One of these two is a dreadful spiv and crook. The other is Arthur Daley.
That’s Luis Barcenas, former Treasurer of the ruling Francoist successor Popular Party in Spain and long time confidante of Prime Minister Rajoy, happily now in prison for his part in a corruption scandal in which, over twenty years, hundreds of millions of euros in kickbacks from taxpayer-funded projects were channelled into the Popular Party coffers, and then doled out in secret payments to party leaders. Rajoy himself had to give evidence in court and the judgement made plain he was not believed.
This is the obvious cause of the no confidence motion that may lead to the Popular Party being removed from power tomorrow. The power of the brown envelope may yet save Rajoy, and the constitutional role of a monarchy which is itself financially corrupt will also come into play.
It says everything about the state of Spanish politics, that in responding in Parliament to the charge of corruption in the no-confidence debate today, Rajoy should turn to the leader of the opposition and declaim “And who do you think you are, Mother Theresa? Your hands are not so clean”. It says even more about Spain that this has not caused shock and “you are corrupt too” is not seen as a wildly inappropriate defence. It is true that the Socialist Party has no shortage of its own skeletons.
What may bring down Rajoy is the fact that the Basque parties, whose support Rajoy had bought with subsidies even more obvious than those lavished by May on the DUP, cannot be seen to prop up Rajoy after his enthusiastic policy of clubbing Catalan grandmothers over the head and imprisoning Catalan leaders. Only the neo-con fake opposition Ciudadanos, originally sponsored and financed by the German BND security service to head off Podemos’ perceived threat to the Euro, is doing its utmost to maintain Merkel’s close ally in power.
If Rajoy finally pays a political price for his appalling persecution of the Catalans it will be a moment of joy, even though the Socialists who would replace him have themselves been shamefully playing to Spanish Nationalist opinion throughout the crisis. But the downfall of one of the nastiest and most vicious and corrupt politicians in power that Europe has seen in decades is nevertheless devoutly to be wished.
Does Craig wish the downfall of corrupt Catalan nationalists as well, or is he blind in one eye?
No. That was Horatio Nelson you’re thinking of.
Loaded question.
I don’t know much about that whole Catalan thing. When I heard that some rich part of Spain wanted to break away, sod the rest of Spain, I thought ‘scumbags’ and stopped paying attention.
Rajoy has always seemed more like a pathetic puppet than anything, a view supported the fact that he was on Barcenas’ payroll, not the other way round. Not only that, he wasn’t paid as much as many of the other leading PP villains.
Over the last few years, until very recently, he always managed to disappear whenever there was a corruption crisis, of which there have been many, leaving Deputy PM María Soraya Sáenz or Dolores Cospedal, minister of Defence to face the music.
We have a book on our shelves that mentions Barcenas in connection to corruption that was published in the late 1980, if I remember rightly.
That the PP is rotten to the core is nothing new, neither is nearly everybody turning a blind eye. The Spanish corporate media did have a couple of runs at it a few years ago, as did Baltasar Garzón, the judge, who got hounded by his fellow judges for his efforts. Well done those who stuck the course and did not turn a blind eye .
Hear! Hear!
Down with fascists in Spain, may they rot in prison. I hope wee Carla has a smile on her face the day Rajoy et àl receive their comeuppance.
Rajoy gets his just deserts.
“Voting has concluded in the motion of no-confidence in Mariano Rajoy at the Spanish Congress. Votes for 180, against 169, abstentions 1. Rajoy has officially been ousted as Spanish Prime Minister. Pedro Sánchez to become PM.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/tjparfitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwingsoverscotland.com%2Fanatomy-of-an-embarrassment%2Fcomment-page-1%2F%23comments
‘E’s gorn’ as the saying goes.
I have just been speaking to a couple of British expats who were in front of me in a queue.They moved to the south of Spain two years ago and ‘love it’. They came over by car and ferry for a family wedding. The husband did not have a clue about Rajoy or Spanish politics for that matter. The wife was busy with her credit card at the till.
I’m afraid those like us who are interested in politics make up a tiny proportion of the population, Sharp Ears.
It’s why no matter how much you huff and puff the vast majority of people will buy Israeli produce without even looking at the label.
… the vast majority of people will buy Isræli produce without even looking at the label.
