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A Democracy Now Broadcast featuring the Documentary film “The Great Hack.” Broadcast shortly after the New Year this PBS American documentary presentation details big data’s threar to democracy following Brittany Kaiser’s January 2020 document releases. Although the Brexit vote is featured and in spite of the very recent UK Genera Election, the interviews primary focus is on the impact on American Elections and the problem is discussed from a US perspective.
“The Great Hack” features award-winning filmmakers Karim Amer and Jahans Noujaim, it is well worth watching:
“Political Warfare: People Everywhere are in a battle for control of our most intimate personal details.
The Great Hack uncovers the dark world of data exploitation with astounding access to the personal journeys of key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. The Great Hack forces us to question the origin of the information we consume daily. What do we give up when we tap that phone or keyboard and share ourselves in the digital age? The Great Hack Netflix documentary lifted the curtain on our vulnerability and how public opinion and the very foundation of our democracy is being manipulated and shaken to the core.”Brittany Kaiser’s revelations regarding the involvement of Cambridge Analytica in manipulating the Brexit vote are exposed and there is no question that data protection laws were broken and there was significant illegal foreign intervention and funding that violated UK Electoral Law. With Dominic Cummings holding a pivotal role in both Leave EU and the Election that handed Boris Johnson an unexpected majority we cannot simply trust that the extraordinary result did not represent the Master Puppeteer up to his old tricks. While you watch the informative Democracy Now documentary transpose the emphasis from the US Presidential race to the severe ramifications following our 2019 General Election that was almost certainly rigged.
It was really nauseating to watch the Labour leadership debate last week where the prospective contenders bent over backwards to prostrate themselves in response to another right wing moderator, determined to draw more blood over fake anti-Semitism, in the BBC’s concerted effort to reinforce the Labour’s fabricated “catastrophic” defeat. The hard sell propaganda over this grossly over exaggerated defeat has never let up, but resistance demands that we must loudly defy this constant destructive narrative as it is deviously designed to boost the legitimacy of Boris Johnson’s rigged “landslide” victory. The Tories are revelling in the extreme humiliation they are inflicting by grinding down all the opposition MPs and Labour supporters who discreetly decline to defy the lies simply to avoid being labelled “sore losers.”
Labour are too busy eating their own smelly socks to pull on their boots and march! However, this is not the time to complacently accept yet another drubbing from these arrogant Tory cheats. If an Olympic Gold Medallist tests positive for doping they will be stripped of their medal and banned from competing; if you cheat on an exam you will lose your qualification. Is the potential ballot stuffing that may have cheated the entire population of the UK out of a fair and just government via a rigged election less important than an Olympic Medal or an undeserved credential? The system is so seriously rigged that there will be no second chance in five years time; if we do not correct the result right now we could be forced to endure decades of despotic Tory tyranny.
While this devious PsyOps tactic was deployed to collectively brainwash certain persuadable members of the UK population in the run up to the 2019 General Election and has helped reinforce the media propaganda that continues to support the fake news of a Tory Landslide victory, I sincerely doubt it would have been sufficient without widespread vote rigging. Please read, sign, share and link to this Petition on AVAAZ: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.
I spent the longest time trying to post my last comment, but it keeps being blocked by an annoying Wordfence notice. That post was to have included an imbedded Link to the really important Democracy Now Broadcast from earlier this year that I featured in my piece. I am still unclear what was blocking my post, but it did finally go through after I removed the Links and one section of the text. However, I really felt it was that the Link to the Democracy Now broadcast provided vital information so, although the full broadcast is over an hour long, it is well worth watching and I will try to post the Link separately here.
The full Democracy Now broadcast was broken down into six segments with titles that I listed on my original submission. When I removed the Links and this list of titles my comment finally posted. Of all the segments the one entitled, “Facebook is a Crime Scene; ‘The Great Hack’ Documentary details Big Data Threat to Democracy,” was perhaps the most pertinent. Both of the critical Links posted in Moderation, so if you have not yet managed to locate the Democracy Now broadcast, or if you do not have the time to watch it in its entirety, at least watch the section “Facebook is a Crime Scene.”
Another question is whether to apply to if your employer abuses their position and relations in the police to put pressure on you… I’m thinking of applying to AAAPPP, has anyone heard about it anything? Please, help! Thanks.
@ Kim Sanders-Fisher February 19, 2020 at 11:38
The other five episodes to your link ‘Meet Brittany Kaiser, Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower Releasing Troves of New Files from Data Firm’ are to the right on that page.When I tried to list the full titles on this post, I got the ‘Wordfence treatment too.
In my response to the encouraging support from SA on Craig’s latest Blog post I responded by saying that: “While I greatly appreciate your endorsement of my efforts in trying to expose the vote rigging that I firmly believe corrupted the 2019 General Election, we cannot put pressure on Craig to direct the content of this Blog. If and when he feels inspired to write more about his conclusions following the extraordinary “landslide” victory that Boris Johnson inexplicably pulled off, like the rabbit out of a hat, then we will all benefit from his astute deductions, but until then this is after all Craig Murray’s Blog.”
We do need to be respectful of that fact, so I continued by saying: “I am grateful to Craig for tolerating my impassioned rants on the Discussion Forum: “Elections Aftermath; Was our 2019 Vote & the EU Referendum Rigged?” This has provided a vital forum space for myself and others to keep those interested in seeking justice fully informed about any progress via comments and the numerous links to the gathering evidence. There are also ways to actively participate through signing one or more of the online Petitions via Links posted on this “Elections Aftermath” forum.”
I hope that many of you will take the time to visit the Nine Important Petitions that I linked to in an earlier post and forward these Links to your friends. In my reply to SA I also posted a Link to the Blog site I only recently discovered: “The Daily GasLamp,” dedicated to exposing the corruption that has perpetrated our Electoral System. In one of my previous comments I included several excerpts from their Blog to provide a flavour of the content so far and these can be found along with Links to the Blog by visiting that forum post.
In a number of the Blog posts written by Craig prior to the Election he applied his trademark standard of level-headed logical thinking that indicated we were heading for something far closer to a hung parliament, which would at least have made a modicum of sense. In Craig’s pre-election posts: “Do Not Despair of This Election,” “The Truth About this Election,” “The Invisible Tories” and “The Largest Vote Swings in British General Election History,” he wrote of his doubts regarding support for a sizable Tory victory.
On the 21st of November, in “Do Not Despair of This Election,” Craig started by pointing out the worrying stance of those who participated in an early TV debate, where Boris kept repeating “get Brexit done” no matter what question was asked of him and Jo Swinson expressed a sickening desire to press the nuclear button! Although he acknowledged Corbyn had missed a few of the classic Labour open goals the press verdict was not great for Boris Johnson: “You Gov’s verdict of a 51 to 49 victory for Johnson was very dubious indeed.” He wrote.
He went on to add: “…even that would be a major advance for Corbyn given the constant barrage of unfair media demonization to which he has been subjected in the last five years. Almost seven million people watched the event live, a significant audience. Parity with that audience is a very good start for Labour. I suspect it really went better than that. YouGov have a long and dishonourable history as Tory push pollsters.” Sadly that was at a point where we all believed that BBC impartiality rules would benefit Corbyn during the campaign: if that standard had only been applied.
When Craig reminded us of the failure of May’s election bid: “The Tory campaign of closed workplace addresses, artificial set-up encounters and a constant simple soundbite slogan is repeating the formula that failed so spectacularly in 2017. “Get Brexit Done” is going to annoy voters as much as “Strong and Stable”…” This made perfect sense as Boris stuck to the disastrous campaign strategy like super glue; how could it possibly have resulted in such a spectacular victory?
On the 7th of December In “The Truth About this Election” Craig reminded us that: “The undeniable truth is that almost precisely as many voters have deserted the Tories as have switched to them. Hence they are on the same percentage.” He said “…an equal number of voters have deserted the Tory Party.” Here was Craig’s “zinger” regarding the BBC’s biased manipulation of Vox Pops; according to his tally: “…57 vox pop/audience members saying they are deserting Labour, because of Brexit/Corbyn. I have tallied 1 – yes ONE – audience member (and zero vox pop) saying they are abandoning the Tories over Brexit/Johnson.” So we were being manipulated, who’d have thunk it?
