Peak Kinnock 1209

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Neil Kinnock appeared on both Dispatches and Panorama this evening bemoaning the presence of socialists in the Labour Party. Neither programme succeeded in finding anything sinister happening, but they did succeed in playing a great deal of sinister music. This must have been a great boost to the sinister music writing industry, for which we should be grateful. I think they have definitively proved that some people are left wing, and would like to have left wing MPs.

But seeing Kinnock reminded me of another bit of TV I saw today, a heartbreaking advert for Save the Children featuring a dying little baby, unable to ask for help. The advert urged you to give just £2 a month to help save her.

If 11,000 people responded with £2 a month, that would not save the little baby, but it would exactly pay the £264,000 per year salary of Neil Kinnock’s daughter-in-law Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Chief Executive of Save the Children and wife of MP Stephen Kinnock. Indeed if 20,000 people gave £2 per month, that would probably cover Mrs Stephen Kinnock’s salary, her other employment costs and the money paid to Sky for the advert. When you toss in Stephen’s salary and expenses, the Stephen Kinnock household are bringing in just shy of a cool half a million pounds a year from public service and charity work.

The salary of Ms Thorning-Schmidt is approximately twice that of her predecessor, Justin Forsyth, who was on an already unconscionable £140,000. I exposed their massive salaries at the time the Save the Children awarded a “Global Legacy” award to Tony Blair. Indeed to meet the salaries and other employment costs of just the top executives at Save the Children would take 80,000 people paying £2 a month. They would be funding executives with an average salary of over £140,000. For those in work paying the £2 a month, the average UK salary is £26,000 a year, and many retired and unemployed people scrimp to find money to give to try to help the needy.

The use of charities as a massive cash cow for the political classes is a real concern. David Miliband is on over 300,000 for heading the International Rescue Committee. When I listed the Save the Children executives, they included Brendan Cox, on over £100,000. He was the husband of Jo Cox, the murdered Labour MP. Brendan Cox and Justin Forsyth were both advisers to Gordon Brown and both moved to Save the Children when they lost their jobs on Brown losing power, sliding in on 6 figure salaries. Jo Cox was an adviser to Glenys Kinnock and left that job to be an executive at Oxfam before she too worked as a highly paid Save the Children executive.

Brendan Cox left Save the Children due to allegations from several women that he sexually harassed female staff and volunteers. Justin Forsyth left at the same time amid allegations he had not effectively acted to have his friend Cox investigated. This has not stopped Forsyth from now popping up as Deputy Chief Executive of UNICEF. Misery for some is a goldmine for others.

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1,209 thoughts on “Peak Kinnock”

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  • michael norton

    British public shows ‘few signs of regret’ over BREXIT – polling expert
    https://www.rt.com/uk/360170-brexit-polling-opinion-regret/
    A polling expert has dismissed claims Brits are experiencing ‘buyers’ remorse’ over Brexit, insisting most people in the country do not regret voting to leave the European Union.

    Professor John Curtice believes that reports stating people in Britain are regretting voting for Brexit are just “wishful thinking” on the part of resentful Remain voters.

    The president of the British Polling Council added there is no public appetite for a second EU referendum.

    “Very few minds have been changed – there are very few signs of regret,” Curtice told the Mirror.

    BREXIT MEANS BREXIT

  • Habbabkuk

    Republicofscotland

    I hope you will find the time to comment on this very interesting link supplied by Lysias yesterday:

    “Elliot Murphy details in The Scotland-Yemen Connection the extent to which Scottish universities and the SNL Scottish Government invest in arms makers.”

    Looking forward to reading you.

      • Habbabkuk

        RoS

        It sounds to me as if the Scottish govt and the SNP are – in this area – no more virtuous than many other govts and organisations.

        You would agree with that, I imagine?

        Indeed, it would be difficult for any but the most star-struck observer to find many fields in which the Scottish govt and the SNP display greater virtue and morality than their UK counterparts.

        Craig Murray can attest to that personally, I believe…..

        • Republicofscotland

          “It sounds to me as if the Scottish govt and the SNP are – in this area – no more virtuous than many other govts and organisations.”

          “You would agree with that, I imagine?”

          Habb.

          What do you mean by your above sentence? Could you be more specific, thanks.

          __________

          “Indeed, it would be difficult for any but the most star-struck observer to find many fields in which the Scottish govt and the SNP display greater virtue and morality than their UK counterparts.”

          Habb.

          Of course the SNP have similarties when it comes to running Scotland, albeit with one hand tied behind their backs.

          But Westminster, is in many cases, mean and immoral, their treatment of the poor and disabled is despicable. The renewal of WMD’s is financially and ethically henious.

          The House of Lords is a undemocratic, unelected drain on public finances, I could write all day about the widening political and in most occasions moral gulf between Holyrood and Westminster, but I’m sure you get the picture by now.

          _____________

          “Craig Murray can attest to that personally, I believe”

          Habb.

          I’d say Craig is a little miffed at the SNP, and I myself don’t agree with everything they say or do.

          But I’m sure Craig like myself, believes the SNP are the main vehicle for Scottish independence, and that’s why for now (until independence is acheived) we must support them.

  • davidb

    I was wondering, following the news article last week about access to cancer drugs, about the results of all that cancer charity research. Are there not lots of free drugs available by now, from all those years of charity supported research? Can anyone enlighten me?

  • Habbabkuk

    Norton

    “After an exhaustive investigation, that would appear to be it, After an exhaustive investigation, that would appear to be it, the sum total of Neil Kinnock’s experience outside of party politics comprises of being a student and a tutor in a taxpayer funded charity.

    ___________________

    I too have investigated and can write with considerable certainty that:

    “the sum total of Jeremy Corbyn’s experience outside of party politics (local and national) comprises of being a student and …nothing else.”

    Comments welcome.

    • Anon1

      He grew up in a delightful manor house in Shropshire. He did a gap yah pig farming in Jamaica. He’s been on lots of protests.

      • michael norton

        Mind you, I doubt that TWAT Chicken Boy George, ever had a REAL job before he became a politician.

        • Habbabkuk

          Probably no more and no less real than Mr Jeremy Corbyn, surely?

          So the only real difference is that whereas Mr Osborne filled one of the great offices of state for several years, Mr Corbyn is most unlikely ever to do so.

