It is no secret that Alistair Carmichael is a friend of mine. Not least because he told parliament so in 2005:
“The Government’s signals to the Uzbek regime have not always been helpful. I am thinking especially of their treatment of my old friend, the former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who has done us all a great service in graphically highlighting the appalling human rights record of the Uzbekistan Government.”
Alistair was one of very few MPs who raised the dreadful human rights abuses in Uzbekistan even before I got there. He has a genuine interest in human rights worldwide, and had a much better motivation in going into politics than the large majority of politicians. He was never anything like a diehard unionist in personal conviction. I felt quite proud for him when he was asked during the campaign what would his role be in negotiating for the UK the conditions of separation after a Yes vote. He replied that he was Scottish, and he would be on the Scottish, not the UK side.
I have never chosen my friends by my politics, and I am not one of those people who is only happy in the company of those who agree with me. I am happiest with a few drinks and a good argument in intellectually challenging company. I also do know that all human beings are flawed, and I don’t expect perfection. So I have no intention of ending friendship with Alistair.
All of which makes it hard, but I have to say that I really do think he needs to resign as an MP, and to do so immediately.
It was not just a mistake to leak that memo, it was wrong. It was even more wrong because he himself believed it was written in error and did not give Nicola Sturgeon’s true opinion. But in an election in which the Scottish Lib Dems faced wipeout, he saw the advantage of playing this trick. That was wrong on many levels. I would add that I feel very confident that Alistair would never have done it without consulting Clegg first. Clegg should resign too. And instead of the usual Cabinet Office stitch-up, there needs to be a real inquiry into the whole history and production of that extraordinary minute, and whether Alistair was set up to do it. The Scottish Government needs to be an equal partner in constituting that inquiry.
Alistair has no alternative but to resign because he then repeatedly lied about what he had done. It is much better that he goes now with a full and frank apology to everyone, especially his constituents. When you have blatantly and repeatedly lied about something, you cannot expect people to give you their trust again. That it even seems a possibility is an example of the erosion of ethical standards, of which Tony Blair is of course the greatest example as liar, mass murderer and multi-millionaire.
But we should not lose sight of the real lesson. The corrupt and rotten structures of the UK state are so insidious that they can take a fundamentally decent man like Alistair and lead him to behave so badly. There is something within the rotting organisms of UK institutions in their decline from Imperial power and dependence on corrupt banking and corporate systems, that infects almost all who enter them. While I worked for the FCO I saw really nice colleagues, decent men and women I worked with, go along with organising what they knew to be illegal war in Iraq, and with facilitating the torture and extraordinary rendition programmes. Because that was what paid their mortgage, looked after their children, and above all gave them social status as high British diplomats.
Westminster gives untramelled executive power to a party with just 23% of the support of the registered electorate. The majority of parliamentarians are unelected Lords a great many of whom are themselves mired in corruption – and some much worse. The organs of state power are used to facilitate the flow of money from the poor to the very wealthy, which is the actual cause of the deficit in public finances. The rewards of being on the inside are sweet; those outside are measurably dispossessed of wealth, and measurably alienated in politics. The media is controlled by this corporate state.
Alistair Carmichael’s story is not the story of a bad man. It is the story of what happens to a good man who buys in to UK power structures. The real lesson of the sad story of this period in Alistair’s life is that the UK is evil, corrupt and corrupting, and that the UK state needs swiftly to be broken up.
“http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/US-Prosecutors-are-Good-Imperial-Soldiers-20150525-0020.html
25 May 2015”
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One must of course not forget, when reading Mary’s links, that Telesur TV is 51% owned by the Venezuelan government (the other shareholders are the govts of Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay) and is based in Venezuela.
It is, in effect, a government broadcaster in the mould of Russia Today and Press TV and its output is therefore to be treated with due caution.
