Honoured to give the keynote speech at Amnesty’s conference on torture in London yesterday. Then dashed back to Edinburgh for a very romantic evening with Nadira – and Cameron!
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Macky
““Thanks Mary, I will look out for them just in case, tomorrow evening at the Norman Finkelstein event at Kings College”
________________
And I’ll keep a look out for you, Macky.”
About which Mr Goss leaped in with the following:
“Another cowardly threat from the squatting toad.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
So tell me, Macky – did you feel threatened, as predicted by the Chief Squatter?
Mr Goss
Your “question” was clearly a thinly-veiled hypothesis.
It’s a favorite tactic of yours, enabling you to wiggle out when you are proved wrong.
Which happens rather often (crash of the dollar, anyone?).
Habbabkuk, I would value your input on my comment at 10:07 am in the light of what you said yesterday “. . . recent events have shown rather clearly that the European Union has every interest in fast-tracking Ukraine into the EU. In the same way as Ukraine (shorn, of course, of its eastern regions which would just provide Russia with a permanent Ukrainian Achilles’ heel) should be fast-tracked into NATO.”
As an advisor on monetary issues (and just about anything else 🙂 ) do you think this the Hryvnia is a safe investment for speculators on the money markets.
While Netenyahu begs his Republican friends to come back into the fold an Israeli MP has released a classified video of Israeli soldiers and a dog-handler encouraging his dog to bite the child. When it does he taunts the boy with “Who’s a coward now?”
http://www.imemc.org/article/70772
So another Labour MP,thinks its a goog idea to form government with the Tories,if a majority isn’t forthcoming.
Gisela Stuart Labour MP,for Birmingham,Edgbaston,thinks its the right thing to do.
This announcement comes hard on the heels,of Lord Moonie’s comment last month, that a Labour coalition with the Tories,is preferable to a coalition,with the SNP.
The Scottish-independence referendum, saw the Tories and Labour,jump into bed together,and its beginning to look like,they’re still there.
Today’s Guardian has two articles which even those allergic to the Guardian’s version of liberalism should read. They are not of the same weight. The first is as good an analysis as I have seen of the religious roots of Thatcherism, far better than those that simply portray her as the Wicked Witch of Wandsworth.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/02/god-economics-general-election-thatcherism
The second is primarily anecdotal. Many will read it as self-promoting diplomatic gossip, typical of insiders to their marrow (as some of his critics would describe Craig). But it is also a reminder that diplomacy is often just domestic politics in outlying provinces where councillors speak their own dialect and elections are about local issues.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/02/foreign-office-language-war-peace-skills-diplomatic-service
The comments by Guardian readers on these two articles are worth reading as well, looking to contrast and compare with our exchanges here.
“Your “question” was clearly a thinly-veiled hypothesis.”
They were questions. You wanted to turn them into an hypothesis to impute views that you would like me to hold so you can deride them. As you always do. If you really argued a point you might win some respect. As it is you are known for what you are. And each reader, I am sure, has a good idea of what that is. 🙂
Well it didn’t take long for the oil industry experts,to label the messiahs (Gordon Brown) idea of an oil fund crazy.
Professor Alex Russell,an oil industry expert based I Aberdeen,said he’s bemused by the audacity, of Brown.
The UK government seem relucant to help the oil sector,Brown a often posted missing opposition backbencher,as usual adds nothing of substance to the debate.
Hello Iain
Perhaps the loss of language skills is a reflection of the diminishing importance of the diplomatic service.
Where the diplomatic service was once central to war it now reflects our less imperious dreams, our more democratic aspirations. The power has shifted into darker corners.
In the article the diplomats express surprise at the Yogoslav war. “A crisis that scarcely anybody around the world had foreseen” Miles said, meaning his global diplomat chums. Of course the destruction of Yugoslavia was less surprising to the NATO staff who planned it.
So there are language skills shortages in the antiquated bureaucracy. Big deal. Greece and Turkey may have averted lobbing some insults and munitions at each other. Obviously great but hardly a devastating argument.
