The Mail on Sunday is doing a very good job on the odious Jack Straw’s involvement in torture and persecution. I think that at last the truth has entered the established narrative. There is a little box in the report about my own evidence to Scotland Yard. I will type it out here as the Mail’s box format here is not internet searchable:
“Torture” Evidence Handed to the Yard
Further pressure was piled on Jack Straw last night over the “rendition” of Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhadj after sensitive documents were handed to Scotland tard detectives.
Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, passed the documents to police as part of the inquiry into the behaviour of Ministers and intelligence officials over the detention of Mr Belhadj in Bangkok in March 2004.
The opponent of Colonel Gadaffi was flown to Tripoli, where he claims he was tortured.
Mr Straw, who was Foreign Secretary at the time, has denied ever condoning the use of torture to extract information.
But the documents appear to cast doubt on that position.
One memo, headed “Uzbekistan: Intelligence Possibly Obtained Under Torture” contains minutes of a meeting Mr Murray held with senior Foreign and Commonwealth officials on March 8, 2003 to discuss his concern that the UK could be in breach of international law by possessing intelligence obtained by torture.
The minute, dated March 10 2003, quoted Linda Duffield, then the FCO’s Director of Wider Europe, apparently justifying the use of such material as part of the fight against terrorism.
A second memo, dated March 14 2003, and written by Simon McDonald – the Straw’s principal Private Secretary – to Ms Duffield says Straw has read the minutes and “agrees that you handled this very well”.
Mr Murray is understood to have told police that during Mr Straw’s time at the FCO diplomats were told to only refer to the policy on torture verbally.
Mr Murray said last night “My evidence stated that Jack Straw introduced a policy of allowing evidence obtained by torture to be used. I also told them that written evidence had been destrpyed, and we were told to not commit details into writing.”
There is a slight misquote in the above. It should say Jack Straw introduced a policy of allowing intelligence obtained by torture, not evidence. In fact it was specifically stated such intelligence would not be produced as evidence in court (people were imprisoned without charge or rendered instead). The instruction not to put things in writing was given to me personally, I don’t know if others were told the same. As I was the only one protesting, perhaps not.
These links are to the documents in question.
The first two were obtained by Freedom of Information Act request. Details of the CIA’s colllusion with the Karimiv regime’s torturers have been redacted by the FCO. Last week Jack Straw came out and argued strongly for the effective abolition of the Freedom of Information Act. Now there is a coincidence for you.
[Jon/mod: removed for abusiveness]
Fedup, I’m not saying that the masons don’t have their share of bad apples. It is, after all a secret society pledged to serve the interests of its members – accepted. That’s what it does, and that is why no-one in its upper reaches is going to talk about it. Much the same applies to military security, to draw a broad parallel. Yes, council contractors and councillors meet in the course of their masonic activities and there is a bias in favour of masonic bids and candidates. (if you are a local contractor, it is only commercial sense to join organisations where councillors may be seen – the masons or the local pub, it matters not) Yes, the police join in. All regrettably true. And advantageous to the members; networking usually is. Your local Conservative Association operates on similar lines. The Rotary Club, the Buffaloes, any of these bourgeois backscratching clubs, work on the same principles. Hell, the Boy Scouts…great on a CV, and one of your interviewers is almost bound to have been one…they sometimes get lost in the jungle, and taste terrific, by the way.
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But the main thing linking the major world players is their money.
As far as I know the masons do not allow corporate membership, and obscenely rich individuals belong to a much less formal but equally secretive and more exclusive club: the obscenely rich. Try and get into that one without the entrance fee. Rolling up a trouser leg is of no help whatever there, but the networking is untrammelled by arcane rituals and a crowd of wannabes.
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We’re not talking about people who are trying to make it (or who maybe like to play mediaeval games with like-minded souls, with a pint and singing afterwards). We’re talking about people who have made it, and are notoriously disinclined to share their good fortune with any notional brethren they may have picked up along the way, or even their peers. And we are talking about vast international conglomerates which can’t be properly said to be controlled by any individual (shit, they aren’t actually under any control – see Bear Stearns, Lehman, Northern Rock), but which have a life and evil energy of their own.
