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.
Joolz:
Boy, you need the Road;
the lazy white stitch of heaven’s path leading through the
sun’s bright benediction criss-cross and mazy to some
wild-thyme scented hillside lying silvery sweet and
blood warm under high cirrus clouds embroidering
the lapis-lazuli of the southern sky like prayer flags,
far, far away from the bricks and mortar menagerie
of your home town’s crash-and-burn Saturday night circus.
Boy, you need the Road;
nights of fast-forward spirit-driven dazzling highs;
luminous surf pulse of breathing icy turquoise oceans,
you sprawled on a black beach wrapped in a ragged blanket,
a salt-green witch fire flickering cold and lighting up no earthly place
but burning in your flesh like those lost and long-gone kisses you
miss so much and crave with a junkie’s jack-up fever
in your aching and unmended heart.
Boy, you need the Road;
playing your old guitar through dawn’s blue incense
that rises over canyons of crystal sheathed skyscrapers
in a hotel room so bleach-clean and anonymous it hurts;
the songs you pick so idly the diary of your flight;
staring into the lying whore of a mirror that shows a face you
would not have known to be your own – a face that shows everything
but tells nothing to the world you travel like a cruel angel.
Boy, you need the Road;
it will be your sweet and savage consolation, Star;
it will be your demon lover and your loving mother both,
wrapping you in webs of contradiction and razor-bright illusion,
as sinning saint and sanctified sinner you eat magic, breathe voodoo,
try everything as you search through souks and shanties, plazas
and favellas – dirt and diamond-crusted alike – for a way
into the shadow-land to find your true name and your dead love.
Boy, you need the Road;
if you don’t go, go, go – fast as those great opal wings can bear you
out of the stink and ceremony of your expected life –
if you don’t go – and this is no word of a lie, my sweetheart,
real life will get you, and a nice girl and her babies
will get you and bang-up straight-time work will get you
and you’ll choke on it all in the neat little chain-store bedroom
where you cry when you think no one hears your terrible pain.
Boy, you need the Road;
better run, baby, better run right now and don’t look back
because you mustn’t regret and you mustn’t hear the siren song
sung by the ones who stayed and lost and drank and drugged
their way to their own safe and stinking seat at the bar in Hell Town:
so run fast on those long legs and shake the clinging dust
of home from your boot heels as an offering to Holy Mother Mary,
a sacrifice for your last chance free and clear rock n’ roll great escape.
Well, that’s my prayer for you, anyhow; that’s my last blessing.
So, boy; you need the Road;
you need the Road,
you need the Road,
Boy listen, listen, listen – before it’s all too late.
You need the Road.
Habbabkuk (La vita è bella!)
19 Aug, 2013 – 8:28 pm
“I also second your query about the use of the word “nest” and, while accepting the perpetrater’s assurance that she was not using the word in a “Nazi sense”, feel that something was nevertheless revealed through that choice of word. But I shan’t go into that now.”
Please help the posters here Habbabkuk by explaining how the word “nest” can be used in a Nazi sense.
I have never known of a Nazi sense of the word and I genuinely would like to know.
I have done numerous searches on the net recently but have come up blank.
I await your reply.
Fedup, chill man 🙂
You are in more agreement with @Tech than you think, I reckon. In the meantime, I had also noticed the use of the word “nest”, and FJ didn’t seem to mind my raising that point. The responses from others about the capture of language and political correctness are valid, and are an interesting part of this debate.
But, if someone says “I do not subscribe to the view that ‘Zionists’ rule the world”, it does not also mean they are opposed to Palestinian rights, or international law, and so forth. It is just a rejection of the idea that the Israeli state will automatically win every fight it picks, either through secret and organised conspiracy or chosen-people connection to God. As you’ll no doubt know, there are unpleasant race-base theories about “all Jews” which support such ideas, and they can be rejected at the same time as condemning Israeli/US foreign policy.
You’re right about Rusbridger though; I do wonder whether he has any awareness of what his paper has contributed to.
That new Nova. Gamma Burst now detected from it. Just as well it’s not a supernova…
http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=5302
Seems to be at something of the order of maybe ten thousand light years away by best estimates. Spectrum changing rapidly which seems to be interesting some theoretical physicists.
