After such an extended break from blogging, you will be deeply disappointed that I restart with something as mundane and trivial as Jeremy Clarkson. I have defended the man in the past, because I much enjoy Top Gear and consider that much of what he has been criticised for in the past had been an amusing winding-up of the po-faced of the kind I employ myself. But nasty, indeed vicious bullying of a subordinate should always be a sacking offence.
That did not ought to be the question, though. He hit someone and they had to go to hospital. Where are the police? They are incredibly fond of sweeping up scores of teenagers for thought crime, but here we have an actual violent assault that spills blood, and it seems completely out of the question the perpetrator is brought to account. Why is that? I had a personal experience a couple of years ago when I was very mildly hurt – less than young Oisin – in an assault, and the police insisted on arresting the perpetrator despite my repeated requests to them not to do so. They told me rather firmly that the idea that it is the victim who has a say in pressing charges, is a myth. Why was Clarkson not arrested?
I cannot in my mind dissociate this from the non-arrest of Jimmy Savile for his crimes, despite their being well-known and reported at the time. That seems to link in to the wider paedophilia scandal, and the question of why no action was taken even in the most blatant of cases when there was compelling evidence, such as that of the extremely nasty Greville Janner MP.
But then I think still more widely as to why, for example, Jack Straw has not been charged with the crime of misfeasance in public office after boasting of using his position to obtain “under the radar” changes in regulations to benefit commercial clients, in exchange for cash. I wonder why a large number of people did not go to jail for the HSBC tax avoidance schemes or the LIBOR rigging scandal, which involved long term dishonest manipulation by hundreds of very highly paid bankers.
At the top of the tree is of course the question of why Blair has not been charged for the crime of waging illegal war. The Chilcot Inquiry heard evidence that every single one of the FCO’s elite team of Legal Advisers believed that the invasion of Iraq was an illegal war of aggression. Yet now the media disparage as nutters those who say Blair should be charged.
Then I think of all the poor and desperate people who get jailed for stealing comparatively miniscule amounts in benefit fraud, or the boy who was jailed for stealing a bottle of water in the London riots.
The conclusion is that we do not have a system of justice in this country at all. We have a system where the wealthy and governing classes and those associated with them enjoy almost absolute impunity, broken in only the rarest of cases. At the same time those at the bottom of the pile are kicked hard to keep them there. There is no more chance of justice against those in power in the UK than there is of the killers of Nemtsov being brought to book in Russia.
But what has really scared me is this thought. This situation has been like this my entire life: and I have reached the age of 56 before I realised it. A very great many people have still not realised it at all.
What does not scare me is this. I realise that if the system of justice is completely corrupted, then there is no obligation on me to follow the laws of the state. In fact it would be wrong of me to do so. I must seek my ethical compass elsewhere than in the corrupt power structure which weighs so hard upon the people.
Clark “BrianFujisan, we know about the system of power that rules Russia because we know what it tried to do to Craig and what it did to Nadira, and why Craig had to rescue her from it. It’s all in Craig’s book.”
Can you please tell me where Craig is highly critical of Russia please. I might have forgotten but I have just looked in the index to “Murder in Samarkand” and find Russia mentioned twice (52, 324). Are you sure you are not confusing Uzbekistan with the Russian Federation?
This is one of the problems many commenters on here seem to be having. Because it is not their area of expertise they lump all countries of the former USSR with Russia and Putin takes the blame for dictators like Karimov. You must remember too that the Ukraine was part of the former Soviet Union. Estonia. Latvia, Lithuania. Is Putin to blame for the policies of these countries which have him in their gun-sights?
Clark.By the Way… I had a very real feeling..as martail artist…i felt you were craig’s body guard… and that you are a Martial artst….But i can feel Intelegence Too…
John Goss, you’ll have to check with Craig, but my understanding is that the former Russian-USSR power structure in Uzbekistan remains largely intact. Craig was introduced to a “doctor” or “acupuncturist”, who tried to involve Craig with under-age girls “to build up his (Craig’s) strength”. The medicine-man was Uzbek, but the contact who performed the introduction was “ex”-KGB.
