With the detention by Scotland Yard, of David Miranda, the partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who is heavily involved in the dissemination of the Snowden material, at Heathrow airport and the subsequent confiscation of his property it is clear proof that the government has no concern about transparency, freedom of information and freedom of speech, but is more concerned with suppressing freedom of speech and pursuing whistle blowers with a vengeance.
The important question is " what have they got to hide". The government attempts to dress up their fascist actions as preserving national security and right wing 'rent a gobs' like the failed politician and ignoramus Louise Mensch, parade across the airwaves, spouting inanities about protecting our 'agents', whatever that means, when it is obvious that the main aim of the government is to close down debate about how the government is working in the interests of massive corporations, multi-nationals and wealthy individuals and that the detention of Miranda is just another step towards their ultimate objective of corralling the nations wealth for the few, themselves included, whilst increasing state surveillance for the purpose of closing down protest and dissent.
The tactics used under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to detain Miranda are just a variation on tactics used on journalists across the world ,nations, such as Russia, Syria, Brazil, Pakistan, India and Mexico, to close down dissent and oppress protest and truth. High profile examples such as the Russian journalist,Anna Politskovskaya make it into the international conscience but many journalists, across the world, are abused, intimidated, harrassed and murdered for telling the inconvenient truth. The detention of David Miranda and the smashing of the Guardians hard drives are some of the various tactics, championed by the right, used to close down freedoms that governments fear will threaten the military/industrial/ corporate complex.
Only this week, we had Tory MP Mark Reckless intimating that police should crack down on the "green and far left extremists" at the anti-fracking protests in Balcombe, Sussex. A classic example of an attempt to scaremonger and portray anti-fracking protestors as political agitators and a danger to the state. I presume he would be happy for a crack down similar to that currently occurring in Egypt.
Of course harassment and intimidation of the public is nothing new. There are countless examples of the police using section 44 of the Terrorism Act to manhandle, prevent and detain innocent members of the public for taking photographs or recording police while they are arresting somebody. These are all examples of state terrorism, used to turn the public into supplicants, who are fearful of the state because they know the state and their agents can and probably will act with total impunity.
The objective of The State's harassment of David Miranda was to send a message to journalists, whistle blowers and the public. The message is simple and brutal. "If you step out of line The State will persecute you, and tyrannize you until you toe the government line. The government and police can and will act with total impunity. Even if you are involved in perfectly legal activities the state apparatus will be brought to bear until you cease those activities. This government will not allow the wealth and security of the few to be endangered by the many".
On one level, the intimidation of Miranda is comical and laughable. Any rational person ( this obviously excludes the likes of Mensch and her reactionary cohorts), will know that David Miranda is not a terrorist. So to use Terrorist Legislation to detain him is worthy of nothing but disdain and scorn. Yet again the Metropolitan Police, in the eyes of the world, are a laughing stock in the same way British Prime Minister Cameron comes across as a blustering, out of touch idiot, for allowing himself to be fooled by the scaremongering GCHQ and approving the smashing of the Guardians hard drives.
Of course there will be those people who cannot see what the fuss is all about. Many are happy to see rights, freedoms and liberties curtailed because they foolishly believe it is done for the general good. They are happy to see the rights and freedoms of others suppressed or removed because it benefits them. " If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear" they will cry. "Governments will do the right thing", is their convenient and self serving belief. But while these people had their fingers in their ears and their eyes closed,letting the government get on with "doing the right thing" MP's were stealing thousands in expense claims, multi-nationals and corporations were being allowed to deny the nation millions in taxes, the police racked up a litany of abuse scandals which involved, killing, corruption, perverting the course of justice, bugging honest members of the public and attempting to smear them, media organisations were bugging telephones and bribing public officials, dossiers were being concocted so the country could go to war, which lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians and hundreds of soldiers, the elderly were dying through lack of care in hospitals. All these scandals were uncovered by journalists and members of the public. The same journalists and the same public The State wants to shut down and silence. The truth is often inconvenient to the few and they will happily use any tactics or apparatus available to suppress the truth in order to protect their own interests.
“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.” Aldous Huxley. Brave New World.
I was surprised to hear that British Prime Minister David Cameron was unable to go deer slaughtering because of a bad back. I was under the impression that to have a bad back you needed to have a back bone.
Hubris or Stupidity?
Russia's 'war on gays' has thrown a harsh light on a country that already comes across like the perpetually miserable neighbour you are afraid to say 'good morning' to in case he blanks you.You would have thought with the 2014 Winter Olympics due to be held in Sochii, the Russians would have tried to present a friendly, open attitude that welcomed all. Instead they seem to have adopted an approach that could be summed up as " come and 'ave a go if you think you're hard enough" or perhaps "do you want some".
Setting Putin aside for a moment, we have had the weird statements of pole vaulter Yelena Isinbiayeva banging on about Russians considering themselves " normal standard people, boys live with women and woman live with boys". So does that mean Russians are against homosexuality but in favour of paedophilia that involves women and boys. Add to that the TV presenter proposing that the hearts of gay people should be burned in case they are used for transplants and you get the feeling Russian diplomacy has a way to go yet.
Putin seems keen to maintain this backwoods mentality which enrages world opinion and throws even more fuel on the fire with his ban on US adoptions of Russian children, his insistence that all NGO's should brand themselves as 'foreign agents' and legislation aimed at the internet that allows websites that are anti government, to be closed down.
At least on the run up to the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese tried to hide the fact they were keen on voodoo medicine, which involves caging bears in disgusting conditions for the purposes of extracting bile for god knows what, as well as engaging in dubious practices that will probably lead to the slaughter of the entire world population of tigers, rhinoceros and elephants. And all because, apparently, your average Chinese man can't get a hard on.
The Chinese government were on their best behaviour on the run up to the Beijing Olympics and tried to keep the political oppression on the back burner, hidden away in the garden shed until the relatives had left.Putin on the other hand seems to want to hand anybody with a grievance a reason to sabotage, boycott or protest at the games. Perhaps he is used to a culture of autocracy where no counter argument is allowed or offered, for fear of repercussions. But if two male ice skaters decide to launch a protest whilst receiving their gold and silver medals, by snogging each other on the podium, with the world warching, Putin will not get away with arranging a show trial, overseen by a compliant judiciary, and sending the two miscreants to a gulag in Siberia. It ain't gonna happen Vlad.
"War is when the government tells you who the enemy is. Revolution is when you figure it out yourself"
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