This is pretty candid with Crispin Flintoff of Not the Andrew Marr Show
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This may assist Craig’s campaign;
Labour’s 2019 Manifesto;
https://labourlist.org/2019/11/the-complete-guide-to-labours-2019-manifesto/
Our host’s nomination papers are pretty extraordinary as well:
https://blackburn-darwen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Statement-of-Persons-Nominated-Notice-of-Poll-and-Situation-of-Polling-Stations-UKGPE.pdf
Before this year, has there ever been a post-war UK general election in which someone has proposed or seconded a candidate (or even just been an assentor), and then gone on to stand against that candidate in the election? If I had to bet, I would say no. Deffo one for ‘Insane Moments’:
https://x.com/PoliticsMoments
I suppose it could be possible that the Adnan Hussains are different people – after all, there are seemingly 11 [ELEVEN] Niko Omilanas standing as candidates in this election:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niko_Omilana#2024_United_Kingdom_general_election
(Unlike the days of Screaming Lord Sutch and Rainbow George Weiss, since 2007, a person can’t legally stand in more than one constituency in a UK general election.)
Niko once went to the “most racist town” in America to make a live stream, several years ago Well worth a watch – I think he met the town’s “leader” who could only speak to him over a gate, not being willing to let Niko on his property. The clips of him walking down the street, interacting with the town’s residents were very funny
He is immensely popular with younger folk – I would bet the motorist in the above video who questions Mr Murray, has watched him many times. Niko is a native speaker of the most exclusive language of all – that spoken by those with little experience ie the young.
Thanks for your reply Will. Not that familiar with (the original) Niko Omilana, but I know that he’s made a bit of money from doing stuff on YouTube, and that he beat Laurence Fox in the 2021 London mayoral election*. I don’t know, but I’d imagine that the other 10 Nikos have recently changed their names by deed poll. Does it still cost only £50? Can’t be arsed checking.
* I believe that, like Lozza, he tried to stand in this year’s mayoral race as well, but messed up his nomination papers.
Behind all the laughs Niko is an intellectual. He uses “Dennis Pennis” type humour to expose the foundations and antecedents of various hateful positions, using his razor wit and huge range of micro-expressions that his face capable of.
Many have made a packet from Twitch and the rest of the streaming platforms. Think of “l Show Speed”, a very young man whose made millions in a short time from playing vid games and recently moving into cryptos scams – I think he just turned twenty one. There are loads like “Speed” – “Destiny”, “SS Sniperwolf” and even political ones like “Hasan Abi” but I haven’t seen any like Niko. If speed of thought makes a person “special”, Niko is special and I would suggest a deeper thinker than any of these young streamers I have watched – and most adults I know lol
I don’t think Niko Omilanas is going away anytime soon. His face is so capable of expressing emotion, it kinda frightens me. A lot of work has been done on micro-expressions and I personally consider this some of the most important research of recent times. I quoted RG Collingwood to you recently concerning Torsten Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption and how under-valued the terminology of science is and feel Niko is a perfect exemplar of what Collingwood is talking about
“We are acquiring new emotions and new means of expressing them”
Thanks for your reply Will. Maybe I’ll have a look at some of Mr Omilana’s stuff when I get time. In the meantime, let’s hope it’s not him that’s standing in 11 constituencies, otherwise he could be in a bit of trouble with the law.
P.S. Became arsed enough to look it up, and found that changing your name by deed poll in the UK costs £49.32 – so I was only 68 pence out.
P.P.S. It’s Thorstein Veblen.
Don’t worry about Mr Veblen’s name. I’m using these comments to talk in code to some other people at the same as talking to you in printed text. It’s an in-joke for social science groupies relating to Veblen’s family history – as a lab residing science person, you wouldn’t understand.
So yea it’s Torsten as far as I’m concerned.
I did watch a Niko vid where he walked up to some random strangers, involved in a street scene (I think it was a bus queue) and started having a discussion with them about them changing their name by deed pole to his name and then standing for election in different constituencies. I thought he and they were joking – apparently not.
The vid mentioned above has got 128,000 (lol) comments attached. When I watched the vid a while ago there were only 30,000 or so. I read through them and they were nearly all positive and often powerful statements in their own right.
Dont worry about getting round to them when you have the time. A little bird told me Niko has got big plans for you and indeed the rest of us, so you and indeed we, will be hearing from him shortly lol!
Thanks for your reply Will. Haven’t set foot in a science laboratory in over five years now. What’s that you say? Mr Omilana has big plans for me – and indeed everyone in Britain? Is he planning to have people called Niko Omilana standing in every constituency in the election after this one, and have most of them win so he can have a majority in parliament, become PM and make all the laws?
Largely unrelated, but I think this is a good example of what the young people that Mr Omilana seemingly knows so much about call ‘getting owned’. Poor Guido:
https://x.com/jokers_tailor/status/1801230853407711486
Your agnostics have lapsed. The proposer happens to have the same first and second name as the so called Independent Solicitor standing for MP to join the ranks of the hundreds of solicitors already infesting the HoC.
It was a joke from me, to cheer up the election coordinator at BB+Darwen city Hall
I hope it raises a smile in others as well
Thanks for your reply, nevermind, and for the clarification. Well done, you fooled me – there can’t be very many Adnan Hussains in the UK, let alone in a single constituency. Hope the election coordinator was suitably amused.
P.S. There aren’t hundreds of solicitors in the House of Commons.
Is it a set-up to sabotage Craig’s candidacy?
Craig, if the people who have persuaded this other “independent” to stand against you are Jack Straw supporters do not for God’s sake be shy about telling the voters that. See how that information lands with them.
It’s extraordinary that Labour would resort to buying off Independent candidates, to “divide and conquer” the potential vote for the Worker’s Party.
But two can play at that game. You’ve got 3 days to put up another “Independent” candidate, who will tell people that he expects that all “Independents” are giving way to Craig Murray, and Labour are useless in improving local services, so all people including Independents and Labour supporters might as well vote for the former Ambassador to Uzbekistan and give him a landslide.
Unless the fake “Independents” whom Labour has bought off stand down voluntarily within the next 72 hours, of course.
100,000 Scots in Munich, Bavaria.
Lets hope European Soccer Championship won´t be to Craig´s disadvantage. (People rather watching than going to the voting booth.)
DunGroanin mentioned the footy last week, suggesting Sunak’s date for the election was related to it.
Just a thought though , Sunak and the Pirates have by calling this election so speedily reveal whatever data that is moving them, is only going to get worse. What sort of “worse” is anyone’s guess
Just got a new German book by German historian Raffael Scheck, about the German offensive in the West 1940 and how ordinary people saw/experienced it. Scheck is an interesting guy. You can check him out since he has tenure in Massachusetts. So he does his stuff mainly in English. Although this particular book seems to be originally German.
https://www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/raffael-scheck/
A German review of the book here, it´s so so, what drives me crazy are these idiots who drag RU into every piece of text they produce (the reviewer)!
Engl. machine transl.
“Book about the “Western Campaign 1940″:The collapse”
https://www-sueddeutsche-de.translate.goog/politik/westfeldzug-1940-frankreich-wehrmacht-adolf-hitler-raffael-scheck-fruehling-1940-rezension-1.6563791?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp
p.s. the only reader´s comment to that review points out correctly that 1940 did not decide WWII. One of Scheck´s theses. But such things are not what make his research interesting. I am rather looking for the kind of things you were mentioning in the past.
