From a British diplomatic source I learn that Britain has lobbied the United States against the publication of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture and extraordinary rendition. The lobbying has been carried out “at all levels” – White House, State Department and CIA. The British have argued that at the very least the report must be emasculated before publication.
The British argument is that in a number of court cases including the Belhadj case, the British government has successfully blocked legal action by victims on the grounds that this would weaken the US/UK intelligence relationship and thus vitally damage national security, by revealing facts the American intelligence service wish hidden. [We will leave aside for the moment the utter shame of our servile groveling judges accepting such an argument]. The British Government are now pointing out to the Americans that this argument could be fatally weakened if major detail of the full horror and scope of torture and extraordinary rendition is revealed by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The argument runs that this could in turn lead to further revelations in the courts and block the major defence against prosecutions of Blair, Straw and Dearlove, among others, potentially unleashing a transatlantic wave of judicial activism.
The unabashed collusion of two torturing security states in concealing the truth of their despicable acts – including complicity in the torture of women and minors – and blocking criminal prosecution of the guilty is a sign of how low public ethics have sunk. Fortunately there are still a few people in the British Foreign Office disgusted enough to leak it.
“A manipulative mother with Jewish ancestry.”
Mary, here’s the problem as I see it.
Why not write: “A manipulative mother with size 6 feet”?
Of course this would be ridiculous. What does shoe size have to do with anything else you are saying? Nothing. What does shoe size have to do with a person’s propensity to manipulate? Nothing. So why mention it? You wouldn’t. You didn’t.
You did mention her jewishness as part of a wider criticism thus implying this in itself is a problem for you. You also directly associate jewishness and manipulation thus repeating an age old ugly stereotype.
You behave no differently from a person who points out skin colour only when a black kid has half hinched a sweet from the corner shop.
Quoting Malcolm X and Orwell in some half baked attempt at defending your racism is hilarious, pretentious delusion.
Unless that is a different ‘Anon’, he/she has changed e-mail addresses/IPs.
___
I read some of the scribbler Aaronovitch’s piece in the Times today. He admits to getting family and friends to put in good reviews on Amazon for his rubbish book Voodoo Histories to counter the one star reviews put on by the ‘conspiracy theorists’ as he calls anyone who disbelieves the output of the corporate media. He did of course promote BLiar and the war on Iraq.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/article4068308.ece
In the same edition of the Murdoch rag, Melanie Phillips writes –
Snowden’s only prize should be for treachery
The fear of government blinds those on the left and right to the role that surveillance plays in thwarting our enemies
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/article4068302.ece
Res diss, Good question! Read Chapter VI, VII and VIII again. Understandably, living in the NATO bloc, you feel there must be SOMEthing your state can do to punish its enemies. It’s a common mistake, easy to make in a culture of hermetic indoctrination.
I suspect you are confusing sanctions with something else – reprisals, perhaps, or intervention, or countermeasures. Sanctions are multilateral, and under Charter Article 53, always subject to UNSC direction and supervision. Reprisals are prohibited by humanitarian law. Coercive intervention not under UNSC authority is illegal under the non-intervention principle, A/RES/36/103, which is affirmed by the ICJ as a “sanctified absolute rule of law.” Countermeasures are actions pursuant to Articles 22 and 49 through 53 of the draft articles on state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts. Countermeasures are strictly circumscribed to subordinate them to the UN Charter and peremptory norms of law, to fundamental human rights, and to applicable dispute settlement procedures.
It’s easy once you get the hang of it!
“People are starving, both physically and emotionally.”
Yes, Peacewisher, it’s a positively Dickensian scene out there.
“People are killing themselves because life is so bad for them. I’m sure the figures for suicides on the rail network would really shock you. So much for the big society.”
People kill themselves for a variety of reasons. I’m not sure what your point is here considering that the UK suicide rate is about the same as it was before the evil, nasty, vicious Tory ‘cuts’.
Did you spot Charles Crawford CMG in the list on Slynn Mark? Our ex ambassador to Poland, etc.
