Nigel Evans is fully entitled to the presumption of innocence; and the media seem more inclined to give it to him than they did to Malcolm Blackman, linked to Anonymous. In this particularly disgusting piece of journalism by Paul Cheston of the Evening Standard, the vicious liar who brought false accusations against Blackman is referred to as “the victim” – not even the alleged victim, but “the victim” – even after Blackman was found not guilty.
The victim, who cannot be named, had lived at home in south London during the week, and slept in the Occupy tent at weekends.
Having been at the Occupy site, where every tent touched at least three others, the idea that repeated rape could be carried out amongst a packed group of people who were particularly certain not to condone it, was always highly implausible. Compelling evidence was given in court that Blackman was not even at the site on one of the two named occasions.
It is particularly sickening that Blackman’s name and photograph has been published everywhere in relation to horrifying and untrue accusations of binding someone against their will with cable ties and raping them. This terrible publicity will follow him everywhere for the rest of his life. The deranged or malicious person who fabricated this story in court continues to have their identity protected.
Blackman’s role within both Anonymous and Occupy has been exaggerated by the media. He was nonetheless associated with the internet and street resistance to the increasingly authoritarian state. The parallels to the Assange case are inescapable.
Returning to Nigel Evans, on the Jeremy Thorpe precedent there is no reason for him to resign his seat before a trial, presuming that he maintains his innocence. Should he resign, this could be one of those small historical chances that has great effects. UKIP will have a great chance of winning Ribble Valley, and the resulting momentum could contribute to a genuine political convulsion in the UK.
Nigel Farage and I were due to have lunch a couple of years ago, but couldn’t get our diaries to match up at the time. Unfortunately, while admiring UKIP’s insurgent spirit, I find myself the polar opposite of their major policies. Distrust and dislike of the political establishment that has failed this country and allowed inconceivable amounts of wealth to be creamed off by the heads of the financial services industry, while ordinary people struggle to get any work at all, is perfectly understandable. The three main parties in England all retail the same neo-con policies, with different packaging. It is inevitable this system must break. That is should break in the direction of right wing populism, is perhaps predictable. But there are worse people than Mr Farage inside all the main parties.
I remain entirely confident that the UKIP surge in England will convince a great many more people in Scotland that they need to break free of the United Kingdom.
Can’t say I’d fancy sitting down, or standing up, for a beer with Nigel Farage. Even as a Tory he was to the right of most in the party, and that’s a long way right. He attracts all the wrong elements. I have noted one UKIP councillor who defected from the BNP. I concede Farage is intelligent and articulate, but if I had to give his party a description it would be “the human face of fascism”.
Doug Scorgie, 9.14pm
Indeed it does, Doug. I don’t know how familiar you are with the details of the Swedish investigation into the Assange allegations but there is already evidence within the police protocol (and now in the public domain) that the prosecutors had early on clear evidence that the women had synchronised their stories and then one of them changed hers – in a very significant way. This would indicate that the Swedish prosecutors should have closed down their investigation, as there being no case to answer (the original assessment of the first chief prosecutor), at the latest on 25 October 2010 when the results came back from the forensic lab showing that one woman had fabricated evidence to back her claim of a deliberately torn condom.
These are the questions I have asked based on the evidence we have in the public domain. Tell me what you think.
http://rixstep.com/1/20130426,00.shtml
Here’s is Rixstep’s follow-up article, written in the style of a “fiction” piece, but correct in all factual details:
http://rixstep.com/2/1/20130429,00.shtml
I particularly like the section on “cold reading” – that offers a very satisfying and plausible explanation for what happened when Sofia Wilen first contacted Anna Ardin, to me at least.
“Daniel (5.5.13, 12:07pm), you’d be most welcome! But in the meantime, do keep on fighting the good fight in The Big Smoke too!”
I wonder if someone from London said they would move to Scotland for the sole reason of voting against independence they would be as welcome.
The only good fight is the fight for truth and justice, two things sadly lacking in the independence campaign.
In a thread entitled Political Rape, this is not O/T. Chris Hedges interviews Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy (includes audio clips too).
Chris Hedges, The Death of Truth:
https://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/the_death_of_truth_20130505/
Truth of the day (from Giles, yesterday :
“Mary…you can’t bring yourself to criticise the appalling standards of Bangladeshi shop owners , because for you, everything must be the fault of the West. You are an absolute phony, Mary, you hide your hatred behind a veil of compassion, but as I said, not one of your thousands of comments has made a difference to any of these people.”
