Just a quick note to say that Craig has been in contact and he is fine but currently in Jacobabad, Pakistan with no reliable internet access.
He knows some people have been wondering if all is okay, so this post is just to confirm all’s well and he’ll be back online when he can.
Site Admin.
Pertaining to earlier conversation on the price of gas.
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/02/13/germany-pulls-rank-on-macron-and-american-energy-blackmail.html
Merkel serves it up cold to the usurper alt-right Atlantist plutocrats for trying to overthrow her and the EU project. May is not getting a single concession for the City
Bet Phillip is busy packing for exile in some tax haven!
‘What Macron, an ex-Rothschild banker, appears to be striving for is a replication of his pro-rich, anti-worker policies that he is imposing on France, and for these policies to be extended across the Eurozone. Berlin is not buying it, realizing such policies will further erode the social fabric. This could be the main reason why Macron tried to use the Nord Stream 2 project as leverage over Berlin.
In the end, Macron and Washington – albeit working for different objectives – were defeated in their attempts to sabotage the emerging energy trade between Germany, Europe and Russia. Nord Stream 2, as with Russia’s Turk Stream to the south of Europe, seems inevitable by sheer force of natural partnership. ‘
There is a simple reason why energy in the UK is going up. It is due to the warm winter. Profits are down. Simple as that. It is an act of God as insurance companies would say should you wish to make a claim. Those on super-profits however are not going to be outdone by acts of God.
Thierry Meyssan predicted current events in South America more than 6 months ago, and still thinks there is going to be a Western Regime Change Invasion in Venezuala, and other South American countries, over the next year, in the same vein that has happenned in Iraq, Libya, Syria etc, most recently using mercenary forces.
I think the reaction of The British Government, and The Labour Party, and All of The EU with the exception of Italy, completely embarrassing and disgusting, as if they are the slaves of The American Fascist Dictatorship. The only funny thing is Gavin Williamson, with his ridiculous invasion plan based on a couple of car ferries, which have no capability of getting there, unless he mounts sails on them, in which case they will not go very quickly. Is he having a laugh or what? How can any Government take this man seriously? Is he taking the p1ss cos the US Government has gone completely insane?
Not sure I agree with Thierry Meyssan here. I don’t think the US neocon crazies, have the resources or support to “do” South America again. It seems more likely they will go bust. Whilst I am a big fan of MMT economics, eventually any country – even The USA, has to pay for its imports, with real resources, rather than funny paper money and mafia threats of violence, bribes, blackmail and annhilation.
“Can Venezuela and its neighbours survive the coming war?” by Thierry Meyssan
https://www.voltairenet.org/article205147.html
Tony
Tony
You’re not stupid or naive. So how on earth is it that you set such store by Thierry Meyssan, knowing that he belongs to the select and curious group of people who tire themselves out attempting to prove that 9/11 was a put-up, internal job?
Charles Bostock,
Don’t try and wind me up. I have actually been agreeing with some of your posts recently.
It typically happens about twice in a good year.
You are not entirely “stupid or naive” either
Tony
I assure you that I’m not trying to wind you up. I am genuinely puzzled.
I neither agree nor disagree with Bostick’s posts.
Simply because I don’t read them.
But you feel impelled to tell us that……
@Tony Opmoc. I guess that is one way of looking at things.
A lot of people on this blog are expressing all kinds of knee jerk thoughts regarding the refusal to repatriate Venezuelan gold. I am not sure anyone has expressed any thoughts regarding the inordinate length of time it took to repatriate German gold.
The two issues are linked – but not in the way the conspiracy theorists think. They have been directed to the wrong conspiracy. As you observe ultimately all bills must be paid -and funny money and threats will only keep the wolf at bay for a finite time.
How are they linked then?
Let’s say you imagine that the U.S.A. dollar is very important, let’s say you imagine that the U.S.A. dollar is backed by gold kept under lock and key in Fort Knox, the amount of gold they hold is imagined as being important.
Those that hold those views would probably be reluctant to see the weight of gold reduced, so if a country, let’s guess Germany, wishes to withdraw the gold that they think they own, too much too quickly might reduce the weight of gold in Fort Knox, however if that German gold is withdrawn over a number of years, quite possibly the weight of gold held in Fort Knox
could be held in equilibrium, by getting other suckers to deposit their gold.
The pertinent question is , when was Fort Knox gold bank last independently audited and checked to see precisely how much gold is really there .
“Not sure I agree with Thierry Meyssan here. I don’t think the US neocon crazies, have the resources or support to “do” South America again.”
Of course they do.
Isn’t Eliot Abrams back in charge again.
There’ll be death squads and slaughter aplenty once he gets going.
I agree Herbie.
Me too
Whereas the commentariat think extension is the preventer or delayer of “No Deal”, in actual fact “No Deal” is getting promoted (and soon, “semi-deal” will be promoted) as the alternative to a silly foreigner-helpy snowflake “extension”. No way will there be an extension to “give Britain time”.
When was the last occasion that the commentariat mentioned how many members of the cabinet belong to the ERG (such as Michael Gove, and several others too)?
Dozens of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Research_Group#Recent_subscribers
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Research_Group
This is rapidly becoming one of Craig’s more popular articles 😉
Apologies, meant rabidly.
Your keyboard has the “p” and the “b” right next to each other? I don’t know, it’s probably unusual
It’s definitely unusual 😉
Its ok Amalie
*it’s* Sorry, that sounds a little petty. It was a typo. Probably.
Strange days. Recently, I find myself regularly agreeing with Charles Bostock, who I previously believed worked for the Government.
Oh well, maybe he does, but has succeeded in converting me. Or maybe it is just about Brexit..
There is less groupthink in government and its agencies than on blogs like this one, Alexander.
One of Mutti’s rationals for inviting one million Syrians into Germany was to grow the German Economy, does not seemed to have worked, quite as she expected.
Or you’re sitting right beside him at Denison barracks. ?
That yellow smiling face looks like a Chinthe…. you too??
LOL. Good one RoS.
@ Alexander February 13, 2019 at 18:48
He claims to be on pre-Moderation, which could explain it.
This is rapidly becoming one of Charles’ more popular articles ?
with 5 pages after 6 days?
https://medium.com/…/vanessa-beeley-the-syrian-conflicts-goddess-of-propaganda-2c…
An excellent demolition job based on fact and careful investigation and analysis. Required reading by all those with an open mind.
Well that’s it then, if its a no deal which it looks like it might be, if we’re short of supplies we’re basically f*cked.
“Officials have admitted they have “run out of time” to find ships to bring extra emergency supplies after a no-deal Brexit, following the Seaborne Freight fiasco.”
