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.
‘fingers crossed’.
Considering the history, it’s going to take more than luck 🙂
http://anniemachon.ch/annie_machon/2012/03/the-extradition-farce-why-the-delay-in-reform.html
This is interesting. It’s an animated mapping of protests across the planet since 1979.
You can see the massive increase in protests since the shackles on finanialization were thrown away.
The article also makes the point that the established myth is that the 1960s and 70s were the poster child for protest and turmoil, and yet they seem mild by comparison with the exponential increase in protests since the banksters took over.
The 1960s and 70s were of course decades in which the wealth of the west was more evenly shared and banksters were not allowed to do as they pleased.
Quite remarkable and revealing of course:
http://www.ultraculture.org/watch-a-jaw-dropping-visualization-of-every-protest-since-1979/
” level of full-blown diplomatic nightmare. ”
That would be my strategy. Test out Ecuador, Bolivia et al and a diplomatic mission for Assange, say Ambassador to the US. Just a thought. I know they have already shown their willingness to violate diplomatic immunity, but i don’t think they want that criticism publicized, again. Obama wears suspenders AND belts to hold up his britches. He won’t risk his rep again. Look at his waffling on Syria.
“I think Jon’s role is consigned to ‘herding cats’, which doesn’t leave room for error, Villager.”
Agreed Ben, that precise thought has crossed my mind too, so he should absolutely minimise his Happy Scissors. But right now he’s providing Moaner Myrtle of special protection. Myrtle provides one an excuse for early evening entertainment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uos3qj0NuYs
Love this version!
Ben, someone said that he could be simply given a diplomatic passport and be asked to play courier. Actual appointments require advance approval? Or not? in terms of credentials acceptability?
Simple question, requiring a simple answer please – so who carried out the gas attack in Damascus suburbs killing 1300 civilians (no dead rebels in the videos, only children), 45 minutes away from official UN Inspection team based at a hotel in the town centre? Hint – inquire into exact time of videos footage released on YouTube vs now known time of actual gas attack in the suburbs.
“Ye shall know the false prophets (devils) be their fruit (seed or deeds)” eg Eitan Livny father of “fruit” tzipi livny, Gaza war criminal.
Villager,
True, Assange has stated he won’t leave the embassy even after Sweden drops its investigation, because the threat he’s worried about (and has received asylum for) is extradition/rendition then prosecution by the US for the work of Wikileaks. That won’t go away, of course, just because the Swedish business does. But I think the “jumping bail” issue will. In his judgment reducing the amounts that Assange’s sureties had to pay, Justice Riddle left it open for them to be fully reimbursed should it turn out that Assange had “reasonable cause” not to surrender to the Extradition Unit. Obviously, “reasonable cause” is a legal term the lawyers will have fun fighting over, but at least the possibility has been left open. I couldn’t see any other reason for Justice Riddle to put that particular paragraph in his judgment. (Other than contrition – it was Justice Riddle’s own lazy approval of the original extradition request – “this matter will doubtless go to appeal” ie. bump this headache upstairs to get it off my bench – which kicked this whole mess off.)
“someone said that he could be simply given a diplomatic passport and be asked to play courier. Actual appointments require advance approval? Or not? in terms of credentials acceptability?”
I don’t know about Ecuador, but in the US the President nominates, Senate approves (normally POTUS gets who he wants) and voila !
AMBASSADOR would be harder to violate, than a courier, imo. Much more egregious, and self-sustaining in the ‘staining’ of diplomatic circles.
Krishnamurky; My question is now day-old bread.
What are you, really?
Good, finer point Arbed. What’s your take on diplomatic passport/appointment angles. Courier or what if he’s appointed Ecuador’s representative to their permanent mission in Geneva for example?
Arbed @ 6:51
So a diplomatic post won’t do it? He would really stay in the Embassy if Sweden dropped charges?
Ben i meant the process of acceptability of credentials by the receiving country…
Hague, Fabius, Ashton, Davutoglu, Israelis Scream for US Attack on Syria; Russia Warns of Pre-Planned Provocation by Rebels; Obama and Dempsey Still Resisting; Time to Dump Kerry, Rice, Power, Sunstein, Hague, Cameron. All pushed by the city of London, mainstream media and Israeli lobbyists
This is the Western imperialists’ desperate last roll of the dice. They know that their time is running out and will face the consequences of their mass criminality…
The big question is should Hague and Cameron be allowed prison uniforms or should they only be allowed one pair of Y Fronts and a string vest in the publically viewable prison?
http://tarpley.net/
Herbie, 6.38pm
Oh yes, I saw that visualisation of Protests 1979 to Present yesterday. It is fascinating, isn’t it? If you like that sort of thing, here’s another:
Timelapse of every nuclear explosion between 1945-1998:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LLCF7vPanrY#
Lots more info on this one – country tallies, colour coding, bells and whistles. Almost tuneful once it reaches the 1960s.
MJ
Here are the links you requested
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2013/03/nuclear-nightmare/comment-page-4/#comment-400942
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2013/02/rennard-conundrum/#comment-395979
Perhaps you might wish to apologise for the insinuation that I was lying – not that moderator will bother to give me and others with similar views that projection. Yes I may hold views and opinions with which you disagree, which is yours and anyone else’s perogative – but I am not disingenous.