Brian, I’m not any kind of physical guard, and I’m not employed in any capacity. I just like and respect Craig. I’m loyal to him, certainly, just as I’d be loyal to any friend I value.
Brian, if I have skill in anything like a martial art, it’s a type of Jujitsu of ideas and honest communication. Not a physical thing at all.
FAO Moderators
FAO Craig Murray
————————————————
RobG
25/03/2015 12:53 am
“We’re coming to get you, pal, along with all the other government a-holes on this blog.
Your time is numbered.”
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Direct threats of physical harm and death to other commenters are a new departure for this forum, I think.
I also suspect that this commenter is an agent provocateur, attempting to incite others on the forum to make similar comments.
No idea whether you saw my previous request, so I will make it again. Please would you consider placing this commenter in pre-moderation and removing the threats of physical harm to other commenters on the forum before comments are released. I do not believe this is an acceptable way to behave in a forum such as this and I invite you to agree with me.
If you do not agree with me, well and good: I would in that case be grateful for an acknowledgement that you are aware of my posting.
I’ve said my piece enough times now and won’t raise the matter with forum administration again.
Many thanks and kind regards,
John
“All you GCHQ a-holes are going to be put up against a wall and shot. You do know that, don’t you?”
YouKnowMyName (well actually I don’t know your name) but like you I am sure that most people who work GCHQ are simply doing a job and glad when they get a few days off like most other people just doing a job. I do not want to see anybody put up against a wall and shot, or beheaded, or stoned to death.
As I am one of the targets of these Chaps and Chapettes, and many others who don’t know they are targets, I would rather see establishments like GCHQ and Menwith Hill closed down. They are like the old Grannie who has no life of her own so she has to steam open the mail of other members of her family (apologies to the vast majority of decent old grannies who don’t do this). These establishments are a waste of taxpayers’ money. They are not there to do anybody a service. They never discover anything. They should be abolished to teach people what not to do in the family.
I have a friend who used to work for BT. In the old days you could hear the tapes click in on the telephone and the slight whining noise as it turned on the spool. We used to joke about this, and my firend used to leave some comment like “I hope you guys are getting plenty of overtime.”
But come on it is a nonsense. Except it is not. It breeds mistrust. I can understand why RobG depises you people (those people?). Wanting you all shot is another bad lesson in how to be a loving family.
Clark Thanks..i think You and i would have a war,,martial arts,,,i Know it . i wonderd cos of your calm….My secialty is Calm….
John Goss
25/03/2015 11:57 pm
Thank you, John, for your most interesting response.
Will come back to you when I can do it justice.
Kind regards,
John
John Goss, secret services are like armed forces; if other countries have them, then your own country needs them.
The trouble is that the secrecy leaves them vulnerable to being misused.
It would be wonderful to live in a world where no weapons, armed forces, secret services or covert surveillance were needed, but that is simply incompatible with certain human characteristics such as dominance, deception, manipulation and greed. If all of humanity could be purged of all such drives then hostile and secret capabilities would be unnecessary – but then we’d be angels, not humans.
But the secrecy enables abuse, which can come from within the organisation, or can be secret directives, orders or influence and manipulation from outside the organisation.
I’m convinced that there are ways to solve this but before the situation can improve the will to do so is needed. People have to demand that it be fixed.
“Direct threats of physical harm and death to other commenters are a new departure for this forum, I think.”
Yes I think most here would agree that it isn’t a good idea at all. Warn them you are coming and they will be ready for you, prepared. Far better to take them by surprise so they never know what hit them.
Keep up the good work.
Clark, many people in Russia, and former USSR countries, are ex-KGB, especially higher up the ranks. It’s like saying Obama is ex-CIA. We know these people are. But what does it mean? If they are ex-KGB or ex-CIA they are no longer KGB or CIA. But it is a red herring.
You made a statement which to my mind shows you equate Uzbekistan with Putin’s Russia, which is gross misunderstanding.
