Droning On 285


It turns out that the CIA has realised for years that drone attacks are of very limited utility. Like so many of the injustices of the “War on Terror”, they are in fact a driver for armed hatred of the West, not least because they kill more civilians than targets.

But of course, the “war on terror” is very much about boosting the standing of politicians who are “fighting terror” on behalf of their citizens, and about boosting the ever-inflating powers – and budgets – of the security services. SO counterproductive measures are, paradoxically, the most attractive to those whose aim is not to obtain peace, but rather to maintain the concentration of power and finance consequent upon an eternal state of phoney war.


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285 thoughts on “Droning On

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  • Silvio

    “The BBC World Service is being financially outgunned by Russian and Chinese state-owned news channels, its former director Peter Horrocks has warned,”

    The BBC serves up horseshit while labeling it prime rib and then is taken aback when it dawns on the brainiacs in charge that audiences can actually detect the difference.

  • Resident Dissident

    “Shoot to kill”

    “No details yet.”

    Start with the prejudice first – even though there are no details available.

  • Resident Dissident

    Assad is in clear breach of International Law and resolutions passed unanimously by the UN Security Council in regard of the continuing use of barrel bombs on Syrian citizens

    http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49226#.VJqQdAI8eA

    There is no doubt on this whatsoever – but where are those usually so keen to cite international law on this blog in suggesting how this abuse should be dealt with.

  • Mark Golding

    Reading the UNSC statement by María Cristina Perceval (Argentina) who I love dearly for her numerous articles and studies on children’s rights and women’s rights including violence against women, I observe no reference to Assad or his government or his military. We recall the Syrian army is fighting ISIS and the US has viable back-channel intelligence from Syrian commanders.

    http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sc11626.doc.htm

    Barrel Bombs

    ‘Auntie Beeb’ has been pushing Assad’s barrel bombs out of ‘regime’ helicopters. A recent report by Ian Pannell of the ‘Speak Truth’ brigade stuck in the craw. (2) Pannell has form in Libya and an alleged attack on a school that he reported earlier this year has been subject to minute and withering analysis by Robert Stuart.(3)

    So I wrote to the laughably named complaints department. This is but one speck of black sand on the beach of BBC lies. Here is one instance of the BBC speaking untruths to its people and the world.

    Title – Today programme – today 28 April. The Syrian ‘regime’ – barrel bombs – Aleppo Online complaints BBCDear BBC,It was evident from early in this programme that there was to be a sustained barrel bombing of the listener, both here and abroad. One might guess that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was involved in this assault. There was also the possibility that it locked in nicely with the continued isolation/belittlement of Putin and Russia, the latter being an erstwhile ally critical to the defeat of the Third Reich (by massive sacrifice).There was the insinuation, yet again, that the Assad government had been responsible for the nerve gas attacks. I have not heard from the BBC that the evidence, from Mother Agnes to Seymour Hersh, was against this source. And neither have I heard the BBC pose cui bono against this accusation. Did not the 100 plus little victims not perish shortly before the Syrian government representatives attended the Geneva conference?
    My central complaint. You alleged, via Ian Pannell, that ‘barrel bombs’ were being dropped indiscriminately from 6000ft from helicopters, by day and night. On the other hand, when Sirte was being ‘pounded’ by HE, Hellfire and Cruise missiles, you probably inferred there was discrimination; the estimated 50,000 Libyan civilian deaths were ‘collateral’ damage. YOU BROADCAST NO STATEMENT FROM THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE VERY SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS TRANSMITTED BY MR PANNELL TODAY. WHY NOT? I add that I did not hear the later segment, but in any event, a Syrian response should have accompanied each of the earlier segments thus meeting accepted journalistic rules. yours faithfully

  • giyane

    Mark

    Cunt power as my ex used to call it is not one of the women’s rights I recognise. I am all in favour of women having a say in the way the world is run, but if they decide to support the male perpetrators of lies, murder and torture, by joining them politically, they themselves become assets of the establishment oppression from which they say they are setting themselves free.

    Assad’s barrell bombs and Al Qaida’s very un-Islamic bullies are two claws of the same cruel pincers, both funded and supported by USUKIS to crush the will of the Syrian people.

    It has been known since the time of Tirmidhi, nearly 900 years ago that the Allevi are not followers of any part of Islam, but rather adopted the title in order to convince other Muslims of their legitimicacy.

    Al Qaida’s takfirism/ denial of others’ faith by which they declare the rights and properties of Muslims forfeit, is universally acknowledged by all Islamic scholars as a Western innovation firstly through blackmail and partisan support for the Saudi family in KSA inserting Zionists into the monarchy and incorrect beliefs into the religion, and secondly through Zionists in Egypt influencing Islam through the Muslim Brotherhood against traditional Islamic values which are similar to the values of the ten commandments of Moses in respect of life and property.

    The sole purpose of the USUKIS war in Syria is the same as the USUKIS wars against Iraq, i.e. firstly to subvert Islam globally by feeding terror to the western humanity by portraying Islam as wicked and violent on their TVs in order to deny them their right to worship God correctly and secondly to weaken the Muslims in the region around Israel and in other places, to serve US hegemony and deny human rights to the entire Muslim family.

