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.
John Goss, from your perspective, please explain to me what NATO did not attack Iraq in 2003, and why NATO did not propose attacking Syria recently?
Jon Goss; “I will not try and convince you any more. It is impossible.”
So there you have it yet again, Clark’s admittance that his views on Russia/Ukraine are because of his loyally to Craig, so no amount of rational reasoning will shift such blind loyalty anymore than you could appeal to reason against the zealous fanaticism of any cult member.
What makes it worse is that Craig’s own analysis/pronouncements iro anything to do with Russia are so deeply flawed as to appear almost comical, because his starting point is not objective considerations, but the twisting & bending of the missing objectivity to fit into his Russophobia. Many of the more intelligent Posters, do realise this but politely say little, and indeed a few have even actually left this blog, to go elsewhere for more astute & serious analysis.
Clark of course just merely imitates Craig’s shallow and flawed arguments, further causing more people reading this blog to realise that it’s not at all a serious place for intelligent & meaningful analysis; effectively, self-imposed sabotage.
This is frightening.
The SNP thinks they can improve standards in Scotland’s failing education system by making it illegal for children to under perform. Authoritarian bullshit.
The answer is simple, instead of spending money on unelected quangos to make our children learn a language no one speaks spend it on more and better teachers instead.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/11493090/Expert-attacks-futile-SNP-law-to-improve-state-schools.html
John Goss, you claim:
What are you claiming to have been illegal about that patrol by the USS Donald Cook?
Clark NATO is symbiotic to the US. We can acknowledge this by the fact that Chancellor Merkel and her diplomatic flurry showed us the Germans and French to some extent, were very concerned that the US through General ‘Breedhate’ wanted to get NATO into a shooting war with the Russian military. I concede some NATO countries disagreed; a token tune in my book because the bulk of NATO budget is provided by the US who stipulate that joining countries buy American military hardware.
We know European Commission President Jean-Claude has justified an EU military force as protection from Russia, but it may also be a way of reducing US influence as the EU and Germany come to loggerheads with the US and NATO over Ukraine.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/making-nato-defunct-eu-military-force-intended-to-reduce-u-s-influence-in-europe/5436940
Macky, my loyalty is not blind. I judge Craig. His humanity, fairness, intelligence and knowledge earn him my loyalty.
Craig was a diplomat for many years and has great expertise in international relations. What are your greater qualifications, Macky, that I should transfer my loyalty to you and the things you say? What experience and qualifications do you have? What are your specialist areas of knowledge, how did you acquire them and where and when did you gain experience?
Mark Golding, symbiotic yes, to an extent, but not synonymous. And there is more to even the US than the Neocons – and indeed the Neocons are not purely US, but actually a grouping of Rightist elements within the US, UK and especially Israel.
I too feel that it is time for a combined European alliance excluding the US, but on such matters I would definitely seek Craig’s opinions first and foremost.
Collection of ad-hominen from Macky at 11:15 am:
What this comment does not contain is an argument.
the sort of guff you’d expect from a former Henry Jacksonite- especially one who is himself half Croatian.
So, not going to address the points, Old Mark? I’d thought better of you than that. OK. The West has nothing whatever to fear from Russia, and Russia’s escalating activities throughout the FSU are entirely altruistic. If it wants to stir up a war here and there, that’s not its fault at all, because the evil West is encouraging it to do so.
Though if you can point me to a pro-Russian source spouting guff which isn’t at least equivalent in terms of bias (ex-Pravda staffer, half-Serbian*, perhaps?), that will be a new departure for this blog.
*And believe me I do see the Serbian side there. See ‘Apologies’ for the propaganda gift Tony Blair and Vucic have handed Putin. If you wanted to take the Russophile Serbian side on that one, I’d probably support you.
Clark; “my loyalty is not blind.”
Belied by;
Clark; “but on such matters I would definitely seek Craig’s opinions first and foremost.”
LOL !
Clark: “Craig was a diplomat for many years and has great expertise in international relations.”
Counts for nothing if he can’t make a convincing rational case for his povs. Have you not also been keeping up with the times ? Even ex-con dodgy car salemen are more trusted & respected than anybody connected with the political class.
Clark; “What are your greater qualifications”
A functioning brain not contaminated by irrationality & prejudice.
Clark; “What this comment does not contain is an argument.”
So cries the hypocrite, oblivious to the mountain of arguments I have already put to him, that he have simply ignored.
A passion for the EU ? Something Craig seems to share with the US;
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41331.htm
For those to lazy to read links, here’s a quote;
” NATO was a US creation allegedly to protect Europe from a Soviet invasion. Its purpose expired in 1991. Today NATO provides cover for US aggression and provides mercenary forces for the American Empire. Britain, Canada, Australia, are simply US vassal states just as are Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the rest. There are no partners; just vassals. It is Washington’s empire, no one else’s.