That looks a very interesting book. I will get a copy hopefully – thank you
The data the author presents, particularly in the early chapters,
“with constant reference to personal notes of numerous participants, which have not been explored in such detail before”
is just what is needed to give the people of 2024 a chance to assess “the Fall of France”. I have always found it mystifying. Then in later life, coming upon the stories of French soldiers who had fought with great tenacity and skill made me wonder and started me thinking it was the Officer Class who had failed, not the Army
Consider the establishment of Vichy. There are many other arguments concerning what this meant but for the upper elements of French society it was all so “tres sympathetique” not so much for the lower orders. My idea is to investigate the status of French capital in relation to German capital. From Borkin and a few other sources, it is suggested it was subordinate but still receiving decent returns.
Also of interest is the currency shenanigans in the interwar period. According to the American Ambassador, Dodds I think, the Brits and the Americans had “captured” the Franc and could “do what they want with it”. It starts to sound like a shell game to me – France as a nation state was hamstrung by this economic devilry but not the investor class.
will
that path is of course the gold standad of understanding the “big picture” what you suggest.
In an academic book review February I found this item:
“(…)the fundamentally different approaches of National Socialist occupation policy and economy in Eastern Europe on the one hand and Western and Northern Europe on the other. In the West, the Germans made use of a combination of exaggerated, misappropriated occupation costs and a system of multiple forced loans to the Reich. The occupiers benefited from private sector elites who were willing to collaborate and for whom the system made profits possible. In the East, on the other hand, a ruthless plundering policy prevailed in planning and practice, which took into account both the deindustrialization of the conquered territories and the millions of deaths by starvation of the people living there. The economic integration of Austria and the Czech Republic into the German Reich and the annihilation of Jewish employment are regarded as key steps before the transition to military expansion.(…)”
Wolfgang Streeck made a similiar point when reminding that German expansion in the West was considered a EU before the fact. Supported by economic elites in Western Europe. A statement which however would demand major scholarly research and scrutiny. Because it sounds simplified.
One of the leading British historians of France, of old school wisdom, pointed out that the “200 families” who owned French capital (In how far that “200” as a chiffre is only symbolic and not adequate for analysis is another question, as Carley despite being a Marxist, stresses) gave up control of the French FED mid 1930s.
p.s. French soldiers v. officers:
Carley claims here that Germany´s victory over France was a premeditated fact:
“Fiasco: The Anglo-Franco-Soviet Alliance That Never Was and the Unpublished British White Paper, 1939–1940.” International History Review 41:4 (2019): 701-728.”
https://networks.h-net.org/node/28443/discussions/8127981/authors-response-article-review-1052
I would contradict. From the US research it is clear that, just like 1914, French troop numbers were as high if not higher than German Wehrmacht, and they had new planes and new tanks.
The fact that French High Command failed to recognize the proper way to put them to use had nothing to do with alleged economic and industrial superiority of Germany, which Carley refers to. Which left it open who would win the war.
This would show besides a repeated lack of expertise by very good historians on fields unknown to them, like military affairs.
A major blind spot for most German historians is the USSR-3rd Reich part. Another one the nature of the rise of the NSDAP in Germany beyond evil and blinded “masses”. (A reassessment of which would be very helpful for understanding today´s events.)
What Raffael Scheck interestingly says in his preface is that neither in France, nor in GB, nor in Germany did people applaude the outbreak of war. This is something I first read with US historian Michael Parenti some 30 years ago (however with the inexplicable error of negating the existence of the secret “Zusatzprotokoll” in the Stalin-Hitler Pact concerning Poland´s division. Which made me turn away from Parenti.)
p.p.s. Nicolai Petro is never tired to say he would not know about military matters. An admission which is more important than one might think. However that hasn´t kept him to rather cautiously quote estimates by the US side. Of course with caveats. But this is endemic for their entire academic culture. Even with such exceptional scholars like Petro.
The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West, Naval Institute Press; 1st edition, 2005, ISBN 1591142946
Translated into American unfortunately but good stuff.
Read with The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy, London: Allen Lane, 2006. ISBN 0-7139-9566-1
Yes that looks worth reading. I’ve read many from these guys and US War College, Rand and of course Glantz back in the 90’s and 2000’s, maybe five hundred or so lol. When they are good, they are good but when they are not, they are rubbish. This one originally published in German, is apparently the official German campaign history, whatever that means!? Any standouts on what Tooze added to the discussion for you?
And yes you definitely need something like Tooze to get a broader view than the one offered by any of these purveyors of “military theory” or official histories efforts, their main value is in seeing a historical position nailed down. I remember in one of Glantz’s books, he mentions whilst studying Soviet Army and Front records held centrally in Moscow, he compared them with the OKH (German Army High Command Eastern Front) records concerning events following the encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad.
In German-sourced literature much is made of isolated groups of Wehrmacht and Rumanian soldiers resisting the oncoming Soviet hordes, particularly on the northern flank of the “Kessel”, some even being named on maps and reports where military actions are described. He noticed in all the Soviet records, these “groups” were often acknowledged in the most trivial of fashions, as the reports writer got down to an actual discussion of the military situation. He then checked Soviet supply, replacements and internal admin reports of the units fighting in the areas these “groups” were supposed to be and found they were likely fictional in the German records as all the Soviet records were consistent with the claims made by higher formations, i.e. no recognisable military activity by the Germans in their localities. When you have nothing fiction will do
Squeeth
yeah, the title looks intriguing.
thx.
They have been mentioned on this site in the last week as exemplars of anti NATO activism.
I’m happy to confirm that Wallace and Daly have lost their EP seats.
Some tears may be shed in the Russian Embassy in Ireland…
Not good news at all.
Thx for informing.
Would shedding tears make me resident of the Russian Embassy in Germany?
p.s. I don´t understand what is wrong with action against NATO? This used to be the position of the sane in more sane times.
Millions of citizens were protesting against NATO between the 1980s and mid 2010s.
Being against NATO was the standard position over decades.
Even Ukrainians were never wild about joining NATO. Most of the times in polls against it. Even mid 2022 I believe well over 40% against. Under the impression of war. What better polling condition for NATO could you wish for with many in the East not participating in the poll at all.
Not at all AG.
Wallace and Daly were useful to authoritarian regimes, not just Putin’s. They were fêted by them accordingly.
They lost their moral compass long ago and can look forward to a long and undemanding retirement on generous EP pensions.
Weep not for them as they will turn up (if the expenses are sufficient) at “anti war” events in the former DDR and further East for the foreseeable future.
At least the Irish electorate have seen through their pro Putin charade.
A straw in the wind?
sry but the one who lost compass here is you
“they will turn up at “anti war” events in the former DDR and further East for the foreseeable future.”
What is this utter nonsense…
p.s. if you want to provoke for the sake of it maybe we should do that in the forum at least as long as Craig´s campaign is going. However on this matter of Daly&Wallace I haven´t more to say.
“authoritarian regimes”
What like Britain, America, France and Germany?
