I had promised myself and my family that on this holiday I would do nothing but relax. However events have overtaken my good intentions. I find myself in the unusual position of having twice been in a position to know directly that governments were lying in globe-shaking events, firstly Iraqi WMD and now the “Russian hacks”.
Anybody who believes the latest report issued by Obama as “proof” provides anything of the sort is very easily impressed by some entirely meaningless diagrams. William Binney, who was Technical Director at the NSA and actually designed their surveillance capabilities, has advised me by email. It is plain from the report itself that the Russian groups discussed have been under targeted NSA surveillance for a period longer than the timeframe for the DNC and Podesta leaks. It is therefore inconceivable that the NSA would not have detected and traced those particular data flows and they would be saved. In other words, the NSA would have the actual hack on record, would be able to recognise the emails themselves and tell you exactly the second the transmission or transmissions took place and how they were routed. They would be able to give you date, time and IP addresses. In fact, not only do they produce no evidence of this kind, they do not even claim to have this kind of definite evidence.
Secondly, Bill points out that WikiLeaks is in itself a top priority target and any transmission to WikiLeaks or any of its major operatives would be tracked, captured and saved by NSA as a matter of routine. The exact route and date of the transmission or transmissions of the particular emails to WikiLeaks would be available. In fact, not only does the report not make this information available, it makes no claim at all to know anything about how the information was got to WikiLeaks.
Of course Russian hackers exist. They attack this blog pretty well continually – as do hackers from the USA and many other countries. Of course there have been attempted Russian hacks of the DNC. But the report gives no evidence at all of the alleged successful hack that transmitted these particular emails, nor any evidence of the connection between the hackers and the Russian government, let alone Putin.
There could be no evidence because in reality these were leaks, not hacks. The report is, frankly, a pile of complete and utter dross. To base grave accusations of election hacking on this report is ludicrous. Obama has been a severe disappointment to all progressive thinkers in virtually every possible way. He now goes out of power with absolutely no grace and in a storm of delusion and deceit. His purpose is apparently to weaken Trump politically, but to achieve that at the expense of heightening tensions with Russia to Cold War levels, is shameful. The very pettiness of Obama’s tongue out to Putin – minor sanctions and expelling some diplomatic families – itself shows that Obama is lying about the pretext. If he really believed that Russia had “hacked the election”, surely that would require a much less feeble response. By refusing to retaliate, Russia has shown the kind of polish that eludes Obama as he takes his empty charisma and presentational skills into a no doubt lucrative future in the private sector.
This is all a bit bizzare, but it seems the new almost President of the USA actually likes and believes Julian Assange, whilst most of the rest of the crud in Washington want to use a drone on him – except they would probably miss and blow up Harrods…which would annoy rather a lot of very rich Middle Eastern people who like shopping in London.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/04/donald-trump-backs-us-foe-julian-assange-us-intelligence-russian/
Tony
LOL Tony your imagination is rather richer than all the oil in Saudi Arabia….nice one! Hope the lady is healing well!
On a more serious note, it looks like we are in a serious bend in the river. The cat is not just amongst the pigeons but amongst the gigolos and prostitutes.
The whole episode really makes me think if Obama has really been a puppet of The Deep State incorporating America’s 23 or 123 intelligence agencies and what-not.
Tony the very colourful Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed sold Harrods to his mate Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Emir of Qatar.
Apparently al-Fayed sometimes used to dress up as father christmas, in Harrods.
A real message of hope.
http://pastebin.com/uGT9fLYh
I have over the past decades returned to the villages of my grand and great grandparents in the Netherlands where I was born in 1948. There I heard stories of human kindness in the face of savagery and extreme deprivation, similar to your description offered here.
My parents, still alive in their new country, still “fighting the War”, have never again managed to open their hearts.
TPTB are fully cognisant of the terrible long-term effects of trauma and dislocation on mass populations and their descendants, grateful for shelter, food and drink when and if it be made available, for the “lucky ones” (survivors), all the while the orchestrators enjoy the spoils of “stolen” resources.
Phil, not being a student of history, I have no idea what this piece is going on about, or indeed what you ‘like’ about it. What is your central message, in your own words?
RoS I can hardly believe your bare faced cheek the organ you linked to is for half wits
http://www.thenational.scot/news/15000061.Brexit__Shock_as_UK_ambassador_to_the_EU_Sir_Ivan_Rodgers_resigns/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Barrow
Tim has been working in The Ukraine and in Russia now in the heart of the snake, in Brussels
Says the person, who quotes from the Express on a regular basis.
At least you haven’t lost your sense of humour Norton. ?
Good In Parts
January 4, 2017 at 13:30
“Donald Trump backs Julian Assange…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38505398 ”
Thanks for that. Extract:
“The information, released through Wikileaks and other outlets, was intended to help Mr Trump win the election, say the FBI and CIA.’
Have the CIA/FBI actually said that, or is the BibiCee making it up?
“On Tuesday evening, Mr Trump said an intelligence briefing he was due to receive on the issue had been delayed.
“Perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!” he wrote.”
So far, I just love the man’s candour and relaxed-style. I hope Trump is not tempting fate and the wrath of The Agencies. God forbid, there will be Civil War in the USofA!
How’s Hillary doing? Boy, do we actually REALISE how we’ve, as also The World, been saved from Evil?
PS Craig, time for a break from your mango-juice and the beach? Not much rejoice expressed by your minions here on Assange’s historic interview. Puzzling, wonder why!? Perhaps they’re waiting for you to speak?
PPS Thank God that establishment ‘socialist’ Bernie Sanders that you were rooting for didn’t win!
No they have not – what the hanity interview – the BBC are ridiculous
I hate Fox News but, surprisingly enough this interview is top quality journalism
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fGlYf7UPTM4
Watched the entire thing and seems, much as I hate to admit, a balanced broadcast. TY for the link.
What an excellent story
French cyclist Robert Marchand sets new record aged 105
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38510439
Had been a sugar plantation worker a lumber jack a boxer and a prisoner of war, yet can still ride a bike at 105.
brilliant.
Wow Norton, that’s some story. Thank you! I shall share it with a close relative who turns 100y this month; great inspiration!
Btw Ayurveda, the thousands of years old traditional science of health asserted that the human body is designed for some 120 years. I hope this will discourage folks to stop coming here with their medical details, looking for virtual sympathy and instead get on their bike.
In the same vein, today I say long live Rupert Murdoch, long live Sean Hannity and long live Julian Assange, in chronological order. Not to forget Craig and indeed the Podesta emails source.
That was quick. Must have been lined up to replace Rogers who was leaving in October
Sir Tim Barrow named as UK’s new ambassador to EU
23 mins ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Barrow
Indeed RoS, very quick because otherwise her plans of having one’s cake and eating it, would dissolve in the whipped up full English Breakxit foam of her own making.
I do not know what a Tim Burton can bring to the job, but the quality of the team ought to make it clear to everyone, that all she has left is to walk away from it all, claiming victory for those who voted for it.
Excellent broadcast this morning by MEP Molly Scott Cato on Radio 4, exactly telling it like it is to a BASF excusenik for pesticides and other chemicals that are eroding our fields. She made their priorities clear and they are not our priorities.
This was followed by a lengthy study of demography around the world and how people live longer in some countries and how this is putting pressure on the finances and the pension system.
Its unsustainable and we should not pay any extra for social care until this Government reigns in all those tax havens under British jurisdiction, the time to talk about it has finished, now lets see some action. Maybe the BBC would like to get an economist/accountant to look into the case and say how the continues siphoning off of billions each year, hundreds of billions and 15.5 trillion worldwide, has damaged the world/our economies and have contributed to the other difficulties we currently feel bugging us.
As for the shot NATO accountant, I don’t think that his sole aim was to point out the funding of the ‘terrorist calling themselves IS’, there must have been more about his revelations, should they ever come out. But speculations about news/ fake news/ hunches are wide spread, so why should we not speculate as well?
This ex NATO chap would expect that he was about to show that NATO gave its logistical and moneyed support to this criminal outfit, that it directed its operations and still is. The frequent and more recent attacks on Turkey, after it became too friendly with Russia, show that anybody who steps out of line in the ME gets attacked by IS. NATO and IS are part of the western strategy to undermine and destabilise the ME, to militarily force and control other countries resources. NATO’s expansionary zeal, absent from its aims and objectives show that it has been taken over by right wing zealots who can’t possibly be right in the head.
I hope that this will destroy NATO as much as the UK’s hard Brexiteers are really out to destroy the EU, not just leave, their best chance of making bilateral agreements with countries currently within the EU fold.
Having second rank diplomats in charge of negotiations assures a long and dragging discussion, or a walk out.
U.S.A. coalition of the willing spared ISIS oil production facilities in Syria – Russian MoD
https://www.rt.com/news/372639-coalition-spared-oil-isis/
The US-led international coalition did not bomb oil production facilities captured by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov has stated.
“Miraculously, only oil fields, captured by ISIS allowing the militants to earn tens of millions of dollars every month on illegal oil sales and recruit mercenaries from all over the world, did not come under the US bombardment,” Konashenkov said.
CIA Director John Brennan stated earlier that Russia is using a “scorched-earth policy” in Syria.
I wonder which country purchased the stolen oil from Islamic State?
You could see, how unaccountable money could be made from stolen oil, then used for nefarious activities.
Utterly shameful and duplicitous.
“I wonder which country purchased the stolen oil from Islamic State?”
Didn’t you know? The answer is Syria, mainly.
The oil and the whole Daesh operation was organised by the US and Israel, who in turn sold some to Syria. If you are intent on squeezing an ethnic group to death, you do have to have two jaws to your divide and rule policy, Shi’a wonky Islam is one part of the jaw and Sunni wonky extremism is the other.
There’s enough oil to keep them fighting till the day of judgement, or maybe one day the Muslims will remember the history of colonialism and realise they are being manipulated.