Komodo at 12.39 – Yes Martin’s up there with Hogarth IMO.
“I could never figure Pakistan out.” Villager, earlier today.
Yes, it is complex, like most of these things. Best to start with the military-intelligence apparatus which is the real ruler of the country and which rules for its own ends – its own wealth. Throughout Pakistan’s history, this apparatus has had a pact with the feudal landowners (who deal in bonded labour of peasants) and large capitalists and the civilian, basically tribal, politicians who look after the interests of the other two civilian power foci. All the major political parties in Pakistan, including the PPP, are Right-wing, some are Far Right Islamist. All these groups are massively corrupt and are in cahoots/interchangeable with organised criminals (eg. in the energy sector). It’s a quasi-fascist, gangster state, with needlessly atrocious health and education statistics and human/civil rights that have deteriorated under successive regimes. Periodically, there are struggles between elites (judiciary, politicians, big business and so on).
Over time, the military-intelligence complex has grown increasingly wealthy, corrupt and powerful. They run the Islamist paramilitaries basically as death squads against Pakistani people and others and they use them to sow perpetual division (eg. killings of Shias, etc.). There are also regional wars (eg. Baluchistan); the military/intelligence apparatus crushes regional/provincial movements very efficiently and completely, but seems unable to deal with Islamist paramilitaries – that is simply because they run these paramilitaries. They were forced to fight them when they encroached on the capital several years ago, but only to the extent that the immediate existential threat was repulsed. The military and intelligence services are the only institutions that run efficiently and effectively. They are obsessed with India and are allied with China (wrt diplomacy/soft power/a counterweight to India) and the USA (the relationship with the USA is military/spook/School of the Americas-style). Kashmir is a running sore (India also likes to keep it as a running sore and is intensely oppressive in Kashmir, multiple human rights abuses and so on) and is used to justify many things in Pakistan, including continued hegemonic army rule. Over time, esp. since the mid-1970s, Islamism has been used as an instrument of state repression and a channel/instrument of cleverly-directed protest. The lack of basic social services and enormously unfair wealth distribution feeds into this dynamic. The Left, such as it was/is, has generally been divided and ineffectual; literacy rates are low.
We saw what the Pakistan military-intel-Islamist paramilitary apparatus did in East Pakistan (later, Bangladesh) in 1971: Genocide. They did this to ‘their own’ people – but they regarded Bengalis as ‘dark and inferior’. South Asian culture (i.e. India, too) has deeply racist currents.
In 2001, the USA/NATO blundered into a quagmire and Pakistan’s military-intelligence apparatus (and President Musharraf) played the Americans very effectively. The USA, wrt specifically foreign policy, is notorious for not learning from past errors and for being unbelievably naive. Pakistan took full advantage of this both in obtaining its nuclear weapons and post-‘9/11’. Like Iraq, this, too, demonstrated the limits of American power, post-Cold War.
The people of Pakistan are resourceful, friendly and generous. I’ve greatly enjoyed my time there. It is a very varied country in terms of terrain and people/cultures/languages. In the north-west, there are blond-haired, blue-eyed pagans, while in the extreme south, there are people descended from African slaves. The Graeco-Buddhist civilisation was based there. There used to be Jewish community in Karachi – some famous singers, film stars and industrialists were Jewish. There is a sizeable Christian community, mainly Anglican and some Roman Catholic and there are some Hindus and a few Sikhs. Lahore used to be a polyglot city pre-Partition. Not so, now.
Over 50% of the 180 million Pakistanis now live in cities.
Pakistan’s formation is also deeply controversial – no time to go into it now – and contested. It gets a one-dimensional bad press. The reality is far more complex.
This does not really do the subject service, but it hope it’s a useful beginning.
