I am deeply concerned about pre-emptive policing, or arresting people who might be going to do something wrong. I frankly don’t believe the BBC’s claim that intelligence indicated that anti-G8 protestors in Soho had weapons, or at any rate I do not believe it was honest intelligence. I note there are no reports of these weapons actually having been discovered.
The rounding up, arresting and beating of groups of protestors before they had even begun to protest is so taken for granted in London now that I can find no reflection in the media of the outrage I feel. If an old duffer like me feels completely alienated from the authoritarian state in which I find I now live, how do younger, more radical people feel? There seems a terrible divide between the corporate-political elite surrounded by their massive Praetorian guard at Bilderberg, and everybody else. Society is not stable.
The BBC has lost all sense of self-knowledge. Yesterday it displayed scenes of police beating protestors for no apparent reason on the streets of London, which was presented as protecting innocent shoppers on Oxford Street. This immediately followed very similar scenes of police beating protestors on the streets of Istanbul, which was portrayed as a terrible act of anti-Western suppression. Irony is dead.
New alert from Medialens
‘Limited But Persuasive’ Evidence – Syria, Sarin, Libya, Lies
http://medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/alerts-2013/735-limited-but-persuasive-evidence-syria-sarin-libya-lies.html
Anyone who saw the Panorama episode last night can not have failed to observe former British Army Colonel and corrupt politician Patrick Mercer giving advise to the fake lobby dude that they should sign up a couple of Labour criminals as the conservative criminals would not be in the next government.
It was said so frankly and benignly that you have to seriously consider that the elections are one big charade played out by both parties to fool the public. No doubt they even discuss between themselves what policies will be continued by the ‘next government’ and which ones wont before they even draft their ‘manifesto’. This is how we end up with both ruling parties having the same policies apart from stupid, meaningless little details (as if ‘saving’ £100 million on £1 trillion debt is going to make any real difference) that get blown-up into grand ideological battles by the MSM.
No one seems concerned that the Tories are running around telling us which deck-chairs to sit on while they are busy climbing into the life-boats with their pockets stuffed with cash and jewellery from the ships safe. People wake up – these criminals are looting what little is left of the public wealth before the whole thing blows up, when it does they will not be found anywhere in this country.
This goes on all the time in just about every aspect of the news which is why most sensible people are turning to the internet for their information. One example is when the BBC talks about Iran, it talks about Iranian state television and the supreme leader as though it shows that Iran is an undemocratic country controlled by a regime, but the BBC is state television and the Queen is the supreme leader.
Evidence of this briefly became a news story last year when it was found that the royal family had been getting in the way of laws that were not in their interest but suddenly Kate’s tits appeared the next week and everyone was encouraged to rally round the poor old royal family and give them their privacy.
I’m not saying everything on the Internet is true or Iran is a great place and beacon to the world but you get a better idea of what western governments are up to if you look at Press TV or RT. An example being that the federal court of Canada confirmed that the countries 2011 federal election was fraudulent. This wasn’t reported in the BBC as far as I saw and if you type ‘Canadian government vote rigging BBC’ into Google the results list articles of vote rigging in Pakistan, Malaysia, Kenya, Ghana but no mention of Canada.
As far as the police are concerned they are not there to protect us they are a corporation, the G8 employ them, pay them, to control the crowds outside of these events just like football clubs have to pay them to control football fans, if the protesters could pay them more they would probably be beating up dignitaries.
Patrick Mercer – “In November 2011, the press reported that Mercer had been taped making disparaging remarks about David Cameron, calling him “despicable” and describing him as an “arse” and “the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone” (Wiki)
What’s not to like? And what’s wrong with giving Fiji a bit of a boost, considering the input CERTAIN OTHER COUNTRIES AND ORGANISATIONS routinely get without any fuss at all to our noble, democratic Mother of Parliaments?
“Nobody has mentioned Ritalin yet … Now it’s those same women committing the real deal against boys; maybe the lads should strike a blow for liberty and equality?”
Yeah, because, as we all know, it’s women who are running Big Pharma. And they don’t target women with their products. Right.
Komodo, the referendum will make it all about politics and detract from the basic environmental impact that is so obvious.
