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.
Doesn’t it show that those of us who said the Yanks were behind the coup are right?
It doesn’t need to. It’s a matter of historical record that the West supported the Maidan revolt. And that Russia supported its suppression. (See the article you’re objecting to, which I strongly suspect you haven’t read yet). If Maidan had been an Occupy protest you’d have been bleeding all over this blog. Not the point. The point is that people have been and are being killed and dispossessed on behalf of very much richer people in other countries. Given that Putin, as far as his less favoured subjects are concerned, is incapable of running a pissup with paying guests in the former Soviet People’s Vodka and Industrial Ethanol Production Unit, you are mistaken to defend his actions on behalf of the people. So why are you defending him?
“It doesn’t need to. It’s a matter of historical record that the West supported the Maidan revolt.”
That’s not what Resident Dissident and many others have tried to argue in support of the fascists.
Clark, sorry about your toothache. Not pleasant. Haven’t got time at the moment. Even though it’s raining the dogs have to be walked and I need to get my breakfast.
Take two cloves and keep them in your mouth near the bad tooth, Clark, they will slowly infuse their pain killing juices to the tooth and gum, it usually works unless it is acute.
Try getting to a dentist soon. Or try the other pain killer…
Ba’al; “If Maidan had been an Occupy protest you’d have been bleeding all over this blog.”
LOL ! Comparing chalk & cheese ! How many Russian politicians did you see giving out cookies to Occupy protestors ? How many years & billions did the Russians invest in creating the Occupy movement ?
Re “TechCamp”, here’s the Wiki entry, for that brave MP who before the Coup, exposed the TechCamp NGO in the Ukrainian Parliment, which although mentioning he later was beaten-up by thugs, it doesn’t mention that his home was also burnt down;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleg_Tsarov
Nevermind, thanks. I don’t have those supplies, so I need to coordinate with buses to get into town and back which will take all afternoon. Ibuprofen will have to do for now, but it’s hard to think straight. I saw the dentist on Tuesday. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics but forgot to stamp it. My local doctors refused to issue a replacement prescription yesterday. That’s the second time my GP has refused me antibiotics. The first time could have killed me.
Macky, yes, where as your damn Russian government’s support for our occupy protests?
Laugh out loud, Macky laugh out loud. It’s all just so damn funny. Ha ha ha.
“Tell me what you’ve got to look so pleased about”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbphFUp85uk
a neighbour will have cloves, have you given up driving your ship?
How can your doctor not give you pain relief? never mind antibiotics, is he harbouring prejudices?
”It’s a matter of historical record that the West supported the Maidan revolt. And that Russia supported its suppression. ”
The EU and US actively supported Maidan and immediately recognised the regime that illegally took power on 21/22 Feb 2014.
Russia clearly didn’t support Maidan but to my knowledge didn’t fund, or send diplomats etc to, anti-Maidan protests.
Clark. So sorry about your dental pain. It is the worst pain imaginable IMHO. Make sure the dentist does not extract it. Then root canal treatment for it once the abscess subsides.
Get away from this blog for a while. It is doing your health no good.
Clark; “Macky, yes, where as your damn Russian government’s support for our occupy protests?”
Oh dear looks like your toothache has effected your reasoning, (as far as it’s possible to tell that is !).
Clark; “Laugh out loud, Macky laugh out loud. It’s all just so damn funny. Ha ha ha. “
Seems to have effected your sense of humour also, imagine not being able to laugh at Ba’al’s desperately ridiculous non-point !
😀
“The co-pilot was locked inside the cockpit, the Marseille prosecutor said. The sounds on the recovered voice recorder suggest he was alive and breathing until the moment of impact. The plane likely crashed as a result of the co-pilot’s voluntary actions, the prosecutor said.”
Suicide by co-pilot? Or perhaps he was just unconscious?
http://rt.com/news/243533-plane-crash-german-wings/
Updates
Prince Charles’ letters can be made public Supreme Court decides.
The French prosecutor believes, on the evidence of the cockpit sound recording, that the co-pilot, whilst alone, crashed the Airbus deliberately. Terrible.
Found a real gem of an item of humour to make even those with bad toothache at least grin :D; remember that Coup that was intended to stamp out corruption ? ;
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32051743
It’s even funnier thinking about this happening at a UK cabinet meeting, but with all those cover-ups being exposed, anything is possible !
Mary, thanks,
Nevermind, I’m not impressed with the GP assigned to me, but all medical professionals these days seem to be struggling within a overbearing management structure. They seem as afraid of breaking “the rules” as employees at B&Q. Car blew a suspension pipe a month back and with my general negativity I’ve been struggling just to keep the house running.
Macky, I recognise a bully when I interact with one and I’ve had your type of scum on my back all my life. If the Russian government sends the likes of you to do covert public diplomacy, I want nothing to do with them.
“Suicide by co-pilot? Or perhaps he was just unconscious?”
The pilot should have been able to get back into the cockpit by putting a code into a keypad on the door. Either the lock malfunctioned or he was deliberately locked out.
Clark; “bully” & “scum”
Do these ad hominems mean that I failed to cheer you up a bit to forget your toothache ?
Must be a serious toothache for such a serious sense of humour failure !
Clark
I am sorry to hear of your toothache – horrible.
You could try an NHS walk-in centre if you have one within reachable distance, perhaps they would give you antibiotics. I can’t understand it – I have gone to my doctor before requesting antibiotics for abscesses and had no trouble.
Here’s the search facility.
http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Walk-in%20centre/LocationSearch/663
The best over the counter ibuprofen I know is Nurofen Express 200 mg Liquid Capsules.