High level post-Snowden surveillance planning
Be afraid. Consult the lists of staff, governors, honorary governors, council etc All the usual suspects are there in serried ranks inc Milord George Robertson of Port Ellen.
http://www.ditchley.co.uk/the-foundations/the-ditchley-foundation
Then read
Apple and Google Just Attended a Confidential Spy Summit in a Remote English Mansion
Ryan Gallagher
22 May 2015
‘At an 18th-century mansion in England’s countryside last week, current and former spy chiefs from seven countries faced off with representatives from tech giants Apple and Google to discuss government surveillance in the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s leaks.
The three-day conference, which took place behind closed doors and under strict rules about confidentiality, was aimed at debating the line between privacy and security.’
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/22/apple-google-spy-summit-cia-gchq-ditchley-surveillance/
As some here are unable to copy a link, here are the facts on TeleSUR as per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeleSUR
La Nueva Televisora del Sur, a public company sponsored by:
Argentina 20%
Bolivia 5%
Cuba 19%
Ecuador 10%
Nicaragua 10%
Uruguay 10%
Venezuela 51%
Picture format
480i (SDTV)
Slogan
“Nuestro Norte es el Sur”
(“Our North is the South”)
Language
English, Spanish, Portuguese (for Brazil) only.
Broadcast area
Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Northern Africa
Affiliates
Venezolana de Televisión
TV Pública Digital
Cubavision International
Ecuador TV
TV Boliviana
Multinoticias
Uruguay National Television
Headquarters
Caracas, Venezuela
Website http://www.telesurtv.net/english/index.html
🙂
The Medialens Editors
Gary Younge on Iraq
May 26, 2015
Don’t mention the (Libyan) war!
‘The point is to reclaim the truth of the past in the hope of a better and more honest future. If those who lied us into the war can lie us out of it too, then we are no better equipped to stop them the next time.’
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/25/iraq-invasion-america-war-jeb-bush-us-election
The ‘next time’ already happened and ‘we’ were indeed no better equipped to expose the lies, notably at the Guardian, which massively promoted an ‘R2P’ assault on Libya.
DE
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1432624175.html
Protests in Kiev go unreported by our media which were reporting almost daily on Maidan protests a year ago in order to enact regime-change with the removal of Yakunovich. The country is in so much trouble since then with no industry, utility bills quadrupled, mines closed, pensions reduced and not surprisingly a people-led protest is taking place – unlike the Nuland-led protests that created the chaos. I wonder whether Evgueni’s friends in Odessa, who never heard of any right-wing factions there when at least 42 people were burnt to death by fascists, have heard anything about these protests. Or are they too wealthy to be affected?
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/25/ukra-m25.html
“Carmichael has to go, putting all bias aside, he has to, in all honesty, resign.”
So do you think all politicians who tell lies and cost the tax payers money because they didn’t own up should resign?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20042069
I have asked Alistair Carmichael to ‘do the right thing’ and resign.
http://www.alistaircarmichael.co.uk/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1%3Aname&catid=12%3Acontacts&Itemid=69
Alistair Carmichael’s story is not the story of a bad man. It is the story of what happens to a good man who buys in to UK power structures.
Mochyn69
24 May, 2015 – 11:36 am — good judgement pointed a finger at the security services.
MI5/6 and security service candidates are required to prove they can lie their way out of a situation they might expose SIS modes of operation.
An applicant to MI5 HMGCC engineering (Hanslope park) and a good friend who I trust, confirmed this surreptitious prevaricating component of the MI5 employment interview.
Consequently a web-site statement was issued by MI5 recruitment warning applicants to ‘keep schtum’ about SIS employment practices; even family members must not be informed of career applications to the British security services.
@Fred
Do you think Alistair Carmichael should resign?
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has used a speech in Edinburgh to attack the “scale and speed” of spending cuts planned by this UK Conservative government.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-32878559
Having wrecked Libya, this is now the plan for more destruction.
