I do not claim any direct link between my declaration in Kirkcaldy that I was seeking nomination as a SNP Westminster candidate and fancied taking on Gordon Brown, and his subsequent decision to let the media know he intends to stand down and not fight! But it is an act of remarkable political cowardice from a man who so spectacularly promised No voters massive devolution of powers to the Scottish parliament. That Brown promise was given more publicity by the mainstream media than any other event in the entire referendum campaign. The fact that Brown never had any locus to deliver what he was promising was bound at some stage to become acutely embarrassing. He now escapes responsibility for the cynical lies of his pledges, by simply running away.
Brown was always a feartie. He was scared to stand against Tony Blair for leader, scared to call a general election early when he could have averted Labour’s electoral disaster. He was even scared to stick to his guns when for once he got something right and called that dreadful woman a bigot.
Brown contributed directly to the crippling poverty of millions by his disastrous deregulation of the City of London and years of giving the bankers everything they desired. Nor must we allow the mainstream media unchallenged to cement the lie that there was no alternative to trillions of pounds in grants and effective subsidies from taxpayers being given direct to the fatcat bankers, which have crippled the public finances for generations. Letting bad banks go bust and bad bankers go on the dole (or hopefully jump) was a far better option. Contrary to the Brown myth, world recession was not averted. It happened, massively. The only thing saved was the multi-million incomes of the people whose greed and stupidity had caused the collapse.
Brown remains the greatest friend the bankers ever had.
Brown and Darling lead a large phalanx of Labour MPs who realise their best career move is to transit to the benches of the House of Lords while the going is good, and start pocketing their 300 pounds a day allowance for doing nothing but hoovering up comfy directorships.
I fear that they will find that Scottish independence is coming sooner than they think and that gig will soon get cut short too.
As for Brown’s devolution promises, frankly I don’t give a damn about the Smith Commission. Holyrood control of income tax is meaningless if most other taxes are set in London. Fiscal autonomy can only work if Scotland is given all its taxes, including those from hydrocarbons and from whisky. That will never happen. Any tax and spend devolution which reserves oil and whisky taxes to the UK Treasury will be perverted by Westminster, to only result in further public spending cuts for Scotland. Besides, if Westminster can still send our children to fight and die in illegal wars, the money is immaterial.
Which brings us back to Gordon Brown. Remember not only did he first deregulate the bankers then give them huge transfers from poor families’ taxes, he backed Blair to the hilt over the invasion of Iraq. Without Brown’s support, Blair could not have done it, and hundreds of thousands would not have died – nor would we have ISIS and linked chaos now.
Brown is an evil man.
Mr Broon the Zionist will not like this.
Globalizing the actions to block the Israeli Zim ships
You may have heard that the Zim shipping line has decided to discontinue sending its ships to California ports in the US. This is a major victory, but also a tactical retreat for Zim and the government of Israel. They appear to be terrified that ports around the world might block Israeli ships. Demonstrations and successful actions fuel the movement, and Israel may have decided that if there are no Israeli ships to picket, the news media will show little interest.
Perhaps, but that is why the Free Palestine Movement and other groups are working to encourage and develop pickets at other ports around the world. Zim lost millions of dollars and several clients as a result of the actions in the US. Shipping clients expect their cargo to be delivered on schedule, and the Oakland disruptions alone resulted in delays of weeks or months as well as extra shipping costs on non-Zim carriers. If a few more ports around the world can accomplish the same results, Zim will suffer greatly, and possibly mortally. Bringing down the giant Zim shipping line would be a major victory for the picket organizers, and might lead to similar actions against other Israeli interests.
On 1-3 December, Beirut, Lebanon will host an international meeting of the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine. The Free Palestine Movement will be one of dozens of organizations from as many countries to be represented. Our contribution will be a proposal for global actions to stop Israeli ships at ports around the world and to convene an international labor conference on Palestine in 2015. The proposal will occupy a major part of the conference, which will also address the brutal Israeli siege of Gaza, the threats against the Palestinian community in Jerusalem and its Muslim and Christian holy places, as well as other topics.
Co-founder Paul Larudee will represent FPM at the conference and will report on the results after his return. We hope that other groups that are pursuing similar objectives in other places will also share such information, so that we do not miss this opportunity to give Israel a small taste of what it means to suffer a blockade of its ships, as it has done to Gaza for the last 47 years.
