UPDATE
The site is just back up at 16.42 on 21 March having managed to slip like the Tardis into another dimension and thus dodge the massive DOS attack we are under. over 50,000 separate IP addresses simultaneously throwing up millions of hits. The attack has not actually stopped and does seem to have a human intelligence changing terms and directing it, which could make for an interesting afternoon. Once our excellent techs get a minute from fighting it, we will post the cloudfare graphs as evidence.
I just thought I might give you a little taste of what it means to your personal life to express dissent from the government line in the UK in 2018. Let me start with this combined effort from the UK’s most popular website, Guido Fawkes, which fanatically supports the government, and the Blairite crew at “The Guardian”.
The red ink is original.
Now it is true that, when I was sacked as Ambassador by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for blowing the whistle on extraordinary rendition and the Blair government’s misuse of intelligence from torture, I went into a terrible depression and voluntarily spent ten days or so in St Thomas Hospital (not a mental illness facility) for treatment. I have never tried to keep this secret, indeed it is a major part of my memoir “Murder in Samarkand”. It is also true, as I have always acknowledged, that I have had other less serious depressive episodes treated at home and been diagnosed as bipolar since I was 20.
That we stigmatise anybody who has ever had a mental illness, write them off and view their views, on anything, as invalid, is an attitude I had hoped we had moved past last century. Indeed, if this hatchet job was done on anybody writing within the Overton window, then the Guardian would be dedicating editorials to condemning it. We have in fact moved to the old Soviet position, where disagreement with the official line equals mental illness. I quite confess this sort of thing does in fact hurt me – if you cut me, do I not bleed?
The use of the term “conspiracy theorist” has been used to denigrate my views, ever since Jack Straw as Foreign Secretary lied to Parliament denying that the UK ever obtained intelligence from torture and denying the existence of the extraordinary rendition programme, which I was supposed to have fantasised. Anyone interested in this history can watch this series of videos of my evidence to a Parliamentary Committee on the subject. It explains why I start nowadays from a position of being so hated by the British state and its acolytes, and also of course enables you to judge for yourself whether I should be ignored as insane.
Ever since then, the state and corporate media have described me as a “conspiracy theorist”. Even though there is now acceptance that extraordinary rendition did happen and presumably they, somewhere inside, know I was telling the truth. I find people are taken aback to discover, for example, that I broadly accept that there was no US government involvement in 9/11 (other than minimising the Saudi role) and 9/11 discussion is banned on this blog – [warning it still is].
I cannot in fact conceive of a more outlandish conspiracy theory than that the Russian government secretly manufactured and stockpiled novichoks, hidden from the OPCW, and secretly trained assassins, only to blow the whole operation on a retired spy they let out of jail ages ago. Yet nobody calls Boris Johnson a “conspiracy theorist” for positing that.
But the abuse is not confined to what people publish about me. I receive some extremely unpleasant emails of which this is an example:
I do hope Mr Temis can get money back on his anger management sessions. But there has been rather a lot of this, including some by old fashioned mail. which I find myself prodding suspiciously before opening :-).
There is of course an open effort to extend the term “anti-semitic” to embrace any criticism of Israel. It is also particularly used by Blairites to attack anybody taking any position seen as supportive of Jeremy Corbyn. I am not in the least anti-semitic. Jewish people have made a disproportionate, indeed magnificent, contribution to the world in the fields of science, music, literature, commerce and others. That does not alter the fact that Israel is a rogue state when it comes to chemical weapons, the subject currently under discussion. It refuses to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention and destroy its chemical weapons stocks, and refuses to join the OPCW.
Plainly someone attacked the Skripals. In stating that it is not the case that Russia was the only state who could have done it, I have included Israel amongst other possibilities. Israel might wish to frame Russia for the deed, as Russian actions in Syria have severely conflicted with Israeli ambitions in Syria and Lebanon. But I have never said it was, or was most likely to be, Israel – it could be the CIA framing Russia, it could be a non-state actor entirely (which I am inclined to think most likely – this could come from those close to a victim of Skripal’s treachery, though I still think the Orbis intelligence connection has been overlooked).
Some of the most vitriolic abuse has come from state and corporate media journalists. Falsely categorising me as an insane racist allows them to ignore any challenge to the establishment line on Salisbury and absolves them, in their own minds, from any dereliction of duty in not questioning it.
In a chilling example of the way they move to crush dissent, here a prominent Blairite corporate media journalist, James Bloodworth, attempts to ensure that consideration of other possibilities than the government line is not carried even in the private domain. He harasses and bullies an individual attempting to force him to accept Mr Bloodworth’s version of what I had said, rather than what I had actually said. When Mr Law (who as a lecturer in philosophy presumably has an attachment to intellectual honesty) refuses, Bloodworth sanctions him by pulling out of his literary festival.
It is very difficult to understand what is happening in the UK today, but when the BBC on its flagship news programme holds a discussion of the Salisbury attack under a huge photo-shopped picture of the leader of the opposition in a Russian hat standing outside the Kremlin, it is plain a fundamental shift has happened in society. The Salisbury attack has perhaps taught us something massively more important than any of the stuff about chemical weapons, and that is that Britain is further along the road to becoming an authoritarian state than we had realised.
Yes. I actually HAVE spent time in a psychiatric unit. Major Depressive Disorder, I received drug therapies which were ineffective and was admitted for electro-convulsive therapy which WAS effective. I see no need to be ashamed or hide my illness, if I had been admitted for an injury to my leg, say, there would be no second thought. However, STILL, in this day and age we fear and belittle those who have suffered from depression etc. Anything said, anything done, any illness further suffered (eg arthritic pain) are all put down to that time 5 years ago when I was in hospital. And I am only an ordinary, lowly subject of the land. For any who dare pole their head above the parapet it will be used as a stick with which to beat you. Even if it’s not true, they can quietly withdraw the remark later once it’s done it’s damage as politicians so often do. Oddly, there are so many in power in various governments who DO suffer from depression eg Gordon Brown and many who are afflicted with disorders which cannot be treated like psychopathy and narcissism (NB this is not hyperbole, but fact) yet STILL they will act as schoolchildren calling others names.