You correctly predicted my response! Not sure why you recommend this as a must read.
Hello Iain
My comment above is a pre dinner riff on a subject I know little about and you are an expert. I look forward to you ripping it apart.
Iain Orr
Thatcher obfuscated the Gospel, as indeed Christians universally do. They are theological Quorn.
She said from the pulpit that the text that states that people will be personally held to account for everything they do, by an All-seeing God, means that every individual is personally responsible for their own individual prosperity.
If you can call a monkey with a squint, on a chain to a barrel of gin, helping itself to the contents in a Hogarth painting, a theological figure, then you can talk about Mrs Thatcher as a theologian.
She was a grasping, selfish bitch who used her son to acquire vast wealth in military procurements etc. and also, as we now know, totally wrong about banking liberalisation.
I knew that at the time. You don’t seem to know it even now.
In fact as someone recently stated on CM, what you know about economics is smaller than a prion’s penis. Carry on.
The videos in that IMEC link you posted John are unbearable to watch. They demonstrate the sadism of the most cruel of occupiers.
‘Published on 2 Mar 2015
Today, the Israeli media published a short video of two soldiers from the IDF dog unit, filmed by another soldier after they had set dogs on a Palestinian boy. The footage was first posted on former MK Michael Ben Ari’s Facebook page, but has since been removed from there. The military’s official response read: “Upon receipt of the footage, the Commander of the Airborne and Special Training Center ordered an immediate internal inquiry into the incident. Upon completion of this inquiry, conclusions will be drawn and the necessary steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring.”
B’Tselem documented and publicized this incident about two months ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukwc8iGuScM (Preview)
Israeli soldiers set dogs on Palestinian youth
Today, the Israeli media published a short video of two soldiers from the IDF dog unit, filmed by another soldier after they had set dogs on a Palestinian boy. The footage was first posted on former MK Michael Ben Ari’s Facebook page, but has since been removed from there. The military’s official response read: “Upon receipt of the footage, the Commander of the Airborne and Special Training Center ordered an immediate internal inquiry into the incident. Upon completion of this inquiry, conclusions will be drawn and the necessary steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring.” B’Tselem documented and publicized this incident about two months ago.
Published on 29 Dec 2014
בסרטון נראים החיילים עם כלבי התקיפה בשטח הכפר. כמו כן ניתן לראות בו את מעצרו של חמזה אבו האשם בן ה-16, אולם התקיפה עצמה אינה מתועדת בו. בהמשך הסרטון חיילים לוקחים את הנער לתוך השב”ם, ונועלים אותו מאחוריהם ובמקום מתפתח עימות מילולי בין פלסטינים הדורשים לשחררו לבין החיילים. מתנחל שנכח במקום, ככל הנראה רבש”ץ ההתנחלות, דורך את נשקו מבלי שמי מהחיילים יתערב במעשיו
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWmEY0flKeI#t=427
Google translate is not so hot on Hebrew>English!
‘Published on 29 Dec 2014
The footage shows soldiers with attack dogs in the village. Also, as shown in the arrest of Hamza Abu Hashem, 16, but the attack itself is not documented it. The video below soldiers take the boy into a special military zone, and lock it behind them and instead develops a verbal confrontation between Palestinians demanded the release of the soldiers. Settler who was there, apparently Security Officer, settlement, cock his weapon without any of the soldiers to intervene actions.’
!
Iain Orr
from your 2nd link:
“I am not an advocate of “punching above our weight”. Indeed I am not very keen on punching at all. But the old Foreign Office, for all its faults, was recognised to have a deep understanding that made it an indispensable element in every discussion or decision with a foreign angle. This was true in Whitehall and as true in the world outside.”
Can you tell me please what benefit to the Uk is a fully paid-up member of the Friends of Israel, like William Hague? They do not serve the interests of the UK. They only serve the warped interests of Zionism. The wars in Syria and indeed Libya have festerd for years. They serve nobody except the malice of the Anglo-Zionist entity in the Middle-East.