A hell of a lot of it went to Turkey in fleets of tankers, whilst the arms flowed in the other direction. ISIS is basically the Saudi Foreign Legion. Turkey was in league with them until Russia persuaded Erdogan to change his mind.
The excuse was ‘ecological reasons’?
Another Tunisian arrested in Berlin
The suspect is believed to have been an associate of Anis Amri, the Berlin attacker.
A spokesperson for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said that the pair had met in a restaurant in the Gesundbrunnen district of Berlin on the night before the Christian market attack.
Prosecutors believe that he knew the attack plans and possibly helped Amri, whom he had known since December 2015.
As there is currently insufficient evidence to charge him with offences related to the attack, he is being held for fraud involving social benefits. German police sometimes arrest terrorism suspects on lesser charges rather than wait for further evidence to emerge.
http://www.euronews.com/2017/01/04/german-authorities-detain-26-year-old-tunisian-in-connection-with-berlin-attack
“PPS Thank God that establishment ‘socialist’ Bernie Sanders that you were rooting for didn’t win!..”says Villager.
Leo Panitch agrees:
“As for any positive dimension to the outcome of the election I am thanking goodness it wasn’t Bernie. Suppose Sanders won the nomination and then was defeated by Trump. I am agnostic on whether Sanders would have won or not. But had he lost after Trump’s campaign was structured not in terms of “Crooked Hillary” but in terms of “Socialist Sanders,” it would have set the Left back a generation at least.
“The Clintonites and the whole left-liberal establishment would have piled on, like they did against Jeremy Corbyn after the referendum on Brexit, and would have blamed the Sanders left, and socialists in much more general terms, for opening the way to Trump. It would have been absolutely disastrous for building a genuine alternative….”
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2017/01/04/the-trump-way-leo-panitch-interviewed-by-arun-gupta/
Channel 4 ignoring Assange altogether. They’ve literally lost the plot! Literally incredible and literally clueless.
Once again three cheers for Rupert Murdoch, today at least.
ITV, teatime news reports that Sir Ivan Rogers got the bullet, because he was on the verge of revealing that six months after the Brexit vote, the British government still hasn’t got a plan.
Do I believe Rogers a life long civil servant, with bags of EU expertise, or do I believe Theresa May’s government, a inept bunch of chancers, who couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery…hmmm a difficult one.
Bunch of chancers? Same problem as earlier. A Short Wave bleep of chancers? A spam-bot of chancers?
What we really want…. what we really really want is .. oh I’ve forgotten.
Wrong question.
Does anyone seriously believe that Theresa May is not in control at the helm?
I agree with Nigel Farage 100% this man should have gone on June 24, 2016. I do not trust a man who doesn’t know how to tie the knot of his tie to be wrapping up our Brexit deal with pink ribbons. For the disastrous so called new-deal that he struck along with Cameron, he was out of his depth.
Terrrrr cont’d
We all have to learn first aid skills in case of being involved in a terror attack. So say CitizenAID.
‘Terrorism ‘first-aid training needed’
4 January 2017
‘CitizenAID aims to help the public save lives before the professionals arrive’
People need to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack in the UK, a team of senior military and civilian medics has said.
They say people need to know how to help each other because it could take some time before it is deemed safe for paramedics to arrive on the scene. Their app, called CitizenAID, offers step-by-step advice.
The idea is supported by counter-terrorism police. Security services say a UK terror attack is highly likely.
‘Run, hide, tell’
Although an individual’s chance of being caught up in an incident is small, Brig Tim Hodgetts and Prof Sir Keith Porter, co-developers of CitizenAID, say it is a good idea for people to have a plan and the knowledge and skills to help each other.’
It goes on and includes a photo with a caption saying ‘contains upsetting scenes’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38495234
What comes next to produce heightened states of anxiety in the citizenry?
The army and the NHS combine. http://citizenaid.org/about/
I learnt first-aid skills at school; I had an education.
It’s a no-brainer, no?
Do NHS secretaries not get such training?
STOP inciting fear!
I don’t know the answer to your strange question. Ask them!
And get off my back. I don’t like parasites.
I mean Treeza May is certainly upto speed isn’t she? You were impressed how she castled the now ex-Ambassador with lightening speed.
This article on the History Jack blog is truly excellent
https://historyjack.com/2017/01/03/starvation-and-silence-the-british-left-and-moral-accountability-for-venezuela/
Not that I suspect many here do shame – the behaviour exhibited by the ersatz left in regards to Venezuela, the Putin regime and Assad is truly redolent of how their predecessors turned their backs on the misdeeds of Lenin, Stalin and Mao. All is excused as an attack on western imperialism – some even use exactly the dame language.
Shame is different from blackmail. If you cannot convince others of your beliefs and you resort to digging dirt on the unconvinced, that is blackmail. Nobody has yet convinced me that greed is the best motivator for human endeavour. Picking holes in those who are hunting for an alternative is blackmail.
