Those coming from Central Asia, Bahrain, Qatar or Saudi Arabia to the Olympics, interested to see what life in a democracy feels like, will find it seems exactly like life at home in their dictatorship. 17,000 soldiers will be glowering over the venues, checking identity documents, stopping and searching. The mlitary will occupy residential buildings, be buzzing overhead, rolling down the streets and patrolling the river. There will be missiles on land, sea and air, though nobody knows what the threat is that this is supposed to counter.
What will make our dictatorship resident visitors feel especially at home is the contempt for the ordinary citizen. Not only will they have the military all over them and be subject to frequent stopping and questioning, they will be expected continually to get out of the way of their betters. Special VIP lanes on the road will allow officials to sweep by, while normal citizens will simply have to sit in gridlock and stew. Who cares? The military will stick missiles on your roof if they wish. What they are going to shoot down, and which bit of London it will land on, is not to be questioned.
Here in Ramsgate we are losing our regular train service to London completely for the duration. All the HS1 trains are being commandeered to run a shuttle service between Ebbsfleet and Stratford. 22 trains a day from Ramsgate are simply cancelled. Slow trains are available, but a journey normally 70 minutes will become – at the fastest possible – 2 hours and 35 minutes. A large number of commuters will simply be unable to get to work anything like on time, and have to spend door to door over seven hours a day in travelling as well as their working day. Nobody was consulted. Quite a few don’t yet know – there has been no determined effort to tell people. Leaflets are available in the ticket office if you ask for one.
But the leaflets might as well just say, “You are fucked, and we don’t care”.
The extra 3,500 military personnel it was today announced will be used at the games cover a shortfall in Group Four personnel. Group Four were providing 4,000 paid staff and 6,000 unpaid volunteers. It is the unpaid volunteer numbers which are short by 3,500.
Most people are not stupid. They may volunteer happily for sport or for charity, but to work for nothing to make tens of millions of pounds of profit for Group Four as it exploits them, plainly does not have universal appeal. Those 2,500 who have volunteered to work for nothing for G4S are the idiots in this story. How gullible can you be?
Bob Russell, MP for Colchester, today in parliament made the excellent point to Teresa May that Group Four (or G4S as they now call themselves) should not be employed because of their role in aiding and abetting Israel’s illegal activities in the West Bank and human rights abuse there. With breathtaking chutzpah Teresa May replied that it was this kind of valuable international experience that made Group Four the right company to provide security for the games.
Which brings me back to my point at the start. Those visiting from oppressive regimes will feel absolutely at home. That is the one and only thing you can trust Teresa May to ensure with grim efficiency.
So Glenn Greenwald is moving (from Salon)to the Guardian, and he says:
“I will write daily at the U.S. edition of The Guardian, which is based in New York, and will do so exactly the same way as I have here: with full editorial independence and the same type of readership involvement and support upon which I’ve long relied, including a vibrant comment section. In addition to the daily writing, I’ll also write a more traditional once-a-week column there”
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/19/home_news/
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Hmmmmmm … they’re lucky to get him. I wonder now long his “full editorial independence” will last.
On what grounds have the secret court grand inquisitors blocked the ZBBC documentary on the most recent London shoplifting spree/riots. Is it not the case that it is the LSE or the Goydian, that spook-riddled, limited hang-out mouthpiece who have gone to court to prevent its airing. And do we care, it strikes me as something rustled up to convulse public opinion whilst far greater crimes are perpetrated abroad by special forces, special in that they are above the law and implausibly denied or cover for the barren financial sector to continue their looting of the public purse. Dissenters – the majority – will be thrown a bone with eventual airing of the program which will just be predictable tame liberal hand-wringing, archbishops in full regalia, lobotomised Dixons of Dock Green and a few bleeped out expletives from the unrepresentative poster child disgruntled youths, who’ve donned sackcloth and ashes, for their pre-scripted piece to camera. This program and the ban are a distraction, the Guardian/LSE’s self-sourced terms of reference is not to understand the issues and recommend reconstituting our society such that these blighted young people are the nation’s pride and invested in with hope for all our future, but all the better to infiltrate, betray and more effectively quash any future outpouring of legitimate rage and disgust at criminal misrule.
O/T sorry
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Interestingly Clark – nothing received. I have checked in ‘junk’ – nothing – I never miss your ‘from’ tag – I am sending a ‘test’ email to you. Time=21:24
>PS. the red flags of Job clubs are serious matters, anyone of the
>“Job Seekers” attaining two of the said red flags will have their
>benefit suspended from six to twelve months. The red flag can be
>attained if the “job seeker” has pawned his/her phone to buy
>gas/electric/food.
The really really scary thing is I believed you for a moment.
As for the “show of power” Craig discussed, one could argue that the government wants to show “Strength Through Unity, Unity Through Faith”.
We live in very worrying times.
Mark, my two test emails (see 7:02 pm above) were sent at 17:45 and 17:54. I’ve just received your test; Thunderbird shows the reception time as 21:43. I’ve sent the headers back for you to inspect.
