I was invited to be on the Murnaghan programme on Sky News this morning – which I always find a great deal more intelligent than the Andrew Marr alternative on the BBC. I declined because I did not want to get up and get a 7.30am train from Ramsgate on a Sunday morning. I had a meeting until 11.30pm last night planning a conference on human rights in Balochistan [I still tend to say Baluchistan], and I have a newly crowned tooth that seems not to want to settle down. But I am still worried by my own lack of energy, which is uncharacteristic. Is this old age?
I also have some serious work to do on my Burnes book, and next week I shall be staying in London to be in the British Library reading room for every second of its opening hours. So there may be a bit of a posting hiatus. I have in mind a short post on an important subject on which I suspect that 99% of my readership – including the regular dissident commenters – will strongly disagree with me.
This is a peculiarly introspective post, perhaps because my tooth is hurting, but I seem to have this curmudgeonly spirit which wishes to react to the huge popularity of this blog by posting something genuinely held but unpopular; a genuine view but one I don’t normally trumpet. The base thought seems to be “You wouldn’t like me if you really knew me”.
Similarly when I wrote Murder in Samarkand I was being hailed as a hero by quite a lot of people for my refusal to go along with the whole neo-con disaster of illegal wars, extraordinary rendition and severe attacks on civil liberties, sacrificing my fast track diplomatic career as a result. My reaction to putative hero worship was to publish in Murder in Samarkand not just the political facts, but an exposure of my own worst and most unpleasant behaviour in my private life.
I am in a very poor position to judge, but I believe the result rather by accident turned out artistically compelling, if you don’t want to read the book you can get a good idea of that by clicking on David Tennant in the top right of this blog and listening to him playing me in David Hare’s radio adaptation.
Anyway, that’s enough musing. You won’t like my next post, whenever it comes. Promise.
@ThatCrab “It is true Chris you warned to skip that magical torus section, but really wonder, if you can skip that can’t you skip anything? Cant you pick conspiracy and wonder and assign faults and write off real work, with that type of freedom to pick and choose your convictions?”
Hi ThatCrab. I appreciate your comments but i am not aware of trying to pick any conspiracy.I’m afraid that the people who are picking conspiracies are the people that have the power,through mass mainstream media and unaccountable international committees,to manipulate certain issues for their own ends. Please look at the evidence: the two completely different IPCC graphs and the fact that the IPCC’s work isn’t actually properly peer reviewed at all for starters.
As Mark is saying, as important as this is, this shouldnt really be a priority right now. Our puppet leaders are trying to lead us in to another illegal war as we speak.If they get their way, climate change will be very low on the list of things to worry about..
Get Sherlock Holmes in! The case of the gun that disappeared.
‘A firearms officer told Snaresbrook Crown Court he saw Mr Duggan holding a weapon
before he was shot.’
‘Giving evidence in Mr Hutchinson-Foster’s trial, the firearms officer told the court however, that when he went over to Mr Duggan he could not find a gun.’
Mark Duggan ‘pulled gun from waistband’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19662526#
“I suspect confusion has been deliberately increased by disingenous manipulations of arguments ”
This is true, but distortions often come from those who should know better, including ‘scientists’.
The need to be ‘published’ ranks as one of the worst offenders. Then there are the ‘concerned citizens’ who feel the public does not have the technical curiosity, or analytical skills to correctly interpret the data. I have seen evidence of such manipulations wherein the numbers are fudged to sound an alarm, which might otherwise be ignored. All sides are culpable in this. One may have a more benevolent intent than others, but distortions create the opposite of the desired result, in time.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/italy-cia-rendition_n_1898251.html
“Italy’s highest criminal court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of 23 Americans in the abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street as part of the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program, paving the way to possible extradition requests by Italian authorities.”
If the Italian request extradition of the CIA operatives, whay are the odds on Amerika complying with such a request. I think extradition is only one way in the minds of the US administration.
0% but at least they’ll never set foot on European shores again.
Thanks for your eloquent rant That crab, much appreciated.
If we have the choice to act , either individually or as a group to limit the impact of our being here, for the sake of future generations we so willingly put into this world. Change our attitudes to all those points scientists for global responsibility outline and campaign on.
or
Do nothing, carry on as usual, despite the warning signs nature throws at us in the form of much more ferocious storms, weather patterns that change haphazardly and melting ice caps.