Do you know Britain holds people for many years without trial, if they feel like it. And all those countries supply weapons to help the genocide of the inhabitants of Palestine by foreign invaders come from the West to steal and kill.
NATO is where all those Nazi’s went. NATO is a Nazi structure, just take a look at a NATO tank brigade and then look at Guderian’s final iteration of his panzer brigade
NATO is the money launderer that allows the super rich to profit from the millions killed since 1990 – by NATO.
You don’t have a very strong grasp of the meaning “authoritian state”. Putin and his crew are amateurs, NATO/Coalition Forces have a proven track record of killing brown people for profit, by the millions. I look forward to the NATO war crimes trials
Will Moon, thank you so much for sharing the link to Niko Omilana’s video about the KKK leader in Arkansas.
I watched and re-watched it, it’s great. I felt hope.
Frankly, with all that nazi whitewashing that goes on, with all that support that the West gives them, people showing so much tolerance towards them and their ideas, I didn’t expect to meet a video like Niko’s.
Now I know it’s ok with the people in the West.
Here in my region, in the neighbouring country, they also say they aren’t nazis. Just the same as Thomas Robb says ‘we’re not Ku Klux Klan, we’re the Knights party of KKK’ as if it changes anything in its essence.
I wish Niko made similar video with Azov, or, maybe he’d like to interview Michael Brodsky, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Ukraine. Here is what he said:
“Our view of such personalities as Bandera, Shukhevych, Melnik and so on is very different from the view of the majority of Ukrainians. Indeed, these people supported the ideology of Nazism. As part of their struggle for the independence of Ukraine, they wanted to see Ukraine without Jews, just as without Poles, without communists and, probably, many others without. And Ukraine is, of course, in search of its identity, in search of its heroes. We, of course, do not like these heroes, but for the majority of Ukrainians they are heroes who fought for independence. It would be wrong to condition our support for Ukraine and our assistance to Ukraine on the fact that Ukraine stops renaming streets or stops calling Bandera or Melnik heroes.”
The ambassador, as far as I understand, is a representative of the state, and when giving an interview he speaks on behalf of the state of Israel, right? Thus, he is 1. aware of systemic anti-Semitism, 2. considers it a natural historical process and 3. sees no reason to refuse support to the nazis in this regard.
Imo, this is about the same point of view as Thomas Robb, who claims that he is not a racist, but simply prefers to be arownd whites, does not allow blacks into his church, and says that this is not racism, but separatism, as he preserves his own people. And especially this: “Personally I believe that black people in this country will be much better off if somebody like me was running things than the liberal crackpots”
If you sustitute ‘black people’ with ‘russian people’ and have in mind Ukraine instead of the US, it will make exact picture of what is going on here. If you substitute with ‘Palestinians’ and have in mind Gaza, I’m sure it’s the same there.
I’ll put the link again in case someone is interested
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umNjlp2LObM
Any chance to contact Niko Omilana?
Thanx for this response Tatyana, I have enjoyed reading it. May I say your command of English here is impressive and I find myself in agreement with your thought
The Ambassador’s comment is alarming –
If country X gives way to Nazi government, we except this because country X needs it’s identity and heroes
If country X is Germany in the 1930’s, then they need their Heydrichs, their Himmlers and their Hitler, we except this !?
Tatyana there is a guy, called Tony Greenstein who has recently written a very detailed history of Nazi- Zionist relations in the 1930’s. I have not read the book, but I have watched Mr Greenstein talk about his research at length on several vids and it suggests an image like you offer with the Israeli guy as regards Bandera and the rest of the killers of Roma, Jews etc, so “necessary” to modern Ukraine – a toleration of genocidal racists by those who are not going to be killed and indeed to use these genocidal racists for whatever political advantage can be gained regardless of one’s own kind being massacred
As for Niko Omilana, well I know an old lady who though blind sees an awful lot. She calls Niko and the others (you know who you are lol!) the “Newones” and they belong to a new species that she calls “the Newone Race”. She predicted the birth of the “Newones” a long time ago, I scoffed at her whimsy – I’m not scoffing now
Let’s hear it for the “Newones”. There is nothing to fear from these newcomers because despite their other more operative attributes, at base they are kind.
Soz can’t help you with getting in touch – maybe try his social media stuff. He did a lot of outreach to the public, when I looked a while ago, so if you monitor his social media stuff, you may by a lucky chance end up in contact with him
I think I know what your lady who sees a lot meant. I once caught myself distinguishing a special type of people, and because of this I even began to suspect that I had a mental disorder 🙂 well, like, you know, a secluded lifestyle in basements perhaps brings out different things in people 🙂 But I decided that my worldview had a lot to do with art, creativity and fantasy, so I forgave myself for that.
Okay, let’s accept the term Newones. I know several of their signs. They are humanists in a special sense, but this new variety of humanism will be difficult to explain. There’s probably no scientific research for these ideas yet, it’s somewhere in the field of philosophy and sometimes gets expressed by different writers. Since my reading is mostly science fiction, I’ll name the Strugatskys, Lukyanenko, and Henry Lyon Oldie aka Ladyzhensky and Gromov. They show this type of humanism well in the series “There Must Be One Hero”
—
My English is mostly Google Translate or Yandex Translate tools 🙂 Cannot accept your compliment, Will Moon, it’s due to those IT teams.
Remarkably Tatyana she wrote it all down eventually. I was pretty gobsmacked because she was no sort of”writer”, no sort of professional person. She let me read it a few years ago
It was hard to visualise what she wrote but I can, on occasion, analyse the logic of text for internal inconsistencies, I didn’t find any. Her description was evolutionary in form but spiritual in content. She is not an overtly religious person, certainly having no relationship with any form of organised religion and I have never heard her refer to any metaphysical entities. If I had to characterise her mindset, it would very much be one of a hard science, evidence-based mind.
She wrote of the first “Newone”, I guess someone she must have met a long time ago. Then she offered pointers to indicate the properties and behaviours of those in the first wave. She described how the opposition would manifest itself. Then she described the second wave, in detail, again based on people she was meeting – Niko and the others I place here in the second wave. She said the Newone information was most identifiable in the tones of a person’s voice. She describes our world and our past as “the Sadlands” and those who resist as “Sadlanders” – those trapped in the visions of Hell that is our past.
Of course she is using allegory – or is she lol?
Also, Will Moon, you say that A,bassador’s comment is alarming. I suggest my interpretation of his words, let’s see if you understand it in the same way.
So, his concept of a state’s independence is a piece of land clean of other ethnicities? Do I get it right?
He said he understands Ukrainian passion to glorify those who cleansed the country of Jews and Poles. He also mentioned communists. At that time, communists must be Soviets, i.e. Russians? He clearly connected fight for independence and desire to see Ukraine without Jews, just as without Poles, without communists and, probably, many others without.
He connects it in one phrase. Literally he says that ethnic cleansing is a part of struggle for independence.
I wonder is it widely spread concept of independence in Israel?
I do not put aside his regret, he said they don’t like these ‘heroes’. I see it’s hard to like ‘heroes’ who burned your parents in crematorium.
Yet I try to connect his dislike and his support all into one, and the only conclusion I’m able to imagine is: he is not against nazism, he just don’t like to be a victim of it.
