This Blogg is now closed.

Goodbye Spotlightcomments and hello New Agenda !

 http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/984-palestinian-authority-threatens-to-reevaluate-its-agreements-with-israel


These "Agreements" with Israel do not need to be reevaluated. Israel has never fully committed to them and has only paid lip service to the process of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians. The illegal Israeli settlements continue to be built, new sections of the occupied territories  are grabbed for new settlements and outpost, the evil inhuman blockade of Gaza continues, the terrorism of the IOF continue in Palestinian towns and villages, crops and water systems are destroyed by settlers protected by the IOF, homes and children's playgrounds are demolished in East Jerusalem more arrests are made under the Administrative Detention provisions. No. The Agreements do not need to be reevaluated. They need to be ripped up into thousands of pieces and thrown to the wind.

Israel will not last for ever in its present form.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/mar/01/lib-dem-lady-tonge-beware-israel-remarks

More hand wringing and jumping up and down to apologise to the Israeli's for making a comment on a matter of public interest. As it happens, I think that she was right. Israel will not last for ever in its present form. The sooner politicians and in many cases the media get rid of their collective guilty conscience with regard to Israel and recognise the reality of what is happening in the Middle East, the sooner Israel will recognise that they are wrong in their actions and attitude. The world does not owe them a living.Their treatment of Palestinians and their barbaric blockade of Gaza is criminal. Israel will not last for ever in its present form and the sooner it changes the better.

Harriet, you are wrong.

http://www.labour.org.uk/olympics-are-fantastically-important-for-london-and-country,2012-02-29

No Harriet, you are wrong. The Olympics are important only to business interests, corporate hospitality industry and the media.The largest part of the people in this country will only see the extravaganza, the excesses and waste. They will see the costs, rising everyday, being funded from government coffers while more cuts in services, pensions, salaries and jobs are imposed, as the  "Because We can't afford it" argument is trotted out of Whitehall. At the same time, rising prices will rise even faster as real incomes fall. We, the British people will be paying for this Olympic madness for years as every other host nation has found to their long term costs.

Olympics Protests?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nick-clegg/9112676/Nick-Clegg-urges-Ed-Miliband-to-rein-in-Len-McCluskey-over-Olympics-threat.html

Clegg. Hypocrite, liar and unprincipled opportunist. Warsi. Hysterical outpourings (again) from a person who would be better employed getting a job (if she could find one) in the real world, like school assistant, care worker or even lollipop lady. Both from privileged backgrounds, both very well off thank you very much, both who have never had to worry about heat or eat, both who never had to consider how they will get on when reaching retirement age, both representing no one except their own class and interests. Don't lecture me on the rights and wrongs of public protest when you are spending £Billions on an event which will only benefit business interests, and the elite few. The rest of us will be paying for this extravaganza for years. When working people are subjected to the excesses you and your ConDem coalition inflict on us every day, do not bleat if we fight back with any weapon which we may have. A message for D. Milliband. support working people and agree with protest.

wind and solar energy projects on West Bank have been put on a ‘demolition list’ by Israel

http://jfjfp.com/?p=28613

Collective punishment of Palestinians by a vindictive and barbaric Israeli Occupation Force.

The price of petrol

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilprices/9093934/Oil-price-hits-eight-month-high-on-Iran-sanctions.html

Could someone, preferably from the oil companies, please explain the following mystery. On Sunday, there was a stock of petrol in the tanks at filling stations across the country. The Oil refineries in the UK were perhaps almost full of imported oil. There were many oil tankers on the high seas, bound for destinations all over the world and in particular Europe. All of the oil in these locations was brought and paid for some days if not weeks previously at the price level then in existence. At the same time, (Sunday) the price at the pumps,at least in the filling stations round here, was about £1.379 per litre. Also on Sunday, Iran announced that it was placing an oil Embargo on France and the UK, in addition to the measures against 6 other European countries announced last Friday. HEY PRESTO !! overnight the price of petrol at our local filling stations jumps to £1399 per litre !! I have a knowledge of Economics after 4 years of study, and the only model that these facts can fit is the one marked "Profiteering Greed".