“No “large amount of further additional capacity” will be available across the Channel before the end of March, MPs were told – by either sea or rail.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-no-deal-planning-emergency-supplies-seaborne-freight-chris-grayling-a8777766.html
Is it any wonder then that preparation are being make for post-Brexit chaos, such as deploying the army and police.
Indeed RoS
And Well done Mr Blackford for calling out may’s latest Lie – that the SNP had no Independence plan.. He Wiped the Smirk off her face.
‘Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Heaven forbid that anyone would abuse the privilege that you afford us on such occasions.
We all recognise our responsibility for the language we use in the discourse that we have in this House. I want to be helpful to the Prime Minister because she perhaps inadvertently misled the House when she said that there was no plan for Scottish independence. Unlike the Brexit campaign, which was no more than a slogan on the side of a bus, we had—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman, who is brandishing a document. I have a feeling it will feature in his next press release. He has made his point with force and alacrity, and it requires no reply. I hope he is satisfied with his prodigious efforts. We will leave it there.’
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-02-13/debates/82850B40-B5CB-4924-B5B2-040A5EC4898B/Engagements
He had previous exchanges with May and with Bercow. They are on the link.
Con MP Douglas Ross* had obviously been assigned to criticize the SNP and to interrupt Blackford.
Ross should stick to refereeing football matches. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Ross_(Scottish_politician)
@ Republicofscotland February 13, 2019 at 20:08
Even if we bought ferries from China, Williamson would immediately confiscate them for conversion into battleships.
Of course, those crafty Chinese may have planted secret scuttle charges in them, capable of turning them into submarines at a flick of a remote.
Is it too early for me to resort to cannibalism yet?
‘JVP STANDS WITH ILHAN’: https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/stand-with-ilhan/
‘..Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted about AIPAC and its power to impact policy – the very definition of lobbying – and within hours she was under a deluge of accusations of antisemitism, culminating not even 48 hours later in President Trump calling for her resignation.
This is the state of things: the real danger of antisemitism being cheapened as it is weaponized to suppress and deny important political realities….’
‘If you want to know who controls you, ask who it is you can’t criticise…'(disputed origin).
Great statement by JVP.
I Posted about this Yesterday..Now Trumpet is calling for her Resignation.. TRUMP Fks
@ BrianFujisan February 13, 2019 at 22:07
Sorry, I missed your post. But the more coverage it gets, the better.
For the US, read the UK. False AS allegations are then weaponized. I think the people are seeing through it.
Omar – Abrams: 1 – 0.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/ilhan-omar-makes-convicted-war-criminal-elliott-abrams-squirm/
My latest suspicion on the reason behind the decision of the UK to leave the EU: So this theory is more on the conspiracy side of thinking, but eminently plausible if you consider the close ties between US and UK security services, the need to maintain the status quo for all state actors, and the huge amount of money involved. It came to me while reading about the gold-standard economy ending – it was what the US based their currency value on until Nixon scrapped that in favour of our current fiat system (all western economies adopted it) – but the US went on to effectively base the value of their currency on oil – hence the term petrodollar – making an agreement with Saudi Arabia so that all oil is bought and sold in US dollars – which effectively makes any oil-using/producing nation beholden to the US. Nice work if you can get it.
Now, there was an incident recently, where Iran wanted to trade oil in Euros, this from 2016:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-iran-exclusive-idUSKCN0VE21S
This is a major thing – it would mean the US didn’t have a monopoly, and the EU would be serious competition – and the value of the petrodollar would be in jeopardy. A huge problem for the US. As has been noted, Iraq fell foul of trying to avoid the petrodollar monopoly. Sanctions on Iran were applied or threatened I believe, and no deal was made to buy oil in Euros. But there is still manoeuvring going on, and this introduces Russia and China into the mix:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-sanctions-trump-nuclear-deal-europe-russia-oil-un-a8556786.html
Having observed some of the terrible behaviour of UK politicians in their ‘negotiating’ with the EU, and their generally hostile attitude, and their rather inflammatory attempts to negotiate with individual EU countries, and some of the reporting – sensationalised style – that the EU will not survive Brexit, it will soon crumble etc (despite every single piece of evidence showing it to be holding strong, united, and resilient – in fact more so now) – strange how this reporting is totally contrary to reality. We also have evidence, through the Anonymous leaks of the Integrity Initiative documents that the UK is actively trying to influence other EU countries with misinformation (not really cricket that), of an anti-Russian type, the latest being:
https://www.rt.com/uk/451312-integrity-initiative-balkans-campaign/
And we know that the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia are the bestest of buddies.
The first country that Theresa May visited on becoming PM? Saudi Arabia. A strange first stop, we all thought.
Well, what if the whole plan in the first place (opportunism or not) was to destabilise the EU? (To stop it muscling into the Oil selling/buying market with the Euro). The US promises the UK elites some rewards (gold investments I am sure are just a tiny fraction of deals going on), they full-on make a dogs dinner of leaving the EU to cause as much disruption as possible. The uk government are untouchable as politicians (refer to Tony Blair and war crimes) so can retire fat and happy afterwards. What could be so important to the uk government that they have ‘forgotten’ the importance of the Good Friday Agreement?
The EU doesn’t seem to be playing ball with this plan though. And keep an ear out for all those mentions of ‘the EU won’t survive this’, ‘it’s on its end days’, ‘PM will make a deal with,,,(EU country)’ – why else would these things still be getting said when at no time the EU has ever shown the tiniest chink of weakness, or shown any lack of solidarity or deviation of their stated intentions? They put a lot of effort into finding a way to reach an agreement that allows for all the UK’s red-lines. An awful lot of near-impossible-to-resolve red-lines.
So, could it be the US is trying to oust the potential competition? There is certainly large amounts of money and power – the oil industry and the US – involved, and a different currency being used for trading in oil in any large trading bloc would certainly put the value of the (petro)dollar in jeopardy. And any destabilisation of the EU and the Euro would benefit the US (and, by association, Saudi Arabia). But would the uk go along with such a plan? To actually destabilise the EU, a trading bloc formed to try and keep cooperation and peace on-going between European countries? Maybe the plan is just to run interference for a period? I have heard the relish in some politicians’ manner when they suggest the ‘EU might not survive this’ – but a vindictive attitude is certainly not proof of such an intent. And sheer incompetence is not proof of intent. And unreasonable red-lines are not proof of intent. Are our politicians really that incompetent, or has their performance a real purpose?
Yes. Great précis.