In the past few weeks there seems to be less worry about hiding the fact that the BBC, in particular, is a straightforward propaganda tool for the government. I like to get my news from several sources and switched from the BBC 1pm news to the ITV News afterwards. They had EXACTLY the same stories in EXACTLY the same order and although they did interview different people for those same stories, the content was EXACTLY the same. This happens almost every day, almost as if someone has given them instruction on what and how to report. These aren’t organisations who take ALL their news ‘off the wire’ They have their OWN reporters, editors and news gatherers. Still nothing to report though. The national papers are as bad, seemingly all reporting the same story but, as they do not have to comply with the same regulations as televised news we (or certainly ‘I’) expect less of them.
To get ANY sense of what’s happening in the world you have to seek news which the BBC etc will refuse to report on, or at least bury so deep in their website you’d never see it unless you looked for it because you already knew! I check the websites for French and German views on our news (in English) as they, at least, sometimes report on the protest in central London and Parliament which, I’m guessing, have been ‘D-Noticed’ en masse for the last 5 or so years. Even so, I check RT too. RT are as bad as the BBC but from a Russian perspective. Only by watching BOTH RT and BBC can you begin to realise the extent to which at LEAST one of them is lying. Because they both lie, sometimes about the same thing, sometimes not. But it shows the level to which they have sunk that I have to check Russian State Media because I don’t trust the BBC.
We were being readied for boots on the ground in Syria, until Dave ‘got it’ that we thought it was a bad idea, now, I think we are being prepared for something else. A Cold War has been in the works for some considerable time, and now the justification for this and perhaps proxy war/boots on the ground in Syria and elsewhere has finally arrived. A long, contrived and vile route to pointless war and destruction on TOP of the existing chaos over access to resources but perhaps more importantly, prolonged chaos raising the price of gas fracked in the US to be landed in Scotland and sold within the EU to replace that sold to Ukraine, Germany etc.
No one and nothing is being allowed to stand in the way of this long planned event. Anyone who disagrees with the party line is mad, a conspiracy theorist, anti-Semitic bitter loser who could end up like David Shayler if he’s lucky (they utterly ruined the man’s life, never mind his credibility out of vindictiveness) or David Kelly if he’s UNlucky.
I remind myself that governments are like The Mafia and PMs/Presidents are like the ‘Made-Men’ who are ‘Dons’ Each country’s leader will have personally authorised some of his own citizens murdered (aside from war, aside from foreign spies) The difference between our government and the Mafia? They make the Mafia look like amateurs, little boys running around ‘playing’ at being the bad guys.
I’d love to be wrong and eat my words…
Power to you, Gary!
No wrong, wright on all accounts!
That kind of uniformity was imposed on the German media within a few weeks of Hitler’s appointment as chancellor. However, even Dr. Goebbels recognized the importance of allowing some variety, and, for the first few years of Nazi rule, the Berliner Tageblatt and the Frankfurter Zeitung differed somewhat from the other media.
In Nazi Germany, that uniformity was enforced with the force of law. Where the directives of Goebbels’s Propaganda Ministry were not followed, that ministry had the power to order publishers to fire editors. Seldom had to be done, because the media went along.
There is a transatlantic elite, both in the US and the UK, consisting of media tycoons like Murdoch and oligarchs like the Mercers who are prepared to ruthlessly subvert democracy by weaponizing digital technology abroad and at home. It is as if they were breeding something even more sinister than Neocon thinking. They wanted the UK to leave the EU to be free from oversight. Murdoch openly complained that he could not yield the influence in Brussels he had in Westminster.
I don’t believe they were directly involved in the Skripal incidence. My bet is on exiled Russian oligarchs or the Chechen Mafia who want to enlist Western support for attacking Putin by triggering red-line event with chemical weapons, which figured so prominently in Syria. The fact that the alleged Novichok was used so close to Porton Down means that the perpetrator wanted to make sure the sample would get to the lab quickly to be able to point the finger at the Russians.
I don’t think the UK government or its secrete services was behind the attack either, but it is clear that Theresa May’s government is opportunistically using the incidence to fuel tension with Russia.
It is noticeable that the UK government is very keen on getting support from its allies. The BBC stooped so low as to lie about Putin not having received any congratulations from European leaders to show that he is isolated. Both Macron and Merkel congratulated Putin on his election win. The UK is deliberately trying to drag Europe into a conflict with Russia, at a time many on the continent want to improve relations with Russia.
After 15 years of military interventions, the US and the UK now face a total disaster in the ME. The American foothold in Syria depends on the goodwill of the Kurds who don’t appreciate being decimated by Nato member Turkey. Russia can spread its influence due to US/UK miscalculations. I don’t believe the UK/US will give up control over the oil fields without a fight. They are planning something in which a rapprochement with Russia has no place.
I have just one question, that no-one seems to be asking. Who had a motive for assassinating these two Russians? I don’t begin to know the answer, but someone in the orbit of Mr Putin seems to be the most likely?
Where have you been? The alternative suggestions are:
1. A provocation by the west (to set up an attack in Syria, to embarrass Putin before election, or as part of a campaign building up to World Cup [or all of these]).
2. Another state hoping to further deteriorate relations between west and Russia.
3. Someone connected to one of the spy’s that Skripal betrayed (it’s meant to be a small world for former spies and, apparently, they bump into eachother.)
4. Skripal might have been involved in compilation Steel dossier and was threatening to talk.
5. Skripal was trying to return to Russia and the west didn’t want that.
6. Skripal’s were involved with shady dealings (what else is an ex-spy to do) and something went wrong.
…and many others.
2. above would include the Ukraine no doubt – unsure if they have the operatives but then if this was such a blunder of an operation, who knows?
