Just a couple of quick thoughts. Firstly, the bailout funds for Greece are not going to put a single penny in the pocket of the Greek people. They are yet further transfers of taxpayers’ money from working people to rich bankers, who again are becoming rich on the basis of obviously impractical investments they made, this time in outlandish Greek government debt.
The EU now makes an evidently sensible proposal for a transaction tax on inter bank dealings – which would raise back from the bankers some tiny proportion of the money we have given them, and discourage a tiny bit multiple gambling transactions. What is truly scarey is the fact that the wealthy, who are taking our money, have the media so tied up in the UK, that the broadcast media condemned this as comprehensively and without question as a party line was reflected under Stalin. I watched many hours of news from mainstream channel to channel, and every person the BBC or Sky interviewed gave a ludicrously apocalyptic warning of the effect of this small measure. Not one supporter was brought on – even though it is a very highly supported measure among economists.
I have said it before, but democracy in the UK is now a complete charade. Our money is sucked away to the elite, and there is no media freedom to reach a mass audience with any view counter to the governing elite, even one supported by nearly every other government in Europe.
I bet it was the loudest applause of the week. All the spivs, sharks and developers clapping the loudest as they think of their plans to desecrate the countryside and break the Green Belt apart.
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1112: The loudest applause of the morning so far for a suggestion that the planning system is a “bloody nightmare”. Architect and TV presenter George Clarke delights the audience by urging a bonfire of red tape and bureaucracy. The country is “skint” he suggests, and people need to be “incredibly creative” if the new homes that are needed are to be built.
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From the BBC live blog of the Cons’ conference.
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Q Where is the demand for new homes coming from with unemployment and personal indebtedness at all time highs?
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Cameron on shortly before they all go away. Good riddance to the lot of them. There are said to be more lobbyists and PR types there than actual party members.
My heart grieves for the residents of Sirte, who are torn between leaving their homes or staying to face NATO-led aggression. It grieves too for rebel fighters. How can a civil uprising turn into a war?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/libya-sirte-anger-idUSL5E7L51GZ20111005
Some of the fighters trying to capture Sirte are from Misrata, a city where thousands of people were killed by Gaddafi’s forces and where hatred of his rule runs high.
“The rebels from Misrata say they will destroy Sirte because Misrata was destroyed,” said Ali, another fleeing resident.
“NATO has brought destruction, and the revolution has brought destruction,” he said.
As he spoke, bystanders began shouting at him that such talk would just spread “chaos and havoc”. Ali retorted that they were not telling the truth and walked away in dismay.
Another angry resident shared Ali’s view.
“What did America and NATO bring to us? Did they bring apricots?” he demanded. “No, they brought us the shelling and the strikes. They terrorised our kids.”
Ingo, I strongly suspect the images we see on Google Maps so called “satellite” view are actually assembled from aerial photographs; for instance, the “satellite images” on the “Political Planning” thread were clearly taken from aircraft:
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http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2011/09/political-planning/
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Low Earth Orbit goes from an altitude of about 300km upwards, and in the optical bands is subject to cloud cover. Images from Google Maps etc. are assembled over time, using clear images whenever they are available.
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A friend of mine had just returned from a holiday in India, and we were tracking her journey together using Google Maps satellite view. We found that the territory was divided in half diagonally into strikingly different colours, and wondered why. After some thinking I realised that the different areas had been imaged in different seasons, and stitched together by software.
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Mary, that 0.1% is a 100% difference! When the economy actually goes into contraction, do you think they’ll tell us?
John Agree. Situation in Sirte horrific. Two little ones were killed as they were being taken away.
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http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=668372&vId=2745313&cId=World
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Liam Cox has just been doing the Wootton Bassett thing, talking up the ‘heroes’ and so on but to rather muted applause. Perhaps they are seeing through the propaganda. His speech, full of hypocrisy, ended with his quoting the last verse of In Flanders Fields –
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Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
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Clark. I am impressed that you are always so well informed on a wide variety of subjects. No I do not think they will tell us! As if. And I believe little of what comes out of their mouths.