You’ve got the measure of the old thing!
Conspiracy nonsense of the day (from Jives) :
“UKIP is a creation of the UK/USA/Israeli spooks”
What a nutter!
The interactive timeline embedded in the above Chris Hedges article is amazing. Well worth reading.
“I wonder if someone from London said they would move to Scotland for the sole reason of voting against independence they would be as welcome.” Fred.
Yes, they would, Fred. I myself used to be against independence; more recently, I have become ambivalent, though I can see the arguments on both sides. If there is to be independence, as I said, it ought to be proper independence, not some halfway house. I was not welcoming Daniel because he was going to vote for independence, though; in fact, I’d half-forgotten that he’d said he would; I saw him more as a sort of political/economic ‘refugee’ from fundamentalist neoliberalism – or indeed simply soemone who was keen to move to Scotland. It’s normal to welcome people to one’s country in this manner, is it not?
Mary, at 22h08 yesterday, bleats :
“Why would I disagree with what Craig says about his Blackburn experiences when he stood for election? He was there and knows what he is talking about. It was the smearing of people from the Indian sub continent in the RI’s post that was objectionable”
—–
Simple question to Mary, and let’s see if she has the guts to answer it:
– when Craig referred in his post to “a particular ethnic community”, whom does Mary think he was talking about?
“Of course, my criteria assumes that a future system would respect the rule of law and, unlike the present UK system, be truly democractic.”
That is a very big assumption at the moment given the Nationalists attempts to subvert democracy with the timing of the referendum, .the wording of the referendum, changing the rules on who is eligible to vote and by misleading the people by saying things which are blatantly not true.
Polls say that if the referendum were held fairly and now the majority would vote against.
.
@giles & suhayl
“Where does this view come from that Scotland will be some left-wing paradise if/once it gains independence?”
“How precisely will an independent Scotland be able to plough a furrow different from the neoliberal one? ”
There is a significant difference in outlook, evidenced in increasingly divergent electoral choices since the war. It isn’t possible to imagine a Conservative government in an independent Scotland – the party barely exists, rescued from extinction by the proportional electoral system.
Internally, the SNP is further left than it expresses externally. A little reflection will show why this has to be so – more than just one part of the political spectrum must be carried along when your project is radical constitutional change.
Craig’s comment that the configuration of the political parties will change in the mid-term after independence is certainly true – I expect to see a new leftist party being formed from the left of the SNP and the Labour for Independence group – clearly this latter group are also to the left of their party as it stands at present. Given that independence can be decided in 2014 but will take time to negotiate and deliver, such a party could be standing in the first elections to the independent parliament. If so, it will do well.
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2013/05/02/on-the-road-2/
And you won’t be discussing anything like this in England anytime soon:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/a-new-blueprint-for-an-independent-scotland.20985084
@Fred
You’ll approve of this poster from the anti-independence campaign!
https://twitter.com/YesEastLothian/status/325701828383739904/photo/1
IAN CAMERON
5 May, 2013 – 8:42 pm
Ian,
Shami Chakrabati is a member of The British-American Project.
The British-American Project is a transatlantic fellowship of over 1,000 leaders, rising stars and opinion formers from a broad spectrum of occupations, backgrounds and political views. It was originally called The British-American Project for the Successor Generation.
It was founded in 1985 “to perpetuate the close relationship between the United States and Britain through transatlantic friendships and professional contacts.
It holds an annual conference to which journalists are not invited and at which everything said is, officially at least, not to be repeated to outsiders.
BAP is portrayed as a Trojan horse for American foreign policy, recruiting Britons of liberal or left-of-centre inclinations and political talent and connections when they are young, indoctrinating them with propaganda about the virtues of American capitalism and America’s role in the world, and then watching them approvingly as they steer British politics in an ever more pro-Washington direction.
According to this analysis, the project’s greatest success has been New Labour.
Since 1985, it has received sponsorship from, among other companies, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Monsanto, Saatchi & Saatchi, Philip Morris, Coopers & Lybrand, American Express, Apple, British Airways, BP, Cadbury Schweppes and Camelot. Busy politicians and other public figures have crossed the Atlantic, some of them repeatedly, to attend BAP conferences, which can last for five days.
Many BAP alumni are directly involved with US and UK military and defence establishments.
