Tag Archives: u.k.

International

Afghans celebrate independence from U.K. by destroying British Embassy

The British embassy in Afghanistan is under attack as I write this.  It began with massive explosions.  Pics show a multi-story building with its facade completely destroyed.  Smaller explosions and constant gunfire is ongoing.

The Taliban are claiming they launched the attacks.  Insurgents are still inside the embassy compound.  At least 12 people killed, officials expect the number to increase.  At least two of the killed are confirmed to be U.K. citizens.

Afghanistan gained independence from Britain on August 19, 1919.

 

International, U.S.

U.S., Europe pushing UN Security Council for resolution against Syria, BRICS opposed

“We believe that the time has come for the council to take further actions to step up the pressure against those who are responsible for the violence against the citizens of Syria.”-Philip Parham, U.K. representative to UN Security Council

The U.S., France, Germany and Portugal all backed up the British demand that the UN Security Council take action against Syria.

The problem is that all the most economically powerful countries are opposed.  Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa believe the government of Syria is correct when it says the insurgency was started by outside forces (meaning the U.S. and Europe).

Russia and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council.  India currently holds the presidency of the UN Security Council.

International

United Police Kingdom: British Bobbies taser man to death, on his daughter’s birthday

For the second time in one month British cops killed a man.  The first time resulted in riots that lasted a week.  It’s been proven that police lied about how the killing happened.

This time cops used their tasers to kill.  A professional bodybuilder, and father of two, was pepper sprayed and then tasered three times before dying.  Some reports say it was his 4 year old daughter’s birthday.

Read the pathetic police statement: “The man became unwell following the arrest and was taken to Furness general hospital by officers. At around 9pm the man, who was in his 20s and lived locally, was pronounced dead.”

Details of the incident are strange.  Police claim the man was acting violent, the only problem is that he was home and alone.  So who was he acting violent with?

Police claim they were called about a disturbance at an apartment building.  Neighbors say it’s normal to hear people yelling in that neighborhood.  Most locals said they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, so they were shocked to hear that British Bobbies had killed one of their neighbors, apparently for disturbing the peace.

Here’s what friends and relatives had to say about the victim: “The police went overboard with the taser. They didn’t need to taser him three times.”-unnamed friend of bodybuilder

“Dale was definitely not a violent person.”–Stan Dewhurst, owner of Flex Appeal gym, where victim worked out

“You will always be my pride and joy, Mum’s baby boy.”-victim’s mother

“You were not just my big brother, but my hero and idol.”-victim’s sister

“Dale was a really good lad, we went to the gym together, he’d been going since he was 15.”-another unnamed friend

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? British Prime Minister claims 0.2% GDP is positive growth

The United Kingdom is reporting 0.2% GDP for the last quarter, many officials calling it a sign of economic “growth”.  Prime Minister David Cameron calls it “positive news” for the U.K.

0.2% is not “growth”!  It’s stagnation!  Anything from zero to 3% is stagnation.  The U.S. and U.K. mainstream media, and politicians, keep trying to trick people into thinking that proof of economic stagnation is really economic “growth”.

A country needs to see more than 3% GDP (over so many quarters) before it can be called “growth”.   If David Cameron thinks 0.2% is so great then we’re really in trouble!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

End of an Era: British Prime Minister says the Best Days are Behind Us, Rupert Murdoch scandal may be straw that breaks camel’s back

British Prime Minister David Cameron lamented that “…a general feeling that maybe our best days as a country are behind us…”. He was talking about everything from the economic disaster to the scandal involving Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and public officials.

Cameron says it’s become clear that elected leaders, as well as corporate leaders, even government employees, are acting out of pure greed: “I’m talking about the expenses scandal, the financial crisis, this whole disgraceful and sorry episode of phone hacking. There’s a sense that the rich and the powerful – politicians, bankers, the press and the police – have been serving themselves…”


International, Opinion, U.S.

Evil Cops & Rupurt Murdoch: Scotland Yard boss quits, another arrest, was this more than just unscrupulous journalists wanting a scoop?