When will Palestine be a Pluralistic, multi religious, multi-ethnic country, instead of an Apartheid Putch against the religion of Islam?
I’ll try to post considered responses to Phil @ 11.47 and 11.59 am and Giyane @ 12.13 pm, but that won’t be until much later as I have to be out for this afternoon and evening. For the moment I’ll just make two points. First, when I recommend articles or books as “must read” this not meant to imply agreement. Often, as here, it is because an article expresses (or inadvertently reveals) a particular point of view with great clarity. I think Craig is in a far better position than I am to eviscerate the Oliver Miles article; and probably the Thatcher and Methodism article as well. On that, I think it more useful as a starting point to have an awareness of how people see themselves rather than how they are seen by others. Giyane’s summing up of Mrs T as “a grasping, selfish bitch who used her son to acquire vast wealth in military procurements etc” is not one that I share, while agreeing that she and her allies and political lineage have done great damage, in the UK and beyond. What I’d be interested in is Giyane’s analysis of how Mrs T saw herself.
A weedy apology has been issued by Forsyth for BLiar’s award.
Right then Forsyth. Get it rescinded and save Save the Children. They get nothing from me henceforth and I have altered my will to that effect.
Charity ‘sorry’ about Blair award
Save The Children says it is sorry its decision to give Tony Blair a “global legacy” award “upset so many people”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31707195
Forsyth once worked for BLiar.
Jonathan Powell is a trustee of Save the Children UK. He is/was also a BLiar acolyte.
Craig’s piece earlier:
Save the Fat Cats
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/11/31577/
Peacewisher; “You may be interested to hear that the Ukrainian Deputy Gerasimenko allegedly involved in the Odessa tragedy was detained at the Nemtsov march in Moscow today”
As I mentioned earlier, he was subsequently released after claiming diplomatic immunity; however I suspect the Russians knew they couldn’t hold him, but the whole point was to prevent him from attending the “memorial march”; they apparently also prevented up to 50 others from also attending, as they suspected that all these people had specific plans in place to try agitate the marchers into turning the march into a pre-Maidan style riot.
Ian Orr
03/03/2015 10:50am
Many thanks for these links.
Eliza Filby (writer of the first article) has written more extensively on the same topic in her book “God and Mrs Thatcher” – if this topic interests commenters here.
https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/god-and-mrs-thatcher
Kind regards,
John
Peacewisher & Resident Dissident, further to our exchanges iro Odessa Massacre, the last paragraphs of this article will be of interest; in fact for an excellent analysis of the whole Ukraine situation, this whole article is a recommended must-read;
http://radialreport.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/ukraine-in-crossfire-american-quest-for.html
I have nothing against the UK being ‘friends of Israel’ but does our government ever actually threaten rogue-states in the middle east?
Daily Mail quoting a Kuwaiti newspaper
Weird that USA threatens its most favoured nation, except remember the 1960’s and, Zbigniew Brzezinski, with a deep analysis that wasn’t ? (Security Index: keywords MUF NUMEC Apollo Industries 1958)
this jpg image refers to a recent book which was written to analyse ‘the loss’ or theft of a very large amount of nuclear weapon material…
In order to remain balanced, after-all, there are always two sides to every story – lets quote from an Amazon.com reviewer of the book “Divert! by G.F Smith”
Review by Verified purchaser: Divert!: Numec, Zalman Shapiro and the Diversion of Us Weapons Grade Uranium Into the Israeli Nuclear Weapons Program (Paperback) 2012
At a time when America is under continued pressure to attack Iran on the mere suspicion that they are generating nuclear material, Divert! stands as the ultimate cautionary tale of how US Middle East policy is actually & continually undermined from within/without by corruption, immunity, deceit and unwarranted secrecy, but that kindly peaceful old guy, Zbigniew Brzezinski allegedly couldn’t find out by whom!
and, perhaps unconnectedly with ZB, what would happen to New York if the Russians escalate the proxy-war? http://thebulletin.org/what-would-happen-if-800-kiloton-nuclear-warhead-detonated-above-midtown-manhattan8023
Two points from the second article that Iain Orr linked to.