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2018/march/20/russiagate-comes-to-england/
Russiagate Comes to England
written by philip giraldi
tuesday march 20, 2018
I don’t know what happened in Salisbury England on March 4th, but it appears that the British government doesn’t know either. Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech before Parliament last Monday was essentially political, reflecting demands that she should “do something” in response to the mounting hysteria over the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. After May’s presentation there were demands from Parliamentarians for harsh measures against Russia, reminiscent of the calls for action emanating from the U.S. Congress over the allegations relating to what has been called Russiagate.
This demand to take action led to a second Parliamentary address by May on Wednesday in which she detailed the British response to the incident, which included cutting off all high-level contacts between Moscow and London and the “persona non grata” (PNG) expulsion of 23 “spies” and intelligence officers working out of the Russian Federation Embassy. The expulsions will no doubt produce a tit-for-tat PNG from Moscow, ironically crippling or even eliminating the MI-6 presence and considerably reducing Britain’s own ability to understand what it going on in the Kremlin.
May, who referred to a “Russian mafia state,” has blamed Moscow for the attack even though she made plain in her first speech that the investigation was still underway. In both her presentations, she addressed the issue of motive by citing her belief that the attempted assassination conforms with an established pattern of Russian behavior. She did not consider that Vladimir Putin’s government would have no good reason to carry out an assassination that surely would be attributed to it, particularly as it was on the verge of national elections and also, more important, because it will be hosting the World Cup later this year and will be highly sensitive to threats of boycott. And it must be observed that Skripal posed no active threat to the Russian government. He has been living quietly in Britain for eight years, leading to wild tabloid press speculation that the Kremlin’s motive must have been to warn potential traitors that there are always consequences, even years later and in a far-off land.
To provide additional buttressing of what is a questionable thesis, the case of the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 has been repeatedly cited by the media on both sides of the Atlantic as evidence of Russian turpitude, but the backstory is not the same. Litvinenko was an FSB officer who fled to the United Kingdom to avoid prosecution in Russia. In Britain, he became a whistleblower and author, exposing numerous alleged Russian government misdeeds. Would the Kremlin have been motivated to kill him? He was seen as a traitor and a continuing threat through his books and speeches, so it is certainly possible. The story of Skripal was, however, completely different. He was a double agent working for Britain who was arrested and imprisoned in 2006. He was released and traveled to the UK after a 2010 spy swap was arranged by Washington and his daughter has been able to travel freely from Moscow to visit him. If the Russian government had wanted to kill him, they could have easily done so while he was in prison, or they could have punished him by taking steps against his daughter.
There are a number of problems with the accepted narrative as presented by May and the media. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a nerve agent as “usually odorless organophosphate (such as sarin, tabun, or VX) that disrupts the transmission of nerve impulses by inhibiting cholinesterase and especially acetylcholinesterase and is used as a chemical weapon in gaseous or liquid form,” while Wikipedia explains that it is “a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs.” A little more research online reveals that most so-called nerve agents are chemically related. So when Theresa May says that the alleged agent used against the Skripals as being “of a type” associated with a reported Russian-developed chemical weapon called Novichok that was produced in the 1970s and 1980s, she is actually conceding that her own chemical weapons laboratories at Porton Down are, to a certain, extent, guessing at the provenance and characteristics of the actual agent that might or might not have been used in Salisbury.
Beyond that, a military strength nerve agent is, by definition, a highly concentrated and easily dispersed form of a chemical weapon. It is intended to kill or incapacitate hundreds or even thousands of soldiers. If it truly had been used in Salisbury, even in a small dose, it would have killed Skripal and his daughter as well as others nearby. First responders who showed up without protective clothing, clearly seen in the initial videos and photos taken near the site, would also be dead. After her first speech, May summoned the Russian Ambassador and demanded that he address the allegations, but Moscow reasonably enough demanded a sample of the alleged nerve agent for testing by relevant international bodies like the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons before it could even respond to the British accusations. It was a valid point even supported in Parliament questioning by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but May and her government decided to act anyway.
May’s language also conveys uncertainty. She used “it appears” and also said it was “highly likely” that Moscow was behind the poisoning of Skripal but provided no actual evidence that that was the case, presumably only assuming that it had to be Russia. And her government has told the public that there is “little risk” remaining over the incident and that those who were possibly exposed merely have to wash themselves and their clothes, hardly likely if it were a military grade toxin, which gains it lethality from being persistent on and around a target. She made clear her lack of corroboration for her claim by offering an “either-or” analysis: either Russia’s government did it or it had “lost control” of its nerve agent.
As noted above, May’s argument is, to a certain extent, based on character assassination of Russians – she even offered up the alleged “annexation” of Crimea as corroboration of her view that Moscow is not inclined to play by the rules that others observe. It is a narrative that is based on the presumption that “this is the sort of thing the Russian government headed by Vladimir Putin does.” The British media has responded enthusiastically, running stories about numerous assassinations and poisonings that ought to be attributed to Russia, while ignoring the fact that the world leaders in political assassinations are actually the United States and Israel.
There are a number of other considerations that the May government has ignored in its rush to expand the crisis. She mentioned that Russia might be somewhat exonerated if it has lost control of its chemical weapons, but did not fully explain what that might mean. It could be plausible to consider that states hostile to Russia like Ukraine and Georgia that were once part of the Soviet Union could have had, and might still retain, stocks of the Novichok nerve agent. That in turn suggests a false flag, with someone having an interest in promoting a crisis between Russia and Britain. If that someone were a country having a sophisticated arms industry possessing its own chemical weapons capability, like the United States or Israel, it would be quite easy to copy the characteristics of the Russian nerve agent, particularly as its formula has been known since it was published in 1992. The agent could then be used to create an incident that would inevitably be blamed on Moscow. Why would Israel and the United States want to do that? To put pressure on Russia to embarrass it and put it on the defensive so I would be forced eventually to abandon its support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Removing al-Assad is the often-expressed agenda of the Israeli and American governments, both of which have pledged to take “independent action” in Syria no matter what the United Nations or any other international body says. The redoubtable Nikki Haley is already using the incident to fearmonger over Moscow’s intentions at the U.N., warning that a Russian chemical attack on New York City could be coming.
