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.
Of course, the other prominent person who died today was Mr Megrahi, in Libya. Will we ever know the definitive and complete truth about ‘Lockerbie’? I doubt it. Was it the PFLP-GC on behalf of Iran, in retaliation for the downing of the Iran Airbus over the Persian Gulf in 1988? And what exactly were the CIA up to, in Germany? Blood, death, dark, cold mud.
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Here’s a good site, that of Mark Curtis:
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http://www.markcurtis.info/
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Britain’s collusion with Islamism. Yes, that goes back a long, long way.
American has filled another chamber of its sanctions revolver, constantly held at Iran’s head prior to nuclear program talks this Wednesday in Baghdad between Iran and the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. America will have a ‘royal’ card face down on the table that ensures further sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.
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According to a ‘leaked’ report America will insist that Iran abandons 20% enrichment and allows the IAEA to inspect Iran’s Parchin military complex for implosion testing, trigger technology and particle acceleration hardware testing used to produce free neutrons.
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Iran has already agreed to another inspection at Parchin, the last one being in 2005. Iran will of course insist that 20% enrichment is required for a further build of four or five more nuclear reactors to be used for medical isotope production.
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I believe Russia will step in and adduce to supply Iran with highly enriched uranium as needed.
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The deal sounds simple although of course America will not agree to scraping sanctions against Iran because of pressure from Israel’s Zionist right.
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Iran will again communicate the nations sorrow and saddness after the murder of its nuclear scientists. These murders by agents of Israel were facilitated by Western and Israeli intelligence. Iran has in the past accused the Atomic agency of leaking information on its nuclear program as well as its nuclear scientists. The IAEA denies this.
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http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2011_05/Iran
Suhayl:
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I think the strangest example of right wing rock stars has to be Bowie’s fascination with fascism during the 70’s. Bowie has some amazing quotes from the time:
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“I think Britain could benefit from a fascist leader. After all, fascism is really nationalism.”
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“Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars.”
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It’s actually a testament to his talent that he can make pro Hitler remarks and still be wildly successful (and I guess it’s also easier to discount what he said as simply one of his persona’s). Bowie’s fascism fetish seems to have been quite brief, unlike Clapton’s continued support for Enoch Powell. At least we can thank Clapton’s racism and Bowie’s coke binge for Rock Against Racism =P
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I think I’m in heaven, classic rock trivia mixed with politics, what more could I want?
A much less surprising entry into the right wing rock star hall of fame is of course, the worlds first rock star, Elvis Presley. He encouraged Hoover to deport Lennon because of Lennon’s anti-war views. Elvis also offered to be a narc for Nixon.
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I feel bad even comparing the next person to the previous people mentioned, because despite their political faults they at least have/had talent. However I like to mention this, because it provides another reason to hate the person even more, the feel good kind of hate that is totally abstract yet completely righteous and true =P Geri Halliwell said in interview “We are true Thatcherites” & “Thatcher was the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology”. Thankfully even the free market agrees that she is a talentless hack and her subsequent recording career has been a dismal failure.
Last night I listened to the May 21st edition of Democracy Now and felt it was particularly moving and powerful. It features a large segment devoted to the Chicago anti NATO protests where almost 50 US veterans rejected and threw all their service medals away. Each soldier was given time to make a speech, and each one really laid bare the human toll of these wars. It is exactly these kind of protests and speeches that completely undercut the rationale for war, and this is why they don’t get a single mention in the mainstream press. When 50 soldiers who were there, tell of their experiences and as a group completely reject every premise of the war, the pro war narrative simply can’t handle it. These veterans are true heroes. Democracy Now also mentioned a program that brings anti-war US veterans and anti-war Afghans together to enable emotional and psychological healing for both the Afghans and US troops, a really simple and beautiful idea. The DN program even matches the musical theme today on Craig’s site, and finishes with an interview with RATM guitarist Tom Morello.
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I really recommend people check it out, democracynow.org
What a lot of hot air for nothing. The NATO summit is over. Here are 112 photos. I got as far as No. 15 and went no further. Particularly repellent are the simian featured Rasmussen who runs around his masters following instructions and usually grinning, Cameron attempting to adopt a statesmanlike pose alongside Obama and the physically gross Bahraini PM.
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http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2012/05/photos-nato-summit-wraps-up-in-chicago/36129/#20
Today, as Mark G. would probably agree, is the destruction of the future in britain day.
The day when the Government proposes a new generation of nuclear power stations and, hey presto, a new generation of nuclear submarines.
This will mark the future of our children and leave a legacy of dread and worries.
This is a disaster of immense proportions and also an abrication of will to do different. This coalition from hell has not even scratched the surface of alternative power production, now they make out it is crucial, or the lights go out, that old chestnut.
