In the 15 year history of this blog, I have criticised the Human Rights records of states including Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, Burma, Cameroon, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Libya, the Maldives, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The only country of which criticism has resulted in substantial legal and political action against me and attempted censorship is Israel. Criticism of Israel also immediately results in heavy suppression of traffic to my site from the corporate gatekeepers of Twitter, Facebook and Google.
Now a group of witch-hunting UK MPs has written to Amazon to complain that Alexa has quoted my blog on Israel.
It is worth looking at precisely what the MPs are complaining of in my case. Let’s look at the exact passage:
“Question: Is Israel guilty of war crimes?
Answer: Here’s something I found on the web: according to www.craigmurray.org.uk, ethnic cleansing on a massive scale and serial human rights abuse, including war crimes, yes, Israel is guilty of these atrocities.”The website in question includes numerous conspiracy theories.
Now the MP’s of the All Party Group Against Anti-Semitism do not attempt to say what is wrong with this answer. They do not say why it is untrue – in fact, they do not even claim it is untrue. They do not say why it is anti-semitic; presumably, although they do not say as much, they must believe it is anti-semitic for the All Party Parliamentary Group on anti-semitism to be complaining about it. In fact, they ground their objection entirely on an unsubstantiated claim that this website includes conspiracy theories.
I maintain that the answer quoted from my website is self-evidently true and highly capable of proof. It states fact which a large majority of the public would recognise as true. Yet I am told by a journalist from the Times who contacted me, that on the basis of this incoherent letter from self-selecting MP’s, Amazon have blocked Alexa from quoting my website. This is only a tiny example of the removal of access to dissenting opinions – dissenting as in not conforming to the wishes of the political Establishment, although not diverging from objective truth. The trend towards this censorship on the internet is massive.
I am particularly concerned that one of the signatories of the letter is Lisa Cameron, an SNP MP. The statement that “ethnic cleansing on a massive scale and serial human rights abuse, including war crimes, yes, Israel is guilty of these atrocities” is completely in line with longstanding SNP policy on Palestine. Lisa Cameron’s part in having my website blacklisted for an opinion in line with SNP policy is shameful.
But it is not isolated. As I feared, the SNP’s large cohort of MPs at Westminster have become very comfortable there with their life of privilege and large income, and they have been almost entirely captured by Britnat standards and Britnat attitudes. Last week, we had the official party paper on defence policy in which Stewart MacDonald MP and Alyn Smith MP directly jettisoned the party’s long term commitment to unilateral nuclear disarmament in favour of “multilateralism” – a long word for no nuclear disarmament ever.
Along exactly the same lines of moving to align with the right wing obsessions of British Nationalism, the SNP’s Stewart Hosie had signed up to the off the wall Russophobic report of Westminster’s Intelligence and Security Committee, a report conditioned by the appalling list of war hawks who were the only ones asked to give evidence.
Land Reform has been reduced to the foundation of a Scottish Land Commission which can put public money towards other funds raised by community groups to buy out great landlords in specific tracts at an assessed “market price”. Yes, the market price. So the great success of the much touted land reform is that it has put £5 million of public money straight into the pocket of the Duke of Buccleuch, for some tiny and insignificant portions of his vast estates, marginal and despoiled moorland he was probably glad to be shot of. The Chair of Buccleuch Estates, Benny Higgins, is also economic adviser to Nicola Sturgeon.
There is much triumphalism at the new “realism” of the Blairite triangulated SNP and its positioning as a “safe” part of the Establishment. How much of the old radicalism of the SNP remains may, in small part, be measured by how many votes I garner in the election for President at the current conference. I fear it may not be a high number.
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The idea these British friends of Israel politicians are sensitive anti racists is completely laughable, I’m afraid. The evidence to the contrary is overwhelm9ng but scrupulously ignored or suppressed. Just this week for example Keir Starmer has been soliciting funds from a billionaire known to be an extreme Islamophobe and one of the last public apologists of apartheid in South Africa.
https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2020/12/02/islamophobic-labour-donor-deleted-his-twitter-but-forgot-about-screengrabs/
I know it is contrary to received wisdom but I have yet to see any evidence at all that Starmer and his cronies would be any kind of improvement even on a Tory government led by Bozo and containing people like Priti and Gav. I must be missing something big.