Jack Straw was Foreign Secretary at the time, and thus responsible for both the FCO and MI6. So if the FCO did too little regarding Iraq while MI6 did too much, both were presumably Jack Straw’s decisions.
Utter idiocy that FCO resources are being diminished alongside generalised calls for increased military spending to counter the “increased threat from Russia”, and as the UK is sets up its first permanent military base in the Middle East for forty-three years:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/building-a-british-naval-base-in-bahrain-is-a-symbolic-choice–for-no-clear-reason-9908344.html
Increase the brawn but decrease the brain. Very dangerous.
The academics at the University of Glasgow have condemned, the visit of an Israeli ambassador, Daniel Taub was snuck into the university, in cloak and dagger operation involving, Israeli and UK security personnel.
However Mr Taub’s presence, didn’t go unnoticed as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the university, some sporting Palestinian flags.
Mr Taub had the chutzpah (a fitting word) to speak about worldwide security, human rights and politics. to a limited and restricted audience.
The Israeli ambassador, added that the visit was in aid of, striking up relations between the University of Glasgow, and the Hebrew university in Jerusalem.
A University of Glasgow spokesperson, said, there’s no plans to formalise a link between both universities.
Netanyahu talks to Congress at 4pm UK time if anyone wants to watch.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/barack-obama-benjamin-netanyahu-speech-congress-115690.html
As Boris Nemtsov is being buried today, I sure there are many who think he deserves the same sympathetic farewell he gave to the victims of the Odessa Massacre, when he visited in the immediate aftermath, to mark that historic day for the new Ukraine.
In reply to the Z propaganda @ 13.49 pm.
I have a lot against MPs being Friends of Israel. They are first and foremost elected by British people to represent them in parliament and not Israel. That is unarguable.
Netanyahu goes nuclear… prepare for fallout
Jonathan Cook
25 February, 2015
Analysis: A leaked report has undermined Binyamin Netanyahu’s claims on Iran’s nuclear capability. If the Israeli prime minister keeps going, he will destroy more than his own credibility, says Jonathan Cook. The contents of a secret report by Israel’s Mossad spy agency on Iran’s nuclear programme leaked to the media this week are shocking and predictable in equal measure.
Shocking because the report reveals that the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has spent years convincing the international community and Israelis into believing that Tehran is racing towards building a nuclear bomb, when evidence presented by his own spies suggests the opposite.
Predictable because since early 2011 Israel’s security establishment has been screaming as loudly as any secret service realistically could that Netanyahu was not to be trusted on the Iran issue. The significance of the leak is not just historical, given that Netanyahu is still trying to scaremonger about an Iranian threat and undermine negotiations between western powers and Tehran.
According to the report, leaked to al-Jazeera and the Guardian newspaper, Mossad concluded in 2012 that Tehran was “not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons”.At the time, Netanyahu was widely reported to be pushing for a military strike against Iran. He had recently flourished a cartoon bomb at the UN in New York, claiming Tehran was only a year away from developing a nuclear weapon. The international community had to act immediately, he said.
/..
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/politics/dafe5670-1c0c-4cd0-a549-e63b957f35ca
Iain Orr
“What I’d be interested in is Giyane’s analysis of how Mrs T saw herself.”
Mrs Thatcher saw herself principally as a Feminist. At that time, in the atmosphere of 60s and 70s promiscuity, Feminists thought that disobedience to marriage vows was a means to break the authority of males. In 1978, prior to Mrs Thatcher’s reign of terror for English fathers, the law was changed to remove blame from the inevitable consequence of this militant feminist policy.
