For anybody who doubts the reactionary single voice the UK media has become, it should be obvious from what you see on the surface, eg the unanimity of attack on Corbyn, the SNP or Assange. But if that doesn’t help, look below the surface.
Ex-Hedge Fund manager, now Murdoch leader writer Oliver Kamm published a disgusting and blatant lie and smear about me. Very quickly, Nick Cohen, Hadley Freeman and Marina Hyde of the Guardian and Stephen Daisley of ITV were popping up sending him personal tweets to congratulate him on it.
Usually it is best to ignore the lies of far right Murdoch employee Oliver Kamm, but there is one lie about me which he has been spreading so assiduously I feel I have to counter it. In Prospect Magazine Kamm states that:
“Craig Murray, a former diplomat who’s imaginatively reinvented himself as a “human rights campaigner,” claims that the charges against Assange are founded on political correctness.”
This is absolutely untrue. I have said no such thing. What I actually said in an interview with Kamm was “Due to a mistaken kind of political correctness the British media refuses to publish all the details of the case.” You can hear it here.
There is a massive difference between saying that the media refuses to publish the facts due to political correctness, and saying that rape itself is a matter of political correctness. I abhor the latter view. As Nadira has asked me to remind you, my partner is herself a rape victim.
In this interview with LBC Oliver Kamm went on to insult and lambast me and say that I claimed that the rape charges were founded on political correctness. I tried to point out that I said no such thing, but LBC had cut me off. LBC later put up the version you hear on that link in which Kamm’s remarks are given in full and my own are edited. But it is very plain indeed that I did not say what Kamm goes on to accuse me of saying.
Kamm then tweeted that I had stated that rape is political correctness. Though this was plainly untrue to anybody who listened to the LBC link which he attached, he started to receive congratulatory messages from his friends on twitter. To anybody who has yet to catch on that the mainstream media functions in collusion, it should come as no surprise to learn that this Murdoch employee received personal tweets attacking me from Nick Cohen, Hadley Freeman and Marina Hyde, all of the Guardian, and from Stephen Daisley of STV.
Rape is an appalling crime. Any sex without consent constitutes rape.
But I do not hold that the truth or falsity of an allegation of rape may not be subject to scrutiny. Anybody who does hold that is handing unchecked power to the state to eliminate opponents. I do think it is deplorable that the British media has not published the detail of the case. Then people could learn this.
Kamm’s reactionary friends can congratulate him all they like. What he is doing is spreading a deliberate lie about me. But it may just lead to a few more people researching what is really happening in the Assange case, and that would be karma.
UPDATE
I contacted Prospect magazine and they have now changed the Kamm article to state what I actually said. It is still of course surrounded by Kamm’s ultra right wing mendacious interpretations, but at least it no longer says that I said something which I did not say. For the rest, Mr Kamm is entitled to spew the vile nonsense he is so well paid for by Murdoch, and his mates at the Guardian love him for.
Kamm deliberately distorts Craig’s position and puts on an air of phony indignation reminiscent of his miserable and semi-hysterical attempt to humiliate Norman Finkelstein in the Head to Head talk hosted by Mehdi Hassan. Watch how Finkelstein clobbers the smug Kamm to loud applause (with thanks to Macky):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usdGgR8cI1Y
Kamm is a Backpfeifengesicht, a German word meaning “a face badly in need of a fist”
@Habbabkuk,
Most of what you post is bollocks I’m afraid sir, as is your risible contention that figures quoted for deaths attributed to US Imperialism in the Middle East by numerous posters on this Blog are bogus, or you demand a full list. Well, as a trained Historian, one who has covered US Foreign Policy here’s a little snippet for you in relation to deaths since the turn of this century as provided by ‘Physicians for Social Responsibility’: http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/body-count.pdf
Please note that the paper only deals with attributable casualties after the US War on Terror was formalised and not prior, however, I’m confident you are no doubt aware that the USA has been meddling in ME affairs since the early 1950’s, instigating a coup in Iraq in the early 50’s, not withstanding all the shit undertaken in Iran.
No doubt you’ll dispute said figures provided, but in a short timeline its estimated up to 2 million have lost their lives.
Now, as the smart arse you are you too could have easily undertaken a quick Google search and come up with a huge amount of academic material, instead you trivialise these deaths and those who acknowledge them for not providing a detailed list, which is actually known as ‘bait & switch’ in the trade.
No doubt, as with Hammond, these Doctors must be unqualified laypersons in your warped mind but lets not deny facts, which are easily gleaned from numerous sources, sources no doubt that betray your own propaganda efforts – these being legion on this site I hasten to add!!!!
Craig Just submitted the comment below to The Prospect as a comment to Kramms article . . . .lets see if it gets published eh ??