And to throw out a really wild possibility, one might observe that no one in Britain had a stronger motive to generate a major confrontation with a well-defined enemy than Theresa May, who has been under fire by the media and pressured to resign by many in her own Conservative Party. Once upon a time suggesting that a democratically elected government might assassinate someone for political reasons would have been unthinkable, but the 2016 election in the United States has demonstrated that nothing is impossible, particularly if one is considering the possibility that a secret intelligence service might be collaborating with a government to help it stay in power. An incident in which no one was actually killed that can be used to spark an international crisis mandating “strong leadership” would be just the ticket.
S. Good post. Giraldi is another former US government official who today is a dissident. He was a CIA officer and knows his way around the block. As usual, he is under attack from a number of types. The Zionists attack him as being “anti-semitic” and so on.
Not all Americans are brain dead or Neoconized.
You really like Agency spooks who spill the beans on the CIA periphery. What do you think of CIA people who really ran the show, like Helms, Angleton, Harvey, Shackley, Sid Gottlieb, Dullles, Peter Wright et al., ad nsueam?
TF. So rude.
Good analysis. If there was only this level of scrutiny sixteen and a half years ago, we might be in a better place now.
Someone should send Corbyn a copy before PMQs tomorrow.
Non conformist view : I can’t think of anything to write yet…
Let’s do it the old fashioned way – Means, Motive, Opportunity. Plus modus operandi.
One of the striking thinks about the Skirpal incident was its theatricality, almost as if it was made for TV. By one of those amazing coinkydinks, the exact plot line was played out in several episodes of a TV spy series aired well before the incident. That sounds familiar – excessive theatricality, based on TV series, presenting superficially ‘real’ events. Who specialiszes in that? Our old friends the White Helmets with their staged theatrical ‘rescue’ videos (using the same cast at different times and in different places). Also some of the ISIS ‘execution’ videos were excesssively theatrical, almost as if Hollywood had made them. At least one of those was based on a TV spy drama series run in Turkey well before the event.
Based on modus operandi, it looks like the people behind the ISIS ‘execution’ videos and the White Helmet ‘rescue’ videos may also have been behind the Skirpal incident – or gone to the same training sessions.
now what was those words again
by way of deception thous shalt do wr and peace
Sadly Britain is so far along the road to being an authoritarian state, that way back is no longer visible. I respect and appreciate all your efforts Craig.
May I recommend this excellent article from Alexander Mercouris “Now British media admits it in Skripal case: due process ‘does not apply’ to Russia” http://theduran.com/skripal-case-british-media-admits-due-process-not-apply-russia/
I have found things which Alexander Mercouris writes quite interesting. He does, however, have a very murky history:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/30/disgraced-barrister-turned-pro-putin-commentator-investigated/
Your thorough research and analysis on this issue so far looks impeccable to me. Please keep it going – quite obviously, anyone throwing insults at you hasn’t read and understood what you’ve written.
David Morgan, I’m afraid they’ve understood all too well.
welp wimo, we see it differently…
Has this been posted already?…Salisbury conspicuous by it’s absence?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QgbbyGaCweA
My point being that had the official British account had any credibility it would have at least been a talking point in a Trump/Putin meeting.. no one believes Theresa May outside of the UK..
Thank you very much, Craig, for following this important story and keeping the holes in the official narrative well and truly in the public eye. Thank you, too, for highlighting the corrosive effect which suppressing the holes is having on public discourse. It is a great service.
Scurrilous attacks are an odd form of flattery, but they do confirm you are doing a good job and have been effective in exposing the obvious weak points in this outlandish evidence-free attack on another state. As another posted previously – beware overly friendly Ukrainian women and nubile Swedish “fans”.
It’s best not to moderate at present, in my view. I don’t think that Ben or Fred are that disruptive (although, perhaps they are trying). Rather, Ben and Fred can provide a yardstick:- if they can be persuaded then perhaps we won’t be going to war with Russia?
Sometimes I don’t understand the point that Ben is making and, I wish he would be clearer. Fred, I’ve only noticed on the Corbyn photoshop controversy. Probably, both believe that Putin is responsible and think the rest of us as deluded fools that need to be saved from are follies.
If we prevent people like Ben and Fred from posting then the site will end up be a self reinforcing circle just like MSM.
One opposing view (on the Consultant’s letter) opened my eyes to the true (intended) meaning of the letter; so it’s not a sensible move to ban dissenting posters – sometimes they are very useful.
Woke Too Late, “One opposing view (on the Consultant’s letter) opened my eyes to the true (intended) meaning of the letter”. I’m intrigued, can you link, or copy and paste the gist. The Consultant’s letter, seems pretty powerful to me, but why was it published in The Times?
I’ll have to find the post but essentially there are good reasons to believe that what the Consultant probably intended to convey is that no-one else other then the original 3 patients are suffering from nerve agent poisoning. Yes, I know, I thought it was ridiculous but when I looked at what the poster was saying (he was a bit irate because his point was being ignored) I had to agree that he was probably right and the Consultant had worded his letter poorly. I also realised that I had over-invested in what was probably and unintentional misleading letter.
The consultant may have inadvertently said too much, as his words almost totally contradicted the official story. However, I think it highly likely he was legitimate, and exactly the person he says he was, though some people keep spelling his surname wrong. At the end of the day, if you are a senior consultant at the sharp end, you are likely to have a very low opinion of wild media stories, terrorising the local population, and preventing you from getting any sleep.