Claiming that the US, the UK and other clients of Uncle Sam is like trying to exonerate Hitler for his part in the Holocaust on the grounds that he never personally killed any Jews. Like Hitler, or rather unlike Hitler, the West has not only an army to impose authoritarian rule on its behalf but a vast panoply of states with which to do so, and is ready to foment murderous insurrection should democracy threaten to break out in replacement to the shills currently in power, ask Pakistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela…
JK
despite my reaction, I didn´t want to silence any discourse.
(Just to clarify that.)
Mick Wallace & Clare Daly may have exited by one door, JK, but lots of fascists (many of whom are sympathetic to Putin) have come in by another. Starmzy will probably pursue closer ties with the EU – but at least officially, we in Great Britain are out of that shit now.
What do you mean by “facists”?
Thanks for your reply Will. By fascists, I mean the far-right, i.e. all of the MEPs in the Identity & Democracy group, most of the ones in the European Conservatives & Reformists group, as well as some of the Non-Inscrits, and others who were kicked out of the I & D grouping for being too far-right even for them, e.g. the AfD ones.
Labels are one thing , what a thing actually is, another
I thought Facism is when State and Corporate power merge into one, you know like in America or Britain where both main parties serve the interests of those who own the corporations
That’s a bit complicated for me LA.
Where are the new fascists? In the EP from mainland Europe?
I heard (but haven’t checked yet) that the far right in Hungary and Poland have suffered a setback?
Of course the far right and the far left often have a lot in common.
PS I notice that Craig’s party are the Workers’ Party of Britain, not Great Britain.
A nice nuance.
What do you mean by “facists”?
Oddly “Mr Eurofacist” V Orbán is very close to B Netanyahu – why would a leader from the Jewish State cozy upto a person like Orban, who has often been accused of serious racism
“ Of course the far right and the far left often have a lot in common.”
But not as much as any two oligarchs that you care to mention have in common.
Because the zionist occupation isn’t Jewish or a state, it’s a US proxy.
No, the far right and the far left (the left) are similar because they resemble bourgeois liberals; they are all statist ideologies, hence the similarities, which is why the third ideology is usually omitted for er, ideological reasons. Only anarchists are real lefties because they aren’t statists.
Where to begin with a comment so wrong that the epithet “ignorant” defines it?
The capitalist mode of production has been in existence for c.500 years. During that time, its mode of operation has become increasingly complex, from mercantilism through Taylorism/Fordism and now post-Fordism/globalisation. Alongside that economic development has come an expansion of the State’s role in society and new ideological formations to “glue” everything together.
The transition period between Capitalism and Communism is termed Socialism. Socialism does not itself constitute a distinct mode of production like the former two but rather consists of a period of continued class struggle as those who own the means of production as their private property – capitalists, both domestic and international – attempt to prevent/slow down the transition process. (In passing, it is worth noting that this distinction reflects badly on those who call themselves “Socialists”, since they are stating that they desire as their “end of history” a state of permanent disruption, chaos and class conflict). Several countries have tried to make this transition and in all cases the State initially becomes enlarged as it takes over functions previously performed by private concerns. Since these resources do not pass into common (communist) but rather national (State capitalist) ownership, there is always a danger that progress will be stalled at this point (the “nationalisation” of utilities, health care, transport, essential industries et al) either through internal inertia or external pressure.
What has made progress beyond this “traditional” nationalisation more difficult at the technical level since the mid-1970s is the post-Fordist fragmentation of commodity production globally. Nothing of any complexity is now made “in one place” – it might be assembled in Country X but the components that make it up can come from all corners of the world, as the disruption to trade patterns caused by Covid demonstrated. So, if Country X wants to go further along the road to Communism than “basic nationalisation” today there is going to be far more disruption to the population’s living standards than there would have been even 20 years ago. (Again in passing, it is worth noting that the post-Fordist de-industrialisation of the West is the root cause of the resurgence of manual working class participation in politics, manifested in the USA by support for Trump and in the UK by Brexit, not their putative “racism” and “xenophobia” as pushed by the “wokerati” including, unfortunately, our host).
If Country X makes it to Communism, the State will gradually wither away as Marx/Engels stated (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withering_away_of_the_state). So much for Communism/Marxism being “Statist”! How to tell if Country X is Communist? Well, the labour theory of value tells one that anything not produced by Man has no (economic) value: air, water, land, the minerals under the ground et al – in short, anything present on Earth before homo sapiens sapiens happened along. So, in a communist society it would not be possible to buy, sell, rent-out or in any other way “own”, for example, land because it is communal, not individual, property. Do you know any modern society where this has been/is the case? And so there you have the answer to the question: Has there yet existed an advanced communist “State” on Earth? (and you also now understand why the term “Communist State” is a non sequitur, unlike Anarchists evidently).
Ahhhhh Anarchists. How can we forget those promoters of spontaneous political action and terrorism in pursuit of some fantastical transition from a complex societal formation to classless bliss, all without guidance from any power structure before or after. And since deeds speak louder than words, one only need reflect on the “events” of the summer of 2020 in the USA, when said fascists (amusingly self-designating themselves “anti-fascists”, and allied with their black racist comrades-in-arms), looted and rioted for “equality” and a “classless society” across the country to the tune of $2BN in damages (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/2020-protests-changed-insurance-forever/) – as of 2021 and counting.
Yeah, that way surely lies some kind of Eden.
Re: ‘So, in a communist society it would not be possible to buy, sell, rent-out or in any other way “own”, for example, land because it is communal, not individual, property. Do you know any modern society where this has been/is the case?’
In most communist countries, including technologically advanced ones like the Soviet Union, it wasn’t possible for individuals to buy, sell or rent-out land, John, because it all belonged to the State. That’s also the case in most modern non-communist countries as well – including the UK*, where legally all land belongs to the monarch (who allows the State to exercise his or her rights, in theory, on behalf of the people) via allodial right, which enables things like compulsory purchase. In fact, compulsory purchase is largely what gave birth to modern Britain by enabling the railways to be built, since most aristocratic landowners didn’t want them on their land.
* What are bought and sold are freeholds, which are essentially leases from the Crown with no rent demanded.
Lapsed Agnostic
The USSR was, and mainland China is, State capitalist, i.e. each took/have taken into “national ownership” (not common/communist ownership) various resources deemed essential for a socialist State to function, including land/property in the case of the former. The point that I was trying to make in distinguishing between “national” and “common” ownership is made by you in your discussion of “land rights” in the UK: that what is given “as a gift” can also be taken away. You cannot do that when land is truly communally owned and is backed up by a non-State controlled armed citizenry, i.e. a true “peoples’ army” (not the Chinese simulacra) – another basic feature of a communist society.
Thanks for your reply John. The Soviet Union & P.R. China were state capitalist economies (albeit with substantial black/grey economy components); however, today they are both mixed economies – and it’s reasonable to say that both are more capitalist than most countries in Western Europe. Sure, you can have a community where all land is genuinely communally owned, as Marx envisioned, and they may have primitive weapons to defend themselves, but without a powerful State, what happens when there’s a neighbouring community with better weapons which wants its land? The point I was making was that a society in which individual property rights were limited by the State, strongly contributed to the material advancement of that society.