Labour frontbench MPs who refused to sign the letter condemning the deportation of 50 black people to Jamaica yesterday.
https://twitter.com/kingbowski/status/1334444779753627649?s=20
Remember every name, every face because all of them will be back on TV soon enough smearing good people as anti-Semites, guaranteed.
Ilhan Omar described it as some kind of hypnosis. I personally think its the power of satan, only that can come close to explaining the hypocrisy. And deafening silence on Assange led by a former head of the DPP too, we have been macroned, a puppet out of nowhere with just a two year background in politics suddenly becomes head of the labour party?!?
” A Home Office spokesperson said: “We make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous foreign criminals to keep the public safe. Each week we remove foreign criminals from the UK to different countries who have no right to be here, this flight is no different. The people being detained for this flight include convicted murderers and rapists.” “
Might that be why?
Note the word “include”. The people being deported are being tarred with a very broad brush. Trump would be impressed.
Talking of exclusion and inclusion the world’s biggest strike is underway ( phase 2) in India.
250 million plus ordinary people have taken to striking and are on the streets protesting about pay conditions Covid etc etc.
The BBC – Guardian et al have ‘ excluded ‘ the strike from their news.
Just in case it scares the children and horses in the UK.
Probably, will show it on World news around 3pm in the morning just to cover reporting arses.
The farmers and peasants are joining in too.
Great to see and good luck to them.
No doubt Corbyn – Russia and China will be blamed for the unrest.
Best propaganda is the news you never see.
Link to article: https://www.workers.org/2020/12/52835/
They didn’t report the gilets jaunes either.
Ken Kenn
In the context of the zionist feudalisation of the Middle East, iraq Libya Syria the ptb would not want us to know what they intend for the non-compliant like us in the West.
In India it seems that serfs, bonded slaves , are to be reduced to unbonded slaves, just as low paid workers in the West have become zero hours.
That Rishi Sunak comes from India, which is normally represented in the MSM as booming is extremely sinister. He has already broken one of Johnson’s brain farts that austerity has ended by zapping public sector wages with a freeze.
The kleptomaniac Kurdish government no longer pays the salaries of public sector workers. They say that their calling off the Zionist dogs of the Islamic state is enough.for them. They should be grateful that their government is stealing all the oil and taxes but removed Daesh.
Meanwhile in France, you’re not allowed to film police brutality. The Zionist bitch in the Home Office is jealous, and eagerly awaiting No Deal to do the same to us.
Depends on your definition of foreign and why these people are in the UK.
Our right wing regime has a history of preventing people with residency rights from obtaining the necessary paperwork to remain, and to work, even if they have lived here all their life. Windrush !!
If these criminals are, by rights if not by documentation, UK citizens then they should remain in the UK, however unpalatable that may be.
The fact that someone like Patel is trying to fly a plane load of people to Jamaica should raise questions at the very least ?
Don’t believe the Daily Mail, The BBC or the Government without first questioning what’s actually happening.
Kempe
The flight you want to put Starmer on, is that to Disneyland or Tel Aviv?
How about condemning the deportation of 150 Venezuelans who were deported from Trinidad the other day.BBC World Service.Hypocrisy everywhere.
No Franky, it is received wisdom. And Starmer would be happy to admit it.
Bevin… For your research.. If you ain’t already come across some of this …
1 :
From Myth to Reality: Zionist Archeologists Are Using the Bible to Rewrite History
The history of Palestine, a glorious tradition of culture and religion, politics, commerce, and unmatched art and architecture, has all but been lost so that Zionists can claim that they are the true successors of Joshua and King David.
by Miko Peled
https://www.mintpressnews.com/myth-reality-israeli-archeologists-using-bible-to-rewrite-history/273374/?
2 :
How Israel deployed an intelligence deception to justify killing scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/12/02/israel-intelligence-deception-killing-mohsen-fakhrizadeh/?
3 :
AARON MATÉ- Is on Brilliant form here –
Questions for BBC on new White Helmets podcast series attacking OPCW whistleblowers
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/11/30/questions-bbc-podcast-opcw-whistleblowers/
Thanks Brian
Craig,
Labour used to be an anti European Union party. Peter Shore and Tony Benn were against this undemocratic institution- were they racist?
