I was the answer to a question on University Challenge yesterday! Thanks to all who sent me messages to let me know. If anyone remembers the actual question I should be interested to hear. Apparently none of the students had ever heard of me.
From surprising mentions to surprising non-mentions. The Guardian wrote an excellent editorial on the continuing hypocrisy of the West’s relationship with Uzbekistan. Despite specifically covering the time I was there, and being about torture and rhe West’s reliance on Uzbekistan for supply to Afghanistan, resulting in a willingness to placate the Karimov regime, there is no mention of the British sacking their Ambassador for opposing this policy. It is not, I think, vainglorious to find it a strange omission.
I have mentioned before the Guardian consistently and completely writing me out of their reports about extraordinary rendition and UK complicity in torture. I am reminded of the fact that the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee asked seven different witnesses, including Jack Straw, specifically about me by name and my actions, but refused to allow me to give evidence on my own account.
When you are a whistleblower you become a non-person, simply written out of existence by the various organs of the Establishment, including those which pretend to constitute a form of opposition. Every now and then you get a reminder of your existence, reduced to a curiosity like the subject of a quiz question. But the official narrative closes over you and the truths you revealed, smoothly, like a Jack Straw speech or a Guardian editorial.
Sean Penn not mincing his words; accuses Britain of ‘colonialism’ over Falklands
.
That’s just stupid really, isn’t it?
Giles, well written. Very minor point, you’re missing an ‘a’ near the end of your second-to-last paragraph 🙂
Craig said, “But the official narrative closes over you and the truths you revealed” – this paradox, this absurdity is the result of domination; the 700lb US gorilla, it’s troupe of media saturation scribes and Israel’s deceptive fifth column, catalysing revilement of the inculpable to feed this
guerillagorilla will always frame the main page of history..
The attack on the twin towers and the bombing of the London underground were without any doubt contrived to point a finger and catalyse or legitimise war in the minds of the majority – the ‘sheeple’ the blinkered or those reliant on cosmic love to overcome. iet It is only your love for life that will succeed – we need more of that love…
.
Giles – good start and please blog on! – if you need SEO of the domain then I can help with some good tips to achieve that ‘top ten’ organic web presence.
.
The attempts at regime change by foreign fighters in Syria continues as does the economic blockade of Iran, an act of war by international standards and also intended to cause insurrection, disorder and uprising by around mid year. A strike on Iran is of course a last resort and will doubtless result in a nuclear confrontation and an inexorable march to world war involving a move by Russia and China from the perimeter to the axis of chaos.
Looks like I spoke too soon. These Argentinian veterans of the Falklands War are getting some rough treatment by the police as the vets demand pensions.
.
http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/02/14/argentine-falklands-war-vets-clash-with?videoId=230143686&videoChannel=1
I could also answer this question and I was really proud of it. I have been visiting your website since I have discovered it, and I can understand the feeling of being a nobody because of whistleblowing. I am disappointed by the Guardian but not overly surprised. I am sure you are for many people an inspiration but also a reminder of the consequences of rocking the boat. Still, the world needs people like you and others. Your investigation on the Werrity scandal is remarkable, but I noticed that Private Eye is also asking for documents under the information act. Any chance of working together ?
Annie
We are working very closely together, don’t worry. On fact the next revelation will be in the Eye this Friday. I know what it is but my lips are sealed till then!
I cannot wait….
Further the British press have polarised the situation in Syria, insisting President Assad is the ogre or bogeyman, a diametric stance from a few years ago when Assad was hailed as a reformist and the West queued to engage in dialogue.
.
Support for the opposition, including al-Qaeda, the arming and training of the Free Syrian Army by Britain is an abomination especially when compared to the intervention and untold brutalities in Bahrain and the blind eye turned towards the brutal regime in Yemen.
.
Britain and America are not only guilty of hypocrisy, I accuse their leaders of laying out the ground for another arms race with China and a serious threat of a future military conflict that will use the ‘dial-down’ tactical nukes now being manufactured and stockpiled in increasing numbers according to a military insider.
“The insinuations and the fishwife logic of zionists automatically implicates Iran (Mossad has been recruiting from the ranks of the MEK terrorist group in Iraq),so if you want to text for free anywhere in the uk you can do so by using [url removed] its great and free !!”
Jose’s spam is remarkable, it cherry picked a sentence from another commenter. Re-used it and then added it’s ad to the end.
As annoying as spam is you can’t deny that’s a pretty impressive bot.
Michael Stephenson,
On the other hand it could be an implied threat.
On the other hand it could be an implied threat.
.
That would probably suit your fantasies better. Oh me Gadz! We’re targetted by secret Zionist special ops team. Much better than common or garden spam.
angrysoba,
Impetuousness is a liability of your kind.
Impetuousness is a liability of your kind.
.
Well, it could be worse. And what “kind” is mine? I hope this isn’t anti-ex-Catholic abuse.