Sorry, hadn’t you noticed? It is all about politics. It’s about a large chunk of the population objecting to Erdogan’s pro-religious, wannabe -caliphate policies. That’s probably much of the urban population of Western Turkey, who are very worried that Kemal’s secular idea of a Turkish state is being slowly rolled back. Erdogan’s demographic is more in Eastern and rural Turkey, and his policies are designed for that. The issue of Gezi Park was just the catalyst. If the development plans were dropped this minute, the discontent would continue unabated.
It ties into the wider regional picture, too. I think Erdoğan has realised that for all the endless sweet talk from the EU, it’s never going to let Turkey in. He’s looking Eastward now. And he’s got the US-provoked Sunni-Shi’a war next door, in Syria. He doesn’t want that infecting Turkey next. He’s got to make it look as if Islam isn’t a dirty word in Turkey. He may be crazy (I’m not even now wholly convinced he is), but in foreign policy terms he’s not as crazy as he looks, much as he offends the relatively comfortable bourgeois in İstanbul.
According to the BBC “China says it has “no information to offer” on Mr Snowden’s whereabouts.”
Very clever wording. Its looking like Snowden is in China the rising counter-power to the US and in the most liberal Hong Kong but China nevertheless. China has recently been very obviously upping the ante against the US in the whole area of human rights and freedom.
As pure as the driven snow.
Stirrup And Dannatt: No Conduct Breach
The peers are cleared of breaking parliamentary rules after claims they exploited their influence at the Ministry of Defence.
http://news.sky.com/story/1103110/stirrup-and-dannatt-no-conduct-breach
Further info
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/
The Lord Stirrup GCB AFC
Name Graham Stirrup
Party/group Crossbench
Joined the Lords 28 January 2011
Biography
Register of Interests
2: Remunerated employment, office, profession etc.
Occasional consultancy on public and international affairs, *Hakluyt and Company (a strategic intelligence and advisory firm)
3: Clients
Occasional consultancy on public and international affairs, Hakluyt and Company (a strategic intelligence and advisory firm)
7: Overseas visits
Visit to Oman, 4-6 January 2013, for discussions with the government on international affairs; transport and accommodation provided by Government of Oman
10: Non-financial interests (a)
Director, City of London Sinfonia Orchestra
10: Non-financial interests (b)
Governor, Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire
Member, Advisory Board to Exeter University Security and Strategy Institute
Member, Advisory Board to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on World War One Centenary Commemoration
.
The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC
Name Francis Dannatt
Party/group Crossbench
Joined the Lords 19 January 2011
Register of Interests
2: Remunerated employment, office, profession etc.
Speaker, Celebrity Speakers Agency (speaker bureau)
Senior Adviser, Joule Africa
Executive Chairman, Typhon (web and open source hosting services)
Adviser, Capita Symonds (project management)
Advisory Board Member, Targetfollow Ltd (property)
Adviser, Board of Imeon Logistics
10: Non-financial interests (b)
Chairman, Strategic Development Board, Durham Global Security Institute
10: Non-financial interests (c)
Trustee, Historic Royal Palaces
Trustee, Royal Armouries
Constable, HM Tower of London
.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakluyt_%26_Company
John Goss, Fedup and Kathy,
Your points noted and agreed, but Ann Clwyd’s campaigning on behalf of Bradley Manning appears to be genuine. She hosted a public meeting about how to get him moved from his parlous situation at Quantico at the Houses of Parliament back in 2011, which I attended; it’s where I first met the UK Friends of Bradley Manning people. She also lobbied really hard for UK intervention on the basis of Bradley Manning’s dual nationality (he’s half-Welsh). Apparently, this was the key thing that did the trick in the end in getting him moved to better conditions at Fort Meade – after much pestering from Ann Clwyd and her bringing the matter up in Parliament, the Brits did issue a formal diplomatic note to Washington.
For a little historical perspective on the NSA Prism story, here’s an article in the Independent by Suelette Dreyfus from 1999 about their patenting of automatic “machine-transcribed speech”:
http://www.shmoo.com/mail/cypherpunks/nov99/msg00116.html
No prizes for recognising the name of the person who posted it to the Cypherpunks mailing list.
Ann Clwyd recently raised – with no support from anyone – the UK and EU’s disgraceful support the Karimov regime, at a parliamentary committee hearing. She is a well-motivated person.
Clwyd is a model of saintliness compared to some:
Like Peter Lilley, potential successor to the dodgy Tim Yeo as energy minister.
