The Labour Party is being remarkably coy about releasing the actual result of its Scottish accounting unit leadership election, giving only a percentage. The entirely complacent unionist media is complicit in what amounts to a deception. The stunning truth is that in a one person, one vote election among the entire membership of the Labour Party in Scotland plus trades union supporters, Dugdale won with 5,217 votes (out of a claimed electorate of 21,000, many of whom do not exist or could not be arsed to choose between two right wing numpties).
UPDATE: A second Labour figure just rang me to assure me my information – which was from a good source – is wrong. She would not give the actual figure and only said it was “higher”. I offered to take down the post and publish an accurate figure if she would give it, but this was declined.
I suppose “empath” can be considered negative.
Perhaps where a more active or decisive role is envisaged.
Dunno.
Mary
“..only Ba’al is competent to comment here – at length and in quantity it should be said!”
__________________
Well, Mary, he posts no more frequently and at no greater length than you – and at least most of his stuff reveals some thinking, unlike your cut-and-pastes. And he is willing to argue, inlike you with your default shouts of “troll, troll!”.
If you want to consider that a seal of approval, thanks fine with me.
Jon
21/08/2015 4:07pm
I’ve found what I was thinking of: it wasn’t directed at you, but at Suhayl Saadi, by Fedup, 20/08/2015 10:45pm.
“Is the weasel ways of yours Saadi! You have been dogging me with your fucking stupid questions, based on your assumptions and every time you come up with your “thank you” crap! Stuff your thanks where sun don’t shine. You are an empath, your actions speak louder than your rhetorical discourse.”
I don’t know much about this fight, and I can’t make much sense of Fedup’s comments: but I think my original thought of “psychopath” or “sociopath” as the word that was meant is not an unreasonable one, in this context.
Kind regards,
John
“Meanwhile another country the Yanks partitioned has potential to flare up into war”
__________________
Yes Mr Goss it’s an interesting turn of events, I wonder if China’s support for North Korea has cooled, since it’s new relationship with the West through BRICS.
Or maybe China’s economic downturn and the devaluing of its currency has given the Chinese food for thought on what side, to support if a full scale conflict erupts.
It’s all just speculation of course and every now and then border skirmishes break out, which don’t really amount to much.
Though Kim Jong-Un’s regime is one I’d like to see fall.
Ba’al writes
“My team? What team? I can’t think of a person here with whom I do not disagree on at least one topic. Which maybe creates a small difficulty for you. I do not hold the standard radical-left-approved set of opinions. Disliking Israel and Blair does not blind me to my own country’s national interest. Criticism of the US does not automatically require me to support any foreign dictator opposing it. And I think it is fair to oppose globalised megacorporate capitalism, whether it is the Western or the Russian variant.”
_________________
Very well said.
This piece shows that the scales are falling from many people’s eyes and that the true trolls, authoritarians, paranoiacs and obsessives are being unmasked slowly but surely.
To put it in terms Nevermind (with his love of violence)and RobG (with his love of the bottle) would understand, the Eminences are reeling.
“Does anyone else share my sense of foreboding?”
Mary: don’t be fearful, it only encourages them. There are good things happening too. Banish the poison of fear with healing positivity.
Oops.
Looks like the Danes might be breaking ranks.
The only future for western Europe is in open trade with Russia and its allies to the East, and in ditching the disastrous policies of US/UK.
Sensible opinion in Europe understands that.
The only question is when to jump ship:
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150821/1026029241/denmark-foreign-minister-russia-dialogue.html
Interesting report from The European Leadership Network.
Note how they treat the issue without recourse to propaganda. It’s much too important for that.
They’re looking at each side’s military exercises:
“Preparing for the Worst: Are Russian and NATO Military Exercises Making War in Europe more Likely?”
“Both exercises show that each side is training with the other side’s capabilities and most likely war plans in mind. Whilst spokespeople may maintain that these operations are targeted against hypothetical opponents, the nature and scale of them indicate otherwise: Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.”
http://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/preparing-for-the-worst-are-russian-and-nato-military-exercises-making-war-in-europe-more-likely_2997.html
“psychotic projection of patient’s obsessive violence onto an innocent passive world.”