Craig deduced that ignoring the media spin, although the Tories were not in retreat they had not progressed beyond their 2017 level of support either; progressive voters should just “vote smart” making cautious tactical choices to avoid a Tory victory.
On the 9th of December In his post “The Invisible Tories” Craig exposed the unreliability of what many of us call the “Push Poles:” “Survation are showing a swing from Labour to Conservative in London of 13.5%. That is absolutely massive, and nobody believes that is happening on the ground.” Highlighting their lacklustre campaigning, in conclusion he wrote “In short, I am absolutely unable to square the opinion polls with the evidence of my own eyes and ears.”
On the 11th of December just one day before the General Election Craig write: “The Largest Vote Swings in British General Election History,” I forensically dissected the implications of these massive vote swings against the actual election results in a previous post so I will not repeat the data here. However Craig’s post focused on the one sided presentation of this information by the media and what would have transpired if that bias was removed: “…It would have challenged the entire government narrative. But the media have not done this. They have instead chosen to tell only the pro-government side of this story of electoral swings. This is probably the worst period of concerted state and billionaire controlled media propaganda in the modern history of the “democratic West”.”
Craig concluded by saying: “Ask yourself this simple question. The Tory vote has not increased since 2017. Have you heard that simple fact stated on the broadcast media and is it the impression the broadcast media have been giving?” The answer now exactly as it was then: the BBC have no intention of presenting the true facts and their unwavering support of the Tories has not paid off by protecting this public service from the ravages of Tory cuts and threats of privatization. Craig also said that: “The final reason to believe that the Tory lead will narrow from the YouGov constituency model poll is that they themselves reported this.”
It is well worth reviewing these earlier Blog post to gauge Craig’s gut feeling about the highly unpredictable result of the December election and how his analysis was in stark contradiction to the “landslide” victory claimed by the Tories. Indeed there was such a wealth of evidence to support my suspicion that the 2019 General Election result was rigged that I have referred back to these earlier posts here on the Elections Aftermath forum. We can thoroughly trust Craig not to try to make the current Media/BBC propaganda fit the Tory objective or enable Boris Johnson to perpetrate his lies. I will patiently await Craig’s input on the matter.
“The Will of the Sheeple” Brexit sorted using “‘weapons grade communications techniques’ against the UK population?”
A July 2019 Guardian Alarm Bell as “The Great Hack: the film that goes behind the scenes of the Facebook data scandal,” is released.
“This week, a Netflix documentary on Cambridge Analytica sheds light on one of the most complex scandals of our time. Carole Cadwalladr, who broke the story and appears in the film, looks at the fallout – and finds ‘surveillance capitalism’ out of control.”In this July 2019 Guardian Article Carole Cadwalladr highlights one of the astounding revelations from the film “The Great Hack.”
“There’s a gobsmacking moment, captured in the film, when Kaiser tells the select committee that the British government had classified Cambridge Analytica’s technology as “weapons-grade”. It was export controlled, meaning the company was bound by law to tell the government if it used it overseas. Damian Collins, chair of the committee, is seen digesting this piece of information, and asking: “So what you are saying is that the proposal was for Leave.EU to use what you call ‘weapons grade communications techniques’ against the UK population?”In seeking to emphasize the point Carole Cadwalladr says: “It’s worth reading that sentence again. There’s no conspiracy here, just important unanswered questions. Did the British government have oversight of Cambridge Analytica’s activities in multiple elections worldwide? Was this “weapons grade” technology used on the British population?”
Cadwalladr goes on to say: “…it’s worth restating what kicked off the entire story. It was only when Cambridge Analytica started writing repeatedly to me, furiously denying any involvement in the EU referendum – despite having previously boasted about it in multiple places online – that I started investigating this byzantine web of people, data and money.”
It is obvious from what Carole Cadwalladr documents here that the totality of this highly effective propaganda disseminating technique was known to the Tory Government well before they called the 2019 General Election when she states that:
“The official position, including that of the Electoral Commission, is that Cambridge Analytica did no work for Leave.EU. However, that is not the impression left by the film. Collins says, “We’ve documented how Cambridge Analytica worked with Leave.EU, regardless of whether they were paid or not. There are still so many unanswered questions that require further investigation.”What is blindingly obvious from these revelations is that Boris Johnson’s disgraceful promotion of Brexit, with blatant lies and fear mongering, succeeded in winning the Brexit vote using “‘weapons grade communications techniques’ against the UK population?” What is equally clear is that having secured the authority to force the UK out of the EU by corrupt manipulation of the public for his own personal career promotion, Johnson was determined to coerce the British people into accepting the most damaging form of Crash-Out Brexit. This was accomplished through rigging a mid-winter snap General Election to establish a massive Tory majority so that he was unstoppable in parliament.
Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, who produced the film, believe that the fightback is in full swing saying: “The film does a brilliant job of telling the story of the central role data plays in politics, and the way a few big companies can get inside the heads of millions of people.”
In the light of our recent rigged election I have trouble sharing their optimism, but they add: “The Great Hack is a crucial start of the next stage: “Because now we need action,” she says. “We need law. We have to solve this.”Does using “‘weapons grade communications techniques’ against the UK population establish “the Will of the People”? No! We must call this out for what it is: Brexit is “The Will of the Sheeple!”
The British are not a nation of brain-dead automatons seeking perpetual subjugation and exploitation through subversive mind control. We can and we must fight back by disputing the result of the corrupt Brexit vote and the rigged 2019 General Election.HOW TO FIGHT BACK: Visit this recently discovered new Blog: “The Daily GasLamp,” dedicated to exposing the corruption that has perpetrated our Electoral System. I have already posted several Blog post excerpts to provide a flavour of the content so far. Part 1 of a New Post detailing background information on Cambridge Analytica has just been posted on the Daily GasLamp. One of my previous post listed a total of Nine Important Petitions with Links; please read, sign, share and Link to all of these Petitions.
2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.In a series of new posts The GasLamp focuses attention on the corrupt influence of dodgy Tech Companies in Elections.
To avoid excessively lengthy posts this was broken down into parts the first of which went up on the 20th of February.In: “What is all the fuss about Cambridge Analytica: Part 1” the GasLamp provides detailed background information on Cambridge Analytica, with the goal that founders, Bannon and Mercer, had in creating a subsidiary of Mercer’s SCL to wield covert influence over US voters. There is an overview of the history of SCL Group’s involvement in the Behavioural Dynamics Institute (BDI) and how their research was shifted to commercial applications in a lucrative field: “in military disinformation campaigns to social media branding and voter targeting”.
This Part 1 post elaborates on the origins of the subversive Tech being used to warp our elections. With more information on the SCL group to appear in another instalment, the GasLamp states that according to SCL its methodology: “has been approved or endorsed by agencies of the Government of the United Kingdom and the Federal government of the United States, among others.” That should very seriously worry us all..
In Part 2 The GasLamp post reveals the background of major funder, American Robert Mercer, and how the EU Referendum in the UK was used to “test run, Cambridge Analytica’s approach to influence elections.” Mercer’s donation of Cambridge Analytica’s services to Nigel Farage at Leave.EU, enabled them to use illegally harvested date from Facebook profiles to send individualized targeted shock ads filled with scare mongering disinformation to manipulate people into voting for Brexit. The piece also reveals Dominic Cummings VoteLeave access to the same Cambridge Analytica technology, channelled through the Canadian company AggregateIQ, to deliver “an estimated one billion individually curated targeted adverts to voters in the lead up to the Brexit referendum, in contravention of established voting rules.”
Part 2 concludes with a TED Talk where Carole Cadwalladr tells of returning to her childhood home in Blyth Valley, Wales on a mission to understand why the local population in this former coal mining town, that had benefited so enormously from EU funded regeneration projects and was virtual devoid of resettled migrants, chose to return the strongest vote for Brexit in the UK? Their decision made no logical sense until she uncovered the covert influence of those personalized campaign ads that were designed to deliberately deceive, sowing the seeds of fear and hatred in a deprived staunchly Labour community.
There are serious questions that still remain unanswered with regard to the source of all the funding that enabled the conserted onslaught of disinformation. Both VoteLeave and Leave.EU failed to inform the UK Electoral Commission of Mercer’s funding or free service donations and this was probably not the only source of foreign funding that violated UK Law. Even when the Electoral Commission established that the VoteLeave campaign was guilty of breaking Electoral Law this serious breach was glossed over in the media and thus failed to convince the British public that Electoral fraud had irrevocably corrupted the Brexit vote.