A constant drip feed

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/americans-consider-iran-to-be-u-s-s-greatest-enemy-poll-shows-1.413839

The constant drip feed of disinformation and propaganda appears to be working, at least in the United States. As someone once said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it"

HEY PRESTO

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/west-bank-outposts-spreading-into-area-b-in-violation-of-oslo-accords-1.413655

Lebensraum Israeli style. Grab the land for illegal occupation. remove the population with a bit of ethnic cleansing, build a few houses with a bit of infrastructure thrown in and HEY PRESTO! another little bit of Eretz Israel has been created.
"............the takeover of land in Area B is a combination of unbridled thievery by settlers and impotence on the part of the Israeli authorities." 

If the "authorities" cant stop them, others will have to. The "playground bully" will always be a bully until someone gives him a bloody nose.

It used to be Rotten Boroughs, now its a Rotten Parliament.

http://socialinvestigations.blogspot.com/2012/02/nhs-privatisation-compilation-of.html

More exposure of Westminster self interest. The whole structure of Parliament is rotten to the core. It used to be Rotten Boroughs, now its a Rotten Parliament.

THEY are all in it together and WE pay the price.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9090668/Ministry-of-Defence-civil-servant-awarded-86000-bonus.html

The lunacy of the ConDem coalition bonus culture MOD style. "WE are all in this together"? No............THEY are all in it together and WE pay the price.

don't expect me to follow you.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102960/Irans-nuclear-programme-tip-world-new-Cold-War-warns-William-Hague-U-S-says-strike-Tehran-inevitable.html#comments

Hague doing what Hague does best. Spouting sabre rattling rhetoric, in support of the warmongering morons in Washington and Tel Aviv. They are all itching to attack Iran and expect the rest of us to believe that their hysteria is in our best interests. Well Hague, Clinton and Bibi, when you launch this insane adventure, don't expect me to follow you.

Extradition Treaty which only works one way

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17146487

Another example of the Extradition Treaty which only works one way. The Torries in opposition pledged to change the system, but as ever, in Government the ConDem's prove yet again to be subservient to Washington. If this guy has committed a crime, which seems doubtful, then he should be tried in this country, not handcuffed, placed in an orange jump suit a la Guantanamo, and practically kidnapped off to the USA. .

It is not just a question of Cameron being a hypocrite.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pm-accused-of-hypocrisy-after-attacking-critics-of-big-business-7440162.html 

It is not just a question of Cameron being a hypocrite. He intentionally, or worse, deliberately, misses the point. It is not big business per se that is being attacked. The attack is targeted at the financial excesses of big business. The greed and in some cases corruption associated with business, the "Rip Off" activities and profiteering.. The connivance and the individual involvement of many politicians in the business sector and the way in which Government actions appears to encourage business at the expense of the public. Companies allowed and encouraged to exploit consumers with higher and higher prices whilst announcing higher and higher profits. Energy companies making millions of pounds while people have to choose between heat or eat ,Banks awarding themselves huge bonuses while others have their basic pay frozen again, in some cases for the 3rd year in a row. The list of criticisms is endless and will continue for as long as Governments of any political persuasion, allow these obscene practices to continue. The whole business and political structure is rotten to the core and filled with those who think more of their pockets than their principles.

DWP, the Government and A4e.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105486/Back-work-tsar-Emma-Harrison-steps-Government-role-firm-faces-second-fraud-inquiry.html

Benefit claimants have their benefits suspended if they are subject to investigation, yet this company who have been investigated by The by the DWP and are currently under 2 separate police investigations for fraud, still receive payments AND are now awarded a new contract. What the hell is going on? There is something very fishy about the whole set up between the DWP, the Government and A4e. Hundreds of millions of Pounds of OUR money has already been poured into A4e. WHY? Who is becoming very rich at our expense?

