I was about to go into my box at the Lyceum Theatre last night when I received a text that there was a pro-independence demo on at Holyrood. So I abandoned my hosts (I did not feel quite as bad about this as I had stood for pre-theatre supper), fled the theatre and positively jogged down to parliament. I passed most of the demonstrators leaving on their way home, saltires draped over shoulders and Guido masks on top of heads. But there were still a few hundred there when I arrived, listening to unpractised speakers telling their very real stories: the independence cause continues to be a genuinely popular movement. One young demonstrator told me how proud they had been as they marched down the Royal Mile, with pedestrians homeward bound after a day’s work spontaneously stepping off the pavement to join the march, and the bars emptying. I then watched the fireworks bursting over Edinburgh.
I said a while back that if we won independence, I would move back to Scotland. Well, independence is now so inevitable I am indeed moving back, and have been flat-hunting. This is now an Edinburgh blog, and I hope from this weekend will have its Edinburgh home.
Lewes has been much in the news lately. Yesterday they were going to burn an effigy of Alex Salmond, and then didn’t. It is a conundrum why a town which genuinely retains the most radical popular political traditions in England, also is the most fervent place of practice of the reactionary art of catholic effigy burning. They vary this now by burning protestants, too. Cameron and Clegg have been done. I think my fellow Scottish Nationalists who got very upset about the potential Salmond burning were perhaps overreacting. The mistake of the members of the Lewes Waterloo Society was to fail to realise that Salmond is not merely another self-serving member of the political class; the selection was not based on race.
The tradition of burning Guy Fawkes reflects the undeniable fact that there used to be a genuine popular enthusiasm for parliament, which was seen as a bastion against Papal despotism, even long before the large majority of the population had a vote. Nowadays Parliament has become a very different kind of symbol. It symbolises an highly oppressive, authoritarian, narrow political class which shamelessly makes money at our expense, while furthering the interests of vast corporations which enforce the low wage economy and astonishing, ever growing, wealth gap.
The natural instincts of most people today lie with the man who tried to blow up parliament.
It is truly remarkable that, while the BBC and rest of the mainstream media gave hour by hour coverage of the democracy movement protests in Hong Kong, there was virtually no coverage of the violent and brutal treatment, over days, of the Occupy Democracy protest in Parliament Square in London. Nor any mention that there was far less democracy in Hong Kong under British rule than Chinese.
In Lewes, I once spoke to a flourishing political society which claims a direct descent from one founded by Thomas Paine himself- a vivid reminder to us in Scotland that there is a native radical tradition in Southern England, deep underground and waiting to be rediscovered. Lewes also has as its MP Norman Baker, one of the most decent men in politics, who recently resigned as a junior minister over the government’s entirely illogical “war on drugs” – illogical not least because of the drug habits of so many MPs. My current host, Hugh Kerr, when an MEP once made a speech in the European Parliament where he pointed out that many members were voting against drug liberalisation with whom he had personally participated in drug taking. An example of the excessive honesty that led to Hugh being forced out of the Labour Party.
Norman Baker was the subject of many vicious pieces in the mainstream media following his resignation. The crime of daring to think outside the box on drugs, and even worse crime of disagreeing with right wing nutjob and media darling Theresa May, meant that Baker had to be thoroughly monstored. But the most disgraceful and cowardly of all these attacks came from the Guardian of state stooge Alan Rusbridger. This is simply an appalling piece of journalism.
I have met Norman Baker a couple of times, and had a very entertaining conversation with him about Murder in Samarkand on Lewes railway station. The subject of UFO’s never came up. Indeed, if you google “Norman Baker, UFO” you get hundreds of media stories, all of them put out following Baker’s resignation and very evidently put about by Theresa May, for whom the Guardian is but a sounding board. In fact Norman Baker did once suggest in parliament that UFO cases deserved proper official investigation, which seems a perfectly rational view – and as the British government has, over decades, amassed thousands of files on UFO sightings, a view clearly widely held.
Baker’s other great sin is to believe David Kelly was murdered. Well, I think it is very probable indeed that David Kelly was murdered, and so, I suspect, do a very large percentage of the population. If the establishment is truly so confident that David Kelly was not murdered, it is remarkable that they refuse to have an inquest and allow a jury to decide the question in the normal way.
Norman Baker’s true crime was not to be a fully paid up member of the political class. He had never been a special adviser or political assistant. he had some hinterland, other interests, and did not confine his thinking within the tiny sphere of neo-con orthodoxy beyond which the corporate media will declare you a nutter. Politicians must all look the same, and Theresa May and Nigel Farage are now the only acceptable templates.