Restoring security and integrity to the UK Electoral Process, through investigating this criminal activity after parliament is driven to vote in favour of authorizing increasing the remit and powers of the UK Electoral Commission: does that vital imperative matter to you? This worthy goal is precisely the cut and thrust of the Petition I created that is hosted on Avaaz. If you have yet to review the Petition, please read, sign, share and Link to it here:
2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.Where there warning signs about Funding, Fake News and Data Manipulation that we all missed as far back as 2018?
According to a July 2018 analysis in the Canary: “An £8.4m donation to the Leave campaign may have changed UK history.” This Canary Article revealed that: “On 29 July, a report [pdf] entitled Disinformation and ‘fake news’ emerged following a cross-party parliamentary inquiry. It examines “issues concerning the very future of democracy” in the UK following the EU referendum. Its findings are damning.” An additional revelation on page 51 of the report stated that: “…a Leave group received the ‘largest donation to a political campaign in British history’.” Our future misery was bought and paid for by the wealthiest billionaires in our country. The Interim Report cited by the Canary and the Final Report on “Disinformation and Fake News” go to the Parliament UK Website.Within the article is a deeply disturbing quote from Arron Banks that exposes the deliberate and wickedly deceptive way he had endorsed the gross manipulation of unsuspecting UK voters with Leave.EU’s Social Media campaign he described as: “a firestorm that, just like a bush fire, it blows over the thing. Our skill was creating bush fires and then putting a big fan on and making the fan blow. […] the immigration issue was the one that set the wild fires burning.” This unrelenting firestorm of sickening online bile was further reinforced by the now infamous ‘Breaking Point’ posters that were reported to police as a “blatant attempt to incite racial hatred.”
Also in the report and highlighted by the Canary was the alarming fact that Andy Wigmore, Leave.EU’s director of communications, was reportedly recorded discussing: “the power of using emotion, rather than facts, which ‘created a wave of hatred and racism and all this right movement, empowering all those things’.” How much further to the far right do we want to lurch under this dubiously elected Tory Government that has ensconced all of the most extreme Brexiteers in a position of untrammelled power? According to the report Wigmore also referenced the “Nazis’ propaganda strategy.”
Shockingly, back at the time of that July 2018 Report the UK Electoral Commission admitted that: “Only the company and campaigner know why a voter was targeted and how much was spent on a particular campaign.” It is now well past time for us to demand that our government must fully empower our Electoral Commission to reign in this abuse: time to “Rescue our Watchdog!” But three and a half years on the rigged 2019 General Election has unwittingly facilitated driving the UK further towards the Brexit precipice.
From the Canary article sighting the report we learned that it was in a document from Cambridge Analytica’s presentation pitch to Leave.EU where they stated that “We will co-ordinate a programme of targeted solicitation, using digital advertising and other media as appropriate to raise funds for Leave.EU in the UK, the USA, and in other countries.” Any such solicitation of overseas funding is a direct violation of UK Electoral Law; this is freely admitted to in writing. Why was this fraudulent manipulation and access to illegal funding for targeted subversive campaigning not enough to delegitimize the Brexit vote?
Although ultra far right American Steve Bannon “introduced Cambridge Analytica to Arron Banks and to Leave.EU,” following the Brexit success, more recently he has been in communication with Boris Johnson whose lies helped propel the Leave campaign to victory. Page 38 of the report explicitly connects Cambridge Analytica and AggrigateIQ, the company Dominic Cummings relied on for exactly the same harvested data to target voters with dark subversive messaging and blatant lies. This despicable unelected master puppeteer has now been rewarded with the supreme advisory role at number 10 in a crucial position to manipulate the policies of Boris Johnson as he consolidates his dictatorship of our failing state.
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Back in 2018 this crucial report picked up by the Canary outlined allegations of data harvesting exposing the data misuse facilitated by Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’s arrogant refusal to testify as he seeks to continue hiding the full extent of Facebook’s disgraceful illegal data mining and vile dissemination of corrosive false advertising defies justice. Three and a half years on, while we still do not even know the source of Arron Banks’s massive donation to Leave.EU, while our Electoral Commission remained too powerless and enfeebled to protect our democracy, we were coaxed into a mid-winter snap election from the same team that lied and cheated to force Brexit on the UK.Now after more lying and cheating under the banner of “Get Brexit Done” we will be forced to crash out of the EU; this is not “The Will of the People” it is “The Will of the Sheeple!” Beyond the disastrous timing there are powerful indications that multiple aspects of that pre Christmas Election were manipulated and rigged to guarantee that Boris Johnson could consolidate his total stranglehold on exclusive power.
What can enlightened people do now? Restoring security and integrity to the UK Electoral Process, through investigating this criminal activity after parliament votes to authorize increasing the remit and powers of the UK Electoral Commission: does that vital imperative matter to you? This worthy goal is precisely the cut and thrust of the Petition I created that is hosted on Avaaz. If you have yet to review the Petition, please read, sign, share and Link to it here: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.
In a free Society we should not need to beg for Justice! Free Julian Assange. Tories want to Extradite him as a “Bad Guy:” This far right toxic Tory Government has the Journalist and Political Prisoner Julian Assange banged-up in Belmarsh where the British imprison the most dangerous terrorists in the UK. His detention for the non-crime of journalism that embarrassed, or should I say deeply shamed, the US Government could see him extradited to the US to spend the rest of his life behind bars. He could even face torture and execution. Please sign this Petition:
PETITION: #FreeAssange: Sign against Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States!
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is firmly opposed to the possible extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, where he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for charges that include publishing and providing journalists with information that served the public interest.
Reporters Without Borders: Assange’s extradition to the US would “threaten the work of all journalists”Freedom of speech is being suppressed under an unprecedented onslaught from the growing number of despots who dictate policy through their repressive authoritarian regimes around the world: the UK has just joined this elite cabal. Tyrannical policies touted as necessary to keep us safe don’t just strip away our freedoms they endanger our very existence. If Assange is extradited it will set an extremely alarming precedent, that the US will have exercised supreme authority to target a citizen of any nationality, living in any foreign country, for an alleged “Crime” that was not even committed on US soil! Let that concept peculate for a while and you will realize how severely damaging such a universal gagging order would present to democracy worldwide.
The Tories are going after the BBC, as if it wasn’t thoroughly right wing biased enough already; probably they would prefer to turn it into a Fox News look-alike under trusted pal Rupert Murdock! The Main Stream Media is under attack with only selected journalists allowed access to Government officials and press conferences vetted. The progressive news outlets online, already decried as Fake News, will be targeted next: they will be shut down ASAP. The opposition is already outgunned, but by leaning on the press the Tories can select the most inept and docile leader to replace Corbyn and drag the Labour Party back to the right.
MPs who dared to defy Boris Johnson have already been culled from the Tory Party and the brutal finality of their departure stands as a stark warning to new Tory MPs: “toe the line” or leave immediately in disgrace. The Civil Service is about to be gutted in order to install compliant operatives who will fall under the deranged control of Boris Johnsons unelected sidekick Dominic Cummings; those who cannot stay “on message” will face the humiliation of an armed police escort to march them off the premises.
The so called “Henry the Eighth Powers” will make it a lot simpler for the Tories to revamp UK law in their favour once we crash out of the EU. The checks and balances provided by our independent Judiciary will vanish after they become dependent upon Tory Party approval for top appointments and Judicial Review is removed to thoroughly neuter their powers. The horrific consequences of the pledges written large on Page 48 of the Tory Manifesto should truly terrify us all, as problematic barriers like the European Convention on Human Rights are scheduled to be ditched for a far less restrictive redefinition.
Brexit will allow Boris Johnson to not just “take back control,” but to “usurp supreme control;” regressing the UK to its pre EU level that will bring the longest period of stagnation since the Napoleonic era as the rump of “little England” is turned into a slave state for the many in order to enrich the few! Workers rights can be expunged along with other troublesome “Red Tape” like food and safety standards. Wages will plummet just as prices rise, but the right to strike will be severely restricted to the point where it is worthless as a bargaining tool and the unions will finally be totally crushed.