‘Returning to London in 1991 he worked in the FCO Department dealing with the Soviet Union as communist rule collapsed. He then spent three years in Moscow as Political Counsellor and then served three times as HM Ambassador: in Sarajevo (1996-1998); in Belgrade (2001-2003) and most recently in Poland (2003-2007).’
The Slynn Foundation is a limited company and Crawford is one of the directors.
http://companycheck.co.uk/company/03570705/THE-SLYNN-FOUNDATION/directors-shareholders
‘Lord Slynn Foundation: Belgrade
Civilisation and its Enemies, Balkanic Eruptions
9th March 2011
Off I dash in the general direction of Belgrade, my first visit back there in quite a few years.
I have not mentioned here a new role of mine, namely a member of the Board of trustees of The Lord Slynn of Hadley European Law Foundation.
This is a group of utterly distinguished lawyers who join forces to help export best legal practice to countries who might need some support for law reforms. The Foundation was set up in 1998 on the initiative of British/Polish lawyer His Hon George Dobry CBE QC, and has been busy in many European countries since then in different ways. Latterly a lot is being done in Ukraine and Albania.’
/..
http://charlescrawford.biz/blog/lord-slynn-foundation-belgrade
A health to Her Majesty! All the eights. Raise the flag. No not that blue one. The Royal Standard.
On the same day, the Queen’s Awards to Industry are announced.
Weapons company among Queen’s award winners
‘A weapons company that has developed an air-launched missile suitable for firing in urban environments, a food group which has encouraged the consumption of beetroot and a 3D animation games designer are among the diverse range of businesses to receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise on Monday.
Hertfordshire-based MDMA obtained an innovation award for converting the Brimstone anti-armour missile into a dual purpose weapon to be used by crews flying RAF Tornado jets.
The extension gives the aircraft the capability to engage a “range of targets including snipers, mortar teams, improvised explosive devices and fast-moving manoeuvring vehicles. Pinpoint accuracy and low collateral damage make the weapons suitable for urban deployment,” said the citation.’
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/apr/21/queens-award-for-enterprise-winners
How bloody lovely. P Andrew should sell a lot of them.
Veolia are in the list too. Infamous for participating in the Israeli light railway system and their waste and water services.
Why Target Veolia?
Below are Veolia’s crimes in the OPT that make up the basis of many campaigns targeting this company. However, Veolia is also infamous for water privatization, mismanagement, and corruption, sparking campaigns around the world on these issues as well. Find out more on our Veolia’s Other Offenses page.
http://globalexchange.org/economicactivism/veolia/why
http://www.veoliawater.com/about/locations/israel.htm
Anon 21 Apr, 2014 – 12:56 pm
No, I do not forgive your assumption that as long as the standard of living is better, we should all rather be an oppressor than one of the oppressed.
@Mary. Aaonovich did more than most to promote Blair’s wars and I’m sure he’d get his own slice. I was very disappointed to see Will Self getting pally with him, but I guess that once you become a media luvvy its “us” v “them” (the proles). One thing about Tony Benn, which became obvious in the days after he died, was that he would never be a luvvy.
Article 53 is not about sovereign states but regional organisations. Sanctions can be unilateral or multilateral
A/RES/36/103, which is affirmed by the ICJ as a “sanctified absolute rule of law.”
Where – UN General Assembly resolutions are not usually considered to be legally binding?
Who are you quoting?
I was tempted to ignore the obvious sneering sarcasm of your first para – but it pretty obvious given your promotion of A/RES/36/103 that you support those regimes who place the sovereignty principle of the Charter over and above that of Article 3 namely “To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;” – which I should of course remind you was one of the reasons why the United Nations was established in the first place. Whether you like it or not individual human rights are meant to take precedence over state sovereignty – the fact that in many cases they don’t is a sign that the UN is not working as it should and why it is in serious need of reform – something that those of us who really place human rights above national allegiances have recognised for a long time.
But given you are such a fan of 36/103 I’m sure you will agree that Russia’s actions in Ukraine represent a clear and unequivocal breach of international law e.g
(c) The duty of a State to refrain from armed
intervention, subversion, military occupation or any other form
of intervention and interference, overt or covert, directed at
another State or group of States, or any act of military,
political or economic interference in the internal affairs of
another State, including acts of reprisal involving the use of
force;
More good questions! Remember, there are no stupid questions!