To add, you forgot the original Money game plan
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2019/02/06/some-money-basics/
Also the distopian end game:-
‘The ruling oligarchs, as in all failed states, will retreat into fortified compounds, many of which they are already preparing, where they will have access to basic services, health care, education, water, electricity and security largely denied to the wider population. The central government will be reduced to its most basic functions—internal and external security and collecting taxes. Severe poverty will cripple the lives of most citizens. Any essential service once provided by the state, from utilities to basic policing, will be privatized, expensive and inaccessible to those without resources. Trash will pile up in the streets. Crime will explode. The electrical grid and water systems—decrepit, poorly maintained and run by corporations—will repeatedly turn on and off.’
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-world-to-come/
&
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/3620-trump-is-a-pied-piper-for-the-new-world-order-agenda
Enjoy and share.
Ta Dungroanin – I’m just trying to rationalise the world around me, on what has happened and is happening – no way am I going to start trying to make predictions! But the risks the UK Government is taking with our lives and welfare are huge, so there needs to be some kind of big reason behind it. (I originally had some bits about the EU tax transparency regulations having an influence, but Richard Murphy said that wasn’t likely/plausible). So something worth the risks, and the opportunists will cash in on whatever they can. For the allegedly business-friendly Tories to dismiss all business concerns… nah, their behaviour is just tooo weird.
It is also useful to review the way the US treats oil-producing countries that don’t toe their line. Just saying, that any country that produces oil is likely going to be limited in their trading options of that product if they happened to be a independent country.
One of the most surprising things I have learnt over the past couple of years is that UK politicians are (were) held in high esteem and very well respected abroad. I assumed everyone held them in the same contempt I do, but apparently not – though I’m sure attitudes are changing now. If you think about the huge amount of influence the UK has had in the EU over the years, then you really have to wonder at the UK governments’ behaviour now – why throw all that away?
Contrary,
The UK was instrumental in the wild expansion of the EU in the damaging manner;
The UK is insistant in involving the Russian bordering countries into Atlantist/Nato machination;
Indeed UK seems to be sticking our necks in Ukraine, supporting the neo-nazi coup by the State dept against the EU ( fuck them said Nuland! );
The UK has deployed our veto against the EU many a time, to further disrupt the closer union;
The UK is defending the financial opacity that the City operates with impunity for the ultra wealthy tax dodging money launderers of the world. I believe Proff Murphy may have moved a bit from his position on that. I believe his line was that as it was OECD linked initiative, it applied globally not just the EU – my response to that was that it seems there is a divergence between the two institutions if not in declared scope then certainly in timing. The Jersey experience seems to be proving that.
It does seem that the UK belatedly entered the EC as it was suddenly moving towards the economic union – how better to disrupt then from inside?
The sudden brexit – again how better to disrupt?
The military involvements in the fledgling Eastern states – how better to disrupt their sensible integration?
Your instinct is correct – there is plenty of evidence of grand conspiracies perpetrated on Europeans over many decades – yet any attempt at focus on it is met by the standard responses:
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you; then they fight you …then they lose!
Anyway back to the debate which seems to basically involve seeing how many shoeings Corbyn can be given not just by the tories/Dup but the rebel labour back benchers – nevermind their daily crying wolf threats to leave if HE can’t make a referendum happen! Because they sure don’t want an election.
look! SQUIRRELS!!! 😀
You have done a better job than me of convincing me of the conspiracy Dungroanin 😉
I have only just noticed your post at the top of the thread on the ‘price of gas’ (Macron etc) there, more fuel for the energy fire…
I think I’ll stick to spotting squirrels and shoestrings, gets far too complicated and boring after a while.
I know. I was chatting to a indy journo last night. Her take in the II/IoS and QT shenanigans was ..er what you on about?
If it isn’t in the msm then it is not real. Seriously.
Dig wide and deep and make up your own mind.
I try to.
I say that anyone that does NOT think that all these -underhand secretive nasty little actions and the big too obvious they can’t see them actions- happen, is supremely naive.
You do not have to know the actual detail of what is going on, to know that something is and in what direction – to ignore that is a serious dereliction in a journalist and very naive in a politician. If you can’t affect it, there is no point in worrying about it, but you still need to be aware of how things are to give context in forming opinions and ideas. Context is important for making decisions, and framing reports (e.g. news). Too many folk living in airy fairy land, or trying to convince us that’s where we live. I have no illusions that, say, Russia is somehow a benevolent state – obviously they have their own best interests, and that is not necessarily the same as mine. But then, the UK government does not have my best interests at heart either, so taken in context… – Russian’s spreading misinformation? Meh, so what? Our own (supposed) side does that too. I really cannot work up any feeling either way. I assume there are a lot of worse things going on from both sides that neither would ever want to tell us about – those are the things more likely to affect our voting and such like, but we will not hear about them.
Any journalist: they are so wrapped up in their own world, same with politicians, they need to get into the game; there is no reason not to know roughly what’s happening these days, and to be canny enough to sidle round it. To side-step issues that may cause problems, you need to anticipate what form they might take.
It makes me physically sick to think about how Theresa May, as Home Secretary, and now as PM has suppressed an investigation in Westminster – and that it is barely reported on. There are few reasons for any investigation (which needs some evidence to be suggested in the first place) to be delayed beyond reason, and for evidence to go missing during those years, and it is not because there are people eager to clear their names. So that is the caliber of principle and morality the government (and we cannot just say ‘current’ here) has. They aren’t going to be handing out any favours or benefits to anyone not in their little cabal. Ah, the state within a state. But how can journalists keep quiet about the human rights abuses of disabled people by the UK government? Keeping quiet is being complicit in this case.
Amen to that.
Journalists are ‘self moderated’.
MediaLens, Jonathan Cook, Caitline Johnstone and others have written about how they are primed to be unwiting propagandists by abandoning basic investigative practices to keep a job that pays the debts that keep them chained..
Contrary, Great post. Thank you for posting it. Whilst I don’t agree with you on all of it, you are obviously highly intelligetnt, and I read all of it. We have had some friends round tonight. Please post again.
I would really like to discuss things with you….cos I think we might not only agree. with some compromises..but also possibly come up with some new ideas.
If we can’t discuss it, we won’t know.
We’ve got to go with what we have got.
Who says we can’t change things?
Tony
Contrary,
I think that you make a lot of sense.
Oil and oil sales in the US dollar is strong motivation to go to war (Iraq); so why shouldn’t the same motivation exist to destabilise the EU?
Contrary, February 13, 21:56 – “So this theory is more on the conspiracy side of thinking”
Minimal conspiracy is required, because of the fault line that already ran through the heart of the Conservative party and caused the EU referendum, and was ready to be exploited. That fault line, I strongly suspect, is closely associated with the dark money administered within the City of London, which is threatened with exposure by even those very modest financial controls being advanced by the EU.