The social safety-net will be completely dismantled; fight for survival or die in destitution. There is no need for the Tories to invest in training as the new immigration policy of “Scavenge, Exploit, Deport” is a much cheaper option for their race to the bottom. Who will take the low paid jobs of our current migrant workforce? The pension age will climb while the state takes a lot less responsibility with regard to paying for it. The so called “Economically inactive” will be forced into all types of menial labour; this will include the disabled and pensioners who will no longer be able to cover the soaring cost of their medications or pay for privatized healthcare under the new US model.
Page 48 also tells us who the Tories have pledged to target: “First they came for…” The Gypsies.; their encampments are to be declared illegal so that their caravans can be seized by police while they are thrown in jail for the criminal offence of being “a traveller.” This same expansion of the Trespass Law could just as easily be used to sanitize our streets by declaring Rough Sleepers and Homeless people a menace to society. How will they warehouse all those targeted individuals? American corporations will build us massive US style for-profit jails to lock up all the “Bad People.”
Two lone terrorist attacks in short succession look suspiciously like Government controlled events. A known dangerous prisoner was released under round the clock surveillance by twenty armed officers, who all failed to notice that he was wearing a suicide vest until after he launched a brutal attack… at which point they promptly shot him dead. Incidents like this offer a devious means of preparing the public for the new Tory agenda of repression and extrajudicial executions. There has already been an attempt to blur the lines between violent terrorists and peaceful protesters; have no doubt that warped redefinition will be snuck in latter when opposition politicians are paying less attention. The thought police will be expanding their remit shortly.
If the UK government really wanted to turbo-charge deradicalization they could employ the successful techniques of Cambridge Analytica. These techniques were originally developed specifically for the deradicalization of terrorist sympathisers, but they have found a far more lucrative use in manipulating elections. PsyOps techniques managed to dupe people all over the UK into voting against their own interests using Fake News in a selectively targeted disinformation program. Why couldn’t these methods of intense brainwashing be put to good use flushing the angst and hate out of a terrorist sympathiser’s head?
All of the classic signs are in place as we inch ever closer to full dictatorship; we really need to remove this toxic far right Tory Government before it can cause any more harm. We must fight the rigged election and the grievous injustice of the persecution of a conscientious investigative journalist and crusading whistleblower. As a demonized Medical Whistleblower myself, I believe Julian Assange is a hero to all Whistleblowers. Assange’s inhumane treatment in Belmarsh prison, and the fact that the current UK Government are seriously considering handing him over to the US authorities, is emblematic of the horror that lies ahead if the Tories are not removed from power.
I have several close friends who sought refuge in England as asylum seekers and prospered after starting a new life here. I have witnessed the impact of our morally bankrupt policy of scavenging medical professionals from countries that could not afford to train them. I have sailed to remote idyllic islands in the Indian Ocean; I can just imagine how much Chagossians must want to return to their homeland. I was appalled to see the squalor of Hudaydah in a country the Peace Corps described as one of the three poorest on earth, but that was decades before the Saudi’s bought our bombs raining down on their children! Still the plight of Palestinians continues, their stolen land as many remain trapped within the Gaza Ghetto, while our current Tory Government supports their persecution under Zionist apartheid. It was our corrupt election, but there was more at stake than just the hopes and dreams of UK citizens here.
Under a progressive left wing Government we could not only end austerity, pay people a living wage, reduce poverty and homelessness while fighting the climate crisis with “The Green New Deal,” but a conscientious, humane PM would protect our natural environment, end the Hostile Environment, take heed of the UN recommendations on UK Poverty, free Julian Assange, return the Chagos Islands and stop selling arms to foreign despots around the globe. All of this injustice would stop if we removed the most hateful far right Government of Boris Johnson. It is not beyond our capabilities, if the public take swift action to end this dystopian nightmare by working to delegitimize the Tory dictatorship through challenging and exposing the rigged 2019 Election.
It is our duty to seek justice through relentless protest, to demand Freedom for Julian Assange with this vital Petition. But also to demand a more expansive level of justice for us all with a resolution after the corrupt election result is fully exposed. Please sign the Petition to help make this possible: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.
So Kim, what do you think about the idea of crowd funding full page ads in the national papers with stories like these:
https://twitter.com/PostalVoteProbe/status/1231590435447083008
https://twitter.com/PostalVoteProbe/status/1231575030703808513
https://twitter.com/PostalVoteProbe/status/1231561700819771392
https://twitter.com/PostalVoteProbe/status/1230608226175115275
https://twitter.com/PostalVoteProbe/status/1229933578668183554
etc, etc
asking people to respond if they or anyone they know has had a similar experience. Both the fund raiser and the adverts will publicise the story and the data recovered could actually be enough (in conjunction with election data) to prove it.
Did you see Craigs initial post on CA?
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/the-deep-state-breaks-surface/
J – We must try to start coordinating the effort more effectively or it will fade away as everyone sinks back into their depressed state of fatalistic complacency. A few of those who regularly visit Craig’s Blog check in here sporadically, but among those few who can we count on to ramp up the Social Media contacts? There are people on both Twitter and Facebook who could be of great value due to their huge following and I think this is possibly more valuable than newspaper ads and it’s expense free. Could you for example contact someone like Rachael_Swindon on Facebook because she could provide a far more effective megaphone than costly print ads.
We need those activists on Twitter to post Links to this Forum and “The Daily GasLamp” where regular information is available. There are a total of Nine relevant Petitions that I found and provided Links to here on this Forum post: #50261 to have them all together in one place. Despite the repeated posting of a Link to my Petition it is barely shifting as so few have gone there to sign; it seems most other Petitions are progressing just as slowly. There is now a dedicated website, “The Daily GasLamp,” posting information specifically related to the rigged election, the PsyOps used by Cambridge Analytica to target voters and other aspects of this growing problem of Electoral Fraud, but although I have posted Links, relatively few people are finding this new site.
The biggest problem we appear to have is coordinating between all of the people working on this and gathering all of the evidence and information in one place. “Postal Vote Investigation @PostalVoteProbe” on Twitter is gathering valid evidence and so is another person on Twitter “Facts Central @StillDelvingH,” but we need to connect the dots. Because I am not on Twitter, I find it really hard to keep track of who posted what and when, but I don’t think I could handle the stress of joining. In hindsight I am really glad I never joined Facebook; the more we know about the company the creepier it sounds.
Facebook and Twitter may be the only way to lure an Investigative Journalist to our cause or attract a really high profile Facebook activist to widely publicize the situation. I have tried to post comments on other sites and reply to articles posted on the Internet, but the frequent, fast paced, very brief quips from a smart phone are not in my skill set. My mobile is MIA since I put it aside when the screen got damaged; I am also dyslexic and so uncoordinated I never send texts anyway. I do realize that a huge amount can be achieved through Twitter, Facebook, etc messaging; if you have good connections please make smart use of them to promote this cause.
Posting comments after articles appearing online is really great way to get the word out there cost free. In terms of paid print Ads we might do better to consider the team at “Led by Donkeys” as they already have experience and contacts through past Crowdfunding campaigns. They are well recognized and made a significant impact with their efforts, but they might now be looking for a new way to direct their talents following the disastrous 2019 Election. If their team were to realize that this vote was probably rigged and a new campaign could potentially expose the truth to change the outcome, we might get very enthusiastic support. The only contacts for them that I can find is via Facebook or Twitter.
I will stick to my comments and trying to maintain a resource on this Forum so that the background information is available in at least one place online. As a former Whistleblower myself, I know the importance of finding a fertile reservoir of support as it ensures that a potential informant knows there are people who will be believe them if and when they come forward. I feel certain that there are potential informants out there, who have critical evidence that could blow this scandal wide open, but they are being intimidated into silence. Part of that strategy is to convince the Whistleblower that no one will ever believe them and that the public have now moved on. The regular postings here and on the GasLamp help to prove that is not the case.
I have also tried to email the Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Open Democracy, plus Carole Cadwalladr, John Pilger and others, but no response yet. These organizations and high profile Journalists receive a blizzard of emails and it is very hard to cut through that clutter. Can you contact or connect via Twitter or Facebook with the people that I am failing to reach? Try to get in touch with the “Led by Donkeys” team. It will only boost our cause if any of these people hear from several passionate progressive activists on the same subject; I think this is our most vital next move so I hope you can commit to helping out.
