What comes out to me from the “Black Spider letter” correspondence of Prince Charles published today is how utterly obsequious Tony Blair and New Labour ministers were to him. No sign whatsoever of radicalism from the former “People’s Party” as they fell over to ingratiate themselves with the heir to the throne. I rather enjoyed Charles quite sharp tone to Blair.
I am fundamentally opposed to the existence of the monarchy. It will hopefully be replaced by a better system, but no human system is perfect. Given that we have a monarchy at present, you will perhaps be surprised to learn that I do not see anything wrong in Charles’ letters, which put forward views which are much what we would have expected him to hold. Of course there is interaction between the monarchy and government, and of course we should get rid of this hereditary element. But Charles’ lobbying is hugely less damaging and pernicious than the corporate lobbying I witnessed throughout my Whitehall career. At least Charles is not lobbying them for corporate advantage and giving large political donations at the same time.
While in my view he did nothing wrong in writing the letters, he and government are both very wrong in arguing they should be private. It is when it is secret that such attempts to wield influence between two branches of government – and monarchy is a branch of government – can be most simply perverted to ill ends. That such publication will not occur again because government has legislated to keep it secret, is an example of the privileged arrogance that prevents this from being a genuine democracy.
Altogether not that big a story and it gives Rusbridger and the Guardian the chance to pose as radical. I find the fact that what is published is so anodyne and unobjectionable rather suspicious – what has not been published? Rusbridger is of course the editor who complied enthusiastically with a GCHQ instruction to smash the Snowden hard drives. The existence of other copies does not justify this any more than it justifies book-burning.
By coincidence, a very worthwhile article by Michael Gillard that had been excised from the net has recently been republished, setting out how Rusbridger in 2002 conspired with Andy Hayman of the Met to bury an investigation into police corruption, including the burglary of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. By a further coincidence I was having a pint with Laurie Flynn in Sandy Bell’s four days ago.
Hayman went on to be the promoter of the stream of lies about the murder of Jean Charles De Menezes and the publicist of numerous fake terrorist plots, before having to resign in a scandal involving nubile police officers at public expense in tropical islands.
Rusbridger and his extraordinary wig go on and on as a pretend opposition outlet, their reputation much dented by recent hysterical unionist output which exceeds the Daily Express. But Rusbridger’s continued usefulness to the establishment is not in doubt. The pose of publishing the most harmless of Prince Charles’ letters does little to help a threadbare disguise.
Good report here by Phil Butler. It does not portray Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt in a good light. Although the US has lost its attempt to create an EU-friendly Ukraine the wicked woman still wants to be part of the peace process. As to Pyatt, a more immoral ambassador cannot be envisaged. His lies are innumerable.
http://rt.com/op-edge/259345-nuland-moscow-ukraine-ceasefire/
Creep indeed Mary. Yes Ishmael – ‘a sick society’ where Prime Minister Cameron is an obsequious foot soldier to the British/American ‘special relationship’ branded advocates of Western dictatorship and superiority.
That specific UK/US/IS accord will attempt to entangle our lives and others by the horror of sponsored terror, a so called ‘Islamic State’ trained by British proxy forces, sustained by Saudi money and armed by proxy weaponry routed through the Free Syrian Army and Iraq Kurds for purchase by IS…
In two years IS will be in Europe without doubt and agent Cameron is a facilitator.
Link – must watch – http://rt.com/shows/sophieco/259493-isis-terror-war-arms/
Yea mark, seemed obvious to me when Obama let them know to “move aside” before ‘bombing them’…
Correct Ishmael. Bombing and murdering civilians by ‘Hell-Fire’ missiles inflates IS with devastated families radicalised to the point of torture and desperation.
Dave Lawton thanks for the link.
I thought being gay was part of the package for spies, at least there was no shortage. Although not gay myself I am not anti-gay as people here know. If I think a minority sector of society is oppressed I defend the minority from oppression.
Recently however I have come to the conclusion that gays in this country, and certainly in the US, are not oppressed. If anything, and I can see this raising eyebrows, in the arts I think heterosexuals are at a disadvantage. I put a raunchy “het” play on “Ice Cold in Alaska” in a gay pub (The Australian Bar on Hurst Street in Birmingham) and none of the local gays who used the pub came to see it. It coloured my opinion since I have supported many gay productions myself. In fact anybody who knows anything about theatre knows there is a big mixture of gender-bending in the industry.
Agreed Dave Lawton – A quarter of GCHQ work to provide IS with intelligence…
Leave my Internet connection alone – you will be sued…
John, Yes is seems very fashionable in some areas atm…..But in my area the Last club was actually burned down. There is a new pub known as the “gay bar”, frequented by half a dozen shit brick house size bouncers to stop the pub being attacked.