If you can explain in a few short sentences and without shame why dog must eat dog, then you can dig up as much dirt on Capitalism’s opponents as you like. Dogs being originally pack animals usually behave better than Tories.
I think you will find that the ruling regimes in Venezuela, Russia, China and Syria all do pretty well in the greed category as well – they are hardly Capitalism’s opponents. Perhaps the way forward is some basic honesty and consistency. Support for the likes of the Venezuelan regime and Putin just divert and make arguing for alternative views in western democracies much harder rather than easier. I’ve never been a Tory and never will be – but such lack of standards makes beating them a lot harder. Just witness Corbyn’s standing in the opinion polls.
So, Ray McGovern ensures two mentions of Craig on Crosstalk on RT. He better bring his attorneys along the next time Craig chooses to use his US visa assuming Craig is not on the no-fly visit by then. But then again, that’s small fry in the context of this historic deceit being blown out and being being blown apart.
But where are you tonight all ye followers of Craig and indeed the Assange doubters? History is being made and you are mum?
RobG, French toast on your face?
It will be interesting to hear Craig’s views on Barrow, if any.
No sign of Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC. She is the political editor but instead we have heard tonight from her deputy John Pienaar, James Landale, the diplomatic editor and Simon Jack, the business editor on the fallout and developments following the resignation of Ivan Rogers.
She had some very unpleasant messages on her twitter after Christmas ref the story on the Queen’s supposed opinion on Brexit.
Twitter! Yuk. Trump obviously will govern via Twitter.
____
Sir Ivan’s resignation sign of greater Whitehall strain
John Pienaar
Deputy political editor
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38509459
It will be interesting to hear your views on the Hannity interview of Assange actually.
And I don’t mean this:
” Posted by Mary on January 4, 2017, 2:14 pm, in reply to Too early to tell what Trump is
Whenever anything comes out of Murdoch’s vast media (sic s.b. ‘medja’?) empire, we always have to question in our own minds on what the agenda is. There have been so many theories on the leaks, I am past knowing. ”
( http://members5.boardhost.com/xxxxx/thread/1483517671.html )
I mean on the actual content of the interview.
Mary: “There have been so many theories on the leaks, I am past knowing.”
This can mean two things:
1 Craig and Assange have set it out clearly. She believes they are lying?, or simply
2 She is so lost in devouring the ‘medja’ (as she childishly likes to put it), morning, noon and night (and in between, all blessed day along), including irrelevancies (deeply rooted in her many prejudices) and their connections to Israel that the commenter is utterly and hopelessly lost in confusion. A case of analysis-paralysis? After all there is NEVER an original thought coming from this direction.
Get lost Psycho Villager and stop trolling me.
This might explain her absence;
BBC Trust found Laura Kuenssberg breached accuracy and impartiality over Corbyn. Committee Chairman has now ordered review of decision.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/15000158.BBC_Trust_to_review_own_decision_upholding_complaint_about_Corbyn__shoot_to_kill__report/#comments-anchor
Saw a programme on why the Industrial Revolution happened in Britain and not in France, turns out everything was in place in Britain but France was hidebound with bureaucracy – nothing changes.
Vive le socialisme! French presidential hopeful calls for £4.25BILLION supertax on financial services – and says he would ‘make an example’ of banks by nationalising them
French firebrand socialist Arnaud Montebourg has proposed the supertax
Montebourg was economy minister early in the current Socialist government
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4087926/Socialist-outsider-French-presidential-race-proposes-bank-supertax.html#ixzz4UpoiiXAK
Socialisim tax them till their pips squeak, that should do it.
Most of those French Socialists are idiots
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article3860487.ece
Wonders never cease. Sarah Palin Apologizes For “Condemning” Julian Assange,
Thanks for that Lysisas. Just about to start watching/listening. Big of her. Perhaps Clinton will be next?:D
At the end of the interview Julian Assange talks about accepting the fact that being a proper journalist in this day and age has led to his illegal incarceration, and he accepts it. What he also says is his young family did not sign up for this. Perhaps this is what got through to Sarah Palin.
There are a few more former accusers who need to be apologising but they most likely won’t. The Swedish Prosecution Service, who recently interviewed him in the Ecuardorian Embassy should be first in the queue. Worse than that, and despite advice from the working party on arbitrary detention, he is still being forcibly imprisoned. There is something wrong with the world and it is not Julian Assange or Wikileaks who are striving to make it a better place.
“There are a few more former accusers who need to be apologising but they most likely won’t”
Looked in the mirror recently?.
I think it’s naïve to think that people like Palin Hannity Murdoch or Trump have suddenly seen the error of their ways and given genuine mea culpas – it’s as simple as wikileaks’ leaks attacking their enemies – as soon as there’s a leak that goes against them it’ll be back to calls for assassination.
Thanks for that Lysias, that is one that would’ve gone under the radar. I quite agree with John, big hearted and good move on her part.
Julian must be in good spirits today, understandable!
Julian was probably food for the fishes months ago.