So what if the lights go out? It happens frequently in NZ, they all have generators and are far more self sufficient and prepared, here idiots get on their hobby horses and scream blue murder if there is so much of a gently turning wind turbine proposed, never mind built.
We cannot afford nuclear power and their proposal to fund it from electricity bills is outrageous.
I will opt out and rather be deprived of it, then leave such a legacy and danger to my children.
How about you?
Mary, so what if someone is “simian featured” and “grinning”, or, according to you, “physically gross”?
Policies and practices are fair game for criticism, and by all means go for the Bahraini PM’s record on dissension. On the other hand, judging people on physical appearance is just naff.
What next – racism?
Where’s Craig? I miss his take on current affairs.
Barbara and Tony_Opmoc, Craig’s brother Frazer has commented occasionally on this thread, and says that Craig is fine but “out of the country”. Tony, no, Craig never recovered his lost file. I think he re-wrote it from memory.
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Tony, as a southerner, I agree with your “Northern Friendliness” observations, which is why I’d like to move back up North.
Clark you get the prize for posting the comment number 1000.
Mary, ha! But I had to kick a spam out of the way to get it. I’m hoping to bag the 100,000th approved comment later this year, but I’ll be cheating as I can see the comment counter.
Clark, if you want to move north, a schock to the system, no doubt…;), how about a gradual ascent northwards, you could always stop off in Norfolk and, acclimatise so to speak.
Barbara your point is apt and it should not happen, but it is a mistake thats easy made during a heated argument or whence bitten by the grind and grist of an issue. It is all too common and is done by the MSM opn a daily basis, dare we remind ourselve of Berlusconi’s comments over Merkel, a crass example.
What of poor Mr. Pickles, would it help his psychological makeup if the MSM calls him the pie man? British history is full of such bad examples.
That “up North” factor is true, but some of my old haunts (WAY up North) have been taken over by white settlers fleeing the South, and the atmosphere has completely changed. Check for signs of imported affluence before moving, Clark, and avoid them. Flower baskets are another sign…
Oh dear. I must remember to be more politically correct! Perhaps it was the jibes at those I was referring to that hit some nerves.
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What goes on on Delphi Forums btw? I quite agree with the aphorism here.
Personal Quote “There are many here among us who feel that life is just a joke”
I think that the powerful generally become uglier; it’s not all just accident of birth. Much of human attractiveness (or otherwise) comes from expression and gesture. Those who lie for a living and/or inflict inhuman policy on others come to reflect that in their appearance to some extent.
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I find this quite an interesting process. The party machines choose which of their number will be placed in the limelight on the PR basis of their public appeal. The characteristics for which a given party player was selected become amplified over the years of coaching for the cameras; most politicians seem to end up as parodies of themselves. Political cartoonists have made much use of this tendency over many decades. Remember that Thatcher invented “Claw Back”, and also suffered a medical condition that slowly froze her hands into a permanent claw shape. Blair always looked over-enthusiastic, bordering on the manic; that was part of his appeal. Now he just looks outright crazy, sort of desperate to be believed. No surprise there, then. If his public persona were to evaporate he would be seen for the war criminal that he is, and he’d risk being lynched.
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Nevermind, it’s the South that was a culture-shock for me; I spent most of my 20s living in York and Bradford. But yes, Norfolk seemed pretty good when I visited you; I should visit again soon.
Hmm, I’ve got one of thoase Mary.
‘in spite of the cost of living, it still remains popular’
Thanks, Cheebacow. Yes, I was thinking of Bowie too when I wrote the stuff about Clapton. I think with Bowie, the comments were idiotic (and definitely unhelpful at the time), but were part of a pose – one of his many during the 1970s – and might be taken in an inverted way as an ironic criticism of nationalism and of celebrity, etc. Of course, he got himself together eventually and married a Somali woman of Muslim origin. Clapton, as you say, was something entirely more worrying.
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Elvis, yes indeed, he offered to be a spy – as did some other famous Amercican entertainers – Bing Crosby, for one. And remember Elia Kazan’s role as a ‘grass’ in destroying colleagues’ careers. Ronald Reagan, naturally, another bastard. There are many prominent actors who are Rightist today – Gary Sinese, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, James Woods (oddly, as I recall him starring in ‘Salvador’ – just another role, I guess), Richard Dreyfuss and many others. There are of course others on the other side.
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I didn’t know that about Halliwell’s statement. It doesn’t surprise me, though. Her iteration does lay bare the truth about the link b/w 1980s Thatcherite materialism and the hollwness, tiresomely disguised (copped-out) as ‘postmodernity’, of much popular culture today.