” . . . . the women Assange is alleged to have attacked.” Lets look at them shall we and see why Assange is in fear of returning to Sweden. The first “victim” – and I use the word with it’s meaning stretched to near breaking point – slept with Assange for nearly a week after their first sexual encounter. AND, after being “attacked” (that the condom broke is the assault remember – that’s it), several other women, keen to “test drive Assange, offered to have him stay at their places but our first victim wouldn’t hear of it! Then we come to the second victim who refused to sign the illegally taken (it wasn’t recorded) taken statement when they both went to the police, waited until a friend (and fellow feminist candidate in local elections) came on duty who took their tale of woe. Oh and the prosecutorial service didn’t want a bar of the charges either. The broken condom put forward as evidence of “rape” not only doesn’t have Assange’s DNA on it . . it has NO DNA on/in it. And you wonder why he doesn’t want to go to Sweden. Oh and the first victim tweeted that “the police wanted to get a grip on Assange” . . . .at the behest of the USA no doubt !!
Rape charges are held in SECRET in Sweden – No jury, no media, no public gallery
Fred
7 Feb, 2016 – 8:38 pm
Doesn’t Alex Salmond work for them?
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You are a monotonous fart Fred. Get a life.
Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)
7 Feb, 2016 – 9:04 pm
Mr Scorgie
Would you consider giving Bert a hand with the breakdown (including over time) of the 4.000.000 people he thinks have been slaughtered in the Middle East?
Feel free to correct his figure upwards or downwards while you’re at it, of course.
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I don’t know where Bert gets his figures from and I have no interest but you obviously disagree with them so it is for you to do some research and set him straight.
Do something constructive for a change.
Toodle-pip
From a well-reasoned comment revealing the bigger picture by Bevin.
“And that that means that a Eurasian alliance-the Empire’s original and most enduring nightmare- is about to displace the Atlantic axis to which they have pledged allegiance.”
Which is why as you say people like Assange and Snowden are thorns in the Empires’ sides. As regards the trans-Atlantic alliance it is sure to crumble and that is why the US military expenditure for Europe has increased so hugely. Hopefully the petro-dollar will pop its clogs before they can fulfil these contracts and turn Europe into another Middle East!
Good piece on how personal attacks on dissidents are used to discredit, with a large part all about a certain Oliver Kamm;
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/hp220110.html
(In full expectation that Ba’al will later post this as a new link ! ;D )
Njegos
“Kamm’s sympathy for Tibbets borders on the psychotic.”
No. Kamm’s is designer bullshit. These people don’t believe anything. They flirt, like Melanie Phillips, with the psychotic neo-cons like John McCain.
Psychotic means that you are crazy and you don’t know you are crazy.
Kamm has a pallette of watercolour tints to wash into the texture of the paper, before executing the drawing. The wash in the article is neo-con outrage buy the point he is making about Assange is “contempt for due process”. Well if at any stage in its foreign policies USUKIS had adhered to ‘due process’, there would never be any need for Craig, Snowden or Assange.
You confuse your reader by disinformation and then accuse others of your own crimes.
So he’s been proposed for an award and got it for having his mum help write his social network pages? what a sly piece of work if I may say so.
@Njegos, welcome and keep posting, beware of Atlantic bridges and those who live under it.
Nice trawl there Ba’al, Mr. Kamm seems to have run up against a few other activists with his smearing methods, what a pathetic character and please do not publish any pictures of him, maybe thats the reason the mummy’s boy is so angry with fellow journo’s.
By the by, the US Shillary of Benghazi fame, in danger of loosing new Hampshire by a big margin, is helped by our Radio 4 today neocon staff. By describing Bernie’s supporters as ‘ageing hippies and students, a rag tag bag of supporters’ they are now actively engaged in promoting her and her moneybags. Well done BBC,I suppose we can expect them to support Merkel in her fight to get re-elected.
What is the role of the BBC in a US election campaign and why is the same BS outfit not concerned with EU elections of all kinds? could it be their lack of coverage/scrutiny that has turned the public off? Europe?
Salford Lad:
“Europe has been colonised by Washington,”
Hatebugger’s favourite political analyst Voltairenet.com has a new take on this:
http://www.voltairenet.org/article190171.html
”
cording to a “sensational” article by The Telegraph, the US director of National Intelligence was recently instructed by Congress to “conduct a major review into Russian clandestine funding of European parties over the last decade.” [1] This disclosure —a classic “controlled leak”— is intended to warn disobedient yet popular political entities across Europe to scale back their ambitions to rebalance the roles and weight of their nation states within the European Union. ”
Looks like Islam as USUKIS public enemy is running out of torque, Communism is being drawn in to replace it as enemy no 1.
“THE security service MI5 has agreed to allow a former intelligence officer to give evidence to a parliamentary committee and to reveal that the agency knew detainees were being tortured at Guantanamo Bay.
“The former spy will tell members of the Commons intelligence and security committee (ISC) that MI5 officers witnessed inmates being abused at the US military facility in Cuba on at least two occasions in 2002.
“The former high-ranking officer will provide MPs with precise dates and will name those who saw inmates, including Britons, being abused at Camp X-Ray and Camp Delta — two of the Guantanamo prisons.”
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Defence/article1665528.ece
Could be interesting.
Thanks for that excellent source on Oliver Kamm, Macky, he is quiet an extraordinary shit bag.
Nevermind
” for having his mum help write his social network pages?”