It was under Neil Kinnock that labour adjusted to being pro EU.
Please don’t tar everyone who doesn’t support the EU as racist.
The EU became a political body with a foreign policy, connection to NATO and ones which imposes its values on others – it’s not a trading block
Starmer knows what damage he is doing to democratic socialism and it is his intention (as was Blair’s) to replace Union funding of Labour for the millionaire and billionaire capitalist funding model.
We are heading towards a post-democracy world.
To
frankywiggles
December 4, 2020 at 12:51.
Something that was mentioned on UK Column recently, was that Starmer’s purge didn’t end with Corbyn’s ousting, but is more of a “work in progress” with about another dozen MPs being in his sights. Our Blackburn MP, Kate Hollern, successor to Jack Straw it appears, is on his list.
Thank you. On the matter of exclusions, I was taken aback a bit by a report last week in The National about the elevation of Neale Hanvey to the conduct committee of the SNP, in which certain rather crucial information was omitted. I wrote a letter to point out the implication of this. It has not been published. I quote it here;
Dear Editors,
There are serious omissions from the following paragraph quoted from the report on Neale Hanvey’s election to the SNP conduct committee (3rd December).
“Hanvey was reported to the party for sharing an article featuring a caricature of billionaire businessmen George Soros as a puppet-master …”
The crucial item of the image in question is thus omitted. George Soros is depicted with an exaggerated hooked nose, which is an antisemitic trope and the reason Hanvey was disciplined. Without specific mention of this, the report implies that there is something antisemitic about depicting billionaire businessmen as puppet-masters. Lambasting the state of the economy in a cartoon about wealthy businessmen pulling the string is not of itself antisemitic and it is hardly very radical either. Only if it is obvious that said businessmen are Jewish is there any evidence of antisemitism. It would have been better to mention this fact, for it was something like this that got Neale into trouble in the first place.
The report also mentions the other images that brought Neale before the SNP beak. These draw parallels between “the contemporary treatment of Palestinians and that of the Jewish people in the Second World War”. Again omissions water down the issues, allowing for sloppy interpretation, specifically the Israeli state and the Third Reich, which are the circumstances under which the internationally recognised definition of antisemitism can be invoked. I feel this should have been made more explicit in the report.
In response to his critics, surely given his recent experience, his new understanding of how antisemitism is to be understood and how easy it is to be pulled in by common antisemitic tropes, Neale Hanvey is a perfect addition to the SNP conduct committee.
Sincerely,
Readers are invited to speculate about these omissions.
ROS
The idiot doesn’t realise he helps the cause of independence by being such an offensive commentator. He is the British Nationalist who calls independence supporters hated Nationalists but fails to recognise his British Nationalism which is a classic blood and soil nationalism.
It is amazing how the Britnat media have turned him into a “historian” when he is no such thing – he started on TV with his two men in a ditch show – there is something about Britnats and ditches – he is an archaeologist turned TV presenter who writes historical Britnat propaganda – he is no historian.
Yes Cubby, to think the NTS gave him a senior position, this is the same man who called independence cancerous.
“This is only a tiny example of the removal of access to dissenting opinions … The trend towards this censorship on the internet is massive.”
I see this creeping censorship and the routine accusations of ‘antisemitism’ as having the same objective:: to cancel and delegitimitize all politics to the left of corporate owned so called centrist parties. The ruling class and its media want to permanently reduce democracy to a choice between fake ‘tolerant’ neoliberalism and proudly intolerant neoliberalism, with both establishment parties posing as dissenters acting on behalf of the oppressed. A tag team that is progressively pauperizing great swathes of western societies.
Big row over the gormless Gavin Williamson’s attempt to impose the IHRA working definition of antisemitism on universities – to be used as a disciplinary code – i.e., precisely what one of the authors feared would happen and advised against.
Figures representing leading universities have spoken out, fearing for free speech and because the IHRA definitions are arguably fundamentally flawed, and any actions flowing from them will be open to legal challenge/ interpretation. But Williamson is insisting upon adoption, lest universities risk being blacklisted by the govt. It’s a shitty state of affairs. I’d wager Williamson couldn’t accurately cite parts of the the IHRA that he so readily wants to impose, and certainly couldn’t debate the definitions.