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PS Cameron is on this afternoon not this morning.
Russia and China vetoed UN resolution on Syria. Where world is going? Back to the Cold War? Syrians are meanwhile dying in great numbers. What a bloody shame for useLESS UN. Bunch of pencil pushers.
Syrians are just defending their country from Libyan-rebel type of terrorists. The news reports about Syria are virtually made up, whenever someone like Russian tourists or Kucinich visits that country he finds it’s been all lies http://www.facebook.com/Syria.True.News
“My heart grieves for the residents of Sirte, who are torn between leaving their homes or staying to face NATO-led aggression. It grieves too for rebel fighters.”
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The “rebel fighters” – by now I’ve come across 3-4 reports from Libya they’re over 50% foreign troops. This one was the latest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYlnF3dHdyk
Uzbek
“Syrians are meanwhile dying in great numbers.”
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They’d be dying in much greater numbers if Hu and Putin had let NATO have its way again.
Levantine,
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Do you suggest that there is no oppression in Syria for the last 30+ years and that current Syrian president is legitimate? Have you been to Syria or countries like Syria, those that are run by dictatorships? In May 2005 over 1000 people have been shot dead in Uzbekistan and no one was responsible, according to the officials they all were terrorists BUT hundreds women and children were buried those days.
Quelcrime,
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You are possibly quite right. But they are dying despite vetoed UN resolution and will continue to die until Assad killed everyone who opposed him and imprisoned their relatives (just in case). This is something I know not from media but from experience. Horrible things will happen to those who dare to oppose Assad and this is despite NATO’s none intervention.
The media are saying that Cameroon’s speech has been modified. It no longer includes the message that we must all be good little Tory boys and girls and pay off our credit card bills. What tosh. Here is Cameroon’s herald Nick Robinson.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15171917
Levantine, if all that is true I despair. Where are the sources? I certainly wouldn’t believe much of what our media tells us. They are every bit the puppets of government as Blair was the puppet of Bush.
Cameron’s just been on talking about legislation and bureaucracy in the Euro zone. To illustrate this he mentioned about a paper having arrived on his desk from Europe about whether diabetics should drive or not. This he considered was unimportant when measured against the need to bolster industry. If it was China, he said, they would simply tell the diabetics to get off the road.
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China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. If Cameron proposes to use it as a model watch out the UK. Thank God I don’t have diabetes. Diabetes UK think he is listening to them.
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http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News_Landing_Page/David-Cameron-listens-to-patient-concerns/
I would like to believe a negotiated end to the war between Gaddaffi’s supporters and those who want rid of him was possible. I don’t think it is though. Gaddafi’s forces have been killing civilians merely on suspicion of not supporting Gaddafi, even killing civilians as they retreat from towns the rebels are about to take – and as a result they expect no mercy from the rebels if they surrender, so they’ll fight to the death.
Some rebels have tortured or robbed people they suspect of supporting Gaddafi and there have been lynchings and murders of Gaddafi officials and captured Gaddafi soldiers, but not on nearly the same scale.
Given this the sooner Gaddafi’s forces are beaten the better. Civilians will die in the process, but far less than will die each day Gaddafi’s forces remain in control of towns like Sirte and Bani Walid.
I doubt NATO governments’ motives for intervening and in Iraq and Afghanistan their methods have been little different from Saddam’s. There’s also a serious risk of more civil war among different rebel factions once Gaddafi’s forces are beaten (and of NATO encouraging this so it gets to be kingmaker and have leverage to get oil contracts on more favourable terms).
Despite all that Gaddafi’s forces have to be beaten.
Human Rights Watch reported on the 19th of September that “As the forces of Muammar Gaddafi retreated from Tripoli in the third week of August…Government forces executed scores of detainees in custody…Bodies were littered across the capital. Ordinary citizens, suspected of supporting the rebels, were killed on the streets and at checkpoints.”
