UPDATE
Ms Stella Creasy is offended by this article. At 8.14am this morning 5 December she tweeted:
“This is just an offensive and wrong article and I hope Mr Murray retracts.”
Nothing in it is wrong to the best of my knowledge, but if anything is, I should be most happy to retract it. Nobody has indicated anything is factually wrong so far. I have changed the title of the post to be literal rather than sarcastic, because that was the only thing about it that was “wrong”.
But offensive? Really? She must be a very shrinking violet indeed.
Given that the whole point of this article is to suggest that Ms Creasy believes she should be above criticism and above democratic accountability, for her to describe the criticisms in this article as “offensive” purely proves my point. It is not offensive. It is legitimate criticism of somebody who lives off my taxes.
For me, the inevitable conclusion is that a woman whose Wikipedia page states “Creasy has aristocratic family connections on her mother’s side, including with the Howards, Earls of Carlisle (through whom she is related to Polly Toynbee), the Cayzer family and the present (9th) Viscount Gort who is her fourth cousin” believes she is not answerable to the hoi polloi.
If she regards this article as “offensive” and something that should be retracted, and given she described the extremely polite vigil in the video below as “intimidation”, I think we can all form our own view of Ms Creasy and her sense of entitlement to rule.
For the benefit of the media, she is currently organising a “public meeting” with in fact a highly selected and vetted audience to be seen to be “open and democratic” and justify to her constituents her decision to blow up Syrian children. Expect wall to wall media coverage of stooges coming out saying she convinced them.
The original article of which she complained starts here:
There is a very natural temptation for members of the SNP to laugh without sympathy at the universal media hostility faced by Corbyn and his supporters. That is because we faced an equally massive and equally unrelieved torrent of biased media propaganda during the referendum campaign, and then the entire Labour Party, including its left wing, not only did not condemn the biased media but actively sought to promote it.
On top of which the corporate media is in utter confusion in Scotland, and still largely under instruction to boost Labour, it being at least unionist. The peculiar result of this is that an alien landing in Livingston and following the media would come to the conclusion that John McTernan must be leader of the country, given his ubiquity on media and the extreme deference shown to him, especially by the state broadcaster.
I am however of a peculiarly forgiving disposition, and take the view that two wrongs don’t make a right. What is by any standards fascinating is the way that the media use precisely the same tactics against Corbyn they used against the SNP. First you have the expressions of scorn, of incredulity that such a view could be held, the dismissive body language of presenters, the comment of “unelectable” presented as fact.
When all that does not work, you get the portrayal of anybody putting forward a view outside the neo-con consensus as fanatic, desocialised and violent. We experienced precisely this with the massive “cybernat” campaign of the mainstream media, in which independence supporters were presented as hideous thugs and bullies. This is precisely the narrative which is now being relentlessly deployed on all media for the last 24 hours against the supporters of Jeremy Corbyn. The narrative is reinforced by promoting a celebrity “victim”, preferably female and blonde. Step forward J K Rowling the first time, and Stella Creasy now.
Here is a shocking video of the hate-filled mob which besieged Ms Creasy’s constituency office, with the result that her staff dare not go to work and she herself felt intimidated.
Demonstration outside @stellacreasy’s Walthamstow constituency office against war in Syria – video @rhodri_jones
https://t.co/O9ULmc6ofU
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) December 1, 2015
Terrifying, wasn’t it? The truth is this was an extremely polite and quiet bunch organised in fact by the local vicar Stephen Saxby, who writes in Red Pepper:
This week I took part in a vigil with a wide section of the local community. I am deeply saddened by the misinformation about the vigil which has circulated in the media, and grateful to Sue Wheat for correcting the misreporting of the vigil.
I am also surprised that some in the party appear to be overly influenced by irresponsible coverage in the media, such as the Mail’s description of the peaceful people on our vigil being called ‘Hard-left hate mobs’ and the Mirror stating ‘Vicars, imams and net trolls target MPs’.
I am shocked by Tom Watson’s statement on Radio 4 today that ‘any Labour members on that demo should be removed from the party’.
At the same time as I condemn intimidation of MPs or their staff, I reiterate that the vigil was not intimidation, and condemn those who seek to portray democratic, peaceful actions as such. This is also is a form of intimidation.
For my part, I shall not be intimidated into not speaking on issues about which I am passionate and alongside others within and beyond the Labour Party.