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/06/why-right-silent-over-peter-lilleys-links-oil-industry
Tethys , as Private Eye reminded me this week, has extensive interests in Central Asia, and has just signed an exploration deal in Uzbekistan.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2013/05/uzbekistan–tethys-petroleum-signs-exploration-protocol.html
Oh, and Lilley is a climate change denier. Wonder why?
“Hakluyt and Company (a strategic intelligence and advisory firm)”. Flaming June, above.
Interesting, if a little unsuprising. It has been alleged that the above may closely linked with the SIS.
Remember the “I’m a taxi” Blairite ex-minister? In fact, there seem to be an entire fleet of ‘taxis’; the renumeration is stunning. Meanwhile, as is normal, us peasants continue to slave away and try to beat off the wolves at the door. So many wolves look just like granny.
Re. Ann Clywd and the invasion of Iraq, it may be that she was one of the many “useful idiots” coralled at the time to beat off/divide opposition from the liberal-left. Remember too that the inetlligence services have information on all MPS. If she is promoting justice for Manning then that is good. Remember too that it is always useful for the establishment to have as the leading lights of dissident/critical movements individuals who, when push comes to shove, have proved that they can be trusted. It also helps them manitain and burnish their credentials. And remember that people do hold disparate views on things, most of us do – and no, that is not necessarilty a sign of intelligence (they are not two contradictory thoughts) and might just as easily be held to impute inconsitency or stupidity.
Patricia Hewitt was the head of the NCLL (which changed its name to ‘Liberty’). My two abiding images of Patricia Hewitt are: Hewitt in the 1980s arguing fiercely for civil liberties on the BBC’s flagship programme, ‘Question Time’, and Hewitt in the 2000s sitting in the turret of a tank. That juxtaposition says it all.
Likewise, David Blunkett, Peter Hain, Jack Straw…
“She is a well-motivated person.”
Perhaps she is these days, but she has a lot to atone for; if Blair suddenly gave all his money to the orphans of Iraq, and became a Mother Teresa like figure living amongst Baghdad’s poor, should he if forgiven for what he help do to Iraq & its people ?
Maybe she & he should, but personally speaking I find people responsible for the devastation & suffering bestowed on Iraq, beyond my forgiveness; guess that’s just me though.
Guess what? The G8 ‘suicide protestor’ wasn’t trying to commit suicide at all. It is a load of complete lies. Here is an interview with the man himself:
http://hamishcampbell.com/home/-/blogs/stopg8-and-a-media-spun-story-of-suicide
Well said Macky and Suhayl. Clywd has Iraqi blood on her hands just as much as B.Liar.
Hewitt. Do you remember her being stung on offering her services along with Buffoon, Byers and Moran?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/7490787/Four-Labour-MPs-implicated-in-cash-for-influence-scandal.html
Where is she now? Her type always find niches.
After Cabinet – Consultancies and Directorships
In January 2008, Hewitt was appointed “special consultant” to the world’s largest chemists, Alliance Boots. Such an appointment was controversial given Hewitt’s former role as Health Minister, resulting in objections to her appointment by members of a Parliamentary committee. Hewitt will also become the “special adviser” to private equity company Cinven, which paid £1.4billion for Bupa’s UK hospitals.[40]
In March 2008, Hewitt joined the BT Group board as a non-executive director.[41] She joined the group on 24 March 2008.[42] In July 2009, Patricia Hewitt joined the UK India Business Council as its Chair.
Macky said:
You are not the only one, count me in along with many thousands of others too. The devastating results of industrial murder fest in Iraq, has been the basis of the current messed up, fucked up, and out of kilter situation that we find ourselves in.
Theae egregious liars and their heinous crimes facilitating the ghoulish joint enterprise to; crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and above all joint enterprise to mass murder (the show trials of Nuremberg held by the victors comes back to bite the bastards on the arse) cannot and ought not be forgiven by a few acts of “selflessness” displayed by the said bunch of duplicitous fraudsters.
Ms Clwyd, and the rest of the criminals who were instrumental in initiating the Iraq war ought to be held to account for their criminal conduct in facilitation of the countless Iraqis murders, regardless of any other “good” these may have committed by way of accident or design.
“You are not the only one, count me in along with many thousands of others too.”
I guess that makes us all hard heartless b’tards, in the eyes of the real hard heartless b’stards !!