Ah well, this is the thing about memes – the idea ‘conspiracy’ evokes, in us all, an idea of nefarious goings-on – but in this case the only ‘conspiracy’ I was implying was between UK, US and Saudi Arabia, based on ‘known’ (as in, well-publicised) knowledge. All the dark money, manoevring, lobbying and scamming are side effects, caused by something and with some purpose in mind – they are not the end goal. Why the EU? The EU that is so very neoliberal and chummy with everyone? I can’t see any particular links to the arms trade – but they ARE causing an issue with oil trade. (intentional or not)
But yes, I am very sure this has been building up for a long time.
Apparently an opinion poll in 2010 showed that 0.4% of the population of the UK considered EU membership as an important issue – that really is a tiny fraction – so what happened in the next 6 years to cause most people to suddenly see it as THE most important…?
Thank you Tony and Courtenay,
I am aware that just because I have connected certain dots and they seem rational, it does not mean they exist – big money and power must be involved to produce such strange political behaviour in the UK – but the reasoning relies on certain UK politicians gaining some benefit in the end, and I doubt it is the small change of some gold investment (well,,, now I have said that, I am sure some are indeed bought that easily), and we have no way of knowing what that might be. Until we have suspicions after the fact maybe.
There are so many different ways ‘leave the EU’ could have been executed, the choices (or rather, lack of ‘choices’) made are really not those of rational human beings.
The consequences for us plebs? If you are not willing to take the political structures of Westminster to task and revise the political systems in place – this is just going to keep happening. Unfortunately, a large proportion of the UK population still appear to like their servile position and it prevents any real change in favour of social justice.
Scotland is going to leave the UK, and work through its own problems with political structures and social justice itself, and hopefully come out of it not only intact but a fairer country while we take that journey. How does that change or affect the UK/England? I doubt anyone will really notice much difference!
The US is behind Brexit. You don’t need to look any further than the American links of the key Brexiteers and the UK media. It is a divide-and-rule strategy designed to split their key rival. They are probably also behind the Yellow Vests.
Just look at it!
Riam Dalati, BBC producer on Syria:
“After almost 6 months of investigations, i can prove without a doubt that the #Douma Hospital scene was staged. No fatalities occurred in the hospital.
All the #WH, activists and people i spoke to are either in #Idlib or #EuphratesShield areas.
Only one person was in #Damascus.”
https://twitter.com/Dalatrm/status/1095677403198906369?s=20
Most interesting, Tatyana. Presumably that should now be “Riam Dalati, former BBC producer on Syria”! Good for him.
🙂 we will know soon
Mr. Dalati describes himself as
BBC Syria Producer | Esteemed Colleague of Mister @sommervilletv | All tweets & views are my own”
Tatyana
Thank you.. The Great Thing about this Blog of Craig’s is that many of us Know the west’s Lies..bbC ect.. Some of us wish The U.N would be charged with war Crimes… For Allowing the War Crimes, Genocides.. Yemen, Palestine.
I copy here his next comments, in case they soon deleted from Twitter.
#Russia and at least one #NATO country knew about what happened in the hospital. Documents were sent.
However, no 1 knew what really happened at the flats apart from activists manipulating the scene there.
This is why #Russia focused solely on discrediting the hospital scene
But never approached the block of flats and curtailed access immediately after #Douma takeover.
I can tell you that Jaysh al-Islam ruled Douma with an iron fist. They coopted activists, doctors and humanitarians with fear and intimidation.
—-
I don’t agree with “never approached the block of flats”, because I’ve seen the video with russian military men going into the building. I may be wrong, it seems it was at Bellingcat’s.
That adds something to another on-the-ground report 10 months ago by Robert Fisk.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-chemical-attack-gas-douma-robert-fisk-ghouta-damascus-a8307726.html
My big questions are these.
Why is it taking the OPCW to reach a conclusion?
Why are the British-sponsored, Oscar-nominated White Helmets not labelled as a terrorist organisation instead of being allowed to come and settle in the UK for their own safety now their cause is lost.
Why is it taking the OPCW so long to reach a conclusion?
John Goss. Indeed. There was an interview with the previous head of the OPCW, who said he’d had a call
from john Bolton asking him to resign threatened him and his family !! Who needs the BBC when you have real journalists like Patrick Cockburn and Robert Fisk. I have found Craigs articles the comment contributors very informative, thank you….no wonder TV News and its short form half truths have less and less currency. No wonder the TV politics
‘entertainment’ programmes have less and less currency. Even those on the ‘Right’ – Max Hastings and Peter Hitchens
can see our head long dive into insignificance. Those who claim to be Patriots, are the very ones that are destroying our democracy, rule of law freedoms, economy and will cause the break up of the Union. Just look at our so called leaders…what a sad decline and fall.
Wikikettle (14 February, 2.47)
Quite. And the reason the previous OPCW Director General (Brazilian Jose Bustani) was threatened by Bolton was because the OPCW under his command was close to reaching an international agreement with Iraq which would have completely removed the state of tension between Iraq and “the West”. This was contrary to the script written and directed by the US who wanted to ramp up any excuse for conflict with Iraq. Jose Bustani has explained this in great detail himself.
Tatyana,
Thanks for this. With regard to “the block of flats”, my belief is that the photos produced as evidence of the deadly attack and shown throughout the western MSM were probably taken long before – days or weeks – the alleged attack. As with Idlib more recently, you will recall that there was reference made of the “chemical attack” being filmed long before it was supposedly going to take place. The bodies shown in the Douma flats’ photos were genuine but were civilian hostages used as sacrificial lambs by the terrorists in preparation for the false flag accusations; a practice that so many people in the West refuse to acknowledge.
When the area was liberated and the flats identified, no evidence remained as it had all been removed long beforehand. Without finding the actual perpetrators and hearing the truth it would be impossible to say categorically what the circumstances of that “scene” were and who exactly the victims were. We, along with the investigators, can only surmise.
Yes, it is my guess, too, that the dead bodies were filmed some other time, perhaps long before.
I remember well the video of the russian military car ( resembling an ‘УАЗ Патриот’) coming to that place, and russian military man (*colonel, if I remember it right) he was asking locals about the place and he entered the building.
I also remember the video of ‘chem attack’, and ‘locals’ who were ‘crying’ over the bodies but at the same time seemed more interested about themselves filmed, then of ‘dreadful attack’ – girls of about 11 years old are usually do the same everywhere in the world.
I also remember the video of the White Helmet activist, who ‘visited’ the place, the next morning, thatone with the face covered with the gas mask. He was so ‘excited’ to tell about ‘yesterdays chemical attack, that just missed to erase the sound of ‘kiri koo koo’ by some chicken in the next flat.