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Though it is, I admit, simpler to lay the iniquities of the world at the gate of the masons (Jooos, homosexuals, gipsies, delete as applicable if at all), isn’t it just a tiny bit reminiscent of a mad dictator to do this?
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Follow the money. Follow ALL the networks. There’s much, much more to this than the Masons, and it’s nothing to do with the Illuminati either.
O/T. Re: Dr Kelly:
In 2010 and 2011 fascinating truths emerged relating to Dr Kelly’s death which were withheld from the Hutton Inquiry hearings.
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Using the Freedom of Information Act it was confirmed that Thames Valley Police had undertaken fingerprint searches on six of the items found with Dr Kelly’s body in the Oxfordshire wood where he was discovered in July 2003.
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This was known to the police, who commissioned the tests and knew their results, but concealed from the public. The police admitted in their Freedom of Information response that there were no fingerprints on six of those items: the knife Dr Kelly allegedly used; two blister packs of pills he supposedly swallowed; a water bottle from which he is said to have drunk to swallow the pills; a watch; his mobile phone; and his spectacles.
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It is worth saying again: Dr Kelly wore no gloves, yet despite police knowing about the lack of prints on these items during the Hutton Inquiry in 2003, this evidence was never mentioned by any police officer who gave evidence to it. Someone actively decided it would not be aired in other words, which is almost more puzzling than the lack of prints in the first place.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2139439/Leveson-inquest-spy-Gareth-Williams-death-making-great-use-oath–Iraq-Inquiry.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
What was the topic? I’ve forgotten. Off it, anyway-
Sole MidEastern Democracy (rofl) Cancels Elections…
http://www.bicom.org.uk/news-article/6965/
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The Labour Party described the Clegg-Cameron-alike coalition-“an “alliance of cowards, and the most ridiculous zig-zag in Israel’s political history.” Postponement of elections is also likely to affect Yair Lapid’s new party, ‘There is a Future’ – as it will have to wait 18 months until the next elections. Lapid responded to the move this morning, describing the formation of the unity government as “the old kind of politics” and “corrupt and ugly.”
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Expect a mass, er, exodus of haredim less than anxious to be conscripted, and bastard Barak stays.
Putin is of course a hoodlum, nevertheless we need independent, powerful leaders and their countries standing up to the elite, US military-industrial pacesetters, which means standing against those who are pushing aggressive wars, supporting Israel, supporting the global drug and arms trade, fabricating/exagerrating 9/11 and other ‘terrorism’ to remove freedom from people in the west.
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Putin has advocated he is against the One World Order/One Government that war criminals Dubya Bush, Blair (and, who knows, Obama now) and the other nasty, scary western elites who want to widen their global control.
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A massive power struggle exists the has already obliterated the hope of an independent African currency, tempted Castro & Son by corporate capitalists’ promises of wealth, caused chaos in Syria and squeezed Iran dry.
The threats are sinister and evolving with terrorism and deception techniques from those determined to win this struggle, enforced every day. The final result would be cataclysmic and leaders with their own separate power base are needed to stay in the game and oppose the US elites. That is my only reason for supporting Putin.
Truer than when it was written dept –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQFwxw57NBI&feature=player_embedded#t=227s
Mark Golding
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I will again argue with you against glorifying his KGB excellence Mr Putin. Arguments that we need someone to poke US with the stick and that anyone would be acceptable is not sensible to me especially considering that this someone is no way better than those who you are opposing. You might support him from purely realist point of values but this again is very questionable to me.