(talking of Iraq, apparently Galloway will be on QT tonight, so maybe worth watching for a change).
Macky thanks for that tip-off on QT, Galloway is always good value with some lateral comments to make, away from the standard schpeel.
Thanks for the suggestion, and despite my high regards for George Galloway, the idea of sitting there and watching the bilge on the beeb does not appeal to me. The beeb cannot bribe me by offering a token “lefty” and then fill their panel with the pusillanimous nodding heads (all in the interest of “impartiality” my foot!) to further their political directives coming down the chute from their masters.
The sooner the beeb goes down the way of the Greek broadcasting corporation the better. Have not watched QT in years, despite being mugged for the damn “license” year after year. What is the point of watching a controlled, delayed by fifteen minutes, and checked and cherry picked questions, which are answered in the “best possible taste”? I have had my fill of the propaganda, and cannot stomach any more regardless of George Galway’s participation.
Finally heartless we are not, Ms Clwyd cannot disassociate herself from one Iyad Allawi; US official confirms Allawi shot six dead
Technicolour I came in from hedge cutting yesterday and saw that Sky News were carrying that incident live. The presenter and the reporter came to an immediate conclusion that the man was trying to throw himself off the roof. No argument.
Then when he was brought down bound up in a stretcher and with a bloody face, Kay Burley in the studio said something to the effect that the protesters would now assume he has been beaten up by the police and that they would not know that the police had saved his life!
Kay was not lying, at all! She had in mind the poor chap (newspaper stall holder) that got killed in London on his way home (the thug who knocked him on the ground and killed him got off free) . The police had indeed saved “his” (the chap bound on the stretcher) life, they knew cameras were on them and did not kick in the fucker to death. Oh the compassionate policing, I need to go and find me a handkerchief to wipe me tears away!!!!!!!!
At least in USSR the populace had developed propaganda filters, in the current climate of the West the hapless “food wasters” take the bullshit dished out to them hook line and sinker.
O/T. I know.
A co-director of Tethys Petroleum, with Peter Lilley MP, is Zalmay Khalilzad, formerly and variously US Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan and the United Nations, under Bush 43. Wow. Ultra-neocon and reassuringly Middle-Eastern-looking apparatchik. Let us hope that Karimov lets Tethys get into production with its several mouthwatering franchises and doesn’t kick the props away, as he did with Oxus Gold. Otherwise that would be one scumbag scuppering other scumbags, and that’s not supposed to happen.
http://www.tethyspetroleum.com/tethys/static/EN_US/au_bod.html
The police themselves have become scary now, they return the same look that a confrontational thug returns. They are all hyped, frustrated by shifts of dealing politely with pissed arseholes, all looking for trouble, something they can get stuck into, an unsubmitting campaigner, a cannabis user, an anarchist -stormtroopers. Society is warped, vegetated.
I posted a link earlier about a 1997 NSA patent for “machine speech transcription” and this article seems to pull out what’s particularly significant about it:
http://rixstep.com/1/20130614,00.shtml
It bears careful reading, especially by any US visiters to this blog, and especially in light of General Keith Alexander’s remarks in the Senate. He told them:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22884566
Yes, well he can just about get away with that porkie: Humans may not be listening to all voice calls at any one time, but the NSA machines are listening all the time.
All the Patriot Act does is give them blanket authority for an NSA agent to intercept whoever they damn well please and don the headphones…
And they’ve been doing it for at least 14 years.
To clarify above post:
It’s NOT just metadata, folks. The rolling warrant from the FISA court for Verizon records (and, presumably, every other US telecoms provider) may be for metadata but that’s in addition to what they’ve already been up to. The metadata, as that brilliant piece on Finding Paul Revere someone linked here showed, is just another analysis tool in their arsenal, one that allows them to graph social relationships.
Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere:
http://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2013/06/09/using-metadata-to-find-paul-revere/
BLARNEY was something I had not heard of.
The Massive Online Surveillance Program No One Is Talking About
By Andrea Peterson on Jun 10, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/06/10/2133201/blarney-online-surveillance/
and
In Search of Real Liberty
The NSA and the Infrastructure of the Surveillance State
June 13, 2013
by ERIC DRAITSER
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/13/the-nsa-and-the-infrastructure-of-the-surveillance-state/
Rupert Murdoch and Wendy Deng are getting divorced. So Ms Maitlis says.