I am becoming quite fond of my little corner of Schiphol airport. I have put up my Christmas cards and a few bits of tinsel. I now have a boarding card for the 0800 to Manchester. This is the sixth boarding card I have had. It is very hard to understand why, time after time, they don’t know a flight is cancelled until some time after it was due to leave and all the passengers have queued at the gate for hours.
Of course, Manchester is a lot further from Ramsgate than Schiphol is, so even if the flight atually goes, this represents rather dubious progress.
Happy New Year everybody.
Remarkably, KLM delivered my lost luggage, including my laptop, at 9.30 pm on New Year’s Eve. At that time a pretty lively party was already in full swing,much improved by the presence of a great many beautiful young women, mostly from Latvia. I am not sure why; my life as ever consists of a bewildering succession of chance encounters with really nice people. I am in the fortunate position of being able to say that Nadira was the most lovely of all, without indulging in dutiful hyperbole.
It was an extremely happy Christmas. Having my mum, both my brothers and all my three chidren together was as great as it was rare.
We have been through the laptop in lost luggage discussion before. The problem is that my shoulders dislocate at the drop of a hat, and I travel without hand luggage to avoid an accident.
2011 is going to be a very important year for me. particularly the first quarter. A number of crucial events are going either to set me up financially for the rest of my life, or result in real distress and failure. At present I have reason to be very optimistic. I am also very absorbed in my life of Alexander Burnes, which I hope will help establish a serious academic reputation.
The Portuguese edition of Murder in Samarkand has sold unexpectedly well in Brazil. The translation of the Turkish edition has just been finished.
I hope to do a Wikileaks retrospective in the next couple of days. Just a quick thought on the case of the poor young gardener in Bristol. Of the Jill Dando case, long before Barry Bulsara’s succesful appeal I blogged that this appeared to be a miscarriage of justice in which the police had fitted up the local weirdo.
Despite not being enamoured of landlords in general, I fear the same dynamic is at work in Bristol, albeit Chris Jefferies is much more intellectually capable than Bulsara. My instinct is that the police have picked up on Jefferies for being camper than a boy scout jamboree and archer than Trajan.
Jefferies’ release on bail has me worried that there was nothing against him other than the “He’s a weird one, guv” instinct of some not very bright cop. The case needs to be closely watched as history shows that the powers of the police to make the evidence fit the suspect are considerable.
7.01 and 7.09
Too cowardly to leave your name? What about these suggestions – Neocon Supporter or Judas Escariot?
Je veux juste dire que c’est un super blog vous etes arrive ici! J’ai fait le tour de pas mal de temps, mais a finalement decide de montrer mon appreciation de votre travail!
truly loved the article added to my favourites
It seems that much of the mainstream media and indeed the Government itself is composed of ‘conpiraloons’, since they constantly seem to be banging-on about some or other ‘plot to destroy our way of life’. This seems the main substitute for political debate nowadays. It is indeed coming to resemble a cartoon-strip (anno, at 5:35am). That’s because it is largely propaganda to demonise one specific segment of the population, to distract people from the real rubric of power and to facilitate unobstructed imperial war and the liberal use of drones, white phosphorus and depleted uranium on civilian children.
“What about these suggestions – Neocon Supporter or Judas Escariot?”
Why Judas Escariot? Oh, were you a Saddam Hussein supporter who felt betrayed?
Allan Nairn: As U.S. Loses Its Global Economic Edge, Its “One Clear Comparative Advantage is in Killing, and It’s Using It”
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/29/allan_nairn_as_us_loses_its
Hey guys!
Thought I’d just get back in touch and liven up the blog again by telling you re-my Yuletide exploits.
I got stuck at Dublin airport after Xmas and was charged for terminal floor-space + VAT to bed down till my flight went.
Got talking to this guy with a well cute arse.
Well with VAT going up to 20% in the New Year neither of us were going to waste the floor-space were we?
Suffice to say I rogered him senseless till the Duty-Free was open next day….
Now this blog of yours needed a bit of spice didn’t it. Sounds like you were all boring yourselves to death here before I came along!
Love yers!
Cheba
The Craig Murray Orchestra.
Alan Campbell
angrysoba …………… french horns/trolls
Larry
Jon
Clark………. violins/agnostic
glenn
Dreoilin
Ruth ………. oboes/intuitive
Mary
suhayl
anno………. voice/muslim
arsalan
avatar
tony-opmoc ……….. drums/mad
roderick russell
courtenay bennett
ingo ………… piano/serious
technicolour
steelback
apostate ……….. heavy metal electronic keyboard
freeborn
Mark golding
Frazer ………. military gatekeepers/trombones
Craig
plus chorus and other names/ non-names
I was brought up amongst the sons of the elite. They had no morals, either sexual or exploitative/colonial/capitalist. By their fruit shall ye know them: Iraq. Afghanistan.