Thanks, Anon1, I really do appreciate the publicity you give to this matter. You have reminded me to redouble my efforts to destroy Isræli produce in supermarkets. I should also do it on behalf of ‘the vast majority’ who are befuddled by the lying propaganda of that genocidal nation.
The glee you take in the murderous oppression of Palestinians is an inspiration to decent people everywhere to do what they can to redress the balance. C’mon everyone, Anon1 thinks you can’t be bothered. Prove him wrong. Pick up several packs of Isræli fruit or veg, pretend to compare them, then squeeze them violently as you replace them. Undetectable and effective.
Yes, squash the Israeli produce everyone! Then when it’s thrown away by staff, the supermarket will order more Israeli produce to replace it!
You really are desperately thick, node.
Really? The supermarkets buy, let’s say, £!0K’s worth of produce from Greece and £10K’s worth from Israel. They sell the Greek produce for £20K and they sell the Israeli stuff for £5K (and throw away the rest). And you reckon they’ll just keep buying more Israeli produce. And you reckon I’m thick.
Thanks again for keeping the subject going.
When did you started boycotting Saudi or Iranian oil?
You didn’t?
Hypocrite.
OK, I’m a hypocritical Israeli produce bruiser.
I’m not a J3w hater. My problem is with genocidal regimes and people who revel in the suffering of others – ie Isræl and you. You know that I can see through that well-worn trick but you hope that others reading this might be fooled. How revealing that you resort to deception and bullying tactics.
Tell me, if falling export sales doesn’t hurt Isræl, why is it so desperate to destroy BDS, and why are you getting so angry with me?
Antonyl
When did you last go to the fuel pump and had to choose between Iranian petrol, Saudi petrol or Venezuelan petrol?
It may come as a surprise to you but the way oil is traded through spot markets makes it very difficult for an individual to boycott oil products.
Avocados on the other hand!!!
If you want to boycott Israeli exports, might be better to target their hi-tech stuff. They’re very big in this area now.
Long moved on from dependence on fruit n veg.
Thanks to that influx of Russians who keep Netanyahu in power.
“Then when it’s thrown away by staff, the supermarket will order more Israeli produce to replace it!”
You appear unaware how supermarkets operate. Suppliers don’t get paid until the product is sold. If the supermarket has to throw the product away, the supplier will get nothing, as it wasn’t sold.
Even if they read or get to hear of this evil, inhumanity and downright wickedness?
Tamimi teen slipped into coma due to Israeli prison neglect
Tamara Nassar Rights and Accountability
30 May 2018
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/tamimi-teen-slipped-coma-due-israeli-prison-neglect
You need a strong stomach to read through that.
You would be surprised how many people I see looking at the labels on avocados. salads and herbs and then putting them back in the displays. 🙂
I was in a supermarket some years ago, and forgot to check the label on some oranges as I was going through the automated checkout. Lo-and-behold, they were “not kosher” – so I asked my friend if he minded my going to swap them.
The checkout assistant gave me a wink, and said, “Israel, put it back on the shelf, dude”. It was a pretty liberal area.
Same in Sweden, I have not seen stuff from Israel in ages.
Where has Bunny La Roche gone?
Fnar!
O/T My blood has boiled. Shut these hell holes aka ‘zoos/animal prisons’ down. They have nothing to do with conservation or preservation of species. Those are the arguments used to justify their creation and existence.
‘Bear shot dead as lions and tigers break free from German zoo
12:13, UK,
1 June 2018
Police have shot dead a bear and are searching for two lions, two tigers and jaguar that broke out of their cages in a German zoo. The animals have escaped from their enclosures at a facility in the western town of Luenebach.
Police told the Associated Press that all of the escaped animals are still believed to be on the grounds of the zoo, but locals have been warned to stay inside as a precaution.’
Sky News
“Police told the Associated Press that all of the escaped animals are still believed to be on the grounds of the zoo, but locals have been warned to stay inside as a precaution.”
TL;DR. Was that a description of the British Parliament?
Also off topic. Remember Leeds City Council cancelling the Frome Stop War meeting to be held at the City Museum?
Linked on here – Where They Tell You Not To Look – https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/where-they-tell-you-not-to-look/comment-page-8/#comment-745880
and by Craig on
Freedom No More
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/05/37463/
A new venue was found, in a tent, courtesy of a Muslim organization. Hope that Leeds City Councillors are ashamed of themselves.