In the weeks leading up to the US presidential election in November, the Wikileaks releases of the Podesta e-mails proved high level corruption and possible paedophilia amongst the DC elite.
But no one now wants to talk about this, least of all Pizzagate.
Are you all that afraid of a pathetic bunch of totally corrupt sickos?
After what Wikileaks revealed, and events that followed in October and November, you’d have to be a total egit not to believe that Assange has been taken out.
He looked pretty alive in that video – what was that – animatronics?
I’ll talk about pizzagate: have you got any links that give evidence of anything rather than just vague associations that fall to dust when looked at? (aside from shit like two table tennis bats obviously being a symbol for paedophilia, a weird performance artist doing weird performance artist things to earn money from being shocking (like she has publically for years), semen-stained handkerchiefs being ‘maps’, one slightly weird reference to pizza, misunderstanding of Satanism/thelemites by religious americans who actually believe in satan (unlike most satanists) and all the rest of that tendentious bollocks). Each individual bit of the ‘evidence’ is flaky in isolation: It doesn’t matter how many bits you’ve got, vague bits of association don’t add together to make solid evidence – that’s not how evidence works (just how confirmation bias works).
I’m saying this as someone who has an open mind to existence of elite paedophilia, having come across all sorts of actual evidence of it (eg Omaha, Dennis Hastert and Epstein (who both trump and Clinton visited) in America, Kincora and Children homes generally in UK, the Belgium scandal (and many more)) – I’m prepared to believe it of them – but I won’t do it in this case without more evidence. It might be more convincing if the paedo allegations were evenly spread between republicans and democrats – as it is it just looks ‘pepe the frog’-worshiping 4chan ‘investigators’ talking bollocks to me.
I also had a suspicion that this whole pizzagate thing was being used to set us up for it later to be used as an excuse to shut down all that ‘fake news’ stuff.
Didn’t you know that he feels so well as to leave the embassy for a full english breakfast at the nearest cafe?
what daft assumptions will you come up next with, the man is still under full electronic surveillance and without access to the internet, not that this has stopped him communicating.
Is that the same Sarah Palin that is calling for America to leave the UN over the Israeli settlers vote?
I expect so. How many Sarah Palins are there in US politics?
Or are you trying to make an extremely stupid point to the effect that Palin’s views discredit Assange?
Assange just seems to bring out the worst in right-wingers on this blog- mentioning his name is like playing a chord of the Horst Wessel song at a Lithuanian emigre’s party- instinct kicks in and arms shoot outwards and upwards.
“Or are you trying to make an extremely stupid point to the effect that Palin’s views discredit Assange?”
I’m sure Julian doesn’t need any help from Sarah in that department.
Assange has abused his credibility with a casual attitude. The moderate left likes his most recent selective perception on the election. He really wants out of his confinement.
There were plenty of Lithuanians who suffered at the hands of the Nazis and opposed their occupation – to try and portray Lithuanian emigres as supporters of the Nazis is just a highly racist generalisation.
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy a couple of days ago, where he said:
“John Kerry, in his speech, he described a reality of what would be in a ‘one-state’ scenario, the Palestinians would live in enclaves, and that they would be without rights – he was actually describing the situation of today! Why are you saying when it becomes a ‘one-state’? Today! Why in the future? Today!
”http://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/picked-timeline-jewish/
A society that is totally fecking insane…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7379aanKuZE
There’s lots of these ‘hobo’ videos knocking around at the moment (another example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd4cHi9Sr5A ), as the biggest propaganda machine in history tries to normalise homelessness and a total lack of basic healthcare, whilst the state spends eye-watering amounts of money on war and militarism.
Even as propagandised as Americans are, you can see where this is going, and it ain’t going to be pleasant.
Payback! Trump Is Working On A Plan To Restructure, Pare Back The CIA And America’s Top Spy Agency.
So he is going to do what JFK was unable to do.
No wonder the CIA and its organ the Washington Post are in such a panic.
lysias, I get an increasing feeling that it’s all going to happen over the next few weeks. Trump will be assassinated, or something like that, and they’ll roll out martial law (which has all been written into law since 9/11; same in the UK and the other Five Eyes). The penny will finally drop with the public, and murder and mayhem will prevail.
A happy New Year, by the way.
@ lysias January 4, 2017 at 23:57
Fools rush in……As Webster Tarpley says: ‘CIA is Wall Street; Wall Street is CIA’.
Could be rich pickin’s for undertakers in the New Year!
This if true, and I have no reason to disbelieve it, is absolutely diabolical. Young schoolchildren have already been identified from these snoopers as being potentially a future risk factor on the way they have responded to questions due to these ‘police’ snoopers. Their (children’s) privacy has been taken away before they even embark on their journey through life. You can probably see, in Stalinist Britain, how the freedom as we used to take for granted has totally disappeared.
http://www.thecanary.co/2017/01/04/army-snoopers-trained-not-run-gchq/
At any previous time that canary article would have been funny. Take this bit:
“In the training modules, users – referred to as “behaviour managers” – are asked to look out for staff “becoming disrespectful”, “asking inappropriate questions”, or displaying an “unhealthy use of the internet”.”
