Russia does not have a functioning criminal justice system at all, in the sense of a trial mechanism aimed at determining innocence or guilt. Exactly as in Uzbekistan, the conviction rate in criminal trials is over 99%. If the prosecutors, who are inextricably an arm of the executive government, want to send you to jail, there is absolutely no judicial system to protect you. The judges are purely there for show.
When critics of Putin like Alexei Navalny are convicted, therefore, we have absolutely no reassurance that the motivation behind the prosecution or the assessment of guilt was genuine. Which is not to say that Navalny is innocent; I am in no position to judge. People are complex. I sacrificed my own pretty decent career to the cause of human rights, but in my personal and family life I was by no means the most moral of individuals. I see no reason for it to be impossible that all of Navalny’s excellent political work did not co-exist with a fatal weakness. But his criticisms of Putin made him a marked man, who the state was out to get, and the most probable explanation – especially as prosecutors had looked at the allegations before and decided not to proceed – is that he is suffering for his criticisms of the President rather than a genuine offence.
It fascinates me that the Western media view the previous decision by the prosecutors not to proceed as evidence the case is politically motivated against Navalny; but fail to draw the same conclusion from precisely the same circumstance in the Assange case.
David Ward MP has not been sent to jail. He has however had the Lib Dem whip removed, which under Clegg’s leadership perhaps he ought to consider an honour. It is rather a commonplace sentiment that it is a terribly sad thing, that their community having suffered dreadfully in the Holocaust, the European Jews involved in founding the state of Israel went on themselves to inflict terrible pain and devastation on the Palestinians in the Nakba. Both the Holocaust and the Nakba were horrific events of human suffering. For this not startling observation, David Ward is removed from the Liberal Democrats. He also stated that, with its ever increasing number of racially specific laws, its walls and racially restricted roads, Israel is becoming an apartheid state. That is so commonplace even Sky News’ security correspondent Sam Kiley said it a few months ago, without repercussion. In Russia you cannot say Putin is corrupt; in the UK you cannot say Israeli state policy is malign. Neither national state can claim to uphold freedom of speech. Meanwhile, of course, David Cameron announces plans to place filters on the internet access of all UK households.
In the United States, the House of Representatives failed by just 12 votes to make illegal the mass snooping by the NSA which was not widely publicised until Edward Snowden’s revelations. What Snowden said was so important that almost half the country’s legislators wished to act on his information. Yet the executive wish to pursue him and remove all his freedom for the rest of his life, as they are doing to Bradley Manning for Manning’s exposure of war crimes and extreme duplicity.
Around this complex of issues and the persons of Manning, Navalny, Snowden and Assange there is a kind of new ideological competition between the governments of Russia, the US and UK as to which is truly promoting the values of human freedom. The answer is none of them are. All these states are, largely in reaction to the liberating possibilities of the internet, promoting a concerted attack on freedom of speech and liberty of thought.
States are the enemy. We are the people.
“Military Industrial Congressional Intelligence Complex”
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=6116
A blood-diamond whistleblower….https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Gordon_Douglas_Brown
A blood-diamond enforcer—Sam Childers (machine-gun preacher -leaded version)
His was the inspiration for the Gerard Butler movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Childers
The connections between Israel and South Sudan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93South_Sudan_relations
Oil and water are mentioned.
~~~
I read about this protest in Brighton against Southern Water using Israeli made water meters.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/135830PaPalestine Activist Wins Water Fight.
Good for Caroline.
Arad Technologies –
http://arad.co.il/learning-center/case-studies/southern-waters-amr-implementation/
Based in Dalia, Israel a kibbutz that found water.
http://www.dalia.org.il/kibutz/begin.html
” States are the enemy “, well yes they are if they are denying their citizens their human rights. I guess we were a lot more human when we made that UN charter.
The problems with the States which we have problems with , are , that they have become fascist. Corporations are fascist.They respect no borders, they avoid paying tax,break the law, they manipulate politicians with the money they don’t pay in tax.
