail public interest test. This is what the Beeb won’t admit, and their contortions in denying it are comical or cynical, depending on your mood.
Clark,
I spent quite sometime believing in peak oil about 6 years ago, and could give you a list of some really scary very convincing arguments on the subject. I also had and still have serious concerns with regards to exponential population growth together with depletion of natural resources, and about every issue any Green would have at the top of their problem agenda as well as some others.
But the real problem is deception and corruption of even the scientific process, such that obtaining the truth about anything important is so obfuscated by political ideology, that you cannot even trust many specialists, because they too are corrupted to produce the results which they are being paid to produce.
This level of corruption simply didn’t exist 40-60 years ago. The vast majority of scientists where honest. They had to be – we were recovering from the devastation of a World War, and research and development had to produce real things that worked.
Virtually everything is bent now. You simply can’t trust anyone unless you research them and their paymasters in great detail.
Whilst Frank Zappa was right about collective stupidity, the Malaysian guy who once worked for me was wrong about the Cream always, eventually, rising to the top.
It’s quite clear that it’s the Shit that rises to the top, and that is our major problem.
If we can get rid of the Shit that’s in control of everything then all our real world problems can be resolved gracefully. That however is unlikely to happen, so basically we are Fucked.
I suggest as a start you Google Confessions of an Ex Peak Oil Believer and read F William Engdahl and JF Kenney or even have a look at Titan’s Hydrocarbons. It’s unlikely to change your mind though for reasons I’ve already mentioned.
Tony
The Commission has been up and running for nearly two years. It has an annual budget of £70m. As Diane Abbott MP points out in today’s Guardian: “So far, he [Trevor Phillips] can’t point to anything substantial that it [the Commission] has done for anybody …”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/28/trevor-phillips-equalities-commission
Didn’t Tony Benn, in his diaries, claim that all the members of one NUS committee were Special Branch agents? If true, then perhaps it is not surprising that former NUS presidents later became Home Secretary.
Hi Tony,
thanks for Engdahl’s “Confessions” article; it’s by far the most credible article on abiotic oil that I’ve read. However, we are off-topic; can you suggest somewhere to discuss this?
As for demoting the Shit from the top of the power structure; that’s what democracy is supposed to achieve, but we’ve just seen what happened to Craig, so yes, we’re most likely fucked.
Clark,
JF Kenney’s website is http://www.gasresources.net where there is a wealth of very in depth research on the subject some of which requires a very good understanding of physics and maths, so isn’t that accessible. Virtually all websites on the subject of the origins of oil are dominated by fanatics attempting to maintain the conventional Western oil company view or fanatics promoting Peak oil and doom.
My simple view is how come all this enormous amount of oil is found many miles below ground and below oceans, if it was formed at the surface originating from life forms? Oil is lighter than water and floats on the surface. It makes far more logical sense for oil to be formed deep within the Earth, and this is supported by the raw physics amd maths. We also know that there are vast amounts of hydrocarbons on for example Titan – a moon of Saturn. No one is suggesting that it came from dead plant material.
This discussion which has drifted somewhat off topic, is still fundamental to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also fundamental to the short term future of the human race, and in my view is illustrative of the enormous web of deceit that maintains the current corrupt power structures of those in control of us.
Whilst it is sensible to move from an economy based on oil, to cleaner more sustainable and viable alternatives, none are likely to become available with sufficient energy density in the immediate short term. Meanwhile Western Governments are not renewing sufficient conventional and nuclear power generation facilities and we are in very serious danger of an enormous energy shortage which could have catastrophic effects on human civilisation. Most people live in towns and cities, and without energy, nothing will work. No water, no sewage, no food distribution, no work, no heating, no money. The result would be total collapse. Future energy planning used to be taken exceedingly seriously by Governments, but those who used to do such important work have been replaced by others who have a totally different agenda.
As a society we are already doing so many absolutely crazy things, that deliberately turning off the power will be just another method for the planned cull.
Tony
Tony,
this whole biotic / abiotic debate looks complex, and I feel that we shouldn’t take over this article with it. I’m leaping into the unknown and attempting to set up discussion forum software on my personal webspace. If I have any success I’ll post a link, but don’t hold your breath.
In the meantime, we could take over one of Craig’s old posts. Type “doctor” into Craig’s search box. The fifth link down reads “Is There A Doctor In The House”. Follow that, and you’ll find an article with one real comment and nine spams. I hope Craig doesn’t mind if we use that. (feel free to delete if I’m taking a liberty, Craig!)
Clark
‘this whole biotic / abiotic debate looks complex’
No, it’s not, actually; it’s quite simple. The abiotic promoters are complete, fucking loons, down there with the flat-earthers, moon-landing-hoaxers, creationists, Bermuda-Trianglists, and holocaust- and climate-change-deniers.
There, wasn’t that easy? Now, please go spend your time thinking about something important.
Hi NomadUK,
as much as I respect your earlier post, evidence can convince me but calling people names cannot. So maybe it was a bit too easy, at least for you. If there really is simple evidence, please post it.
Well, I’m not really up for convincing you one way or the other. It’s clear to me that the abiotic/abiogenic crowd are trying to push the idea that a petroleum-based civilisation can continue indefinitely because we’re not going to run out of oil after all. This immediately puts them in the same category as the climate-change denialists in my book, and I reserve only my choicest names for the class of people who are engaged in a propaganda effort which will very likely make my children’s lives, and the lives of billions of other people, hell, if not utterly destroy civilisation. ‘Fucking loons’ is the kindest thing I can call them.
For a calmer approach to the topic, you can go read Jean Laherrere’s refutation of Gold’s nonsense at
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/102104_no_free_pt1.shtml.
Thanks, Nomad,
I too have read nonesense about abiotic oil. I’m not asking you to convince me, just to post evidence rather than ridicule. Thanks for doing so; I’ll follow your link soon.
J F Kenny’s site (www.gasresources.net) refers to the work of Nikolai A. Kudryavtsev and other Soviet scientists, and describes Gold’s input as inaccurate plagiarism.
If abiotic oil has any truth to it, I’d regard this as very bad news, precisely because of climate change. The sooner oil peaks the better for humanity in the long run, I reckon. But I’d rather face an impending disaster with my eyes wide open.
guy’s just being a political hack.
Speaking to a mate recently, the comment on Phillips, ” He was a good guy back then, but has now totally lost his way.” Gusess he has just ambled to where some old politicos go – back to the establishment.
I agree, Mike Phillips is a lovely and spirited guy and an excellent writer of crime fiction, to boot.