I’d love to hear the definition of “unhealthy use of the internet”.
As Nuland will also be exiting(probably via a revolving door), is she trying for a Congress of Berlin -type reordering with Cyprus at Geneva?
http://www.defenddemocracy.press
Former KOSOVO PM Haradinaj arrested on war crimes warrant in FRANCE
Ministry of Truth
Ramush Haradinaj served as a rebel commander in the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict, which eventually led to the Kosovo declaring independence.
He twice faced war crimes charges at the UN, but was acquitted both times.
Kosovo’s foreign ministry said his arrest was unacceptable, and that it was working to secure his release.
Mr Haradinaj, now an opposition leader in Kosovo, was arrested by police at Basel Mulhouse Freiburg airport in eastern France.
Authorities said they were acting on an arrest warrant from Serbia.
I had forgot about The Former Yugoslavia and the war initiated by Tony Blair and Clinton ( the other one),
As far as I remember Russia ( emotionally) supported Serbia, claimingh Kosovo was the birthplace of Seria, a bastian of Christianity over Islam.
Russia has not believed in the independence of Kosovo from Serbia.
Perhaps, this will be re-visited, now that the positions of Blair /The Clintons / OBOBMA are in decline and the fortunes of PUTIN / The DONALD are on the cooperative up?
The pro-active breakup of The Former Yugoslavia by NATO was one of the first acts in a set of despicable acts, to take influence away from the Russian sphere and put it into the sphere of the European Union ( control by the U.S.A.)
Slovenia, Croatia are now detatched from the Russian sphere and are within the fold of the E.U.
but other parts are being sucked in like Bosnia and Herzegovina and i imagine Kosovo/ Montenegro and other are being lured?
I really believe the European Union was set up for the benefit of the U.S.A. to break up the Soviet Union
and draw ever more influence to the U.S.A.
Completely undemocratic, as far as Europe Middle East and Russia go.
Why no mention of this on the BBC
aka Ministry of Truth?
A former prime minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, was arrested in France on Wednesday in response to an international arrest warrant for war crimes filed by Serbia.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170105-france-arrests-former-kosovo-pm-Haradinaj-over-serbia-war-crimes-claim
Haradinaj — who has been twice tried and acquitted — is a former leader of paramilitaries who fought for Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian province of Serbia, to gain independence.
He was arrested on his arrival from the Kosovo capital Pristina at Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport, located near the Swiss and German borders, sources close to the French investigation said.
The French judicial authorities will now examine the Serbian request, they said.
In Pristina, Kosovo’s justice minister Dhurata Hoxha, confirmed Haradinaj, 48, had been detained.
“We will take every step to ensure that Haradinaj is released as soon as possible,” Hoxha said.
The 1998-99 Kosovo conflict was the last war of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
It culminated in a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia and, in 2008, in Kosovo’s independence, which is still not recognised by Belgrade.
Craig, I’d really like a bit more corroboration of the story that you received the DNC leaked mails in a park in Washington DC. Maybe I haven’t read everything here on your blog, but so far I only recall you saying that you “know personally”. The detail of you actually receiving it is quoted elsewhere, but I haven’t found the source. Sorry if it is here and I haven’t looked hard enough.
Another thing that troubles me is that you WERE in Washington DC for the Sam Adams Award, but that was AFTER the leaks. Does that mean you went to the US twice last year, and only had visa problems the second time?
Craig didn’t say that, the daily mail made it up as they do for 95% of their content.
I question that. I think Ray Mcgovern corroborated that on Crosstalk on RT yesterday–check it out.
@Ben/Krief/ Rattlebone//“人者仁也, Isn’t demanding answers from Craig when you don’t even have the courtesy to stick with one handle, not a bit rich ?
Isn’t a bit silly to expect any further information about a Wikileakes source especially after what Assange said about this, namely that it was a non State source, and that even giving that much out was against Wikileakes commitment to whistleblowers, and was only given because of the exceptional circumstances ?
I only recognise two out of those four, and I’m not sure about one of the two 🙂
A few years ago I decided to stop using my real name (or even the same name) everywhere on the internet, as it makes correlating my identity via Google too easy. The disadvantage is I sometimes forget which name I’ve used, and where…
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I don’t think it’s silly, and as you yourself say below, he has already gone further than Wikileaks, stating that he has met the source.
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(Thanks for that quote by the way. I *had* read it, I just wondered whether the extra bit of ‘information’ in the Daily Mail also came from Craig but was hidden somewhere in a comment).
“I only recognise two out of those four,”
I take you at your word, and accept that I may have been seeing double ! 😀
“he has already gone further than Wikileaks,”
Exactly, so I don’t expect Assange is too pleased about that; you can’t seriously expect him to destroy Wikileakes reputation on protecting its sources, and to fall out with Assange, just because you want further details !