          So who’s the TWAT ? 🙂

        • Salford Lad

          Chicken Boy George worked in the Millinery Dept of Harrods with the onerous responsibility of folding the towels. This fits him to be a Chancellor plus Economic expert and manage a multibillion pound economy, into the ground.

          • Habbabkuk

            Salford Lad, let me instruct you a little: facts to replace your ignorant jibes.

            1/. Which Chancellors of the Exchequer since 1951 have been economists?

            2/. How many Greek Finance Ministers over the last 10 years have not been university professors?

            You have less status than most in this particular field.

    • Old Mark

      Habba

      You’ve overlooked Corbyn’s work as a full time official at NUPE- which I suppose did immerse him to some degree in the ‘real world’. Such work was, arguably, considerably closer to the ‘real world’ than Kinnochio’s stint as a WEA tutor – his only time spent on anything other than being a student (he took 5 years over his degree at Cardiff, apparently) or as a full time politician/EU commissioner.

      http://jeremycorbyn.org.uk/about/

      Corbyn also did a couple of years VSO in the Caribbean, which must have been a bit of an eye opener for a grammar schoolboy from Shropshire.

      • Habbabkuk

        Old Mark

        Fair enough, I wasn’t aware of that.

        However, when making comparisons regarding educational achievements, it might be wiser not to mention that Mr Kinnock took five years to earn his degree. This is because – unless I have been misinformed (please correct me if necessary) – Mr Corbyn attended university (college?) in London but dropped out without taking a degree at all.

        Neither of the above facts should be held against either of them, I hasten to add. Do you agree?

        • Old Mark

          Yes I’d agree on that point Habba- success as a politician often bears no relation to academic achievements.

          Examples- Eden had a first in Oriental languages but was, too put it mildly, hardly our most distinguished PM of the last century

          Wilson had a first in PPE but his 2nd administration was arguably (along with Heath’s,which immediately preceded it) the worst one we’ve had post war- and Callaghan (who joined the Inland revenue on leaving school and never saw the inside of a University) in my view did a pretty decent job in clearing up Wilson’s mess in 76-78- only to lose the plot in the winter of 79.

          Cameron was another with a first in PPE- I certainly hope (perhaps vainly) that T.May (who took a rather undistinguished- don’t laugh- Geography degree at Oxford) makes a decent fist of ‘doing a Callaghan’ and clears away some of the political & economic horse manure Cameron left in his wake).

          • Habbabkuk

            Good to talk, Old Mark. As Baal would say: your examples are taken. 🙂

            We could swap thoughts on the academic qualifications of various politicians of all stripes until the cows come home (did you know that both Crossman and Crosland were tutors at Oxford – yikes!!) but we shan’t, in order not to bore the ranters and ravers who are in full cry today.

            Therefore, just two comments:

            1/. You will not be surprised to learn that I do not agree with your characterisation of the Cameron PMship but I do agree that Mrs May has all the signs of being a good egg;

            2/. l shall let you into a little secret: geography used to be seen (and perhaps still is) as a bit of a joke at Oxford. Hence, while I shall follow your injunction not to laugh, I shall nonetheless allow myself a slight smile.

      • Habbabkuk

        Is that a particular problem, Norton? And is it relevant to Brexit, which i believe you were posting about?

          • Habbabkuk

            To be fair to him, his brand of rubbish does have a certain (short-lived) charm which is entirely lacking from the garbage put out by certain other contributors (no names no packdrill eh, Glenn?)

  • michael norton

    Not just in the United Kingdom that the lines can get “blurred” but also in Europe

    Ex-EU commissioner was director of offshore Bahamas firm WHILE she worked in Brussels

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/713085/Neelie-Kroes-Bahamas-offshore-EU-commissioner-director-company

    Previously unseen documents have emerged which reveal Neelie Kroes, who is now a paid advisor to the Bank of America and Uber, was employed at a business funded by the United Arab Emirates while she was a key Brussels enforcer.

    The venture intended to invest in international assests of the now defunct energy company Enron in a £5.4billion deal.

        • nevermind

          Yes they are all so concerned about tax havens that they get directorships and they stem the tide by not negotiating about these petty little islands. Apart from invading and taking over these stale money depositories, they say they have tried everything.

          Well, how about it Spain?

        • Alcyone

          “a spell behind bars and i don’t mean in the “hospitality” area of Amsterdam.”

          LOL, nice one Norton.

      • Paul Barbara

        Now you mention it, yes. But ‘unfortunately’ all the incriminating documents were destroyed in Building 7 in 2001 (or so we are given to believe), along with other massive scam documents (oddly, the one part of the Pentagon destroyed just ‘happened’ to be the offices dealing with the $2.3 trillion Rumsfeld had announced missing from the Military accounts…); purely coincidence, albeit mightily convenient for some…

    • Habbabkuk

      Norton

      There is something not quite clear in the Daily Express article to which you link. I should like you to get off your butt and investigate further and then come back to us to report (this will have the additional bonus of giving you less time to post on here), bearing in mind that the daily Express is no friend of the EU.

      The Daily Express link includes the following:

      “When Ms Kroes joined the EU in 2004, she declared previous roles at an array of more than 60 companies including Volvo, McDonald’s, Thales and mobile phone group mm02.

      However there was no mention of Mint Holdings. ”

      The essential question which arises from the above is the following:

      – was Mrs Kroes a director of Mint Holdings (whether the company was active or not is irrelevant) WHILE she was Commissioner

      or

      – did she simply not declare that she had been a director of Mint Holdings before she became Commissioner (note the words “previous roles”) ?

      If the former, that would indeed be a breach of the Commissioners’ code of conduct.

      If the latter, that would, in my opinion, be nugatory

      Thank you and we look forward to reading you..

      • Hmmm

        While he’s doing that maybe you could find some Diane Abbott quotes. Shouldn’t be so hard for an ultra-intelligent fella.
        Any quotes will do. Don’t even need to be about private schools FFS.

        • Habbabkuk

          Hmmm

          Could you help by asking Norton to get on with the necessary investigation? Mrs Abbot isn’t reading the blog today so you can stop trying to impress her… 🙂

          • Hmmm

            Norton, get on with it.
            Now will you?
            Or will you admit and apologise to us all for wasting our time with made up facts?
            You’re so dim-witted that you never noticed that at any point I disagreed with you. Your generalisations are probably correct. Just stop being a pompous ass, expecting others to do what you refuse.

          • Habbabkuk

            I accept your apology, Hmmmm.

            But be less reckless in future or I shall have to come down on you somewhat more severely.