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Putin might of course be seen and understood as a good scarecrow against US but in fact Mr Putin is just slightly better than his elder ex communist fellow karimov. Like karimov Putin clings to power, like karimov Putin relies heavily on KGB and police, like karimov Putin commands both legislative/executive/judicial branches of power, like karimov Putin does not allow freedom of speech, like karimov Putin uses foreign policy to reinforce his reputation at home, like karimov Putin disallowed opposition. This does not go without saying that Mr Putin ordered back in 2000 to bring down Chechen resistance at ALL COST. The fact that it was not media documented in such detailed way like NATO actions in Iraq and Afghanistan was due to restricted access of media to slaughter of Chechens, who mind you went to grave in good thousands including women and children. Against this even karimov does not really look so blood thirsty.
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And also following your logic one might even embrace karimov as if you recall back in 2005 he gave a boot to almighty US military in K2. Should we now embrace karimov for just this action and IGNORE what he is doing to millions of Uzbekistanis?
Even Berezhovskis 17 million ‘reward’ for anyone who arrests Putin before he gets inaugurated, could make him sway whilst cockily walking past Russia’s Oligarchski’s and hangers on.
Although I believe that any Russian leader at present would choose to keep his distance to this western survival display, I think Putin is to be handled like the resident evil one has to deal with, case by case.
Thanks for the two great links komodo, Der Spiegel calls it
‘netanyahu forges war coalition’
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/israel-netanjahu-bildet-grosse-koalition-mit-kadima-a-831964.html
Ominous also as he agrees to Haredi’s doing military service, expect an exodus and rising house prices in North London, so he can fill the ranks of the IDF, logistics of sorts.
Effectively he is running away from voters by postponing an election that most likely would have seen him disappear. The flight forward into war, with Churchill’s examples guiding him along, is prefered, rather than to justify one’s lunar policies and consistently unfriendly behaviour t’wards the neighbours, by giving voters a say in the affair.
One step of deception
The above link says ‘bildet grosse koalition’ which means, ‘creates grand coalition’.
But when you directly translate the articles header it says ‘forges war coalition’, a subtle difference.
Since 2002 there is no one who could even potentially challenge Putin in Russia. Medvedev was Russian president for the last 4 years and could potentially dismiss Putin from his office, but it was well known that Medvedev was just a puppet like Kalinin during Stalin’s tenure.
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I wonder if anyone who read ‘1984’ is capable of applauding to Putin?
Lot of factors there, Nevermind. Kadima has expressed itself as being anti-war-with-Iran, I believe. And Netanyahu was looking at something of a backlash – as this piece, apparently written just before the machine was reset, shows – if he had gone with Plan A.
Frightening stuff. Keep a sick bag handy.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/waiting-for-the-suckers-punch-1.428838
Yes ‘Uzbek’ I have thought long and hard and with your previous comments in mind regarding the engagement I have afforded Putin.
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As I struggled to reconcile this dilemma it was obviously clear in my mind to consider the manner in which Iraq was slaughtered by America, the manner in which the U.S. State Department surreptitious lifted a ban on military aid to the Karimov dictatorship in Uzbekistan, which had butchered its own protesters a few years earlier.
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Neither did Washington press the king of Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy has a port, to step down after he crushed popular demonstrations in his capital.
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Libya is a particularly sore point. Russia’s leaders felt they were tricked into supporting a resolution to protect civilians only to see it used to provide cover for airstrikes to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi. Vague phrases like “further measures” now set off alarm bells.
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I am also fully aware of a response by Craig in America 2006 when he said,
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“I think it was a dreadful massacre. I mean, what was happening in Andijan was effectively no different to the pro-democracy demonstrations that you saw in Ukraine or in Georgia, that brought down a, you know, dictatorial regime and succeeded in doing so. In Andijan, the Uzbek government rather predictably responded by shooting the demonstrators, and those 700 people who died were not armed. I was completely flabbergasted by the White House’s approach. On one hand, you’ve got unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators, and on the other side you’ve got the government troops with tanks and heavy weapons shooting them down, and the White House called for restraint on both sides. You know, what do they want the people to do, die more peacefully? It was sickening, frankly. It really was a sickening response from the United States, but, you know, of a peace with their relationship with the Karimov regime, which they were trying desperately to maintain.
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I know morally I have placed myself in the firing line, yet I have objectively made the decision, not to glorify or commend, to keep an antithetical Putin on a pedestal as an important counter to US and British hegemony, corruption and abuse of power.