I wasn’t expecting him to ‘out’ the other source, but just that he might finish outing himself, which would in no way destroy Wikileaks’ reputation.
Haha I came back to see what had been happening and find myself referenced in something. It is I, the one and only 人者仁也, formerly known as Nick. But seeing as the OG Nick requested this newcomer not confuse other commenter and potentially sully his good name, I acquiesced to his request for change. I accidentally posted under N. Chen once, but have now settled upon the four characters I feel pack maximum meaning into minimum pixels.
It just so happens Krief is of a similarly skeptical bent as I.
I do not believe the Daily Mail made it up. I think Craig told them exactly what they published.
I have watched the RT video beginning minute 22:00 (thank you Macky, and yes I know you said no thanks necessary), but was unconvinced by it. I believe I began writing a replying enumerating my reasons for disbelief, but gave up on it as a futile effort in persuading a true believer that their convictions may be misguidedly assured.
Now that I have been drawn back in, I’ll just say this: It’s RT, formerly Russian Television. That statement alone should be enough to question the validity of their overt narrative as it relates to the purported hacking of the DNC by Russia. I feel no need to further elaborate on that particular conflict of interest.
Ray McGovern on the other hand… All I can say is his corroboration was pretty weak. I did verify that the Samuel Adams award ceremony was held at American Univeristy at the time he references. What is less than convincing is his purported reason for being certain Craig did in fact meet with an intermediary and receive the “leaked” emails. “He just sort of backed away without saying anything into a wooded area. He didn’t come out for drinks and dinner with us [sic].” I personally felt Ray had the demeanor of a liar while saying Craig backed away into the “wooded area” while Ray was watching him. It seemed every bit to me a guy trying to corroborate a story he is not personally able to corroborate, but knows enough details to try and spin a yarn. Regarded not having drinks and dinner together I felt he was more genuine, but skipping dinner doesn’t exactly prove anything now does it? Admittedly this is personal feeling regarding a stranger’s body language. I don’t put this out there as evidence in any way. I’m just saying how the video made me feel.
Ray McGovern does also have a conflict of interest though. He is the founder of the Samuel Adams Foundation, which awards whistle blowers. Guess who two previous recipients are… yup, Julian Assange and Craig Murray. It sure would be a shame if two of his honorees turned out to be pasties.
On a less contentious note, I found out why Craig doesn’t discuss his clandestine rendezvous in the woods. Mr. Murray posted a link on his twitter account of an interview between Fox News’ Sean Hannitty and Julian Assange. In that interview Hannity asks Assange point blank about Murray’s claim to receiving the “leak” and Assange tells Sean that Wikileaks never ever comments on sources and that they were only forced to say they did not receive the emails from a state actor in an attempt to keep focus on the emails. Again this is conjecture, but I got the feeling Craig had been told to STFU.
Overall I’m still unconvinced who is playing whom here. Are Craig and Assange telling the truth? Maybe. Did they get fooled by Russia via an intermediary and/or secret agent? Maybe.
I’ll be watching for the updates.
“but I got the feeling Craig had been told to STFU”
Hardly surprising after all that he’s revealed;
“David Swanson interviewed Murray today, and obtained additional information. Specifically, Murray told Swanson that: (1) there were two American leakers … one of the emails of the Democratic National Committee and one of the emails of top Clinton aide John Podesta; (2) Murray met one of those leakers; and (3) both leakers are American insiders with the NSA and/or the DNC, with no known connections to Russia.”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/12/exclusive-intelligence-officer-met-dnc-email-leaker-confirms-nsa.html
Well said – it is of course possible that there were both hackers and leakers who disseminated the information that they were provided by the hackers. Of course nearly everyone here is ignoring the past record of the Russian government which has a history of cyber activity against sovereign states such as Georgia, Estonia and Ukraine – or that Assange is hardly neutral on this matter as he has been paid by RT for his interviews of the terrorist Nasrallah among others and Wikileaks of course hasn’t done leaks from the Russian Government for many years.
Krief
“Does that mean you went to the US twice last year, and only had visa problems the second time?”
Hang on a minute. I had no idea the leaks appeared before CM went to the Sam Adams Award. After a quick look I think these are the basic facts:
JUL 22: WLs release first emails
SEP 5: CM blogs he has been refused visa.
SEP 24: CM talks at American University
SEP 25: CM at Sam Adams Award
DEC 1: DM story that CM was the bagman
The most recent emails in the WLs release seem to be dated June 25.
So to believe the claims CM must have visited Washington sometime between June 25 and July 22. Which might explain why CM was initially refused entry for September. Understandably he forgot to mention this but I suspect the likes of Jeremy Corbyn will hesitate before lobbying on his behalf again.
Why does everybody keep forgetting that there were two separate batches of releases from Wikileakes;
On 22 July 2016, WikiLeaks released nearly 20,000 e-mails and over 8,000 attachments from the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
On 7 October 2016, WikiLeaks started releasing emails from John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Ah OK. I didn’t forget, I just didn’t know. Ta.