    The West is desparate to prevent the increased mobility of Muslims from spreading the truth of Islam. Barrell bombs and mercenaries are the last throes of a crazed tyranny. our leaders like Cameron and Miliband are scizophrenic idiots, fanning the flames of war on the Muslims with one hand and flaming the fannies of their own people with terrible crimes on their TVs.

  • Resident Dissident

    UN Resolution 2165 can be found here

    http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/2165

    It was passed unanimously by the UN Security Council all of whose members including Russia and China were clearly hoodwinked by the BBC if Mark Golding is to be believed. On the other hand Golding could be lying through his teeth. As for demanding the right of reply for war criminals ………..

  • giyane

    Politicians thrive on creating solutions to problems they have created by their own hands. Kurdish leaser Barzani signed via his nephew for the incursion of ISIS from its bases in Turkey in US vehicles freshly bought from Ukraine, into Iraq.

    Here he poses as a hero for the cameras for dealing with the aftermath of his own insane decisions.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30568327

    Politicians!

  • Johnstone

    -but the BBC is the equal in badness of anything Australia can produce-.

    indeed anything anywhere

    Yes, Brendon BBC World which somehow comes to us via cable is British Bullshit Capitalism, unashamedly. Its truly atrocious stuff and RT makes the BBC presenters look like a bunch untrained, long in the tooth, halfwit amateurs.

  • Mary

    Losing ground? RT, Guardian & the facts behind BBC cash call

    The Guardian’s latest hatchet job on RT indicts the channel on the basis of it outspending (and admittedly outgunning) the BBC’s international radio service.

    The article below was submitted to The Guardian to be published in its “Comment is Free” opinion section as a response to the newspaper’s latest, largely unsubstantiated, piece about RT. So far The Guardian has not published RT’s response.

    Evidently The Guardian has developed an obsession with our channel, publishing over a dozen articles directly or indirectly about RT in a month-and-a-half.

    /..

    December 23, 2014
    http://rt.com/op-edge/216903-rt-guardian-outspending-bbc/

  • Mark Golding

    A case of ‘what comes around goes around’ Mary – we remember from 2012:

    Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster’s English-language outlet, has been forced off the air in the UK after Ofcom revoked its licence for ‘breaching’ the Communications Act.

    ..”Press TV believes that Ofcom is the media tool of the British government – the same government that sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to participate in the killing of innocent civilians.”

    WikiLeaks cables say London and Washington have explored ways to limit the operations of Press TV in the UK. And here it comes; Press TV is removed from the Sky platform.”

    http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/08/28/376897/us-gives-new-waiver-over-iran-channels/

  • Mary

    “Our channel” Yes a state-sponsonered propaganda outlet that tells us what we want to hear.

    = ZBC

  • Dreoilin

    Mary,
    While you’re extolling the virtues of Mads Gilbert, you might spare a thought for the Palestinian doctors who worked to the point of exhaustion (and beyond) to try and help the wounded in Gaza during “Protective Edge”.
    They worked on, despite the tears streaming down their faces. I follow one of them on Twitter. The pictures he posted were horrific and heartbreaking. And I don’t doubt the love in their hearts or their dedication either.

    “According to the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qudra, the Israeli aggression on Gaza this past summer resulted in the death of 2,147 Palestinians, including 530 children and 302 women, while 10,744 people were injured, including 3,258 children and 2,089 women. “The number of martyrs among the medical staff has reached 23, and 83 were wounded,” Qudra said.”

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/originals/2014/11/gaza-doctors-war-remember-wounded-deaths.html

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Closing down now on the approach of the Holy Evening and tomorrow’s blessed day.

    So, very best wishes to Craig and all commenters for a very happy and peaceful Christmas!

  • Republicofscotland

    “We had a 6 minute Silence, and lit some candles outside the bbc in Glasgow today, at occupy bbc demo, with Anonymous – i took some video”
    ______________________________________

    Brian.

    Well done Brian, those biased establishment b*stards deserve everything they get, and then some.

  • Republicofscotland

    “So, very best wishes to Craig and all commenters for a very happy and peaceful Christmas!”
    _________________________________

    I may disagree with you Habb old boy, but have a Merry Christmas.

  • Republicofscotland

    Data released by the (ONS), Office of national Statistics, show the UK’s growth rate, on trade and business has been revised down.

    This action discredits Gideon Osborne’s claim that the UK economy is the fastest growing economy of any of the major economies in the world.

    In fact the US and Australian economies are now growing at a much faster rate than the UK’s.

    as I’ve said on previous threads, not only is Gideon Osborne the worst chancellor in living memory possibly of all time, but he’s also the biggest liar to boot.

    The buffoon Osborne has brought the UK to its knees, unless of course, you’re wealthy, then Osborne is a shining star, in a sea of mediocre politicians.