“This storm in a teacup is totally irrelevant in the context of the political upheaval in Europe, the likely eurozone collapse, the continuing outpouring of the propaganda in the ‘war on terror’ (eg this morning’s latest on the so-called underpants US bomb plot – yes another one} and the increasing domestic penury as a result of the cuts.” — Mary
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Not to mention the blatant interference/black ops in Syria and the immoral pressure on Iran. I think, Mary, that that’s why I find it (can’t think of a word, but “irritating” will do) to think that people are focussing on where thumbs are placed in handshakes, and trying to read something into it. As Komodo said above, “there’s much, much more to this than the Masons”.
I don’t know where you’re seeing “animus”, but this place is not what it was. Some of our most entertaining commenters have left altogether (although some make an occasional appearance), e.g. Vronsky, MJ, Glenn, Suhayl, Technicolour, et al. Even Angrysoba seems to have disappeared. There was more fun here in the past, and it seems to me that it’s all gone now in favour of mutual agreement about everything. Only Komodo makes me laugh. And as for links and info, 9 times out of 10 I’ve read everything posted here already, mostly via links on Twitter.
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“I don’t care if you’re a ‘dude’ or not but… you are one big prick.”
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Well done, DWTSOT, I knew you’d descend to name-calling at some stage. Fear not the curve-balls, I’m taking my leave. 🙂
A pity if you leave, Nuid. More so on the basis of a disgreement…always a shame when squabbles get personal. What does DWTSOT stand for, anyway? Down With The State of Texas? Department of Wet T-Shirts Or Tits? Must be some kinda transatlantic thang.
And thanks for the mention!
(Former President of Russia) Medvedev was appointed today as Prime Minister of Russia by (Former Prime Minister and now President of Russia) Putin. This is what is nowadays called riddle of Russian Politics.
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And if it was not enough to kick start your brain, it is now clear why Putin needed to ‘adjust’ Russian Parliamentary elections (Medvedev’s PM candidacy was approved by 299 deputies when just 226 votes were required). Nothing is left to the chances in modern KBG ruled Russia.
Putin always wanted to be Tsar. The Orthos know what’s good for them, and Ortho support will be good for Vlad.
http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5648
Mark Golding
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To be further aware of post-Andijan circumstances, please be advised that it was Putin (although first in his Foreign Minister Lavrov’s mouth) who recognised militant terrorists in over 700 demonstrators massacred in Andijan and along with China offered full support to karimov. THIS is ONE.
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It was Putin’s underlings Gazprom and Lukoil who were the first to negotiate investments and development of projects with karimov just few months after the Andijan massacre. THIS is TWO.
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It was Putin who offered karimov to use Organisation of Collective Security Agreement (ODKB) forces in future if any further treat of militant Islam arises in Uzbekistan. To put it plainly Putin offered karimov to use Russian military equipment, consultants and if necessary forces to put down any further pro-democracy resistance as at that time Kremlin was deeply annoyed by colour revolutions and was scared of them being spread in Central Asia. THIS is THREE.
EU deliberately ‘exhausting’ all diplomatic options regarding Iran. Says Iran must stop all civilian enrichment and discontinue research and development – two things that are explicitly allowed to all members of the NNPT and which Iran has consistently stated will not give up. Seems like a deliberate attempt to scupper any progress at the Iran and IAEA meeting next week.
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http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=504177&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28
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“I knew you’d descend to name-calling at some stage”
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Yeah, of course you did. It’s a shame you cant enhance you clairvoyance by being a bit more robust and responding to points raised instead of continually deflecting by introducing new (false) assertions. Where did you learn to do that? It’s very annoying.
http://www.memeserver.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/down-with-this-sort-of-thing.jpg
Mark Golding
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I would be very sceptical of that forces (Putin and co.) countering British/US hegemony are less blood thirsty. This is coming from the mouth of someone whose ancestors fully experienced Russian hegemony. We are all well made aware of extermination of Indians, slavery and segregation but somehow conquest of Caucasus, Siberia and Central Asia and then Eastern Europe by Russia seems to either be less known or less ‘appreciated’ in terms of casualties, denial of self-determination, cultural and moral destructions. It is believed that around 20% of male population died in Central Asia (mostly in present Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) fighting Russian occupation. This in terms of pro-rata casualties is only comparable with Mongols’ conquest in 1221.