US election guru ‘in despair at Labour’s chaos and in-fighting’
David Axelrod is struggling to make an impact
November 6 2014
A US consultant hired by Ed Miliband after being credited with getting President Obama re-elected is “exasperated” that he is not having more of an impact, senior Labour figures believe.
David Axelrod, who is said to have been hired by Labour for £300,000, was “quite negative” about the party’s plans before its conference in September after trying to persuade Mr Miliband to present a less geeky image.
/..
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4258943.ece
Info.
Washington Times – Thursday, November 6, 2014
A Washington political consultant and former partner of David Axelrod has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court and may cooperate with prosecutors in a long-running probe linked to powerful U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, Pennsylvania Democrat.
Tom Lindenfeld, who was a close adviser to D.C. Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser, admitted to the charge Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/6/david-axelrods-ex-partner-pleads-guilty-corruption/
I like the sound of the Swedish PM.
‘Swedish FM to Lieberman: I’d be happy to send you IKEA flat pack
Top diplomats trade furniture analogies as Israel recalls envoy in Stockholm over Swedish recognition of Palestinian state.
A somewhat unusual war of words took place Thursday, after the new Swedish government made good on a recent pledge to recognize the state of Palestine, a move to which Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded furiously.
“The Swedish government should understand that Middle East relations are more complex than a piece of self-assembled IKEA furniture, and the matter should be handled with responsibility and sensitivity,” Lieberman said, as he announced that Israel would be pulling its ambassador from Stockholm.
But Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom was unmoved by Lieberman’s analogy.
“I will be happy to send Israel FM Lieberman an IKEA flat pack to assemble,” she said. “He’ll see it requires a partner, cooperation and a good manual.” ‘
/..
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4586439,00.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/06/law-enforcement-public-trust-nsa-snowden-leaks
a uk cop partly talks sense! (but only whilst abroad) ((and only partly))
he is shocked, shocked! to discover
I see dear HabbuClown, as befitting your status as Chief Troll, are the first to reappear following Craig’s Racist Israel Post, and the only response you can make about it, and only when pressed by Mary, is the surreal “we have, apparently, just to take Craig’s word for it when he accuses Israel of practising apartheid” !! :D, followed by the usual avoidance of criticism of Craig, via the follow-up cope-out of “can only imagine that the post was designed to rally the troops”! You are so transparent it dazzles ones eyes !!
HabbuClown: “in counterpoise to the obnoxious utterings of certain Israeli rebbes”
Not really a valid comparison, but since you are in the mood; perhaps you can provide some “counterpoisesé for the following;
Regular mass murder sprees of a captive population
Shooting Palestinian children for sport
Imprisonment & torture of young children
Collective punishment of demolishing homes of relatives
Continuous stealing of land in contravention of International Law
I better stop here otherwise it will take me hours to list out all of Israel’s crimes & Human Rights abuses !
Further on this.
6 November 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29936715
OTRs inquiry chair says Tony Blair may be compelled to attend
@CanSpeccy, In view of your recent comments, I wonder what you make of the following ?;
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29906592
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24813467
OT and on “poppies.”
I’m totally against the display at the Tower of London.
Not that I dont think we should honour our soldiers ,but the poppy is a startling reminder of our total failure.
WW I was supposed to be the war to end all wars and this led millions of young men to join the noblest of causes under false pretence.
This latest display is to glorify war and the sacrifice of soldiers is part of that.If Britain really wanted to honour its war dead,it would cease the roll it plays in wars around the world.It would rethink its weapons industry and pursue peace.
Instead we have a beautiful display of red pouring out of the Tower,poignant in that we are responsible for the massive increase in the cultivation of heroin poppies in Afghanistan.Far from keeping Britain safe,our armed forces are partly responsible for the deluge of drugs that pour in from Helmand causing crime,death and the destruction of lives and families every day of the week.
These talking heads with poppy on chest are no better than the blundering Field Marshall Haig who sent millions of young men to their deaths.Hipocrisy just doesn’t describe it.
More Blair. Sorry, but I know you wouldn’t want to lose track of this wonderful person.
Googling ‘tony blair keynote’ usually produces something relevant, when it produces anything, about 15 Google pages from the top. Blair’s presence is increasingly rarely announced in advance, and then usually a month or so at most ahead of the event. You can then read about his brilliant achievements, bons mots in a press release from the Office of His Divine Beneficence, copied by all media, after the event, or on one of his unassuming and modest websites.
Not so the February 2015 Mining Indaba in South Africa. Either someone has leaked, or Tony wants the mining world to be very clear that he will be irradiating this assembly of global exploiters with the unbearable brilliance of his aura. Where he will be granting his expertise to, among those not excluded by Security, Euromoney Institutional Investor Managing Director, Mr. Christopher Fordham. Or more likely, selling it.