The FPM Team
https://freepalestinemovement.org/
Well done Oakland. WELL DONE INDEED
Some Stuff on Brown the Evil War Criminal –
At present, failed international justice allows US and UK war criminals to stand above international law. Understanding that this constitutes an attack — or makes possible future attacks — on the human rights of everyone, everywhere, we will continue to advocate the use of all possible avenues, including UN institutions, the International Criminal Court, and popular tribunals, to highlight and bring before law and moral and public opinion US and UK crimes in Iraq.
We are ready to make our experience and expertise available to those who struggle in the same direction. We look forward to a time when the countries of the global South, which are generally victims of aggression, reinforce their juridical systems by implementing the principle of universal jurisdiction. This will be a great service to humanity and international law.
Millions of people in Iraq have been killed, displaced, terrorised, detained, tortured or impoverished under the hammer of US and UK military, economic, political, ideological and cultural attacks. The very fabric and being of the country has been subject to intentional destruction. This destruction constitutes one of the gravest international crimes ever committed. All humanity should unite in refusing that law — by failing to assure justice for Iraqi victims — enables this destruction to be the opening precedent of the 21st century…
This case, naming George H W Bush, William J Clinton, George W Bush, Barack H Obama, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Anthony Blair and Gordon Brown, was brought by Iraqis and others who stand in solidarity with the Iraqi people and in defence of their rights and international law.
Introduction
The respondents herein identified in this complaint have all held or hold high public office in the administrations of the United States and the United Kingdom, and/or commanding authority in the respective armed forces of these countries, and whilst in command or in office actively instigated, authorized, supported, justified, executed and/or perpetuated:
1. A 13-year sanctions regime on Iraq known and proven to have an overwhelmingly destructive impact on Iraqi public health, especially child mortality
2. The use of disproportionate and indiscriminate military force, including numerous extra-legal strikes and bombing campaigns throughout the 1990s, entailing the purposeful destruction of Iraq’s water and health facilities, and defence capacities, and the widespread contamination of Iraq’s ecosphere and life environment by the unjustified and massive use of depleted uranium munitions
3. The prevention by means of comprehensive sanctions, and/or military strikes, of the reconstruction of Iraq’s critical civil infrastructure, including its health, water and sanitation systems, and the decontamination of Iraq’s ecosphere/life environment, backed by the threat of Security Council veto where unanimity was not present for such strikes and/or the continuance of the sanctions regime
4. The launching of an illegal war of aggression against Iraq based on deliberate falsification of threat assessment intelligence and systematic efforts to conceal from the general public in the United States and the United Kingdom, and other countries, along with parts of the military command structure of the respective armed forces deployed, the true aims and objectives of that war
5. Establishing by design an occupation apparatus that by its incompetence, inexperience, corruption and/or ideological or sectarian alignment and actions would finalize the destruction of the Iraqi state and the attempted destruction of Iraqi national unity and identity, entailing an attack upon Iraqis as a whole and the intended destruction of the Iraqi national group as such.
The acts ordered and/or continued and perpetuated by the respondents identified in this complaint were unlawful in nature, were known to be and/or ought reasonably to have been known to be unlawful in nature, and were based on manifest and purposive lies, manipulations, deliberately misleading presentations of facts, and baseless assertions and other false justifications. The consistency of the propaganda effort that supported and contextualized these unlawful acts was such — and was aimed and known to be so — that it constituted an international campaign of demonization and dehumanization of Iraqis, the Iraqi nation, the Iraqi state, Iraq’s civil and military leadership, Iraq’s civil administrative apparatus, and Iraq in its Arab context. As such, and through actions taken and summarized below, the respondents:
1. Deprived the Iraqi people of all or the majority of their fundamental rights as established and protected by international human rights law and international humanitarian law, expressed in the UN Charter and conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions, including the right of defence
2. Structured and implemented policies that continue to deprive the Iraqi people of their sovereignty and the exercise of their freedom, human rights, and civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as established and guaranteed by international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the UN Charter and conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions
3. Consistently gave political and legal cover to these acts, even as these acts were known to be and/or ought reasonably to have been known to be in violation of international law, including peremptory or jus cogens standards of law
4. Asserted and defended extra-legal immunity for all those engaged in acts that have attacked the protected rights of the Iraqi people, and established a pattern of impunity for those accused of such attacks by failing to adequately investigate and prosecute specific and general allegations of grave abuses, and/or to ensure responsibility is assumed throughout the chain of command that permitted or failed to prohibit such attacks, and/or dismissed or distorted numerous customary legal standards, including the laws of war and those that outlaw the preemptive use of force in international relations
5. Abused and overran international law, the guarantor of international order, peace and security, which the United Nations System exists to protect and is deemed to embody, enshrined in the UN Charter, and upon whose foundation the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gains positive affect and final meaning.