            Over and out (I hope).

  • Alcyone

    Back to Corbyn for a minute.

    He has had every trick in the book thrown at him, every attempt to smear his capabilities. Yet he has come out strong and emphatic about his vision, direction and policies.

    The World is in a crisis of which Syria is a clear as daylight, and Red as Blood, example of the state of our Society. This is the post-Iraq, post-Libya, post-sub-prime-financial collapse society. America is in a Civil War in Charlotte at the moment. People around the World are waking up to the daily violence (physical and psychological), unfairness and social injustices. Given a choice, people will coalesce around a kinder, less violent World. In Britain Corbyn can action those dynamics first immediately as an effective opposition and voice and subsequently in Govt, given a chance. The mood is right. Corbyn is a rebel with a cause. We will soon find out if the coup-attempt rebels have a cause too. It is up to the collective Labour to create its chance.

    • Alcyone

      How long do we want to remain a Type Zero Global Civilisation?

      ” He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”
      Albert Einstein

        • Mick McNulty

          The difference between Stalin, Hitler and America is Stalin mostly killed his own people, Hitler mostly killed other people and America asks what people?

          • Habbabkuk

            “President” s Assad and “President” Saddam Hussein mostly killed their own people as well, didn’t they.

            That’s about all their militaries were up to.

            Now when it came to fighting real armies (Israel, the Coalition) and not defenceless civilians…….

    • Alcyone

      ““There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
      ― Albert Einstein

      Nature is my God. Organised religions that portray some kind of an anthropomorphic God have, and are, playing havoc in our One World and Society. S/he would be a rather crummy little God that would allow all this killing to go on.

      We deny the essential Universal Nature and Intelligence encoded in us, in the beautiful peacock or in the grandeur of the forests, the trees, the tiger.

      When we can negate all the conflicts inwardly and outwardly, we may be able to live in the intelligent force of that Universal Nature. Look around the beauty of the Earth, this is supposed to be a Paradise, Life a gift of Joy and Enjoyment. Yet we have created a living Hell on Earth.

      And we argue often about the silliest little things.

      • Paul Barbara

        @ Alcyone
        One does not have to be an atheist to be aware of the wonder of nature.
        It is the Luciferians who are intent on destroying the planet and most of th people, and I’m afraid they are succeeding in their evil plans at an increasingly rapid rate.

        • Alcyone

          “One does not have to be an atheist to be aware of the wonder of nature.”

          No need to state the obvious. But please don’t go inventing God in man’s image either. See the wonder for what it is, inexplicable.

          ” It is the Luciferians who are intent on destroying the planet and most of th people, and I’m afraid they are succeeding in their evil plans at an increasingly rapid rate.”

          Nonsense, file: ‘Beliefs’. Take some responsibility, you are part of it.

  • Tony

    The thing that I find most interesting about Kinnock is that he never really opposed nuclear weapons throughout his leadership of the Labour Party. After the 1987 defeat, he then saw an excuse to ditch a policy that he now admits he had not supported in the first place.

    “From the early 1980s really, I recognised the unsustainability of the unilateral nuclear disarmament policy.”

    He then claims, without evidence, that:

    “No party can win a national, United Kingdom, election if it sustains a stance which means unilateral nuclear disarmament.”

    No explanation was given to support this claim and no mention made of the SNP’s ability to oppose nuclear weapons and win elections.

    One very positive aspect of Corbyn’s election as Labour leader is that it has helped to expose Kinnock’s duplicity on this issue.

    “Analysis” BBC Radio 4 29 February 2016.

    • Habbabkuk

      Tony boy

      “No party can win a national, United Kingdom, election if it sustains a stance which means unilateral nuclear disarmament.”

      No explanation was given to support this claim and no mention made of the SNP’s ability to oppose nuclear weapons and win elections.
      _________________________

      1/. I believe Labour fought the 1983 general election on a platform of unilateral nuclear disarmament? And got hammered despite high inflation and high unemployment. That’s the support you asked for.

      2/. The SNP can oppose nuclear weapons and win elections in Scotland because it is (obviously) never going to be the governing party in the UK and can therefore get away with sham policies. The SNP can only take the position it does because it knows that, even if independent, Scotland will fall under the British nuclear defence umbrella. The position is analagous to that of Ireland during WW2, where the country could only declare neutrality because it knew that if push came to shove it would be defended by the UK.

      This is virtue signalling of the basest kind by the SNP. They are not Picts and Scots, just Cnuts!

  • Republicofscotland

    Habb. Re-your 08.15, which I’ve addressed.

    Staying on unethical and immoral actions, the military apartheid regime known as Israel. Has detained a 62 year old human rights worker, who’s on a aid mission, the woman raises money so that young oppressed Palestinians, (is there any other kind, I ask you?) Can attend university.

    The caring aid worker has been detained at Ben Gurion airport.

    http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14756513.Human_rights_worker_from_Bishopbriggs_detained_by_Israeli_authorities/

    I wonder Habb, since you are that concerned over immoral activities in universities, I’d like know your opinion of the immoral act of detaining someone, offering aid to oppressed people?

    Or is the case (more than likely) that your ethical and moral radar, only extends so far?

    • Habbabkuk

      With pleasure, ELIE.

      Just speculating, of course, but I imagine the opinion of the Israeli authorities would probably run along the following lines: “there are enough young people in her own country who are deprived of a university education for economic reasons. Let her worry about them rather than about deprived Palestinians. She wants to give us a hard time and so we shall give her the same in return”

      But you were interested in my opinion, I believe. It is that I would have a deal of sympathy for that hypothetical Israeli opinion.

      • Republicofscotland

        Habb.

        I must have gotten your dander up, over this one, as you previously referred to my old nom de plume, on the issue of arms/universities, now we’re back to ELIE, it’s good to know I’m getting under your skin so to speak. ?

        “She wants to give us a hard time and so we shall give her the same in return”

        Habb.

        For goodness sake Habb, she’s an old lady of 62 years of age, trying to help young oppressed Palestinian’s, get a at least half-decent education.

        She’s not a gun running warlord, your Israeli seige mentality is showing.

        • Anon1

          “The caring aid worker has been detained at Ben Gurion airport.”

          Yes it’s always the “caring” human rights activist, isn’t it. Who only ever directs their energies against Israel. Love the way these hardened anti-Israel activists call themselves “aid workers”.