“BrianFujisan, we know about the system of power that rules Russia because we know what it tried to do to Craig and what it did to Nadira, and why Craig had to rescue her from it. It’s all in Craig’s book.”
Then yesterday.
“These commenters repeatedly tell us that the Russian government is a peacemaker, but they also repeatedly tell us that the Russian government has formidable, previously unseen weapons and might nuke us at any moment. Indeed, these commenters tell us that the Kremlin almost nuked us in mid-March. These oft-repeated arguments seem somewhat contradictory to me.
These commenters repeatedly tell us that Russia is being attacked by NATO. But I see no evidence for this. I’ve seen Neocon interference in Ukraine, but the Neocons are not NATO and Ukraine is not Russia. They tell us that the Russian government “acted defensively” in taking parts of Ukraine.”
You do not see evidence of NATO presence all around Russian borders because you are blind or do not want to see. NATO was waged war on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria (averted by the actions of Russia) and many other countries. When a mad power unit is going haywire all around the world, and nobody knows when their country will be next, a logical thing to do would be to produce defence systems that disarm the main aggressor, NATO. For some reason I can find no mention of this in our media.
http://tass.ru/en/world/784667
Now Clark I know you have probably not looked at what is trending in Russia so I will tell you. Many people are convinced that NATO will not know what has hit it when it starts the war it is hankering after. NATO, few would deny, is a tool of the US. But the war they are hankering after is thousands of miles away from the US (as it always is) but this time it is Europe. So when the Russians get fed up, and target London and Brussels, which is what they propose to do, you will blame Russia. Yep.
There have been many changes within the company structures at Lufthansa and German Wings, their wholly owned subsidiary. There have also been ten strikes by the pilots on the retirement age policy and working conditions. Transfers of assets have taken place on a large scale and much re-branding. Not a very happy ship by this account.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwings
As with many airlines here, their financials do not make good reading.
’21 February 2015
Lufthansa shares plunge
News reports state that BERLIN, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Germany’s Lufthansa said it will not pay a dividend for 2014, conserving cash for restructuring, after its net result was hit by the sale of an IT unit, an increase in pension liabilities and losses from fuel-hedging activities.
Lufthansa is trying to cut costs to better compete with low-cost carriers and rivals from the Middle East. Its efforts have met fierce resistance from pilots, who went on strike 10 times last year and have already held one walkout this year.
Lufthansa shares were down 4.5 percent at 1606 GMT on Friday, by far the biggest decliners in a 0.3 percent-weaker blue-chip German DAX.
Some analysts had already said Lufthansa might not pay a dividend for 2014, but the average forecast was still for a 2014 payout of 0.38 euros per share, according to ThomsonReuters data, against 0.45 euros for the 2013 business year.
Shareholder Union Investment welcomed the dividend cut.
“Lufthansa desperately needs every cent for restructuring and to pay for renewal of their fleet,” portfolio manager Michael Gierse told Reuters.’
http://www.ipplondon.co.uk/airline-news.asp
“NATO was waged war on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, . . . ” I am almost sure some built in software deliberately changes letters to make people look stupid on the point of posting. The letter W is nowhere near the letter H on the keyboard.
The dithering to fire Clarkson is the same dithering that was #’distraught’ when Jimmy Saville’s first victims became known.
With out a purge of management in the BBC, its so obvious what needs doing, this nepotist organisation will just carry on carrying on. Bad management and inward dithering, despite the clear policies that define its public brief, has led to this leviathan going wrong.
Break it up, hire new managers and be done with.
John Goss,
yes, NATO is all around Russia’s borders, but this is because these former USSR countries applied to join NATO as protection from Russia, which is much larger and more powerful than they are. Those countries joined NATO to achieve mutual strength.
Afghanistan and the “no fly zone” element of the attack on Libya were NATO operations. Iraq was not NATO, it was US/UK. Likewise the attack on Syria would not have been NATO; it was to be a US/UK operation, and it was stopped by voter pressure on the UK government as well as the Russian government’s diplomacy.