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/19/oral-statement-hrw-libya
Another report on the same day on widespread rapes and gang rapes of women by Gaddafi’s forces, often including torture and even stabbings in some cases
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/19/libya-transitional-government-should-support-victims
Amnesty International’s report on 13th September on human rights abuses by both sides in the war so far made it pretty clear the vast majority were committed by Gaddafi’s forces – including widespread disappearances, including of children as young as 12, shooting of civilians, torture of civilians etc.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE19/025/2011/en/8f2e1c49-8f43-46d3-917d-383c17d36377/mde190252011en.pdf
Human Rights Watch reported on 28th August on Gaddafi forces shooting and killing unarmed anti-Gaddafi demonstrators in Sirte
I would like to believe a negotiated end to the war between Gaddaffi’s supporters and those who want rid of him was possible. I don’t think it is though. Gaddafi’s forces have been killing civilians merely on suspicion of not supporting Gaddafi, even killing civilians as they retreat from towns the rebels are about to take – and as a result they expect no mercy from the rebels if they surrender, so they’ll fight to the death.
Some rebels have tortured or robbed people they suspect of supporting Gaddafi and there have been lynchings and murders of Gaddafi officials and captured Gaddafi soldiers, but not on nearly the same scale.
Given this the sooner Gaddafi’s forces are beaten the better. Civilians will die in the process, but far less than will die each day Gaddafi’s forces remain in control of towns like Sirte and Bani Walid.
I doubt NATO governments’ motives for intervening and in Iraq and Afghanistan their methods have been little different from Saddam’s. There’s also a serious risk of more civil war among different rebel factions once Gaddafi’s forces are beaten (and of NATO encouraging this so it gets to be kingmaker and have leverage to get oil contracts on more favourable terms).
Despite all that Gaddafi’s forces have to be beaten.
Human Rights Watch reported on the 19th of September that “As the forces of Muammar Gaddafi retreated from Tripoli in the third week of August…Government forces executed scores of detainees in custody…Bodies were littered across the capital. Ordinary citizens, suspected of supporting the rebels, were killed on the streets and at checkpoints.”
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/19/oral-statement-hrw-libya
Another report on the same day on widespread rapes and gang rapes of women by Gaddafi’s forces, often including torture and even stabbings in some cases
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/19/libya-transitional-government-should-support-victims
Amnesty International’s report on 13th September on human rights abuses by both sides in the war so far made it pretty clear the vast majority were committed by Gaddafi’s forces – including widespread disappearances, including of children as young as 12, shooting of civilians, torture of civilians etc.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE19/025/2011/en/8f2e1c49-8f43-46d3-917d-383c17d36377/mde190252011en.pdf
Human Rights Watch reported on 28th August on Gaddafi forces shooting and killing unarmed anti-Gaddafi demonstrators in Sirte
Thanks for the links Clark, Google earth is hopelessly out of date, modern satelite imaging has real time access and its software, depending on its use, will have past indicators of troops movements etc. already stored as basic comparrisson to real data, the moment something happens that is identified as silo’s opening or troops moving, there is an instant alert.
I think I’m right in saying that geo sats are liable to be used for m ilitary purposes, apparently they can commandeer these as they see fit, civilian satelites have to give their time and space to the military in ’emergencies’.
Some links about banks.
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Beware FreedomWorks:
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http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/10/06/337446/occupy-wall-street-freedomworks/
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http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/04/14/37536/lobbying-clients-teaparties/
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11 facts about the top US banks:
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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/07/338887/1-facts-biggest-banks/
I just fell over this blog: it’s excellent and informed – the commentators too. Congratulations.
On the topic: OK, everything sucks and democracy is a term that has now lost any meaning. There is a one – way flow of money and influence from the poor bloody infantry to the fat cats, and the system is structured to perpetuate this.
We know. We know. But, in the words of VI Lenin, what is to be done? Is there, or could there be, a remedy? I see no realistic ideas. Do you?