Mark, I just noticed; 21:43 is in the future… The time isn’t that far out on my computer.
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???
“The really really scary thing is I believed you for a moment.”
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Do you think the job club red flags are a work of fiction?
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I personally know of a 32 year old chap who was given the task of doing work in a charity shop miles away from his home, and when he asked for the bus fares because he could not afford the bus fares to get to his new “job”, he was given two red flags and his benefits are suspended for six months, he is begging and borrowing money so that he will not lose his home and become homeless to boot.
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The figures of new “jobs” released with the fanfare today are the actual figures of the people who have had their benefits suspended in all probability. There is a massive wave of poverty that is unleashed on the out of work and infirm, and you only believed it for a moment? Which fucking country are you living at? or From which gated community are you getting onto this blog?
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Why do you think there are so many pawn shops springing all over the place, and the huge numbers of adverts for various lending outfits are on the telly?
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You only believed it for a moment? Indeed this rings true of Mary Antoinette too, who verily believed proletariat had cakes and were unwilling to eat their cakes, stubbornly insisting on eating bread only!
In a rare check on ZBBC News to muse the response to the veto on William Hague’s “abandoned and betrayed” UN resolution, I listened to BBC Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen who recently said, “If the Gulf Arabs keep their promise to supply arms to the
terroristsrebels then the uprising will increase in intensity.” (1).
Yes Mr Bowen and more innocent civilians will be butchered by arms and blown up by strategically timed terrorist bombs.
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Bowen went on to confirm in a report to his ‘peers’ that Assad’s ‘regime’ was in final death throes and fleeing Damascus.
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Perhaps the The Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland (ZF) got it right two years ago when the ZFed said your “position was untenable”…
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http://www.haaretz.com/news/bbc-panel-finds-broadcaster-breached-guidelines-on-israel-1.274189
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Arse’ole!
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(1) BBC News Middle East June 2012
A screen grab of the Burgas suicide bomber.
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http://www.coia.org.uk/who.png
Has Syrian FILF, Alma al-Assad, fled to Russia? It’s in the Mail, so it must have some probability rating.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2175871/Syria-Dictator-Bashar-al-Assad-flees-coast-British-born-wife-Asma-escapes-Russia.html
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Whoever wins, the Syrian people will lose.
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Did you also see that Omar Suleiman is dead? He wouldn’t have been much use if he’d been elected, although I wonder what the Egyptian constitution allows for if the president keels over a few months after being elected?
“It’s in the Mail, so it must have some probability rating.” – yes Angrysober, it was also in the Sun;) I think he[Assad] fled to the bathroom before swearing in his new defense minister.
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Someone bashed the top of that big leather embossed table in the cabinet office with a clenched fist. Damn the Reds!![erupted]- they spoil everything for us! Unleash the propaganda – breakout the nerve gas – murder x00 Alawites this time!
Mark, I received your e-mail, its time was shown as 1:05, July 20th. I replied just before 1:33.
I want to reach those neo-servants who are massaging the back-sides of the monolithic neo-elites.
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If Syria falls and Iran gets busted, Russia enters another perestroika/glasnost, and succumbs to another forced collapsed. China rations her fuel, retreats and spins into a capitalist dissonant whirl-pool that turns her eyes inward once again.
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After a few more NATO skirmishes we are left with a totalitarian horror, a world of barbed wire and concrete block, conflict and cold asymmetric underground war for a century.
Glad your checkup was ok, Nevermind. RE. the JSF (nimble or not, I’m sure it sets a new benchmark for noise), here’s a slightly less optimistic take –
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/03/f35-budget-disaster/
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“Lately military officials have mentioned 2018 as a likely start date. In his Congressional testimony, Venlet declined to even mention a possible timeframe for the JSF’s service entry.”
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If the Yanks aren’t going to have them until 2018, and the production quota’s reduced, when do we see them?
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And as for nimble, the Typhoon is extremely impressive. But not so good for supporting idiotic adventures in the ME, I believe.
We’re buying this? We should be getting it free with a packet of cornflakes:
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2012/03/20/more-cost-overruns-delays-and-uncertainty-for-f-35/
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One comment:
“Please provide an aircraft with 2 (two) engines. F-15, F-18, F-14, F-22, F-4, A-10, F-5, F-111. Don’t get me wrong the F-16* is an awsome aircraft, but one bird strike and you better be looking for a safe place to land really soon !!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN_Zl64OQEw. F-15 Eagle Keeper”
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*The F-35 is also single-engine -K
Angrysoba, you do Suleiman an injustice. He was sympathetic to your cause:
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/arab-media/2019-why-the-israelis-prefer-omar-suleiman
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I’m waiting to see what happens when the Egyptian constitution can do without the massive bribes paid by the US taxpayer to keep Israel’s SE corner safe. Might be a while, could be interesting.
“BIG IDEA: LIBOR DAMAGES IN THE TRILLIONS? – Cumberland Advisors’ David Kotok: “The amounts tied to Libor are monumental. That suggests the claims asserted by plaintiffs in class-action suits are likely to be enormous. We expect the alleged damages to be in the trillions … Some estimates suggest the claims will be a severe blow to the banking system, require recapitalization of certain large banks, and lead to a new version of TARP. We think that is extreme but, of course, no one knows at this juncture. The worst-case estimate has Congress capping the liabilities of US-based banking institutions. Others suggest similar actions will take place in Europe and elsewhere.””
