Happy New Year 888

 in Uncategorized by

This is my last comment for the year as we are off to spend Hogmanay as the guests of an Ambassador in Paris. Out of deference to my family, who have had the brunt of it these last few days, I am definitely not taking the laptop, so I will no longer be able to take part in the popular new bloodsport of proving your loyalty to the SNP by being nasty to Craig Murray.

My parting thought is that, as every year of my entire life, it has been a disastrous one for the Palestinians. Yet more land occupied, settlements built, homes destroyed, olive trees uprooted, shipping vessels sunk and yet another murderous onslaught on Gaza.

I warmly recommend this rare public appearance by Col. Larry Wilkerson, ex-Chief of Staff to Colin Powell and a fellow recipient of the Sam Adams Award for Integrity. His brief musings here on Israel and Syria come from a deep store of knowledge and a razor-sharp intellect.

Do have a wonderful celebration. The future will be good. We are closer to a transformational change in society than you may realise.

Allowed HTML - you can use: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

888 thoughts on “Happy New Year”

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 30
  • Resident Dissident

    Strange as it might I appear Mary I am against all unlawful imprisonment and torture wherever the victim is locked up – can you say the same for those poor Russian political prisoners who are separated from their families on this most special night for all Russians?

  • Resident Dissident

    “If I were you I would give it a rest for today or are you trying to outdo Habbabkuk on the numbers game. Score 26/118

    PS Mine is 12, mostly factual and informative!”

    So I beat you on both quantity and quality today – when it is usually only the latter. Consider it a New Year bonus. And I answer questions raised too!

  • Daniel

    Happy new year, Mr Murray. I still maintain that Murder In Samarkand is the greatest book I’ve ever had the privilege to read.

  • Clark

    Resident Dissident, I agree that Russia’s political prisoners deserve support.

    I do wish that commenters on this blog would try harder to cooperate with each other; we operate in a media environment dominated by spin/propaganda from whichever side, so just working out what’s really going on is a challenge, and until such a base-line is established, political pontification is worse than pointless.

    Still, my personal despair never swayed anyone. Fuck it all, and fuck the New Year; it’ll be just as bad or worse than the last one.

  • Abe Rene

    It’s good that you have friends in the diplomatic community. Happy New Year to you & your family.

  • Ishmael

    Happy new year all.

    Guess I should try and tie up loose ends.

    Habbabkuk, if I got it very wrong, I apologize. Mostly when people say ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ in the context of conversations about Muslims, I read it…. badly. I fear neither Islam or the western powers, and along with Israel if there’s any coffee to be woken to it’s these powers. Your welcome to your views if they differ, but they are not mine…..

    My new years resolution is to differentiate between there their and they’re. I can do better but I don’t respect it writing much. It’s often highly individualist, putting things in stone, tied to meme’a about the value and etiquette, class and ‘respect’, that I really kick up against (it being inverted in my view). I respect people who can care, have compassion and some sensitivity.

    My second new years resolution will be to not let myself loose those things, to make a better shell.

    And speaking of hostility. It seems to me, or i’m getting more that people of ‘power’ have not the faintest idea the effects they have on society. As someone who has always lived in the dirt. And seen what they have done to so many beautiful people. Well you could spend a lifetime being angry about that.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8jKPA_gsPo

  • Mary

    Thanks Oddie. I guessed as much when Hamas was painted in a bad light for refusing exit for the children.

    The article on EI following that one contains really shocking stuff. Note the use of the word ‘ethicist’ and ‘ethics’!

    Killing 40 civilians in one go is “reasonable,” says Israel army ethicist
    12/31/2014 – 02:01
    Asa Kasher and Moshe Halbertal, co-authors of the Israeli army’s code of ethics, explain why slaughtering Palestinian civilians by the hundreds is moral and may even be necessary.
    http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/killing-40-civilians-one-go-reasonable-says-israel-army-ethicist

  • Tony

    You will remain a far more credible and effective person if you remain a non-party politician.

    Happy New Year, Craig.

  • Ishmael

    “You will remain a far more credible and effective person if you remain a non-party politician.”

    Actually I don’t know. Reflecting, it seems like it was worth the try. If the SNP would have been the sort to accept someone like Craig, who knows. Though I suspect quite a few new people in the SNP have a similar good outlook. They just don’t have all the experience within Westminster.

    As such he is a dangerous weapon. It’s like offering you a knife made for the job, but declining it.

    But yes, I guess now better to think forward.

  • Ishmael

    Unpredictable elements, moving from the comfort zone, Cliques.

    “’Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.”

  • Vronsky

    Craig, I’ve been in the SNP for over twenty years but I learned more about it in the last month than in all the other years put together. You’ve kicked over a hornet’s nest. Or opened a can of worms? Don’t leave the party, that’s what the old guard want. They can be defeated, starting you-know-where.

    Happy New Year.

  • technicolour

    The general thrust isn’t exactly news here, but it’s interesting in detail, and well told.

  • Ba'al Zevul

    Thanks, Oddie. Yoel Marshak is reported there as the shit-for-brains behind the exercise. Despite occasionally uttering the word ‘peace’, he’s a prominent advocate of hanging onto the West Bank in its entirety and supporter of continued settlement. Even the settlers think he’s an extremist, here:

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/251350 (scroll down)

    “Yoel Marshak is a media-chasing provocateur who seeks to create provocations and agitate the area. I’m turning to military and police authorities to keep him away from the Samaria area.”

  • Ishmael

    Opps, just posted this on yesterdays post. Twas written just now…..

    I’v two ideas for this blog, to take or leave.

    One I imagined some time ago but never said. That is the idea of a short rolling deletion of all past comments, or whole posts. We all have so much information being collected. I don’t see the need aside from those who want to nose through past stuff, i’d say a month would be ok for that.

    I asked the Guardian to do similar with expectedly zero results, rigid corporate rules for some, etc.

    The second more significant crystallized just now. It would be that all who regulatory contribute could compose a post up top, regularly. A new kind of blog perhaps.

    I don’t mean it as any kind of disrespect, but I can’t see myself wanting to contribute much longer, as is.

  • nevermind

    ‘Still, my personal despair never swayed anyone. Fuck it all, and fuck the New Year; it’ll be just as bad or worse than the last one.’

    Mind if I disagree, Clark, despair always shows but there are reasons for it, talking to the right people helps. Many are depressed today, no wonders, its insecurity all round. Austerity killed Bevans ideas of common civility.

    As for the new year, I’ll probably agree, the same monkeys will perform the same tricks, i shall raise my glass to independence in 35 min.

  • technicolour

    Clark, emailed! It’s good, isn’t it? Allowed me to think (on second viewing I’m still thinking, mainly about my ‘coherent narrative’, if I have one. Do I need one?) Are you linking to youtube so the site stats show btw?

  • nevermind

    Can I propose a toast for the turn into the new year, for mark G and Ba’al and many other who read this blog surfing on the same wave length.

    Raise your glass, whatever and where ever it may be, and curse the wretched being that is trying to manipulate the last vestiges of socialism by making smug remarks from the sidelines .
    he’s a mere self serving bastard who can’t be publically shamed so he shall be un-named until he faces justice for the lies and crimes he committed.

    I raise my glass to the prosecution of Tony Blair. prosit, new year…_(*&

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 30

Comments are closed.