“I wonder what that makes Galloway’s victory at Bradford West”
Galloway is not an independent.
“Thank you mods for exposing Habb, and his sockpuppeting, he’s endeavouring to write it off a some sort of joke, when infact its much more sinister.”
Yes indeed. I’m amazed at the users of this blog taking it so lightly. I’m not one to criticise other users trivially but you have to draw the line somewhere and to my mind posting under another name is way past the line. It is a dishonesty which attacks us all and eats at the credibility of the blog. It is an attack on civilisation itself for without trust we have nothing.
I do not understand why Habbabkuk’s political opponents are not shouting it from the roof tops what a dastardly deed posting under another username is. They should be up in arms and demanding that the moderators ban all those who ever used a false name and I am wondering why they are not.
If you’re planning to be the Voice of Hab on Earth, Fred, I’m going to have to Habbabreak you. Sorry. You sometimes make sense, but lately you’ve neglecting your meds.
“If you’re planning to be the Voice of Hab on Earth, Fred, I’m going to have to Habbabreak you. Sorry. You sometimes make sense, but lately you’ve neglecting your meds.”
Simply a case of those without sin casting the stones.
Clearly not you then.
Bye bye.
Fred, I didn’t exactly predict this, but I did predict its converse. I said that if you wanted the decline of the SNP you needed a Yes result and indeed, the No result has precipitated a large boost to SNP popularity.
The oil price drop is a blip, artificially produced by Saudi Arabia for the purposes of the latest ‘Western’ offensive in Iraq and Syria. It can’t be sustained and it’ll average itself out in a year or so. Ironically, a Yes vote may have prevented both; note how fast Westminster voted for war after the result was in – bombs were falling within a fortnight.
@Clark
I would disagree. I believe oil prices have been artificially high due to political instability in the Middle East and an exponential growth of the economies of countries in the East. If you look at this graph you will see that oil prices in the past have remained fairly consistent at a somewhat lower level than they were at in September and I don’t see any reason to suppose they wouldn’t do that again in the future.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crude_oil_prices_since_1861.png
Fred, the political pressure and Saudi Arabia’s response are well documented, and the latest ‘Western’ action hasn’t, and won’t, increase Middle Eastern stability; quite the opposite.
The graph you linked goes back to 1861! It shows, accurately, that the era of stable oil prices ended in 1972. Increased variability of the price of oil (“volatility”) is entirely to be expected as demand continues to increase but elasticity of the production rate decreases.
“The graph you linked goes back to 1861! It shows, accurately, that the era of stable oil prices ended in 1972. Increased variability of the price of oil (“volatility”) is entirely to be expected as demand continues to increase but elasticity of the production rate decreases.”
Yes, the troubles in the Middle east caused a spike in the seventies but the level they settled back to right up until 2001 is I believe the natural level they will be likely to return to. I’m not saying prices will return to 1999 levels but predictions over the $100 I feel are wishful thinking to say the least. There are many factors affecting prices but I think they will balance themselves out and a negative feedback of market forces will take control.
@Fred, 12:46
I would disagree 🙂 I believe that political instability in the Middle East has been artificially heightened by the aggressive actions of powerful countries, under pressure from corporations attempting to secure cheaper oil for the sake of their profits.
Actually, I’m not really disagreeing. I regard causes and effects to be strongly interdependent in this situation; hence the non-linearity ie. volatility. But improvements have to come from good politics; economics has only despair to offer.
My perspective of this explanation has the advantage of explaining both the steady, long-term price increase and the increased volatility of prices.