Ishmael, I would not like to live where you live.
When I put my hilarious play on there were no bouncers. It was perhaps my fault putting a raunchy straight play on in a gay pub. But I made an even bigger mistake. I paid my actors.
Nor do I john. I went to the local one a few times, just to bask in the glory of a tolerant integrated society. But as anyone can imagine, It’s not very relaxing. I used to go to impromptu organised festivals/raves back in the day so it’s all very diffident, being locked down with security cams etc.
Even following the law is not good enough now. We somehow need to determine any action that may be considered “extremist” or unBritish, and sensor ourselves.
And invisible line in the sand for us all to follow. Sounds like a good excuse for any kind of oppression.
What are the chances of Palestine succeeding in getting Israel thrown out of FIFA? Pretty slim. Blatter to Israel’s rescue today.
I see the Israeli sports minister is Miri Regev. Not related to the odious Mark I hope.
Palestinians Want Country Suspended From International Game
http://news.sky.com/video/1486558/fifa-in-israel-for-football-talks
Why do Sky coyly say ‘country’ rather than ‘Israel’?
Oh and up pops RD. They really do crop up in unison. Like some disease.
Perhaps we are just offended by the same disease – what relevance was Bercow’s ancestry to the matter in hand whatsoever, similarly Steve Hilton’s?
I did not watch Peres beyond the point when he said he regretted that peace was not made at the Oslo Accord. Hypocrisy. At least that’s what I thought he said as I could not make out his mumbling.
I see he’s on the make.
Globes English – Peres to advise Teva – גלובס
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-shimon-peres-to-advise-teva-1001030390
26 Apr 2015 – Former president of Israel Shimon Peres will provide consulting services to Teva for $10000 monthly.
Haaretz investigation: Bank Hapoalim paying Shimon Peres $30,000 a month
Adviser says former president not involved in bank’s activities in Israel, only overseas.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.652748
Does he remind you of BLiar?
Peres says big money from speeches goes to charity
The former president makes speeches for Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Federations of North America. He is already being rapped for a similar deal with Bank Hapaolim.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.653635
Shimon Peres implored a London audience to “dream more, remember less” as his recipe for a successful life.
The former Israeli president and nobel laureate made was speaking at the Zionist Federation’s largest ever dinner, during which he acknowledged that he had expected a different outcome to the recent Israeli elections.
18 May 2015
http://www.jewishnews.co.uk/shimon-peres-dream-more-remember-less/
Yes Shimon. Forget all about the oppression of the Palestinians. Carry on dreaming.
PS Was Janner at the ZF dinner? Nothing would surprise me.
http://www.zionist.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ZF-Dinner-JC-QTR-PAGE-ADVERT.jpg
Tickets were only £250
Bercow is of course a Conservative Friend of Israel.
viz
2-7 January 2001, to Israel, visiting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for discussions with politicians and others, under the auspices of Conservative Friends of Israel and the Government of Israel. (Registered 23 January 2001)
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/regmem/?p=10040
Also why did he need so many large donations for his re-election campaign when he was a dead cert for re-election in Buckingham?
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10040/john_bercow/buckingham#register
How much does the Speaker get paid?
The salary of the Speaker is £142,826 (this figure comprises of MP’s salary of £67,060 and the additional salary for the Speaker of £75,766).
http://www.parliament.uk/about/faqs/house-of-commons-faqs/members-faq-page2/
Any deductions for rent for the Speaker’s pad done up at great expense we read?
Speaker John Bercow’s official residence refurbished for £45,000
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has had his grace-and-favour Westminster apartment refurbished at a cost of £45,000 to the taxpayer.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6563587/Speaker-John-Bercows-official-residence-refurbished-for-45000.html
A fleabite cf Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall of course. 🙂
George Gershwin – Nice work if you can get it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PONpFSB6a0I
John Goss
19/05/2015 12:22am
Ishmael says that the last gay pub in his area was burned down and sentries are needed in the new one to stop it being attacked.
If you believe him, and if you think it is reasonable to regard that as perhaps an extreme case of a body of attitudes in the country at large, I was curious to know if that has caused you to rethink your opinion that “gays in this country…are not oppressed”.
Kind regards,
John
Armageddon just got a step nearer, and no-one seems to care…
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Saudi-Arabia-in-talks-to-purchase-Pakistani-nuclear-weapons-in-response-to-Iran-403397
No moves by the US or Israel to discourage nuclear proliferation by a repressive theocracy anxious to be the regional power? No? Surprise me.