“I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met’s links with News International at a senior level.”-Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner

The boss of the Met Police, aka Scotland Yard, announced he’s quitting.  A few days ago he acted like this thing with Rupert Murdoch’s various media outlets was minor, and involved only a few managers at various newspapers, and a handful of evil cops.  Turns out it’s much bigger.

Also, remember Rebekah Brooks?  She’s the former CEO of Murdoch’s News International, and a former editor of the News of the World.  A couple of weeks ago she acted like it was no big thing, then suddenly quit last week, but not before reportedly telling her underlings that things were going to get much worse.  Now she’s been arrested.

Brooks is the eighth person arrested in connection with the phone-hacking probe and the fourth arrested in the police bribery investigation.

What’s really troubling about this phone hacking scandal is that it might have been done with the help of the British police.  British cops were willing to take bribes to give out information to help Murdoch’s “fair and balanced” news organizations.  Why would cops be so willing to sell such information to the media, especially Murdoch owned media outlets?

Even here in the United States there is enough cause for concern that the FBI is investigating such Murdoch owned media outlets as Fox News, and the Wall Street Journal, for at least attempting to do the same thing here.  Also, the U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating.

Is the Rupert Murdoch’s media empire really just a huge covert spy agency?  Don’t think it’s not possible.  History shows that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and British intelligence agencies (SS aka MI5, SIS aka MI6, etc) have set up fake corporations purely for the purpose of spying on people and governments.  Just one example; anybody remember the fake CIA transport airline “Air America”?

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Rupert Murdoch scandal hits the stock market, Dow Jones boss quits, FBI investigating possible phone hacks in the United States

One reason why the mainstream media is so into reporting the stock market; Rupert Murdoch owns the stock reporting company Dow Jones.  Tonight, July 15 U.S. time, the CEO of the Dow Jones quit.

Les Hinton, the boss of Murdoch’s Dow Jones & Co stepped down, as the British phone hacking scandal surrounding Murdoch’s News Corp spread to the United States.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now looking into similar acts here in the U.S.

Already the CEO of Murdoch’s News International, Rebekah Brooks, resigned.  Brooks was also the editor of the News of the World, the newspaper implicated in the scandal.

More and more British media outlets, owned by Murdoch, are being implicated for the same thing; phone hacking and bribing police and politicians for confidential information.  Murdoch’s News Corp controls a multitude of media outlets around the world, and he controls the Dow Jones.

Why did Les Hinton, the boss of the Dow Jones, quit?  It could be because he used to be the chairman of Murdoch’s News International, when all the alleged criminal acts took place.

British media has reported that Rebekah Brooks made an unofficial statement to employees of the News of the World, that things are going to get only worse, as more information about the goings on inside Murdoch’s News Corp are revealed.

A U.S. corporate governance analysts said the same thing, only officially: “There is going to be a constant drip, drip, drip of more information coming out that is simply going to get worse and worse.”-Nell Minow, GovernanceMetrics

 

 

International, Opinion

France traces deadly E Coli strain to British seed company

Efforts to find the origins of a deadly e.coli strain (that some scientist say was engineered in a lab) continues, as more people get sick.

France has eight people in the hospital.  Seven of them ate sprouts at an open house party.  The sprouts were not grown in Germany, but in France.  The seeds for those sprouts came from a company in the United Kingdom, a company called Thompson & Morgan.

Understanding how e.coli works makes it difficult to suspect seeds, however, if this strain of e.coli was engineered in a lab, then anything is possible.

Business/Economics, International, Opinion

What Economic Recovery? Britain wants the European Union to collapse

Discussions within the U.K. Parliament reveal that British leaders are hoping for a quick end to the European Union via a Greek collapse.

Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, concerning the Euro: “…is going to collapse…” and “Is it not better that this happens quickly rather than a slow death?”