  • Republicofscotland

    Keeping on the immoral theme, some Republican senators want to increase aid to Israel, which is already, poised to receive $38 billion dollars of American taxpayers money.

    Not only do they want million more in aid given to the military apartheid regime of Israel, but they want sanctions reinstated against Iran. One wonders if the American public will ever wake up to the machinations between, the US government, and the powerful Zionist lobbies and politicians that steer it in Israel’s favour.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/republican-senators-push-to-expand-military-aid-to-israel/

  • Habbabkuk

    Well, Sharp Eyes, there’s an awful amount of garbage I have to reply to today.

    But thanks for the statistics – just like old times!

  • Sharp Ears

    Ref the son and heir.

    ‘Miss Thorning-Schmidt has endured plenty of personal attacks of her own, having been dubbed “Gucci Helle” by opponents due to her expensive tastes. Both she and her husband, who have two daughters, have also been beset by controversy over their financial affairs following a scandal last year in which Mr Kinnock was accused of avoiding paying Denmark’s high taxes.

    Mr Kinnock, the director of Europe and Central Asia for the World Economic Forum, pays income tax on his £110,000 salary in Switzerland, where rates are around four times lower, and told authorities he spent no more than 33 weekends, from Friday to Monday, in Denmark each year. His non-resident status allowed Miss Thorning-Schmidt to deduct about £40,000 in tax from mortgage repayments on their £500,000 home in Copenhagen. But in an application to make him co-owner of the family home last year, she claimed he was there “every weekend of the year”. She was subsequently forced to admit she made “sloppy mistakes” in filling out her tax returns.’

    They tell lies.

    Lord Kinnock’s son subject of sexuality rumour
    The daughter-in-law of Lord Kinnock was forced to deny that her husband was homosexual yesterday as she faced a torrid end to her campaign to become prime minister of Denmark.
    Sep 2011
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/denmark/8763427/Lord-Kinnocks-son-subject-of-sexuality-rumours.html

    • michael norton

      India and France agree on €7.8bn deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets
      http://www.france24.com/en/20160922-business-rafale-fighter-jet-india-dassault-mylan-pharmaceutical-ceo-epipen
      French President Hollande to pick up ‘World Statesman Award’ in New York
      http://www.france24.com/en/20160918-usa-french-president-francois-hollande-world-statesman-award-new-york

      Mr. Perpetual State of Emergency has been recognized and valued for his duty to the World of Peace.

    • Mick McNulty

      There were similar claims of double-dealing when Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper were accused of claiming one home as their second home for expense reasons, then claiming that same home was their main home for the school catchment area. The galling thing is they were in Blair’s government which made it illegal to claim for example your parent’s home was your main home for this very reason. I remember an Asian couple being prosecuted for it.

    • Habbabkuk

      “Ref the son and heir.

      ‘Miss Thorning-Schmidt,,,etc, etc..”
      ______________________

      The son and the heir, eh? Phew! For a moment I thought she was going to talk about Assad & Son!
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      “Lord Kinnock’s son subject of sexuality rumour
      The daughter-in-law of Lord Kinnock was forced to deny..etc, etc..”

      ______________________

      One notes the salacious relish with which “Sharp Ears” (who she?) retails this bit of salaciousness from the Torygraph…..

      • Old Mark

        One notes the salacious relish with which “Sharp Ears” (who she?) retails this bit of salaciousness from the Torygraph…

        I’d agree with you on that point as well Habba- throwing in a bit of unsubstantiated gossip about Stephen Kinnock’s alleged bedroom proclivities detracts from the other stuff in the report about his undoubted predilection for tax avoidance, and his wife’s pretty blatant enjoyment of the high life at the taxpayers (and now Save the Children’s donors) expense.

  • Republicofscotland

    Whilst the dis-United Kingdom’s court jester (Prince Charles) heads to Bahrain, to dance to the organ grinders tunes, to secure arms sales. The US has sanctioned the sale of tanks and other military equipment worth $1.5 billion dollars to Saudi Arabia.

    Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the toll at least 10,000. The offensive was launched to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as Yemen’s president.

    Yemen’s army and Houthi Ansarullah fighters have been retaliating for the strikes, through counterattacks on Saudi mercenaries and also by hitting targets inside Saudi Arabia.

    Expect the Yemeni slaughter to reach greater heights, yet, we hear no great outcry from world leaders, over the tragic loss of civilians lives, why ?

    • MJ

      “Put in Trump” doesn’t sound like an anti-Trump site, quite the opposite. Freudian slip perhaps.

  • Mark Golding

    While discussing ‘Save the Children charity may I tell you that according to an Iraq doctor living in Urum al-Kubra and working in Syria from Al- Mustakbal Hospital, an aid convoy consisted of around 30 lorries loaded with non-food items, clothes and paediatric nutrients, supported by UNICEF, was set on fire by terrorists and two aid workers who attempted to run were bludgeoned to death.

  • michael norton

    But there is no mention of Mint Holdings in her declarations in 2004 or 2010.
    “Ms. Neelie Kroes will inform the president of the European Commission of her oversight and will take full responsibility for it.”
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37434202
    Ms. Neelie Kroes was E.U.commissioner for competition from 2004 to 2010 and commissioner for digital agenda until 2014.

    One must assume Mint was the vehicle for pumping money into ENRON

    • michael norton

      From The Guardian

      MINT HOLDINGS was set up to “open the dialogue with ENRON”,
      Badr-El-Din’s lawyer said. The directors were to oversee the hiring of professional advisers, raise funds and agree the final details.
      The financier briefed Kroes on the strategy, which she found “intriguing enough to join a few friends in Mint”.

  • Dave

    For various reasons we have multi-party politics and Labour cannot win whoever their Leader is, but clearly a standard call for peace, justice and jobs by a humble man has become a revolutionary act after an era of neo-con lies. And from what I can see as an impartial observer the venom directed against Corbyn comes from the shameless pro-war Israel coalition due to his support for Palestine and opposition to WWIII and from the EU gravy train.

    • Habbabkuk

      Dave

      “For various reasons we have multi-party politics..”
      _________________

      Yes, it’s called parliamentary democracy, you chump.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      “… and Labour cannot win whoever their Leader is”

      ___________________________

      Won three times under Blair and four times under Wilson, you double chump.