Ba’al at 11.38 – Thanks for that good link. Nicely written with plenty of positive suggestions that sound as if they’d be good fun and a far more worthwhile use of time (well mine anyway!)than sitting here trying to sift the grit from the shit to get at the pearls.
If you believe him, and if you think it is reasonable to regard that as perhaps an extreme case of a body of attitudes in the country at large, I was curious to know if that has caused you to rethink your opinion that “gays in this country…are not oppressed”.
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I have no idea where Ishmael lives. Using Google I found two gay pub fires, one in Lincoln the other in Bangor. In both cases their was no evidence that the fires were caused because they were gay establishments. I happened to be in DOuglas, Isle of Man, when Summerland went up in flames taking more than forty lives. Fires do happen in straight and gay establishments.
Not being gay I have no real idea whether gays in this country are oppressed. There are sure to be isolated instances with far right groups in existence. But to answer your question, no. I think positive discrimination towards the gay community has created a hierarchy which perpetuates the status quo and, if anything in the arts and performing arts, straight people can be at a disadvantage.
Whether gay people are attracted more to the entertainment industry is a different question.
Rose – glad someone savvy saw it! There’s a lot more on the site, and he’s both entertaining and clever.
Ba’al at 9.20 a.m. I am concerned that Saudi Arabia might be allowed to purchase nuclear weapons from Pakistan. I am also concerned that there might be an incident with the aid ship from Iran to Yemen (which is in dire need of aid) and which Saudi Arabia backed by the USA (the west chooses its allies with such compassion and care) has threatened will not allow to dock.
People wonder why I despise the Yanks so much. Everywhere they do business death and destruction is never far behind.
Mary
“There he goes again, filling up this blog with his usual bilge. Even dares to make the same old accusations at 10.22pm. The fact that Bercow is Jewish is known to all. So what? The troll twists it.”
__________________
Well, Mary, you have form when it comes to slyly indicating that a public figure you happen to dislike is Jewish or has Jewish origins, don’t you?
That such origins might already be widely known is no defence, I’m afraid.
You use such facts, I imagine, because you mistakenly feel they will add to the public figure’s charge sheet.
To take your comment about John Bercow’s grandparents being Romanian: if you are NOT having a dig about his Jewish origins, what was the point of mentioning it and of what relevance was saying it to the rest of your post?
If, for instance, you has been criticising John Bercow for speaking out against immigration into the UK, that information might have been relevant. Buut you were not.
So tell your adoring readers – what was the relevance of specifically pointing out that Bercow’s grandparents were Romanian, if not to remind us that he is of Jewish origin.
As for Lysias’s sly little back-up: I don’t think it’s worth commenting on the utterings of a phantasist with a strange interest (for an American) in Jannerite paedophilia.
People wonder why I despise the Yanks so much.
I don’t. It comes of forgetting that, like most of the rest of the residents of this planet, what the majority of them want is not much more than a quiet life, a secure roof and enough to eat.
Now if you’d said ‘professional politicians’ instead of ‘Yanks’, I’d have had to agree with you. Include ‘Russian professional politicians’ and we’re cooking with gas…
Mary
“Oh and up pops RD. They really do crop up in unison. Like some disease.”
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Wrong.
You and your like are the disease, RD, I and some honorable others are the medicine.
But I fear you are beyond cure.
RobG
“I will also ask readers to consider the fact that the MSM is under almost total control of these entities.”
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More bilge from the sozzled expatriate?
But still sober enough to use the word “almost” as a clever let-out to explain why he and like-minded tarts are free to post their rubbish on this blog (and probably others
And now have another glass! 🙂
A ‘regular’ Midlands town. I don’t think it was registered as a gay pub, but know for it, And I heard from someone I trust (and I trust because I live here and know general attitudes) that gangs would go in and attack the place or wait for people outside, something like that ( incidents before they burned it down) …
I saw nothing in the press about it, and id imagine it’d be recorded as just a pub fire. Maybe started by thugs.
It is a picture replicated across the uk in some from? I’d be shocked if it wasn’t, Just watch ‘Dead Mans Shoes’ . Excellent film showing the true spirit around here…… Btw, The guy who made the film doesn’t make real films after he “became a success”, dark truth doesn’t pay much does it.
There is a meme of doing sick sick things as entertainment here. Gangster culture.
Sry ..Is* it* a picture replicated across the uk in some form?
Ishmael isn’t making it up. Nor is it just homophobia. Possibly not the same people (but wouldn’t exclude it) – same culture:
http://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2015/05/02/sex-abuse-gangs-in-black-country-significant-similarities-to-rotherham-scandal-say-police/