Villager; Again, not sure of the protocols for foreign gov’ts, but i should think the country of origin is the broker for proper credentials. I can’t imagine another gov’t refusing to accept, but let me look.
Couple of pages of google, only brought this……http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/11/dominicans_rage_against_obamas_gay_ambassador_pick
Lots of noise, no rejection.
@Ben
Re “My question is now day-old bread.”
Yeah enough day old bread to make a WW3 bread pudding, and then some !
WAKE UP !
Villager (and Ben)
I don’t think any of those approaches will work because all diplomatic nominations must receive approval from the host nation, ie the UK. I could be wrong, of course, and the UK will quietly negotiate behind the scenes for that kind of face-saving excuse to get rid of Assange off these shores, but I doubt it. Wikileaks recently uploaded a mega 395GB “insurance” file – which people assume includes a copy of all Snowden’s documents – so I should imagine that GCHQ see Assange being freed to continue with Wikileaks’ work more robustly than he can manage from a small Knightsbridge flat as something of an ongoing threat.
What I meant by “raising it to the level of a full-blown diplomatic nightmare was simply the embarrassment of keeping an elected foreign Senator under lock and key, surrounded by a painfully visible, Kevlar-waistcoated and watchful 24-hour police guard. Just not a good look on the world stage. 🙂
“I don’t think any of those approaches will work because all diplomatic nominations must receive approval from the host nation, ie the UK”
I don’t see how that could be true. Looking…
Thanks, Arbed.
It almost makes the Atlantic look quite safe.
Thanks as well for the great work you’re doing in collating the Assange material.
Perhaps we should map prisoners of conscience across the globe and watch as the west itself loses its way.
Arbed, thats why i suggested the UN as i doubt there is an equivalent of host nation approval required and given Assange’s breadth of understanding of world affairs he could discharge such a role at a credible level. If it were to Geneva, rather than high-profile New York, it may even be politically acceptable domestically in Ecuador — thats another test that needs to be passed.
As for embarrassment, i think you’re being too generous to those incapable of it
“Perhaps we should map prisoners of conscience across the globe and watch as the west itself loses its way.”
Do it and return.
Here it is, Ben:
“If Assange steps out of the embassy, he is liable to be arrested. Were he to be given a diplomatic passport, that would not alter the situation: immunity from arrest is only conferred on diplomats accredited to the Court of St James’s by the Foreign Office.”
http://forums.philosophyforums.com/threads/habeas-corpus-and-julian-assange-54428-6.html
and I really can’t imagine Julian Assange being invited to meet Queenie, haha:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/Audiences/Ambassadorscredentials.aspx
Res Diss
“Yes I may hold views and opinions with which you disagree, which is yours and anyone else’s perogative – but I am not disingenous.”
OK, let’s see.
Where do you stand on decreasing human rights in the west?
The whys and wherefores and so on.
Villager,
That wins my prize for today’s best one-liner.
Arbed 25 Aug, 2013 – 7:17 pm
“Wikileaks recently uploaded a mega 395GB “insurance” file – which people assume includes a copy of all Snowden’s documents”
Arbed, is there debate amongst the wikileaks team/community/supporters about a transparency group hiding state secrets to protect an individual?
Guano
“They are mostly Muslim, not secular, but they believe they are accountable to God for their actions”
It is quite possible to belong to a religion and be accountable to your God and still believe in secular government – plenty of countries have secular constitutions but have no bar whatsover on their members and employees belonging to a religion of their choice.
“The Egyptians did not want the brutal tyranny of one dictator to be replaced with the psychological tyranny of the dictator’s line-manager USUKIS armed with total jassous/spying capacity.” I’m sure they don’t – but as Suhayl has pointed out there are plenty in Egypt who believe in secular government and don’t support the army – many of whom were in the original demonstrations that overthrew Mubarak
“You don’t like 1000 year old texts. I do because they tell me that humans should be governed with humanity, and spying on humans is severely condemned as a gross intrusion on human dignity.” That sounds very much like a humanist principle to me as well – as i said in my original post there is nothing wrong with taking high level principles from religions – it is the smaller deatails, their interpretaion and then there enforcement that is inappropriate. And I would add that is a few I have about all the major world religions not just Islam – I don’t believe that there is a single substantial criticism from a liberal viewpoint that at sometime or other couldn’t also be thrown at Christainity or Judiasm. I would also add add that all religions have had leaders at times who appear to place rather more emphasis on control rather than liberty.
Well done, RD putting paid to MJ. Lets see if he has the grace to chew his words — not many do.
Hi Phil,
Not since Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum from GCHQ stood over the Guardian editors in the Kings Place basement as they smashed their hard drives containing copies of Snowden’s documents with an axle grinder, no. Since then, there’s been a general recognition of the wisdom of a publisher taking action to avoid prior restraint on the publication of classified materials here in the UK. (Well, everywhere actually, not just the UK. Wikileaks has long been in the habit of releasing “insurance” files on a regular basis for exactly this reason. It’s not just about Snowden.)