This is a report about it which details the speakers – Robert Stuart, Prof Piers Robinson, Prof Tim Hayward, Patrick Henningsen, ex Ambassador Peter Ford, Vanessa Beeley and Julie Hyland.
Journalists and Academics Expose UK’s Criminal Actions in the Middle East
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49544.htm
There are also videos for each speaker.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZlfuItnZkpupvd-bAvCPaXsTw0QGHJP9
Very well done.
Background article on WSWS by Julie Hyland.
UK: Labour-controlled Leeds City Council censors conference questioning official Syria narrative
By Julie Hyland
7 May 2018 https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/07/medi-m07.html
who’s the MP? – Hilary Benn: who’s the police? – why good ole souf yorkshire init? – remembe the miners and Hillsborough??? – they have form in yorkshire…
Actually Leeds is West Yorkshire and those from Leeds and Sheffield have an edgy rivalry, although nothing compared to the hatred between Leeds and Manchester…
You just gotta love Lionel – in discussion on RT today about the DNC sueing Russia, Trump & Wikileaks he calls ‘us’ the press – the old, mainstream ‘grey lady’ is ossified and ‘we are the press’ – magnificent!!
https://www.rt.com/shows/watching-the-hawks/428415-dnc-wikileaks-rapper-drake/
Most of the Scots nationalists have given up on independence. The remainder are projecting their hopes and dreams onto the Catalan cause.
That would be why 80,000 marched in Glasgow a few weeks ago. Opinion polls are holding up (even though there’s been no campaign for 4 years); crumbly naysayers are dying off – the young are overwhelmingly YES.
When were you last (ever?) in Scotland
Yes and the young grow older (and wiser).
It’s comin yet for a’ that. Freedom from the evil Britnat state soon.
Hector.
It could’ve been 90,000 Hector, remember the media are anti-independence.
Meanwhile the head of the DUP Arlene Fraser has accepted an invitation from the Orange Order in Scotland to march at the front of the Boyne Parade, in Cowdenbeath soon.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2721673/orange-order-arlene-foster-dup-northeern-ireland-lead-scottish-march-cowdenbeath/
Foster.
I’ve told you a million times, Anon1, don’t exaggerate!
I live in Catalunya and I’m looking forward to better times, now the corrupt PP are gone, at last!
Key government soundingboard to visit Scotland later this month to make case for the union.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-44328000
Iain.
You know it’s the SNP that are divisive and not the union. ? The union has been dividing and conquering for a long time.
Arlene Foster is only encouraging sectarian hatred. Dare I say Westminster, is sitting back and reaping the benefits.
Yes reel guid, it’s an absolute disgrace that a leader of a political party is to march at the head of a vile sectarian parade, and in Scotland too boot.
To think her party of sectarian heid bangers gave TM a majority is frightening to say the least
Snarlene’s nomination to boost the numbers in the House of Lords is Willie McCrea.
Willie shared a platform with loyalists mass murderer Billy Wright and officiated at his funeral. Wright was expelled from the UVF for being overzealous. McCrea has done a lot else besides. Nice article in current Private Eye.
Snarlene. LOL.
Can’t claim credit, apparently that what they call her in NI. That and a lot else besides, highest paid brew wallah in the country.
McCrea, wanted to bomb the Republic of Ireland. A sack of weasels springs to mind.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/state-papers-dup-mp-william-mccrea-wanted-air-strikes-launched-on-the-republic-in-the-1980s-30867020.html
Funny thing is, if Willie had supported the NI PM at the time instead of attacking and undermining him, NI would have retained its Unionist power to this day.
For whom were he and Paisley and the rest working.
“For whom were he and Paisley and the rest working.”?
Themselves, I suspect.
Craig….. one doesn’t need to go to Spain.
All through the Spanish Civil War, with the resulting near 40 years of Francoist Government, to the present day it has been the Royals & Grandees of Spain who have successfully negotiated & maintained their influential position within Spanish society & politics. Corruption at Government level & the departure of Rajoy will be of little concern to the real power in Spain which will continue with business as usual
I really can’t relay enough, my disgust at the Tory branch office in Scotland.
A young man who works in the NHS, you know the NHS that will need more staff after the disasterous Brexit is final. Is to be removed from Scotland, he lives in Paisley and calls Scotland his home.