Excellent!!
Gilad Atzmon calls it “pre-traumatic stress disorder”
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/pre-traumatic-stress-disorder-pre-traumatic-stress-disorder.html
Herbie. Thanks for that link to Chris Hedges’ speech in Seattle in June.
He is totally inspirational and a fine orator. The son of a preacher as is Gordon Brown but, unlike Brown, did not become a warped Zionist supporter/one of the gangsters-in-charge. Compare him to the likes of Cameron or Burnham.
He quoted Emmanuel Kant’s ‘If justice perishes, human life on earth has lost its meaning.’ and said ‘I don’t fight fascists because I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists.’
His description of what is happening in the US match much of the same here in his answer at 1 hr in is worth listening to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA41ggsdeXE
MJ Thanks to you. I am not fearful just very uneasy about things at the moment.
Brian. Thanks. I do know about Lourdes. I have a Catholic friend who goes every year on the special train to look after the sick. Not for me but everyone to their own set of beliefs. She returns invigorated. I am in fine health now, all clear of cancer but with breathing and voice problems, as I lack one of the two vocal cords. The laryngeal nerve was involved in the tumour.
To the one who carps on about ‘cut and paste’, is he aware that is what he does by copying segments of people’s comments (it’s good of him to give an extra airing!) and then makes some moronic remark, usually caustic/acidic. He appears unable to C&P a URL though.
For his info. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/URL.html
Yes, Mary.
I like him a lot.
Bursting with anger. Tempered by humanity.
Memories of the old days.
Here he is talking with one of his heroes, Prof. Sheldon Wolin:
“Chris Hedges and Sheldon Wolin: Can Capitalism and Democracy Coexist?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGc8DMHMyi8
Bit long. Something for Sunday morning, perhaps.
“I appreciate your point about the length of my posts. I agree, to some degree, though I tend to find it hard to express the nuanced position I am aiming for inside a word limit. Perhaps that is related to my view, expressed above also, that I don’t think politics is simply either Left or Right, in the faction or out of it, etc.”
Yes it is rather over simplistic to think of parties as being either right wing or left wing. Maybe we could include a new category of parson’s nose to include the SNP.
Thanks again Herbie.
At 7.30pm on BBC Four, Ch 9 Freeview, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (Israelis and Palestinians) under Daniel Barenboim at the Proms.
2015 Season
Something incredibly special happens every time Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra come to the Proms, and this should be no exception as Friday Night at the Proms presents a rare chance to see the maestro playing the piano alongside violinist Guy Braunstein and cellist Kian Soltani in Beethoven’s fabulous Triple Concerto.
Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony and Schoenberg’s 1st Chamber Symphony are also performed by what is one of the most significant musical alliances of our age. World-class music making is a given, augmented by Barenboim’s own performance, meaning you never quite know what will happen next.
Presented by Suzy Klein and Razia Iqbal.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066d735
Labour’s “Thought Police” purging hundreds maybe thousands of supporters who’ve paid their £3 quid to join the party. Some have been members for years.
http://www.thenational.scot/news/labour-facing-a-legal-challenge-for-purge-farce.6639
Republicofscotland
21/08/2015 7:03pm
Duh, did it not occur to these geniuses desperate to do anything to stop Corbyn, that this was going to happen? I could see immediately I knew that they were chucking people’s votes out that it would end up with judicial review.
If Corbyn happens not to be elected, he could mount another legal challenge for judicial review on the grounds that legitimate people who wanted to vote for him have been prevented from doing so.
Labour seem determined to make themselves look like farcical fucking idiots to the public.
Kind regards,
John
A wonderful concert was given by the East-Western Divan Orchestra and Barenboim made a witty speech at the end amongst the many encores, the cheering and wild applause from the packed Albert Hall.
All on the iPlayer inc the encores and the speech
http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/er6j5v#p02wwgvx
This is the obituary of Edward Said, the Palestinian co-founder of the orchestra with Daniel Barenboim. He died in 2003.