Mrs Thatcher picked up that baton and declared that economic value was the only true measure of a human being. Consequently men were no longer to be respected for their honour, their principles, their respect in the community, their faith, their commitment to family. In fact while she was using her son to acquire vast wealth through nepotism, she was regularly fraternisingsaturnising with arch-paedophile jimmy Savile.
I think she was very proud of her destruction of family values and she deliberately empowered the break-up of marriage, and the consequent protection of children by both their parents through the benefit system. a whole generation of children were and are now brought up by sexual predators who have a fairly obvious temptation to predate on their partner’s young family.
The fact that she liberated the banking system was her economic cure for the rising power of working class people. Money could now be generated without work and without workers through ponzi schemes. Her Tory successors have extended the pressure on workers by importing foreigners from everywhere. It’s not that UK workers don’t want to work, they have had their heads mashed by the Thatcher feminist militancy, when they hand over their houses to their unfaithful wives and their predatory boyfriends.
The imported workers have not had their heads mashed in by militant feminism and they are therefore able to work.
Mrs Thatcher’ mind set was deeply spiritually flawed, that because it was men who had led the world to endless war, it was therefore maleness that had created the problem. Her solution was to attack males. This terrifying madness failed to take into consideration any other cause for economic or social failure than male dominance. It failed to address any of the underlying problems of either war or peace.
But like most politicians she was unable to imagine that her policies were not the only solutions. All politicans attack truth-seekers who oppose the intellectual vacuum of their policies. Mrs Thatcher attacked working males with relentless psychotic hatred.
But she is now and will be eternally consumed by Fire, for her refusal to retain the social cohesive qualities of traditional Gospel teaching. We have literally had to import the institution of marriage lock stock and barrel from other countries.
Other bums are sitting on the eletist seats of power who are mostly less altruistic and socially responsible than their predecessors. War has increased exponentially under this feminist reign of terror against Islam.
Unless you count financing space holidays for millionaires as social responsibility. Unless you count the sexual abuse of children as altruism. Yes, it is obvious that society really now half-believes that it is, or it would not allow the recent flood of scandals to occur.
Power is Netanyahu’s warm up act.
UN Ambassador Samantha Power’s standing ovation at AIPAC
[…] THE audience of nearly 16,000 pro-Israel advocates [gave] Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a standing ovation after her remarks on Monday.
While much of the conference thus far has focused on Iran’s nuclear program, Power shifted course and blasted the United Nations for what she sees as unfairly singling out Israel for criticism. The ambassador vowed to continue defending Israel’s legitimacy in the international community.
Noting similar principles in Israel’s founding document and the United Nations charter, Power said, “It is bitterly unjust that the United Nations, as an institution founded upon the idea that all nations should be treated equally, is so often used cynically by member states to treat Israel unequally.” She continued, “These attacks on Israel’s legitimacy are biased, they are ugly, and the United State of America will not rest until they stop.”
“Before the United States joined the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2009, more than half of the country-specific resolutions adopted there were focused on Israel,” she said as an example of the organization’s bias against Israel. “Today we’ve helped lower that proportion to less than a third,” she told a cheering crowd. Still, she said, there are more resolutions cast against Israel than against North Korea.
Power also touted the fact that the U.S. was the only nation to vote against the resolution to create a commission to investigate alleged human rights abuses committed by Israel during last summer’s Gaza War. She described the resolution as “profoundly flawed” for focusing on alleged Israeli misconduct without mentioning the threat posed by Hamas.
/..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/samantha-power-aipac_n_6785222.html
Squonk
Israel gave Iran nuclear technology because it is a deviant sect of Islam.Just as ISIS is an Israeli spur to conquer the land of Syria, so also nuclear Iran was a weapon against Sunni Islam.
We are living in a time of fitna/bullshit.
And we are not even allowed to say that the UK deliberately created Israel to be its ventriloquist dummy. netanyahoo may be ugly and he may be fat and foreign, but at the end of the day he is just the dummy while Obama and Cameron are the puppeteers.
whoops, should have read: ..consequent loss of protection by both parents