What would stop Antarctic and Green land ice sheets melting, if the Northern sea ice has melted? Why is the Ross ice shelf breaking up sending ice sheets the size of London on their journey through the oceans?
Shall we wrap the Antarctic in reflective foil? Tin hats anybody?
Chris Jones 19 Sep, 2012 – 5:04 pm
“30,000 recognised scientists have signed a petition denouncing the exagerated claims of man made global warming.”
I’d like to see that. Could you please provide more info/link.
Why of course,anyone who offers another angle to what the global scientists tell us is a tin hatted conspirasist,far right denier. But tell me Nevermind, which global scientist would be these be? The 600 who are implicated but not actually allowed to peer review the IPCC’s global reports or the over 32,000 scientists who have signed a petition disputing and challenging the IPCC’s findings with peer reviewed reports of their findings?
It is also quite bizarre to suggest that people who question the so called consensus somehow don’t care about the planet and its future. I’ve found the complete opposite to be true – the people who question this discredited consensus are very concerned about the future of the planet indeed or they wouldn’t bother with trying to find the truth
Some truly amazing and beautiful photos here.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2012
Fireflies dancing beneath the stars, the last transit of Venus for 105 years and giant swirling galaxies deep in space. The 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition has produced some awe-inspiring images.
Take a journey through the night sky with two of the nine judges – Chris Lintott who is best known as co-presenter of the BBC’s The Sky at Night, and Olivia Johnson from the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19637073
Phil
http://www.petitionproject.org/signers_by_state_main.php
Stunning pictures, Mary. Look at the Sun Venus ratio, amazing. How small the man-made global warming “scientists” are in comparison to the Sun 🙂
Of course ‘Sunflower’ (sos I missed your post) I am speaking to UK-Collapse this Sunday on their podcast. The back-ground will be the Iraq war aftermath although I will move on quickly to Syria and address some issues in a similar way ‘Passerby’ has here on the latest situation in Aleppo.
Finally I will try to present a clear understanding of our common enemy then broach and hopefully advance the difficult tenet behind a simple and indisputable shared morality.
Morality, particularly in the political arena is blurred and obscured by default. Most people never even consider the real implications of the policies they support, particularly the inherent **state** violence required to implement those policies.
My track is on the non-aggressive principle and my foundation, or starting point are our natural **rights** ie those we are born with, such as the right to life, liberty, privacy and the ramifications of these and others such as the right to self-defense and the right to dissolve government.
Any assumed authority which seeks to strip these rights from the people is illegitimate, and is an enemy of humanity. I will attempt to apply these basic rights to form the basis of a new social order, a new beginning, an awakening or conversion that is somehow not complicated by subjective preference.
I will explore an appreciation of post WWII commune commonality, cooperation; the social, warm and intimate virtues born out of destruction and war.
I ask the question is this part of the human psyche only expressed or revealed by those who have looked death in the face?
Very good, Sunflower – I only noticed your comment re. consciousness late last night.
If your interested, I’ve been listening to a naturopathic doctor who amongst other things says:
Allopathic doctors are trained to see consciousness as a product of bio-chemistry ~(v.v. for the naturopath).
best of all: the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist:
The psychologist is someone in a dark room looking for a black cat – not easy but it can be done.
The psychiatrist is someone in a dark room looking for a black cat that doesn’t exist.
http://www.spectrumradionetwork.com/Archive/dr-peter-glidden-amnaturopathic-answer-to-mental-health-treatment.html
Think I’ve got it now, ignore my earlier speculations. Craig’s next post will be telling us all to get vaccinated against swine flu, and will give internet links to magical (and attractively priced!) potions to make sure you don’t get it. Just like last time, really.
http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/why-is-new-swine-flu-newsworthy-cdc.html
“My problem is I do believe there are some real serious conspiracies afoot, but those who misplace them everywhere are wrong and disruptive as those who assure that all conspiracy theories are equal and moot.”
Amen and well said, Thatcrab. It’s not your problem though – it’s The Problem.