The US favors the EU, because it is easier to control than the individual countries.”
Macky, do you have any connection to the political class? You seem enthusiastic to repeat messages coming from the Russian political class; why is that?
Macky, from your perspective, please explain to me why NATO did not attack Iraq in 2003, and why NATO did not propose attacking Syria recently?
Why did the counties of the former USSR apply to join NATO? Could they have wanted protection from Russia’s considerable military might?
@Ba’al, Attila Hoare is a notorious & particularly loathsome propagandist; is he really the best you could find to support your Russophobia ?
http://original.antiwar.com/david-gibbs/2012/06/10/welcome-to-the-balkan-propaganda-machine/
Clark; “Macky, from your perspective, please explain to me why NATO did not attack Iraq in 2003, and why NATO did not propose attacking Syria recently?”
NATO is most primarily a tool of US foreign policy; in the very rare instances where it can’t be openly used, as in the case of Iraq, as opinions among members were divided, the US still does what it wants because it can; this doesn’t mean that NATO is not a tool of US foreign policy.
Clark; “Why did the counties of the former USSR apply to join NATO?”
Carrots & sticks inducements from the West; aspiring membership to the EU makes NATO very attractive, if not obligatory for most.
Too bad I can’t see Macky’s linkless, unsubstantiated, possibly libellous, evasion of the issues here, Clark. But there it is. For more critical readers:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsee/2015/03/19/russia-in-the-balkans-perceptions-and-realities/
I see Trouser Z. Scored was back on the hallucinogens earlier. Much more fun. More, please.
(wonder if his attitude sensors iced up too?)
Macky, so you are saying that NATO did not attack Iraq in 2003 because “opinions among members were divided”, yes? So NATO is not under the control of the US.
What are these “carrots & sticks inducements”, and what evidence do you have for them? Since the countries we’re considering had previously been subsumed into the USSR, could they have wanted protection from Russia?
Now the wild coverage of the Germanwings crash has created a panic which would point to sabotage being the cause – what authorities continue to dismiss as highly unlikely.
Anonymous sources are suggesting a most unlikely structural failure, like the wind screen blowing out, and the DM is claiming that airline’s pilots are refusing to fly the Airbus 320!
Looks like we will never know for sure what caused it, like in the AirAsia flight 8501 case.
Ba’al, Macky did link; to here:
http://original.antiwar.com/david-gibbs/2012/06/10/welcome-to-the-balkan-propaganda-machine/
Anyway, I have to go and cut some firewood. See you later.
“Our man in Ukraine” as the US called Poroshenko according to Wikileaks has caused one of the oligarchs with a private army to resign: Igor Kolomoisky.
http://www.ibtimes.com/ukrainian-oligarch-igor-kolomoisky-resigns-after-tense-standoff-poroshenko-over-1858314
The country, already in serious debt due to an umprovoked war on its own people who prefer democracy to government by a fascist coup, is in turmoil.
John Goss, I posted some questions for you at the top of this page. I’ll look for your answers when I come in from cutting wood.
By the way, I don’t own the farm where I live. I rent a small cottage. I’ve never been married and I’ve got on fine with the few Russians I’ve met. If you think I hate Russians, please indicate the comments which gave you that impression. Or take it back and apologise 🙂
@JohnGoss 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
Thanks John, the YKMN moniker is aimed at those 30-50% of posters here who do so to a non-transparent State agenda, they all know my name and ‘neutral’ affiliations! I grew up with ppl who worked/work in Menwith, nearly all my relatives have eaten pizza/burgers on the base, in those halcyon days in the 70s/80s before Greenham. The doctors in the underground hospital there even saved the life of one of my relatives, he had worked closely with a lot of the mostly American staff. They had some serious work to do ‘in the old days,’ defending UKUSA against the evil empires. Field Station 83, MHS, allegedly had/has a staffing equal to our MI5.
I later worked with more guys/gals (it’s illegal to potentially identify even the sex of a UK secret worker!) who GCHQ, and I continue to do so, probably; I’ve been officially asked to research/investigate the methods of enabling free digital communications in less democratic regimes, where the authorities seek to limit or alter genuine information sent out and received by citizens. I use only OSINT.
I’m also a target! Perhaps Clark had it right that deep secrecy precludes accountability, but in sovereign states, the State can obviously do whatever it feels like, whatever it can persuade its own populace that it needs, using their money. This applies to Iran, Syria, KSA, Bahrain, Ukbekistan etc and seemingly perhaps the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, all have a thirst for current and future levels of control over their citizens that verges into ‘less-democratic’ state management.