There was a report in The Times that stated “Nearly 40 people have experienced symptoms related to the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning”. The Consultant was responding to this report and probably intended to say (my added words in brackets):
“may I clarify that no (other) patients have experienced symptoms of nerve agent poisoning (related to the incident) in Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant (nerve agent) poisoning”
People are really investing too much in the Consultant’s letter but it seems to be that “Made By Dom” is probably correct in his interpretation. Regardless, (although the letter appears, in isolation, to mean one thing) the truth is that it is ambiguous and of no value.
ttps://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/portonblimp-down-a-tale-by-boris-johnson/comment-page-2/#comments
Thread started by “Made By Dom” at March 19, 2018 at 13:57. Made By Dom’s tone is a bit off-putting but when I looked at what he was saying (rather than reacting against) I thought he was probably right. I should warn you that I appear to be the only one who appears to think that “Made by Dom” is probably right in his interpretation. Let me know what you think!
I assume, he emailed his letter to The Times, which seems quite precise. In his job, not making mistakes will be highly important for the prospects of his patients.
“Sir, Further to your report (“Poison exposure leaves almost 40 needing treatment”, Mar 14), may I clarify that no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning.”
Other factors especially with regards to timing, and the first people who actually treated them (who were unaffected) (except the senior CID Officer??? what was he doing there – by chance???) seem to make any use of a “military grade” nerve agent highly improbable, as well as the probability if such an agent had been used they would all be dead…….as well as the obvious anti-Russian propaganda value etc etc etc
The media and the Government have dug themselves a great big hole, and must by now want this excruciatingly awful story to just go away. But how do they do that? They need to escape gracefully, and try and save face.
Tony
Hi,
You need to understand the Consultant’s letter in the context it was written which was as a reply to a report in The Times which stated: “Nearly 40 people have experienced symptoms related to the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning”
It was difficult for me to see that Consultant’s letter didn’t mean what I thought it meant. I thought that “Made By Dom” had got it wrong and I would show him (or her) the error of their ways; but, I think “Made By Dom” is probably correct in his interpretation.
I know that a lot of people are putting a lot of faith in what they think the Consultant’s letter says, but in context it probably doesn’t prove anything other than the official story (i.e. that 3 people have experienced nerve agent poisoning).
Regards,
Woke Too Late
OK, so I now get the Tillerson-Ghouta connection, but I still can’t figure what the UK thought it could get out of this fiasco – the more so as someone, surely, must have realised there was a very real risk it would all unravel
Currying favour with the EU to sweeten the Brexit pot? Hardly! Toadying up to Trump? I don’t see it. Trying to get Russia excluded from the UNSC? Not in a month of Sundays, and to what end? China would never stand for that, and the next obvious candidate for eviction would be the UK itself
So May is pissing off the EU over the Irish border and nuclear waste; refusing to sign up to the Silk Road initiative and sending a paddlesteamer to the South China Sea; telling blatant lies about Russia trying to kill ‘thousands and thousands and thousands’ of people by attacking power stations; annoying the Germans by undermining Nordstream 2. WHY? What’s the endgame, other than geopolitical suicide?
Incidentally – did you all see the entirely-unreported armed attack on the Iranian Embassy in London last week? Is this somehow tied up with the Saudi guy’s visit last week?
Something truly bizarre is going on – even by Boris’s standards
I noted the reported attack but know little about the reported Shiite group involved. It is allegedly supported by the UK ,being opposed to the Iranian government. I was aware that the Brits still supported the Mujahaddin -Khalq group that was inherited from Saddam Hussein and various Baluchi and other ethnic groups.Gavin Williamson certainly seems set on repeating history as farce.
Following orders from the U.S. deep state? The UK establishment very much depends on its special relationship with the U.S., which largely consists of cooperation with the U.S. intelligence agencies.
The Salvation Airforce,
None of this makes any sense of any British Government, representing the interests of The British people. The same applies to any European Government representing its people. Russia is a natural trading partner for all of Europe. They have got loads of cheap energy, and we are dependent on it.
However, it seems increasingly obvious that European Governments do not represent the interests of their people, and The British are no exception. It is also true that American Governments do not represent the interests of American people.
So who are The Crazies, and what exactly are they trying to achieve In The West?
To answer that question, there are a large number of conspiracy theories, some of which are effectively banned on this blog. They are all basically about Power and attempting to gain World Control, and quite possibly drastically reducing the size of populations across the world.
What I don’t understand, is why there seems to be so little resistance to them, amongst our supposedly elected elite. None of them appear to be doing their jobs of representig our interests. Surely they can’t all be brainwashed morons lacking any kind of courage and empathy, yet that is exactly the image that they project.
I don’t get it either.
Tony
But representing OUR interests isn’t their job. Their job is to offer their lives to preserving the Platonic Order of society. As such, they represent the interests of elitism first, elites second.
Apparently we are all part of a Russian Disinformation campaign now.
https://twitter.com/foreignoffice/status/976023331873935360
I find this video produced by the FO amateurish, patronising and pathetic. Combined with Gavin Williamsons infantile outburst telling the Russians to ‘go away and shut up’ I am truly embarrassed to be British.
VanZandt,
This forum is usually moderated. Sometimes quite ruthlessly. Sometimes it seems not to be moderated at all. Fred and Ben have both been posting here for a long time. They of course have their views, just like you and me, and we may not agree. But neither of them are outrageously spamming, and I do not in the slightest find them a massive irritant. What I do find irritating are people who have rarely if ever posted before, demanding that their own rule based conventions be imposed, and demanding that others be banned. Its the height of arrogance, whilst totally lacking tolerance. You don’t have to read anything here. Simply scroll down, instead of being irritated, or go somewhere else.
Tony
You’re being a bit rough.
So does anyone have even a half viable theory about what the poison was and where they are now holed up (inside Porton Down maybe?) .
The authorities are going to have to release some more information shortly.. What’s the betting they (police anti terrorist squad) will tell us poison is of the novichok family as developed by Russia but an unknown new variant, origin unknown, and impossible to confim. We will be told its means of delivery is “classified” . Followed by “Pass along now everyone, nothing more to see here.”