  • RobG

    Further to my post yesterday evening about the killing fields of Cambodia, and Pilger’s famous documentary, this is a follow-up ten years later by Peter Jennings…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBosFwAaN7Q

    Two things to note about this: firstly, American involvement in the Cambodian tragedy is an almost exact re-run of what’s now happening in Iraq, Libya and Syria (the head-chopping psychos).

    Secondly, back in the day Peter Jennings was a high profile reporter, and his programme about Cambodia (which was highly critical of the American government) was aired in 1990 by ABC America; ie, mainstream media.

    In the Orwellian world we now inhabit this sort of thing just does not happen anymore. Where are the real documentaries about ISIS? who we are told are a terrible threat to all four corners of the world (well, mostly the five eyes countries!). Where are the interviews with ISIS leaders? Where are the investigations into who funds ISIS? etc, etc.

    There’s nothing.

    Just the propaganda that’s pumped out by Washington and its vassal states.

    And an army of trolls on the internet.

      • RobG

        Right on cue.

        Do you have anything remotely intelligent to say about the Matrix we now live in?

        Do you have anything remotely intelligent to say about just how low some people will stoop to earn a buck?

          • Anon1

            Though I might disagree with him, RobG is usually quite reasonable during the daytime. By early evening he is starting to sound pissed. By late evening he is calling for those who disagree with his central theme that we live in a police/fascist state no better than North Korea to be put up against a wall and shot.

            This pattern is repeated day after day.

            Therefore, please excuse me if I leave the intelligent discourse with RobG to you, Bev. You can discuss how Bataclan didn’t happen because there were no funerals on TV. Or how the Nice attacks were faked because the white lorry hadn’t turned red. Or how when there is lots of blood it’s the wrong shade of red. And then the shadows are in the wrong place,….

            Over to you!

        • Alcyone

          And you RobG? Have you anything even remotely intelligible to say about the answers? It’s just line them up and shoot, right? Your conscience is indeed soluble in alcohol, and gets a ducking every day!

          • RobG

            Anon1 and Alcyone, all you are capable of is ad hominem. You cannot give a coherent and logical rebuff to anything I say.

            And unlike the vermin trolls – who are all part of the police state, and who all ponce off tax payer’s money – I have to earn a living during the day.

            I’ve just shown you, in the starkest of terms, that we do now live in a police state; but I suppose I shouldn’t complain when I get attacked by the low life vermin known as trolls.

            Such attacks only show that I am right.

          • Habbabkuk

            Rob

            Are you aware that the DGSI know who you are but has concluded that you are just a harmless (and hopeless) lush?

          • Republicofscotland

            Habb.

            We know Habb, afterall you reported several commentors to the police allegedly, whilst in a hissy fit over the Paris events.

            If I recall, even Craig was, shocked, that you, would stoop as low as to act as a thought hawk, I however wasn’t.

          • glenn

            H: “Are you aware that the DGSI know who you are but has concluded that you are just a harmless (and hopeless) lush?”

            You _know_ this for a fact? Fascinating.

          • RobG

            And by the way, Habba, the DGSI (Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure) is hopelessly out of date (you’ve been reading too many James Bond books, old boy). I won’t go into the present security services in France, suffice to say that they don’t provide security, they just provide big white lorries in Nice without a speck of blood on them.

            But keep on pumping out the propaganda, because it’s fun to prove what a bunch of complete a-holes you people are.

          • Alan

            “We know Habb, after all you reported several commentors to the police allegedly, whilst in a hissy fit over the Paris events.”

            Is that true? He allegedly called the cops over comments on a blog, and yet he strongly denies we now live in a police state?

    • glenn

      Private Eye has talked about British armed forces’ involvement in Syria, and that of the Yanks too. The whole thing is so confused and such a mess, it can only be a matter of time before they accidentally target each other.

      The Eye speculated about the embarrassment likely to ensue upon explaining this to the populace at large, who have had no official notice that “our boys” are there at all.

      Apart from the Eye, I’ve seen incredibly little reporting on our surreptitious activity there.

  • bevin

    To sustain Habba’s claim that no party promising Unliateral Nuclear Disarmament could win an election in Britain, RoS argued
    “No explanation was given to support this claim and no mention made of the SNP’s ability to oppose nuclear weapons and win elections.” was nothing more than an idle assertion.
    Habbakukk replied :

    “1/. I believe Labour fought the 1983 general election on a platform of unilateral nuclear disarmament? And got hammered despite high inflation and high unemployment. That’s the support you asked for.”

    This is a text book example of false logic. And it would be if the ‘facts’ used were correct rather than amounting to a complete distortion of the 1983 election, in which the result can never be explained without reference to the Falklands War and the, split from Labour, SDP winning a substantial share of the vote.

    It is hard to tell which is the more offensive the vulgarity of these Hasbara inspired falsehoods or the affected arrogance with which Habbakkuk justifies his refusals to engage with the carefully made arguments of so many posters, to whom this forum is not a thing to be exploded or torn down but a place in which individuals may exchange ideas with others.

    • glenn

      Damned good point, Bevin. So many good posters no longer visit here, or do so infrequently, precisely because of this ugly behaviour. Knock down, call names, ridicule – this works (by intention, I am sure) as a chilling effect.

      In this particular example of yours, I have pointed out numerous times that simplistic notions such as “Left wingers cannot win elections”, and CND-types are hated by the public, etc. etc., are based on a demonstrably flimsy premise. With a few mealy-mouthed comments, the likes of Habbabkuk will leave the discussion. Yet out they come again at the next opportunity.

      In this, he shares tactics with the conspiracy theorists he also ridicules. Never mind the facts, just keep saying Sandy Hook was staged, as was the Paris, Nice, London and any other terrorist attacks in recent years. We can go right through it, yet it will come out again next time as if afresh.

      But as always, lies are quicker and easier to put out than the truth – and in politics (as much else), if you’re explaining, you’re losing the argument.

        • glenn

          You’re one to complain about whining! What’s your record of running to the Mods to complain, compared with the average for posters on here, hmm?

          But thanks for illustrating my point – in this example you so kindly and promptly provided, a lame attempt at ridicule is employed rather than anything of substance.

      • Anon1

        They are not good points.

        The left is unelectable, demonstrably so. It’s no good using the Falklands as your perpetual excuse. If he makes it to the next GE, Corbyn’s only achievement will be to return one of the largest Tory majorities in history. Look at the polls, Glenn. Jeremy is a fucking disaster for the Labour Party’s chances of being in government. That’s why so many Tories voted for him. And that’s why so many Labour MPs are opposed to him.

