The Respectability of Torture
St Mary’s University College, Thurs 1st August, 7.30pm
Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, was a whistleblower who was removed from his ambassadorial post by Tony Blair for exposing the Tashkent regime‟s use of rape and systematic torture, including the boiling to death of political opponents. He has also spoken out against Central Asia‟s appalling dictatorships, regimes which are allies of the West, involved in torture and rendition, and was accused of threatening MI6‟s relationship with the CIA. Now a human rights activist, author and broadcaster, he outlines the dynamics of torture and the hypocrisy of incriminated Western governments.
My first public appearance for a while will be in Belfast on 1 August where I shall be giving a talk. Long term readers of this blog will recall that, while my focus is largely on international affairs, the domestic political achievements I most hope to see are a united Ireland and an independent Scotland.
@ BrianFujisan 22 Aug, 2013 – 5:52 am
I get the seriousness of compulsory listening mandated for persons objecting to blatant propaganda. What’s funny to me in the ironic sense of funny is many of the original free-speechers were pro-Israel leftists and now that things are turned around they don’t even allow protesters to walk out without repercussions.
More fun: How we spring Bradley from the hoosegow. Make discreet inquiries as to the going rate for a presidential pardon or commutation of sentence. I guess a $100,000,000 donation to found the Obama presidential library and charitable foundation would do it.
Where do we get $100,000,000 you ask? We convince Snowden, Greenwald, Assange, the Guardian and whoever else has the secrets to auction some off on eBay. If the big secrets really are industrial espionage or corrupt banking even one would be worth that much to buy it back. Or 10,000 lesser secrets
@ $9,999 each.
I’ll be happy to handle the transaction for a standard 10%.
This PPI scam goes on and on and of course, ultimately we will be funding the compensation.
What deceit and trickery.
Banks and card issuers face £1.3bn CPP compensation bill
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23791252
‘The up-to-£1.3bn cost of the scheme is still only a fraction of the estimated £15bn total compensation bill faced by the banking industry for the Payment Protection Insurance mis-selling scandal.’
‘During the period of mis-selling between January 2005 and March 2011, CPP sold 4.4 million policies and generated £354m in gross profit. A further 18.7 million policies were renewed during the same period, generating an income of £656m.
Many customers were put in contact with CPP when they rang a number on their new bank card in order to activate it. Many thought they were talking to their bank, but they were in fact being put in touch with a salesperson from CPP.
CPP then used the opportunity of the call to offer card protection insurance. If the customer bought the product, the bank got a commission’
There’s only one bonus. We no longer have the ex MP Angela Knight telling us how wonderful the banks are. She has moved seamlessly to new niches.
‘In April 2007, she became the Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association. Bloomberg reports that, in a December 2008 statement, she declared that Libor could be trusted as “a reliable benchmark”.
After a verdict against the BBA at the High Court in April 2011, some BBA members criticized Knight’s handling of the case and called for her to step down as Chief Executive.
On 1 April 2012 Knight resigned as chief executive of the BBA but said she would remain until a replacement was found.
She was appointed as a non executive director of Tullett Prebon in September 2011.
In May 2012 it was announced that Knight had been appointed chief executive of trade body Energy UK, effective the end of July.
She is also a non executive director of Brewin Dolphin and the Financial Skills Partnership. She has previously been a non executive director of Scottish Widows, Logica, Port of London Authority, Lloyds TSB and South East Water.’ Wikipedia
Amazing.
Michael (Fracking is good for you) Fallon MP was a director at Tullett Prebon.
Oh dear! http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tullett-prebon-brought-into-libor-fixing-investigation-8667774.html
http://www.cityam.com/article/tullett-prebon-leader-says-new-regulations-hampering-growth
@ Dreoilin 22 Aug, 2013 – 9:48 am
No, I didn’t think it did. I was responding to this, by you,
Offhand, I can’t quote Irish law on hosting child porn. But I’ll look it up while I’m gone. My point was that from a U.S. perspective, he’s presumably not a “foreigner”.