@ Tatyana February 13, 2019 at 22:16
Great! We have known it from day one, but it is still great to get confirmation from someone with official credentials.
Yes amazing how the MSM seem to provide credibility to a conspiracy when the rest of the time they’re state sponsored liars not to be trusted under any circumstances.
If he has proof, and not guesswork, let’s see it.
Fisk is unreliable and has been caught out fabricating stories in the past. Just one example:-
https://honestreporting.com/independent-admits-robert-fisk-story-was-false/
Only a rag like the (not very) Independent would continue to employ him.
Re Robert Fisk’s erroneous Independent article “the essay was published in good faith.” “…the Order [referred to] was a forgery”. Not to my mind a ‘fabricated story’ as you would have us believe.
With regard to your first sentence the point is that it was more than evident early on that the Douma incident was a complete fabrication – there has been plenty of evidence from reliable sources, but presumably it has passed you by. We didn’t need Mr Dalati’s comments to prove anything to us. The point is that he is someone within the ranks of the MSM who is prepared to stand up for the truth and that is why this is receiving the attention it is getting from us ‘conspiracy theorists’.
Fisk has other black marks against his reputation as the article explains. During the war in Libya other ME reporters claimed Fisk never got closer to the action than a luxury hotel in Italy.
Well of course the usual suspects decided Douma was a false flag/hoax or whatever immediately because it doesn’t fit the cuddly image they have of Putin and Assad. They are the good guys and couldn’t possibly have done anything so awful so it had to be those nasty western backed rebels.
Kempe, I see a logic fallacy in your comment.
Mr. Dalati’s statement is a concrete fact statement. MSM trend is “generalisation’.
Where is Dalati’s evidence? Without it his statement is neither concrete or fact. That’s logic.
There is this YT.
“I can prove the Douma hospital scene was staged!” says BBC Producer Riam Dalati
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTV-kQwG6f0
The PTB have been busy. When clicking on to thumbnails on Google of Dalati, you are taken to NBA links. (National Basketball Association etc) !
Robert Stuart had it anyway way back.
http://theduran.com/stunning-evidence-emerges-from-bbc-journalist-exposing-white-helmets-staging-chemical-attacks-in-douma/
and Craig too –
Robert Fisk Reports Head of Douma Clinic Denies … – Craig Murray
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/…/robert-fisk-reports-head-of-douma-clinic-denies-c…
16 Apr 2018 – He has just made his way – not accompanied by Russian or Syrian government officials – to Douma and this is what he reports.
Living in Goebbels Land – Craig Murray
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/living-in-goebbels-land/
17 Apr 2018 – So a tiny independent radio station in Ireland managed to interview Robert Fisk on the ground in Douma, but none of the British mainstream …
The Rush to War – Craig Murray
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/the-rush-to-war/
9 Apr 2018 – The Army of Islam refused to surrender and said they wanted to work out a deal to remain in Douma. This was a non-starter for Bashar al-Assad …
Just Who’s Pulling the Strings? – Craig Murray
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/just-whos-pulling-the-strings/
14 Apr 2018 – https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-chemical-attack-gas-douma-robert-fisk-ghouta-damascus-a8307726.html. Terrorists …
Any talk that mentions the UK taking part in the May EU elections seems to be on pretty shaky ground. As loads of ex UK empty seats in the EU Parliament was never going to happen, all the UK’s seats have been redistributed during the past two years with changes to electoral areas across the EU. The EU agreeing to, let alone being able to reverse, these changes is nil. So count that out and is probably the reason Nigel is very low profile on the subject, someone else already has dibs on his seat there.
I can’t see the EU showing any weakness or generosity towards the UK in negotiations ahead of those elections, other than in detailed technical points to get trade moving post the 29th, it would just add fuel to the populist fires that they are desperate to damp down. They have to be seen to make it painful for anyone to leave. Compound this with the problems in the French and German economies Brexit has moved to being yesterday’s worry.
So where do I vote and whp are my candidates?
Signed one of 3 plus million…….
Is De Montfort University in Leicester about to go bust? Rumour has it that a “huge hole in its finances” has been discovered.
As for Cambridge University, which is known for acting as a laundry for dirty Chinese money, as soon as it got a good rating from a credit ratings agency (higher than its host country Britain’s), it rushed to take out a large loan from Rothschilds’ Nank – an act that I thought shed a lot of light on how capitalism really works.
“You’re doing well? Make sure your remember us. Sign here.”
Some sources:
“Moody’s assigns triple-A rating to University of Cambridge“.
“University in £350m bonds issue.
Slight correction to what I wrote: Rothschilds got a huge fee for advising on the bond issue and didn’t buy all the bonds themselves.
On Cambridge University receiving dirty Chinese money, start here and here.
Some of this stuff is really amusing.
“(A) former (Chinese) government official with ties to the Wen family claimed university representatives met directly with Ms Wen in Beijing between 2009 to 2011 to discuss the donation and promised there would be ‘no questions asked’.”
Just listen to the Brit poshies wriggle (emphasis added):
“Dame Alison Richard, who spearheaded a billion-pound fundraising campaign as Cambridge vice-chancellor from 2003 to 2010, told The Telegraph in a telephone interview that she remained satisfied that the Wen Ruchun donation had been properly scrutinised”
[Not surprising really, because if she said it hadn’t been properly scrutinised she’d be incriminating her damely self.]
“‘All I would say with you about that gift is that it went through a serious process conducted by serious people. We were satisfied that it met the expectations for it to be a gift and we were delighted to have a new chair in perpetuity under a distinguished member of the faculty,’ she said. (…)”
[Haha – “serious process” and “serious people”. They sure know how to hold their knives and forks, and I don’t mean the plastic ones used in prisons.]
“Dame Alison added that the key donors like Wen Ruchun brought much more than money to universities like Cambridge and would be expected to ‘open doors’ to their world.”
[How many ways of saying “pay for influence with criminal money” are there?]
“‘Their money is just a quite modest part of what they do for you because these are smart, successful people who care about the institution. They can help you in all kinds of ways, with their ideas, mentoring students, opening doors, connecting you to the rest of the world,’ she said.(…)”
[Haha – “smart, successful people”. Oh – the money is a “modest part” of what they do is it? There’s nothing like making something look insignificant by comparison – that old salesman’s trick – even if you don’t specify what you’re actually comparing it with. She’ll be trying it with Jack the Ripper next, or maybe Hitler. After all, there was a lot of other nastiness in 1888 and 1933-45.]
“She said that such money often occupied a ‘grey area’ between having outright criminal origins and transparently clean sources, and required ‘philosophical judgments’ to ensure that Universities did not suffer reputational damage for accepting them.”