Current Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban said: “I am not going to comment on whether the eurozone will remain intact or not. Clearly, this crisis demonstrates the huge strain the eurozone in under. That is why it was right for us to stay out of the eurozone.”

Current Prime Minister, David Cameron said: “We were not involved in the first bailout of Greece; we don’t believe the European financial mechanism should be used in any way.”

Conservative Member of Parliament, Anne Main said Greece “…should be allowed to depart peacefully from the eurozone.”

Current Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said the U.K. would not help Greece:  “The package for Greece that is already in place is a eurozone package with the IMF.  It’s the eurozone that is taking forward discussions now about the next stage of dealing with Greece’s substantial problems.  There’s simply no proposition on the table for the U.K. to contribute beyond that IMF involvement and I don’t expect there to be one.”

When you take what the British leaders are saying, along with the International Monetary Fund’s warnings that the default of Greece will lead to a collapse of European Union, then it definitely looks like the British want Greece to default.  Historically the British never really liked the concept of the European Union.

 

 

International, Opinion

Queen Elizabeth II says U.K. could break up, Scots overjoyed call royal family “parasites”. Royals are Ultimate Welfare recipients

“Regardless of Her Majesty’s personal views, it is the job of her private secretary to take these issues seriously and to investigate them and that’s precisely what is going on.”-unnamed Buckingham Palace source

In the Sunday Times Queen Elizabeth II expressed concerns she may be the last monarch of the U.K.

In a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron she discussed the possible break up of the United Kingdom.  So far this year, Scotland has been leading the charge for independence, with word that people in Wales are about to join in.  The Queen’s recent visit to the Republic of Ireland was seen as an attempt to bring that independent country back under the control of the House of Windsor.

Elizabeth II (aka Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor) is especially concerned that Scotland might win its independence through the Parliament.  Scotland and England formed a union in 1707, called the Act of Union.  The Union came about as a result of economic sanctions by the English against Scotland, and bribery of Scottish officials.  It is notable that many Scottish “commoners”, and even the lower clergy of the Church of Scotland, were openly opposed to such a union.

Scottish independence activist Charlie Veitch, called monarchies “…a parasite upon natural order and upon natural law because we are all created equal under the eyes of God, the universe, or whatever you believe in.”

Veitch went on to say: “The Queen, in a way, she is a ridiculous figure head of an old world order…we want to make sure that the new world does not have these old, elitist establishment controls that we saw in the past.”

The Commonwealth consists of United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent/Grenadines, Belize, Antigua/Barbuda and Saint Kitts/Nevis.  (in the 1990s I met a few Canadian Army Sergeants who insisted the United States had been secretly brought back into the Commonwealth)

The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Is the Queen just a figure head?  Only when it comes to the Commonwealth as a whole, but, in the United Kingdom the Queen has real power:  She is the Governor of the Church of England and Scotland.  She is the Head of the Armed Forces with ultimate say in how the military is used; if she didn’t like British troops being sent on this War on Terror she can just wave her magic hand, and the Parliament would be forced to bring the troops home.  She opens every yearly session of Parliament by dictating what should be discussed, in other words she sets the agenda.  She is the one who signs new laws, not the Prime Minister.

And who pays for the expenses of the Royal Family?  The taxpayers.  Things like staffing, state visits, public engagements, and official entertainment are paid for with public money from funds called Grants in Aid, and Civil List (by making the Royal Wedding a public event they can legally charge the taxpayers for it).

You see, the rich don’t stay rich by spending their money, they spend your money!

Normally British taxpayers pay for Royal Weddings, but with the marriage of Kate and William the Royal Family recognized the financial sufferings of the people, and decided to pay for part of the wedding.  The Middletons also paid for part of the wedding (they are “commoners” by title only, or lack of title).  The British taxpayers still had to pay for security and clean up.

The fact that the taxpayers must legally pay for official expenses of the Royal Family (not the Royal’s personal expenses of course) is the reason rebels like Charlie Veitch call royals “parasites”.  Basically the Royal Family is the ultimate welfare recipient.