The draft articles on state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts standardize the terminology. That’s where you learn that sanctions may not in fact be unilateral. The Charter itself says ‘measures,’ as you know.
That quote about A/RES/36/103 comes from Nicaragua v. United States of America. With those words the ICJ explicitly made the resolution part of customary international law.
I’m delighted that we agree that human rights take precedence over state sovereignty. They certainly do. In fact, state sovereignty is conditioned on compliance with human rights! And the UN certainly could do with some reform. I was ever so sad when the US torpedoed the Small Five’s clever UNSC reforms.
You’ve got the Ukraine business all wrong, sad to say. Nothing in international law forbids a declaration of independence. And where is all this Russian coercion and force you’re exercised about? The Russians snatched Crimea back quite pacifically. That was quite a windfall these American dipshits have dropped into Russian hands! The Crimea but no Exclusion Zone – Spacibo!
Scorgie
“Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !
20 Apr, 2014 – 3:05 pm
“…I can’t of course prove that the UK HAS made such representations, but equally, you can’t prove it HASN’T, Doug.”
Russell’s teapot!”
_________________
Well, it was you who suggested that the UK could/should make/have made such representations and so I think my reply was fair enough.
Not too complicated for you, surely?
Well worth repeating (from Phil, earlier today)
““A manipulative mother with Jewish ancestry.”
Mary, here’s the problem as I see it.
Why not write: “A manipulative mother with size 6 feet”?
Of course this would be ridiculous. What does shoe size have to do with anything else you are saying? Nothing. What does shoe size have to do with a person’s propensity to manipulate? Nothing. So why mention it? You wouldn’t. You didn’t.
You did mention her jewishness as part of a wider criticism thus implying this in itself is a problem for you. You also directly associate jewishness and manipulation thus repeating an age old ugly stereotype.
You behave no differently from a person who points out skin colour only when a black kid has half hinched a sweet from the corner shop.
Quoting Malcolm X and Orwell in some half baked attempt at defending your racism is hilarious, pretentious delusion.”
_______________
And as a footnote : it is heartening to see that commenters other than those regularly called ‘trolls” have either woken up to Mary and her peculiar views or then, if they were already aware of them, are now speaking up.
I’ve been pointing out this ugly aspect of Mary for as long as I’ve commented on this blog. What is interesting is how few people have also spoken up against it. Do they think it’s unimportant, or do they silently share Mary’s prejucide?
“That quote about A/RES/36/103 comes from Nicaragua v. United States of America.”
It is from the separate opinion of a single judge – rather than the judgement of the court as a whole and even then it doesn’t refer back to 36/103
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?sum=367&p1=3&p2=3&case=70&p3=5
Please don’t lead us all on such wild goose chases in the future.
I do not share your opinion about the balaclava clad Russian forces in the Crimea – oh and neither does Putin anymore
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/vladimir-putin-admits-russian-forces-helped-crimea-separatists-n82756
Phil; “You behave no differently from a person who points out skin colour only when a black kid has half hinched a sweet from the corner shop”
Absurd; pointing out that fellow members of a certain group may be inclined to act, or try to exert influence in a way that is beneficial to something to that group values, is not “racism”; it is no different to the Government asking prospective State employees, details of birth , ethnicity & religion of all grandparents, as I was required to provide when I applied years ago, for a low grade office job in a local DHSS; it is no different to the decades old Government policy, only broken very recently, of not appointing Jews as Ambassadors to Israel, etc. The obvious reason of course, being the risk of a possible conflict of interest.
Mary has never expressed any racism towards anybody, especially towards Jews; she has never said that Jews are bad, or evil, or cannot be trusted etc; all those that have jumped on their ill thought out high moral ground to accuse Mary of engaging in racism, simply because of her habit of mentioning relevant factors that may explain or indicate a person’s possible leaning, are indulging in troll like smears, only difference being that the trolls know that their smears are indeed false.