Look at Wullie Hague for gods sake. There was a (man ?) without a f***n clue and yet now she is our Foreign Secretary and they , whoever they are , have given her something to say, something to strive for, defend, get passionate about….. Suddenly clueless little Willie has a stage.. Cameron and Osborne are no different. There’s a script writer in there somewhere.The same guy who beds his male assistant and wanders the streets in a baseball cap, is suddenly projected as being Churchillian… He’s a ball handler and always hasbeen.
People power, why does it not work ?? Craig, you chose the Liberals thinking they were different from the other MS parties only to find out they are all bought and paid for by the same bunch… whoever they are. The fact they have a zionist agenda could just be a BIG coincidence…
Why isn’t there a decent alternative politics wise to the LibLabCons ? Why can’t someone come up with a Bank that operates the way they were supposed to ? Why don’t we change what we don’t like ? The younger generation are far too quiet for my liking, and the bite’s gone out of ours.
There was so much hope in Tarir Square and it has been reduced to a grin in an army uniform with a groovy pair of shades. Is that our fate too ?
On the bright side, I’m out of Sudan now . The only oppressive things there are the heat and Ramadan for a non-believer like myself.
And I finally saw the Blue Nile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDTxD55Fz9w
To illustrate his contention that states are the enemy (of the people), Craig takes the examples of Assange, Manning and Snowden, Navalny and British MP David Ward to show that neither the US, nor Russia, nor the UK, are truly promoting the values of human freedom. So the US, Russia and the UK all come under fire and their outlooks and actions are seen as roughly equivalent. Israel is mentioned by Craig to illustrate his UK/David Craig example.
It is therefore quite revealing of the pensée unique and certain obsessions on this blog that of the comments posted so far, the kicks (whether on-topic or not) are distributed approximately as follow:
– the US gets about 23 kicks
– Israel/the Zionists get about 22 kicks
– Russia gets about 2 kicks
– The UK gets 1 kick.
The Justice system in the UK has been subverted for use as a tool of repression by the state. Its all very totalitarian and the model has to be the former Soviet Union. Assange, Snowden, Manning and the UK’s own whistleblower Andrea Davison seek asylum from Western oppression. The UK’s Andrea Davison is not a young man like the others but a pensioner and former intelligence operative with an incruable illness forced to seek asylum because of persecution by the UK government
http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/87110-former-british-intelligence-operative-andrea-davisons-explosive-evidence-to-the-macur-investigation-into-north-wales-child-abuse-an-absolutely-must-read-and-must-circulate
‘Porn’ takes on many definitions depending on who’s defining.
that’s a failure of the educational system. Dismantle it.
Sorry…link for above http://torrentfreak.com/uk-porn-filter-will-censor-other-content-too-isps-reveal-130726/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
The poster @ 6.49pm is SO good at counting numbers. Top of the class.
I think that should be UK/David Ward btw.
“Exactly as in Uzbekistan, the conviction rate in criminal trials is over 99%.”
That’s hardly unusual. It’s over 98% in the USA, and something similar in Japan.
@ Flaming June
“The poster @ 6.49pm is SO good at counting numbers. Top of the class.”
____________________-
Yes, I know you don’t like numbers very much.
Certain kinds of numbers anyway.
I remember how upset you got with Glenn_uk when he was once kind enough to supply numbers for who had posted how many times on a number of threads. 🙂
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/expd/9367783760/
– the US gets about 23 kicks
– Israel/the Zionists get about 22 kicks
Sounds about right. The two biggest threats to peace. The two most rogue states on the planet.
Habbabkuk (La vita è bella!)
25 Jul, 2013 – 6:19 pm
“It’s sad to see that this simple message – expressed in clear English – simply does not penetrate into the minds of (some) readers, who swerve away from Russia in order to give a supplementary kick to the US.”
Habbabkuk; who on this blog supports Russia – politically or on human rights?
Why have you not addressed Craig’s points re-produced below?
“It is rather a commonplace sentiment that it is a terribly sad thing, that their community having suffered dreadfully in the Holocaust, the European Jews involved in founding the state of Israel went on themselves to inflict terrible pain and devastation on the Palestinians in the Nakba. Both the Holocaust and the Nakba were horrific events of human suffering. For this not startling observation, David Ward is removed from the Liberal Democrats. He also stated that, with its ever increasing number of racially specific laws, its walls and racially restricted roads, Israel is becoming an apartheid state.”