Something I take for granted, of course, but not only was the Indus Valley Civilisation there, Pakistan also has some wonderful mosques and other historical monuments. There is one mosque in Sindh, for instance, built in C16th, where (mercifully,) loudspeakers are not required, because it was built in such a way that the sound of the azaan (call to prayer) and sermon was transmitted all over the courtyard. Lots of beautiful Sufi shrines – the poorer people have nothing else to look to – there is also a syncretism with Hindu devotional cults. But sadly, to some extent, that’s also been used to keep (of course, the poorer) people “drunk with religion” and “Sufi masters” and so on.
AlcAnon; What abut anthrax liberated by impacts?
F.A.O. the poster who professed to be concerned about the effects of psychedelics on the mental health of those who enjoy them …. your worries are unfounded:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-08/nuos-lao081813.php
On a personal note, I have tried my best to sample most social and psychedelic drugs at least once. It is my honest belief that out of all of them, the most dangerous is alcohol. It’s certainly the only one that’s ever got me into trouble, and it killed a much loved relative.
Ben,
I hardly know a thing about anthrax Ben. Impact related or otherwise.
AA; Re; our last discussion left several links.
August 20, 2013
The Washington Post’s Distorted Cartography
Erasing Palestine From the Map
by ROBERT ROSS
A foreign affairs blogger for The Washington Post recently posted “40 Maps that explain the world.” Some of the maps are important (“Economic inequality around the world”), some are interesting (“Meet the world’s 26 remaining monarchies”), but others grossly distort the reality they purportedly represent. Chief among this latter category is “How far Hamas’s rockets can reach into Israel” .
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/20/erasing-palestine-from-the-map/
I thought that the cartographer’s resume was pathetic and risible. Jane Austin’s England indeed! He (Gene) just borrows a Google map and sticks a few map pin symbols on the image.
http://goo.gl/maps/W5Mhp
Yet another failed propaganda attempt from the Israel Project. I think they are becoming desperate.
A Node, at 9:59pm: Wrt psychedelics, that’s really interesting, thanks.
Villager, going back, then, to your question/point, in essence, the Pakistani military-intel complex had a two-faced policy towards the USA/NATO. One the one hand, it was, “Yes sir, no sir, three bags full, sir” – eg. they handed over (scooped-up, really) loads of low-level operatives and indeed wholly innocent people, who ended up in America’s Gulag. On the other hand, they harboured (and continue to harbour) the leaders of the Taliban/Al Qaeda and continue to support their Islamist paramilitary/guerrilla forces to both east (Kashmir) and West (Afghanistan) against NATO (and India). They see these forces as essential to their perceived existential war with (the far stronger) India (India has defeated Pakistan in several wars).
Interesting that Mushy (as he was known) has been arrested for Benazir Bhutto’s murder. His state certainly allowed security to be extremely lax around her. It is likely, however, that she was murdered by an Politician-ISI-Islamist cadre. She named her assassins (the planners, that is) openly, publicly before she was killed. Mushy may be the fall guy, now. Why did he return when it was obvious to everyone else that he was ‘yesterday’s man’? Well, as with Bokassa returning to the Central African ‘Empire’ (Republic) to face trial and imprisonment, ex-dictators often seem to live in an unreal world, and start to believe their own propaganda. Their yes-men whisper sweet nothings in their ear, kind of the reverse of those whispered to the Caesars by their charioteers. And so, for the modern ex-dictator, it would be:
‘Remember, you are immortal’.
Ben,
Yes I know. I’ve just got no comment to add at the moment. Really don’t want to start googling (or insert favourite search engine) more information on anthrax right at the moment. Too many things in space got my attention.
There’s also an inbound CME from a filament collapse on the Sun this morning. It is at least partly earth directed and NASA have issued a CME arrival prediction for late Thursday/early Friday. Looked spectacular. Hopefully might produce a light show and nothing worse.
As it was a filament collapse flare there was no X-Ray “Class” associated with it. Just goes to show you can get big CMEs when the “Flare Class” is only “B” never mind “C” “M” or “X”
Was that the small comet?
Another one of many minor little space mysteries right now is why the Ulysses solar observatory spacecraft is showing up in some NASA output again as if it is an active input to certain output. Its mission officially ended in 2009 and its transmitter commanded off. I’m wondering if shutting down the transmitter gave it the power reserves to keep the fuel from freezing for a few more years and they’ve woken it up again quietly. But then I wonder a lot.