@ Kim Sanders-Fisher February 25, 2020 at 12:44
I sent this message to ‘Led By Donkeys’ Facebook page:
‘Could some of you check out this Blog Forum, and contact Kim Sanders-Fisher, who is eager to contact you, but is not on Facebook or Twitter:
‘Elections Aftermath: Was our 2019 Vote & the EU Referendum Rigged? #TORYRIG2019’: https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/forums/topic/elections-aftermath-was-our-2019-vote-the-eu-referendum-rigged-toryrig2019/#post-50302 ‘
Hopefully it will get someone’s attention.I wish it was easier to just contact people directly by drafting a meaningful personal message sent via email or by picking up the phone and for a friendly chat.
The only option nowadays is to join the pool of victims of the morally bankrupt rogue Internet Company, Facebook, on their vacuous Website, that scavenges your private data to flog of to the highest bidder in a betrayal of the trust of all its users.
Alternatively one must learn to master that weird thumb twitching technique and carve up a logical train of thought into obscure sound-bites to be publicly displayed on Twitter. Am I the only one who feels we have regressed?
NEW GASLAMP Daily Gaslight Part 3 in a series of posts that focus primarily on Cambridge Analytica, Part 3 makes a slight detour to: “discuss the difference between propaganda and gaslighting and why this matters when considering GE2019 Election Fraud.” In an analysis of Propaganda we are reminded that: “Truth is not the absence of propaganda; propaganda thrives in presenting different kinds of truth, including half truths, incomplete truths, limited truths, out of context truths.”
One particular statement about Propaganda encapsulated the devious agenda of the Leave Campaign and the malign influence of the controlling protagonists of Brexit now ensconced in number 10: “Propaganda is not so much designed to change opinions so much as reinforce existing opinions, prejudices, attitudes.” But then, despite the firm belief that I am not easily swayed, there was a line that resonated with my own personal experience: “The most successful propaganda will lead people to action or inaction through reinforcement of what people already believe to be true.”
I was reminded of my first crewing job aboard a sailing yacht heading from Antibes to Corsica. It was a wet and rough windward passage and I felt really queasy at the helm of the 48’ Hinckley on night watch as we longingly searched for the light that marked the northern tip of Corsica. It was such a relief to see the light that the core details of the light’s characteristics were glossed over in the determination to just head for the lighthouse. Imagine our disappointment as we approached and were forced to realize that the pattern of flashes was completely wrong. Cold and tired, we were so convinced that it must be our light that our whole perception of what we were looking at had changed to meet our eager expectations.
We are all equally capable of falling victim to persuasive messages or concepts that we are eager and waiting to embrace. Beyond extending the length of our voyage, no harm befell us due to this error, but it was an important lesson learned. No matter how much we might want to deny it, we are all susceptible to certain propaganda messages at some point. The illegal data mining of Facebook accounts provided enough information for Cambridge Analytica to know precisely what customized messages would engage which targeted recipients. We imagine that all of those messages stoked bigotry and fear of migrants, but the truth is we have no idea. A person passionate about something as innocuous as animal welfare might have received a totally different type of message with an equally corrosive item of Fake News, we just don’t know.
This GasLamp post offers tools to help recognise the common features of this deceptive strategy in order to effectively combat its toxic influence. Despite the admission that: “propaganda is a powerful tool which can be used for good or ill,” our decision making should include an evaluation of “cui bono: who benefits?” This statement offers hope for the future because clearer mandatory declarations of who is funding political messages, no matter what medium they are delivered through, will shine a valuable spotlight on how obscenely wealthy people are manipulating our voting choices for their own material gain.
Another tactic that was flagged up was the overly simplistic messaging like: “take back control” or “get Brexit done” it was stated that these deceptively basic slogans had: “only one purpose: to hide complexity and realities.” I would add to that theme the age old saying: “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!” With Brexit it was huge trade deals that would be done and dusted within a few months; during the election it was the equally incredulous “40 New Hospitals!” In reality those future trade negotiations will take years to materialize and despite the absence of funding, impossible construction logistics and a distinct lack of NHS staf, Boris Johnson has his team of spineless sycophants were caught on camera chanting his “40 new Hospitals” lie.
Part 3 concludes with a list of “warning signs” to help identify Gaslighting. To make the listed warning signs relevant to the recent 2019 Election the GasLamp provides a set of: “examples in the past where Gaslighting has been carried out, preparing the ground to make propaganda effective.” There is no doubt that every one of the listed tactics was used in the UK electoral. In my estimation the most alarming and distressing of these sample deliberate deceptions was perpetrated by our state broadcaster the BBC in direct violation on the Purdah political neutrality rules. This gross injustice will never end unless you decide to take decisive action.
Two online Petitions have now joined forces in an attempt to hold the BBC to account so please visit their Joint Petition; Sign Here.
Few people have fought so hard and endured so much to give voice to courageous Whistleblowers, than the Journalist and political prisoner, Julian Assange, held in Belmarsh prison awaiting extradition to the US. Please sign the Petition to Free Julian Assange. For all of the vitally important reasons to “Rescue our Watchdog” because All Votes Must Count, please read, sign, share and Link to this Petition: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.The Rigged “Landslide” Tory Victory in the 2019 Election: “If you are going to tell a lie, you better make it a really big lie…” Just yesterday evening BBC 2 aired a Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Conservative Party… Yes, that’s right the same Tory Party that supposedly just won an eighty seat majority in parliament in that miraculous “landslide” victory! In the run up to an election the BBC has an obligation to provide equal air time to all political parties, but it is unprecedented for this to continue over two months after the votes have been cast! Why squander precious advertising funds on political broadcasting in prime time right after winning an election with such a huge majority?
The Tories cannot quite believe their success in pulling off this massive con trick, so they obviously feel that right now they can’t take any chances and it is still necessary to pump out relentless propaganda to support their stolen victory. The ad featured an ordinary looking chap who was supposedly one of those thousands of lifelong Labour supporters who switched allegiance to vote for Boris Johnson. He was not a random voter stopped on the street, no, he was perched on a high stool alone in a studio under the spotlights telling his woeful tale of feeling betrayed, ready to feign surprise when Boris entered from stage left to reassure him about his “borrowed vote.”
That “Borrowed Vote” line is getting trotted out on a regular basis right now in an effort to justify the inexplicable phenomenon of so many staunch former Labour supporters in the north of England who allegedly “lent” their vote to the party responsible for a decade of unforgivable neglect while consciously inflicted suffering and torment by implementing their needless austerity policies. These charlatans should try filming their next pro-Tory Party political broadcast at a food bank or where people are standing in line waiting for the jobcentre to open so they can endure another painfully humiliating grilling to obtain a pitance to survive on Universal Credit. These long suffering citizens didn’t willingly lend their vote to the Tories: it was stolen from them in a rigged Election!
The Tories will keep feeding us that lie while it remains as unconvincing as the lie on the side of their Brexit campaign bus; as unconvincing as the lie about delivering “The Will of the People;” as unconvincing as “40 new Hospitals;” now, just as unconvincing as ever, Boris desperately elaborates on the tall tale of the remarkable “borrowed votes.” All of these lies will corrode and come apart in time as the sordid truth is fully exposed to the public. “The Will of the Sheeple” as this Tory Government sells off our NHS to the powerful US Healthcare Corporations who might actually build those impressive new Hospitals exclusively for the wealthy elite.
This disaster can only by accomplished if you are willing to accept the highly improbable scenario where the most vulnerable, impoverished and severely exploited citizens, living in the most consistently deprived areas of this country, chose to risk watching their own children starve by voting for their sadistic tormentors to “Get Brexit Done” on behalf of the supper wealthy backers that continue to fund Boris Johnson. I do not believe for one instant that the entire country was gripped by an overwhelming case of collective Stockholm Syndrome and nor should you as it is just not credible.
Ask yourself why the Tories are so insecure about their win that despite a “Landslide” victory they are still desperately pitching to reinforce the legitimacy of the election result in party political public service broadcasts? They know that huge swaths of the population are deeply disturbed by the result and the devastating implications posed by another decade of deprivation and chronic exploitation under the Tories. The Tories will blame vindictive sabotage from the EU, the Corona Virus, those warned of “bumps in the road” any excuse to abandon the latest lies about “levelling up.” The PM knows that ditching austerity to invest in equality for deprived areas is completely incompatible with core Tory values.