Thanks for your reply JK. As far as I’m aware, all of the far-right MEPs represent countries on the mainland – I don’t think there are any from Malta, Cyprus or indeed the Emerald Isle. The Law & Justice party in Poland – which has drifted to the far-right in recent years, though of course doesn’t support Putin – suffered a set-back when Donald Tusk was elected prime minister last year. I’d imagine it will be back in charge at some point. If you want to learn more, you can always read Prof. Cas Mudde’s work – as a taster, here’s an interview he recently gave to Hope not hate:
https://hopenothate.org.uk/2024/06/04/the-far-right-in-the-european-elections-an-interview-with-professor-cas-mudde/
As you state, the far-right & far-left do have quite a bit in common, not least economically – it’s the political horseshoe theory, as expounded by Jean-Pierre Faye (and, believe it or not, Joey Barton* on TwitterX). The Workers Party of Britain is also registered as ‘The Workers Party of Great Britain’ (the Workers’ Party of Ireland being the political wing of the Official IRA, I believe – though you might know more about that than me). Note that Galloway’s outfit has no possessive apostrophe, though it does on our host’s leaflets.
* I still recall his one and only appearance on the Beeb’s Question Time. To wit: “There’s these two birds, right – one of ’em’s ugly, but one of ’em’s, like, super fit….” etc, etc. Half of the audience were in shock.
Update/correction: Just had a look at the EU Parliament election results and found out that one of the new MEPs from Cyprus is from the ELAM party (a.k.a. The National People’s Front). From what I can gather, they seem fairly fascist to me. Apologies for the error. Happily, Malta & Rep. of Ireland still seem to be fascist MEP-free.
On a related note concerning the UK election, in the unlikely event that anyone on here is thinking of voting for the English Democrats, I would think again. Previously, I would have said that they were right-wing but not far-right; however, it turns out that in this election, 4 of their 13 candidates are members of Mark Collett’s* Patriotic Alternative (and appear to be happy to openly state this in their election material), and their candidate in Dover & Deal (who isn’t a PA member) has been calling for compulsory remigration for millions of immigrants on social media.
* For anyone who doesn’t know what he’s all about, here’s a photo of him with his ex, Eva:
https://x.com/LouiseRawAuthor/status/1109478192295878656
Note: That wasn’t a case of opposites attract.
Unfortunately mention of this individual always brings the terrible racist murder of Anthony Walker in 2005 to my mind. His brother and another individual killed Anthony Walker with an ice pick, in an unproved attack. The footballer asked his brother and the other wanted man to return to Britain, which they did, from their bolt hole in Holland
The two men received long sentences convicted of murder charges and Michael Barton was released in 2022 aged 34, being 17 when he was convicted. The convicted had a history of abusive public racism, according to Ian Herbert, writing in the Independent in 2005
Interestingly J. Barton supported his kin in prison, visiting him many times. He may have made a public statement saying that he in no way supported what his brother had done, but felt family and sibling loyalty was strong enough for him to try to help his younger brother.
It was a very sad story – so pointless and cruel. One wonders if M Barton has learned his lesson after 17 years – his sentence was reduced in maybe 2008 for good behaviour by a few years. Anthony Walker’s mum was an exemplar of forgiveness and rationality, saying hate travels in time if one lets it and she was determined not to let this happen. I believe, the friend Anthony was with when he was attacked has said publicly that they could not forgive.
Establishment liberals push “populism” and “horseshoe theory” to try convince people that redistribution and an expanded public sector is in the same off-limits category as overt racism.
And as regards their abhorrence of overt racism, check out what liberal leaders in Europe and North America are doing to Gaza.
I’m not sure that Joey Barton is an establishment liberal, Joel, but who knows? However, I am sure that establishment liberals do abhor overt racism. Covert racism, on the other hand: maybe not quite as much.
In the video, you look much younger and healthier than in the photo on your blog landing page.
You should have a still made to replace the latter posthaste. Potential voters might come here.
Anyway — good luck!
The same has been done in Holborn & St Pancras to thwart Andrew Feinstein’s challenge to Starmer.
https://x.com/mohammedakunjee/status/1801380828255293529
Here’s a good quote (lifted from TCW) that applies to the overwhelming majority of MPs in Westminster:
‘A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the city. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared.’
A Pillar of Iron (1965) by Taylor Caldwell
Thanks for the quote from Taylor Caldwell, who also wrote _Dear and Glorious Physician_ , the story of St Luke. I read that one as a Reader’s Digest condensed book long ago. Maybe cheap copies are available from Oxfam or Hay on Wye.
The UK government do not think Israel has breached International Law, and so continue arms sales to Israel, even when the ICJ have accused Israel of potentially committing genocide and the ICC are about to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli leadership. They are refusing even to show any legal advice they have received from their own lawyers. I wonder why?
Three leading British human rights organisations can join a judicial review in the High Court of the UK government’s continued approval of arms sales to Israel, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and Oxfam will now be able to provide evidence and testimonies in the claim launched by the UK-based Global Legal Action Network and Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights group, which seeks to halt arms exports to the country.
Yasmine Ahmed, Human Rights Watch’s UK director, said: “In the face of Israel’s ongoing crimes in Gaza, the UK government presents the nonsensical argument that it is lawful to continue sending arms to Israel on the basis that Israel is committed to complying with international law. Our evidence shows the exact opposite.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-arms-exports-israel-judge-rules-rights-groups-can-intervene-legal-challenge
Israel hasn’t complied with international law since 1948. The UK’s position is untenable and complete and utter BS.
Hezbollah take Galilee as “You just want to cry’: Ex-Israeli cmdr. says Galilee lost to Hezbollah”
Meanwhile.
“A new opinion poll shows that public support for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and armed confrontation as the best means to end Israeli occupation has increased among Palestinians.
The results of the poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) come as Israel’s brutal onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip continues for the eighth month.
The poll found that support for armed struggle rose by eight percentage points to 54 percent among those surveyed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
The opinion poll showed support for Hamas also climbed by six percentage points to 40 percent and the Gaza-based group enjoyed more support than the Palestinian movement Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, with 20-percent backing.”
What point are you making here Republic of Scotland (“Republic of Scotland” looks good written out in full don’t it lol!)
I wonder how useful polling people being bombed is – we all know that PTSD is real now. Polling in Gaza with an ongoing genocide, polling in the West Bank with ongoing pogroms taking place and thousands being killed
A few percentage points up or down seems nebulous – what are you seeing that I am not?
Some background readers may not be aware of (I wasn’t):
During the first couple of months or so of the conflict I came across an article or two which said – in passing – that there had been a ceasefire agreement in place between Israel and Palestine (or words to that effect) prior to October 7th and that Hamas broke the agreement. Anyway, as a consequence of Owen Jones recently posting a video on his youtube channel entitled ‘There Was NO CEASEFIRE on 6th October: Israel’s Lie Taken Apart’, I just did a search to try and find out more about the ceasefire agreement and, as such, came across an article in the list of results in which it says the following:
Before October 7, the group [Hamas] not only limited its own rocket attacks on Israel but also publicly punished those who instigated attacks within Gaza to break the fragile ceasefires……
Was this strategy just a front while the group planned the October 7 attack? Perhaps. But Israel and the international community did not make a major shift in their policies in response to Hamas’s moderation……
And, most significantly of all:
The Israeli government also made clear its disdain for Hamas. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ripped up Hamas’s revised charter in front of the camera, advocated for the defunding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and gave a platform to far-right ideologues such as Bezalel Smotrich. This lack of incentives for moderation probably increased the attraction of a large-scale attack. This reality was reflected in Hamas official Basem Naim’s interview after the October 7 attack, where he stated “We knew there was going to be a violent reaction. . . . But we didn’t choose this road while having other options. We have no options.”