EU plan for military intervention against “refugee boats” in Libya and the Mediterranean
Today, WikiLeaks is releasing two classified EU documents, outlining the planned military intervention against boats travelling from Libya to Italy. The more significant of the two documents was written by the combined military defence chiefs of the EU member states. The plan was formally approved by representatives from all 28 countries on 18 May 2015.
https://wikileaks.org/eu-military-refugees/press.html
https://wikileaks.org/eu-military-refugees/EUMC/eu-military-refugee-plan-EUMC.pdf
What evil.
Sir Malcolm Bruce: Commons would empty very fast if lying MPs had to quit
Says it all, dos it not
“Do you think Alistair Carmichael should resign?”
No.
Based on my personal opinions on what probably happened in this case I don’t think he should resign as an MP. Had he still been Secretary of State for Scotland I would have expected him to resign from that post.
Do you think Alex Salmond should resign for spending tax payer’s money on court action to prevent him having to show legal doccuments he didn’t even have?
From “Mark Golding”
“..even family members must not be informed of career applications to the British security services.”
____________________
Untrue.
Check it out on their websites.
“Do you think Alistair Carmichael should resign?”
___________________
What I think is that this is a seven-day wonder and will be forgotten in a day or so.
After all, it is not as if the SNP and its Fuehrers did not tell a few porkies during the referendum campaign.
Fred : “Do you think Alex Salmond should resign for spending tax payer’s money on court action to prevent him having to show legal doccuments he didn’t even have?”
No. It hasn’t been proved he did tell lies. He and Nicola Sturgeon both insist that his remarks, taken in context, were not dishonest. Only his political enemies are insisting he lied, and they would, wouldn’t they? If he did lie, it was a matter of political expediency, not as a dirty trick aimed at another politician. The amount of money involved is trivial – “thousands” according to his political enemies with every motivation to exaggerate.
Do you think Salmond should resign?
Whatever Carmichael does, this will not be a seven-day wonder. He will be reminded of it at every opportunity, every time he stands up to speak.
No amount of anti-SNP accusations will make it go away, even if they were relevant.
By e-mail. No link.
Keep Talking meeting: Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Another of our Keep Talking meetings for you, that David Cameron wishes to close down. Come along and help us keep talking!
The coming tyranny. Open forum, with intro by Nick Kollerstrom and Ian Fantom
Date: Tuesday, 2 June, 2015
Time: Open 7-10pm. Talk and discussion 7:30 – 9:30pm
Location: Pimlico Room (See below)
Admission: A £3 donation would be appreciated, according to means.
Within a week of being re-elected as Prime Minister, David Cameron announced that he would bring in legislation against ‘non-violent extremists’, stating, “For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone.” (http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/this-is-the-creepiest-thing-david-cameron-has-ever-said–e1q_01xlZZ).
These are ominous words. David Cameron has already told the UN that he wants to close down groups such as ours. Meanwhile, there have been developments in the US, with a massive military operation, ‘Jade Helm’, which many think could be more than just an exercise. There’s not a great deal on this in the mainstream media, though some things have been reported. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3013900/Fears-martial-law-special-ops-set-swarm-Southwest-operate-undetected-civilians-ve-deemed-HOSTILE-massive-military-exercise.html)
Even in the alternative US news site Veterans Today, researchers were complaining that their reports were being suppressed. This led to a mass resignation, as they realised they were being subjected to controlled opposition. (http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2015/05/03/mass-defection-of-writers-from-veterans-today-alternative-radio-hosts-in-suspicious-car-accidents/).
Location: The Pimlico Room, St Saviour’s Church, St George’s Square, Lupus Street, London, SW1V 3QW (http://www.stsp.org.uk). There’s a good pub (The Gallery) half way between Pimlico Underground Station and the Pimlico Room, for those who want to meet up beforehand or after the meeting. They serve food after 5pm.
One of the joys of living in Indo-Pak Birmingham is that when you comment here and they don’t like it they burn your computer har drive. Small consolation that Murdoch employees got fined 260,000 pounds last week for hacking phones.
If intimidation fails to have the desired effect they are never shy to use black magic on the nasty Gora outsider who fails to see the world in their myopic terms. The mulla with the large stilton hat gets called in to cast a spell on you and while you are struggling with the evil thing he has cast on your brains, you succumb to a heart attack.