The only qualification many politicians have for the role they occupy, is the fact they got elected. And in safe seats, under FPTP if you’re the official party candidate, that’s often as easy as falling off a log.
Goose
To be blacklisted by a government that approves of ministers bullying civil servants is logical. . Civil servants have to have both a good education and commonsense. Both of these qualifications are detested by this fascist government.
Educational institutions , like GPs when salaries were increased and hours decreased 20 years ago are now discovering why Cameron gave them the £9.000 tuition fees not to get rich, but to be obedient. This year had been difficult for universities and hopefully they will rediscover some of their former recalcitrance.
It’s risky pushing it into universities, because if some IHRA resultant ‘borderline’ disciplinary action ends up in the courts, anything can happen. If they lose and a precedent is set, then the IHRA’s working definitions – which were really developed only to be merely a “useful guide” (for academics studying prevailing societal trends, hence are very broadly drawn) – will be discredited .
“I see this creeping censorship and the routine accusations of ‘antisemitism’ as having the same objective:: to cancel and delegitimitize all politics to the left of corporate owned so called centrist parties”.
I don’t think it has any relationship to political orientation.
Surely no one would call David Irving a leftist. Or Frau Ursula Haverbeck – https://www.unz.com/estriker/germany-political-dissident-ursula-haverbeck-sent-back-to-prison-may-become-oldest-female-inmate-in-the-world/. Yet both have been imprisoned (Irving in Austria, Frau Haverbeck in Germany) merely for questioning the official story of the Holocaust.
It’s more a matter of making it inacceptable or even illegal to tell the truth when it clashes with politically correct views. Exactly as Orwell described in “1984”.
Why are you so eager to believe Jews were not systematically killed in WW2 when there is overwhelming evidence that they were? It is the darkest irony of the anti semitism witch hunt we are living through that the witchfinders ignore the genuine anti semites on the Right.
ronan1882, “questioning the official story of the Holocaust.” is not denying that it happened, just denying that it happened in the way the official histories say it did. This could mean saying that the Holocaust was worse than we are told it was, or that people and organisations, powerful people and organisations, who have hitherto avoided being connected with it in any way, were actually in it up to their necks.
Tom Welsh
I have just switched to Shell Energy , with some trepidation after reading that Shell benefitted from Jewish slave labour from concentration camps.
The truth is definitely not that the holocaust didn’t happen, but the pretence that nobody knew about it happening until later. If German industry was involved , definitely British industrialists knew about it . Some if them probably hoped to be able to do the same if Hitler had won the war.
Please don’t forget that while we have been going about our daily business in the last 20 years USUKIS has systematically torture-brainwashed 100s of 1000s of millions into violent jihadists. Everybody is denying this holocaust because it is unthinkable that our politicians on both sides could be so evil as to do this.
South Africa was a holocaust the African slave trade was a holocaust. People can deny them all if they can’t face reality. In our time the zionists have been holocausting the Muslims. In WW2 European industrialists were holocausting the Jews and 300 years ago the same Europeans and Jews were holocausting the Africans.
Please get used to it.
100s of 1000s.. I don’t know where millions came from. Unless you count the many millions of Muslims who support the mad jihadists from.their comfortable armchairs.
There is always one trying to move the conversation away from a sensible debate into holocaust denial. You’re definitely on the wrong blog for that. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were one of those who are employed to do this kind of thing…
Tom Welsh is correct in stressing the stupidity of a legal system which allows people to be imprisoned for holding views different from those to which the nearest legislature subscribes.
As Ronan points out discussion of the “Holocaust” is to be encouraged. And not least because, as has always been clear but is becoming increasingly obscured, the first victims of the systematic killings were political opponents, followed quickly by insane people who weren’t Nazis, the frail elderly (the sort that Covid is allowed to finish off) and young people very much like those in Brian’s links below @17.36.
Indeed it might be worth watching that video and reflecting on how many of those kids Dr Asperger would have consigned to the wards where they were starved to death.
The Holocaust was an enormous and multi faceted living nightmare which, if understood in all its detail, teaches us much more than the reality that many of those who survived it found refuge in Palestine.
Bevin
The foundation of Protestant christianity is that God knows nothing about the human condition but Jesus ( the mythological version ) experienced just how awful it was and decided to be much more lenient than his out of touch “” dad “”.