The purpose of this forum, The Daily GasLamp and others is to fully expose the lies by unravelling the complex web of corruption that allowed Boris Johnson to steal the 2019 Election. We urgently need a far more coordinated response, with those who have an abundance of regular Social Media contacts posting information, evidence and crucial links to all of their online friends and followers via Facebook, Twitter and other Websites. People are already starting to ask questions and sign Petitions calling for Investigations into the Election result; my earlier Post #50261 lists a grand total of Nine Petitions including my own Petition to “Rescue our Watchdog:” 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.
Please do not procrastinate over this important issue, Boris Johnson wants you to give up and accept his lies or he would not be still continuing to ply the same tired pitch day after day on TV and in the press. Despite the recent Tory attacks aimed at the BBC they have compliantly stayed on message with their reporters and interviewers focusing on reinforcing the broken legitimacy of this stolen vote. Labour Party MPs have been forced into repeated public humiliation attempting to scrutinize the unfathomable defeat in support of this warped Tory agenda. We need people to contact their MP and state categorically that they firmly believe that this vote might have been rigged and their representatives should disown the Fake News of a historic Labour defeat. At the very least this defeat has been grossly over exaggerated to comply with Tory spin.
No matter what your personal belief is regarding the shock result of the 2019 Election, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that our Electoral System is wide open to serious fraud on an industrial scale. The UK Electoral Commission is toothless: “A Watchdog that cannot Watch is just a Dog!” Can we really afford to continue to ignoring the critical flaws in our Electoral System just because they are too unimportant for the ruling Tory Party to vote for increasing the powers of this vital public watchdog? Only immense public pressure can force the investigation that the Tories fear could delegitimize their victory and oust them from power. Work with us to make this a reality!
Endless foreign engagements in support of the US, atrocities like selling arms to foreign despots and the persecution of an innocent Journalist and Political Prisoner Julian Assange who now faces extradition, torture and death in the US: this will not end unless we remove this toxic Tory Government from power. If you have not yet done so, Please sign the Petition to Free Julian Assange.
In a new document setting out the government’s stance for Brexit negotiations our worst fears over the strong potential “No Deal” scenario for crashing out of the EU will be realized. The PM made it clear that he is ready to walk away, jettisoning EU trade negotiations in June to focus on last ditch preparations for the “Titanic” successful culmination of Boris Johnson’s deceitful betrayal of the British public. Lying and scheming to engineer a crash-out right from the start, with no intention of securing a deal, Boris will justify this capitulation by deploying more of his trademark callous spin; he will blame the EU for not grovelling to offer exclusive privileges to our fading, shrinking, once great nation by his deadline for “sufficient progress.”
In his statement to the Commons Michael Gove said: “We want the best possible trading relationship with the EU, but in pursuit of a deal we will not trade away our sovereignty.” In reality who have the British public lost that precious sovereignty to now? In the EU Referendum we were far too trusting and easily tricked into voting for Brexit, but by accepting the 2019 rigged Election result as totally legitimate we will be forced to abandon all of the protections of EU Law for the Wild West of Dominic Cummings dictated Kleptocracy delivered by his puppet, our current narcissistic PM Boris Johnson.
Dominic churns out the catchy sound bites and Boris dutifully spouts them amid a barrage of meaningless contradicting waffle and the odd Latin phrase just to remind the plebs of his superior education. The deception of words used to fool the public and distract from a far more insidious agenda is sickening. The US perfected this sham by deviously renaming their deadly MX warheads: “Peacekeepers!” With Boris “Borrowed Votes” replace the dire reality of Stolen Votes, just as Johnson’s idea of “Levelling Up” will represent the diametric opposite: “Trampling Down” as the most vulnerable and deprived feel the crush of a “Boris Boot” stomping on their neck! We must block out the propaganda and spin of Boris Bull Shit or is it time to let him own BS as: “Boris Shit!”
We need to redraft the narrative to expose the “Boris Shit” for what it is, really serious shit; not “Get Brexit Done” but the harsh reality of “GET BREXIT DUNG!” Johnson has already demonstrated to the EU that he cannot be trusted in negotiations as he has already reneged on assurances he put in writing in the agreement he signed before the election. I am sure the EU have legitimate concerns over a Tory race to the bottom as we ditch the rights and standards of protective “Red Tape” to become an unfair competitor on the edge of Europe. But, while Boris Johnson has sped up the timetable for driving home his wretched sales pitch for his no deal Titanic disaster, we will still have the EU legal protection of the transition period for a few more months until December.
What would happen if growing concern throughout the entire country calling for an investigation started to damage the legitimacy of the Tory Government? What if this receptive environment was enough to provide the courage for a Whistleblower to come forward with crucial evidence? What if there was no way for Boris Johnson to stop a full investigation from exposing the truth? If widespread corruption was responsible for providing that “landslide” Tory victory, the Election result would be invalidated and that victory would rightfully be overturned. This might very well jeopardise the legitimacy of previous votes including the vote for Brexit that has already been very significantly discredited.
How would the EU react to the overthrow of this Tory Government, a Government so hostile to the EU and so determined to create a situation that would severely disadvantage their future trading? It is important to also realize that the EU has a responsibility towards not only the British citizens living here, with a large proportion still opposed to Brexit, but EU citizens living in the UK and our expats living on the continent. I doubt the EU would vote to support and continue dealing with a corrupt Government who took power through fraudulent practices; there would be no legitimacy to their rule and no obligation to uphold any of their decisions.
If the vote right after the New Year, taken by a distorted majority of Tories who possibly had no right to vote, and the subsequent Brexit deadline reached in January are both open to dispute then I believe that, in fairness to the affected citizens whose rights were violated, the Brexit process would be put on hold? The UK would need an interim government in place pending yet another General Election under stricter monitoring conditions that could be fully trusted by all concerned. After the deception is exposed the rerun might produce a very different result and the EU might also agree to abide by the decision of a second referendum.
A critical report into foreign interference in UK Elections should have been released before the election, but it remains under wraps; what are the Tories so worried about? Their insecurity is demonstrated in their gush to reinforce the incredulous win with a new Tory Party Political Broadcast right after allegedly winning the election. Who authorized that and why? Are the Tories desperately trying to build support from those who failed to realize that their votes were stolen? Are the Tories trying to build enough resistance to weather the onslaught of public criticism ahead when the Boris Shit ceases to convince the masses?
The massive data dump of Brittany Kaiser has revealed that Cambridge Analytica were able to use their PsyOps techniques to corrupt Elections all over the world. Just one of the places mentioned was Brazil, where Bolsonaro was swept into power, but look what his corrupt regime has done to decimate the rain forest! Think about the extreme harm Trump could inflict on the American people, the environment and innocent civilians in the countries the US chooses to target. Do you want this corruption to spread?
Could the UK set an impressive global example of principled practice by recognizing the rights of ordinary citizens, protecting the democratic process, respecting the law to restore justice and equality? Yes, the “Mother of all Parliaments” can and should set an example for other countries to emulate. Time to “Draw a Line in the Sand” under the White Cliffs of Dover where our courageous airmen fought the Battle of Britain; we must fight another Battle for Britain to restore justice, humanity and democracy before this brief opportunity is lost to decades of suffering, exploitation and persecution under a corrupt Tory Government. Please read, sign, share and Link to this Petition: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.
IS THIS “JUDICIAL CAKEISM?” Quoting Craig Murray’s post on Day 4 of the Julian Assange Extradition Hearing:
“Fitzgerald replied that the entire extradition request is on the basis of the treaty. It is an abuse of process for the authorities to rely on the treaty for the application but then to claim that its provisions do not apply.” This pertained to the protection of Political Prisoners from Extradition under the treaty and the ludicrous claim that this did not apply under UK Law.
Fitzgerald had stated: “On the face of it, it is a very bizarre argument that a treaty which gives rise to the extradition, on which the extradition is founded, can be disregarded in its provisions. It is on the face of it absurd.”In my own comment I was forced to conclude that: “This is nothing short of “Judicial Cakeism:” We will take the part that allows us to proceed with an Extradition Hearing in accordance with the treaty we signed, but we want to exclude the bit we don’t like in the absurd pretence that UK Law will supersede the provisions of that same treaty in this particular instance.”