Re: Oil Prices – this may be of interest
http://euanmearns.com/the-2014-oil-price-crash-explained/
Fred, 2001 prices? You must be joking! In what time-scale, and what do you take as the inflation-adjusted figure? I may be prepared to bet serious money on this…
“Fred, 2001 prices? You must be joking! In what time-scale, and what do you take as the inflation-adjusted figure? I may be prepared to bet serious money on this…”
No, I’m not joking. Oil prices were rising and falling $15 to $35. Just sticking a one in front is not realistic. The $100+ oil I think was a glitch and I think Saudi knows their intervention would not have any long term affects because the natural level is much lower.
Things could change in the future but that’s how I see things now.
Fred on sock-puppets – “It is an attack on civilisation itself for without trust we have nothing.”
LOL! Not an asteroid strike, not climate disaster, not some virulent pandemic, not a nuclear holocaust, but it’s sock-puppeteering which will be our ultimate downfall!
“LOL! Not an asteroid strike, not climate disaster, not some virulent pandemic, not a nuclear holocaust, but it’s sock-puppeteering which will be our ultimate downfall!”
Don’t you think civilization is based on trust then?
Is there no one else will join me in condemning this dishonest practice of sockpuppetry?
Fred
“Is there no one else will join me in condemning this dishonest practice of sockpuppetry?”
______________
I join you in your condemnation of that vile practice, the vileness of which exceedingly vile and surpassed only by the vileness of the nuclear deterrent, the Conservative-LibDem govt, the Nazis in Kiev and the “genocide” of the Palestinians by the satanic Zionist hordes.
I think Republicofscotland would also join you because he’s come out strongly against sock-puppetry recently 🙂
Macky
“Sure glad the Habbu-Clown is no “friend” of mine !”
__________________
No risk of that, old boy, I’ve got my reputation to think about!
BTW, speaking of friends, where are Fedup and Passerby these days? The three of you used to be so close you were called “the three corporals”, weren’t you?
Yes indeed. I’m amazed at the users of this blog taking it so lightly. I’m not one to criticise other users trivially but you have to draw the line somewhere and to my mind posting under another name is way past the line. It is a dishonesty which attacks us all and eats at the credibility of the blog. It is an attack on civilisation itself for without trust we have nothing.
I do not understand why Habbabkuk’s political opponents are not shouting it from the roof tops what a dastardly deed posting under another username is. They should be up in arms and demanding that the moderators ban all those who ever used a false name and I am wondering why they are not.
_____________________________
Yes FRED I agree 100% why would Habb or anyone else, need to create a sockpuppet, if not for the reason of deception.
It speaks volumes of Habb and his dubious intentions when he feels the need to dupe honest commenters again he tries to write it of as some sort of comical event.
I’d more than wary of anyone like Habb whose been caught red handed, deceiving his fellow commenters.
“Yes FRED I agree 100% why would Habb or anyone else, need to create a sockpuppet, if not for the reason of deception.”
Oh Good.
(Mods, there is someone keeps cropping up calling themselves “Fred2” and RoS thinks you should ban them.)
@Fred: I thought “Fred2” was your sock-puppet, and you couldn’t think of a better name? After all, “Fred2” talks just like you!
I wonder if all the Pseudo Names who write to the Eye should also be banned.
Come on, it’s not “deception” if the false name is obvious. Civilisation can probably weather the strain of that one.
@Glenn_uk
What you are talking about here is two sets of rules, one for you and your friends and one for everyone else.
Surely you must agree in a fair and just environment we must all be treated equally and as the moderators saw fit to say Habbabkuk had been using sockpuppets they should, in the interests of being fair and unbiased, say who else has.
As you can see, Habbabkuk is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, as the saying goes.
Lady Marmalade
November 28, 2014 at 4:54 pm
[Squonk: This is by Habbabkuk posting as “Lady Marmalade”]
https://squonk.tk/blog/2014/01/20/the-general-discussion-thread/comment-page-30/#comment-12277
@Fred: I did put a “joke” indicator at the end, but it didn’t get displayed. Putting a word inside angled-brackets clearly doesn’t work.
However – you are wrong about me, I don’t have any friends.
Btw – did the mods just get mod’d above (28/11, 18:52)? 🙂
“Btw – did the mods just get mod’d above (28/11, 18:52)?”
I think maybe he’s not talking to me.
“… That dreadfulwoman ..”
That was ill-said.