Edward Said
Controversial literary critic and bold advocate of the Palestinian cause in America http://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/sep/26/guardianobituaries.highereducation
‘Latterly, he was one of the most trenchant critics of the Oslo peace process and the Palestinian leadership of Yasser Arafat. He was dubbed “professor of terror” by the rightwing American magazine Commentary; in 1999, when he was struggling against leukaemia, the same magazine accused him of falsifying his status as a Palestinian refugee to enhance his advocacy of the Palestinian cause, and of falsely claiming to have been at school in Jerusalem before completing his education in the United States.
The hostility Said encountered from pro-Israeli circles in New York was predictable, given his trenchant attacks on Israeli violations of the human rights of Palestinians and his outspoken condemnations of US policies in the Middle East. From the other side of the conflict, however, he encountered opposition from Palestinians who accused him of sacrificing Palestinian rights by making unwarranted concessions to Zionism.’
As for the Yanks portioning Korea – yet another rewriting of history I’m afraid to fit in yet again with the Stalinist version.
John Spencer-Davis:
“If Corbyn happens not to be elected, he could mount another legal challenge for judicial review on the grounds that legitimate people who wanted to vote for him have been prevented from doing so.”
In these hard-up times of £5M a year CEO pay deals many of us could not afford the Labour sub to get entitled to vote for Corbyn.
Excessive executive pay is essential for grinding the peasants into submission so that they do not have the wherewithall to rebel.
Jon; “Macky, I’ll respond to this first”
Jon, I fear you have mis-interpreted my post, as I was just stating that I know that both said posters had posted comments directed at me that needed addressing, but that basically, I really couldn’t be bothered spending time then with their nonsense, and instead I just wanted to post that piece about Israel because of the on-going “debate” on the issue of Israel being an Apartheld State or not, a debate involving the resident trolls rather than those two Posters.
@ Suhayl Saadi, re your long post concerning your horrid persecution & virtual martyrdom; you start off by helpfully listing & confirming this Blog’s Gatekeepers, but then mislead as to what the term actually means by referring to them as alleged “traitors” to the Blog, whereas they are the opposite, ie super loyal enforcers as to what they believe is best for this Blog, best for what they believe are Craig’s beliefs/wishes.
“It is despicable that they are being insulted in this way on this blog.”
No, what is truly despicable is that you are trying to stop criticism of suspect behavior, by labelling it both as “despicable” and as being “insulting”.
“So, it seems that anyone with whom you disagree must be either a “troll” or a “gatekeeper”.”
No, on the negative side there is also the Axis-of-the-Dim, being people who are as sharp as bowling balls, ie useful idiots by virtue of their stupidly & lack of perception, (at least two on your Gatekeepers list also belong to this group).
“I posed a highly question to the current situation in the Middle East which now finally, after much bluff and bluster, has been answered. Yet that is deemed unacceptable, possibly not because of the question istelf but because of who asked it.”
Nice piece of re-writing & misrepresentation; in response to Fedup’s criticism of your comments iro of Israel, you suddenly bring-up a loaded question that you have been trying to an associate-smear Fedup with for ages; exactly like you did to me when in response to my comments concerning some suspect Islamophobic comments of yours, you suddenly asked if I was a White Supremacist, and similar to Clark’s sudden transformation into a raging McCarthy-like Inquisitor, when trying to defend Craig blinkered take on Ukraine, demanding to know if I am a paid propagandist for Putin; these are not innocent “yes or no” questions seeking to throw light on the issue being discussed, but deliberate smearing & smoke-screening diversionary tactics, designed to supress dissent & to avoid having to address the real points of issue.
“I, of course, consistently have been characterised by these posters as ‘a wily Oriental’
Not be me or afaik by Fedup, sounds more like one of the resident trolls; innocent mistake or another association smear ?
Re your last paragraph, it is I’m sorry to say a classic case of projection, as any impartial person who has followed this blog for a while will already know exactly which posters do make an effort to engage constructively on an issue or not, they will know for instance that I go out of my way to answer/address any real substantive points that have merit, even on the rare occasions when these come from the Trolls. Far from “flinging accusations”, I actually give some leeway & very careful consideration before actually calling out people for what I believe they are all about.