Doesn’t look as if he’ll be arguing against fossil fuels there, either:
Says Jonathan Moore, managing director of the Mining Indaba… “… he will provide unique and charismatic insights to our global delegation who are vested in capitalising African mining.”
http://www.worldcoal.com/news/mining/articles/World-Coal-Tony-Blair-to-be-interviewed-at-2015-African-Mining-Indaba-coal1538.aspx
(plus most African media, all mining journals everywhere, and the Daily Mail)
What a shit.
I suspect Lewes is mainly street theatre, and I also think that it is not that uncommon. It is neither political, nor religious in the conventional sense. I doubt that many of the participants go to either political or religious gatherings, and they probably don’t vote either. It is more a sign of being completely disconnected from the current corrupt world that you can see on TV and read in the Daily Mail, and attempting to find some meaning and purpose in life, by reverting (at least in attitude, and appearance) to far more ancient, pre-christian traditions. You may think that some of these people are practicing pagans or witches…but that too is almost all for show..part of the theatre. These people are not mad, but they perceive that our current world is, and they are projecting what they think about it in a colourful and artistic way. You could find much the same thing in Glastonbury 40 years ago. It just spread, and evolved.
Tony
“What a shit.”
True words spoken, Ba’al, but, some in the Labour party are thinking of him, very hard, cause their very own Milli-flannel is fraying at the edges.
Now what a coup that would be, a bereft Labour party calls upon Tony the war criminal into the mele, to deliver Labours non existing principles the final stab in the back…..
Don’t blame me if it happens, please.
Last I saw Labour had a four point lead in the polls and rising.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ed-miliband-deflects-labour-leadership-4583655
Don’t quote me, Nevermind, the shit is capable of absolutely anything, and predicting his next jump is dependent entirely on how much cash it might make him, but my feeling is that he regards himself as far too much of a messiah, and far too important now, to consider being the PM of a nation which is already thoroughly globalised and which already hands over a huge proportion of taxpayers’ money to usurers in the City and their tools.
And I don’t think the trick of hijacking the Labour agenda in order to sell it out to capital will work again; it’s been sold, and there’s an end of it. Finally, Labour with Blair in charge would probably lose miserably.
I hope to God I’m right.
Last I saw Labour had a four point lead in the polls and rising.
That’s the Mirror. And the Mirror’s own poll. 10/10 for loyalty, Mirror.
And in Scotland? What does the Record say, Fred? Doesn’t identify the poll, but the Record isn’t about to betray Labour, either…
An opinion poll last week suggested they could face an almost total wipeout in Scotland at the 2015 General Election…
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/rutherglen-msp-backing-murphy-labour-4566255
Yeah, yeah, Fred, Can read you like a book. That was last week, you say. Next week? Next year?
http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2014/nov/another-poll-shows-snp-surge-and-labour-freefall
The poll carried out by Panelbase shows support for the SNP standing at 45 per cent – compared to 28 per cent support for Labour.
Yes, I can really see Blair fixing that, lol.
Once people in England begin to understand their backstabbing ways, Labour will not be up in the polls.
Why should these polls matter when they had it so wrong so many times I hear you say Fred.
yes indeed, but in Scotland they reflect genuine debate, whilst here in England they say exactly what the backers of polls, their leading questions, want to achieve.
I am expecting to see Miliband joining Clegg and Cameron in effigy* and in flames on Calton Hill, come Hogmanay. There’s some splendid artists in Embra and I am sure Craig can recruit the best…
*at least
Has Washington Just Shot Itself in the Oily Foot?
by William Engdahl
By now even the New York Times is openly talking about the secret Obama Administration strategy of trying to bankrupt Russia by using its oil-bloated Bedouin bosom buddy, Saudi Arabia, to collapse the world <price of oil. However, it’s beginning to look like the neo-conservative Russia-haters and Cold war wanna-be hawks around Barack Obama may have just shot themselves in their oily foot. As I referred to it in an earlier article, their oil price strategy is basically stupid. Stupid, as all consequences have not been taken into account. Take now the impact on US oil production as prices plummet.
The collapse in US oil prices since September may very soon collapse the US shale oil bubble and tear away the illusion that the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s largest oil producer. That illusion, fostered by faked resource estimates issued by the US Department of Energy, has been a lynchpin of Obama geopolitical strategy.
Now the financial Ponzi scheme behind the increase of US domestic oil output the past several years is about to evaporate in a cloud of fictitious smoke. The basic economics of shale oil production are being ravaged by the 23% oil price drop since John Kerry and Saudi King Abdullah had their secret meeting near the Red Sea in early September to agree on the Saudi oil price war against Russia.