  • nevermind

    My best wishes to all from Norfolk. Before I done my Santa suit and bamboozle the local kids with falsehoods, coal and birch, I’d like to wish you all a happy Crimbo, especially Brian who has helped me negotiate the Argyleshire landscape and its hidden cove’s.

    Here is something I was sent, rather appropriate for these days.
    Frohe Weihnacht

    Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally -conscious, socially-responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2015, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes. By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher . Best Regards (without prejudice),

  • Republicofscotland

    Speaking of “Mediocre” politicians, (I could speak all day), Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is planning, to force non-EU graduates, to return home once they’ve gained their degrees, from UK universities.

    If they then wish to return to the UK to work,they’ll then need to apply for the appropriate visa, to allow them to re-enter the country to work.

    Denying post-graduates the right stay and work in the UK, will be very damaging to the economy, as they already contribute around, £441 million pounds per year, it will be particularly damaging to the Scottish economy due to Scotland’s aging population.

  • Republicofscotland

    MOSCOW, December 23 (Sputnik) – A Ukrainian air force Su-25 combat jet took off from an airbase in eastern Dnipropetrovsk carrying air-to-air missiles and returned without them on the day a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in eastern Ukraine in July, Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported, citing an airbase employee.

    The employee, who claims to be an eyewitness, said on July 17 that three Ukrainian combat jets took off, and that one of them, an Su-25, was carrying air-to-air missiles.

    “After a while only one jet [of the three] returned, which had had those missiles… It returned without the missiles. The pilot was very frightened,” the man said. The employee stressed that only the returned Su-25 had been equipped with air-to-air missiles, and said he was sure it was not air-to-ground missiles.

    http://sputniknews.com/europe/20141223/1016134406.html
    …………………………..

    Russian propaganda or something along the lines of the truth?

  • Republicofscotland

    George Osborne is planning the “wilful destruction” of public services through his “ideological” plans for spending cuts and desire to “shrink the state”, according to Danny Alexander, his Liberal Democrat deputy.

    In his fiercest criticisms of the chancellor since the beginning of the coalition in 2010, Mr Alexander, the Treasury chief secretary, warned that unnecessarily deep cuts would be needed to deliver the “unfunded” pledge to cut income tax by £7.2bn.

    Mr Alexander, hitherto seen as an ally of Mr Osborne, told the Independent: “The Tory agenda to keep reducing public spending beyond what is necessary would result in the wilful destruction of important parts of our public services. That is not appropriate or right for this country.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11311912/George-Osborne-planning-wilful-destruction-of-public-services-says-Danny-Alexander.html
    …………………………….

    One useless b*stard admitting the truth, about another useless b*stard, funny how the truth emerges when a General Election comes a calling.

  • Mary

    If the poster above had listened to the AJ interview, she would have heard Dr Gilbert extolling the virtues of the Palestinian medical teams, saying that they had had much practice in 2006,2 2009, 2012 and this year.

    It is a given that they are skilled in spite of having shortages of basic medical supplies and equipment. I know several British doctors who have worked in the hospitals in Gaza and have been out there to do training.

  • Silvio

    Sony Hack Was An Inside Job! Damning Evidence Points to Massive FBI Psyop!

    Kurt Stammburger, SVP for Norse Corp (a respected silicon valley cyber-security firm): “We are very confident that this was not an attack masterminded by North Korea, and that insiders were key to the implementation of one of the most devastating attacks in history…….There are certain North Korea fingerprints on this, but when we run all these leads to ground, they turn out to be decoys or red herrings.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khcSHcGn6zw

  • Republicofscotland

    Sandra Lambert, manager of 149 Jobcentres and self-styled lifestyle guru, has spent much of the last few days frantically blocking people on twitter who have been taking the piss out of the cringemaking motivational advice she inflicts on the poor bastards who work for her.

    She wasn’t fast enough however to hide the tweet in which she awarded a Texas style sherriff’s badge to Jobcentres in the midlands for upholding their DMA decision rate – as spotted by @refuted. A DMA means a referral to a Jobcentre ‘decision maker’ to process a benefit sanction.

    It is the second time this month a DWP manager has been exposed praising their staff for hitting benefit sanction targets – targets that Iain Duncan Smith’s department have repeatedly claimed do not exist.

    It is not just that the DWP are lying which is so contempible, all government departments lie after all. It is the sheer glee that has accompanied this policy of driving people into desperate poverty should they happen to miss a meeting with the Jobcentre or call in sick for workfare.

    http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/sandra-gives-the-game-away-jobcentres-given-sheriffs-stars-for-hitting-benefit-sanction-targets/
    ………………………………..

    I find these actions particularly disgusting, and that sub-human pr*ck Ian Duncan Smith, makes Ebenezer Scrooge, look like Mother Theresa.

  • Dreoilin

    “she would have heard Dr Gilbert extolling the virtues of the Palestinian medical teams” — poster above at 4.24pm.

    I wasn’t talking about what Dr Gilbert goes on about. I was talking about what YOU go on about …

    ———————

    Nollaig shona agus aithbhliain faoi mhaise dhibh uilig.

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