And:
“In the United States, the House of Representatives failed by just 12 votes to make illegal the mass snooping by the NSA which was not widely publicised until Edward Snowden’s revelations. What Snowden said was so important that almost half the country’s legislators wished to act on his information. Yet the executive wish to pursue him and remove all his freedom for the rest of his life, as they are doing to Bradley Manning for Manning’s exposure of war crimes and extreme duplicity.”
You’re not really up to the task are you?
@ Doug Scorgie
“Habbabkuk; who on this blog supports Russia – politically or on human rights?”
______________________
I have no idea, Doug.
And now a question for you, in turn : who on this blog comments on political,, social or human rights abuses in Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, North Korea, Venezuela, Ecuador, Zimbabwe, South Africa and various corrupt and despotic African countries?
If nobody, why should this be so, do you think?
Juteman
25 Jul, 2013 – 7:03 pm
“There are no juries in most Scottish trials. The Sheriff is god.”
Are you trying to mislead Juteman? Perhaps you’re anti-independence laddie.
There are no juries in most of England’s trials either because the majority of cases are heard at Magistrates courts (no jury).
Kempe
25 Jul, 2013 – 7:17 pm
“Unfortunately the case for Assange being the victim of a US conspiracy comes unstuck when you notice that the release of the American diplomatic cables didn’t start until the 28th Novemeber 2010; eight days after the arrest warrant was issued and nearly 3 months after the rape complaints were first made.”
Not true Mr Kempe:
“The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak
The arrest warrant for rape was issued in August 2010. Six months AFTER the leaks began.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11949341
I note your use of the word conspiracy.
@ Scourge :
“”Juteman
25 Jul, 2013 – 7:03 pm
“There are no juries in most Scottish trials. The Sheriff is god.”
Are you trying to mislead Juteman? Perhaps you’re anti-independence laddie.
There are no juries in most of England’s trials either because the majority of cases are heard at Magistrates courts (no jury).”
__________________
Illogical argument, there, Dougie : you found your accusation that Juteman is trying to mislead people by saying there are no juries in most Scottish trials on your revelation that there are no juries in most of England’s trials EITHER?
A bit like saying, for example, that Doug Scourgie isn’t intelligent because Herbie and Macky aren’t intelligent EITHER, isn’t it?
“Everyone is corruptible so retaining mechanisms of power invites corruption. In corporations and states.
I hope for a gradual dismantling of both.”
—————–
And what happens after the dismantlings have been completed?
doug scorgie
26 Jul, 2013 – 10:11 pm
“Habbabkuk …..You’re not really up to the task are you?”
Doug.
Have you no heart? How can you be so too hard on Dad? After all he has selflessly taken on an impossible task which, day after endless day, he cheerfully throws himself into heart and soul. But even with his vast intellect it’s still impossible to defend the indefensible.
Sometimes it just all gets a bit too much for him. Who wouldn’t moved by his attempt at 10 01pm.
“Yes, I know you don’t like numbers very much.
Certain kinds of numbers anyway.”
Sigmund Freud would, if he wasn’t dead, intervene here like a shot he would tell you this is a classic example of paranoid hysterical projection triggered by ingrained phobias about periods and women’s power and suppressed feelings of foolishmess. Only a decade of intensive psychoanalysis would have a chance of bringing relief from such a torment.
So please, just put yourself in Dad’s shoes for a moment. Give him credit where credit is due. Doesn’t it take a unique talent to confidently enter a discussion and turn it into the intellectual equivalent of cold tapioca with a few taps on his keyboard?
Remember his valiant efforts to convince the Eministas that 2500000 US soldiers through Shannon Airport wasn’t really “millions” because, um, 2.5 isn’t really that much more than one. Even Kibo had trouble with that one and she’s a world renowned mathematical genuis.
So next time you feel tempted to have a go at Dad just remember, even henchmen have feelings.