Judaism opposes that ultra liberal philosophy, as does Islam. That’s why they are so detested in the West. The current racism against Muslims in working class Britain is intolerable and it will lead to oppression in our society. Iraq , Syria Libya have already been put back into the Middle Ages.
Britain is just as capable of genocide as Germany. Woke wonks in the Scottish parliament are already banning free speech and fake charges have been brought against Craig and others.
The Home Secretary has always been maintained as a representative of collective wisdom. The fact that Pritti Patel has chosen to bully is a dog whistle to British racism. Under this far right leadership Britain is capable of anything.
The fact that it is hell bent on removing itself from the straitjacket of collective European wisdom , is very serious indeed.
Holocaust denial is a strange phenomenon, especially as we are dragged by our own far right government closer towards the brink of doing it ourselves.
Yet another person, subjected to extreme vilification, was the French comedian who had the stage name, Dieudonne, who has, over the years, suffered court fines, physical attack and suppression of his livelihood, all because he was deemed to be anti-Semitic. Considering that an early partner of his, in his stage career, was Jewish, it seems a complete nonsense.
A plausible explanation may be that he doesn’t want to be painted as unpatriotic by the tabloids, by arguing against.
Ed Miliband stood in for him last time, and Labour’s position was to oppose. Last time the vote went 340 MPs voting in favour of the legislation and 263 votes against – a majority of 77.
Self Isolation = The new version of Boris’ Fridge = A safe space for political cowards.
Sounds Good Craig –
Yes Alba: Top indy activists and SNP MP elected to lead new organisation
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18919272.yes-alba-top-indy-activists-snp-mp-elected-lead-new-organisation/?
The whole parliament knows that tarring allies of the palestinians as anti semites is bogus, yet not a single member of it has the courage to publicly say so … Sadly too, no political media in Europe is more submissive, amoral and drowning in groupthink than ours … People support this blog because you always tell it exactly as it is, without fear or favour … If you weren’t consistently upsetting establishment clowns nobody would contribute a bean … Please keep sticking it to the clowns !
It appears the sine qua non is membership of Nato would be incompatible with the current SNP party policy on nuclear weapons. Here I believe lies the conundrum, the complication of REMAIN together with NATO membership.
Alyn Smith, a member of the national council and Angus Robertson, the SNP’s defence spokesman have put into the wrangle that there are a lot of countries (Denmark, Norway & more) who look at NATO as being a sensible thing to be part of.
The SNP faces conundrums over its contradictory positions. But for some perspective:
“We have got a deal, oven-ready, by which we can leave the EU in a few weeks. It’s as great deal for this country . it delivers everything that I wanted when I campaigned for Brexit”
– Boris Johnson Nov 2019
If they hooked this guy up to a polygraph it’d probably explode.
Probably did, and that’s what got him the job.
“it delivers everything that I wanted when I campaigned for Brexit”. The obvious question is what was it that Bozo actually wanted ?
Jobs for his mates – delivered, ability to bolster his finances with tax payers money – delivered, Sell off what remains of the NHS to the US – delivered, Pretend to be the PM – delivered; Move one of his tarts into No 10 – delivered, Move huge sums of tax payers money into the private sector – delivered.
NATO is well past it’s sell by date and has now morphed into the North American Terrorist Organisation. NATO now exists to ensure that income streams into the MIC are maintained. Why would any sane government want to have anything to do with this organisation ?
Because some US heavies are breathing down their necks? “Nice little country you’ve got there, shame if anything happened to it”.
Tom Duggan in Syria.. Heart breaking and joyful..
Working with autism and downs syndrome Syria – YouTube (2m 33s)
And here –
Autism play on Hygiene a learning experience – YouTube (3m 18s)
Very nice.
Strangely Quiet here..laguerre where is everyone ?
I thought it was that everyone had said what they had to say about anti-semitism. You have to be so especially careful what you say on the subject, that it discourages people from saying anything. Deliberate, of course. Shutting down discourse is the point. A good example is the exchange immediately below about Roald Dahl. Most of what Dahl said is what you or I might say any day about French or Italians, without any problem, but it’s accused by S of being rank anti-semitism. By the way, Jews themselves are not at all careful what they say about other ethnicities; what they often have to say about Arabs and Muslims is quite appalling.