Here at FMQ’s when a defence is made for him by the other Holyrood parties, the bloody Tories can be heard shouting out loud in the chamber “Send him home.”
What a bloody disgrace the Tory branch office in Scotland are, vile repulsive sub-human f*ckers.
https://mobile.twitter.com/JaneyGodley/status/1002243524438478848
Rabid is the word for the Tories, however Ken MacIntosh must be the poorest Presiding officer in the history of Holyrood. He said nothing whilst the Tories spewed out their disgraceful send him home.
We all know what games they are playing…. dogwhistles to their racist support base is they only hope they have of holding power. (they are doing similar moves in England too)
Lets hope they don’t create any new “Troubles” in the process before they are finished…
RoS I have never looked at the Scottish Parliament record before. It is very neat and highly accessible. I think this is what you refer to.
Meeting of the Parliament 31 May 2018 [Draft]
Immigration Policy
Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab):
The First Minister is aware of my constituent Denzel Darku, who faces the prospect of deportation and huge uncertainty about his future.
Denzel is a young man who has built his life in Paisley, who was once a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, a Commonwealth games baton-bearer and a student nurse who wants to work in our NHS, but who is also the victim of bogus migration targets and the Home Office’s hostile environment policy. He has contributed a huge amount to this country and he wants to stay in Scotland and the UK, so that he can contribute even more. Given the reaction of many people in my community and across the country, it is clear that people want him to stay here, too.
Will the First Minister make clear to the Home Office the impact that its immigration policies are having on young people in Denzel’s position. Does the First Minister agree that there can be no justification for driving a young man such as Denzel away from the place that he calls home? [Applause.]
Members: Shame!
The Presiding Officer:
Order, please.
The First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon):
The complete lack of support that the Tories have just shown for a young man who has Scotland as his home and who wants to continue to have Scotland as his home says everything that we need to know about the Conservative Party today. Shame on them.
I am aware of the case of Denzel Darku. I have met Denzel in the past. He is a fine young man and he is an absolute credit to Scotland. It is outrageous, scandalous and a disgrace that he is threatened with deportation. We should be trying to attract more young people of his calibre to Scotland, not chase them away. Denzel wants to be a nurse in our national health service. How many times do the Tories stand up in this chamber and complain about matters in our national health service? How many times do they stand up and complain about staffing shortages in our health service? However, the Tories want to deport a young man who wants to contribute to our national health service. Ruth Davidson is saying from a sedentary position that she did not agree with the targets, but she wants Scotland to remain locked into those immigration targets that are so damaging to our economy and society. The immigration policies of the Tories are disgraceful.
I will do everything that I can to make the case for Denzel Darku and to argue that case, as I am sure that Neil Bibby, as the MSP who has taken up the case, will do. However, we need more than action in one case; we need a change to immigration policy and a more humane policy that recognises the needs of our country. That is what all of us should be campaigning and arguing for.’
http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=11571
Yes that’s it Sharp Ears, I feel it’s shameful the way the Tories are destroying peoples lives to meet unrealistic immigration figures.
Meanwhile.
“Tory councillor suspended after ‘posting Islamophobic comments about Sadiq Khan on Facebook'”
Will it ever end? It just seems to be getting worse this xenophobia/islamaphobia.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-councillor-islamophobia-sadiq-khan-facebook-comments-stephen-ardley-suffolk-a8379051.html?amp
I have never in my life paid as much as 5995 Euros or Pounds for a car. One of the best cars I ever had cost me £300. It was old, but there was nothing wrong with it. I drove it for 3 years, and when there was something wrong with it, I phoned the scrap yard up – and they took it away for free. My lad has just fixed my car. Total cost £50 including a £30 tip.
I assume my normal handle is still banned, by the Intelligence Services or some kid hacker. Whoever it was has stopped buggering up my computer. Glad they have gone away to annoy someone else.
If this gets deleted as nearly all my posts here do, I will assume I am still in the naughty boys corner.
I was going to post about the meeting in Leeds early this morning, hours before Sharp Ears – but what exactly is the point, if someone keeps shutting me up. It is barely worth the keyboard strokes.
I suggest you sack Akismet. I would.
Tony
Ref Leeds Tony. The odious Kamm has been on the attack against the speakers.