“Sigmund Freud would, if he wasn’t dead, intervene here like a shot he would tell you this is a classic example of paranoid hysterical projection triggered by ingrained phobias about periods and women’s power and suppressed feelings of foolishmess. Only a decade of intensive psychoanalysis would have a chance of bringing relief from such a torment.”
Shorter version; penis envy; but the projection? That’s even shorter.
BRADLEY MANNING NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT NOW. US government says he is a “traitor” with “evil intent”
SIGN THE NOBEL PRIZE PETITION
http://bit.ly/1bMEJBp
Petition has 96,000 signatories
Jon: Replied to your comment/ questions to me in this earlier thread regarding free speech on the blog. Thanks.
Flaming June
25 Jul, 2013 – 7:58 pm
“In a ruling delivered this week, the BBC Trust appears to have accepted Israel’s facts on the ground, namely that Jerusalem is a united Israeli city.”
Not surprising Mary; the BBC has been like this for decades but usually discretely. Now it appears that the state broadcaster is happy to proclaim aloud its biased stance on political issues ranging from Royal babies to ethnic cleansing by Israel.
The hiring of an ardent Zionist, James Harding, says it all.
“James Harding will be in charge of its flagship news and current affairs programs including Today, Newsnight, Panorama and Question Time. He will also be responsible for daily news bulletins on the BBC’s main television channels and radio stations.”
“In 2011, Harding spoke at a media event organized by The Jewish Chronicle, telling his audience: “I am pro-Israel. I believe in the State of Israel. I would have had a real problem if I had been coming to a paper [The Times] with a history of being anti-Israel. And, of course, Rupert Murdoch is pro-Israel.”
He also said:
“We wrote an editorial called ‘In defence of Israel’ during the Gaza offensive, but we also reported on the use of white phosphorus, which was the Israelis breaking their own rules.”
Breaking their own rules? It was breaking international law and a war crime.
If states are the enemy, as Craig mentioned, then in the UK the BBC is also the enemy.
Of course the alternative to the BBC is a private corporation like Fox TV but whatever model of funding, the state would hold the upper hand as with the so called “free press”.
That means the Main Stream Media is the enemy.
Well Said Doug. The MSM are certainly a long held Enemy of the poor Souls we have been murdering in far off lands.
Almost 300,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel headed to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to perform Ramadan prayers on yesterday
http://www.alresalah.ps/en/index.php?act=post&id=2370
Anon
26 Jul, 2013 – 9:34 am
“An excellent and timely post, Craig, not least because some of your followers think the sun shines out of Putin’s backside merely for his thwarting of some of the West’s evil schemes.”
Which followers are you talking about Anon? Any names?
“One must, of course, be careful not to ‘go over to the other side’ – to start hailing Russia, Syria, Iran as paragons of civilized virtue and decency, as some here are wont to do.”
Names please.
@ Craig,
You said:-
“It is rather a commonplace sentiment that it is a terribly sad thing, that their community having suffered dreadfully in the Holocaust, the European Jews involved in founding the state of Israel went on themselves to inflict terrible pain and devastation on the Palestinians in the Nakba. Both the Holocaust and the Nakba were horrific events of human suffering. For this not startling observation, David Ward is removed from the Liberal Democrats. He also stated that, with its ever increasing number of racially specific laws, its walls and racially restricted roads, Israel is becoming an apartheid state.”
You may care to consider that the world is round and what went around – sometimes does come around:-
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Caribbean-leaders-to-seek-slavery-reparations-from-Europe | Jamaican News Online – JamaicaObserver.com
http://blackagendareport.com/blog/62
Latest Chomsky
http://www.livestream.com/genevapressclub/video?clipId=flv_1756be58-728f-4f12-9f0d-5465bcf201b2
“Are you trying to mislead Juteman? Perhaps you’re anti-independence laddie.”
Hey Juteman, you’re a traitor because you criticised the Scottish legal system which like the Scottish government and everything else Scottish is perfect and can do no wrong.
“A bit like saying, for example, that Doug Scourgie isn’t intelligent because Herbie and Macky aren’t intelligent EITHER, isn’t it?”
Or a bit like saying for example the infant mortality rate in Palestine isn’t appalling because the infant mortality rate in Ethiopia is as bad.