More: http://journal-neo.org/2014/11/06/has-washington-just-shot-itself-in-the-oily-foot/
@Ba’al
How well Labour do in Scotland will depend a lot on how much the Scots want to see an end to the Conservative government an Westminster. It’s up to them. I’ll be voting Liberal.
Ignore the poll if you want. Just didn’t seem right people pretending Labour are doing badly when the poll and the bookies put them in front.
Craig,
I’ll happily buy you pints in any Edinburgh-based watering hole of your choosing. Perhaps when you are here you will also start to stir up the thoroughly corrupt Edinburgh Council, currently intent in destroying large parts of Edinburgh by selling it to developers of cheap, ugly and inappropriate “student accommodation”. Also, I can recommend an excellent place to catch live music in someone’s living room, where all of the proceeds go straight to the artists. Best music in town.
Sam.
Silvio 7 Nov, 2014 – 12:34 pm
“The basic economics of shale oil production are being ravaged by the 23% oil price drop since John Kerry and Saudi King Abdullah had their secret meeting near the Red Sea in early September to agree on the Saudi oil price war against Russia.”
Hurray, that means we will see a big drop in fuel prices ……. er …… doesn’t it?
I’ll be voting Liberal.
I can only applaud a man who isn’t scared of ridicule.
Habbabkuk wrote: PS – The Bodleian does not have “secret files”.
Strange that the editors at The Independent didn’t catch what should be a rather glaring factual error when they allowed publication of Paul Gallagher’s report:
“I can only applaud a man who isn’t scared of ridicule.”
On 5th September my MP showed up at the House of Commons and voted for the Affordable Homes Bill helping defeat the government.
Where were the SNP then?
The police state is in action again.
Breaking news
7 November 2014
Counter-terror police arrest four men over alleged plot
Four men from London and Thames Valley are being held by police investigating an alleged Islamist terror plot.
They were arrested overnight by officers from the Met Police’s SO15 counter-terrorism command.
Police said the men, aged between 19 and 27, were arrested in the street by armed officers. No shots were fired.
They were all taken to police stations in central London where they remain in custody.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29955066
One shining deed doesn’t get you off the hook, Fred (and btw the Libs have yet to get their Tory globalist chums to end the right to buy in England – it’s now officially rescinded in Scotland)
Harriet reminds us, not that her lot has anything much to crow about either –
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/harriet-harman/10-broken-lib-dem-promise_b_3925441.html
Ditto.
7 November 2014
Huge raid to shut down 400-plus dark net sites
Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter
Sign that appeared on seized sites
Sites seized showed the following caption http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78829000/gif/_78829157_darknet.gif
Darknet raid nets drugs and cash
Brazilian police crack ‘darknet’
Facebook sets up ‘dark web’ service
Silk Road 2.0 and 400 other sites believed to be selling illegal items including drugs and weapons have been shut down.
The sites operated on the Tor network – a part of the internet unreachable via traditional search engines.
The joint operation between 16 European countries and the US saw 17 arrests, including Blake Benthall who is said to be behind Silk Road 2.0.
Experts believe the shutdown represents a breakthrough for fighting cybercrime.
Six Britons were also arrested, including a 20-year-old man from Liverpool, a 19-year-old man from New Waltham, a 30 year-old-man from Cleethorpes and a man and woman, both aged 58, from Aberdovey, Wales.
All were interviewed and bailed according to the National Crime Agency.
Tor is home to thousands of illegal marketplaces, trading in drugs, child abuse images as well as sites for extremist groups.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29950946
“One shining deed doesn’t get you off the hook, Fred ”
I wasn’t on any hook. I’m a free thinker capable of making my own choices on who to vote for based on which candidates policies I most approve of not on whether somebody on an internet blog approves or not.
fred 7 Nov, 2014 – 1:01 pm
“On 5th September my MP showed up at the House of Commons and voted for the Affordable Homes Bill helping defeat the government. Where were the SNP then?”
http://news.stv.tv/politics/232301-snp-unveils-44m-in-extra-subsidies-to-boost-affordable-housing/
Tony does education. Tony does faith. Tony does oil*. Tony does the Middle East. Tony does globalisation. Tony does conflict resolution, rofpmsl. And Tony does mining.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/10518355/Tony-Blair-and-the-Africa-mine-deal.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/10917264/Tony-Blair-strikes-gold-with-a-boxing-banker.html
* Tony also did transparency in the extractive industries, in 2002. Since when he has moved on…
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/09/12/letter-mr-dudley-re-bp-and-azerbaijans-crackdown
A classic of its kind.
I’m a free thinker capable of making my own choices on who to vote for based on which candidates policies I most approve of and insist no-one else is capable of doing the same.
FIFY
Or should that be FOAD, RC?