30 May 2018
How anti-Western dogma drives odious conspiracy theorists
Oliver Kamm
https://capx.co/how-anti-western-dogma-drives-odious-conspiracy-theorists/
and because he is ignorant, he attacks Sheffield University where Piers Robinson has his chair in Politics, Society and Political Journalism in the Dept of Journalism Studies..
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism/staff/piers-robinson
Margo/TLN points out that Sheffield Univ comes top.
‘Kamm missed the note about Uni of Sheffield Journalism Department’s top rating
Kamm’s wishful “scant intellectual weight” comment hardly applies as we read that Professor Piers Robinson is part of a heavyweight UK academy: the Journalism Dept at University of Sheffield has (yet again) taken top ranking
LINK https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism/undergraduate/league-table-rankings
In the university league tables, the Department of Journalism Studies at Sheffield is rated:
— Number 1 in the UK by the Guardian (2019)
— Number 1 in the UK by the Times/Sunday Times (2018)
— Top 5 in the UK by the Complete University Guide (2019)
“This is not the first time Sheffield has come out on top for journalism. Look back over the league tables for several years and no other university comes close to our historical record….”
So stick that in your pipe Kamm and smoke it.
Which is why cars are now full of computer technology that adds little to the performance of the vehicle but is there to go wrong after a reasonable interval (for the manufacturer that is) in order to force people into buying cars more often!
But the downfall of one of the nastiest and most vicious and corrupt politicians in power that Europe has seen since Andreotti is nevertheless devoutly to be wished.
Fixed it for you.
“Rajoice! Rajoice!”
Well done. 😉
Craig I suggest you sack Akismet, and give the job to Habbakuk.
Akismet is completely rubbish. I’ve researched it.
Whilst I disagreed with Habbakuk 99% of the time, he at least showed signs of being human occasionally.
Even Clark is a lot better than Akismet.
He likes litter picking, and does it for free.
Tony
Concluding paragraphs of Times article just in. Rajoy friendly ?
New Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez faces Catalan crisis talks
Graham Keeley, Madrid
June 1 2018, 5:00pm,
[..]
‘To secure this victory, Mr Sánchez has had to enlist the support of Catalan separatist parties, who want to split from Spain. Just a few weeks ago, Mr Sánchez, 46, the left-wing Socialist leader, called Quim Torra, the new Catalan regional president, a “racist” for writing an article six years ago in which said Spaniards were “carrion-feeders, vipers and hyenas” and “beasts in human form”.
Now Mr Sánchez will have to start talks with Mr Torra, a hardline separatist, to find a solution to the worst political crisis in decades. However, he insisted during a debate on the confidence motion on Thursday that any negotiations over Catalonia would have to abide by the constitution, which guarantees the unity of Spain.
Direct rule, which was imposed by Madrid on Catalonia after a failed secessionist declaration last October, ends today. Germany’s federal prosecutors have already filed a formal request to extradite Carles Puigdemont, the exiled former Catalan leader, to Spain, where he faces charges of rebellion and corruption. If Mr Puigdemont is brought back to face justice in Spain, this could aggravate any delicate talks between Mr Sánchez and his new allies in Barcelona.
Another potential point of friction could be between Mr Sánchez and the far left Podemos party because the new prime minister promised to honour a budget passed by Mr Rajoy’s conservative government.
The Socialists tabled the no-confidence vote last week after 29 former members of the ruling Popular Party and businessmen were jailed for fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, prompting widespread outrage. Mr Rajoy, 63, was not accused of wrongdoing but a judge questioned the credibility of his testimony as a witness in the case.
It was the support for the motion from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which has long been an ally of Mr Rajoy’s Popular Party, which doomed the outgoing prime minister.
In a matter of minutes after the vote, parliament effectively created a new ruling coalition led by the former opposition Socialist party and backed by Podemos, the moderate PNV and three Catalan separatist parties Mr Sánchez has promised to keep Spain aligned to Brussels in a move which will calm financial markets concerned that the exit of Mr Rajoy would trigger a second political crisis in southern Europe after this week’s attempts to form a government in Italy.
Shares on the Spanish stock exchange rose 1.87 per cent today. Holding together the precarious new coalition may prove difficult and the new prime minister may be pressured into holding elections before his tenure ends in 2020.
Polls have suggested that no outright winner would emerge, leaving Spain with a hung parliament as occurred in 2016 when there were nine months without any government.
