Brazilian crowd whiter than a Broederbond meeting. Hard to enjoy the match without thinking of the 25 billion dollars squandered on the tournament by the Brazilian government – and plainly attendance is restricted to rich white people.
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I’m fully awake today John. Awake enough to notice that you left a big chunk of that Wiki article out of your post. Allow me to correct your omission:-
“However in a later report from Amnesty International it was found that “al-Gaddafi forces committed serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), including war crimes, and gross human rights violations,which point to the commission of crimes against humanity. They deliberately killed and injured scores of unarmed protesters; subjected perceived opponents and critics to enforced disappearance and torture and other ill- treatment; and arbitrarily detained scores of civilians. They launched indiscriminate attacks and attacks targeting civilians in their efforts to regain control of Misratah and territory in the east. They launched artillery, mortar and rocket attacks against residential areas. They used inherently indiscriminate weapons such as anti-personnel land mines and cluster bombs,including in residential areas.” ”
So carrying on with the arbitary arrests, torture and disappearances that marked the previous 40 years.
Mr Scorgie
“Re Resident Dissident:
“(No reaction from Mr Scorgie, to whose questions your post was in fact replying)”
It takes time to deconstruct a cleverly worded none-answer Habbabkuk”
__________________
Oh of course – it was a non-answer from Resident Dissident. Silly me for not having noticed that!
Seriously though, Doug, you can take all the time you like but I don’t think you’ll be able to refute Resident Dissident’s points. Quibble, obfuscate, attempt to distract, yes – refute, definitely not. 🙂
You’ve been definitively had, Doug.
” I am curious as to which two of the following you imply are plainly true when you say..”
You could always go back and read the link… Just a suggestion.
“And you should hear the racket from the garden shed everytime RD visits (which is most of the time) and the Prendergasts have put up that ugly 20ft high concrete wall but they found a way to get over and we’re at our wits’ end…”
____________________
Well, never mind that the Prendergast’s wall isn’t working – what’s important is that the real separation wall is.
It’s bad news for the Jew and Israel haters on this blog, but the separation wall certainly cuts the mustard when it comes to keeping Palestinian suicide bombers out of Israel.
(Now sark your way round that.. 🙂 )
Just a quick ganders at a some simple measurements seem to indicate living in Gaddafi’s Libya was not that bad.
A quick look at some figures that sprang to mind. Nothing scientific but better than a squeal of shit.
Before looking at any data I chose to compare data for the UK, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Angola (rich European, oil rich Middle East, north African neighbour, poor African).
% Population Living Below Poverty Line (CIA Data)
The latest figures available in 2010 have Libya listed at 7.4% of the population in poverty. This positions Libya one place below Switzerland (6.9%) and above all other African countries. And half the level of poverty in the UK.
Libya 7.4%
UK 14%
Morocco 17%
Angola 70%
Saudi Arabia Not Available
Infant Mortality Rate (UN Data)
For the most recent available year of data, 2010, Libya appears to have the lowest rate In Africa at 15.04% (the next lowest were Tunisia 20.82% and Algeria 24.97%).
UK 4.91%
Libya 15.04%
Saudi Arabia 18.51%
Morocco 34.12%
Angola 104.3
Of the North African states Libya has seen the biggest drop in infant mortality since the UN records began in 1950 with a substantial improvement in the 1970s (the first decade of Gaddafi’s rule).
Life Expectancy CIA Data
In 2009 Libya was 10% above world avaerage.
UK 79
Saudi Arabia 76.3
Libya 74.5
Morocco 71.8
Angola 38.2
BBC News now
Battle for key Iraqi oil refinery
Iraqi government forces are battling Sunni militants for control of the country’s biggest oil refinery, as the US considers a request for air strikes.
Sky News now
Iraq Forces ‘Retake’ Oil Refinery From ISIS
Troops regain the plant in Baiji from militants following fierce fighting, claim officials, as the US contemplates airstrikes.
Who do we believe? One or the other? Neither?