Oh dear. You’re new to this, aren’t you? The World Court doesn’t work like that corrupt pigsty of a supreme court at all. Well, stick with it, soon this will all be second nature! Meantime you can use (A/56/10) as a handy crib sheet. It synthesizes all the court bumf.
I must say, you seem quite angry, and a bit fixated on Russia. Crimea’s actions are altogether legal, and they seem quite pleased with their double salaries and pensions. Do you know Kiev at all? It’s quite dismal. I’d jump at the chance to split, too.
Macky
“Mary has never expressed any racism towards anybody, especially towards Jews; ”
______________
I, and apparently a growing number of others, disagree with you.
Be that as it may, Macky, it’s your take that interests me. As you’re speaking up for Mary, perhaps you’d like to tell us why you think it was justified to refer to Kate Middleton’s mother’s Jewish ancestry and the point she was trying to make by so referring.
Off you go!
Resident Dissident
““That quote about A/RES/36/103 comes from Nicaragua v. United States of America.”
It is from the separate opinion of a single judge – rather than the judgement of the court as a whole and even then it doesn’t refer back to 36/103
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?sum=367&p1=3&p2=3&case=70&p3=5”
____________________
It’s an old Eminences’ trick, Resident Dissident. They quote or extract selectively from links which they are pretty sure few people will bother to look up and read in full.
Misleading and dishonest, but hey, what’s that to an Eminence?
I long had you pegged as a belligerent dullard Macky but, possibly because I normally scroll right past, I didn’t catch you as a jew hater. Yes I know Israel is horrid. I just don’t judge all jews of a similar nature because of it. Some of the most active anti-Israeli activists I know are jewish. They do things in the real world. I doubt you do anything except rant your endless shit on the internet. You are a joke you cowardly hypocrite.
Cue a stream of your predictable long comments of self righteous bollocks. Your word count and anger betray your insecurity. Big yawn. I shall be scrolling past.
Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !,
Unlikely as it sounds right now I engage with Mary and Macky because I hold value in their opinion.
Make no mistake though. I consider you a worthless piece of self-important shit only good to ignore.
Thank you for that reply Phil; totally devoid of any substance, containing nothing but irrationalities, smears, lies, etc; although it reveals nothing about me, it reveals rather a lot about you, & all of your own free volition.
Only a fool or a knave would use the following playful quip to smear somebody as a racist; only a real racist would be fixated so much by only the Jewish reference, but not the German reference;
“Doug asked me what Kate has.
A delightful baby.
A husband and in-laws with German ancestry.
A manipulative mother with Jewish ancestry.
A pushy sister and a drippy brother.
An uncle in-law who sells arms.
Two luxurious homes, at least.
A large wardrobe.
Lots of wedding invitations from Hooray Henrys and Henriettas.
Nice hair.
I think the correct answer is a brand, just like her husband and the Beckhams”
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/04/uk-moves-to-block-us-senate-report-to-protect-blair-straw-and-dearlove/comment-page-2/#comment-453267
Mister Spued, my compliments! You seem to have a knack for getting ordinary people engaged in analytical questions of law and norms. No reason it should be exclusive to the toffs of Eton or Sherborne!
One modest suggestion, if I may. Ordinary chaps steeped in middlebrow statist polemic and slogans can easily get wrapped around the axle. Here I see they’re stuck on the President’s concurring opinion on a unanimous judgment as somehow unrepresentative of the gist. Perhaps you hoped to spare them all the blah-blah-blah of
“Expressions of an opinio juris of States regarding the existence of this principle are numerous. The Court notes that this principle, stated in its own jurisprudence, has been reflected in numerous declarations and resolutions adopted by international organizations and conferences in which the United States and Nicaragua have participated.”
Zzzzz, to be sure. It’s a lot to swallow, if you’ve never gone to independent schools!
The problem is, you need to boil it down for them. Quotes will just confuse them. They’ll see other quotes and they won’t know how they fit and then we’re back to Salford levels of discourse.
Phil
“I long had you pegged as a belligerent dullard Macky but, possibly because I normally scroll right past, I didn’t catch you as a jew hater.”
followed by
“I engage with Mary and Macky because I hold value in their opinion.”