TonyRoma “false flag maybe” Considering Mitt Romney, each time he opens his mouth, making the election a more likely win for Obomber, yes. And considering there seems to be some sanity in parts of the top brass US military that are not buying the crazy zionist agenda of attack Iran immediately and who will not support the zionists if they actually go there, a false flag seems likely. I’m just praying the zionists won’t do a nuke false flag this time, although it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they did.
Mark, near death experiences tend to encourage humility. I’ll try to listen on Sunday.
Scouse Billy. I listened to Dr. Glidden, yes very good stuff. “Allopathic reductionist philosophy”, right on the spot, they have no clue of what consciousness is.
@chris jones – I went to that petitionproject link you posted.
Very impressive list of names and credentials, so I selected a small handful of the ones marked as phd’s at (semi)random on the ‘california’ list
Normally, I would assume for someone with a phd to be eminently searchable, but google only seems to find links that took me to that same list of signatories. I did find some work by one of the signatories, one Solomon Zwerdling, but his period of scientific activity seems to be confined to the 1950’s. I couldn’t be bothered to check up whether he was dead now or dribbling into his mashed prunes in a nursing home somewhere.
Seems the list is popularly known as the ‘oregon petition’ and the list of problems with its veracity is quite extensive.
It seems disengenuous to want to shine a light on every single facet of the opposing side of the debate, while holding up such hugely discredited items such as this oregon petition without the briefest of checks.
Its very human to retrospectively look for evidence confirming our already formed opinions. Perhaps people on *both* sides of the debate would do well to play devils advocate briefly and privately challenge their own opinions and assumptions. We may or may not change our minds, but we would all surely come back to the table, better informed.
@Geoff – The “team” doesn’t like dissent, hence the debunking articles.
Try reading the climategate e-mails esp. climategate II and tell me if these are objective dispassionate scientists or despicable zealots and fraudsters.
@scousebilly
You misinterpret me, using a version of the “for us or against us” mindset.
I have not set out my personal opinion on climate change, and I have not done so for very good reason – I am enormously unqualified to judge the scientific evidence. For me to take a position would require me to either study the science full time for many years (an investment I am not going to make) or to make a faith-based conclusion on one side being good and truthful.
I was merely pointing out that the evidence held up in the form of the Oregon Petition is essentially junk.
Yes Sunflower we and the planet we live on are as specks in the great universes.
Why Dr David Kelly was murdered.
David Kelly(PBUH) was most likely murdered because it was his advice and knowledge of anthrax immunity gained at the Porton Down Dstl government laboratory that was used facilitate protection of the assassin(s)in the September 2001 anthrax letter attacks that killed five people and sickened 17 others.
David also knew the Bacillus subtilis strain of spores used in the first letters were not made at USAMRIID and most probably came from Israel’s Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona, 12 miles southeast of Tel Aviv (now underground).
http://www.justice.gov/amerithrax/docs/amx-investigative-summary2.pdf
The perpetrators knew the current Bioport licensed vaccine had serious inadequacies from experiments on monkeys at Porton Down.
It is now known the FBI investigation failed miserably to provide irrefutable evidence against Dr Bruce Ivins and tried to close this case on August 1, 2008, 3 days after Bruce’s death. The FBI orchestrated a crescendo of leaks about Bruce over several days, full of lurid details that aimed to create a classic picture of a “lone nut” for the American public. Much of this material was inaccurate or exaggerated, and FBI officially apologized for the leaks later.
Bruce died from liver failure caused by an overdose of paracetamol. There was no autopsy or post-mortem. He had been married for 33 years and had twins, Andrew and Amanda. A former president of Frederick County’s Right to Life his wife Diana had to give up her daycare nursery and is now an avid gardener. Does she believe her husband was mudered? She refuses to talk.
http://www.yasni.com/ext.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwillyloman.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F18%2Fscientific-impossibility-did-fbi-get-their-man-in-bruce-ivins%2F&name=Russell+Byrne&cat=filter&showads=1
Apparently that woman Ayaan Hirsi Ali is due to be interviewed on Newsnight in a few minutes.