Mary
“The Guardian leads with news that Ed Miliband will today set out Labour’s first plans for cuts to the welfare system, ending out-of-work benefits for roughly 100,000 18- to 21-year-olds and replacing them with a less costly means-tested payment dependent on being in training.’”
________________
If you read what he said carefully, Mary, you’d have seen that a lot of what he means by “training” is actually to bring those kids up to some sort of speed with their basic skills – reading, writing and arithmetic. Basic skills which the marvelous state education system in the UK ( a system which you and your ilk are always defending…) somehow failed to teach them between the ages of 6 and 16.
************************
Habbabkuk says Education! Education! Education!
Bomb scare outside Sao Paolo stadium where Ingerland are playing.
Delays for spectators entering.
Betting:
Group D: Uruguay vs England
Venue: Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo
Kick-off: 8pm (3pm, Brazil time)
TV coverage: ITV1, from 7pm
Odds: Uruguay 13/5, Draw 5/2, England 11/10
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
Managers: Roy Hodgson (England)
Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay
Na’al Zevul
“I’m sorry about Dad. It’s so embarrassing!
Can’t hear him at all Sofia. I’ve got my e-arplugs (here – very reasonable – https://greasyfork.org/scripts/246-habbabreak ).”
___________________
Sure, Ba’al, sure – we can hear you. But that’s easy to say, isn’t it – and no one can tell if you’re telling porkies or not…..
Bit like when Habbabreak fist came along – everyone said they’d use it…..and then when I was absent for a few days on business, people started asking where I was….LOL
I couldn’t quote everything Kempe. I left out:
“The Great Manmade River was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.[1] In addition, illiteracy and homelessness had been “almost wiped out,”[2] and financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs,[5] while the nation as a whole remained debt-free.[6] As a result, Libya’s Human Development Index in 2010 was the highest in Africa and greater than that of Saudi Arabia.[1]”
That is what the west does not like. A debt-free nation, a country that can pay its way, when all western countries are in debt up to their eyeballs, including the US. Like Ceausescu, Gaddafi had to go. It’s simple arithmetic. You can’t have a success story unless it is the US success story in the west. If you were awake you would have taken on:
“Ukraine is a fitting partner for NATO. This short video shows how Slavyansk looked before and after they started liberating it. Similar in some ways to how Libya once looked before it was made free. So much better now ESLO (RD) [and Kempe]. Wouldn’t you agree?
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/06/16/slavyansk-before-and-after-kiev-nazi-revolution-video.html “
I don’t have an ilk. I only have one dog and one hen now.
It’s obviously my turn now for the garbage round.
Tell that to BT News from which I copied it. They were copying from the Times. Do you u n d e r s t a n d ?
http://home.bt.com/news/uknews/what-the-papers-say-june-19-11400827453390
Resident Dissident
Some people still haven’t digested those splendid comments of yours :
“RD; “No one managed to land a blow on you, of course ”
It’s hardly magic when a greased piglet evades capture, or when a nail fails to keep gelatin fastened to the wall.”
_____________
But hey, should we listen to an ageing Californian weed-smoker?
“Rehmat” asks
“What Brit opera fans has to say about this?
New York’s Metropolitan Opera has cancelled plans for a global simulcast to cinemas of John Adam’s ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’ amid objections from powerful Jewish-Israel lobby group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which claims the opera glorify “Palestinian terrorism” and could stir hatred toward Jews and Israel.”
________________
As an opera lover, I would say the following : the ADL has done mankind a considerable favour, as the “opera” in question – which I have seen – has about as much connection to real opera as Mr Goss has to reality.
Hope that helps, Rehmat.
Another regime change for Iraq:
“US rules out military action until Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stands down”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-crisis-exclusive-us-rules-out-military-action-until-pm-nouri-almaliki-stands-down-9547311.html
In the mould of psychopathic BLiar but a bigger liar and just as deadly.
Ralph Nader on Shillary. She is definitely electioneering. Will the Americans fall for it as they fell for Hopey Changey?