As I said earlier, the significant factor fingering Russia is the FO appear to have convinced Mrs Merkel it was Russia wot done it. I have read she researches everything very carefully before reaching a decision.Where do you think Boris got his info on Russian stockpiles.?
Apologies if this article has already been linked to http://theduran.com/skripal-case-british-media-admits-due-process-not-apply-russia/
From a jurisprudential point of view, the Duran is 100% correct:
1. You cannot convict someone of theft solely on the basis that they have stolen once before (the more so if the prior allegation was unproven)
2. Whatever the supposed character or expected conduct of The Accused, there is no excuse for disallowing Due Process – including showing the Accused the evidence against him, and allowing them the opportunity to prepare and present a defence against it
The UK Government has failed on both counts, and the British press is complicit as a cheerleader
Mary Paul,
Could have been LSD, or associated, slipped in their drinks in the pub. It is extremely powerful in tiny doses, and takes about 30 minutes to take effect. I once thought I may have been slipped some, about 15 years ago. I was walking home from the pub, and almost totally collapsed. Fortunately I was with several friends, who managed to get me home in one piece. I couldn’t dare go to sleep, but was O.K the next day.
As to who did it, I think it was all pre-planned by those in control of both The British Government and Media. Probably The CIA. Everything was in place too quickly to roll out the full story, and the other co-incidences re Syria and the Russian Election. It’s entirely possible that the likes of Theresa May, had no pre-knowledge, and fell into a heavily manufactured story, with full briefing notes, to put on a performance. I was shocked at May’s nervousness in The Commons. Maybe she had half twigged, but wasn’t certain, and to go through the performance seemed the only option. If true, I do not criticise her for that. I myself have been hypnotised to perform for entertainmennt purposes, and I honestly thought, I would be one of the last people who could be so affected and manipulated. In my case it caused no harm, and both my wife and kids found my performance hilarious, as did the rest of the crowd. Such techniques can be used for evil purposes, with no drugs whatsoever involved.
Tony
Very interesting theory. I am of an age to remember it back in the hippie era ( not first hand) and there were similarities but you have to take it it does not affect others around you as dust in the air. Which rather rules out the policeman.
Tony
You can make excuses for Theresa May if you like. I make excuses for Tony Blair as a human being, compromised impossibly by a malignant foreign country to use the UK’s firepower and diplomatic reputation to serve their evil ends.
but Mrs May knows the score. She’s been doing double-think for a long time and she knew full well what the job involved when she took it on. She should have held back if she was uncertain. There never was any excuse of Mrs Thatcher when she constantly goaded the people to economic breaking point. there is no excuse whatsoever for the complete hypocrisy of a government that uses violence by its proxies against many Muslim populations.
Not my problem if she can’t protect her party from its Australopithean cavemen. The world will find a way for homo sapiens to move on.
Mary Paul
“So does anyone have even a half viable theory about what the poison was and where they are now holed up (inside Porton Down maybe?) .”
Triple distilled Sheep dip.
triple-distilled -sheep-dip? that’d get the maggot rot out of the foaming Tory right wing.
Mary Dejevsky in the Independent has a good article today..’The British Government’s response to Sergei Skripal proves we’ve learnt nothing from the Iraq War’ https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sergei-skripal-poison-russia-theresa-may-diplomats-iraq-war-jeremy-corbyn-a8257911.html
“Was the Iraq debacle, with its Libyan post-script, not enough to convince us that a little modesty, some respect for the international rules we so laud when it suits us, might be in order?
Apparently not. I was listening to the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, blustering his way through a set-piece BBC Today Programme interview, spouting a sequence of downright incorrect and questionable assertions with the confidence that perhaps only an old Etonian could get away with. And this is what passes for UK foreign policy?”
“blustering his way through a set-piece BBC Today Programme interview, spouting a sequence of downright incorrect and questionable assertions with the confidence that perhaps only an old Etonian could get away with. And this is what passes for UK foreign policy?”
In truth, the problem there is not the foreign policy so much as the “journalism”. If the latter were not non-existent in establishment outlets such as the BBC, the former might be capable of being changed. How hard would it really have been to reduce the buffoon in question to a discredited wreck on air, if he had been interviewed properly, asking the questions Murray’s work, and that of others has highlighted and insisting on proper answers?
Disgraceful that they would use an episode of depression to discredit Craig Murray’s (or anyone’s views) in 2018. Disgraceful that he has been called these names. Sorry, I can’t comment articulately on this. This is horrible.
I commented under the article on this blog which has resulted in all this negative attention. I had wanted to say more, but I was too scared. I wanted to say how brave Craig Murray is for speaking out to question the official government narrative, that narrative which even I can see is flimsy and self-serving and which hasn’t been properly examined by the mainstream press and media who are not doing their job.
But I was scared, because even using a VPN and commenting anonymously, it doesn’t feel safe any more to question the party line. That in itself is chilling.
Keep up the good work, Craig, but also take care of yourself. I hate that people who speak out for the truth are exposed to these attempts to silence and ridicule them for their views. There are lots of us who value your courage anyway. I hope it helps a bit to know that.
Thankyou for a careful, intelligent analysis. There will be many of us, silently despairing the slow decline of an open debate underpinned by a due regard for evidence, in the face of propaganda. I am sorry that it is costing you so much.
Pat Buchanan just weighed in on the Skripal case. Widely read syndicated column. The Neocons etal. do the usual hate thing on him.
http://buchanan.org/blog/did-putin-order-the-salisbury-hit-128936
Not all Americans are brain dead or Neoconized.
From the link:
But we still have the timing. The incident occurred at a time when Europe was heavily dependent on Russian gas so economic sanctions could not be imposed. That is very important evidence, enemies of Russia would have committed the crime in the spring.
Ok, fred, so let me try to decipher your “logic” here
<>
– and that’s why sanctions just been imposed, wonderful : it’s just happened because it’s totally impossible
<>
– so you are implying that this spring is the last one ? next autumn and winter will never come ?