I now live amongst immigrant educated Muslims. They have morals, in so far as they are married to the multiple wives whose children are supported by the welfare state. But they have had the opportunity in the last 30 years to use the freedom of expression which the UK affords to its citizens, to voice their objections to the global policy of this country. But they have shown themselves enemies of free speech. When they acquire power, they will oppress worse than Saddam, and root out every whiff of criticism from the ordinary citizen.
Like it or not, the zionist policies of successive UK governments have placed the UK unnecessarily in the target range of oppressed Islam. When this dangerous group of people which our welfare state feeds, gains power and influence, they will dismantle all of the norms of civilised society, viz: welfare, justice, privacy, freedom of speech.
That’s the zionists for you, they blackmail our politicians to fight unequal and unjust wars, and they invite its victims to attack our liberal society. No skin of their noses, they have recently acquired from this recession the near perpetual rights to all the wealth of all the future generations of this country, by mortgaging them to pay for Gordon Brown’s rescue of their banks.
You do not ‘rescue’ people who are addicted to alcohol, or banks who are addicted to consuming our lifeblood through interest. In both instances you make the matter worse. Gordon Brown’s legacy will be, that he swallowed hook line and sinker, the lies of the zionist bankers, and when they demanded to be rescued, after syphoning off all our cash, he refused to call their bluff and tell them to get hanged.
Fortunately I have never adopted the childish response of atheism, in protest to religious corruption. Just because the idiots who deceive themselves that they are following their various religions, are palpable, self-serving tyrants of the worst kind, doesn’t mean we all are. Us being the ordinary citizens who have morality, respect for others and who worship God.
You cannot dissolve faith, in the acid of communism or the alkali of capitalism. The totalitarian Muslim scholars who sided with the British against their own Caliphate in 1914, are the same as the totalitarian scholars of the present day who skulk in our society today, waiting for the chance to de-capitate our hard-won freedoms. They fell for the sweeties offerred to them by the British occupying their lands in the Middle East, and in the British Indian Raj. And they have fallen for the sweeties of the welfare state today. They had their chance to present the case and model of Islam to a fair-minded UK society, but they wasted the opportunity for the sake of a miserable price, a few poxy houses and strips of land in their countries of origin. May the double curse of Allah, which he mentions in the Qur’an, fall on all of the Muslim leaders who came to the West and did not practise good Islam, and did not show the people of the West, the good practise of Islam.
Christ, you’re a nutter. Well done.
some good ideas here:
http://www.kamalaharris.org/news/489
You are quite correct Suhayl. (9.58 am)
Have you noticed the inordinate amount of coverage being given to the murder of the young woman in Bristol on all channels and in all newspapers? Yet we have slaughtered and still are slaughtering people in foreign countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and there is not so much as a mention of their names.
I heard today that four more teenagers have been shot (usually in the knee joint) for sport by the Israelis. It is a sick game for them. There are 23 such cases documented here.
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/home.cfm
Finally did you see Frank ‘I Was There’ Gardner winning Mastermind yesterday? Not so good on Birds of the Middle East but v good on General Knowledge. He should have chosen Espionage or MI5 as his specialist subject.
Alan Campbell, are you looking for crime reduction? Here’s someone clever who has researched what’s going wrong; you’ll be appalled at the incompetence revealed:
http://www.flatearthnews.net/footnotes-book/page-38-bobbies-beat/killing-crime-reduction
alan campbell
you’re a bigot and a troll
So Craig Murray thinks that students should now join the Liberals. Naturally this would not be touted as an endorsement of current Liberal policy.
Perhaps we should express our disapproval of the policies of the Conservative party or the BNP by joining them, a huge rise in membership would undoubtedly indicate to them how unpopular their policies are (apparently)
A slight variation for anno’s score-sheet of the CM Orchestra (11:57am) might be: Tony Opmoc… ‘Tony: Operation Mockery’? And hey, you missed out Vronsky, the real musician among us.
Somebody, the lack of interest in deaths abroad caused by US/UK wars stems from that old root, racism. Laws have been formulated, such that it is wrong to abuse someone or refuse them a job on the basis of their race, and regarding people of other races as inferior is now frowned upon. But death and suffering of people in foreign lands is still largely ignored. We could call these “active” and “passive” racism. Legislating against active racism was a significant step in the right direction, but there’s yet much further to travel on that path. Respect for and enforcement of international law have to be strengthened.
