RIP Great Britain

Monday, 5 September 2022 — Moon of Alabama

On July 7, when Boris Johnson finally stepped down as Prime Minister of great Britain, I wrote:

current poll says that party members would favor the current defense secretary Ben Wallace. But that does not mean they will get him as one of the two candidates to vote on as the MPs have the say over that choice.

Johnson may try to get someone elected who would look worse in office than he did. Liz Truss is a good candidate for that.

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Technology and the future of UK Foreign Policy – Our submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry

23 June 2021 — Drone Wars

Peter Burt

Click to download

In a timely and welcome move, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee has recently launched an investigation into ‘Tech and the future of UK foreign policy‘.  Recognising that new and emerging technologies are fundamentally altering the nature of international relations and the rapidly growing influence of private technology companies, the Committee’s inquiry intends to focus on how the government, and particularly the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) should respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies.

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Democracy in Focus: A post-austerity state

8 January 2020 — Red Pepper
Illustration by Andrzej Krauze

Lowering the voting age. Restoring and entrenching the powers of local government, including the power to build public housing. Ensuring that people are able to fulfil their potential (including outlawing many of the practices of the gig economy that drive its workers to suicide). Establishing a proportional election system, so that voters have a real choice and their votes make a difference.

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The undemocratic tide in Britain is real – how Labour reacts is crucial By Nancy Platts

27 September 2018 — Open Democracy
For the first time, lack of faith in politics, politicians and government has become one of the top ten issues for Britain, polls show. How should politicians respond?

In his keynote conference address on Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn pledged to honour the martyrs of the Peterloo massacre – those brave 15 killed fighting for democratic rights some 200 years ago – by “carrying forward the struggle to protect and extend democratic rights.”

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The brutal past and present are another country in secret Australia By John Pilger

5 November 2013 — John Pilger

The corridors of the Australian parliament are so white you squint. The sound is hushed; the smell is floor polish. The wooden floors shine so virtuously they reflect the cartoon portraits of prime ministers and rows of Aboriginal paintings, suspended on white walls, their blood and tears invisible.

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Police State UK: Guardian faces parliamentary investigation over Snowden revelations By Chris Marsden

18 October 2013 — WSWS

Britain’s Guardian newspaper is facing an investigation by at least one parliamentary committee, in line with demands made by Prime Minister David Cameron, concerning the exposures of Edward Snowden, the whistleblower from America’s National Security Agency (NSA).

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French Colonial Dreams Linger as Raison d’être in Syria By Andrew McKillop

2 September 2013 — 21st Century Wire

Great Power Pipe Dream

The simple question with a lot of answers is why did France boycott the 2003 Iraq war of the US and Britain, but remained heavily committed to a “punitive attack” with the US on Syria, following the shock of Cameron’s defeat for his war plan in the British parliament?

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Revealed: secret European deals to hand over private data to America

29 June 2013 — The Guardian (this link takes you to the replacement story)

[This is the original version. Thirty-five minutes later a slightly edited version appeared and then three hours later the entire article was removed for “investigation”, whatever that means, possibly the fact that the Guardian used Wayne Madsen as his views are deemed “controversial”. See Newsniffer]

At least six European Union countries in addition to Britain have been colluding with the US over the mass harvesting of personal communications data, according to a former contractor to America’s National Security Agency, who said the public should not be “kept in the dark”.

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Anglo-American Militarism: Don’t Worry About Surveillence, In Britain, Everything’s Okay By Colin Todhunter

12 June 2013 — Global Research

In the name of ‘humanitarian intervention’, a ‘war on terror’, fighting for ‘democratic freedoms’ or whatever the script happens to be this week, British Foreign Secretary William Hague can be relied on to sell US-British militarism to a public fed up with constant wars and (increasingly less) ignorant of their underlying reasons (1).

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Wikileaks / Bradley Manning Newslinks 1 May 2013

1 May 2013 — williambowles.info

 

Pirate Party gains three seats in Iceland’s parliament

CBS News

Physically isolated near the Arctic Circle, it is one of the world’s most wired countries and has been a hub for the online secret-spilling group WikiLeaks. Jonsdottir has worked with WikiLeaks in the past. In 2011 the country announced it would crowd …

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57582088/pirate-party-gains-three-seats-in-icelands-parliament/

 

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South Africa: Pro-government faction attacks COSATU's Zwelinzima Vavi By Benjamin Fogel

12 April 2013 — Amandla!

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is in the midst of the biggest crisis in its 27-year history. This crisis has arisen from a South African Communist Party (SACP)-driven attempt to oust democratically elected COSATU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, under the guise of corruption charges. The conflict’s roots are in longstanding political contradictions and ideological tensions between COSATU and its Alliance partners – the ruling African National Congress and the SACP. At stake is not only the leadership of COSATU, but its political and moral direction.

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