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.
Mary
“We only have moral pygmies.”
Isn’t it easy to unwittingly adopt the racist language of empire. Mary, replace Pygmie with Palestinian. How does that sound?
Actually your comment is apposite. Earlier I made the tantalising assertion that approx half a million people currently live in an egalitarian, leaderless, war free society. Unfortunately it was roundly ignored. But talking Pygmies gives me the excuse to say I was referring to the Mbendjele Pygmies of Central Africa. Of course these people are under attack from the modern missionaries of UNICEF et al.
All mankind existed in such egalitarian hunter gatherer groupings for most of our 100,000+ years of existence. Our current hierarchies are new, beginning with the neolithic (approx 5000 years ago). Obviously hunter gathers do not offer a template for anarchism but they do disprove any argument that people are not capable of egalitarianism. Hobbs was wrong.
If you are interested here’s recent a talk by a UCL anthropologist who has spent decades studying and living with the Mbendjele. Fascinating stuff:
Jerome Lewis: Woman’s Biggest Husband is the Moon: How Hunter-gatherers Maintain Social Equality
I’m not convinced that global warming is caused by human activity. It might be, but it might be part of a long term climate cycle. I’m about 50:50 on this. I’m not even certain that global warming is really happening, although I think it probably is, let’s say 65:35.
The above makes me a climate sceptic.
Climate sceptics are officially known as climate deniers despite the illogical use of the English language.
Islamic terrorism is linked to climate change.
Climate deniers are a threat to US National Security.
Climate deniers are aiding terrorism.
Therefore being a climate denier is a Class 2 felony punishable by life imprisonment.
‘Really’, identifiable by its cryptically expressed parody-BNP antisemitism, is one of many guises of something which used to be called ‘English Knight’ or something like that. Whether its intention is to inform, entertain or simply discredit this blog has always been unclear. ‘Neocohen’ may be intended to reflect the indisputable connection between Israeli and US foreign policy. It would be hard to deny its applicability, if so.
FYI-Neocohens (NB-this list to be updated by habba after war with Iran!)
perle
kagan
shapiro
wolfowitz
feith
leeden
libby
krauthammer
bryen
posner
dershowitz
frum
rosenthal
kagan
wurmser
goldberg
zakheim
kissinger
podhoretz
abrams
pipes
kristol
cohen
schlesinger
grossman
nuland
pyatt
Andrew Sullivan wrote he no longer took neoconservatism seriously because its basic tenet was defense of Israel.
“The closer you examine it, the clearer it is that neoconservatism, in large part, is simply about enabling the most irredentist elements in Israel and sustaining a permanent war against anyone or any country who disagrees with the Israeli right. That’s the conclusion I’ve been forced to these last few years. And to insist that America adopt exactly the same constant-war-as-survival that Israelis have been slowly forced into… But America is not Israel. And once that distinction is made, much of the neoconservative ideology collapses.”
Really
21/05/2015 1:52pm
Looks to me like a list of Jewish individuals who support a neoconservative agenda. Is everyone on your list Jewish?
I didn’t ask for a list, or a quotation from Andrew Sullivan, I asked for an explanation of exactly what you meant by “neocohen”. Would it be possible for you to provide that to the forum?
Thanks,
John
OMG !
Really
21/05/2015 2:06pm
Is there a problem?
J
Lets ask habba if he was able to figure out what a neocohen animal is from the post! If you want to be anti-semantic you may refer to them as neocoens instead !!
UNESCO are very concerned about the fate of the archaeological remains at Palmyra if IS destroy them.
Isis seizes Palmyra: Fears for ancient Unesco World Heritage Site as militants take full control of Syrian city
The Independent – 8 hours ago
The ruins at Palmyra, a Unesco world heritage site just to the south-west of the town, are one …
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-seizes-palmyra-fears-for-ancient-unesco-world-heritage-site-as-militants-capture-part-of-syrian-city-10265014.html
Can’t remember them making so much as a peep when the US forces wrecked Babylon.
Babylon wrecked by war
US-led forces leave a trail of destruction and contamination in architectural site of world importance
Rory McCarthy in Baghdad, and Maev Kennedy
15 January 2005
Troops from the US-led force in Iraq have caused widespread damage and severe contamination to the remains of the ancient city of Babylon, according to a damning report released today by the British Museum.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/15/iraq.arts1
Fred.
1. Yes I have been to the Highlands.
2. How on earth do you twist my posting a piece about land reform (long overdue IMHO) to an implication that I don’t like them??
“2. How on earth do you twist my posting a piece about land reform (long overdue IMHO) to an implication that I don’t like them??”
So if you like them why do you want to change them?
No slur intended Ba’al. Could you suggest an alternative expression? It seems to be in common use.
The dictionary definition needs to be altered. See 3b.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Pygmy
Is everyone on your list Jewish?
To answer that, yes. Many of them hold dual citizenship (Israel/US) and all have been closely associated with US foreign policy during the Bush II years, some say, still. Some are still influential in Washington. See also PNAC, WINEP, JINSA, MEMRI…and see where that gets you. This is all very well-known corruption, but somewhat superseded by the financial crash.
(Nothing to do with me, Mary. Unconcerned by pygmies. They give me trouble, I bite them.)
Really
21/05/2015 2:24pm
Haven’t the faintest idea what this post means.