Mr Rajoy, who came to power in the midst of a deep economic recession, told parliament: “It has been an honour to leave Spain in a better condition than I found it.” Spain’s economy is recovering and unemployment has fallen from 27 per cent at the height of the crisis to 16.7 per cent.
Pedro Sánchez’s good looks have earned him the nickname “Mr Handsome” Photo
Profile: Pedro Sánchez
Cast into the wilderness by the leaders of his own party and written off as a candidate who could never defeat Mariano Rajoy, Pedro Sánchez packed his belongings into a battered old Peugeot and went on a road trip. After losing a second election to Mr Rajoy, triggering a rebellion within the Socialist party that led to his ousting in October 2016, the man who is now Spain’s prime minister, travelled the country to rediscover his Socialist roots.
The former economics professor would turn up unnananouced at supporters’ homes saying he wanted to reconnect with the voters. Reinvigorated on his return to politics, he clawed his back to lead the party again, despite no longer being an MP. When popular anger erupted over a major corruption scandal involving leading members of the ruling Popular Party last week, Mr Sánchez, who appeared to understand the mood seized his moment.
Wooing parties from opposing ends of the political spectrum, he forged an alliance to oust Mr Rajoy. In less than two years, he has gone from nowhere to getting the keys to the Moncloa Palace, home of the prime minister. Mr Sánchez, 46, who joined the party in 1993, studied economic and business sciences at Madrid’s Complutense university. He gained three masters degrees at the Free University of Brussels and worked in the European parliament.
In 1999, he served as chief of staff to the UN high representative to Bosnia during the Kosovo conflict. He has worked in the private sector as a consultant for foreign businesses and was a local councillor in his native Madrid.
Mr Sánchez’s good looks have earned him the nickname “Mr Handsome”, but his left-wing political convictions have attracted the more sober sobriquet “Pedro the Red”. Others have labelled him “Pedro the Stubborn”, for his refusal to back down over the issue of corruption in the ranks of the Popular Party. It paid off spectacularly.’
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/new-spanish-prime-minister-pedro-sanchez-faces-catalan-crisis-talks-6mr0dkfvl
So the corrupt prick got ousted. So should have a fate worse than death.
Now we get a socialist. I have not seen once since I looked in the mirror. Socialist politicians are rare as hens teeth. People don t want secure societies, where we have work, safety and are prosperous; they want iPhones, quick dirty money and underage girls and white nosey.
Ah well, let me give the guy a chance in fairness. He has one hour and 30 minuttes.
Diamond geezers these politico types.
Many Visa cards across Britain and the rest of Europe stopped working today. Have the banks got liquidity problems? And is Pope Francis a Catholic?
People should remind themselves of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. And also, if you realise there’s a run on the banks (never mind what they say in the media), JOIN IT!
Hoard food. Sort yourself out some off-grid lighting. Hoard car fuel (but don’t tell the boss). And remember the absolute cast-iron rule: when the moneylenders and the government ministers and economists in their pockets start saying there’s no reason to draw money out of the banks, and that anybody who does so is a neurotic or gullible fool, wally, then YOU will be the fool if you BELIEVE them, if you don’t do EXACTLY what they’re telling you not to.
By the time there’s an actual “run” on the banks, you’re too late.
Pity the poor peeps who’ve just been transferred funds from sale of house.
But I see the VISA breakdown as a test run for that control mechanism, and indeed a testing of weapons and defences in the great cyber war to come.
And that war will involve us all, as it attacks the basic infrastructure of society and economy. It’s Total War by other means.
And notice, elites will not be fighting one-another. No. They’ll be squeezing their own and other populations, in this and that direction.
The best day for this is a Friday – banks closed over the weekend except for those that matter who will be quietly informed.
By Monday there will be SFA left for the rest of us!
[ MOD: Lifetime ban, several times over, duly applied. ]
—
I’ll get a lifetime ban for saying this, but he looks more like Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko than Arthur Daley.
No.
He has the coat, the face, the demeanour, of Arfur.
It’s kinda worse than being Gordon Gekko.
Why? Or is MOD being ironical here?
bj, read the first comment on the first page.
@Flatulence – I can see your posts of 20:27, 21:31, and 21.36.
You could be right about a Russian angle. Visa the company were obstructing (“sanctioning”) Russia. Perhaps they still are. But the banking system is a house of cards whatever they’re doing.