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In my mind the only reason that Putin had not yet fully demonstrated his hegemonic capabilities is that USSR/Russia lost in Cold War and that so far Russian technical and economic capabilities remain limited.
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Strategy of fighting evil with another (and probably more evil) evil has proven faulty.
More important news at the daily mail… http://bit.ly/IN0WAi
Surprised mary hasn’t linked to it yet.
Israel has a right to exist and a right to defend itself. No nation has to wait to be attacked before defending itself
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http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/07/11585905-strong-signal-to-tehran-israel-forms-unity-government-amid-iran-tensions
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I think I’ll go and stab my neighbour to death. I know for a fact he has knives in his kitchen or something that sounds like knives, maybe it’s spoons. Knives or spoons what difference does it make, they both make the same sound right? What else can I do, just sit here and wait for him to knock on my door?
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I’m sure the police, courts and all reasonable minded people will accept my argument that by killing my neighbour in a cold-blooded, unprovoked neck stabbing I was simply defending my right to exist and live free from fear of a knife attack, which is the most disgusting thing a person can do to another human… unless they are me of course, in which case it is a great and noble achievement worthy of much praise and celebration. In fact you should all send me some money for protecting you from this madman.
Pollok,
Given the sensitive nature of the case and the ammunition it has given the Right, it is highly irresponsible of the Mail to have reported the verdict, as it is of you to have posted the link. This blog supports what has been termed “soft globalism”, by which we mean invite the world in, rather than us invading the world (hard globalism). If you oppose this, then you are racist. A meaningless construct, of course, because there is no such thing as race. But it helps shut you up. Please refrain from posting links to the racist Daily Mail in future, unless they concern the Jews, in which case they they are not racist and actually rather good.
DWTSOT: Will you be moving into your neighbours house as well? If so let me know and I’ll send you some money to redecorate.
Did I hear right Andrew Landsley has vitoed the release of documents that undermine the up coming NHS privatisation and suggest standards in care may be at risk of falling if the privatisation goes ahead. Will this document be ignored.
This was mentioned on radio 5 coming home frow work.
Pollock we are failing big time with our protection of our vunersble.
You know as well as I that our mainstream media and entertainment industtry is adherent to this societies breakdown.
Should we plead with the majorty owners and controllers of these industries and beg them to change their ways raise there standards and strengthen censorship?
I’m a bit pissed off with the sock-puppetry, PoohPhoo.
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Grief, what a lot of niggling here from the boys. Boredom, I suppose. Komodo, you seem to be immune; an advantage of being cold blooded?
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The comments on the Daily Mail article are predictable. “Bring back hanging” outnumbered 1:5 by “Send them back where they came from”. Yeah, that’s right, it’s OK so long as they only abuse girls in Pakistan.
Also no one has mentioned the poor policing. It’s no use the police saying CPS wouldn’t prosecute. What happened to investigation?
“Both believe that a military option should be a last resort and Israel should instead try and get the United States to stop the Iranians.”
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http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=269177
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See, I was right.
Yes, Mel, but what name were you posting under when you were right?
Kadima has a weak leader, Komodo, month ago he said he would never join a Government led by Netanyahu, now Mofaz is bending over backwards to accomodate this Churchill remake, baying for war.
“Some analysts noted that Israel’s national unity governments have formed in the past at a time of war, and hinted there could be an understanding with Mr Mofaz, a former army chief of staff, regarding a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Israeli leader and his Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, are widely believed to favour such an attack despite opposition at home and abroad.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/rivals-back-netanyahu-in-deal-that-could-mandate-strike-on-iran-7723288.html