So have the Malyshevs been forgotten?
Kashmiri,
You said: “Besides, having lived a bit in various parts of Asia I am ready to argue that Uzbekistan is not the worst place to live, especially for the poor.”
.
It is true if you compare Uzbekistan with places like Afghanistan or Bangladesh. However; after collapse of the USSR Uzbekistan was the most economically developed amongst other Central Asian counterparts. Most of the industries in Central Asia were based in Uzbekistan and Tashkent used to be the main transport hub. It is of course true that Uzbekistan like all other former soviet republics suffered from collapse of common economic space.
.
But as 20 years have now passed since Uzbekistan’s independence we can clearly see that by economic development Uzbekistan is now almost equal to Tadjikistan that used to be the poorest of all 15 soviet republics. Every year 2-5 million Uzbekistanis leave Uzbekistan to find seasonal work in Kazakhstan or Russia. In fact cash that these seasonal workers send to their relatives or bring back with them are considered to be major hard currency supply to Uzbekistan as well as it greatly contributes to smoothing out of proportional unemployment. This is despite cotton, gas, colour metal and other exports that Uzbek government benefits from.
.
Partially problem with Uzbek economy is karimov’s stand in 1990th that resulted to conservation of old soviet style command economy but without soviet style benefits for the population. In fact in principle Uzbek economy had not changed since the collapse of USSR. Many soviet style units have been renamed, like kolhozes have been renamed to farms and theoretically private property is protected by law. However; in practice every change that was made contradicts to karimov’s economic policy that he and his government implements. This has led to vast power and resources concentrated in hands of very tiny elite while majority of population have been left with the same soviet economic burden to contribute to the need of state but without state provided benefits.
.
In conclusion I would say that Uzbekistan has economically suffered the most and this is greatly owed to karimov and his economic policy. Uzbekistan from average soviet republic day after day is turning to a republic that by economic and social development can only be compared to counties like Afghanistan or Bangladesh.
Spam deleted.
.
@John Goss, good question; keep raising it.
@Craig, pleased you’ve opened communications with Private Eye. They seemed to appreciate my pointing them in your direction first time around, but I didn’t want to keep sending them updates every time you found a new titbit! I shall look forward to the next issue coming out in a week or so…
Giles,
I have worked with too many university teachers who seem too concerned about grammar and spelling, but since English is my second language I think the content is what counts, so I would suggest keep on writing without thinking about a potential missing ‘a’… or a ‘s’ or a…
Secondly, if I am going to follow a blog (in particular a political blog by someone I do not know about) I would like the blog to contain references or links to good / interesting / important material. Stuff I might not have read etc. My opinion is that blogs that do that are the most valuable blogs. So maybe that is something you could incorporate more…?
Craig, if you read this, your blog certainly provides me, and many others I am sure, with important / interesting / intriguing information and perspectives.
T
Oh, The Guardian! Sometimes, it is an infuriating media organ. They have their favourites and they have their non-persons, and although clearly the process attains sharpest clarity in relation to the dynamics Craig describes, that is not confined merely to whistleblowers/ overt politics. They seem to want ‘ownership’ of dissent, of expression, whether that is political or artistic. So some great articles do get published, and one sometimes links to these and so on. But one senses too that they and their little coterie of North London pals will tend to appropriate narratives and position themselves as the epitome of good taste, aka ‘cool’. And this, combined with somewhat predictable stances on many matters, irritates almost as much as their modulation of the overt, political stuff.
On the Malyshevs (John Goss on 15 Feb at 7.53 am), I got a reply some time ago from my MP, Tessa Jowell, who forwarded a standard letter from Damian Green” MP at the Home Office. The key sentence in the Home Office letter was:
.
“Although the overall human rights situation in Uzbekistan remains a serious concern, this does not mean that any individualmwho is returned there would face persecution”.
.
I’d be grateful for any update from Craig or others on what is currently known about their position; and what use I might therefore make of the opening to revert in her covering reply: “I enclose a response…which I am sure you will wish to review.”
Giles Craig will support me in this, I believe : the biggest problem for a blogger – after content – is audience. I suppose one could go straight to Open Salon but I didn’t find it useful longterm.
It happens I blog about news and blogging. opislinkfest.blogspot.com
Performancing might be useful reading but if nothing much is riding on a learning experience I suggest you jump in. Results will mature slowly enough.
Craig On a seemingly unrelated topic ( energy wars material and ‘green’ taxation agenda of the new world order : UN mandated educational content, i.e. conditioning ) another innocent is up to his neck in legal harassment due to naive exercise of free speech – and free thought. I wonder if you have any sanguine thoughts on the predicament of Canadian Dennis Rancourt ?
http://activistteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/reflections-of-self-represented.html
The political correctness heresy is debunking Anthropogenic Global Warming as shrill polemic. http://climateguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/radiation-physics-constraints-on-global.html