Not a great analogy, but in the case of the Coptic Christian nutter who made a video blaspheming the Prophet (pbuh), a capital crime in some countries, suppose he was a dual citizen of one of those countries and the US had an extradition treaty with it; would the US hand him over for execution? (Barack and Hillary, I think, might have done so if they didn’t fear an outcry.)
Since the video was hosted on Google/YouTube servers, which refused to take it down, even after White House pressure, should not Google execs also be arrested and sent overseas to their doom?
It seems extraditing people to the US, terrorists aside, is a one-way street. Hackers, copyright violators, pornographers. All must obey US law. It’s cultural imperialism.
Auctioning secrets on ebay should certainly go down well with any Right-thinking market capitalist,NR, and maybe we could take it further by making our personal data a saleable commodity? As in, “I’d love to sell you the telephone number of that Salafist preacher in Bradford, Inspector, but you have been outbid by a keen student of Afghan carpets who wants his advice on a kilim”
Hollande is trying to beat Sarkozy in the warmonger stakes. He has already visited his forces and weapons on Mali and now he wishes to copy the Sarkozy invasion of Libya in Syria.
Syria: Call For ‘Force’ If Chemicals Proven
France says the international community would need to respond with force if chemical attack allegations prove to be true.
http://news.sky.com/story/1131742/syria-call-for-force-if-chemicals-proven
Almost word for word. 11.3.2011.
‘Nicolas Sarkozy calls for air strikes on Libya if Gaddafi attacks civilians
Force justified if Gaddafi uses chemical weapons or launches air strikes against civilians, French president tells EU summit
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/11/nicolas-sarkozy-libya-air-strikes ‘
NR is suprised;
Imperialism is an overarching control freakery that knows no bonds, and if US could mandate on how the foreigners ought to break wind, the intensity of the broken wind, and for decibels of sound of the said broken wind, US would have gleefully jumped into doing so.
US excuse has always been national security a blanket catch-all, that is meaningless and overarching; a Honduran peasant wishing to get free education for his kids is a threat to national security of US, or any number of other “banana republics” intent on stopping the foreign corporates stealing their resources for pittance is a danger to US national security.
Is it just now that you have awakened to the status quo? Why do you think there is the amount of unconscious drivel about Freedom © ™ on tap 24/7/52? Why do you think this blog is suffering the inane rantings of a bunch of operatives bent on suppressing any kind of interaction between free thinking people?
Welcome to reality friend, it is as ugly as it gets!
“I’d love to sell you the telephone number of that Salafist preacher in Bradford, Inspector, but you have been outbid by a keen student of Afghan carpets who wants his advice on a kilim”
Brilliant.
Interesting sideline on the Israelis’ indignation that foreign academics should dare to boycott Israel.
For decades Israel has operated a broad regime of internal and external movement and access restrictions to the detriment of Palestinian higher education and other vital Palestinian economic, social welfare and development processes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In light of its arbitrary and indiscriminate character, political inspiration and disruptive impact on Palestinian civil life, this broad restrictive regime clearly contravenes international law.
The expertise and participation of foreign passport holders, including diaspora Palestinians, is often required to support each of these vital processes. For this specific reason, the arbitrary and indiscriminate restrictions on entry and presence to which foreign passport holders, including academics, are subjected clearly contravene international law.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/2013/Education%20Report%20Academia%20Undermined%20May%202013.pdf
Another note which makes me strangely happy
“Questions that we have a right to ask in a democracy”. “What do they not want you to know?” http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/aug/21/benedict-cumberbatch-news-london-sherlock
Komodo said;
With this method at least we get can get paid for our “copyrighted” data, and even there could be an arrangements made for royalty payments. Instead of current arrangements of paying for the spying apparatus, so that they can steal our data for free too. When in Rome pops into mind.
Glenn, thank you for that article. Very touching indeed. Its a pleasure to exchange with you — a refreshing change from the ordinary here.