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http://www.politico.com/morningmoney/0712/morningmoney690.html
Komodo: Angrysoba, you do Suleiman an injustice. He was sympathetic to your cause:
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Dictatorships across the Middle East is anti-thetical to my “cause” and I imagine Suleiman would have quickly gone down the dictatorial route, although he never got a chance to prove me wrong. That includes pro-Western dictatorships as well as anti. Unlike some people I won’t mention around here, I don’t support dictatorships of either stripe.
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I’m waiting to see what happens when the Egyptian constitution can do without the massive bribes paid by the US taxpayer to keep Israel’s SE corner safe. Might be a while, could be interesting.
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Not enough war in the Middle East for you?
You have to admit Libor is a funny name. The first time I saw it written I thought it had been made up by the wags who produced Tony Bliar. But then I remembered that New Libor aren’t in power anymore.
Dictatorships across the Middle East is anti-thetical to my “cause” and I imagine Suleiman would have quickly gone down the dictatorial route, although he never got a chance to prove me wrong. That includes pro-Western dictatorships as well as anti. Unlike some people I won’t mention around here, I don’t support dictatorships of either stripe.
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Who does? But the fact remains that more people seem to get killed when parties I will not name here stir the shit in order to bring down the regime, than ever the dictator would have killed if he had been left alone. So, not a Benthamite approach, then. Nor is the current chaos in Syria likely to benefit Israel – sorry, mentioned it – much in the long term, unless a compliant puppet can be installed. In Belloc’s immortal words:
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“…His Father, who was self-controlled,
Bade all the children round attend
To James’s miserable end,
And always keep a-hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse.”
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JIM
Who ran away from his nurse
and was eaten by a lion.
WTF?
“BBC World Service to sign funding deal with US state department”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/20/bbc-world-service-us-funding
Not enough war in the Middle East for you?
Not enough justice in the Middle East for me.
Angrysoba, hello! It’s good to see you again; I trust you’re not glowing in the dark. Sorry about my crack-up some months back; your typo occurred at a very sensitive time for me.
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Komodo, I’ve never really worked out Angrysoba’s position, but he doesn’t seem to be an Arab-hater, and if you ask him questions you may find some of his opinions surprising. Ask him for sources, too. I think he’s read a lot of books.
“There has been a ridiculous notion amongst numerous left groups and those opposed to the Syrian government, that the Israeli regime does not want to see Assad fall …” Cont’d:
http://lizzie-phelan.blogspot.ca/2012/07/how-leftist-anti-zionists-are-allied.html
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Conclusion: “But having proven to wilfully ignore all of the facts and history of Syria’s long history of resistance to Israel, it is a great tragedy that those who cling on to the argument dealt with in this essay, would only perhaps be able to let go of it should Syria fall and then the reality of Palestine’s total military abandonment would be all to devastatingly clear to see.”
Is it possible to arrange for nationwide defiance action to suspend TV licence fee? In my understanding British households pay TV licence in order to get impartial news, but yet we only receive pre-selected news. Pre-selected for us by our Masters, who in turn pay nothing to get their agenda forward by BBC, as it is paid by us.
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So let me explain it again. We (British households) pay £150 a year, (I am not sure about others but I would better donate £150 to Oxfarm so that they can give some cash to impoverished Somalians or Yemenis) for being manipulated by our Masters.
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For example, just yesterday I (£150 paying TV licence holder) had to watch on BBC how Jeremy Hunt was appealing to UKBA Unions to suspend their strike during the Olympics or risk losing public sympathy or support. Why am I paying for this sh..t?
Clark, no, I did not get your reply, and still have not been able to use Enigmail.
Clark:
I actually quite like Angrysoba. But I’m damned if I let it show. 🙂
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Nuid:
“Governments who have an interest in denying people information particularly at times of tension and upheaval are keen to do this (block websites -K) and it is a particular problem now,” said Egan.
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Yeah, so much less problematic to suppress the flow of information at source.
Komodo and Angrysoba, I remember a suggestion from Evgueni, something like: instead of arguing, let’s work out what objectives we agree about, and then discuss ways of moving in that direction.
Ramadhan Mubarak.
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http://www.ramadantimetable.co.uk/
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Muslim athletes will be at a disadvantage at these Olympics, expected to fast from sunriose to sunset. Who chose the date of the London games? I read that a timeslot of July 15th – August 31st was given by the IOC in 2007 to the LOGOC crew.
John Goss, yes, it seems as though some of my e-mails are going missing, see the discussion with Mark Golding above. I’ll get on the ‘phone and ask my ISP about it.
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Have you got Thunderbird working yet? If so, try the instructions linked below to get Enigmail installed. On M$ Windows, you need to install GPG before Enigmail:
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http://enigmail.mozdev.org/home/index.php.html