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The Chicago protests were indeed adnmirable, iconic and powerful.
if fascism is corporate control of govt,
Global Research: OSCE to monitor anti-NATO protests at Summit in Chicago
Q. Can you tell our listeners a little bit of what NATO is doing to promote their position in the U.S. and why and where all that money is coming from? So they’ve made a huge PR campaign in the Chicago area, I believe.
A. There is a host committee for the NATO summit, which is headed up by former political officials, but there is corporate sponsorship that is – as a matter of fact if one goes to the website for the NATO Chicago summit, they’ll have the corporate logos of major Fortune 500-type companies that have raised an estimated $37 billion (Mr. Rozoff apologized and asked that billion be corrected to million. Robles) in corporate monies for the summit in addition to what the federal and the city governments are going to spend. The argument that many people make, including myself, that NATO is essentially the international armed wing of the 1% could not be made any more effectively or vividly than visiting the website for the Chicago Summit and looking at the corporate logos that stand behind the NATO meeting on May 20 and 21.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ROB20120516&articleId=30865
some of the donors:
Chicago NATO Donors
http://www.chicagonato.org/donors-pages-262.php
Mary is clearly an antisimianite.
Komodo, thanks for the good advice, which I had sort of considered a bit already. Yes, I think that income inequality is central to the problem of lack of trust. In York I lived on a council estate. There was a strong feeling of community, everyone together against the economic disadvantages, people helped each other out. I fitted in well there. Doing electrical repairs, I would teach what I knew as I worked if the customer was interested. Here in the South, most customers just want to pay for a solution rather than learn anything useful. Too little time versus the availability of money.
The remains of another pup sold to the public (and Parliament) are to be exhumed…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9280329/Blair-Bush-Iraq-conversation-must-be-released.html
China, Russia and India will not be bullied by the terrorist State of America that is willing to hold other countries at ransom.
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In addition to totally banning Iranian oil imports, the American measures prohibit European insurers from covering Iranian oil exports anywhere in the world, which would leave importers exposed to personal injury and pollution claims. Typically, a supertanker insures against these liabilities to the tune of $1 billion per shipment.
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PERSONAL INJURY & POLLUTION CLAIMS! – Such action sabotages, subverts, threatens and hurts another sovereign country in the same way as al-Qaeda terrorists hold hostage.
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I want the world to understand America is a terrorist state.
Oddie – good catch. But why aren’t these people branding their product more aggressively? McDonalds Chevron ISAF? Walmart Kosovo? Why aren’t our boys flying AT&T Pepsico Predators armed with FedEx Hellfires (Delivering Death to your Doorstep)? We’re still waiting for our new aircraft carriers, HMS Deloitte and HMS Bank of America, too…the tie-in opportunities are limitless, even if the cash isn’t. Unless you’re organising a summit, that is.
Mary, yes, of course there is bias on the Beeb wrt Palestine-israel (as the evidence-based study undertaken by Prof. Greg Philo et al at the excellent Glasgow Media Group demonstrated).
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You’ll find – and I have found – that the Beeb will claim that because they attract letters of complaint from both sides, that must mean they are even-handed, or at least ‘getting it about right’. But as we know, there is a very well-oiled machine that churns out multiple letters and e-mails of complaint if anything in the public media is one iota less than thumping propaganda on behalf of Israel. So, the fact that the Beeb gets, say, 100 letters of complaint from ‘the machine’ wrt a specific item and, say, 10 letters of complaint from the other side does not suggest that the Beeb is pro-Palestinian or even-handed. It simply suggests that the PR machine which accords with, reinforces and corrals, dominant attitudes within the hierarchy of the Beeb is rather efficient.
Clapton was and still is a great guitarist but an utter disgrace when it comes to his racist views which not only has he refused to recant but even supported when asked. What a terrible man!
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Still, I will listen to his music such as his theme tune to Edge of Darkness:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bfPS7p6Z1k
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Speaking of Edge of Darkness and terrible racists, Mel Gibson has a new movie out. Of course it didn’t get a cinematic release in the States even though it isn’t actually that bad. I illegally downloaded it and had a fun hour or so (the movie is an hour and a half). Mel Gibson made a US movie version of Edge of Darkness by the way.
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I think there are some terrible people out there who make art worth appreciating and whatever I think of them I prefer to judge the art on artistic grounds.
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I feel really sorry for Robin Gibb having read what he went through the last couple of years. Yes, I know that some people can argue he didn’t have it as bad as someone living in Haiti but rich or not he had a terrible time of it at the end of his life.
Gleick/ Heartland seems to be back up:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/21/peter-gleick-cleared-heartland
Worked for me.
Thanks Suhayl for the Mark Curtis link which I found very interesting. And of course welcome back, I have missed you.
My pleasure, Mark. Good to meet you again too!
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Angrysoba, wrt art and politics, yes, I agree.
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Now, trip.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AldVXUgCY1Q