The “islamist” attacks that we see (Syria, Libya etc) are Neocon, not NATO, and the interference in Ukraine was Neocon, too, though the Neocon’s knew that NATO would effectively be forced to take a stand.
The Neocons exploit NATO.
If the Russian government is convincing people, both in Russia and the wider world, that NATO (rather than the Neocons) is its enemy and that London and Brussels are being targeted, then it is deploying propaganda, which is what elite power structures do against people everywhere.
Yesterday, the Lords had a lengthy debate on the EU, Ukraine and Russia, following an internal report that they commissioned.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldhansrd/text/150324-0001.htm#15032472000392
3.53pm for 4+ hrs!
Those responsible for the report include Trimble who contributed to the Mavi Marmara whitewash report and who was nominated by the Israelis.* Also Foulkes, an ardent Zionist and member of Labour Friends of Israel.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldselect/ldeucom/115/1152.htm
The EU and Russia: before and beyond the crisis in Ukraine – European Union Committee
The Members of the Sub-Committee on External Affairs, which conducted this inquiry, are:
Baroness Billingham
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Baroness Coussins
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
Baroness Henig
Lord Jopling
Lord Lamont of Lerwick
Lord Maclennan of Rogart
Lord Radice
The Earl of Sandwich
Lord Trimble
Lord Tugendhat (Chairman)
Baroness Young of Hornsey
*http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286427/Gaza-aid-flotilla-raid-Lord-Trimble-appointed-Israel-observe-inquiry.html
Mary
welcome Home..
xxx
Cheers Clark and Brian.
John Goss, follow the money. Russia already has lots of influence over the EU because it is an indispensable source of gas.
The Neocons are the US hydrocarbon produces who constantly destabilise the Middle East for thier own commercial gain.
If the Neocons can damage the relationship between the Russian government and the EU, the EU will be forced to buy hydrocarbons from the Neocon’s companies instead of Russia. It was a Neocon caught on the ‘phone saying “fuck the EU”.
Good to have you back, Mary.
Nevermind. Lord Hall is busy cosying up to the British Zionist lobby groups. He has forgotten the Sarin reporting and the mass child grave in ‘Syria’, 2003> in Iraq and the BBC propaganda for that war and much else. Rather as ‘hypocrisy’ needs a stronger word, so does ‘special pleading’.
Covering Israel is a tough job, says BBC director-general Lord Hall
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/132494/covering-israel-a-tough-job-says-bbc-director-general-lord-hall
March 24, 2015
Lord Hall speaking at the ORT UK business breakfast on Tuesday morning (Photo: Sovereign Photography)
Director-General of the BBC Lord Hall says the corporation aims to be balanced in its coverage of Israel, but that reporting on the country’s conflict with the Palestinians was “tough”.
Speaking to a 200-strong audience at ORT UK’s business breakfast on Tuesday, the corporation head said: “It is hard… tough. We do aim to give as impartial coverage as we can across the period.”
He added: “I do not want you to doubt for one second our commitment to the coverage of Israel and Palestine – but also the wider Middle East.
“What I hope you have seen – in terms of what we have covered in Iraq, in Libya, Syria and broader – is a real commitment to ensure we are covering those terrible wars and countries, as best we can.
“It is embedded in the soul of everybody who works for BBC – a commitment to making sure we cover broader issues in the Middle East. And that to my mind is really important.”
Lord Hall made his comments after Laura Marks, senior vice-president of the Board of Deputies, said that her faith in the BBC had been damaged by its coverage of the Gaza conflict.
She told Lord Hall: “Over the summer, your coverage of Gaza rather dented my trust in the BBC.
“And whilst I fully appreciate the enormity of the problem and the disaster facing civilians in Gaza, I think that Jews in the country felt that you did not put the case for both sides. How would you respond to a feeling in this room that the BBC did not cover the problem facing Israel clearly because it had the humanitarian problem facing the people of Gaza – which overrode all of your coverage?”
Lord Hall attended the central London event, which raised £60,000 for the Jewish education charity, at the invitation of his friend and event host Lloyd Dorfman.