URGENT APPEAL: Ref: UA 12/ 14
NAME: Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni,32
VIOLATIONS: Suspected torture and garrotting
Please demand that the Israeli Minister for Justice instigates an official independent investigation into the highly suspicious and horrific death of Palestinian,Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni, 32, an Egged bus driver and father of two little children, who was found hanged in a bus at Har Hotzvim terminal on Sunday 16th November 2014.
Please press the TAKE ACTION BOX to send letter to TZIPI LIVNI, Minister for Justice, Israel; H.E. Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, H.E.RIYAD H. MANSOUR, Ambassador, Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine and please request your mailing lists click Current Urgent Appeal on http://www.palestinematters.com
For further information: https://news.vice.com/article/lynching-or-suicide-conflicting-accounts-of-palestinian-bus-drivers-death-underscore-growing-tensions-in-jerusalem
~~~~~
Letter sent
URGENT APPEAL: Ref: UA 12/ 14.
NAME: Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni, 32
VIOLATIONS: Suspected torture and garrotting
Please demand that the Israeli Minister for Justice instigates an official independent investigation into the highly suspicious and horrific death of Palestinian,Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni, 32, an Egged bus driver and father of two little children, who was found hanged in a bus at Har Hotzvim terminal on Sunday 16th November 2014.
Please press the TAKE ACTION BOX to send letter to TZIPI LIVNI, Minister for Justice, Israel; H.E. Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, H.E.RIYAD H. MANSOUR, Ambassador, Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine and please request your mailing lists click Current Urgent Appeal on http://www.palestinematters.com
For further information: https://news.vice.com/article/lynching-or-suicide-conflicting-accounts-of-palestinian-bus-drivers-death-underscore-growing-tensions-in-jerusalem
Copyright © 2010 Justice for Palestine Matters. All rights reserved.
Letter sent
TZIPI LIVNI,
Minister for Justice, Israel
Dear Minister
I demand that, as Minister for Justice, you immediately instigate an official independent investigation into the highly suspicious death of Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni, 32, an Egged bus driver and father of two little children, who was found hanged in a bus at Har Hotzvim terminal on Sunday 16th November 2014.
Typically, in matters of Palestinian deaths, Israeli police released misinformation blaming the victim, in this case stating that Mr Rammouni committed suicide.
Inevitably, an Israeli autopsy reaffirmed this falsehood however Dr. Saber al-Aloul, a Palestinian pathologist present at the same post-mortem at the request of the al-Rammouni family, said that the autopsy did not suggest suicide but rather an “organized criminal murder.”
According to Dr al-Aloul the autopsy showed post mortem lividity on the back, not on the lower extremities, indicating that Mr Rammouni was not dangling when he died. There was “no dislocation of the first vertebrae, which is usually found in cases of suicide by hanging,” he added.
Mustasem Faqeeh, a Palestinian driver who worked with Mr Rammouni, said he saw the body of Rammouni hanging from a bar above the steps over the back of the bus, in an area that would have been impossible for him to reach and hang himself alone.
In addition, a retired British surgeon, in a letter to the BBC wrote: “The circle of the bruised/killed skin is low on the neck. I am NOT a forensic pathologist but say a. hanging is most unlikely b. garrotting is much more likely. The ‘ligature’ is closed from the back. Whatever – the greatest evil has been done to a native of Palestine. His suffering would have been terrible.”
Furthermore, his letter raises concern that garrotting is a skill acquired in elite forces training.
So far CCTV footage from the bus depot, that might definitively resolve the incident one way or the other, has not been released.
Yusuf Al-Rammouni’s family did not accept the verdict of suicide, saying his body “had bruises on it,” suggesting he had been “tortured” before his death and asserted,“Yousef cannot commit suicide, it is not possible, he is leading a good and happy life with his wife and his family”.
Because of Israel’s reputation for mendacity and long record of falsification (hasbara), to ensure transparency, accountability and justice, I urge you to establish an independent body to thoroughly investigate the horrific death of Yusuf al-Rammouni and bring to justice the perpetrators responsible and make the punishment commensurate to the gravity of this heinous crime.
Sincerely
Sorry Mods that was so long. Would you be kind and delete from ‘Sincerely’ above the duplication downwards.
Any chance of an edit function?
[craigmurray.org.uk: duplicate text removed as requested. An edit function is a possibility but not currently planned]
Fred – there are multiple mods on tonight. I believe that empty comment is not directed at you though.