CM – “And who do you think you are, Mother Theresa? Your hands are not so clean”.
An interesting turn of phrase, since Theresa May’s party has since 2010 been the benificiary of £3 million in donations from various rich Russians. One such is
” ….Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of Russia’s former deputy finance minister, paid the princely sum of £160,000 to play tennis with David Cameron and Boris Johnson. In total, since 2012 – when the Electoral Commission initially declared her an “impermissible donor”, before subsequently allowing her to donate – she has handed the Tories £514,000.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/12/tory-links-russia-saudi-links-corbyn-spy-extremism
The question is what’s the quid pro quo.
It’s a shame all those Windrush victims didn’t have £514,000 in their back pockets.
It might be a crime in Spain to grease the politician’s palms, but there is no law in this country that prevents rich people donating to the Tories.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-donations-money-raised-hedge-funds-bankers-analysis-general-election-2017-a7771346.html
The quid pro quo in this case is the Tories commitment to taking money off the poor and giving it to the rich.
It is called ‘Capitalism’.
P.S.
Apparently Israel shot dead a female protester in Gaza today.
The IDF is an Equal Opportunity army.
P.P.S.
On Capitalism, may I recommend: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/needed-now-a-real-and-radical-left/
Excellent article thanks bj. This
“ Sanders was and remains about the masters’ election cycle, which is dedicated to the delusional notion that we the people get meaningful democratic input into policy by spending three minutes in a voting booth choosing from among a handful of candidates selected in advance for us by the nation’s unelected dictatorship of money once every two years.”
This is a reminder why they want to push this type of democracy on all countries that do not conform to the capitalist system.
In its attempt to destroy socialism, capitalism has left us with a choice between plutocracy and dictatorship.
Yes, good piece. Underlines the folly of those who think all that’s needed to return to the path of socio-economic progress is to get rid off trump.
“People call me a socialist sometimes,” Obama told some top corporate executives at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council with a laugh in late 2013. “But no,” the arch-neoliberal president, TransPacific Partnership advocate and drone war champion said, eliciting chuckles from his ruling-class friends, “you’ve got to meet the real socialists. You’ll have a sense of what a socialist is. I’m talking about lowering the corporate tax rate. My health care reform is based on the private marketplace.” The CEOs in attendance got a big chuckle out of what CounterPunch called that “tender ruling class moment.”
Did David Cameron and Boris Johnson have the decency to lose for their £160k?
Well said alasdairB
“All through the Spanish Civil War, with the resulting near 40 years of Francoist Government, to the present day it has been the Royals & Grandees of Spain who have successfully negotiated & maintained their influential position within Spanish society & politics. Corruption at Government level & the departure of Rajoy will be of little concern to the real power in Spain which will continue with business as usual”
The Spanish royals rule from the shadows.
UK Abstaining at the UK
Speech
Abstention of resolutions on long-standing issues between Israel and the Palestinian people
Explanation of Vote by Ambassador Karen Pierce, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council session on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
Published 1 June 2018
From:
Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Karen Pierce CMG
Delivered on:
1 June 2018 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Thank you Mr President and may I join colleagues in welcoming you to the Presidency for this month and saying that the United Kingdom looks forward to working with Russia. And may I also thank Poland for their very distinguished Presidency of this Council.
Mr President, the United Kingdom remains extremely concerned by the situation in Gaza. We condemn the violent activities of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organisations and we condemn them unreservedly. We have witnessed recently, unacceptable mortar and rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. Such acts of terror are destructive to peace efforts and they need to stop. And in the past weeks, we have seen violence, Hamas’ exploitation of peaceful protests and a disturbing volume of live fire. Hamas’ military wing has been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the UK since 2001 and the United Kingdom has sanctions in place against senior Hamas officials.
The recent violence has led to the tragic loss of life of over 100 Palestinians, and we reiterate that there is an urgent need to establish the facts surrounding past weeks’ events.
Mr President, the deteriorating situation in Gaza should concentrate our minds on how we can work urgently towards a resolution of the long-standing issues between Israel and the Palestinian people.