[Haha – a “grey area” and “philosophical judgments”…but wait – the latter concern only the reputational issue. What the f*** is “philosophical” about a consideration of what makes you look good and what doesn’t?]
“‘There is an argument, which is that universities take, perhaps, funds that have been raised in the grey area and put it to extremely good purposes. You can say that the universities are providing salvation for, you know, gifts raised in this grey area,’ she said. (…)”
[She’s saying even if they launder mafia money, it’s for the greater good. What a “philosopher” she must be.]
“‘It is wholly wrong and indeed invidious to suggest that any such donation could have any influence at all on our admissions policy or our employment practice.’ ”
[“Wrong” is it? I knew morality had to creep in here somewhere. Hahaha!]
Welsh sources described recently a probable > 2.3% drop in home students applying through UCAS this year (due demographics)
There’s highly likely to be a Brexit ‘bonus’ of several more percent of EU stay-aways, (due fear and worries)
Then colleges are doing strange £££ things with I.O.U.’s (https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/09/reading-university-in-crisis-amid-questions-over-121m-land-sales)
‘May’-be we’ll have several concurrent crises when the can stops being kicked?
@David – Thanks for this. “A major British university [Reading] is in a financial and governance crisis”, and things don’t look good for De Montfort either. Meanwhile Cambridge are falling back on extreme arrogant self-love when they get caught laundering Chinese criminal money.
Some universities set up undergraduate degrees in almost any old rubbish and what makes the bigwigs really lick their lips is getting naive 18-year-olds to agree that if they drop out they’ve still got to pay. They don’t care much about the courses. And given what some of the courses are like, the students will probably be better off intellectually if they do drop out.
People such as nurses are strongly pressured to get degrees, even masters’ degrees, ones which do neither them nor their patients much good. “Makework” fills up a lot of the courses. For example a friend tells me that she had to spend a lot of her time doing “Harvard referencing” when she did her nursing degree.
That looks like a massive heist at Reading: “£121m from the sales having been […] replaced with the equivalent of IOUs in the trust’s accounts” – a trust of which the university is the sole trustee. Who issued the promissory notes, I wonder?
One of these outfits called universities will go spectacularly bust sooner or later – and it could be very soon as you suggest.
A case of grab the money because it’s two minutes to midnight? Meanwhile…ferry companies with no ferries…
Days after being smashed with a vicious establishment smear campaign to paint her as an antisemite for accurately criticizing AIPAC, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is already back on the horse aggressively disrupting the establishment narrative matrix that our rulers have worked so hard to construct for us.
Elliott Abrams is a monster. The atrocities that he has facilitated, covered up and whitewashed in Panama, El Salvador, Gaza, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Iraq are utterly unforgivable, and the fact that he has been
appointed as special envoy to Venezuela by the Trump administration completely invalidates the US government’s Venezuela narrative all by itself. Even without the blatant lies, the known oil agendas, the CIA ops, the mounting evidence of US arms smuggling to right-wing militias, and America’s extensive history of utterly disastrous regime change interventionism, the fact that this administration would appoint such a ghoulish individual to spearhead its Venezuela interventionism alone is enough to show you that the US government has nothing but malevolent intentions for that nation.
So it was nice to see someone in that government calling him what he is right to his face in front of everybody.
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/ilhan-omar-smacks-down-elliott-abrams-in-front-of-everybody-8cc7d88d6569?fbclid=IwAR0DXURvReXq7UQOXDJ0FP3JKrCKZgj8p-AsKq3BHeGjuc3YrWckMmR0PZg
BrianFujisan. Indeed. Minnesota also produced Governor Jesse Ventura. Well done Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Truth to power.
The US has many may good people..Ron Paul and his son Rand on the ‘Right’ as well.
Fuck off
Tories always lie :
May told HoC not to believe the fake news about putting brexit on ice.
The BBC told us Mr Novichucle had been torture-rendition-brain-washing dogs.
Erdogan bin locking up Gulenites .
Satan always uses double-lock. You can’t undo the knots tying you to the chair because your hands are tied.
And the winner of the 2019 NATO Best Divide and Rule BS Award at Crufts …..
goes to …. Theresa May because it’s Me Too year . Theresa you were superb! Best Liar. Best Delivery of lies. Best Hair . Best Control.
Best Birch. Best Saliva control
And best dance moves
freddy
Do you think she’s mastered the floss dance yet?? Doesn’t bear thinking about!
@ Dungroanin
You sneered at IrishU (“You are badly educated and baffled”).
Now that IrishU has furnished the details of his higher education – thereby proving you wrong – is it not time for you to pony up and give us the details of YOUR higher education?
Off ye go, laddie!
Did he(?) How’d you know he is not a she? – haven’t seen it yet. I’ll go look.
Thanks for following the conversation, btw did you respond to YOUR LIE about universities not being for ‘profit’ – as comments today show apparently credit reference agencies tend to have opinions about them – like any commercial enterprise.
1/.To save you the trouble of looking it up yourself, gere’s what IrishU told you about his education:
“As for my my education: MA (Hons), from Dundee, MSc from Queen’s Belfast and MBA from Uni of Edinburgh.”
So pony up and tell him yours now. Then we can all judge who’s better educated, eh?
2/. Universities are not for profit, at least not in the way any normal person would understand the word. They attempt to achive a “surplus” which is used for expansion, maintenance, unforeseens (such as govt deciding to lower tuition fess, etc etc). All that has already been explained by others and if you could get off your lazy arse and read those comments you’d be a lot wiser.
But let’s give you a little exercise for those grey cells. If universities are profit making bodies, who gets the profits at each year’s end? Is it the shareholders? Is it a board of directors? Please enlighten us.
Bossie hope you enjoyed a bromantic valentines.
As IrishU has written here as well at the previous thread, and he hasn’t the urgent need to know my education as much as you do – I won’t bore readers with your point 1.
As for your question number 2. I clearly pointed to the shit show in the link i presented. But you obviously didn’t read or understand it, so back to a bit more schooling for you.
Q. Where do the profits go from the eucation rip off you ask?
A. The BANKS.
That is why the enabling administrators are paid BIG money – they deliver mega profits.
Hope that is clear enough – but if not let me lay it out so that even a layman could understand (especially all these who will have children or grandchildren who will be signed up to that indenturement)
‘ Students are the new NINJAs: No Income, No Jobs, No Assets. But their parents have assets, and these are now being grabbed, even from retirees. Most of all, the government has assets – the power to tax (mainly labor these days), and something even better: the power to simply print money (mainly Quantitative Easing to try and re-inflate housing, stock and bond prices these days). Most students hope to become independent of their parents. But burdened by debt and facing a tough job market, they are left even more dependent. That’s why so many have to keep living at home.