_____________________
Slight contradiction there, regarding Macky?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I consider you {ie Habbabkuk} a worthless piece of self-important shit only good to ignore.”
You’re entitled to your opinion, Phil, and I understand that saying anything positive about me would get you into trouble with the Eminences.
But I am pleased that you’ve finally understood where Mary’s coming from regarding Jews! 🙂
Tony Blunt is Siegheil Saadi and I claim my 50 roopay.
[site admin: wrong]
Macky
“Only a fool or a knave would use the following PLAYFUL QUIP to smear somebody as a racist;”
________________
Good to see the old “I/he/she was ONLY JOKING…!” in circulation again.
Are you really that stupid?
“Slight contradiction there, regarding Macky?”
Yup! But don’t forget that Phil regards himself as above everyone else. Previously he has announced that this blog and its contributors are beneath him, but sometimes he just can’t help himself.
Why thank you Sir. Most people proceed through distinct stages as they free themselves from state indoctrination. You see it when someone undertakes world-standard education such as an IB or starts work in a multilateral milieu. It’s gratifying to see sparks of it here. Individuals go through a prolonged struggle to fit the official state enmities into the perspective of the wider world.
Then at some point they see that peace is the law. They see the point of it: protecting humans from the overreaching power of states. For the first time they conceive of the state’s purposes as different than their own. They lose the football-spectator mentality and start to think about what they’ve been induced to root for.
Give Resident P. Dissident time.
Israel’s Mordechai Vanunu is as much a hero as US whistleblower Edward Snowden
Ten years ago today, a man emerged from prison to be greeted by a crowd of his supporters embracing him with carnations and a crowd of his enemies drawing their fingers across their throats. He had served 18 years in prison, 11 of them in solitary confinement.
The man was Mordechai Vanunu, the whistleblower who, in 1986, came to Britain to tell the Sunday Times the story of the then secret nuclear weapons facility at Dimona in Israel. Out alone in London and disillusioned with the length of time the story seemed to be taking to reach publication, he was lured by a woman from Mossad to Italy. There, he was kidnapped, drugged and smuggled out of the country to Israel, where he was convicted of espionage.
On his release from prison, he was led to believe that he would soon be free to leave the country where he is vilified and regarded as a traitor. When I interviewed him in Jerusalem six months later, back in 2004, he was still hopeful that, having served his time, he would be able to start a new life abroad. It has turned out to be an empty hope. Last December, he failed in the high court of justice in his latest bid to be allowed to leave. Does Edward Snowden, as he adjusts to life in Moscow, wonder whether he will still be haunted and hunted by the US government for decades to come?
http://stopwar.org.uk/videos/israel-s-mordechai-vanunu-is-as-much-a-hero-as-us-whistleblower-edward-snowden#.U1W0PlVdWqj
Anon
“Yup! But don’t forget that Phil regards himself as above everyone else.”
_______________
Oh, OK. I hadn’t realised that or had forgotten it. Perhaps I haven’t been reading him with sufficient attention. Mea culpa!
” It is absolute shit for those who are the butt of the Daily Mail’s little campaigns, like the one suggesting that principles behind food banks are corrupt.”
Not the Daily Mail this time, the Mail on Sunday. They are two entirely different entities.
“Note, nobody is actually facing starvation. The private purse stumps up for the food and the public purse covers the wide screen TV, Sky subscription, booze, fags, iPhone etc.”
You are wrong there, there are genuine needy in Britain, the safety net has been removed. The papers are full of stories about people with 12 kids getting a fortune off the state but nothing about the single person who lives alone. They survive on subsistence money, if they get an unexpected expense they have nothing. Many unemployed have severe mental health problems which the government refuses to acknowledge.
Plus there is the incompetence of the DHSS staff, it can take months to process a claim. Once took me a fortnight to get somebody at the Inland Revenue to answer the phone, several times a day listening to recorded messages at premium call rates only to be told there was nobody available.
Yes there are many who buck the system, they annoy me more than most because I compete with them for work but that doesn’t mean there aren’t genuine needy as well.