Tylenol, the trade-marked name is dangerous when mixed with alcohol, and it is possible this was suicide, but more likely it was unintentional. 1,000 to 4000 mg is in the range of safety as long as alcohol is not involved. A strange way to commit suicide. In US suicide is treated by law enforcement as a homicide, necessitating an autopsy. It has been suggested Marilyn Monroe was given Seconal rectally and this seems SOP for operatives skilled at hiding their tracks.
http://www.medicineask.com/medicine/medicine-121302.html
“It is also very credible that Ivins was murdered. And such a murder by an anthrax expert wouldn’t be the first. A leading anthrax expert, Dr. Don C. Wiley, who may have be in a position to know that the Anthrax Crimes were an inside job by the CIA, died lower than suspicious circumstances a month after the attacks began. According to Memphis police officials, the bridge which Dr. Wiley fell off on November 15, 2001, have a railing “high enough that even the 6’3” Wiley could not have accidentally fallen over minus assistance.” The local police suspicion of homicide was overruled by the FBI “and other U.S. agencies,” who insisted it was a suicide.
Would a U.S. agency kill a non-cooperator? According to former South African National Intelligence Agency deputy director Michael Kennedy, when another top bioweapons expert Dr. Wouter Basson refuse a job offer, the CIA allegedly threatened to kill him.
Knowledgeable U.S. and foreign intelligence sources enjoy revealed that Wiley may have been silenced as a result of his discovery of U.S. government work on biological warfare agents long after the U.S. signed the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. President Nixon have actually ordered the Pentagon to stop producing biological weapons in 1969. It in a minute seems likely that the U.S. military and intelligence community failed to follow Nixon’s directions.
In fact, since 1972, “South African bio-chemical weapons allegedly transferred to the CIA included, in insertion to anthrax, cholera, smallpox, salmonella, botulinum, tularemia, thallium, E.Coli, racin, organophosphates, necrotising fasciitis, hepatitis A, HIV, paratyphoid, Sarin VX nerve gas, Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley hemmorrhagic viruses, Dengue fever, West Nile virus, importantly potent CR tear gas, hallucinogens Ecstasy, Mandrax, BZ, and cocaine, anti-coagulant drugs, the deadly lethal injection drugs Scoline and Tubarine, and cyanide.”
“Try reading the climategate e-mails esp. climategate II and tell me if these are objective dispassionate scientists or despicable zealots and fraudsters.”
Language, language, language. You’re labelling. The Other View is despicable zealotry and fraud? Gosh, sounds really bad. I sure don’t want to agree with folks like that. So you win! Except – that sort of thing is so yesterday.
You have it all dismissed in a few captions. Pitten oot in sma licht*. Funnily, if I were to suggest that *your* opinion was nothing better than ‘despicable zealotry and fraud’, you’d instantly know that I wasn’t up to much as a debater.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall…
*The Orcadian means: extinguished in twilight.
Anyone who thought that Ben Franklin was the troll Larry from St Louis has just been definitively proven wrong.
Ben, I may have to forego that trip to the ‘states. I work for a dissident ex-ambassador, my e-mail has sometimes been blocked and interfered with, and things are only getting worse over your way:
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/09/why-i-am-convinced-that-anna-ardin-is-a-liar/comment-page-3/#comment-361514
Mark Golding, thanks for that illuminating comment.
Does anyone remember the URL of that marine tracking service? I suppose the Strait of Hormuz is all blacked out…
“If the Italian request extradition of the CIA operatives, wha[t] are the odds on Amerika complying with such a request.”
Zero. Zilch. The emperor does not hand over his trusted workers to lowly administrations in the barbarian world.
————-
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was blithering about the First Amendment in the United States. This famous freedom of speech didn’t do much to protect Anwar al-Awlaki or his 16 year old son, did it? Obama never produced a single shred of evidence that al-Awlaki was involved in anything “operational” vis a vis attacks on the United States. He simply preached against the U.S. And for that he and his son were “drone-murdered” in Yemen. Obama is now judge, jury and executioner – and the most scary thing is that Americans are not even blinking about this (most of them).
Clark; As I said, the offer was sincere, but I know it was a Bridge Too Far across the Pond. As a symbolic alternative, may I suggest you and I toast Dr. Gonzo from our respective hideaways?
Nuid, greetings. Sorry I got angry. My disagreement with you remains, but it suddenly looks insignificant.