        Multilateral nuclear disarmament has widespread public support. What does not have that support is the idea put around by unreconstructed trots like Bevin and other far-left subversives and useful idiots that we should unilaterally disarm to the benefit of nuclear states like Russia and China (whom they never call to disarm). It is transparently aimed at weakening Britain and Nato in order to benefit anti-US and anti-Western interests.

        • glenn

          Anon1: What do you make of Bernie Sanders’ incredible popularity? For just one democratic socialist in America, with no huge apparatus behind him (as with La Clinton), is was nothing less than astonishing.

          The MSM consensus is that America is a centre-right country (wink, wink), and they do their best to perpetuate it. The same playbook happens in the UK as the US, as I’m sure you’ve noticed when it comes to political fun and games. Almost precisely the same, and it’s no coincidence.

          The MSM over here is always opposed to anyone progressive. No party has won office with the mass press against them. Do you think the interests of the investor class, the Establishment (superbly reflected in the MSM), just happens to coincide with public opinion all the time? Come on.

          While we’re talking, why would it benefit Russia if – say – we didn’t renew Trident? We’d save ourselves well over £100 Billion. Paying this ridiculous sum, when comparable countries have no such useless overhead, is not doing us any favours. All it serves is to show our servility to the Yanks, who’ve shown us nothing but contempt for a seriously long time.

          Are you – personally – so beholden to US interests, that it trumps our national interests? That is what appears to come from your arguments.

        • Ba'al Zevul

          If the left is ‘demonstrably’ unelectable, why the visceral objection to permitting the demonstration of the hypothesis? At the ballot box?

          There is so much PR frothing around Corbyn’s ‘unelectability’ that it looks very much to me as if the movers and shakers are frit. Of democracy.

          The choice is between ever – more humiliating acquiescence in the inegalitarian machinations of global financiers, or going down fighting – and, incidentally, postponing the Blairites’ next opportunity to con the electorate into buying global corporatism. So, no worse than re-electing the Tories in any case.

          • RobG

            Corbyn will walk a general election.

            That’s why they’re so terrified of him.

            If Corbyn gets bumped-off, or whatever, it might be 100 years before a similar social movement comes along anywhere in the West.

            By that time it will be way too late, because the human race would have wiped itself out.

            The human race has already wiped itself out with these disgusting, vermin trolls who now infect all human thought.

          • Habbabkuk

            Baal

            “If the left is ‘demonstrably’ unelectable, why the visceral objection to permitting the demonstration of the hypothesis? At the ballot box?”
            __________________

            I fear you misread me, Baal. I have said several times that I should like to see Mr Corbyn lead the Labour Party into the next general election (with Mr Corbyn-type policies).

            In that way, the electorate will be faced with a clear choice of policies; at the moment you and others are always complaining that it doesn’t.

            It is my belief that the Labour Party will lose heavily. This is because(again my belief) that the electorate will shy away from Corbyn-type policies.

            Now, it is frequently said on here that Mr Corbyn and his policies represent the will of the masses, as evidenced by his strong “grassroots support”. To believe that (yet again in my opinion) is to assume that the grassroots activists in the Labour Party represent the will of the Labour electorate as a whole. I do not think that that is the case.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “There is so much PR frothing around Corbyn’s ‘unelectability’ that it looks very much to me as if the movers and shakers are frit. Of democracy.”
            ________________

            I am of the contrary view since I believe that that much of the frothing – at least on this blog – is due to the realisation that a Mr Corbyn-led Labour Party will not do well at the next election.

            Indeed, we already see alibis being prepared – eg, if the Labour Party does not win, it will be because of the MSM, etc.

            Deeply dishonest – or perhaps just heads in the sand?

      • Habbabkuk

        It counterpoints nicely in a symphony of despair with the hypocrisy and false indignation of Bev.

        The “carefully made arguments of so many posters” indeed! 🙂

        • Old Mark

          It is my belief that the Labour Party will lose heavily. This is because(again my belief) that the electorate will shy away from Corbyn-type policies.

          Habba- I disagree with your prognostications about Labour and the next general election- I still think they’ll lose, but not as heavily as in 1983. The reasons for their failure to win will be-

          1.That they have irretrievably lost their Scottish vote bank to the SNP
          2. That they will suffer more than the Tories from the revisions proposed by the Boundary Commission, losing many of their inner city ‘rotten boroughs’ via amalgamations required to even out the size of constituencies.

      • Paul Barbara

        @ glenn September 22, 2016 at 20:10
        ‘…In this, he shares tactics with the conspiracy theorists he also ridicules. Never mind the facts, just keep saying Sandy Hook was staged, as was the Paris, Nice, London and any other terrorist attacks in recent years. We can go right through it, yet it will come out again next time as if afresh…’.
        ‘…We can go right through it…’?

        Indeed? like WHERE, for instance?

    • RobG

      I believe Craig pointed out a few posts back, quite correctly, that Foot and the Labour Party were ahead in the polls prior to the Falklands war.

      Also, I would contend, the ‘right to buy’ stuff had a big effect as well. I’m now on my seventh bottle of wine, so I’m way too drunk to have the figures to hand, but I believe about 50% of those who bought their council houses defaulted. They couldn’t really afford it. It was the start of debt slavery, and now everyone from students to nurses to those who simply want a roof over their head has to be in debt; because debt means interest, which equals $$$.

      And of course all those council houses which were sold off – all houses built from tax payer’s money – were never replaced by more social housing.

      It’s one of the biggest rip-offs in history, and is fundamentally changing British society (for instance, it will radically reduce the indigenous population of the UK, because people can no longer afford to raise a family).

      • Old Mark

        Also, I would contend, the ‘right to buy’ stuff had a big effect as well. I’m now on my seventh bottle of wine, so I’m way too drunk to have the figures to hand, but I believe about 50% of those who bought their council houses defaulted. They couldn’t really afford it.

        That is complete bollocks RobG- I administered the RTB scheme for an inner London borough in the late 80s/early 90s- when the housing market went thru a classic ‘boom and bust’- and also handled correspondence from disgruntled leaseholders who’d bought their flats and were in permanent whining mode about the service charges they were required to pay. Only a tiny minority actually defaulted- the (over) generous discounts they enjoyed when exercising their RTB cushioned them from the steep fall in property values that occured in the early 90s, and almost all of them, if they did get into difficulties, were able to sell up for more than their discounted purchase price.