Jon, SECOND REQUEST
Villager
22 Aug, 2013 – 12:31 am
And Jon please don’t let this request be buried in the back and forth of conversation here:
“Villager
21 Aug, 2013 – 11:38 pm
[Mod: removed another attack on FJ – FJs response, as you know, was provoked. Criticism of mod left standing]
Show me the original provocation please…”
I might be wrong — prove me or prove yourself wrong, in which case your moderation is either biased or whimsical or both.
I guess neither Sarkozy nor Hollande would be so gung-ho about attacking the Syrian opposition should it be shown that it launched the/any chemical attack?
Breaking: RT reckons Assad’s happy to co-operate with the UN investigation:
http://rt.com/news/syria-chemical-attack-cooperation-841/
Villager –
The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final.
(Laws of Football: Law 5: The Football League)
Free kick against you. Stop whining. Play on.
Shippams paste sarnies anyone? – what would you like? We have Chicken, Beef or Pork?
Not too many mind…
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/without_saying_a_word_this_6_minute_short_film_will_make_you_speechless/
Yes, Sub-Lt Komodo thanks for your advice. Stay out of my waters or dry-up before the tea-towel/lady comes after you 🙂
Passerby:…”arrangements made for royalty payments.”
Oh, yes. I think we could get the legal profession’s support for this one:
Dear (Redacted), It has come to my client’s attention that you have mentioned the amount due to his water company in the third quarter 2009, no less than fourteen times since purchasing this data in January. I am asked to request the sum of £70.00 in accordance with his royalty agreement with you….failure to comply…expensive court proceedings….bailiffs….costs…
Yours &c,
(Redacted)
And cut down on the psychedelics, too, Villager. They make you incomprehensible.
@Komodo “in Scotland as anywhere else, all shades of political opinion are equally unscrupulous. If you doubt me, sign up as a helper for your preferred party at the next General Election.”
That’s just the point. if the readers of the article had been informed it had been commissioned by the SNP they would have known to take it with a pinch of salt.
But they weren’t.
Three revealing entries from A Journey by Anthony Charles Lynton B.Liar which a friend sent through. Very telling.
On page 84, he says:
“On that night of 12 May 1994, I needed that love Cherie gave me, selfishly. I devoured it to give me strength, I was an animal following my instinct, knowing I would need every ounce of emotional power and resilience to cope with what lay ahead. I was exhilarated, afraid and determined, in roughly equal quantities.”
How weird. That was the day John Smith died in Bart’s Hospital at 9.15am.
On page 378 he writes:
“The same is also true for the moral case against what we did, which, in essence, comes down to the chaos and death that followed Sadam’s removal. There is no moral judgement that can or should be based on mathematics: here’s the number Sadam killed; here’s the number that died after his fall. Such a calculation is necessarily invidious. However, since so much is said about the number of Iraqis that died after March 2003, it is at least worth conducting the debate on the best evidence available, not the worst.”
What would a court of international law make of that?
On page 570 he writes:
“I had a vision for Britain. All the way I had believed I could and would persuade the country it was the right choice, the modern way, bigger than Iraq, bigger than the American Alliance, bigger than any one thing; a complete vision of where we should be in the early twenty first century; about how we finally overcome the greatness of our history to discover the full potential of our future.”
Quite what is meant by ‘bigger than Iraq,’ and ‘overcome the greatness of our history’.
Truly a psychopath.
From Chris Floyd’s Empire Burlesque
Dissent, Disappointment and Draconian Rule: Bradley Manning’s Plea and the Fight to Be Human
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35878.htm
‘Second point: I invite any critic of Bradley Manning’s mitigation plea to stand in his shoes for two seconds and show us how ‘tough’ they would be. Manning is facing a lifetime of penal servitude in a system that has already tortured him, battered him, humiliated him, abused him. He is facing the prospect of spending decades — decades — in a system run by people who demonstrably despise him. He will be housed with people — and more importantly, guarded by people — who hate ‘traitors’ and ‘queers’ and ‘weirdos’ and ‘sissies’ with a violent, virulent hatred. This is what he faces: years and years and years of it. What are you facing? If I were Bradley Manning and facing a life like that, I’m sure I’d proclaim my ‘repentance’ too. I’d apologize, I’d weep, I’d throw myself on the mercy of the court, if it meant I had the chance to cut some time from my sentence in hell. Does anyone really believe, even for a moment, that a blazing statement of political principle would have somehow moved the judge – the same judge who has made a relentless series of rulings cramping Manning’s defense at every turn, and ensuring that the trial was a ludicrous, sinister sham which never addressed – and was designed not to address – the substance of Manning’s action and the crimes that he revealed? What good, then, would be an empty effusion whose only purpose would be to make all of us sitting safely behind our keyboards feel all wiggly for a moment or two?’