Are you too cowardly to make explicit what the word you used means? I’ll try and do it for you. “Neocohen” means “Jewish individual who supports a neoconservative agenda”. Yes? Or no?
J
Not changing ‘them’. Changing their ownership.
I declare the neocohen point has been well and truly worked to death. Now to traffic cohens – invaluable Jewish additions to roadworks worldwide?
@JSD – if your son ends up being cannon fodder in their next war dont say you werent warned. And say a prayer for CM (free speech blog) if the son escapes military conflict, remember we lost the Iraq argument to the neocohens !
I have nearly finished reading Simon Danczuk’s Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith. Apparently MI5 protection of Smith, which compelled the police to drop investigations of his pedophile activities, began even before Smith was first elected to Parliament in 1972. One wonders when the likes of Janner (conspicuously not mentioned in Danczuk’s book), Brittan (mentioned, but only for his association with Smith, not for pedophile activities), and Saville first began to enjoy similar protection.
Gould is preparing to leave.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-delivered-by-british-ambassador-to-israel-at-queens-birthday-party
Strange sounding location. The Ariel Sharon Park Recycling Mountain!
https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/ambassador-matthew-gould-hosts-final-queens-birthday-celebrations-in-israel
~~
I noticed on the JP that Israel exported $6.6 billon worth of ‘defence goods’ last year, mainly to the Asia Pacific region. All validated no doubt from their use on the Palestinians.
Really
21/05/2015 3:18pm
Yes?
Or no?
How difficult is that? You are typing three letters or two letters.
J
No irony. BBC News have just had this person from the HJS speaking about the dangers posed to Palmyra.
http://henryjacksonsociety.org/people/professional-staff/research-staff-and-associates/emily-dyer/
JSD – No, neocohens simply refers to the neocoens – those folks on my list who “tortured some folk” in Iraq. But wolfowitz the chickenhawk we saw cowering under a table in that Green Zone mortar attack (contrast with the sweat free brow of unhooded sadam at the gallows), may definitely be called a neocohen.
Phil
“If you are interested here’s recent a talk by a UCL anthropologist who has spent decades studying and living with the Mbendjele. Fascinating stuff:
Jerome Lewis: Woman’s Biggest Husband is the Moon: How Hunter-gatherers Maintain Social Equality”
____________________
Thank you, I shall read it. One of the problems I think I have with your thesis is that I am not convinced that what works for some isolated tribes – or even for the 1/2 million people you mentioned – would be transposable into mass 21st century communities. What reasons do you have for thinking that the template you advance is so transposable?
Ba’al Zevul says (à propos English Knight, as was):
“‘Neocohen’ may be intended to reflect the indisputable connection between Israeli and US foreign policy”
________________________
For that interpretation to be correct, there would have to be a lot of people in Israel called Cohen. But there are probably many more Jews called Cohen outside Israel than in it. Accordingly, “neocohen” is more likely to be his way of saying “Jews”.
But why are we discussing someone Craig banned from his blog ages ago?
“Really” (aka “English Knight”)
“Lets ask habba if he was able to figure out what a neocohen animal is from the post! If you want to be anti-semantic you may refer to them as neocoens instead !!”
_________________________
No, it would be more logical for you to answer JSD’s question. After all, you used the expression and I too am curious to know exactly what you meant by it.
And once you’ve answered, fuck off. 🙂
“One wonders when the likes of Janner (conspicuously not mentioned in Danczuk’s book), Brittan (mentioned, but only for his association with Smith, not for pedophile activities), and Saville first began to enjoy similar protection.”
______________________
The “wondering” has started again, I see.
By a “one” as opposed to an “I”.
It might of course be that Mr Danczuk (more power to his arm, by the way!) is rather more cautious than our Oxford Greatsman about calling people paedophiles.
To do that “one” needs to be an Irish-American armchair hero safely out of the reach of English libel law and hiding behind the anonymity of the internet with more than just the identity of his Oxford college 🙂
@habba – no I am not an english knight. Below an American definition of a neocohen (or neocoen)
Andrew Sullivan wrote he no longer took neoconservatism seriously because its basic tenet was defense of Israel.
“The closer you examine it, the clearer it is that neoconservatism, in large part, is simply about enabling the most irredentist elements in Israel and sustaining a permanent war against anyone or any country who disagrees with the Israeli right. That’s the conclusion I’ve been forced to these last few years. And to insist that America adopt exactly the same constant-war-as-survival that Israelis have been slowly forced into… But America is not Israel. And once that distinction is made, much of the neoconservative ideology collapses.”
Really – just to complete your list there are two Wurmsers, not one, Meyrav and David. David was MidEast advisor to Cheney, assisted Bolton at the State Department, member of AEI, Swiss-American. Meyrav, his wife, founded MEMRI (qv) and is a member of the Hudson Institute. Israeli. Both solid Zionists.
http://www.wrmea.org/2007-april/meyrav-wurmser-the-neocons-den-mother.html
And there are two Kristols, too. Irving, “the godfather of neoconservatism” and his son Bill, cofounder of PNAC (qv), and serial agitator for Israel.
Anybody who doubts that Smith, Saville (both of whom Danczuk identifies as pedophiles), Brittan, and Janner were (for the still alive Janner, I use the past tense only because I doubt if he is able to continue his activities at this late date) is blind to the evidence.
Or shall I say “willfully blind”? Perhaps because of an unwillingness to admit the existence of an obvious pattern?