The disgraceful judges of Britain’s High Court – who have gone along with torture, extraordinary rendition, every single argument for mass surveillance and hiding information from the public, and even secret courts – have ruled that it was lawful for the Home Office to detain David Miranda, a journalist as information he was carrying might in some undefined way, and if communicated to them, aid “terrorists”.
Despite the entire industry, both private and governmental, devoted to whipping up fear, it is plain to pretty well everyone by now that terrorism is about the most unlikely way for you to die. A car accident is many hundreds of times more likely. Even drowning in your own bath is more likely. Where is the massive industry of suppression against baths?
I had dinner inside the Ecuadorian Embassy on Sunday with Julian Assange, who I am happy to say is as fit and well as possible in circumstances of confinement. Amongst those present was Jesselyn Radack, attorney for, among others, Edward Snowden. Last week on entering the UK she was pulled over by immigration and interrogated about her clients. The supposed “immigration officer” already knew who are Jesselyn Radack’s clients. He insisted aggressively on referring repeatedly to Chelsea Manning as a criminal, to which Jesselyn quietly replied that he was a political prisoner. But even were we to accept the “immigration officer’s” assertion, the fact that an attorney defends those facing criminal charges is neither new nor until now considered reprehensible and illegitimate.
As various states slide towards totalitarianism, a defining factor is that their populations really don’t notice. Well, I have noticed. Have you?
“Resident Dissident, we’re British,…..”
_________________
That’s what it might say on your passport, Mr Goss, but judging by the stream of vilification you pour out against Britain almost daily, you’re anything but.
NB to Moderator — feel free to delete, I know Mr Goss is a protected species on here.
Mr Lawton
“There was a case of a British T class submarine committing a war crime.”
________________
Nothing would surprise me! But could you just be a tad more specific, so we can look up the case, etc? Ta.
ResDes: “no where can I see a clear and definitive statement from the writers that they believed that that there was a massacre at Srebenica that amounted to genocide”
Despite claiming to have read their responses to the disgusting & loaded smears of “genocide-denial” & “genocide-belittlers”, what they have written seems to have clearly gone over your head, because although they specifically state that they acknowledge that a massacre occurred, they reject the demand that some events in preference to others, be labelled “genocide” for purely politically expedient reasons.
ResDes: “So what is the majority view on the behaviour of Putin and the oligarchs? Do you support really brave whistleblowers like Politskaya and Navalny?”
I believe most people are inherently decent, so are naturally opposed to injustices, cruelty, etc, and will therefore automatically support all whistleblowers of conscience; but as to why I’ve never heard of these people, I refer you to this;
http://noam-chomsky.tumblr.com/post/17547861328/my-own-concern-is-primarily-the-terror-and
(BTW, re the high cost of the Sochi games, I should imagine that a fair porportion was for highten security, especially in view of the terrorist threats made by that US favourite, Prince Bander.)
[Several insults deleted. Don’t waste my time or I’ll ban you.]
Nick Cohen is yet another shameless Blair toady and NeoCon shill.
Wretched purveyor of grotesque bullshit.
I’m told in bold that my comment is awaiting moderation. Could you pass it through dear Mod/Jon, or otherwise point out what’s wrong with it?
[Q: What’s wrong with it? A: Zero political content. A similar comment from John Goss was stopped by automatic filters and then manually deleted.]
[James Mason and Anon have been banned for attempting to pick fight against moderation. If others continue in same way, comments will be closed temporarily.]
There is no edit on comments and Binoy Kampmark is the correct spelling, so apologies for that.
Ben, you were interested in informed comment regarding President Maduro. Andre Vltchek has earned the right to speak with authority on Venezuala. He believes Maduro is a worthy successor to Chavez.
From “Open Letter to President of Venezuela, Soon, the Battle for Venezuela
Here’s the full article ……
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/02/21/soon-the-battle-for-venezuela/
….and here’s why I think you should trust Vltchek’s opinion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Vltchek
Habbabkuk @11:38 pm
It`s submarine warfare ,Miers was reprimanded,and as I said we won the war.
If you have ever served on a old T boat you would know it pretty Ruff Tuff.
“The next war patrol in the Mediterranean began on 27 June 1941 and again led in the Aegean Sea. Two command-soldiers of the recently newly formed Special Boat Section were on board. On 2 July Torbay discovered a small Italian convoy and sank a freighter. Two days later, a caique and a schooner were sunk with on-board artillery. Both ships went sailing under the German flag and loaded with troops. After the artillery attack Commander Miers did shoot with the two Lewis machine guns on the survivors floating in the water until he was sure that no one lives. Commander Miers noted in the logbook: “Everyone and everything was destroyed by the one or Type of gunfire.””
http://archive.is/30cGO
And while we are on the subject of T boats the Israelis bought the Submarine Totem.