The possibilities are endless:
Inspector: Oh….kilim, eh…well….move along, move along and don’t let it happen again.
That’s just the point. if the readers of the article had been informed it had been commissioned by the SNP they would have known to take it with a pinch of salt.
And if, despite being commissioned by the SNP, it was God’s honest truth, and they had known it was commissioned by the SNP, and discounted it?
FFS, it was stolen from someone’s server. No reason to dismiss the thief as dishonest?
Sorry. Too many questions. I risk sounding like someone else.
But if you seriously believe that influential people who believe in the Tory, Labour and Green ethoses (ethi?) don’t sometimes get approached to write material favourable to those parties, and indeed don’t get paid in cash, kind or contacts for their work, you are missing quite a large part of political PR, and I envy you your innocence. I’ll tell my old SNP chums to look out for you on the street as you canvass for the Tories next time….they’ll be happy to point you to the sleazier side of their opponents. Check out The Spectator, too. They’re quite well paid at the Spectator. Think they would be if they didn’t punt the Tory story?
Inspector: “How curious that a student should wish to speak to a person that we too are interested in. And I don’t believe that kilim story for a minute. How much for the student’s address?”
Me: 43a, Madeup Terrace, Fictionville, Wancs. That will be £500, please. You’ll want a receipt, of course?
So the latest wikileaks disaster is all Edward Snowden’s fault. 🙄
Does JA ever take responsibility for his actions?
FJ – one of your quotes from The Reverend’s memoirs (price 30p, any charity shop) awoke a memory. Here it is:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8064852/Tony-Blair-in-line-for-Bad-Sex-Award.html
Same passage.
‘how weird’
That have people sex?
Is your second name Whitehouse?
Please help get the Chagos Islanders the Island the UK government stole from them in the seventies. Thanks. And please spread. Thanks again.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Give_the_Chagos_islanders_the_right_to_return_home/?aCNkdbb
CE, not read too much on that story, and can’t find the one that I skimmed, but it seemed that Assange actually accepted the blame for the party difficulties. But your language, I fear, is rather loaded – “wikileaks disaster” – and the implication that Assange either regards himself as saintly, or that all of his supporters do. I’ve mentioned this before to you, perhaps so you might engage critically here, rather than making drive-by points.
Of course you are more than welcome to believe these things about WL. You are opposed to their work, you don’t like Assange, etc etc – I get that. Equally, I agree that – as with all political beliefs/groups/parties – there is a subsection of support that is entirely uncritical. But I think it is healthy to distance oneself from both reflexive sides of the discussion – partly because neither of them represent a discussion in the true sense of the word.
The WL story is complex because, well, real life is complex. It is doing valuable work holding corporate and governmental power to account. Its “leader” (who didn’t want a leader for the organisation in the first place) may have been stung in a honey trap, and he may also greatly lacked common sense (whilst in Sweden) given how evidently intelligent he is otherwise. Assange has dealt with both associates and business partners who have stabbed him in the back, and of course he now has to dealt with the collective malice of UK/US state corporate power. For good measure, his own country has washed their hands of him, and only a Latin American state will step in to help.
I sometimes wonder that, given JA’s evident intelligence (and, on an IQ scale, he may be a genius) he may also have acquired narcissist personality traits. I don’t use that phraseology to be cruel – actually I say it as a broad supporter. The psychological maladies of important public figures should be of interest, and are relevant – not as a propagandist mechanism to damn someone with sweeping generalisations as I find you tend to – but to assess whether they should be judged by society as good or bad.