See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/nov/06/usa.politics1
Some of The British-American Project Alumni:
Alumni (British)
Politicians
Stephen Dorrell
David Miliband
Peter Mandelson
George Robertson
Baroness Symons
Jonathan Powell (Blair’s chief of staff)
Baroness Scotland
Douglas Alexander
Geoff Mulgan
Sadiq Khan
Matthew Taylor
David Willetts
Rushanara Ali
Media
Jeremy Paxman
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Caroline St John-Brooks
Charles Moore
James Naughtie
Ben Hammersley
Evan Davis
William Crawley, BBC presenter
Rowan Pelling
Other
Shami Chakrabarti, Director, Liberty
Patrons
Lord Carrington, a former Secretary General of NATO
Lord Robertson, another former Secretary General of NATO
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British-American_Project
Doug Scorgie, 10.51am
Have you heard of the Ditchley Foundation, and its side project, the American Ditchley Foundation? I first came across them when I was doing a bit of research into Alan Rusbridger (he was a Governor of the Ditchley Foundation at one point).
Have a butcher’s at some of the names contained the sidebar of Directors past and present and Governors, Honorary Governors, etc. Quite a roll call:
http://www.ditchley.co.uk/the-foundations/the-ditchley-foundation
I don’t know when Rusbridger stopped being a Governor but he was certainly still one in 2011, when I last looked. Evidence of that though seems to have disappeared from the Ditchley website. This is from 2007:
http://www.ditchley.co.uk/conferences/past-programme/2000-2009/2007/internet
Searchable past programme:
http://www.ditchley.co.uk/search/cGFzdCBwcm9ncmFtbWU=
“@Fred
You’ll approve of this poster from the anti-independence campaign!”
Actually I don’t, I think it is despicable. Just as despicable as someone moving north so they can vote for independence.
Jives
“The whole UKip/Farage farrago scene has got spooks(UK/US/Israel) written all over it.”
Absolutely, also ripping up Europe, Just what they want!
@doug scorgie
6 May, 2013 – 10:47am
Just to acknowledge your reply. Thanks for taking the trouble.
“There is a significant difference in outlook, evidenced in increasingly divergent electoral choices since the war. It isn’t possible to imagine a Conservative government in an independent Scotland – the party barely exists, rescued from extinction by the proportional electoral system.”
Actually the part of Scotland I live in is predominantly Conservative, they just don’t call themselves that. They run as independent in the local council elections then form an Alliance of Independents when they get in which is, in effect, a political party.
I know card carrying members of the SNP who are to the right of Genghis Khan.
Giles
5 May, 2013 – 10:09 pm
“There is a pro-Israel faction within UKIP, and a pro-Palestine faction. Certainly the UKIP supporters I know, one of whom stood for election, are completely pro-Palestine.”
Can you name any UKIP supporters of Palestine, especially the person who stood for election who you say is “completely pro-Palestine?
I notice that the RI’s OCD is still troubling him. I suppose Sophie has gone away for the weekend with her Mum. His best mate Giles is capable of the wildest exaggeration.
‘If you really cared you would be out there doing something for them instead of spending your entire life on here.
Neither of them like it up ’em as Cpl Jones was often heard to say.
Wonder what they think of the build up for war by Israel?
Giles
5 May, 2013 – 11:34 pm
“…43% of Tottenham born outside of UK, over 300 languages spoken.”
Interesting figures but where did you get them from?
Giles
5 May, 2013 – 11:43 pm
“Doug, Arabs were trading blacks and blacks were trading other blacks for a long time before white man turned up with his “capitalism”.
That is true but it wasn’t the point I was making. Re-read my post (carefully).
Herbie
5 May, 2013 – 11:58 pm
“I don’t imagine Farage thinks this motley crew will ever take him close to power. My suspicion is that he’s using them to out-Tory the Tories and grab for himself, and himself alone. a senior position within the Conservative party.”
In a way I hope your right. But if not the, Tories could be pushed further to the right which in turn could tempt Labour to try to out Tory the Tories with a similar lurch to the right.
God forbid!
Giles and Chris2 – some really good comments/discussion.
In the same way that so-called “racists” have imaginary problems with immigrants, aggressively anti-racist lefties have imaginary problems with “racists”. They’re both emotionally disturbed and ‘intellectually challenged’ examples of annoying people.