The problem is that as they do get a job and become independent, they remain dependent on the banks. And to pay the banks, they must be even more abjectly dependent on their employers.’
Proff Michael Hudson
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/02/are-students-a-class/
So the sleight of hand from pfi of schools and hospitals, to Academy schools, to Further education – is all about making the shareholders of Banks richer – so now you know, don’t you?
@Dungroanin,
I replied to your post. Largely agree with your points.
Forgot to mention the unis, I did read your article and largely follows my own thinking regarding Higher Ed in the UK in 20 years.
Good discussion.
Cheers,
IU
Yet more of the UK taxpayers’ £millions down the plughole. The vortex sucks ever stronger.
Failed London Garden Bridge project cost £53m
‘A Transport for London (TfL) inquiry showed the Garden Bridge Trust spent £161,000 on a website and £417,000 on a gala for the abandoned project.
The design of the bridge cost more than £9m and the charity paid its executives £1.7m.
Around £43m came from the public’s pocket, TfL added.
Doubts began to surround the project, overseen by Boris Johnson, after it lost the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan in April 2017.’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47228698
The Architects’ Journal has done good work on this failed and extremely costly project.
https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/garden-bridge
The luvvies’ luvvie, Ms Lumley, set it in train..
Then we read….
Most English local authorities ‘plan to raise council tax’
6 hours ago
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47234880
Including the GLC of course.
London council tax rise plan confirmed by mayor Sadiq Khan
20 December 2018
‘London’s mayor has proposed raising council tax by the maximum amount in his power to help fund policing.’
‘Mr Khan’s proposed council tax hike is due to be confirmed at a London Assembly meeting on 25 February.’
Clark
I’m not aware of subscribing to any ‘global scientific conspiracy theories’, perhaps you can name one that I do and provide evidence in the form of a post?
In truth, I would never accuse the global scientific community en masse of conspiring but I would certainly imagine them capable of subscribing to group-think and being wrong en masse. At the beginning of the 20th century, for example, it was widely believed, that babies don’t feel pain and many babies were pricked with needles to test the theory.
The Government have been accused of #EconomicMurder!
A landmark study has attributed 120,000 deaths to Tory austerity. On the current trajectory that could rise to approx. 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/tory-austerity-deaths-study-report-people-die-social-care-government-policy-a8057306.html …
This is from 2017. Worse now.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-austerity-linked-to-120000-deaths-in-economic-murder-landmark-study-finds-2017-11-16
There’s another good article on the Media Lens website titled “Dump the Guardian”.
The Guardian dumped good people like Jeremy Hardy and yet still employ the likes of Luke Harding.
Yes Garth, good piece. Hardy, Steel and Pilger all let go for being consistently right. Harding retained despite having been exposed as a liar who has further trashed the Guardian’s reputation. Months on now and still no acknowledgement from any Guardian journalist that Harding’s front page story was a fabrication. Hands over eyes too to the antisemitism character assassination of Corbyn and to the reality that barely a quarter of Corbyn’s MPs are demanding a 2nd referendum.
Oh well, at least the Guardian is leading liberal opposition to Trump right? Well no actually. They are cheerleading his blatant subversion of international law and the effort to effect anti-democratic regime change for oil. This is leftmost boundary of British mainstream media.
Yet as late as 2003 The Grauniad could still publish excellent articles like this one by Arundhati Roy:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/apr/02/iraq.writersoniraq
Brillo, spouting the BBC and Tory party line.
“Andrew Neil has been caught up in a fake news furore after an economics expert for the Financial Times claimed that the BBC Politics Presenter made an almost entirely fraudulent attempt to spin the UK’s economic woes in favour of the Tories by “lying” and using ‘false economic figures for other countries in the G7’.”
https://evolvepolitics.com/bbc-presenter-andrew-neil-exposed-lying-and-using-fake-figures-to-spin-tory-economic-failures/
Feb, 14, 2019
Hands Off Venezuela, Canada and US Go Home!
https://off-guardian.org/2019/02/14/hands-off-venezuela-canada-and-us-go-home/
For Venezuela, red Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria and on and on and on.
Did you see Trump and the Colombia president cosying up at the White House yesterday. You can be assured that the future for Venezuela was being discussed. Columbia borders Venezuela to the West.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iván_Duque_Márquez
I see he was a consultant on the UN panel that was set up to investigate the Mavi Marmara killings by Israel in 2010. 105 pages – http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/middle_east/Gaza_Flotilla_Panel_Report.pdf Nothing came of that.
Here’s an interesting take on the two Russian bombers in Venezuela:
http://www.unz.com/tsaker/russian-tu-160-bombers-in-venezuela/
I dread to think was loes in wait for us after we leave if this is anything to go by.
“There is no infrastructure in Dover…I’m running round the country at the moment having contingency Brexit meetings with lots of customers who are really starting to panic now”
https://mobile.twitter.com/Business4PV/status/1095726743380508672
A BBC Syria producer, has said that the footage of people being treated after an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma was staged.
I think no one will be surprised to find that is the case.
”I think no one will be surprised to find that is the case.”
Well Mr Bostock, anonable1, martinned and couple of others have remained silent on this revelation. I’d suggest ‘speechless’ but well, you know…
On another note, Brillo. LOL.
Meanwhile a prosecutor at the show trial of the twelve Catalan independence leaders, has said that it was entirely the fault of the peaceful citizens by going to ballot box, that they were beaten tear gassed and arrested.
The prosecutor could lay no blame on the heavy armoured Guardia Civil, for raining baton blows down on elderly voters.
We must remember this isnt some tinpot dictarship far far away, no this is a EU and UN member, namely Spain.
“Britain is a “waning country” and too small to stand alone on the world stage, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has claimed in a withering assessment of the UK’s exit from the EU.”
I’m sure when Martinned pops up he’ll wholeheartedly agree, with his fellow Dutchman.
http://archive.is/iYN3c
The goon at the MoD has fouled up, big time.
China cancels trade talks with Britain after warship threat by UK defense secretary – reports
‘UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has reportedly instigated a huge row at the heart of government after threatening to send a warship to the Pacific, prompting China to withdraw from trade talks with Chancellor Philip Hammond.
China’s Deputy PM Hu Chunhua, who was expected to hold talks with Hammond this weekend, has now dramatically pulled out of the engagement after Williamson’s menacing remarks on Monday, according to the Sun. The defense secretary said that the UK must “show [China] the high price of aggressive behavior.”’
https://www.rt.com/news/451449-china-cancels-talks-williamson/
Interesting that RT uses US spelling.
So much for the “freedom for Britain to make its own trade agreements” outside of the EU customs union!