@ Suhayl Saadi, Missing the point yet again; you really think I have nothing better to do, or that I get my kicks by “attacking” people ?! You must be gettig me confused with the Habbu-Troll.
Please do point out the “inaccuracies” in my comments that you mentioned.
“And I have to say that Fedup repeatedly referring to Jews as “vermin” ”
Yes, I personally wouldn’t use the “vermin” terminology, but I both understand the frustration & rage against the injustices being committed that leads to such language, and I understand the context in that I don’t believe that Fedup is any kind of racist or Anti-Semite.
“Gatekeepers, by definition, have power over ‘the gate’. No-one here except Craig and the web moderator now has any power over ‘the gate”
So you DO know what Gatekeepers are ! No coincidence that two from your list are ex-mods, and all are very long term posters here & have displayed blind loyalty to Craig regardless of whetever they actually agree & even know anything about the particular issue, be it Clark’s zealous & ridiculous attempts to justify Craig’s position over Ukraine, or your own complete loyal silence on the same issue, until you were forced, months after the first initial debates, to reveal that you don’t actually agree with Craig’s pov.
“what is so very wrong about agreeing with most of Craig’s views? “
Nothing if you can honestly debate & defend it; but everything if you resort to the dishonest tactics that I’m highlighting.
“And as for marginalising dissent, the fact that you are here,”
Anybody else, as many already have, would have left long ago rather than have to put-up with the tactics used against dissenters here, from slanted bias moderating, to Clark’s Gestapo attempts to run people off the Blog, to the deliberate encouragement of obvious trolls to attack dissenters; my own long record of these experiences are all documented at Sqounk.
“Six of Lord Janner’s alleged child sex victims have launched civil compensation claims against the peer despite the fact he could still be involved in a criminal trial.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lord-janner-sued-six-alleged-6288407
“As for the Yanks portioning Korea – yet another rewriting of history I’m afraid to fit in yet again with the Stalinist version.”
You clearly do not know about the 49th parallel!
I think it is clear that the mistyping of 49th is 38th.
The Russian argument here is not about chums, teams or hacks, cuddly bunny Putin or even Crimea or the Donbass region; it is about Ukraine as a possible role model for how Eastern European countries can develop.
I myself believe this issue is regime survival on both sides of the East West spectrum where East is Putin’s regime and in the West, the Western concert of nations. Given it is about regime survival it is I believe an existential crisis and best managed by a balance of power policy – NOT by who bends towards Russia or America in a school-yard clash of cliques.
The perpetuation of power sadly steamrolls any sustaining elements of ideology that are independent of the noble, imperial, domineering or exceptional.
These fundamentals that align intention with legitimacy can be evoked in the minds of ordinary folk sick of chaos, sick of deception, war, torture and bullying and not bestowed on timeworn fabricated Western Institutions to concert power and policies.
You clearly do not remember who occupied the land north of the 38th parallel after WW2 and then helped launch the invasion of the South – an act that the UN Security Council agreed was an unapproved act of aggression and sanctioned UN troops to fight back against.
I object to being addressed as ‘Hi Mary…..’ by HMG.
‘The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested for war crimes when he arrives in London”.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105446
Government responded:
Under UK and international law, visiting heads of foreign governments, such as Prime Minister Netanyahu, have immunity from legal process, and cannot be arrested or detained.
The British Government has invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as head of the Israeli Government, to visit the UK in September. Under UK and international law, certain holders of high-ranking office in a State, including Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs are entitled to immunity, which includes inviolability and complete immunity from criminal jurisdiction.
We recognise that the conflict in Gaza last year took a terrible toll. As the Prime Minister said, we were all deeply saddened by the violence and the UK has been at the forefront of international reconstruction efforts. However the Prime Minister was clear on the UK’s recognition of Israel’s right to take proportionate action to defend itself, within the boundaries of international humanitarian law. We condemn the terrorist tactics of Hamas who fired rockets on Israel, built extensive tunnels to kidnap and murder, and repeatedly refused to accept ceasefires. Israel, like any state, has the right to ensure its own security, as its citizens also have the right to live without fear of attack.