There is a very positive aspect to immigration. People of different races sharing the same society become friends, employers, employees, colleagues and neighbours. What happens in a far-off land is not so distant or so easy to ignore when it affects the people you associate with.
MarkU, yes, you have highlighted an inherent contradiction in the structure of our flawed democracy; of course an increase in membership would be presented as an endorsement of existing policy. So, damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. Do the wrong thing!
“you missed out Vronsky”
I think I’m in the chorus (fourth from left, back row). Story of my life.
Oops, seems my “double damnation” post at 3:58 was comment number 666. Do the wrong thing, indeed!
“MarkU, yes, you have highlighted an inherent contradiction in the structure of our flawed democracy”
No, he’s highlighting the silliness of joining a party that has betrayed you once already.
Seriously, Craig Murray may as well be saying, “Here’s a good idea let’s get lots of people together and have them all vote for the same party at the general election!”
Yeah, well done, you’ve actually figured out what democracy IS. Not the inherent contradictions of democracy.
Get postin more stuff Craig
Shouldn’t we have had Clark down as the conductor? 😉
I know you like a good orchestral set up vronsky.
As you have been missed out, again, here is a little ditty you might have a good laugh at for the years end.
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXgeZKYqdvg&feature=player_embedded
This blows apart the offical lying 9/11 Theory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6H0hu3tTig
@anno – interesting orchestral set-up! I am intrigued that the angry right of Alan and Larry are french horns, whilst the spammer/troublemaker in all his guises is an electronic keyboard! I don’t know what your logic is, but I like it. Surely Craig is the conductor?
In relation to your other post, I am not sure people should be judged by their sexual behaviour – that’s a religious meme designed to exert social control using shame – and genuine liberalism is its powerful antidote. We’re not their yet, as a society, but maybe we’ll get there one day. Those mental shackles need to be thrown off, not reforged for the next generation!
As I’ve mentioned to you before, the Zionists aren’t necessarily the ‘pressure to fight unjust wars’ – neo-capitalism would do that even if there was no Israel (or no Zionism). Israel is fully signed-up to the neo-capitalist agenda though, so the two move in reasonable synchronicity – which may be why you believe one causes the other.
Atheism is never a childish response, and it’s childish to call it so. If you believe in religious freedom for Muslims, then you must also believe in religious freedom for atheists too: the right not to believe.
When you come into Islam, you ask the brothers for the queue for studying the Qur’an. They say, it’s a long queue going round the building but your’e welcome to join. They are talking about everything in Islam, taking your sustenance by rememberance of Allah and converting the Christians. When you get to the corner, you ask a second time, Is this the queue for studying the Qur’an?
No this is the queue for taking many houses on interest mortgages. fuck off and leave us alone. So you go along to another group of brothers who tell you this is the queue for jihad, and goes round the building but you are welcome to join them. They are talking about many things, re-establishing the Caliphate, Iran, Iraq, Jews, Afghanistan. Then, when you get to the corner, you ask again, Is this the queue for jihad? No, this is the queue for building on our land in our own country off benefits. Fuck off and leave us alone.
There is a queue, which goes off round the corner. It’s the queue for ignoring queues which go nowhere except up the backside of some self-publicist like Craig. When I get to the corner, I’m going to ask again…
Sorry to omit you Vronsky, I’m bored with waiting for answers and listening to holiday news about the weather. At least we have Tony opmoc’s drivel which is considerably more interesting than CIA agent Julian Assange.
Jon, a pinch of your beneficent spirit ought be bottled and distributed free all over the world. Perhaps you might transmogrify into form energetic, into, say, that of a djinn? I have both ring and lamp.
Have a good Hogmannay (as we call it here in Scotland) and I wish everyone a peaceful and happy New Year.
Hi Jon,
No, no, no, and yes.
The yes for your 4th point is that of course people are free to disbelieve. And tell them the good news that this is the road to eternal damnation. Yes, I agree with you entirely, unlike the other three.
I love it. AA Route Planner: Key in ‘Eternal Damnation’ – “destination unknown”. Try it on your sat-nav: “Turn right, no, I said right!!”
Reminds me of the ‘Talking Heads’ song, ‘Road to Nowhere’. As counterpoint (since we’re moving orchestral), there is of course Yusuf’s ‘Roadsinger’.
I’m with Hazrat Issa, somewhere in the wondrously blooming desert… that’s where the visage of the universe is at its clearest.
It’s there, whether or not you believe in a suprahuman entity.
Burn Heaven and drown Hell! They are both obstancesl to understanding (to paraphrase Rabia al Basri, C9th, Iraq)