What is happening with the British defence review, or “Modernising Defence Programme” as they call it? I’ve lost count of how many times its conclusions have been postponed. Planned military spending is a major part of the background to many things, including the Skripals case, Brexit, energy policy, and divisions in the Labour party. Behind closed doors, it is surely considered much more important than matters such as say the Irish border.
prompting China to withdraw from trade talks with Chancellor Philip Hammond</i
Ha Ha Ha Ha,
No, really!?
inscrutable orientals playing "Go", whilst HMS 'LargeTarget', led by donkeys playing "PR", is lost at sea, lost , just lost!
Mr Hunts ‘Japanese’ wife won’t be happy…
The present Polish government sure are keen to ingratiate themselves with the American / Israeli drive for global hegemony. The creeps are hosting a conference targeting regime change in Tehran.
https://theintercept.com/2019/02/13/iran-netanyahu-giuliani/
Speaking to reporters outside the venue, Netanyahu stated “… leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of WAR with Iran.”
Also polluting the streets of Warsaw are senile, crackpot Rudy Guiliani and his legal clients the Mojahedin-e Khalq. The MEK have been caught out running social media bots to promote the conference. They also imported bus loads of Slovakian students to make their stage show that bit more grand.
My flabber is infinitely gasted that the Gulf states regard the MEK amateur theatrics a good return on their investment.
RT’s take on the meet.
09:05 GMT
Netanyahu sees Poland talks with Arab states as ‘a turning point’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed on Thursday as historic a Warsaw meeting where he is joining Arab states, saying they “stood united against Iran.” The opening dinner on Wednesday night of the two-day, US-organized conference marked “a historical turning point,” Netanyahu said. He also cited the possibility that cooperation “will extend beyond security in every realm of life,” AFP reports. Israel only has diplomatic relations with two Arab states, neighboring Egypt and Jordan. Netanyahu met one-on-one in Warsaw with Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah of Oman, where he traveled late last year. Oman has sought friendly relations with all regional players including Iran. Most European powers are sending low-level representation, wary of the hawkish line on Iran by President Donald Trump.
https://www.rt.com/newsline/451447-netanyahu-poland-arab-states/
‘Israel–Poland relations comprise diplomatic relations between Israel and Poland. At least 220,000 Israeli citizens are of Polish-Jcwish origin. Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the United Nations.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel–Poland_relations
I see that Mr Wales complies with the current propaganda and has Jerusalem as the Israeli capital rather than Tel Aviv.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem#Jerusalem_as_capital_of_Israel
Professional God botherer Mike Pence demands that Europe toes the American line on Iran sanctions.
https://www.politico.eu/article/mike-pence-iran-nuclear-deal-demands-eu-powers-abandon/
Who does this political pip squeak think he is? Frau Merkel is liable to give him his head in his hands to play with.
Of course war with Iran is in the interest of exactly one country in the ME.
Other countries need to provide the money, the weapons and the corpses-to-be.
In any regular Thursday, BBC Radio Shortbread would follow First Meenister’s Questions with the weekly media review and we all know there’s only one big story this week. Will Stuart Cosgrove be on the panel as per usual? Will Question Timegate be judged sub judice?
So, most of the review was dedicated to the Question Time scandal. I have much sympathy for John Beattie in general, but on this occasion, giving him a BBC statement of blank denial and leaving him to play the part of human shield for BBC management is outrageous. Donalda MacKinnon needs to be held PUBLICLY to account for this. If the BBC aren’t up to the task, the relevant Holyrood committee should have her in for a grilling (broadcasting being a reserved matter this may be problematic).
Will parliament finally have a say in dumping the 29th March deadline as the tories claim that the NI unicorn is not a unicorn!
Just to nail a few truths and lies of Barclay-
Parliament voted that Article 50 could go ahead.
The PM chose when to send the A50 letter.
Parliament did NOT force her to send the letter when she did.
She could have had discussions with the EU before sending A50.
She could have had discussions with opposition parties – she is proud that labour accounts fot half of the 80% of voters in the general election that voted for parties honouring the referendum.
Yet she didn’t then involve Labour in her redlines, or in negotiations, that would respect half the voters who voted for Labour.
The deadline exists because she sent the letter then.
Not because parliament sent it.
The deadline is not set by the House.
The no no-deal vote was a record vote against the government.
A decision of parliament, that must be binding.
Now she wants parliament to vote for a deal that only she had a say in or a no-deal and hard brexet on 29th March at 11pm, because she sent a letter without having any plan.
And she is not interested in extending A50 – even by a few weeks- why?
What possible reason can there be not to allow the extra time to get a deal that the Majority could approve of?
It would only be a matter of days not years.
So why why why are the brexiteers so so keen to get a no deal hard brexit before the end of March?
“The no no-deal vote was a record vote against the government.
A decision of parliament, that must be binding.”
Binding on the government to do what? Non-ratification of the WA equals “no deal”. The issue becomes how to stop exit on 29 March, which is what the Spelman amendment says: it “rejects the UK leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement and a framework for the future relationship.” There are two ways to achieve this aim. The first is to ask EU27 for an extension and they say yes. The second is to revoke. The first is outside the power of the government or parliament. It can ask but it can’t answer. And there is no way the government is going to say “Please can we have an extension, oh please please Malta and Estonia and Belgium and Poland…and if you say no, then we’ll revoke.” The second isn’t going to happen. Even if they ask request an extension what would their reason be? “We’re a bunch of incompetent f*ckwits?” It would have to be to allow time for a referendum with a Remain option. And if Leave won, what would the terms of Leaving be? It could only be the already spectacularly defeated May’s deal. A referendum isn’t going to happen this side of leaving. Neither of the two major parties would be able to advise voters on how to vote, and in particular Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn wouldn’t.
“And she is not interested in extending A50 – even by a few weeks- why? What possible reason can there be not to allow the extra time to get a deal that the Majority could approve of? It would only be a matter of days not years.”
Why would having 60 or 70 days from now allow a deal when 43 days won’t?
“So why why why are the brexiteers so so keen to get a no deal hard brexit before the end of March?”
Probably because extension means referendum. It’s not that they’d fear that in itself. It’s that they love their holy Partei.
Why would EU allow extension?
Because the PM’s unilateral redlines have changed.
That means the government has to take on board the opposition front bench demands for the negotiating positions.
That allows a reopening of the WA – the only way the EU will.
If the PM does not want to change her redlines – she can take it to the country.
Let the people choose from the manifestos presented – whether it is her deal, or these offering a referendum or new redlines – the EU would suspend the process while such a democratic process takes place.
Ho ho Chris Leslie stands up to put his departing boot into JC – for May and the tories failures – as he plans yet another chickencoup with his weasly words – for gods sake go!