A time to choose?

It is only necessary to have a surf around the Israeli on line newspapers and media (Haaretz The Jerusalem Post Ynetnews Arutz Sheva etc) to recognise a worrying aspect of media coverage of the Iran and Palestinian situations. Not so much in the actual reporting of events and editorial comments, although even these are themselves indicative of the preparation of their readership for future events, but more markedly in the comments and opinion sections to the articles. With a few exceptions, the submissions from the public are over the last 12 months or so, are becoming more and more extreme and vitriolic in content. In many ways, it is reminiscent of the press in Germany in 1938/1939 preparing the population for an inevitable war, to right the wrongs and injustices inflicted upon the German peoples during previous decades. Notwithstanding the injustices and wrongs of the Treaty of Versailles, the whole proposition was of course preposterous but the effects on public opinion were dramatic, leading to the acceptance by probably 95% of the population, of the idea that the only way to achieve justice was through a war of aggression. The great and sinister difference in 2012 is that the arguments of the threat from Iran with its “Nuclear Ambitions” and from Palestine with its quest for a Palestinian State, are not restricted to circulation within one specific country. On the contrary, the rush to impose sanction, the threat of military action, and in the case of Palestine the actual strikes against the civilian population, have been endorsed and taken up by some other nations of the world. The United States, an unconditional supporter of Israel since 1947, and now The European Union, led by a coalition of The United Kingdom, France and Germany are leading the clamour for more and more draconian sanctions against Iran and the deployment of military forces in the Gulf area and Strait of Hormuz. There is little doubt that in the propaganda war, the west, Israel, The United States and The EU have the advantage, since there has been a constant flow of disinformation and distortion for may years which is now becoming a torrent of belligerent output for public consumption. The Governments in the west appear to assume that the general population have short memories and soon forget the lies and hypocrisy associated with military conflicts and interventions since 1945, justified by the “spreading peace and democracy” argument. In George Orwell’s prophetic novel 1984 the concept of a perpetual enemy and constant warfare was muted as a means of control of the people. The similarities between the novel and reality now is remarkable. Soon, I believe, peoples of the west will be faced with the stark choice of either blindly following the path set by their Governments, or resisting the cul-de-sac of notion that all countries of the world are destined to be subservient to our values and systems. I have made my choice.

A Dangerous development

A dangerous situation is developing in the Capitals of Europe, as un elected “Technocrats” are appointed to form governments of other un elected individuals with the objective of managing the Eurozone financial crisis. This solution originated in Athens following pressure from Berlin and Paris and now, with the demise of Berlusconi, has reached Rome. As the speculators of “The Markets” move against other countries in the Eurozone, how long will it be before Paris, Madrid, Dublin and the other vulnerable members of the Euroclub are forced to appoint these un accountable mandarins to form un elected Governments? The problem with this solution, which strangely enough, is praised and accepted by the “Markets” is that the new Governments are accountable to no one. Elected politicians, whether one agrees with their political position or not, are accountable to the people of the country who do have an influence on who governs them. The “technocrats” on the other hand are accountable to no one and have as their first allegiance, the maintenance and growth of the financial institutions, business and status quo of the market/speculator system who caused this crisis in the first place. There is another, even more sinister aspect to these new “Governments” and those still to be established. How do the people of any given country change the make up of their Government? Is there any means of removing the “Technocrats”, in the event that they determine that the “National Interest” is best served by extending their term of tenure as the “circumstances are not yet right” to hold elections and return to normal political activity. It is not only the reins of economic power that they hold. By definition, as the Government, they are able to carry out all those acts normally in the domain of politicians, but without any checks and balances which, by and large, maintain the democratic structure of a nation.The un elected technocratic clique, can and may, quite easily turn into the appointed dictatorship perpetuating its life for its own and its vested interests at the expense of the people and country it was supposed to rescue. We have seen it all before. The 21st Century could become a fulfilment of the old quotation, “Those who do not learn the lessons of history, are condemned to relive it.”