It is a time of massive cognitive dissonance for “centrist” (rightwing) liberals who dislike Jews almost as much as they hate the left. The McCarthyites are their people but they know that they could easily be swept up themselves in the Witchfinders’ dragnet.
The most disorienting period of Laguerre’s political life.
Ah yes, the instant accusation of anti-semitism! Par for the course, Israel has her people waiting at any moment to say that. Costs quite a bit I imagine, but it gives political results, as I mentioned.
Indeed Greg Park gives very precise evidence of what the article is about. It’s exactly what Craig is saying. Shutting down discourse is the objective here.
You have made it abundantly clear that you are a Blairite-Macronite neoliberal to the core. These dishonest, witchfinding weasels are your ideological soulmates. The tragedy is that your antipathy towards Jews does not allow you to join in the Blairites’ anti-Semitism witch hunt against the left, who you hate even more.
As I said, the most disorienting period in Laguerre’s political life.
So my real crime is being a ghastly centrist, is it? A greater crime than being an anti-semite. Seems contradictory with being an anti-Semite,. The heroes of your version of centrism are Blair and Starmer, both very powerfully pro-israel. Not Macron, he’s only interested in Christians, which is why he flies to Beirut, and attacks Erdogan.
By the way, I am not an anti-semite. I just think Jews, and Israel, need to be treated in the same way as other ethnicities.
The reach for antisemitism even goes back in time to 1983 against an Author of childrens book for comments against Israelis Link: https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/people-entertainment/2020/12/07/roald-dahl-family-apology/
The comments picked out in that article say nothing about Israel, they are nasty anti-semitic comments. Important to be accurate. Not sure it’s really up to the family to apologise, nor why now, but someone had to say that it wasn’t ok and they are probably the main authorities.
If Labour get into power then the little people might struggle to criticise anyone who can afford lawyers.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/06/margaret-hodge-calls-for-ban-on-social-media-anonymity
Many would be fine with ending anonymity and far more transparency from all. However, I doubt govt will ever insist on that; for starters, it isn’t real anonymity – IP address is visible to anyone who wants it, unless the individual is going to certain technical lengths to hide it. This false sense of anonymity is a situation authorities probably prefer.
Secondly, think of all the paid trolls and bot accounts various states, organisations and political parties and others use. That anonymity allows them to run multiple accounts to discredit views and push propaganda etc.
From the top of the page quote: Unlike our adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations.
Do you think they’d want to be forced, by law, to post under their real names?
“Do you think they’d want to be forced, by law, to post under their real names?“
Oh, I’m sure there would be exceptions to that rule “in the interests of national security”.
These are US-based tech companies though, and it may not be that simple, if every nation were to demand such special ‘sock puppet’ privileges. I doubt what’s been going on with ‘multiple accounts’ has even been revealed to these companies or the wider population – who didn’t vote for that, and almost certainly wouldn’t if told.
Arguing these companies should allow their platforms to be essentially misused by states and others, who claim they’re open and democratic, while hypocritically criticising other states, may not be an argument some want to make.
And ultimately, they’d have to have some ‘real’ identity.
This is not the first time this has been mooted:-
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/angela-rayner-ban-anonymous-social-media-abuse-labour-facebook-twitter-a8551716.html
Most of us post under an internet ‘handle’ not for any sinister reason but to protect our privacy and safety. Once you have somebody’s real name it’s not that difficult to discover where they live and much else if they’re foolish enough to be on Facebook. Whilst I sympathise with anyone who has been trolled the remedy is simple; don’t use social media.
Same here.
Yep, there’s nothing I say that I wouldn’t be willing to say face to face. I’d maybe be a bit more reserved online if anonymity ended, but wouldn’t fear commenting.
I don’t personally engage in or with those making abusive comments, ever, anywhere. And I feel anyone who does do that, has basically already lost the argument.
Notice how respectful, polite and fair discussion is conducted here. Craig gets abusive comments on Twitter and those tend to come from ignorant people on the political right, who believe everything they are told, or read, in the tabloids. Accusing anyone who doesn’t share their worldview of being a ‘crank’ is the current favourite.