        The only category of RTB leaseholders who faced (and continue to face) serious financial difficulty are those who bought flats in clapped out 30s & 50s blocks, and 60s tower blocks, and who were subsequently faced with very high repair bills and service charges when these blocks were eventually refurbished. (Those who bought houses of course, never faced this dilemma- the new owners could ether update the properties themselves, if they had funds, or -as I know some did- continue living, often blissfully happily, in their unmodernised 50s time warps).

  • Trowbridge H. Ford

    Wasn’t police riot in Charlotte, N,C,, shooting that black man to trigger protests, and then police stormtroopers forcing them to flee, a ploy to get the swing state to back the vile Donald Trump?

    Hope Craig passes this along to the American loonies when he visits too.

    • lysias

      Charlotte policeman who shot that black man is black himself. So is the police chief in Charlotte. Mayor of Charlotte is a white liberal Democrat who was largely responsible for the local ordinance protecting transsexuals that served the Republican state government as its excuse for passing that notorious bathroom law.

      • Old Mark

        Interesting news Lysias- none of the facts you mention are given that much prominence (if indeed they are mentioned at all) in the Beeb’s reports of these incidents.

    • Anon1

      I don’t know about the US, but in this country proportionally fewer blacks die in police custody than whites. We really don’t want your race war imported here, despite the best efforts of the hard left.

      If ‘Black Lives Matter’ means anything at all here, it would be much better served tackling black on black knife crime, gun crime, drug-related gang violence and other manifestations of black gang warfare that lead to the deaths of so many young black men in our cities .

      • glenn

        The “hard left” wants a race war, do they? Evidence please?

        It is wryly amusing to me that the hard right – given to every known form of bigotry – can promote itself as the champion of racial harmony and suddenly finds the persecution of gays, and other minorities, so hideous when perpetrated by Official Enemies.

        • Loony

          If you need to ask for evidence as to the intent to start a race war then you have really not been paying attention.

          What is the aim of Black Lives Matter? Who is funding them? Is it likely that a real protest group would co-opt the strap line of “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” when that line is a blatant lie popularized at the time of the Michael Brown shooting. Why do the press fail to draw attention to the fact that this slogan has its genesis in a lie?

          Why do you think we are bombing countries all over the MENA region? Are they humanitarian bombs? Why is the UK/US supporting ISIS?

          Will there be more terrorist attacks in the west? If so how many? If you cannot answer these questions then ask yourself why should people run such un-quantifiable risks.

          We live in a society that seeks to quantify and measure everything – that is at the core of the age of reason. So if diversity is a strength then precisely how many people need to be killed or maimed in terrorist attacks before diversity becomes a weakness? What do you propose telling the relatives of victims? Be happy your relative died for the cause of diversity? How many people would take succor from such a statement?

          Why is Europe allowing itself to be flooded by migrants? Who are they? How many of them are there? Is there an upper limit? If so what is it? Name any country anywhere, ever, that is divided on sectarian lines that has not descended into internecine violence in times of economic hardship.

          • glenn

            Jesus, this blunderbuss approach to discussion leaves your correspondent with a bit of work to do!

            The aim of BLM is to stop police indiscriminately gunning down unarmed black men (men in particular) like dogs in the street, with zero accountability. This has been happening a lot – and you have the cheek to accuse me of not paying attention.

            Black men with their arms in the air were shot down, that’s where the “Hands up don’t shoot” slogan came from.

            Has it’s “genesis in a lie” does it?

            https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/21/florida-police-shoot-black-man-lying-down-with-arms-in-air

            Now you wouldn’t be lying to us, would you Loony? You’ll apologise and explain you were just talking from ignorance, and too lazy to bother looking up the truth before posting.

            Right, Loony?

          • Loony

            Glen – The article you posted is from 2016. Michael Brown was shot and killed in 2014 (i.e. sometime before 2016). The strap line “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” obtained popularity at that time (i.e. before 2016).

            Michael Brown did not have his hands up and Michael Brown did not say “Hands Up Don;t Shoot” Therefore the phrase has its genesis in a lie.

            I would not be lying to you as everything I have written is independently verifiable. It is not my habit to apologize for telling the truth and I am not prepared to apologize for the fact that I understand that 2014 predates 2016.

          • glenn

            The 2016 article was just the most recent example of why the campaign is so valid, Loony.

            The original shooting in 2014 of Michael Brown (unarmed black man, 18, shot by a white officer) is where the slogan originally came from.

            Are you claiming to be too ignorant and lazy to have found that out for yourself?

          • Loony

            Following a logical argument does not appear to be your forte.

            Yes Michael Brown was shot and killed in 2014 and that is the genesis of the slogan “Hands Up Don;t Shoot” However Michael Brown did not have his hands up and he did not say “don’t shoot” Therefore the genesis of the slogan is based on a lie.

            Try this one – Do you think that more black people are shot in the US (pop. circa 300 million) or more women in the UK (pop. circa 65 million) are victims of honor crimes?

            Where is the outrage? and how do you explain the absence of outrage? Maybe all people in the UK (including the women) are misogynistic sexists.

          • glenn

            Loony, are you trying to be stupid? Do you have to try so hard?

            Comparing the killing of our paid law enforcement officials with that of acknowledged criminals is not a fair comparison. That’s the sort of “whataboutery” that went into discreditable unfashion decades ago.

            Would you mind proving that Michael Brown didn’t have his hands up? It’s unarguable that he was an unarmed black man when he was shot dead, but would you be kind enough to _prove_ what you have stated to be fact? That is, after all, central to your feeble case. Sorry, I’m not taking that one on your word alone, trustworthy though it might be .

          • Habbabkuk

            Glenn, old buddy

            Loony is just….Loony.

            He’s all over the place. Flaky with a veneer of gloss.

            To paraphrase what’s written on bottles of alcohol (RobG please put your hands over your eyes here!) : enjoy in moderation 🙂

  • Dave

    I’ve read that Black Lives Matter and White Helmets are funded by Soros to destabilise USA and Syria making him as bad as “IS”!