I refute the erroneous allegations about me and about our peaceful vigil, and look forward to continuing to support Stella Creasy as MP for Walthamstow, and the campaigns to elect Sadiq Khan as mayor and Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.”
It is astonishing that Tom Watson says that anybody in that video should be expelled from the Labour Party, and that the entire mainstream media has described it as “intimidation”. There really is a genuine attempt to delegitimise even the concept of dissent from the neo-con war agenda.
In truth, we all know that social media abuse does exist to a certain extent, just as abuse exists in every other form of human communication. But the one thing we learnt for certain from the Scottish referendum campaign, is that the media will report constantly any abuse allegedly from the anti-establishment camp, but will ignore the at least equally bad and quite possibly much worse torrent of abuse from supporters of the other side of the argument. The absolutely false connection of social media aggression uniquely to anti-establishment politics is an organised media propaganda trick as morally disgusting as it is pernicious.
The object to delegitimise a political view – be it Scottish Independence or Corbynism – is taken further in the current example. There is a concomitant media campaign to portray as an affront to democracy the idea of MPs facing reselection by party members – to portray the idea that an MP should have a lifelong right to the party nomination as norm.
This is a complete inversion of truth. The idea that MPs should be subject to reselection by members as the candidate at the end of the term for which they were chosen, is obviously in reality the more democratic. Should an MP be deselected, they have the democratic option to stand as an independent if they truly believe the voters were electing them, and not the party.
A final word on Ms Creasy. She has belatedly come out and denied the false reports all over the media that demonstrators gathered outside her home – though anyone who thought the Porsche Cayenne driving, Oxbridge Ms Creasy lives in a terrace in Waltham is very naïve. She is a fanatic supporter of Trident missiles and of any bombing opportunity going, and is precisely the sort of MP everybody should be trying to get rid of. Here is Andrew Neil exposing her for a shallow careerist fool:
Presumably that ranks as intimidation and abuse.
Bevin
That’s all very eloquent but I believe I was responding to someone – Pulcinella, I think – who was wittering on about a Guardian video. Your post is just the usual premium grade rubbish we on here have come to expect from you and is miles removed from my response to the comment and the comment itself.
I notice, btw, that Pulcinella, although present, is not keen on defending himself against the suggestion that he is a hypocrite. 🙂
Alycone
“Mary, it was you who was trolling and diverting and distracting a perfectly civilised conversation I was having with Craig this morning. And, since it related to his health, it was an important one.”
_________________
I’d forgotten that, but you’re right. Her effort at diversion and mockery showed some disrespect for Craig, I thought – don’t know if others feel so as well.
Mick,
I have thought about it a very great deal.
Not O/T as Craig referred to Trident.
This vessel, refitted, looking ominous, leaves port. Are we any safer? No.
Wonder what contamination it leaves behind in Devonport. What do they do with the old reactor core for instance?
‘Nuclear Sub Back On Patrol After £350m Refit
The nuclear-weapon-equipped sub leaves port with a new reactor core, better missile launch kit and the latest computer systems.’
http://news.sky.com/story/1600076/nuclear-sub-back-on-patrol-after-350m-refit
Mick
“Craig,
I agree with your comments, I am not a fan of Tom Watson in general and certainly not since his desire to gain publicity for himself last year over the Westminster paedophile scandal.”
_______________________
Well, I’m glad someone agrees with me re Mr Watson.
Commenters with advanced reading skills may recall that, quite a few threads ago, I ventures to suggest that Mr Watson was a Northern English Labour “thug” and that his behaviour was “thuggish”.
Needless to say, one of the Old Trolls immediately slammed me for saying that.
If I could remember which of the Old Trolls it was, I’d be happy to give him a good kicking.
I saw no disrespect in anything Mary said. Please stop squabbling everybody.
Craig
Any connection with the re-orientation of your activities you said you’d be giving us a heads-up about a while ago?
As always, feel free to ignore if I’m being indiscreet or premature*
_____________________
* “premature” – calm down, Nebelmind, it’s not what you think. 🙂
Irony is lost on Villager.
‘“People here pretending to be holier than thou”’
I am not engaging further with the mindlessness. It’s boring and it’s filling up the board, as intended of course.
Craig
“I saw no disrespect in anything Mary said”
_______________
Of course you’re right, Craig. I just thought I’d give her a taste of her own medicine (ie, the hypocritical imputation of false motive to innocent commenters).