‘Why Hamas Attacked When It Did’
https://www.csis.org/analysis/why-hamas-attacked-when-it-did
Seems to me that BN and Co did everything they could to try and provoke such an attack!
The zionist antisemites never honour cease-fires, perhaps tacit ones could be considered in the same vein.
For readers who don’t know what the CSIS organisation is that Alan Howard offers above as a source worth reading:
The letters stand for “Center for Strategic and International Studies” an American lobbying unit with strong global aspirations. It is funded by arms companies and governments and of course oligarchs
Current leaders are:
Thomas Pritzker, CSIS Chairman, Chairman and CEO, The Pritzker Organization
John Hamre, CSIS President and CEO, former United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
Sam Nunn, CSIS Chairman Emeritus, former United States Senator from Georgia
Pritzker is a multi-billionaire and is cited in Virginia Guiffre’s deposition regarding the crimes committed against her by Ghislaine Maxwell and Geoffrey Epstein. Hamre and Nunn are MIC apparatchiks.
Former Academics (list taken straight from wiki) include Madeleine Albright, Ehud Barak and Anthony Nuland, and many other MIC acolytes. Albright is the one who said killing half a million Iraqi children was worth the murderous sanctions regime. Barak, like Prince Andrew, was seen at Epstein’s residence long after the Florida conviction for child sex offences
Personally I would not believe anything the CSIS says. If there is a “Deep State” this is it. I think it fair to say many of the problems we face are because of organisations like this
John Kempthorne wrote in Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting that CSIS was “heavily funded by the US government, arms dealers and oil companies, [and] is a consistently pro-war think tank”
O/T.
Judges for Assange Appeal named, I’m hopeful.
“The judges in Julian Assange’s two-day appeal hearing on July 9-10 are the same who granted Assange a rare victory last month: his right to appeal the Home Office’s extradition order to the United States.
Justices Jeremy Johnson and Victoria Sharp granted Assange the right to appeal on only two of nine requested grounds, but they are significant:”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/06/14/judges-named-for-assange-appeal/
Hear, hear!
Victory is near. Soon, Julian Assange will be a free man again.
And to a large extent, thanks to the relentless efforts of Craig Murray, who for a full decade traveled across the world to plead his cause, even at the UN.
The final hearings taking place over a week after the election, the new MP for Blackburn probably won’t have to stand in line for access to the public gallery.
Fingers crossed, but let’s not forget that the potential new PM will be the same person responsible for Assange’s incarceration and torture in Belmarsh. We shouldn’t count our chickens whilst Starmer guards the coup.
The Ukraine and Gaza situations appear to be having unintended consequences for the hegemon.
“Saudi Arabia has reportedly decided not to renew its 80-year petro-dollar deal with the U.S. This bad news for the US is censored in Western media, but is reported today by Times of India.
The deal expired on June 9, 2024, and there is no official confirmation of its renewal.”
https://www.globalresearch.ca/saudi-arabia-breaks-us-global-power/5859999
Maybe just a hiatus for some haggling Stevie Boy?
I find it hard to believe the House of Saud can decouple – defence, defence, finance – they are vulnerable and with the suppression internally, who knows what currents move beneath
It’s real.
In January 2023, in Davos Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan spoke to journalists. He said the country was open to trading currencies other than the US dollar.
Currently SA talks with China over yuan-priced oil contracts
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-considers-accepting-yuan-instead-of-dollars-for-chinese-oil-sales-11647351541
I won’t believe it till they do. Without the logistical support of the Western MIC, all the kill toys they have bought from America, Britain etc will be considerably less effective and in many cases completely ineffective
Have you seen the plans for Noem, MBS’s “big idea”. There have been reports that the building of this place is causing considerable friction with locals and it will require considerable suppression of them if Noem is to be built. The House of Saud is caught betwixt the old saw “to be an enemy of America is dangerous but to be a friend is fatal”
will moon
otherwise I´ll forget it – on the topic of 1940 Battle of France:
So far concerning scholarship there seems to be no evidence for German Luftwaffe or High Command to giving orders to deliberately attack refugees or cause refugees. Latter being an obstacle for German units too, who would catch up with French refugees and end up in a very akward traffic-jam. So Wehrmacht building on speed in that campaign had no interest in such complications.
What did happen were civil casualties because pilots were allowed to attack military units despite civilans being there too. With the speed of the planes and flying low and enemy fire the likelihood to kill non-combatants was of course there.
According to then German reports British troops at the fortification of Gravelines near Dunkirk used civilians as human shields.
Studies referenced by the author Roman Scheck on this short excerpt:
Hanna Diamond: “Fleeing Hitler 1940”, 2007
Max Lagarrigue: “1940. La Belgique du repli”, 2005
“Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg” part 2, by Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, 1979
James Corum, in an email to the author + “Kriegsverbrechen im 20. Jahrhundert”, 2001
The quoted book by Roman Schack is not available in English so far.
p.s. which of course puts IDF conduct again in a bad light even when compared to those Nazis…
edit:
Historian´s correct name is Raffael Scheck.
Not Roman Schack or whatever (that´s a journalist, me idiot)
AG my initial comment was about the flight from the German spearheads. The strafing that occurred in the South and the West was away from the dissolving frontlines, away from the fighting. A few strafing attacks on a mass of people in flight will create mass panic. Whether the OKW gave such orders seems immaterial, they will have known that these attacks would have occurred. Give a young man a high performance machine with heavy weapons and a certain a certain amount of random killing will take place in most cases
If you look up Leigh-Mallory’s highly detailed plan to destroy the transport links to the invasion beaches of Normandy and look at the reports from France concerning this relentless air campaign, you may find, as I did, many multiple accounts from French civil sources which offer testimony to attacks which just seemed focussed on civilians alone. The military and political view of this from the Allies was there were no attacks on civilians.
Ground attack pilots of that era, of whatever nation, were notorious for just attacking civilians at random, claiming when asked they thought it a military concentration. Remember Kissinger’s dictum “Anything that flies on anything that moves” and also consider the Wikileaks released video, “Collateral Murder”
Neither Saudi Arabia nor oil are as important as they were in 1973 when the deal was signed (unless my maths is adrift that’s 50 years not 80). The US out-produces Saudi which accounts for 16% of world production; alternatives such as gas, nuclear and renewables have also displaced oil. It might be bad news for the US but unlikely to be the herald of the End Times some are hoping for.
¨It might be bad news for the US but unlikely to be the herald of the End Times some are hoping for.¨
What do you mean by ¨Herald of the End Times¨?
Do you mean the herald of the end times for USA?
Selling Oil for $ had many implications for poor countries. To get $ you had/have to sell anything you have to get $.