June 19, 2014
Oh, the Hard Choices
Hillary’s Haughty Hyperbole!
by RALPH NADER
Last Sunday’s New York Times Book Review section featured a one page interview with Hillary Clinton, author of the just released Hard Choices which brought her a $14 million advance from Viacom’s Simon and Schuster.
My first reaction was “Can anybody believe this?” I’m referring to the replies by Mrs. Clinton to questions about her book reading habits which turn out to be prodigious. How can such a super-busy person have the time to absorb such a staggering load of diverse books?
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/19/hillarys-haughty-hyperbole/
“Chinese investment in North Sea oil (among other things) will be high on the diplomatic agenda when Chinese premier visits UK this week.”
Daily Telegraph (Mon 16th June 2014)
Then:
“Chinese leader wants a “united United Kingdom”
“In an apparent boost to the No campaign…Mr Li was asked about the referendum at a press conference with David Cameron.”
“He said he wanted “a strong prosperous and united United Kingdom.”
The Independent (Wed 18th June 2014)
Surprise, surprise.
“Iraq crisis: Isis extremists plan to attack us in the UK, warns David Cameron”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/iraq-militants-planning-uk-attack-warns-david-cameron-ahead-of-meeting-with-top-security-officials-9545188.html
Watch out Scotland!
Mr Goss
“That is what the west does not like. A debt-free nation, a country that can pay its way, when all western countries are in debt up to their eyeballs, including the US. Like Ceausescu, Gaddafi had to go.”
__________________
This is at least the second time that this idea that Romania “paid its own way” under Ceausescu and was not in debt has surfaced on this blog (to be fair, it lay not have been you to say it the first time round).
As the first time, that assertion is bollocks. It plays on the fact that Romania’s national debt was very low, but neglects to point out that
Romania was heavily – very heavily – in debt to foreign creditors. This partly explains why the country was starved of consumer goods and even food under Ceausescu – these products had to be sold abroad to service the country’s debt.
I don’t know whether you are genuinely ignorant of certain facts or whether you are deliberately trying to mislead readers, but whichever it is you should take a good hard look at yourself.
**********************
“Life has become better, lofe has become merrier!” (J. Stalin, ca. 1934)
Mr Gelb, the Met’s general manager fell prey to the bullying of the ADL who now see it as part of their mission to censor the arts.
‘Composer’s Criticism
The decision was taken after discussions between Mr Gelb and the Anti-Defamation League, which represented Klinghoffer’s children.
Mr Adams criticised the decision, telling Associated Press news agency the opera “in no form condones or promotes violence, terrorism or anti-Semitism”.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27908841
Alice Goodman the librettist –
‘The controversy over the opera effectively finished off the musical career of Goodman, born a Jew in Minnesota and now a Church of England rector living near Cambridge.
On Wednesday Goodman called the decision wrong and contradictory. She was surprised the Met did not have a plan for addressing “the controversy that this opera always brings with it.
She questioned the reasons for cancelling the simulcast. “The whole idea of pogroms emerging from the simulcast of a modern opera is more than faintly absurd,” she said. “I think it is very unfortunate. It seems to me what we have here is a reaction. It is a wrong and a contradictory reaction.
“There is nothing antisemitic in Klinghoffer apart from one aria, which is sung by an antisemitic character and is clearly flagged as such.”‘
The British production –
‘The ENO had been braced for protests when it staged Klinghoffer but everything passed off peaceably with a solitary protester and nothing like the furore that happened in New York.
John Berry, ENO’s artistic director, said in a statement: “Both the Met and ENO have staged all of John Adams’ major operatic work and, as co-producers of this staging of The Death of Klinghoffer, we completely believe in this piece and the work of John Adams.
“I personally believe that it is not antisemitic and I hope that audiences seeing the work in New York later in the year will come to understand this for themselves and be moved by this exceptional opera. The work was warmly received in London and deemed a great success.”‘
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/18/death-of-klinghoffer-opera-cinema-cancelled-met-eno-anti-semitism
Strange that these professionals are all at odds with The Man In The Shed, our resident opera critic.