A New Egypt

Within hours of the abdication of Hosni Mubarak, President Obama appears on the world television networks to welcome the resignation and call for “the military to ensure a credible political transition to a genuine democracy“.
That seems a bit rich from the President of a country which has propped up a tin pot dictator with arms, munitions and financial support for 30 years whilst at the same time turning a blind eye to the excesses of the despot who has abused human rights, destroyed all political opposition, employed thugs and criminals disguised as police, to retain a grip on power with the use of torture, imprisonment without trial and “renditions” on behalf of the US Government. However, the world observers may be excused for giving the US the benefit of doubt, and assuming that there has been a change of heart in Washington and they have now realised that the days of US interference in the politics of Middle Eastern Countries and the shameless hypocrisy of justifications, have come to an end. This hope was very short lived. Within hours of the Obama speech, we were informed that The White House says it is important that the next government of Egypt recognize existing accords with Israel. An instruction from the Americans to a Government of another Country, which has not yet been elected.
Whatever Government the people of Egypt, or Tunisia elect, or any other country in the region which replaces its existing Government within the coming months, then so be it. We in the West, particularly in the United States and to a lesser extent in Europe, have no right to interfere, whatever our own personal views or preference may be. The people of the Middle East were betrayed by the West in 1917, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War 1. The peoples of these Countries, although not necessarily their propped up Governments, have mistrusted the West ever since. We must stop trading in hypocrisy, stop propping up tin pot tyrannical regimes in the name of political expediency, stop demonising Islam and start building bridges with the people of these countries, or we shall all be the losers

Empty rhetoric

More empty rhetoric from Cable, the co conspiratorial hypocrite along with Clegg, Alexander and the others. Does this naive moron really believe that Osborne and Cameron will allow integrity to overcome bias? This latest ConDem hobby horse is only for public consumption and represents no threat to the cosy existance of the "City".
No one, Darling, Brown, Osborne, Cameron, Clegg et al has or had the political wiil or the personal inclination to take on their friends in the Banking and Finance sectors.
They cause the crisis and reap vast financial and influential benifits. The people of this Country pay the price.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/banks-face-warning-over-secrecy-of-lavish-bonuses-2164834.html

The Government may have won the vote, but ...........

Now we see in what contempt this ConDem Government holds the people of this country.For the benifit of those people commenting to the fact that it is the fault of the last Government that we are in this mess, I would say that I agree. However, it is also the fault of the Banking and Finance sectors who have made vast sums of money from gambling in the property and exchange rate markets. then when the gamble failed, went cap in hand to a Government for bail out packages. It isalso the fault of the "markets" who speculate against Countries and reap huge profits when the enonomies fail, as in the case of Ireland, Greece, Portugal etc. (Who is next?)
It is not the fault of Students, Lecturers,Pensioners, Working families, Nurses, benifit claimants, taxpayers generally, or beleive it or not, the Police.
Why should ordinary people pay for the excesses of Markets, Financilal institutions, and the gutless acquiecence of Governments, too terrified to take the measures necessary to control the "City".
People may well criticise the events which took place in Parliament Square yesterday.
This is only the begining. When this Government introduces the measures which will effect people personally, cuts in services, reduction of minimum wage, cuts in expenditre, job losses, reductions in benifits, etc. etc.then we shall see demonstrations of public anger which will make the events of yesterday pale into insignificance.When the Police have to implement cuts to their own front line services, expenditure and support personell, will they too demonstrate?
On News 24 last night, Nick Robinson speaking from the lobby of the Palace of Westminster, concluded his report with the phrase "The Government may have won the vote, but they have lost control of the Streets".
A little premature perhaps, but prophetic in context.