The best defence seems to be publicity, at least, it seems the GCSBs wayward “excesses” in NZ will inevitably lead to an attempt to investigate the functions of their Signals Intelligence agency, by the populace that fund GCSB, which is as it should be, even in a sovereign democracy.
In UK (from GCHQs own OSINT, the not-realistically challenged Snowden et al open source intelligence) their major ‘impunity’ unit, JTRIG joint threat research intelligence group controls access ‘Effects Operations’ to ALL the UK communication channels, including here. All eyes therefore on NZ?
Meanwhile I continue to amass amazing ‘observations’ here, and I know I’m not the only researcher profiling prolific puppets; I honestly still (mostly) trust the UK government, its actors, its agencies, but we are now very close to the end of any life with Liberty.
NATO countries did attack Iraq in 2003 in what George W. Bush called the “coalition of the willing”. Others did not because they chose to abide by international law and there was no UN mandate. Likewise, although most NATO countries, including Poland and peace-loving Sweden, allowed US/UK extraordinary rendition flights in their countries, France, although a member of NATO, refused as did Holland. So you can be part of NATO and refuse to follow its evil lead. That is going to be a big test soon. But Macky is right too. The big gob behind NATO is the US. It needs shutting up once and for all.
Unfortunately Russia sees the UK as enemy number one. It is certainly an easier option geographically in a first-strike than taking on the US. We should be concerned but instead there are twats on this blog who think it is right to provoke Russia, and right to send arms and personnel to perpetuate the civil-war in Ukraine (the peace of which is daily broken by government forces over which the government appears to have no control).
One of the build-up arguments as to why Germany went to war in 1914 was because it was surrounded by Empires and did not have one of its own. Russia is not currently expanding its borders. Believe me, I want peace and do not want what is increasingly looking inevitable to happen. But like the NATO countries of Germany and France helped Russia broker a peace deal in Minsk, others like Poland and UK are pushing for further escalation. Cameron is the biggest twat to have taken on the role of British Prime Minister. Uncle Sam is so far up his arse he’s speaking with a Yankee accent.
Thanks for the enlightening comment YouKnowMyName. As to “I honestly still (mostly) trust the UK government, its actors, its agencies, but we are now very close to the end of any life with Liberty” you have more trust than me. I hope Signals’ intelligence is passing on the right messages to Cameron – public enemy number one.
John Goss, regarding the 2003 attack on Iraq you wrote:
I thought Bush and Blair, Neocons both, lead the attack on Iraq. In what way do you regard NATO as the leader?
Trouble at Mill
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has sacked Ihor Kolomoisky – the billionaire governor of the key industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk.
Ukraine governor Kolomoisky sacked after oil firm row
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32045990
BBC News-4 hours ago
Ukraine arrests two top officials at cabinet meeting
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32051743
BBC News 1 hr ago
Clark – Oh, right. Thanks. Seems to consist largely of bald assertions, countering Hoare’s, and ignores the verifiable fact that the Russian propaganda machine is alive and well in the Balkans too. I’ll leave that as an assertion, and see what the reaction is.
But as far as the NATO assault on the former Yugoslavia goes (which is what the link is about), I am actually with Gibb, broadly speaking. OTOH I think Hoare’s take on the current situation is worth taking on board.
I’m not asking the Mackys and Gosses to believe it all, simply to concede in their fashion that there are two sides to every question, and both sides of this this one are directed by greedy and powerful interests with zilch concern for the twolegged production units who get in the way of the shrapnel. Pinchuk* and Putin both.
*At least he’s Ukrainian – donated spectacularly to the Clinton Foundation for the Ukrainian globalisation project.
It is interesting that the pro-Russian argument repeatedly singles out NATO for criticism. The interference in Ukraine was clearly Neocon, and clearly not NATO. It can’t be NATO that wants to “fuck the EU”.
Of course if the Russian government was trying to extend its territory (land-grab) beyond Ukraine, the entity blocking its path would be NATO.
Clark “What are you claiming to have been illegal about that patrol by the USS Donald Cook?”
If you had read a previous link I posted you would have known. Here is the relevant sentence.
“The appearance of American warships in these waters is in contradiction of the Montreux Convention about the nature and duration of stay in the Black Sea by the military ships of countries not washed by this sea.”
Apparently the Montreux Convention was amended in 1998 to meet Russian concerns.
As to your comment at 1.38 I do not have time to be doing your reading for you Clark. The US and UK are both NATO countries. Most other NATO countries went along with them and even sent troops. What is wrong with you?