However, we cannot afford to myopically focus on just the Julian Assange Extradition Hearing or even exclusively bemoan the wider ramifications of this injustice with regard to gagging the press and the extraordinary efforts to curtail free speech both here and abroad. The disgraceful way in which this trial is being manipulated is emblematic of an emerging dictatorship. Beyond control over the Judicial process and stifling the media this hearing represents several of the classic regression towards full dictatorship: the inhumane and unjust treatment of Assange, both in jail and in court, is an abomination of the UK respect for Human Rights.
We cannot ignore the big picture: that a progressive Government, representing the majority of British citizens, would have blocked this US extradition, ending the incarceration of the UK’s most controversial political prisoner to offer him refuge and support. As I wrote in a reply to Giyane’s comment to Craig’s Day 4 Post:
“There will be no end to this insanity without the removal of the corrupt Tory Government who rigged the 2019 Election to seize absolute control in order to perpetuate the gross injustices of endless UK/US war crimes inflicted upon the innocent throughout the world. I fear there is little hope of preventing this extradition that will become the gateway to a massive extension of the grotesque abuses of power perpetrated by the US Government. The Tory manifesto pledged to abolish Judicial Review, but also to introduce greater Government control over Judges, possibly making the most influential Judges subject to political appointment.
This freight train of injustice has barely left the station, but the Tory agenda could be derailed if the legitimacy of the 2019 Election result was challenged and investigated. Unfortunately, the US Presidential Elections pose an even greater threat regarding the subjugation and elimination of democracy, especially in places where easily hackable Electronic Voting Machines have been introduced to facilitate ongoing corruption and Electoral Fraud. The last gasp of UK democracy was stifled in 2019; the Tories will embrace the enabling technology of voting machines in a heartbeat. We can set a groundbreaking example here in the UK by becoming the first major Western Democracy to overturn a rigged Election.”
My post in response to the Day 4 Post will likely get lost in the blizzard of replies, but it is testament to the huge support that Craig Murray commands that so many are paying attention to his sterling efforts to speak truth to power by commented and offering financial support just as I felt compelled to contribute the other day. In my comment I included a link to this Forum with a brief explanation of our objectives: “a strategy for challenging the stolen vote.”
I flagged up my earlier Forum Post #50261 that lists the Nine Petitions including the one I created calling for an Investigation: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION. I also posted the Link to the Blog site “The Daily GasLamp” saying that it: “offers a further trove of evidence regarding the ongoing PsyOps manipulation of a growing number of Elections worldwide and the extreme danger this poses.” Anyone who is not convince that fraud occurred during the last Election should consider the growing body of evidence supporting this allegation both on the GasLamp, on the original Elections Aftermath Forum, here and elsewhere. If you are already convinced please don’t procrastinate, take action.
I concluded by saying that: “While the injustice of this trial must be strenuously opposed, we cannot ignore the rigged election process that installed the corrupt Government that is enabling and facilitating this landmark abuse of power. We can and we must fight back. If we do nothing the UK will descend into an authoritarian dictatorship and it will take decades to remove the offending despot from power. Atrocities like the persecution of innocent journalists will become commonplace just as it has in other European countries that pretend to respect democracy. We must demand the investigation required to restore UK democracy before it is too late.”
Endless foreign engagements in support of the US, atrocities like selling arms to foreign despots and the persecution of innocent Journalist and Political Prisoner Julian Assange who now faces extradition, torture and death in the US, will not end unless we remove this toxic Tory Government from power. If you have not done so already please sign the Petition to Free Julian Assange.
Universal Healthcare is our Best Defence in a Pandemic – Why we Must Oust the Tories to Save our NHS.
Machiavellian sidekick and chief influencer of the PM, Dominic Cummings, revealed that: “Tory MPs largely do not care about these poorer people. They don’t care about the NHS.” Sure Dom, we knew that. The UK population are not really that stupid; which is why they did not suffer a wholesale conversion to Tory values in the delusional belief that serial liar Boris Johnson would usher in a new Government of prosperity for the poor. The “Borrowed Votes” scam will evaporate when the reality of the next budget hits and the excuses are trotted out; those “bumps in the road” caused by a vindictive, (non compliant), EU and an economic downturn from the Corona Virus.As decimated as our NHS has become under Tory austerity cuts, it does still provide universal access: not for much longer if the Tories have their way. There is no time when the universality of our healthcare safety net is more important than when we are faced with the threat of a global pandemic. How soon will Britain be forced to adopt key elements of US business practice to comply with American trade deal demands as they pick over the residual carcass of “little England” abandoned by the EU? Those economic and regulatory changes will expose us all to the dangers of ruthless Corporate greed on steroids, starting with the attack on our NHS.
I speak from my own experience in US Hospitals after making the conscious choice to work in “overwhelmed public facilities,” the indigent’s emergency care of last resort for those who cannot afford medical insurance. Jackson Memorial in Miami has the second busiest ED in the US after Cook County and state-of-the-art Ryder Trauma saw so much “penetrating trauma” that it was selected as the best placed to train US combat medics before deployment to overseas conflicts. Here in the UK we are concerned when a four hour waiting time is breached; at Jackson it was not uncommon to see half a dozen crash victims strapped to backboards for well over eight hours! That is the new direction for UK healthcare under the management of US Corporations.
In America people delay or avoid costly Medical care. Aside from the harsh realities faced by those who cannot afford prompt treatment what is the greatest threat posed by the “for profit” Healthcare model? The impoverished indigent, who fall through the safety net, represent a fertile breeding ground in which deadly infections can flourish undetected and untreated, steadily gaining a grip among the lower echelons of society who must prioritize the need to keep working no matter how sick they feel. This is not my personal doom fuelled fantasy projection, it’s the sombre reality as already proven through the example of the spread of multi-drug resistant TB among the homeless population.
While the Tories are working out where they can cut corners by denying care to the undocumented, or making it a lot harder to access care, they are heading in the wrong direction towards a target that will endanger us all. The other components of the US Corporate stranglehold on Healthcare are equally troubling with a mandatory fanatical work ethic that does not allow for sickness or taking time off. To strongly discourage staff from calling in sick American companies, including the top Hospitals, have a punitive policy that leads an employee into the disciplinary process if they call in sick for the third time in the same calendar year.
Such so called “Business Friendly” practices mean that staff rarely access any sick time that might be on offer through their employee benefit package at work; this means bigger profits for US Corporations and businesses. As these Corporations move into the UK market they will bring their toxic business friendly practices with them. Why should we be seriously concerned about such changes? Think about how that will impact the spread of a deadly virus within a population fearful of losing their job, worried about losing Healthcare coverage for their entire family that depends on maintaining their employment just as it does in the US.
When the “Occurrence Policy” was introduced at Johns Hopkins the innocuous title provoked jokes: “Oh, I think I’m about to occur!” But sick nurses treating vulnerable patients with compromised immune systems was no joke as the bugs spread in crowded changing rooms led to multiple staff members all functioning below par at the same time. The highly restrictive environment while scrubbed into surgery for hours at a time does not easily accommodate sick practitioners. This was a disastrous miscalculation in response to the relentless drive to remain competitive by reducing costs for increased profit in a private Healthcare system.
Another increased risk is posed when employees cannot stay home to care for a sick child; the bottom line is that in America sick means very sick or it must be ignored. That will mean sick children in schools and nurseries because a parent cannot afford to take time off. In the UK we are only just waking up to the harsh reality of how the growing legions on zero hours contract workers, who do not qualify for and sick benefit or support, will cope with the need for self isolation. Corporate greed got us into this mess and it is why we so desperately need a progressive government to ban zero hours contracts and the race towards US style business practices. A poetic warning re US style Healthcare:
PANDEMIC AGAINST THE POOR
Beware of those you do not treat,
A burden you chose not to meet,
They suffer alone and die in pain,
All for Corporate financial gain,
Infection’s fertile breeding ground,
This moral judgement wasn’t sound,
Too late to wonder why it spread,
So many sick are now all dead!We are not only travelling overseas a lot more, but our domestic journeys are getting longer too. American employees will think nothing of driving over an hour to get to and from work. Priced out of accommodation in London many Brits are now required to make lengthy commutes to jobs in the city. The more we travel the easier it is for bugs to spread exponentially across the country and around the world. “Think Green – Think Local” could do a lot more than cut our carbon emissions – it would cut risk. I sincerely doubt Oil & Gas subsidiary, Idox, would have prioritized a “Green New Deal” progressive party when they were “managing” our voting system.