USA can create $ as they are pleased after 1973( Gold standard abandoned to finance the Vietnam war)
Oil producing countries like SA had to re-invest those Billions in the USA.
To get those $, created out of thin air, we all had to compete with each other to sell to the USA or to sell to each other in exchange for $.
We are slowly getting to a point where China and the RoW has nothing to exchange with the USA & Uk apart the ¨ Opium ¨.
Hmmmmmmm not even that.
USA and UK Democracy?
Interesting article in the Dorset Eye regarding prospective parliamentary candidates in Dorset but telescoping out into a wider national context. The article contrasts meeting the Lib Dem ppc to Tory ppc in the writer’s constituency. The Lib Dem bod visited them in person, the Tory goes about with minders and it was mentioned that the South Dorset prospective local representative and current incumbent only meets visitors in a former nuclear facility where he has protection from the armed Civil Nuclear Constabulary lol!
Some discussion of PR and the democratic deficit in the constituencies
Very short read – just an image from Britain’s General Election
https://dorseteye.com/our-voting-system-rewards-lazy-mps-every-seat-should-have-to-be-earned-with-hard-work-proportional-representation/
This would be Richard Drax whose family made their significant fortune from slavery but who is refusing to pay reparations?
Not the only thing that’s made him deeply unpopular in some quarters but sadly threats against MPs or prospective MPs from extremist minority groups are becoming increasingly common.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyxx243yr16o
Pears would you not say this is why we need reform?
If the Pols act for the benefit of America and Israel rather than Britain there will be anger. This seems to be a strong theme in this election. If we are able to restore our democracy by local action, I would think this issue would begin to recede.
I am still angry about scenes depicted in the documentary “The Lobby” in which, inter alia, a British elected official talked on camera with a member of the Israeli embassy and probable Mossad operative about setting up fake political pressure groups that would work for the interests of Israel. The fact that this MP faced no criminal investigation and indeed faced no censure is beyond comprehension to me
The destruction of Nordstream and no reaction tells the story – Europe is forced to buy hugely expensive fracked LNG from America, maybe at five times the cost! Few British politicians have even mentioned this to the electorate. One would think that MPs might consider the price their constituents pay for energy as an important issue, after all that is who an MP is supposed to work for, but they don’t, not in anyway. We don’t know who these MPs are working for but is certainly NOT their constituents whom they seem to despise and avoid at all costs. Starmer or Sunak could not talk to me for a couple of minutes without revealing themselves as vacuous liars. One can’t control the narrative, if one talks to the voters
A friend of mine went to see our local MP regarding a housing issue which they were personally affected by, but which had wider ramifications both in the constituency and nationally and was told this wasn’t the sort of issue that had anything to do her “brief” but she never said what her “brief” was.
If you can’t meet the People, you can’t represent the People – only rule them
I think it tells us that people need to learn to be more tolerant. Because somebody sees the world differently from you doesn’t justify violence.
Don’t know about the rest of Europe but the destruction of Nordstream doesn’t appear to have had much effect on wholesale gas prices in the UK. Remember that the pipeline wasn’t operational at the time. We currently import 41% of our gas from Norway, 30% comes from the UK’s own gas fields and 18% from the US. Wholesale gas prices are currently lower than in the summer of 2021. If retail energy prices remain high it could be due more to the greed of the producers.
Your friend now has the opportunity of getting shot of her useless/lazy MP.
A new person has inherited the constituency, after the tenure of a long moribund, recently retired apparatchik. This new person is popular locally, having connections to the community they represent, and they have managed to keep their support for Starmer low key – whether Labour’s dropping of a pledge not to sell the NHS to Big Money from their manifesto will affect the result I don’t know. But I’m telling everyone I met around here and have found people are interested in this issue.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer’s “nightmare film” (Big Lie II – Starmer) will be premiered online this Sunday, on the Not The Andrew Marr Show via Zoom at 10.30am on 16 June,.
The new documentary film shows Starmer backing Israel’s onslaught on Gaza and the huge and growing backlash against him among Muslims, left wing, and younger voters.
Contributors to the film include Jeremy Corbyn, former ANC member Andrew Feinstein who’s standing against Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras, Workers Party leader George Galloway, and leading direct action organiser Huda Amorri.
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2024/06/14/starmer-film/
Some more details on the Forum:
Starmer and the Genocide
Stevie Boy, thanks for the information, did you know, contrary to perceived wisdom Sir Keir Starmer, is a Marxist. Not of the Karl school, but in the tradition of Groucho Marx, who famously quipped These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others…. Thanks to Dave Hansell,Skwarkbox.
I’m stunned Claire Daly and Mick Wallace, two Irish MEPs who spoke a lot of sense have lost their MEP seats.
WTF is going on in Ireland Mick Wallace lost out to a former Eurovision host.
Craig I read a comment on Wings that says the same backers who backed Jack Straw have put a candidate up against you.
Without the shadow of a doubt.
That’s exactly what is called a Straw man.
I will never learn to use articles and ¨ pun intended” or ¨pun not intended .
This must be ¨pun intended
I’m also stunned at what’s happened to Clare Daly and Mick Wallace. Can’t be sure what’s going on, but I have noticed that the Irish MSM has been stirring up a lot of hatred against immigrants. I’m surprised, because you’d think that the Irish of all people would know what it’s like to be an immigrant.
Neil. The irish in Ireland are not immigrants. Their issue is exactly the same as the UK’s, large numbers of uncontrolled immigrants entering the country and swamping the services. All foisted on Ireland by their euro loving government, and these are people who have travelled the length of Europe passing through at least four safe countries on their way to Ireland (or the UK). Whether you love or hate uncontrolled immigration the fact is that the economic impact on the host countries is devastating.
The local and Euro elections in Ireland showed some surprising results. In the European parliament election Sinn Fein did poorly gaining 2 seats and just over 11% of the first preference votes whilst the two government parties FF and FG got 4 seats each with approx 20% first preference votes each. Labour won 1 seat and the other three seats were taken by independents with independents taking 34% of first preference votes. Mick Wallace had a better showing than Clare Daly but neither got a seat sadly. A breakdown of the voting and counts can be found here:
https://www.breakingnews.ie/elections/european-election-results-midlands-north-west-dublin-and-ireland-south-constituencies-1634941.html
Irish media have been hounding Clare Daly and Mick Wallace and portray them as “pro Kremlin” in any coverage. However, perhaps there is a silver lining and they may try to run in the general elections for the Dail which may come sooner than expected. They’ll have to work hard to counter the pro Russian misconception. They’ll not get any help from Irish media.
Sinn Fein did better in the local elections the results here:
https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/local-elections-2024-where-all-the-parties-won-and-lost-votes-1637662.html
Unfortunately, like everywhere else currently, there is some anti-immigrant sentiment in Ireland and the usual elements stirring it up. I don’t see anti-immigrant sentiment in the main Irish media but there are fringe groups and the usual youtube, twitter people. A number of proposed sites for housing asylum seekers have been set alight.
ET, you said that
“Irish media have been hounding Clare Daly and Mick Wallace and portray them as “pro Kremlin” in any coverage”.
But they are indeed pro Putin, bought and paid for long ago.