The UK consistently urged Israel to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties, to exercise restraint, and to help find ways to bring the situation to an end. The UK continues to urge the parties to give priority to reaching a durable solution for Gaza which addresses the underlying drivers of conflict, and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery.
We welcome the fact that Israel is conducting internal investigations into specific incidents during Operation Protective Edge. Where there is evidence of wrongdoing those responsible must be held accountable whatever their position in society. Both parties must also demonstrate robust and credible internal investigations which are in line with international standards. We have also encouraged the Israeli authorities, as we do all countries, to cooperate with the independent Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the preliminary examination into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 13 June, 2014, whilst noting that Israel is not a State Party to the ICC.
The UK is a close friend of Israel and we enjoy an excellent bilateral relationship, built on decades of cooperation between our two countries across a range of fields. Our priority for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the achievement of a two-state solution, based on 1967 borders. We continue to believe that negotiations will be necessary in order to achieve this, and that both parties need to focus on steps that are conducive to peace. The UK Government will reinforce this message to Mr Netanyahu during his visit.
Click this link to view the response online:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105446?reveal_response=yes
The Petitions Committee will take a look at this petition and its response. They can press the government for action and gather evidence. If this petition reaches 100,000 signatures, the Committee will consider it for a debate.
The Committee is made up of 11 MPs, from political parties in government and in opposition. It is entirely independent of the Government. Find out more about the Committee: https://petition.parliament.uk/help#petitions-committee
Thanks,
The Petitions team
~~~
Don’t you just love the sound of fascism in the morning.
PS Number of signatures now 74,864.
Leading Israeli journalist says time to admit Israel’s policy is what it is: Apartheid
20 August 2015
Bradley Burston, a senior editor of Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, says he can’t deny anymore that Israel is an apartheid state.http://stopwar.org.uk/news/leading-israeli-journalist-says-time-to-admit-israel-s-policy-is-what-it-is-apartheid
‘Burston writes:
What I’m about to write will not come easily for me.
I used to be one of those people who took issue with the label of apartheid as applied to Israel. I was one of those people who could be counted on to argue that, while the country’s settlement and occupation policies were anti-democratic and brutal and slow-dose suicidal, the word apartheid did not apply.
I’m not one of those people any more. Not after the last few weeks.
Not after terrorists firebombed a West Bank Palestinian home, annihilating a family, murdering an 18-month-old boy and his father, burning his mother over 90 percent of her body – only to have Israel’s government rule the family ineligible for the financial support and compensation automatically granted Israeli victims of terrorism, settlers included.
I can’t pretend anymore. Not after Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, explicitly declaring stone-throwing to be terrorism, drove the passage of a bill holding stone-throwers liable to up to 20 years in prison.
The law did not specify that it targeted only Palestinian stone-throwers. It didn’t have to.
Just one week later, pro-settlement Jews hurled rocks, furniture, and bottles of urine at Israeli soldiers and police at a West Bank settlement, and in response, Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rewarded the Jewish stone-throwers with a pledge to build hundreds of new settlement homes.
This is what has become of the rule of law. Two sets of books. One for Us, and one to throw at Them. Apartheid.’
Jon
You can take this test online to find out if you are an empath.
http://www.empathtest.com
I scored 47 out of 80 and was told:
You scored toward the middle of the scale on the overall results. It is possible you have some empathic abilities, which could be further developed with practice and commitment.
Maybe everyone here should take it 🙂
Hope this helps.
Cheers KOWN
My scores:
Your Total Score: 72 out of 80
Your Out of Control Healer Score: 10 out of 10
Your Protection Tools Score: 23 out of 25
How Much You Mirror Others Unconsciously Score: 15 out of 15
Your Appreciation for Nature Score: 9 out of 10
You scored extremely high on the overall results. You are definitely an empath.