People who would be humiliated by their own ignorance, if they ever debated their positions with the likes of Craig, the late great Robert Fisk or John Pilger. The online nastiness is all coming from one side.
G: “Yep, there’s nothing I say that I wouldn’t be willing to say face to face. I’d maybe be a bit more reserved online if anonymity ended, but wouldn’t fear commenting.”
I take your points above, but people would definitely be inhibited while commenting. If their boss or partner, neighbours or (god forbid) religious dictator wouldn’t like the message, it would probably not be said.
Just look at BBC staff now – they’re no longer allowed to express a personal political opinion. Not one with left wing leanings, anyway.
Our elected MPs aren’t elected to make laws to protect themselves, are they? It’s horrible that Hodge and Rayner receive abuse on twitter, and it’s not ok to post nastiness, but is that really a reason to make new laws? so that our lawmakers can sue their voters? do we need to shut down reddit, wordpress, stackoverflow etc because of this?
There might be many other reasons to reduce anonymity, but there are also reasons to keep anonymity, as you said. And both these newspaper articles lead with the personal problems of abuse for MPs, with no journalistic criticism…
George Orwell thought that a lot of Jewish people that he met, were, ” aloof “, according to the BBC documentary on Orwell’s life. Editorial control, no doubt, decided to mention that Orwell had had Jewish friends. About six months later, the programme was repeated, and being an avid Orwell fan, I watched it again, and the above mentioned was completely edited out!. What a surprise!!
The hypervigilance against even the mildest forms of mocking or criticism is a new and unwelcome development. Stemming from some of the absurd disciplinary cases within the Labour party : Marc Wadsworth and Chris Williamson being examples.
The bar has been lowered on what’s defined as ‘highly offensive’ to the point where saying anything can be regarded as such. No doubt someone will have decided Orwell’s anecdotal observation falls into that category.
Wadsworth -typo
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[ Mod: Duly corrected on your behalf. ]
Roger Waters has outspoken cutting interview on Going Underground.
Moderator. My posts keep getting removed. The last one informing people to watch Roger Waters on Going Underground. He is on topic and credits Craig. I value Craig’s articles and have supported his work for some time. Would you re instate my deleted posts please.
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[ Mod: Your comment about Roger Waters wasn’t deleted. You actually responded to a typo notification from Goose, which was routinely deleted but has now been reinstated at your request – though it no longer makes sense, since the typo has already been corrected. Moderators routinely respond to typo notifications by correcting the text and deleting the notification. Please be mindful of this in future and ensure you reply to the original comment instead of the erratum.
PS. Goose – the moderators have been making the corrections for you as a courtesy, but you post far too many typo notifications. As advised previously, kindly check for typos before posting the comment. ]
Why is Mr Water’s opinion held in such high regard?
Kempe. Perhaps he along with Craig and a handful of others has an ever shrinking and sinking desert island platform to stand on. Are you afraid of debate and opinions different to yours ?
Or a sunless neo Liberal swamping sea of war
I wouldn’t be here if I was. Roger Waters is entitled to his opinion and has the right to express it. I just don’t see why what he thinks should be thought so important.
Why is his opinion any less important than yours ? What are his opinions and what do you think of them and why is whats important ! For example, do you think Israel should go back to its pre 67 borders and the UN should recognise Palestine ? If not viable,then do you think there is only one fair solution, that of Israel Palestine as one country in which Palestinians have equal rights and those ethnically cleansed ti refugee camps having the right to return ? If not what do you think happens to the Palestinians continual suffering ? Over to you
Kempe.
The difference between Roger Waters and me and you is that he is someone well known whereas we are unknowns. People take notice of celebrities and since his opinions align with a lot of free speaking people I’d suggest his opinion carries more weight – in the public eye.
Obviously his opinions are no more important than yours or mine, but who cares what we think ?
The heir to the throne regrets the loss of his German titles!
PRINCE CHARLES lost the right to use a set of ducal titles after the heartbreaking decision to change the Royal Family’s surname to Windsor.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1369325/Prince-Charles-news-title-Prince-of-Wales-duke-Windsor-Royal-Family-latest-vn
Worthy of a Monty Python sketch.
A statement by His Royal Highness The Duke of York KG. pic.twitter.com/solPHzEzzp— The Duke of York (@TheDukeOfYork) November 20, 2019