Philanthropist Mr Dorfman, chairman of the Office Group and Doddle, praised the work of ORT.
“By giving someone a first class education, especially someone who would not otherwise be able to receive such an education, you are enabling them to simply fulfil their potential and realise their dreams.
“Make no mistake, education is as important as healthcare and security when it comes to finding solutions to the world’s problems and ORT, supported today by ORT UK and all of us, is at the forefront of recognising and facing up to that challenge.”
http://ortuk.org/about-us/ort-uk
“yes, NATO is all around Russia’s borders, but this is because these former USSR countries applied to join NATO as protection from Russia, which is much larger and more powerful than they are. Those countries joined NATO to achieve mutual strength.”
If you believe that claptrap your gullibility level has reached rock-bottom. This is how it works. We lend you dollars. You have our bases. We keep you in debt. You have no choice but to have our bases. You do not follow US instructions we call in the debt. It’s easy arithmetic. Can’t you see?
I do agree Clark that NATO policy is determined by the Neocon/Zionists who own the politicians, who make NATO decisions.
You make NATO sound like some protective forse rather than the aggressor is is. The reason Putin made that programme about Crimea was to show the west that it has crossed the line. When the USS Donald Cook was illegally patrolling the Black Sea it did not blast it out of the sea, which it could easily and legally done. Instead it brought down the ship’s computers and left them with blank screens. It allegedly caused the crew to resign or put in for transfers. I call that a peaceful gesture. But it is also a warning. The west has overstepped the mark with Russia. Nobody knows what weapons Russia has (certainly not Kempe who’s a decade or more behind). Russia wants peace. The US, through NATO, funded by neocon/Zionist bankers wants war tiwh Russia because its economy is down the pan. I get sick of trying to explain what is happening in global relations. It is frightening. But when it happens NATO will be the culprit again. Russia has done everything, in Ukraine and Crimea, to serve the wishes of the populace.
I will not try and convince you any more. It is impossible.
…They are just obeying orders…
Hmm. Think we’ve heard that before somewhere… Hmm.
I give up on the software corrupting comments.
Accountability is key as Clark quite rightly points out. As a military veteran specialising in cryptography I am blessed with having connections in that community which as ‘YouknowmyName’ affirms are decent folk with a great sense of loyalty, allegiance and honesty, legally bound by the OSA, yet on the other hand gripped by a sense of fear and trepidation.
I myself as longtimers know here was threatened by email that spelt out I would be stabbed to death if I ventured outside my house after 8pm with a proviso this could be stopped by paying a sum of money. That is of course the rub. By paying, and the email was routed via Pakistan, I might have been vulnerable to black-mail functioning as financially supporting a terrorist organisation.
I take no pride and invite no pity in revealing this; information is understanding, a realisation that for a whole bunch of rationale this ‘war on terror’ black art exists to subvert the innocent or naive.
A current example of this manipulation by the ‘intelligence’ services is ‘Jihadi John’ or Mohammed Emwazi who was harassed by MI5 and despite the ‘front’ story of being radicalised by this encounter and subsequent pressure, was coerced/bribed/manipulated into IS propaganda.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31647271
It’s a shame. Scotland has a reputation of producing statesmen of the finest quality. I’ve seen Scots as leaders of all three main parties earning respect from the world and now this dipshit is doing his utmost to make Scotland and Scots a laughing stock.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3010306/Oh-cork-Alex-Champagne-swigging-Salmond-ridiculed-compares-Mandela-boasts-bringing-government.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11493741/Will-Alex-Salmond-ever-shut-up.html
Mark Golding, many thanks for your perspective.
Yes, many good people work within the systems of government, and many times on this blog FCO insiders have used Craig as a safe conduit for revealing corruption and secret deals that they could not themselves reveal; this has been a valuable function of this blog, and is one of my reasons for loyalty to it and Craig.
When we were young, the UK government was far more the servant of the people than it is today. Working in the government, the services, and the public sector generally were honourable occupations, a service to all.
It is our job here to help defend that noble tradition against the corrosion and attrition of corruption and greed.
fred..didgusstuig