Ben,
No – the comet one was a bit earlier and was a far side ejection. However it was such a huge far side ejection it initially looked like a front side ejection pointed straight at us from first images. Indeed there was then a “server failure” which took real time data from SDO satellite offline for several hours afterwards just to add to the suspense. Real time data came back online just in time to show the filament collapse which is definitely at least partially earth directed.
So if the server failure was an attempt to “buy time” while they double checked the earlier one it backfired by coming back online just in time for the one that is coming towards us.
Suhayl: “It’s also excellent research material into the human condition – character and dialogue fuel, if you will, for possible future projects.”
Or possibly simply fuel for the understanding and awareness of the ‘now’, which is far and away more important.
As BrianF points out, man has moved farther and farther away from his essential Nature in practically every aspect of his life. Hearts have been closed and replaced by materialism and competition in every sphere. Political activists have become part of The Game, unwittingly or believing they have a better answer to the distribution of limited resources but part of The Game nevertheless. Then they are the New-agers who have been mislead by their gurus and ‘beliefs’, put into slumber by their so-called meditation. No one, or few, are asking the right questions: how can we live, individually and together a life that is true and Whole, i.e. Holy where Nationalism and Religion are seen for what they are, fanning insecurity and conflict under the guise of discharging a role towards security. On the technology front, there has been huge cooperation, putting man on the moon, building the space station, rolling out the internet (effectively an instant global telephone exchange) but also complex weapons of war, nuclear missiles, UAV’s and so on and so forth. The present paradigm locks man into suffering, inequity , injustice and never-ending conflict , including of the trivial sort you see here.
We haven’t even begun to ask ourselves the right questions. To rise above the status quo and understand our intrinsic human connectivity, our responsibility towards each other, our Oneness, the true experience of living peacefully in harmony with ourselves and Nature all seem a million years away. The possibilities that will bring us there are likely some sort of massive catastrophe, manmade or Natural, resulting in an awakening, or a visit from outer space. Meantime, we will argue about the details, in order to escape the very harsh realities of life, its travail, and pursue personal pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
I’d invite others to share their world-view of humanity and global peace. If you don’t want to, please step back while this blog is in its banal state and reflect upon the connection between the internal and the external; perhaps even the eternal. Perhaps also this thread has brought about enough discomfiture to churn your inward thoughts well and proper. So how do these fragments come together, if at all?
A Node/Suhayl
Nevertheless, as Suhayl alluded about ‘short-cuts’ in his post, bear in mind there is no Backdoor to Heaven.
AA; Are all astronomers jacked into prohibiting the release of untoward events to the public?
I get tired of these assholes who want to protect us from ourselves.
Suhayl re Mushy P, i’m in total agreement with you. Just a little surprising that Kayani is sitting back and watching all this happen — even he could not have deluded Mush to return home. I think more than just his henchmen his own inflated ego got the better of him, thinking he was invincible. Still Pakistan is one helluva, as Dreo put it, tangled web.
Ben, A Little Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVpcAMOGkwA
Ben,
I have caught certain phrasing from some solar physicists that suggests they do not fully feel free to “speculate” too far. Which is a pity because when NASA et al. go quiet, the speculation on the Internet goes into over-drive. Notice that even the publication of detection of gamma rays from Nova Delphini 2013 was delayed by two full days,
nest = stettl = small town or village
Ben,
I should perhaps add that it was a “.mil” server that failed in the SDO data chain last night not a “civilian” server.
Ben which in your opinion are the better versions of G.L.O.R.I.A?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuHx5eLZKkQ
Villager; The WHOLE album. I know you don’t approve of back door enlightenment (false samadhi) but, and I may be an anomoly, powerful psychotropics lifted me from a conscious slumber and awakened me to an unfathomable world. It’s a medicine, not a food.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKEuV0aAg8o
Teach Your Children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyU0P6iqyw4
Hard to say, but I generally prefer the original, because, er, it’s original.
Ben, i was just thinkin of In-a-gadda-da-vida the other day and funnily you were part of that thought! Thanks…