Besides Russian oligarchs (you know, all Putin’s friends according to MSM) as greedy as all other oligarchs anywhere else out there and they wouldn’t take any chance to loose even a small amount, leave alone billions, of their money.
I just wonder – most of their families (wives and kids and elderly parents) live in London, in Paris, in Nice, in Florida and they (oligarchs and high-ranking kremlin bureaucrats) fly over there every weekend, so according to your “logic” they just cannot wait to shut the gas flowing into their mansions off, and shut off electricity big part of which is produced using russian gas ?
Is that what your logic tells you ?
Also they probably cannot wait to see russian cruise missiles sent by Putin killing their families and destroying their multi-million mansions in the UK, France, US and Germany
Oh those russians oligarchs (all Putin’s friends according to MSM) – a bunch of crazy masochists
In case you are unaware – Russia is a capitalist country (Soviet Union seized to exist almost 30 years ago), russian capitalism was built under total us control at the time.
Some kind of weird formatting took place there, that’s what was cut out, sorry:
*…sanctions could not be imposed…*
– and that’s why sanctions just been imposed, wonderful : it’s just happened because it’s totally impossible
*…we still have the timing…enemies of Russia would have committed the crime in the spring…*
– so you are implying that this spring is the last one ? next autumn and winter will never come ?
The meagre sanctions imposed by Britain will have no effect on Russia whatsoever and we will have trouble persuading European countries to join us while they depend on Russia for 40% of their gas supplies..
The poisoning too place during the coldest sustained weather period in Europe for several years, that, in my opinion, is not just coincidence.
Speaking as a man who has spent time in a residential mental health facility, for 3 weeks in 1987, I’d like to point out that it was called a ‘ mental health’ facility for a very good reason, because my mind was very over=excited at the potential consequences of my then wife having an affair with our next door neighbour. We had 3 small children at the time. The neighbour took advantage of us and eventually bought the marital home which he wanted because it adjoined some land that he owned. he never took any financial responsibility for my but instead left a large fortune and the house and land to his children.
Like Craig, I am 100% convinced that my fears at the time were completely justified. this man allowed other men to simultaneously conduct affairs with my ex-wife who also sexually abused my children, and his children. Every child that lives through a divorce suffers unjustly, but the UK state has decided to permit this injustice to children to increase by normalising extra-marital sexual relationships while wringing its hypocritical hands at the ensuing sexual abuse of children. The liar Boris Johnson is a particularly blatant advocate for ignoring the boundaries of marriage. An extremely perverted product of a highly abusive school, Eton.
However , the most objectionable aspect of Boris Johnson’s hypocrisy is not found in his private life, but in his position as a Tory MP. When David Cameron came to power in 2010 his then Foreign Secretary introduced a new policy of openly using and supporting Al Qaida and other violent Islamist terrorists, who made war on the populations of Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Syria on behalf of the foreign Offices of a number of Western countries including the US, UK, France, Germany, NATO’s Turkey and Israel. All this is common knowledge.
Jeremy Corbyn has taken a lead in foreign policy by stating openly that there have been no just wars fought by this country since WWII. he has also been the epitome of rationality and commonsense in insisting that the UK has concrete proof of Russia’s guilt in the Salisbury incident before it takes action. The Tories on the other hand have simultaneously run a continuous violent armed insurgency against several sovereign nations that it is illegal for them to attack directly. Millions have died, tens of millions have been displaced by amongst others Boris Johnson. It is absolutely intolerable that he presumes for this government a positon of moral superiority over Russia. If it had not been for Russia the very same violent headchoppers Boris Johnson and Mrs May support would now be ruling Syria , as they already do Libya and Afghanistan. and I say that as a Muslim.
At the time my mental health residency for 3 weeks I had been deeply troubled by the war in Yugoslavia, which I had travelled through as a student. I later learned that Yugoslavia was the trial run for the West utilising proxy violent Islamist terrorists against a civilian population. I was right to be troubled. my instincts were better informed than I knew at the time. I unquestioningly respect Craig Murray for being the first person
in the UK diplomatic corps to challenge the appalling us , which continues to this day, of torture rendition. His instincts were better informed than his knowledge at the time, because the sole purpose of that torture was to change the Muslims to whom it was done from their peaceful upbringing to become enraged and brain-washed criminals.
The Beatitudes
(Psalm 1:1-6; Luke 6:20-23)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and celebrate, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
use
giyane – thanks for your comments.. i enjoy reading what you have to say when i come to craigs site.. i am sorry to hear of what you went thru in the past…. any way one looks at this, they are attacking craig because they have no other means to take apart his position here.. attacking the messenger is what happens, when they are unable to break apart his message…
Thanks james. My ex , as ex-es do, has lived to regret and make amends for much that happened , and I have been married for 10 to a young Muslim lady who has a ticklish sense of humour combined with much experience of life and wisdom. Accentuate the pasitive – eeliminate the negative. if I had come to Islam without previously learning to manage rejection and betrayal, I would probably not been able to cope with the patronising malice of the Muslims, who reject the building regulations by which I earn my living, which are designed to keep us safe, and the international law, by which I travel to Kurdistan, Iraq, which is designed to protect us all. they will live to regret and make amends for much that has happened.
doh , 10 years
may life be rewarding for you in spite of the obstacles that invariably come with it! isn’t it interesting how we are more often then not strongly shaped by the challenges we experience in life… perhaps this circus that surrounds this skirpal event will produce something positive yet from britian… as it presently stands it appears to be part of it’s continued demise!
giyane
Yeh, that was pretty intense stuff, I’m glad that you managed to move on…and the the Ex seems have pulled herself up too..
Take care dude.
brian xxx. Don’t you think Corbyn has done well to stay firm?
We have all seen the stories about Russian hacking leading to Trump being elected. Now it seems that Facebook and Cambridge Analytica done the dirty deed.
Can we now expeect reports that Facebook have been secretly stockpiling nerve agents for the last ten years…_
Facebook themselves used to claim that they were responsible for the SNP landslide win in 2015.