Of the two ex-MEPs, Daly is far the better. She challenged the politicisation of the police and achieved some results.
Wallace on the other hand is a tax fraud and a political opportunist – a chancer.
Both have chosen to defend Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and oppose Western military assistance to Ukraine.
So “pro Kremlin” in deed and word.
No they haven’t and you are pontificating (not like you /s) in the same way the Irish MSM have even though I suspect you well know better JK. Both have unequivocally condemned Russian agression in Ukraine and, in fact, the Irish Times published their condemnation.
https://archive.is/wzBzi
Advocating for demilitarisation, de-escalation and negotiation is NOT the same as support for Russia. Is nuance beyond you JK?
ET.
Nuance? Aye right.
Disingenuous spoofery is what the linked article amounts to.
Lines like
” Our vote was not against condemning Russian aggression. It was against flooding Ukraine with weapons.” reduce to
“sorry that you are being beaten up, here’s a sandwich, try not to hit your attacker back too hard”.
I’m sorry that you accuse me of “pontificating” but better that than hand-wringing while a neighbour is being brutally attacked.
If Daly and Wallace had been listened to; a Russian stooge would now sit in Kyiv and at best Ukraine would be another Belarus.
Oh and Putin would of course have “no further territorial claims” as another tyrant once said.
They are not neighbours. Your usage of this word, “neighbours” is deviant. Most English speakers would not recognise your usage, I suppose English might not be your first language? I have no problem with speakers retreating into their own private ideolect but I will not allow this to be called communication nor will I allow the term “neighbours” to be applied to any country anywhere, regardless of it’s location.
By your reckoning Libya is a neighbour that NATO destroyed, bombing the water treatment plants, sewage and other crucial infrastructure without which life devolved into slave markets and mass vigilantism etc etc (I wouldn’t like to harp on) – do you condemn these barbarians, NATO, do you condemn the profits the corporations which control the West have reaped from the destruction of a developed, modern society.?
I condemned Putin when he came into power – a KGB cypher. Meanwhile Blair, Bush, who rather surprisingly said he had a good opinion of “Putin’s soul” and let the Russian oligarchs bank their money in the West – legitimised him. I condemned him then. I condemn him today for what he is – the leader of a band of erstwhile robber barons – new at the game
Unlike Brit, and the Western oligarchy in general, which is long established and has long and shameful history of many hundreds of years of dehumanisation, rape, robbery and murder and their speciality, genocide.
Do you condemn these, the enemies of humanity, or do you support them?
Will Moon
I’m European and N Africa (Libya), Ukraine and Israel/Palestine are neighbours.
If you disagree then what of it.
I don’t govern your use of English.
Yes Bush/Blair engineered the unnecessary Iraq war which caused 100s of thousands of casualties. Maybe millions. Which makes them as bad as Putin in my book.
Sarkosy/Cameron engineered the unnecessary war in Libya. Which makes them culpable for again 100s of thousands of deaths and the destruction of Libya’s infrastructure as you say.
Again as bad as what Putin is doing in Ukraine.
And we agree I think about Netanyahu’s war in Gaza.
Neighbour – noun
A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or nearby position.
So this is “what of it” – you are using a non-standard English form of English. I will pitch my responses to you, based on this fact not just the content of the material you employ
“ I’m sorry that you accuse me of “pontificating” but better that than hand-wringing while a neighbour is being brutally attacked.”
In what sense are you a neighbour here? It is not your neighbour. It is somebody else’ neighbour ergo not your neighbour
Readers cannot be expected to understand a writer if the the writer is unable, for whatever reason, to express what they have in mind. Confusion over this issue is fine, especially if, as you say you are “European”.
Now we have cleared it up we can ask what have you got against Russian oligarchy that can’t be said about British oligarchy or American oligarchy many times over?
What is your point?
Will Moon
Give it a rest.
If the mods are unhappy with my use of English I expect that they will tell me.
In the meantime I’ll express myself as best I can.
You miss the point. Your level of English is fine. I get things wrong and mis-express myself all the time and I claim to be a native speaker of English
“I’m sorry that you accuse me of “pontificating” but better that than hand-wringing while a neighbour is being brutally attacked.”
What do you mean here? You wrote it, you must have had something in mind? Rephrase the sentence and I’ll give it a rest. As it stands it does not make sense
I don’t think the MODS do grammar or usage, maybe more focussed on legal, admin and policy interventions – who knows? Certainly not me – it is not the usage in this case it is the meaning and since this is a public forum I am allowed to ask
“If the mods are unhappy with my use of English I expect that they will tell me.”
I think you totally misunderstand the point of commenting on this blog, which is convey to to others your opinions. If you insist on having your own private definitions of words, not shared by others, like Humpty Dumpty, that does rather tend to subvert that purpose. The mods aren’t going to mind if you speak gibberish, it’s just that there isn’t any point in doing it.
BTW, “I’m right if we use my own private definition of the word in question” has got to be one of the most feeble arguments ever.
Will Moon & Bayard
I see Europe as my political home and N Africa, Israel/Palestine and Ukraine are countries/regions that neighbour Europe.
Perhaps you are (perfectly reasonably) thinking from a State (Germany, France?) viewpoint whereas (Europhile that I am) I am thinking from a European one?
All a bit tangential to the s41t now happening in N Africa, Israel/Palestine and Ukraine?
This argument over semantics is dragging the conversation away from the important political issues addressed in the video, and is becoming an unwelcome distraction.
The point of contention is whether the interpretation of the clause “while a neighbour is being brutally attacked” is reasonable or not. For the record, ‘JK redux’ has previously claimed to be a citizen of a country which is represented in the European parliament, and the EU itself regards the countries mentioned earlier as neighbouring states:
“Eastern partnership
The Eastern Partnership aims to strengthen relations between the EU and its six Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Southern neighbourhood
Cooperation with the Southern Neighbourhood includes ten partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine*, Syria and Tunisia.”
See https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/european-neighbourhood-policy_en
Accordingly, the interpretation would be regarded as valid within the context of EU discussions, and there are valid grounds for arguing that it is at least reasonable on political blogs. Whether it should be the default interpretation on this blog is a more subjective normative issue with no clear resolution, and there may be valid differing points of view. If anyone wishes to dispute this matter further kindly do so in the discussion forum, by starting a new topic. For the meantime, no further comments about it will be accepted here.
Frank
I know what a tankie is.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie
So what’s the political significance of “Radox”?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radox
Relaxing baths?
JK
“Iknow what a tankie is”
I would hope so, after all, you use it almost every time you post on here (do you have shares in Wikipedia by the way?).
“So what’s the political significance of ‘Radox'”?
Why should or would “Radox” have any political significance? It’s merely a childish jibe, you know, just like “Tankie”
Frank Hovis.
The term Tankie, like it or not, has a political pedigree.
Are you saying that the term Radox (that you used) refers to bathroom products solely?
You did use the phrase “Radox lexicon”?
Bathos rules. OK Bathroom bathos.
Hope i’m not trying the Mod’s patience here by replying to you.
You seem to be looking for some deep hidden meaning or significance in the word “Radox” that doesn’t exist and isn’t implied. Just look at the posts again and think slowly. As the old saying goes, I can explain it to you but I can’t understand it for you. That’s entirely your responsibility.