The vested interests in Fossil Fuels, Pharmaceuticals and giant US Healthcare Conglomerates that have bought and paid for Brexit and the far right Tory agenda for delivering our headlong crash out of the EU are too selfish and short-sighted to show concern over the staggering number of impoverished and vulnerable people who will die if the Corona Virus takes hold. Already the dramatic surge in precarious employment, exacerbated by Universal Credit coercion and means testing, has greatly increased the overall risk of spreading this contagion. Lack of Social Care provision puts a strain on our already overburdened NHS while the social cleansing of London and our growing homeless population has dramatically impacted our ability to deal with a pandemic crisis.
All of these dreadful miscalculations were consciously implemented to serve Tory greed. We had the opportunity in December 2019 to rid this country of the Tory scourge, but that hopeful future was stolen in a rigged vote. It is now too late to avoid the worse ramifications of the last decade of Tory neglect and unnecessary suffering caused by ideologically driven austerity. But, allowing the Tories to sell off our NHS to US Healthcare Corporations will not leave us better prepared to meet future pandemic challenges. We must act now to prevent a repetition of the suffering this Tory Government will once again inflict on this country. It is not too late to challenge the Stolen, not “borrowed votes,” that could totally delegitimize Boris Johnson’s grip on power; please read, sign, share and Link to this Petition:
2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.TWITTER STORM: A Social Media Demand for Accountability; “What’s the Tories Fault?” #ToriesFault
At 7PM yesterday evening Benefits News launched a Social Media campaign calling for the public to hold the Tories to account. A Canary Article quoted Benefits News’s apt description of “the same old Tories” as they detailed the poor start to Johnson’s premiership saying: “…their complete lack of moral decency and callous ideology has been long established. There are several Tories who should have been booted already. The UK deserves better than this corrupt, conniving lot, so we’re going to expose them some more.”During Boris Johnson’s Election campaign he tried really hard to convince the British public that his Government team was new, different and dynamic, but in reality the only change of direction for his new vision Tories was to take an extreme lurch to the far right and commit to an ultra hard Brexit or a “No Deal” crash out of the EU. The appalling track record of the Tory Party over the last decade is not something that their former Foreign Secretary can conveniently distance himself from as if he did not play a major role in the preceding Tory Government.
Even if we were to give Boris Johnson a clean break with the punitive policies of Cameron and May while ignoring several times when, as Foreign Secretary, he was a cringe worthy national embarrassment due to personal undiplomatic blunders in his disgraceful past, he has not done well as PM. His disinterested, “I’ll show up when I feel like it” attitude prompted Jeremy Corbyn to launch a well deserved scathing attack during PMQs when he dubbed Johnson a “Part Time Prime Minister.” If he couldn’t be persuaded to get his bum of a Caribbean beach to return to the UK as we faced the serious potential threat of war, just what does it take?
Johnson’s aversion to public appearances and interviews as he distances himself from all public scrutiny is getting much harder to plausibly explain no matter how eagerly the BBC try to cover for him. He could have visited the flood zone in high-vis jacket, boots, sans poser mop and bucket; surely the northern “Borrowed Votes” brigade would have welcomed their intrepid leader? Boris didn’t need to be warned, he knew he wasn’t at all welcome. An angry mob of jeering flood victims might have revealed the fact that few in the devastated northern communities had voted Tory; he betrayed them when he stole their votes so it was time to slink away.
There is no shortage of material with which to lambast Boris Johnson and his team of incompetent charlatans. Of the Faults listed in the Canary article as occurring “All in the space of a few months…” Court actions over Universal Credit while a think-tank finds we are still poorer than in 2008; ‘eugenicist’ Andrew Sabisky’s appointment; the “Jamaica 50” deportation flight; the abandoned rights of child refugees after Brexit; the sluggish response to floods and the Corona Virus are but a few.
I would add to the list that includes the dubious decision of a man with no backbone imposing a Boris branded “Spine” up the UK with HS2. Despite my relief over the court ruling against that third runway at Heathrow, many of us are disappointed that Boris will not be volunteering himself to be flattened by a bulldozer! No one was particularly surprised to hear that life expectancy is now in decline. We observe in horror the cruelty of this Government in its persecution of Julian Assange as we await a ruling by the Kangaroo court convened to torment and extradite this Political Prisoner and Journalist as a warning to all conscientious journalists worldwide. The consequences of exposing and criticizing global bully America are grave; sign the Petition: Free Julian Assange.
The sad truth is that it takes a few progressive news outlets to bring the constant Tory failures and injustices to our attention when the BBC and right wing press fail to hold them to account. But this campaign is about us, it’s our shout, so let’s make it a really loud one. This is a chance to grab public attention through Social Media with an opportunity to yell “shame on you” to this failing Tory Government. I’m not much good at Hashtags or Social Media for that matter, but it is good to see #ToryFault trending, I only wish I could spur the same interest in #TORYRIGGED2019 and #TORYWARPED.
All protest action can make a difference this is a call to arms; the first of March has now passed, but we need to maintain laser like focus and momentum to delegitimize the Tory Party as we seek to remove them from office. “USE #ToriesFault … on every tweet, meme , pic, news article, that exposes everything that is the Tories’ fault. The aim is you, in your masses, get this hashtag in the top trending list, you do it fast and furious and keep going.” Don’t forget the Petition to challenge the vote:
2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.@ Kim Sanders-Fisher February 26, 2020 at 01:32
I greatly respect your dedication, and will endeavor to make contact with the leaders of ‘Led By Donkeys’, in order to get such a link established. Turns out they live or meet in a venue known to me (I drank in there a few times many years ago, and it is not too far from my home).
‘Led By Donkeys show their faces at last: ‘No one knew it was us’:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/25/led-by-donkeys-reveal-identities-brexit-billboards-posters@ Kim,
Re contacting ‘Led By Donkeys’:
‘Led By Donkeys show their faces at last: ‘No one knew it was us’:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/25/led-by-donkeys-reveal-identities-brexit-billboards-postersIt seems James Sadri (see my comment above at March 3, 2020 at 02:04) also works with ‘open Democracy’. Try contacting him by phone or letter.
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@ Paul Barbara: Thanks, I will try to get back to Open Democracy again in the morning. I have been in touch with them a couple of times after I commented on an article and noticed the name Adam Ramsay. He was a member of our local Green Party group at one point so I am trying to touch base with him, but despite leaving messages he has not got back to me yet. Now I will have two people to leave messages for there.
It would be good to try and get in touch with the team via the pub too if you live in that neck of the woods. It seems as if these guys might be looking for a new way forward; they are probably sharing our dismay over the election as the Tories plan to force a no-deal Brexit on us.
The BBC and all of the media have been in overdrive trying to reinforce the “Borrowed Votes” BS, no Bull, that’s “Boris Shit” aptly renamed! I was totally gob-smacked when I saw a Tory Party Political broadcast the other day from the party that is still trying to sell that “landslide victory” spin. It tells me they might have lingering concerns that their vote rigging scam could be exposed.
The trouble is that so many people have swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker that it is hard to convince anyone that the logic does not support such a huge win. I just hope if we can manage to contact “Led by Donkeys” they too will not have been led by the nose. Back when the team started out no one dared speak out against the precious “Will of the People” as it was being sold by the Brexiteers. Led by Donkeys led the big shift back in the other direction and once the word got out people joined the Remain movement in droves. They could lead the charge for us too as we battle “The Will of the Sheeple!”
I have found a couple more dissident blog sites including one that has drafted an appeal to the EU; more on that tomorrow. I am still reluctant to join Facebook and I do not think I could cope with the stress of Twitter, but we need to post links back to this forum and the Nine Petitions that are, like mine, very slowly collecting signatures. It feels like such a lonely uphill battle right now so I really appreciate hearing from another supporter, thanks for posting.
@ Kim
OK, I’ll make some trips to the pub. It’s not in my local area, but it’s not too far away. Years ago a friend of mine used to live very near the pub.
It will take some time, but I’ll give it a try (I live near Tower Bridge; the pub is in Stoke Newington. It will be a hit and miss affair, needing multiple trips, as I obviously don’t know when they will be there. If I knew how to copy the picture in the Guardian, I could use it to ask the bar staff if they were regulars and if there was a time they generally drank there.
Keep up the good fight!I’ve managed to print off a couple of black and white pics of the four, and added their names.
I may make the first foray to the Birdcage this weekend.