But they have just taken the page making the claim down.
Wonder why.
http://www.alphr.com/politics/1008442/facebook-removes-political-influence-page-snp
I think Craig has just deleted his Facebook page in protest…_
Whenever someone attacks the messenger, it means they can’t attack the message.
Looks like questioning anything about the British state and what it does is being shut down , as Peter Hitchins pointed out in his Mail on Sunday column , this happened just before the Iraq war , but this time it’s more threatening and quite sinister , The childish manipulation showing Corbyn made to resemble a Russian in front of the Kremlin is just playing to the gallery and removed any respect Newsnight as a impartial investigative program once had , from now on it will be viewed as a arm of the state , and it begs the question about previous programs exactly how impartial have they been in the past now that the pretence has been exposed.
Been reading comments on zerohedge – amazing how many Americans think it was organized by the Clintons acting in concert with George Soros. No weirder than some of the theories. The Met Police’santi terrorism guy – I forget his name presently – said today the enquiry will last until summer but he is confident about finding the culprit eventually. How about telling us what happened first?
Meanwhile I have a new theory. When Skripal. was let out of jail for the swap, he was”turned ” again for the Russians. Brits thought he was helping them and Russians publically dissed him to provide cover story. When Brits found out, they set up the whole thing to retaliate against Russians for using him second time around. Maybe Yulia was acting as an intermediary for him? So this was MI6 telling them this is what happens if you double cross us, we can play your game. Like I said it’s a theory. But it fits means, motive opportunity. 😉
And pay back time for using the pollonium against Litvenenko on British soil!
Well twitter just cut off it seems. Bad sports.
For me anyway, account seems strangled. Zero views on latest tweets.
Yawn. ….Bed time I think anyway.
Great job folks.
Ishmael
They have been leant on to suppress dissent. take no notice £$£$£$£ is all that matters to these companies.
There it is right front and center; the logic behind the xenophobic anti Russian hysteria since the Dump was made President and last weeks (nearly) dead (poisoned) cat getting wall to wall global coverage.
—————————
Cambridge Analytica execs boast of role in getting Trump elected.
Execs from firm at heart of Facebook data breach say they used ‘unattributable and untrackable’ ads, according to undercover expose
Senior executives from the firm at the heart of Facebook’s data breach boasted of playing a key role in bringing Donald Trump to power and said they used “unattributable and untrackable” advertising to support their clients in elections, according to an undercover expose.
In secretly recorded conversations, Cambridge Analytica’s CEO, Alexander Nix, claimed he had met Trump “many times”, while another senior member of staff said the firm was behind the “defeat crooked Hillary” advertising campaign.
“We just put information into the bloodstream of the internet and then watch it grow, give it a little push every now and again over time to watch it take shape,” said the executive. “And so this stuff infiltrates the online community, but with no branding, so it’s unattributable, untrackable.”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/20/cambridge-analytica-execs-boast-of-role-in-getting-trump-elected
——————————–
They could end up in US prison for this.
The question that now has to be asked, in light of Cambridge Analytica CEO’s own admittance as to the depths this company and their (ex?) MI5/6 spooks will sink to for money and influence, is this;
what part has Cambridge Analytica played in the anti Russian hysteria since the US election?
what part has Cambridge Analytica played in the poisoning?
why are the BBC et al trying to white wash these attacks by British companies on American democracy?
And before the scoffers arrive with their faux outrage toward a suggestion that this British company would do such things I urge everyone to watch the channel 4 sting to see the violence this company facilitated during the recent Kenyan elections. Blood on their hands in nothing to these people.
Well. He is an Old Etonian. They are renowned for creating mayhem. Oh and wealth for themselves.
https://companycheck.co.uk/director/917291439/ALEXANDER-JAMES-ASHBURNER-NIX/companies
and some more on this entry.
https://companycheck.co.uk/director/909494803/MR-ALEXANDER-JAMES-ASHBURNER-NIX/summary
Wonder what he got up to in Mexico for Baring Securities. The mind boggles. His type do not know the meaning of real work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nix
Let’s see if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will respond to a Freedom of Information request on Boris Johnson’s latest.
“Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
On the morning of Sunday, 18th March 2018, the Foreign Secretary of Her Majesty’s Government, Mr Boris Johnson, made the following remark to the BBC presenter Andrew Marr:
“We actually have evidence within the last 10 years that Russia has not only been investigating the delivery of nerve agents for the purpose of assassination, but has also been creating and stockpiling novichok.”
Please would you confirm for me that Mr Johnson’s statement is correct, and please would you provide to me the exact date upon which the Government first came into possession of positive evidence that Russia has been investigating the delivery of nerve agents for the purpose of assassination, and the exact date upon which the Government first came into possession of positive evidence that Russia has been creating and stockpiling novichok.
Many thanks.
Yours faithfully,
John Spencer-Davis”
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/confirmation_of_foreign_secretar
John Spencer-Davis You make a good point, the Foreign Secretary is accusing Russia of breaking the Chemical Weapons Convention sometime over the past 10 years, if he has not reported this breach before 4th March 2018 the British Government are in breach of the Convention, if the Government only became aware of the breach after 4th of March 2018 then the notification to the OPCW would still be necessary. If no notice has been given to the OPCW in the past 10 years, obviously including the past 2 weeks, then the UK are in breach of the OPCW.
I hate this ‘dog whistle’ nonsense. A friend of mine who lives in the US was saying how using ‘legacy media’ is a way of signalling that you have nazi views. The idea that certain words and phrases don’t mean what they mean, but are actually a secret code used by nazis is insidious. The idea that if you support the blogosphere and independent writers you are a secret nazi is repugnant.
“I hate this ‘dog whistle’ nonsense.”
It’s not nonsense. When you’re accused of a dog whistle, that’s actually a dog whistle to the politically correct, that you are non-PC and therefore an enemy to be relentlessly savaged, as by a pack of rabid dogs.