The United Kingdom has long supported UN action on Israeli-Palestinian issues. It is therefore regrettable, Mr President, that today’s resolutions contain elements that are either imbalanced or too vague to be viable. For example, the Kuwaiti text fails to name terrorist actors including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. And its suggestion of an international protection mechanism risks raising unrealistic expectations. We condemn Hamas, but at the same time, we regret that the American text does not adequately reference Israel’s responsibilities and obligations with regard to Gaza. Therefore Mr President, the United Kingdom will abstain on both resolutions today.
I have set out our principled rationale and nothing more should be construed. Thank you.
Published 1 June 2018
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/abstention-of-resolutions-on-long-standing-issues-between-israel-and-the-palestinian-people
Haley’s two penny worth. What a pair. Haley and Pierce. The Cruellas of the UNSC.
Why does Israel get impunity?’ UNSC call for protection of Palestinians vetoed : 1 Jun 2018 | 21:27 GMT
The United States has vetoed a Kuwaiti proposal to the United Nation Security Council (UNSC), which sought to offer “international protection” to Palestinian civilians in the wake of more than 120 of deaths in the Gaza strip.
In a speech to the council, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley criticized the proposal, describing it as a “grossly one-sided view”. Haley accused Hamas of inciting violent acts at the border between Gaza and Israel, purposefully infiltrating the ‘Great March of Return’ mass protests with its “terrorist fighters” and deliberately using civilians as human shields.
/..
https://www.rt.com/news/428509-us-veto-unsc-palestine/
Look at the team of dummies sitting behind Haley.
Can anyone explain to me why the settler state has two votes in the UNSC?
Visa have claimed that they have no reason to believe the hardware failure was down to unauthorised access or a malicious event.
That is what I call a “Hillsborough response”. It reminds me of the police statement after the deaths at Hillsborough, when before any investigation had been held they denied any responsibility. Of course they were responsible. A Hillsborough response is about as believable as a person who keeps saying they’re not lying to you. [*] The “hardware failure” bit could well be a lie too.
(*) One of the workmen I had in the house recently kept on assuring me that he and his mate were working with the same amount of care that they would if they were working on their own homes. He kept saying this over and over again. I hadn’t suggested otherwise. It was a non sequitur. Why did he say it? Because he is a lying cheating c***, that’s why. His boss probably dinned into him in his first week: it’s not your own house, you idiot; cut any corners you can; what a client doesn’t see he can’t complain about; and if one of the schmucks complains about something, just tell them a reason, the first thing that comes into your head – clients usualy shut up when they hear some words come after the word “because”.
King Juan Carlos of Spain killed his own brother. I just mention it in case anyone is interested.
I’ve also heard he had his way with Princess Diana.
“I’ve also heard he had his way with Princess Diana.”
After being ostracised by local elites she needed powerful protectors.
And attracted horny oligarchs.
Didn’t do as well as Jackie Kennedy.
She got herself a more powerful horny oligarch.
Prince Billy is looking more like his father as the years go by.
Yes indeed, @Herbie. Except I think Juan Carlos just had sex with Princess Diana – he didn’t “protect” her.
The difference in religious denominations between Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy was no problem, given that the money was on the table. Little-known fact: the current British monarch and her fiancé also had different denominations…
The news is that the Home Office will grant “Russian” mafia boss Roman Abramovich a British visa to go with the I__aeli passport he acquired a few days ago but not with his Russian one that shows the citizenship he has had since he was born. You’d almost think officials and ministers want to keep the Community Security Trust sweet!
Does Abramovich become less of an unwanted person now he’s formally an I__aeli? The actions of the British state seem to suggest that as far as they are concerned, the answer is yes.
One question that immediately comes to mind is this: have any I__aeli officials have been in touch with the Home Office regarding the application for a British visa by their new citizen, this well-known billionaire-bracket mafia boss who until a few days ago was “having problems” with his visa application? But don’t expect any part of the press or the mainstream political spectrum to ask that obvious question.
I wonder if even George Galloway has the courage to ask it. Not that I keep up on what he’s doing. Has he said much about the “Russian” mafia bosses who are so friendly with British government ministers, business figures, the royal family, etc.?
He has mentioned this affair at least during two of his programmes the past week.
His position was that he’s not a fan of said person, but couldn’t understand the pettiness of the government for denying Abramovich a visa and that way robbing him of the opportunity to attend the football match.
Galloway’s comments are here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3qg_AZMYAY&feature=youtu.be&t=2m23s
and here:
https://youtu.be/e3qg_AZMYAY?t=12m29s