No plagues of frogs or locusts yet. I don’t know if that’s because of occult lack of experience or because he doesn’t want frogs raining down on his own family in the same street.
Question to Fred:
26 May, 2015 – 11:30 am
“Do you think Alistair Carmichael should resign?”
His reply:
“No.”
………………………………………………………………………….
I put it to you Fred that had Carmichael been an SNP Member under similar circumstances, you would be calling from the rooftops for his resignation.
Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)
26 May, 2015 – 8:05 am
“Telesur TV is 51% owned by the Venezuelan government (the other shareholders are the govts of Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay) and is based in Venezuela.”
………………………………………………………………………………
The BBC is of course 100% state owned.
My big concern if Alistair Carmichael resigns is would the person replacing him be better for Westminster or Scotland. Unlike Craig I don’t know him. He seems to have some morals but he has made a mistake, and a big one, intentionally it would seem. However the Northern Isles might not be better served by his replacement. Nobody knows who would win the seat.
If he stays this issue could be thrown back at him at any time. The ball is in his court. As George Mackay Brown, an Orcadian poet wrote:
More child sex abuse covered-up by the police and security services in the 1980s/1990s
Not yet being reported on the UK MSM as far as I can see.
“She claimed police officers would stand guard for the perpetrators and on some occasions even joined in the abuse in woodland on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.”
http://news.sky.com/story/1490565/abuse-survivor-cops-guarded-as-i-was-raped
Mr Scorgie
“Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)
26 May, 2015 – 8:05 am
“Telesur TV is 51% owned by the Venezuelan government (the other shareholders are the govts of Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay) and is based in Venezuela.”
………………………………………………………………………………
The BBC is of course 100% state owned.”
______________________
It is, and TeleSur is also 100% owned by various South American govts, amoung which Venezuela is prominent (51%).
You don’t trust the BBC because it is state owned. Do you trust TeleSur, which is also state owned?
Mr Scorgie
“More child sex abuse covered-up by the police and security services in the 1980s/1990s
Not yet being reported on the UK MSM as far as I can see.”
___________________
Which is why you’re such an important contributor not only to this website but also to comminication on general, Doug.
Where Doug leads, the others will follow! 🙂
Wonder if NATO is planning an attack on Russia with its current sub-arctic exercise at the expense of the current Swedish PM Stefan Lofven.
That’s what NATO planned at Olof Palme’s expense with its Anchor Express Exercise back in March 1986, and it only didn’t trigger a nuclear armageddon, thanks to all those spies that Vlad had developed in the West so that he could take the appropriate counter measures, as he is doing now.
“It is, in effect, a government broadcaster in the mould of Russia Today and Press TV and its output is therefore to be treated with due caution.”
_______________________________
Not forgetting the BBC,of course.
They should all resign, NOW……If they had any moral center nobody in this establishment would support it. And if they took that action it would be a revolution…But they don’t, they go along, justifying themselves, if it wasn’t me. etc etc etc. Self serving vermin.
“I opened up my eyes, and saw to my surprise, Monsters in disguise, wearing bowler hats and old school ties” -Hazel O’Connor
I’m leaving the Greens btw. The new liberal democrats. We are fucked.
Republicofscotland (15h15)
You should read what your fellow-loonies write (Mr Scorgie at 13h42).
Are you short-sighted or is the sound of your own voice just irrestible? LOL
Alistair Carmichael was Secretary of state for Scotland at the time of the memo leak,he would have had to sign off on its release.
When asked when he’d first knew of the leaked memo,Carmichael replied when a journalist told me.
Now that’s a lie.
The unionist press tried to smear the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon without knowing about Carmichaels involvement.
Carmichael should resign,he held his seat by a small majority,knowing he blatently lied,not about expenses,or something similar,no he willfully tried to smear the FM of his own country,for the benefit of himself and his Westminster masters.