    • bevin

      Any attempt to destabilise the USA by poisoning relations between the races would be lily gilding of an extreme kind. There is nothing new in what you see there, it has been going on since the end of slavery made it unprofitable to capture and sell black Americans.
      To Lysias’s point that both the Police Chief in Charlotte and the cop who killed the dead man are black, I would add that so, too, are the President of the USA and the Attorney General. The only difference this makes is to confuse the issue. The use of the police as terrorist forces keeping the people in line by using extreme violence, under the guarantee of virtual impunity is the issue- racism is part of it, but the underlying fear of the US ruling class is of those it has dispossessed, black and white.
      As to the Mayor of Charlotte’s defence of the rights of trans-sexuals to use public washrooms it tells s pretty well all that we need to know about North Carolina that this, rather than the ten thousand real issues facing the people of that state, is the big issue in local politics.

      One thing about North Carolina that is often forgotten is that the Black Panthers in the South began there. Perhaps this latest shooting will help revive the party which is needed more than ever.

      • Loony

        Bevin – What do you prefer: An attachment to Marxism or an attachment to reality?

        There has been no end to slavery in the US. What do you think the 13th Amendment is about? Why do you think that the US has about 3% of global population but 25% of the global prison population?

  • Dave

    The arguments were different prior to the collapse of Soviet Union, but we already have unilateral disarmament but there is a pretence we don’t, because making out we have an independent deterrent is part of the spin we won WWII and remain a major power, when in fact it destroyed the Empire and left us in hock to USA.

    Trident is a US weapon that we pay for to sit at the top tables, but is it value for money when our conventional forces are being dismantled. In practice unilateral nuclear disarmament is a euphemism for not supporting US/neo-con wars.

  • mike

    Let’s see…the pain of east Aleppo clearly isn’t working as a casus belli; the US have targeted the SAA but the ISIS offensive that followed was thwarted; the Turks are in the north but have no way of reaching Aleppo and, in any case, their head-chopping buddies don’t seem too happy to have them around.

    Make no mistake, the US needs to escalate in case Trump gets in. I suspect that, fairly soon, we’ll see the actual targeting of Russian forces. At the very least another big “mistake” and another big hit on the SAA. They’ll keep going until the Russians respond, ’cause Plan A is kaput.

    With Killary they can take their time – she’s bought and paid for – but The Donald might need a little Def Con 1 to come onside.

    • RobG

      Mike, stateside, does anyone actually question what the US is doing in Syria in the first place?

      And in particular, this really could lead to WW3?

  • Dave

    Just answering points made in no particular order, but after Falklands was invaded the choice facing Thatcher was resign or win it back. But as the chances of winning it back was slim the choice was resign for incompetence or resign in ignominy. She didn’t want to resign so gambled on the latter and succeeded. The victory allowed her to survive with Carrington resigning instead for incompetence. I.e. She sunk the Belgrano to survive as PM.

    • Resident Dissident

      Ah but where were you when RobG started issuing his death threats against all and sundry – and at least Nicholas Lezard writes well and has a sense of humour, his column in the New Statesman is one of the highlights of my week, much more fun than some of the po-faced commenters around here.

      • glenn

        Where did RobG threaten anyone?

        My telling you that you will die one day, is not the same as threatening to kill you – it’s simply stating a fact as I see it.

        RobG Might well have imagined Nuremberg- style trials for the crooks and war-criminals, and their apologists, but in no way is that a threat by him against someone else. Unless it serves your purposes to deliberately misconstrue it that way, you are mistaken.

  • Dave

    The size of declared working class is about a third of population and Labour has lost votes to UKIP, Green and lost Scotland, so it can’t now win under FPTP. Except it can for one last time if it advocates voting reform, because non-Labour voters will vote Labour to get a piece of the action next time. And next time will involve coalition politics.

    This was the secret of the New Labour victory. Blair inherited a manifesto promise from Smith for a referendum on voting reform. This led to a deal with Lib Dems and resulted in extensive tactical voting to knock out the Conservatives and resulted in a massive New Labour majority and highest modern time representation for Lib Dems.

    It took Conservatives some time to recover because the long period in government had weakened their local base and because the Murdoch/neo-con media spun for Blair as they had previously spun for Thatcher.

    But Blair reneged on the promise and for a while the spin hid the reality, but by the 3rd victory New Labour had lost 5million votes. So another voting reform offer is needed to deliver another Labour victory.

    • bevin

      In fact, ‘self declared or not, the only demographic to which the working class has lost numbers is the poor and unemployed.
      The class which is really shedding numbers is the middle class which is slipping into the proletariat.
      The ruling class, on the other hand, gets smaller as it gets richer, which is what it planned.
      If you think that these trends bode well for the Tories or Blairites, all I can say is that I wish that you were making a book, the odds would be very attractive.

    • Old Mark

      Excellent analysis Dave- the idea, pushed by uber Blairites , that the Lab ‘landslide’ in 1997 (when they actually got fewer votes than Major obtained in 1992) shows that the electorate was and is in love with NuLab policies, was and remains wishful thinking and faux nostalgia on their part.

      BTW the NuLab vote held up in 2001 because the Tories had an incredibly inexperienced leader (Hague), the minimum wage (one of NuLab’s flagship policies) was a resounding success, and the implications of NuLab’s more destructive policies (minimal immigration control at home, and neo con style military adventurism abroad) hadn’t really hit the electorate in 2001.

  • lysias

    A book has been published accusing leading candidate for a Louisiana Senate seat Charles Boustany of being involved with prostitutes who were later found murdered. Boustany made a statement denying the charge, which gave his leading rival for the seat John Kennedy the opportunity to make a statement worthy of Lyndon Johnson. It began:

    ““I want to be very clear that my campaign played absolutely no role in creating this story alleging Congressman Boustany’s sexual relationships with prostitutes that were later murdered, his staff’s alleged involvement in running the bar and hotel where this illicit behavior took place, or publishing the book.”

    Boustany and Kennedy are both Republicans.

    • Hieroglyph

      Ah, the tried and tested ‘I’m sure he didn’t kill that hooker\fuck that horse\smoke crack with minors’ technique of US politics. It’s a winner. Truly the US is a total basket case, and their politicians the most self-serving, venal fuckheads since the Nazis.

      We may laugh, but it all filters down to their satraps in the UK and Australia. Over here, the bible-blowing corruptocrats are becoming a serious menace, where they should be on the very margins. Disturbing.

  • Node

    Mark a point and call it zero.
    Draw a vertical line upwards from it.
    Draw a horizontal line rightwards from it.
    Draw a third line bisecting the angle between the first two.

    To the left of the vertical line write “vehemence of complaint about Habbabkuk wasting space on this blog”
    Below the horizontal line write “amount of space wasted complaining about Habbabkuk”

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Comments are closed.