Mary
“Tell that to BT News from which I copied it. They were copying from the Times. Do you u n d e r s t a n d ?”
_____________________
So you were copying from someone who was copying from yet someone else.
My advice, Mary, would be : do less simple copying; check what you read carefully; think about it a little; include some personal input; press send button.
But anyway, your comment is a distraction from the main point, which was : the state education system, which you and your ilk spend so much time defending here, is obviously failing tens if not hundreds of thousand of kids beacuse they leave school after 10 years without being able to read, write and add up properly.
If you really cared about people – specifically children – you’d be exercised about that. Are you?
****************************
Habbabkuk says yes to quality education and no to quality hypocrisy
Mary
Leaving aside polemics for a moment : why don’t you buy another hen or two (or chicks)?
Here are interviews with people who experienced direct democracy on a vast scale in 1936 Spain.
Phil
“Here are interviews with people who experienced direct democracy on a vast scale in 1936 Spain.”
____________________
Not so sure about the “vast scale” but let that pass; why did that experiment fail, in your opinion, Phil?
“And who invented the evil Predator? Why, one Abraham Karem of course, now in the US, but originally a designer in the Israeli air force.”
_______________________
I want to come back to this egregious comment from Mary, because I don’t find the ‘explanation’ she gave for it very convincing.
Supposing someone had posted the following comment :
“And who headed up the evil gang which groomed and abused young girls? Why, one Taksim Mahmood of course, now a British citizen but originally from the Indian sub-continent.”
How would you have reacted to that, Mary?
I really think you should man up and apologise.
I prefer not to waste bandwidth replying to the inanities and that it not a cop out. It is just too tedious and boring. I am not in the mood right now nor am I able to take on any more ties for various reasons at the moment but thanks for the suggestion.
Our octogenarian bully boy is continuing to bully his way through the blog.
What a sad existence for someone who had such a good education.
His assertion that he knows Mary and has met her, his obsessive cyber stalking of her, all points to someone who has a mental disfixation with reality.
Habby probably lost his job in some school or university because of his bullying, his love for the FoI and control freakery, so be kind to the sad sod and ignore his inconsequential distortions and chaotic diversions.
“% Population Living Below Poverty Line..”
As the link says countries decide for themselves where to draw the Poverty Line so comparisons between nations don’t necessarily mean very much. After decades of military dictaorships Egypt has a life expectancy (2009) of 72.73 years and infant mortality 17.9 which aren’t that far away from the figures for Libya.
In 2005 Freedom House rated Political Rights in Libya as “7” where 1 is the most free and 7 the least. Civil Liberties also rated “7”.
Still waiting for that link.
Kempe
I wasn’t trying to be cute with those figures. I saw the CIA as source and thought even Kempe cannot argue with those. I completely missed the bit about countries assessing themselves. So yes those % of poverty figures are worthless.
Also worthless is anything, including political indexes, from the US state department funded Freedom House.
Clark
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm
George Orwell
“Politics and English language”
Mr Scorgie
After your rather rude repeated demands of me to reply to you – which I did as soon as I was able it is rather disappointing that the homework I set you last night remains undone – please hurry along and complete straightaway. It’s not the first time I have noted your tendency to avoid difficult challenges and resort to bluster rather than addressing the issues in hand.
Just so you don’t resort to claims that the set work was consumed by your canine friends let me repeat the original challenge:
“Well again here I agree – but before you go expounding the superiority of the BRICs perhaps you could go and do a little research and compare tax rates and public spending levels in Western European democracies on all those good things with say that in Putin’s Russia – I think once you completed your survey you may have a rather different view as to what has been achieved by our democracies despite the opposition from wealthy and individuals and corporations and their fair and foul means. You see if you can convince people of the strength of your arguments (difficult in your case admittedly), show some basic competence and on going respect for democratic means – then those who wish to oppose will find it rather more difficult.”