Where is our Transatlantic Friend today after his unusually long series of unusually long posts of yesterday, stretching far into the European night?
Is he busy briefing the Pentagon/the NSC/the President even on the various ramifications of the HoC vote or is he merely sleeping it off?
I hope no one has forgotten that it was I who – several threads ago – first suggested that Benn Junior’s behaviour might well be explained by the fact that he had his eye on the Labour leadership.
Apologies to certain Old Trolls for not for having “trolled, diverted and distracted” when writing that.
I haven’t said a word since you first contribution here to my prompting, and I was just about to say well done habby, when you flared again.
why are you asking for it?
Nevermind
I never flare – always cool as cucumber. Glacial when it comes to some.
why are MPs allowed anonymity when they deny it to others. Feudal system.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35004172
Met Police investigate expenses of two MPs
“The identities of those involved have not been disclosed.”
No democracy here.
The term ‘abuse’ has become a status-quo-protecting buzzword in this country and a means to demonizing any kind of questioning or criticism.
Everywhere we go there are posters and notifications, we are reminded not to abuse officials working in the NHS, the public sector, education, virtually any office we walk into.
Before austerity turned this country into a shithole, we didn’t need all these reminders about how we were overstepping the line and becoming abusers simply by asking why we need to wait in a 5-hour queue and be made to feel demoralized by service providers.
Strangely militaristic for a youngish female.
How Stella Creasy voted on Foreign Policy and Defence
Generally voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
Generally voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system
Generally voted for more EU integration
Voted a mixture of for and against a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU
Consistently voted for strengthening the Military Covenant
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24949/stella_creasy/walthamstow/votes#foreign
and similar to Penny Mordaunt who is a junior Defence minister. She does not want to strengthen the Military Covenant. Creasy does.
How Penny Mordaunt voted on Foreign Policy and Defence
Consistently voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
Consistently voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system
Generally voted for more EU integration
Generally voted for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU Consistently voted against strengthening the Military Covenant
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24938/penny_mordaunt/portsmouth_north/votes#foreign
Social media is nothing.
When the MSM follow it – it’s lauded as the new democracy.
When the MSM ingores it. Well, nothing. Feck all
Social media is just a new reporting and news arm of the MSM.
remember “stop kobe 2012” all social media promoted MSM piffle and nonsense.
“Strangely militaristic for a youngish female.”
_______________________
Is there a Brazilian connection? 🙂
“How Penny Mordaunt voted on Foreign Policy and Defence”
_________________
Am I alone in thinking that “Penny Mordaunt” sounds like a character out of The Hobbit?
Craig,
“Please stop squabbling everybody”. I couldn’t agree more.
Now, you may have very good intentions, and Barack Obama had very good intentions – and his Wife Michelle Obama was equally as good if not better – before he was elected President of the USA. I actually followed this very closely – as if I was in America – well I was kind of – I used to post on an American website mainly after the London Bombings – for 5 years.
I believed Obama – before he was elected. I think he was genuine – even though I had bought Webster Tarpley’s book “Barack H. Obama – The Unauthorized Biography” – which I really wouldn’t recommend – it’s a bit dry and lacking in humour. It’s probably mostly true though.
So what did they do to Obama – on Day One – in The Oval Office…show him their version of the Assassination of JFK – or was it even heavier than that?? Was he told his job? You read the words that WE write on The Teleprompter…You can rehearse the Delivery with us..before you make the speech..But This is Your New Job.
Now, of course I don’t know if any of this is true..I do not know what these evil forces do to control – all the positions of power in most of the countries across the World..
And of course it is not just Politicians…
Even in 1976 they controlled TV journalists – in a manner such as was extremely well documented in the Brilliant Film Network – when The Press was relatively free…not totally free – but there was at least some kind of independence. Peter Finch played his role Brilliantly. Some Actors are just out of this world. They take on and live the entire role. They become that person for the duration of the many months it takes to make a movie. He died shortly later. He probably realised it was true.
“Network (1976) – Ned Beatty – “The World is a Business”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKkRDMil0bw
Tony
“Feck all”
______________________
Am I alone in wishing that non-Irish contributors would stop using “feck” in its various forms?
They should either write “fuck” or then avoid the word altogether (I do the former).
It’s almost as twee as writing “cnut”,which we all know should be spelled “c**t”.
Britain should expect to be in Syria for a long time, according to the Prime Minister.