Warm regards,
John
CFIT – controlled flight into terrain by Andreas Lubitz
but what is astonishing is that the full details of this tragedy are immediately revealed, whilst other recent tragedies are stamped “secret” “we do not discuss air-accidents” “due-process must be followed” and/or “we have to think about/tamper the evidence” {take your pick}
Police Scotland are holding back crime figures till after the election.
http://www.scottishlegal.com/2015/03/26/police-scotland-to-hold-back-crime-figures-until-after-general-election-blaming-poor-it-system/
“The pilot should have been able to get back into the cockpit by putting a code into a keypad on the door. Either the lock malfunctioned or he was deliberately locked out.”
Sounds like he was locked out – and that the co-pilot was conscious. They’re saying that the knob (or whatever it’s called) that puts the plane into descent was manually turned about three times. Even if he had hit it with his head, the plane would only have gone into a small descent. The fact that it seems to have nose-dived means he had to turn it multiple times.
“but what is astonishing is that the full details of this tragedy are immediately revealed”
Yes. Some people saying that it was to put a quick end to speculation about other causes.
“Suicide by co-pilot? Or perhaps he was just unconscious?”
That doesn’t account for the early eye-witness reports that the jet was being escorted or tracked by several fighter jets prior to the crash. Most references to this have been removed from media stories but can still be seen here:
https://news.yahoo.com/france-air-crash-live-report-110242448.html
You need to scroll down a bit but here’s the quote:
12:51 GMT – Mirages flew by – Meolans Revel local councillor Thierry Brown tells AFP’s Isabelle Malsang: “The only thing we noticed was three Mirage fighter planes flying over, at least three times, around the supposed time of the crash. We are used to seeing one a day on average but never so many at the same time”.
It might also be worth bearing in mind that the A320 has an “anti-hijack” facility, enabling it to be taken over and controlled remotely from the ground. Perfect for dealing with a suicidal co-pilot (or indeed for flying the plane smoothly into a mountain side).
Macky at 12.21 pm. Please tell me it’s April 1. I couldn’t stop laughing at the Yatsenyuk quote.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, quoted by Reuters news agency, said that “when the country is at war and when we are counting every penny – they steal from people and the state.
“This will happen to everyone who breaks the law and sneers at the Ukrainian state.”
Clark, you need to get painkillers. The last abscess I had which gave me a swollen face I decided to see what happened without antibiotics. I took painkillers and avoided sugar and yeast products. It went away in about 14 days the same as if I’d taken antibiotics.
Sky News are bringing 9/11 into the story, ie the override on the cabin door followed on from it.
The co-pilot’s name was Andreas Lubitz.
Apparently, most of the remains of the passengers are body parts. A very gruesome job for those employed to do it.
I expect this crash has revived unhappy memories for Dr. Swire, whose daughter Flora died at Lockerbie.
“Sounds like he was locked out – and that the co-pilot was conscious. They’re saying that the knob (or whatever it’s called) that puts the plane into descent was manually turned about three times. Even if he had hit it with his head, the plane would only have gone into a small descent. The fact that it seems to have nose-dived means he had to turn it multiple times.”
It’s early days and I wouldn’t want to be jumping to any conclusions just yet but deliberate action of the co-pilot does seem the likely cause.
French prosecutors have a terrible record. Remember the unsolved al-Hilli tragedy.
In germanwings case, there is no attempt to look into the timing of the whole process – i.e., the co-pilot leaves the cockpit to apparently go to the loo, and stretch his legs, the plane has some catastrophic failure in the cockpit, the co-pilot rushes back to get into the cockpit but can’t open its door or get any response from the captain who might well be dead or unable to respond, and the plane goes straight on for eight minutes until it crashes.
Remember there is nothing from the FDR recorder, as its memory card has gone missing, so any claims about the lock or guidance system are pure speculation.
And it making out that the crash was caused by another suicide-driven captain, the FBI has lost all interest in the PNV delegation on the plane. Can’t even find any reference to it now on the internet.
This seems to be just another French convenient cover up.
May I suggest Andrei Piontkovsky’s analogy to Hitler’s ‘shock & Awe assault on Czechoslovakia when reasoning President Putin’s support for Ukraine after an illegal coup and right-wing nationalist thugs co-opted into a chaos that lead to the deaths of many innocent Ukrainian families, as absurd and irrational.
Clearly ethnic Germans had lived in Bohemia, a part of the Holy Roman Empire, since the 14th century (and in some areas from the 12th century or earlier), mostly in the border regions of the Sudetenland. They ultimately became known as the Sudeten Germans after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which was a consequence of the First World War.
Before WWII some 3.5 million Germans lived in Czechoslovakia and around 1938 it was British Prime-Minister Chamberlain who contended that Sudeten German grievances were justified. Britain and France, therefore, advised Czechoslovakia to concede to the Nazi demands.
The British government demanded that Czech President Beneš request a mediator. Beneš accepted.
The British appointed Lord Runciman and instructed him to persuade Beneš to agree to a plan acceptable to the Sudeten Germans. On 2 September 1938, Beneš submitted the Fourth Plan, granting nearly all the demands of the Karlsbader Programm. The Sudeten Germans broke off negotiations on 13 September, after which violence and disruption ensued. As Czechoslovak troops attempted to restore order, pro Czech and anti-Nazi Henlein flew to Germany, and on 15 September issued a proclamation demanding the takeover of the Sudetenland by Germany.
Piontkovsky in his ignorance has determined the annexation of Crimea, and the Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s eastern border, is part of a masterplan to bring all Russian speaking people back into the mother country.
This cannot be further from the truth and is imo a distinct echo from the mind of the Polish totalitarian and bizarre geostrategist Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski.