Owen Paterson

[dyqik]

Probably important to clarify that they haven’t lost the minutes to that Randox meeting. They just don’t know where they are right now.

In a filing cabinet with the report into Russian interference in British politics*.

The filing cabinet is of course in a disused toilet in a basement with no light or stairs, behind a sign reading "Beware of the leopard"


* Remember that? Pity the MSM don't

Here's my conspiracy theory: there's barely any (competent) Russian interference in Western politics.

The media - traditional and social - is owned by Western billionaires. Political parties are largely funded by them. Even the brexit campaign's "dark money" seems to originate with westerners. Loads of Trump's debt was to Wall St funds owned by people like the Kochs.

Western politically active billionaires move in the exactly the same circles as Russian and Eastern billionaires. There's no difference between them and their interests.

[Bird on a Fire]

In a filing cabinet with the report into Russian interference in British politics*.

The filing cabinet is of course in a disused toilet in a basement with no light or stairs, behind a sign reading "Beware of the leopard"


* Remember that? Pity the MSM don't

Here's my conspiracy theory: there's barely any (competent) Russian interference in Western politics.

The media - traditional and social - is owned by Western billionaires. Political parties are largely funded by them. Even the brexit campaign's "dark money" seems to originate with westerners. Loads of Trump's debt was to Wall St funds owned by people like the Kochs.

Western politically active billionaires move in the exactly the same circles as Russian and Eastern billionaires. There's no difference between them and their interests.

Well, the oft-touted idea that Putin is pulling major strings rests on the idea that Russian oligarchs are to some extent influenced by the Russian state. I don't see why many non-Russians would give a hoot about supporting Putin's political career.

But beyond that, yes, the billionaire class has a level of consciousness and international solidarity we workers should aspire to.

[sheldrake]

Probably important to clarify that they haven’t lost the minutes to that Randox meeting. They just don’t know where they are right now.

In a filing cabinet with the report into Russian interference in British politics*.

The filing cabinet is of course in a disused toilet in a basement with no light or stairs, behind a sign reading "Beware of the leopard"


* Remember that? Pity the MSM don't

Here's my conspiracy theory: there's barely any (competent) Russian interference in Western politics.

The media - traditional and social - is owned by Western billionaires. Political parties are largely funded by them. Even the brexit campaign's "dark money" seems to originate with westerners. Loads of Trump's debt was to Wall St funds owned by people like the Kochs.

I don't think there's any huge gap of malign manipulation that needs to be filled by spooky Muscovites.

The looming spectre (no pun intended) of supervillains with Slavic accents is an deliberately amplified by the real corrupt baddies, who are hiding in plain site. They probably hid that report because it said "the Russians didn't do much, it was all Murdoch and the Tory Party as usual".

There's constant Russian, Chinese and Iranian activity on social media, but it's not there to take a political 'side' but to inspire mutual distrust and social fragmentation. Russia didn't cause Brexit, BLM protests or the election of Trump, but Putin's cyber-minions sure do want you to hate each other over these things.

[Bird on a Fire]

I'm sure they do, but loads of the Mail et al, and politicians' public statements, and indeed policy, are also designed to stir up division amongst the masses while giving the elite a free pass.

That's why the negligible amount of benefit fraud is shouted about, while tax evasion is treated with kid* gloves.

[individualmember]

There's constant Russian, Chinese and Iranian activity on social media, but it's not there to take a political 'side' but to inspire mutual distrust and social fragmentation. Russia didn't cause Brexit, BLM protests or the election of Trump, but Putin's cyber-minions sure do want you to hate each other over these things.

This has been my strong impression over at least the last 5 years, probably somewhat longer. Plus using RT in such a way that it looks like a regular media channel but has deliberate misinformation mixed in, in such a way that it's often hard to tell which is news and which is propaganda.

[sheldrake]

I'm sure they do, but loads of the Mail et al, and politicians' public statements, and indeed policy, are also designed to stir up division amongst the masses while giving the elite a free pass.

That's why the negligible amount of benefit fraud is shouted about, while tax evasion is treated with kid* gloves.

I agree with all of that. I tend to focus on the work ostensibly left-wing information sources do to obfuscate for and assist global elites here because I'm basically the only person doing it.

My examples would be how liberals/the left have been pivoted from suspicion of massive pharma companies to being 'pro science' inquisitors labelling these suspicions as 'antivax', and the blanket smearing as xenophobes and racists of anybody who objects to mass immigration being used as a wage-suppression tool.

[nezumi]

Just an FYI this week's PMQs was about as blistering as it gets. Actually worth watching.

[Trinucleus]

Just an FYI this week's PMQs was about as blistering as it gets. Actually worth watching.

I live in hope that there are decent Tories out there who are just embarrassed by Johnsons behaviour. Being ordered to sit down by the speaker was degrading (to a person of normal sensibilities)

[jimbob]

This time next year we'll be have lost a war with France the Faroe Islands.

FTFM



On a tangentially related note, I’ve been working through a very good YouTube series “WW2 in Real Time” which every week gives the week’s developments in the war in the style of a 10-20 min news report for the corresponding week of the war as if it was happening in real time, with the knowing conceit that neither the presenter or audience nor how things are going to turn out.

It’s up to November 1942 and I’m up to about August 1942 (so Singapore, Burma and Tobruk have just fallen without any real fight, Rommel is in Egypt and the Japanese are on the borders of India and Australia) and it really underlines just how bad the war was going for the British against both Japan and Germany up to that point and how from the perspective of those living through it it must have seemed the British were being humiliated week after week.

Given Johnson’s Churchillian pretensions it seems apt.

Yes it is a very good series.

And the Eastern Front compared to the rest.

Although the North Africa campaign was quite important. The Axis were using it to threaten the Middle East and Suez. But when it started to go badly for them, they ended up using about 20% of their airlift capability when they were also trying to keep Stalingrad supplied.

The New Guinea campaign is also pretty strategically important, but only involved a few thousand ground troops. Mostly Australian and Japanese for a long time.