The totem was carved by a First Nation Shaman to protect the boat and all who sailed in her.
The first thing the Israelis did was to remove the totem .On passage to Israel it sank with all hands.
You don’t disregard Totems.
Doug Scorgie writes: “Can I suggest that Craig or his IT helpers set up an “off-Topic” thread? / It would help to remove the temptation to post off-topic material on specific threads.
No it won’t. Nearly anyone posting anything believes it deserves everyone’s attention, immediately, and should be given maximum prominence.
Thanks A Node; I springboarded off your link to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_killings_of_1965–66
I fear Venezuela could be another slaughterhouse like Indonesia in 1965 under similar circumstances.
http://www.amazon.com/Point-No-Return-Andre-Vltchek/dp/0977459071/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379528901&sr=1-3&keywords=andre+vltchek
A Node; 25 bucks for a paperback? Now I have to get it 🙂
An attempt to downplay the significance of Julian Assange and Wikileaks here.
Read the penultimate sentence. Revolting.
Julian Assange posed ‘no real security threat’ to Australia
February 24, 2014
Philip Dorling
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange has been an “irritant” and “a gadfly” but not a significant security threat, according to former Australian intelligence and security officials.
[..]
‘Former attorney-general Robert McClelland has said he received “no such request” from the US, though he did not rule out it had pressed for criminal charges in discussions between officials.
Attorney-General’s Department head Roger Wilkins referred the question of whether Mr Assange had broken any Australian law to the Federal Police. After a brief investigation in December 2010 they reported he had not.
Former Australian security and intelligence officials have said that in late 2010 and in 2011 US Justice Department officials canvassed the possible prosecution of Mr Assange in the US, making it clear they were “determined to get Assange, but also didn’t want to make a martyr of him”.
“We were all happy when he got caught up in a sexual imbroglio in Sweden,” one former Australian official said, because “it was much better to have him facing sex crimes allegations than to argue about First Amendment [press] freedoms in the US.”
Mr Assange has been in Ecuador’s London embassy since June 2012 and has been granted political asylum.’
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/julian-assange-posed-no-real-security-threat-to-australia-20140223-33akn.html
Ashton is hot footing it to Kiev to pre-empt any Russian action. Have these ‘interim leaders’ any legal or democratic right to deal with her? Does she come bearing gifts? I hear that billions of euros would be needed to prop up the economy of the non- industrialized west of the country. Even Osborne seems to be able to magic up some £millions although we keep being told there is no money.
Ukraine: Interim Leaders Seek EU Integration
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton travels to Ukraine as Western countries – including Britain – pledge support.
Sky News
We should open chequebook to rebuild Ukraine, says Osborne: Chancellor offers millions to new government
Chancellor: ‘UK willing to pour taxpayers’ money to help new government’
‘We are here ready to help as soon as someone at end of telephone’
Ukraine may need a bailout since it has a dire ‘CCC’ credit rating
Mail
Journalist Glenn Greenwald Suggests He Is Likely to Return to US to Accept Polk Award
Kevin Gosztola Wednesday February 19, 2014
Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who won a prestigious award for reporting on National Security Agency documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, says he will return to the United States to accept the award in April. (Washington Post journalist Barton Gellman, who received documents from Snowden, won an award as well.)
Greenwald, along with Ewen MacAskill and Laura Poitras, won a George Polk Award for National Security Reporting for “investigative stories based on top-secret documents disclosed by former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden.”
/..
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/02/19/journalist-glenn-greenwald-suggests-he-is-likely-to-return-to-us-to-accept-polk-award/
‘George Polk
George Polk (17 October 1913, Fort Worth, Texas – May 1948) was an American journalist for CBS who disappeared in Greece and was found dead a few days later on Sunday May 16, 1948, shot at point-blank range in the back of the head, and with hands and feet tied. Polk was covering the civil war in Greece between the right wing government and communists and had been critical of both sides. He alleged that a few officials in the Greek government had embezzled up to $250,000 in foreign aid (equivalent to $2.3 million in 2011 dollars) from the Truman Administration, a charge that was never proved.
He had been particularly outspoken in his criticism of the Truman government’s unqualified support for the rightist authoritarian regime in Greece. In the late 1970s, the story emerged as to how AMAG (American Mission for Aid to Greece) authorities helped the Greek police frame two young communists for his death.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Polk
I posted this on the Syria and Diplomacy thread but am reposting it here.
CIA front exposed by UK Ambassador, interview with Craig Murray
1 February 2014
Download audio file
At the beginning of the US war on terror, and even to this day, the US literally kidnapped “suspects” and took them to countries where the could torture and even kill suspects. This practice of kidnapping and usually flying suspects around the world and then torturing or killing them in countries with poor human rights records or brutal regimes happened so much that the practice soon became known to all and the name for it “extraordinary rendition” became a household word.