Interestingly, as hard as I can recall, I have never met, seen, or read about any aggressively anti-racist person who has paired up with a someone from a different race. It’s a curious phenomenon. No doubt, there are one or two out there, but we all know that exceptions do not disprove the rule.
Arbed
6 May, 2013 – 9:52 am
and:
Arbed
6 May, 2013 – 11:26 am
Thanks for those links
at bottom, a racist (someone who feels entitled to negatively judge another human being because of their race) is just a small child crying for its mother to love it more, after all. I think racists should be hugged on a regular basis, myself. Oh, and stopped when their adult bodies try to burn down mosques or synagogues or homes, or stamp on/stab/imprison/torture/demean/lie about/discriminate against/deport/kill the ‘other’ they are scared/jealous of, or deceived about, obviously. None of these aspects of racism are, of course, imaginary, so I’m sure Jemand agrees in return.
Jemand
6 May, 2013 – 1:05 pm
Interesting that you refer to racists as “so called” but you refer to anti-racists as “aggressively anti-racist lefties” not “so called.”
Why do you assume that anti-racist people are all “lefties”?
You then spout:
“I have never met, seen, or read about any aggressively anti-racist person who has paired up with a someone (sic) from a different race.”
Do you know lots of “aggressively anti-racist people” well enough to know the ethnicity of their partners?
[Mod: abusive para removed]
It, like a vulture looking for food, circling, welcome to Habbakuks live persecution and cyber stalking of Mary.
It is becoming pathological and boring, old man and be assured, you are already being sized up as the object of a lesson in ‘pathological online expressions, a lesson on escalation or an underlying mental instability’.
Go and see someone who can help you.
Thanks for some excellent links debunking the offshore rhetoric, someone, and Chris hedges latest interview with Julian Assange, thanks Arbed.
It looks like soon to be senator Assange will be hounded wherever he should happen to be.
Should one support the boycott of US goods?
Or show Britain the hundreds of thousands of US and Australian citizens, who come here ‘to take our jobs’, bank their money with the rest of the worlds scoundrels.
Just to join in this populate UKIP lookalike fandango, like moth around the flame, ach, its so vogue these days. next thing, they make a political comedy, or reality series, ‘U kip and I sleep in the bath’
“I think racists should be hugged on a regular basis, myself.” Technicolour.
Jeez. I have this image of beer-swilling EDL blokes… rather you than me, Technicolour.
But I do know what you mean, and agree!
.
“Interestingly, as hard as I can recall, I have never met, seen, or read about any aggressively anti-racist person who has paired up with a someone from a different race.” Jemand.
Weird statement, Jemand. I do. Lots.
Such a riot to get elected for UKIP, all that hard campaigning and speaking to residents in wisbech, thats what UKIP does, well, profess to be doing by listening to some of their hopefuls.
Not so for Mr. Gillack, who sports a famous wife in this article as his claim for fame and getting elected, nothing to do with him, leaflets or anything else, Just a UKIP tag on a once famous wife.
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politics/victoria_gillick_s_husband_elected_and_he_never_issued_single_leaflet_or_made_a_single_call_1_2180960
Famous for what? I hear you ask. Something that is called ‘Gillick competence’ a House of Lord/crooks ruling that allows GP’s to talk to, and prescribe to minors contraception, without the knowledge or approval of their parents.
Whether this fosters information flow and discussion about some vital facts of life between teenagers and parents is a different question, but she made this possible.
So theoretically, her husband can have ‘safe’ sex with under aged girls, who have access to such service, without making them pregnant.
Did I just call it a service? probably too hot out there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Gillick
Some very unpleasant types are on trial in Germany. Why did it take ten years for these far right criminals to be brought to justice?
Neo-Nazi cell survivor in dock for biggest German terror trial for decades
Beate Zschäpe is accused of involvement in multiple racially motivated murders, nail bombings and armed robberies
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/06/neo-nazi-cell-trial-germany-beate-zschape
The surviving member of an underground neo-Nazi cell and four men alleged to have been her accomplices have gone on trial amid tight security in the biggest terrorist court case Germany has staged for decades.
Beate Zschäpe appeared calm and confident as she stepped into Munich’s main regional court shortly after 10am, flanked by police. She is accused of complicity in 10 racially motivated murders, two nail bombings, which injured 23 people, and 15 armed bank robberies, which took place over a decade across Germany.
She is a psychopathic female, one of 1.9% of the population.