Ok, that’s interesting, so judging by the timeline proposed by Phil, if Craig received any leaks, it had to be the Podesta ones.
That aside, the fact that the US Intel chiefs are doubling down on this does make me wonder whether the Russians weren’t hacking at the same time.
Craig – I’m a bit late to this one, but you might mention if you did in fact fly to The US, meet the provider of the DNC WikiLeaks material in a wooded area in Washington, and act as the intermediary to carry it to WikiLeaks. Kind of strange you are reported to have claimed this in an interview with The Daily Mail but you don’t mention it on your own blog when discussing the same subject.
I’m not sure why people are suddenly accepting the Daily Mail as some kind of font of truth?
They’re famous for inventing stories.
I doubt very much that Craig will spelling things out any more at this time. It would distract from Assange’s statements which is really what needs to be highlighted. I may be speaking too soon as it is still a developing situation. But there has been enough said by Craig and by Ray McGovern, a friend of Craigs on Crosstalk/RT yesterday.
Exactly – which is why an inquiring mind would ask the purported source. Guess we’ll have to wait on that.
I’ve followed Craig for some years now and while I don’t always agree with what he’s said, I’ve always found his integrity beyond dispute. Certainly more so than the Daily Mail or the FBI.
An inquiring mind would dig deep into stuff like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpi2H3nahdE
Krishnamurti – A Clear And Quiet Mind Can See The Eternal
Nothing strange about it at all if Assange has distanced himself, not confirming nor denying. And may have agreed with Craig, no more details. Anyway, isn’t it a sideshow? When, Assange has accurately said a 14 year old kid could have hacked Podesta, whose email password was ‘password’? Don’t you have friends whose email has been hacked, or indeed your own? Is it really that unusual for you to be hung up on it?
“but you don’t mention it on your own blog when discussing the same subject.”
Well he did quote himself, and link to a Guardian article ;
““I know who leaked them,” Murray said. “I’ve met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and it’s an insider. It’s a leak, not a hack; the two are different things.”
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/12/cias-absence-conviction/
He contradicts himself in that he has said he met a person in the woods who was not the original “leak” per the Daily Mail article.
Yes, I noticed that, but I think it’s just a either an innocent loose speaking error, or an attempt to muddy the trail.
Actually YOU contradict yourself:
‘“Seth Rich was murdered in July. Craig went to D.C. in September.”
Ok, I think the first emails were released later in July by Wikileakes; did they not released more stuff just after Craig’s visit, and remember that he has stated that he never met the original leaker, just a go between.’
Per page 5 of these comments.
See my reply to Phil above.
There’s a difference between having met the person who leaked and having taken possession of the leaked documents from an intermediary in the woods.
Still, posters here are probably right that Assange is now managing what’s said very carefully, Craig has agreed to provide no more details and perhaps said more to The Mail than was intended anyway.
Frustrating, as the story is confusing both ways. If we demand that US intelligence back up their assertion it was Russia with evidence then we can reasonably demand the same of Craig that it couldn’t have been Russia. Of course it’s possible the Russians got the material and then passed it on to Wikileaks in a way that made it look like an internal leak. Of course both the Russians and the Americans have a long track record of interfering with other countries’ elections and not being honest about their espionage activities. All the more reason to look to our experience of Craig’s openness and honesty for some kind of guidance.
Though I guess my frustrations have a small weight in the grand scheme of things…
A second small segment of the Assange interview at 35m40:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETKhj6Te8T8
Full marks to Hannity and great delivery by Assange. This undoubtedly raises his goodwill capital. Well done Murdoch, sounds like Jerry Hall is proving good for you!
Yet we have resident deniers that the West help to promote the raise of fascism in Ukraine;
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ukrainian-marchers-in-kiev-chant-jews-out/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
In Palestine
IOP headlines for 02 JANUARY 2017:
Israeli Navy opens fire on Palestinian fishing boats
Israeli Army position opens fire on Gaza farms
Israeli Army destroys 11 Bedouin family homes
Israeli checkpoint troops beat up chronically ill patient
Night peace disruption and/or invasions in 2 refugee camps and 19 towns and villages
2 attacks (2 Israeli ceasefire violations)
38 raids including home invasions
1 beaten – 1 injured
9 abducted (aged 13 to 17)
2 acts of agricultural/economic sabotage
39 taken prisoner – 2 detained
http://palestine.org.nz/phrc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3851&Itemid=44
Berlin truck killer Amri ‘had 14 identities’ in Germany
Ministry of Truth
Anis Amri, who drove a lorry into a crowded Berlin Christmas market and murdered 12 people, was illegally registered under 14 aliases, according to German officials.
The revelation came from the head of criminal police in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Amri had lived.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38516691
Amri’s use of multiple identities apparently enabled him to claim large amounts in welfare benefits.
I can’t understand why the Germans let this person into Germany, he had spent four years in jail in Italy.
Italy is a safe country, so Y?
Little wonder Tunisia disowned him,
why would they want a criminal, like him back in their land?