I was wondering if I could get my wife to ghost-write my contributions to CM. I have taught her the main political swear words. She would just have to shuffle them like I do from time to time.
Could we have Sir Terry back for these European elections, please?
Nevermind; “Thanks for that excellent source on Oliver Kamm, Macky, he is quiet an extraordinary shit bag.”
Thanks, that’s whywe are all (except the odd troll or two) here, to learn & share knowledge; speaking of trolls, did you note that Kamm started off originally as a complusive internet TROLL, so no surprise there & ihnerently indicative of the type ! 😀
Forgot to say that he has a peculiar likeness to Aaranovich, the other left leftover to become a neocon sandwich. They both seem to thrive on attacking those who think and speak the truth.
“What a man, what a cause—and what a disgrace.”
Sums up Oliver Kamm to a T.
What a piece of filth, Id seen him previously in Normans talk, and he made himself obvious then. Venal piece of shit.
I am banned from commenting at the Guardian. I wonder if someone who is not could kindly point out that the long comment about me by RosalindS here
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/05/un-julian-assange-wikileaks?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=The+Best+of+CiF+base&utm_term=155194&subid=40776&CMP=ema_1364#comment-68257580
currently at the top of the comments page is a complete lie.
You cannot expect much from journalists, especially ones that are paid. They are writing for the lowest common denominator, and their job is to reduce complex ideas to an infantile use of language, distorting content beyond recognition.
These days, you’d almost sooner trust a politician with the truth than a mainstream journalist.
I see your comment up Craig, @ 9:53
I would not worry anyway, Who want’s to live up to largely nonsense ether way.
You’ll get a thick skin Craig, Maybe it’s a good thing.
My answer, against my ‘best judgment’ Is no, i’m not going to help on this one. 🙂
My good nature has taken enough, thanks. But at least i’m posting here.
Macky,
sorry the irony was irresistible!
Uphill; “You’ll get a thick skin Craig,”
My turn to laugh oy loud ! 😀
Or maybe i’m not.
Still don’t know who your friends are or how to treat them.
Glad to be of service Macky…
@Craig, “irony” ? that’s a funny name for censorship ! 🙂
@craig
reported the comment as libelous a couple of time, it’s now gone.
you must be doing something right.
first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.
Something is really annoying me.
In August last year, a Rwandan, an alleged war criminal, was arrested as he prepared to leave Heathrow. He was detained on a European arrest warrant, issued by Spain, whose citizens -among others – he had allegedly murdered. He was taken into custody, and conditionally bailed against £1m surety. At both the bail hearing and the subsequent extradition hearing, he was represented by Cherie Blair, whose husband* advises Rwanda’s Paul Kagame. The detainee was Kagame’s head of security. At the extradition hearing, General Karenzi Karake, for it was he, was set free to return to Rwanda, on the grounds that the arrest warrant was legally flawed. In other words, the alleged crime itself was not even an issue. Just the procedure. Which has elements of Catch-22. From a very-pro Kagame article:
According to press reports, the offenses specified in the warrant are not extraditable under U.K. law: In Spain you can be tried for war crimes committed abroad; in the U.K. you may not. And for a European Arrest Warrant to lead to extradition, the offense has to be triable in both the country where the indictment was made and the country of arrest. This should have been obvious right from the start.
Does any of the evidence available (the Rixstep site still has the police report) suggest that the Swedish definition of the ‘rape’ Assange allegedly committed would justify a trial for that offence in the UK?
No.
As at 31st December, 2015, the UK had signed but not yet ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, which would effectively harmonise the definition of rape to something very close to the intricate Swedish one.
And if Cherie Boothblair had defended Assange, would he by now be happily living in Ecuador?
*Him again. Sorry, Mods.
Links are not followed n this blog. Time and again the same link is forwarded, I suppose better more than none should be the motto.
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Bevin yours is a cogent assessment of the current situation. The notions of rust bucket army of Rosskeis has been well and truly busted and the fact that Russian naval assets included their submarines have been targeting and accurately hitting their intended targets from the Caspian Sea or middle of the Mediterranean, have been pretty sobering sights for the victory drunk Yanks who are more used to the natives fighting them with muskets, RPG, and Kalashnikov.
The fact that supine desperate Arab sock-puppet charge hands masquerading as Monarchs and Emirs have been volunteering their armies is a sign of the Empire’s reticence to get involved in the Syrian theatre.
The latest comical support for war comes from Dubai that boasts a Ferrari and Lamborghini for choice of police cars! Evidently they have an army too, hence the Emir Sheikh al sock-puppet bin suck-up is sending his army along with the mercenaries and the hired African brigands and pirates that are to be sent by the al saud pederasts in a last ditch effort to stamp their most excellent mark of the best suck-ups to the Us in the mid east.
I was surprised to read that Dubai has a standing army, the thought never occurred to me that the sword “dancers” will be of much use in any theatre of war!
“You are a monotonous fart Fred. Get a life.”
And doesn’t Alex Salmond use facilities at Holyrood intended for parliamentary use for his broadcasts and doesn’t Alex Salmond get his wages from LBC paid to a service company so he can avoid paying taxes on them?
Fuck off and die.