The Voice of Russia’s John Robles spoke to Craig Murray the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan and he stated that during his time as ambassador over 126 people were renditioned to Uzbekistan and never heard from again. He personally learned the name of the airline the CIA was using from CIA pilots. That airline was called Premier Executives.
http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_01/CIA-front-exposed-by-UK-Ambassador-interview-with-Craig-Murray-0990/
Thanks for the BICOM links, Mary. In which BICOM attempts to deny that Israel is pursuing a policy of slow ethnic cleansing, and to pretend that Israeli Arabs have equal rights in Israel. Which they manifestly don’t. I suspect that this is less American Friends of BICOM than British Friends of AIPAC, however.
For very detailed treatment of the untruth of Israeli justification of its actions, and for analysis of why its policies are actually doing neither Israel nor the US any good, see
‘The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy’ by Mearsheimer and Walt –
http://www.amazon.com/Israel-Lobby-U-S-Foreign-Policy/dp/0374531501
Essential reading, still absolutely relevant. Buy, beg, borrow or steal.
Please remember how evil does its work
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/revealed-how-the-west-set-saddam-on-the-bloody-road-to-power-1258618.html
Someone, 8:39 am; thank you for this link and many others. I’d like to request that you include a summary in your comment; for that one for instance you could have added the article’s title:
“Revealed: how the West set Saddam on the bloody road to power”
It would help when searching for information, and I think it would encourage more readers to follow your links.
Have these ‘interim leaders’ any legal or democratic right to deal with her?
Yes they were elected by the Ukraine parliament, which has also recognised the need for new presidential elections given the 2012 were quite clearly rigged. Do you believe that Yanukovych has more legitimacy? If so, why?
Seymour Hersh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMLFlOqt2nk
There’s a link on BICOM’s site to the “Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process”. *Click* ….”Not Found”.
Exactly.
And no wonder.
Here’s a link to the Special Envoy to the “Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process” –
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/07/2013730132025907195.html
Rather understates Indyk’s commitment to Zionist neoconservatism – he was one of the true architects of Gulf 2 – but you get the picture.
Very good site by dissenting (Jewish-) Israeli journalist. Illustrates the paradox that it is a lot easier to criticise Israel in Israel than in the US (thanks to AIPAC). Here proposes that EU aid to the Palestinians enables Israel to evade its legal responsibility. Think he’s a little optimistic about Israel’s conscience on this, but good piece.
http://972mag.com/how-eu-money-enables-israel-to-continue-the-occupation-avoid-its-consequences/87583/
An antidote for those who seem to believe that Putin doesn’t interfere in the Ukraine.
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/01/putin_ratchets/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/14/cyber_streetwise/
£160 K for a lousy website? Oh yes; taxpayers’ money no object. On cyber security? Yes again. Insecure? Bad advice…?
“‘This is the kind of code you might write for a bet,’ says critic”
In which our guardians illustrate the free-speech-suppressing benefits of DDOS attacks.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/05/gchq_anonymous_ddos_spat/
‘”Legally, we enter a very grey area here; where members of Lulzsec were arrested and incarcerated for carrying out DDoS attacks, but it seems that (the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group) are taking the same approach with impunity.”’
A Node (00h35)
That was an interesting post. But I’m a bit curious when you say “Andre Vltchek has earned the right to speak with authority on Venezuala” and follow that by referring to an article in Wikipedia, for the salient points made in that article appear to be only that Vitchek is an author and film maker and has lived for a time in Latin America, and an endorsement by Noam Chomsky. I can’t help wondering if that is sufficient to consider him to be an authority on Venezuela.
More generally, I’m perplexed by how a country as oil rich as Venezuela can be a country where annual inflation is running at around 60%, the crime rate is one of the highest in the world and there appear to be shortages of a wide variety of consumer goods (including of toilet rolls according to reports, which provides an interesting flashback to the old Soviet Union). Whatever the intentions if the former and current Presidents of Venezuela, does this not point, at the very least, to startling economic mismanagement by that country’s leaders?
@ Dave Lawton
Thanks for that reference. A example I think – and certainly not the only one – of where the winners get to decide what’s a war crime.
“Gen. Leonid Ivashov”
http://www.km.ru/spetsproekty/2014/02/04/mezhdunarodnaya-politika/731440-chto-proiskhodit-na-ukraine-i-v-sirii-eto-za
Habbabkuk,10:27 am, final paragraph; there’s at least one South American country that is paying companies not to extract oil – leaving fossil fuels in the ground is the only action with any hope of halting global warming – I can’t remember if that country is Venezuela, but it is worth looking into; it could help explain the economic problems.