Talking to the BBC as RAF planes targeted an oil field in the east of the country, David Cameron said the UK would need to be “patient and persistent”.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon later suggested the UK could be in Syria for three years.
There you have it people straighg from the war hawks mouth, years of action in Syria, probably costing billions of pounds.
Meanwhile back home austerity and cuts are the order of the day, whilst there’s always money for war.
http://www.thenational.scot/politics/prime-minister-urges-uk-to-be-patient-as-intervention-in-syria-will-take-time.10788
“Am I alone in wishing that non-Irish contributors would stop using “feck” in its various forms?
They should either write “fuck” or then avoid the word altogether (I do the former).
It’s almost as twee as writing “cnut”,which we all know should be spelled “c**t”.”
_____________________
You are of course right Habb, now f*ck off you c*nt.
One thing in favour of Stella Creasy. In her maiden speech in June 2010, she said she stood for the Palestinians.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2010-06-02c.532.0
Four more Palestinians have been killed by the IDF in retaliation for attacks today.
Since BiBi started winding up the Palestinians in September with rumours of Israel planning to relax the existing long-standing rules to strengthen Jewish rights at Temple Mount, over 100 Palestinians and 19 Israelis have been killed. Many more have been injured. There can be no end.
Almost 100,000 people have signed the SNP’s don’t bomb Syria petition.
http://www.snp.org/dont-bomb-syria
Tony_0pmoc
I’m inclined to agree about Obama. Perhaps we should be thankful for the things he has managed to NOT do, rather than only consider the things he has done – or perhaps, couldn’t prevent being done?
On the other hand, given the belligerent, jingoistic nature of US politicians, perhaps it’s just hard to believe that their only politician with a cosmopolitan, suave persona is actually just as bad as the rest of them?
Has everyone here made their contribution to Wikipedia?
” Dear readers: I hope we’re not disturbing you, but it is that time of year when we ask for your support. To protect our independence, we’ll never run ads. Instead, we are financed by private donations, averaging €20 per donor. Now we are asking you in Germany to help out. If everyone currently reading this were to contribute a small amount, our fundraising campaign would be over in an hour. That’s right, the price of a cup of coffee is all we need. Our fundraising appeal is displayed over 8 million times a day, but currently only 229.923 people have donated. So if you find Wikipedia useful, please take a minute out of your day this Friday to donate and give something back to Wikipedia. Thank you! ”
Mary? I hope you’ll be generous and not your usual tight-fisted self.
Craig I know you know the guy Sean Clerkin, maybe not personally, he and several others have asked police Scotland to arrest David Cameron for breaching the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928.
The Kellogg–Briand Pact (or Pact of Paris, officially General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy) was a 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellogg–Briand_Pact
I wonder if Clerkin has grounds to pursue it.
Tony -Obama was propelled into office by a grouping in Chicago including Emanuel. Obama is a stooge. I never really believed the Hope and Change stuff. He’s had more wars than Bush.
I read this in 2008.
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/po-obamaj.html
This same Emanuel returned to Chicago as Mayor after leaving the White House as Obama’s Chief of Staff.
There has been a wicked cover up of the shooting of a black youth who was walking away from the police and who received 16 bullets in his back.
The delay gave Emanuel space before his re-election.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/12/cover-up-of-a-police-murder-requires-resignation-of-chicago-mayor-emanuel/
Just re read and came across herbie’s link to Elsasser the man who covers all sides.
he was a leftwing activist and campaigner/journalist and not unlike Aaranovich slowly moved spectrum. He knows CDU/CSU politicians and he speaks at PEGIDA meetings now. Although his points in the video from 2012 are facts, Erdogan has been acting up strangely since Libya, I would not be able to trust him off hand.
Many have looked at his populist abilities and described him in his activities being ordered along the principles of „Volk gegen Eliten, Wahrheit gegen Lügenpresse, pro Nation und contra EU, gegen die USA und für Putin“. (Jupp Legrand, an IG Metal union secretary who works for their scientificstipendium)
Thats “People against elites, truth against the lying media, for the nation and against the EU, against the US and for Putin”
From Putin to Pegida.
He works an organisation that is called Netzwerk, a network for populist ideas that connects organisations from left to right, all over Germany. Can’t explain it simpler.
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/medien/juergen-elsaesser-und-sein-compact-magazin-ein-netzwerk-fuer-putin-und-pegida/12194382.html