Why All The Wars?

Why All The Wars?

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”

It is sometimes frightening to read posts about the horrors of war. And there never seems to be any realistic alternative put forward. But an alternative to war was established in 1945 and agreed to by all nations – The United Nations and a charter spelled out the fundamental aims of the body. It states;

“We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.”

Westminster would not be denied

War, is a much valued tool, through which politicians impose their will upon nations, other than their own, and they were determined not be denied their conflicts. War has been erased from political and military vocabulary to be replaced with, “humanitarian action” providing a mechanism allowing the USA, assisted by the UK too, (in support of the special relationship) commit our armed forces to the provision of charitable and extraordinarily expensive assistance, easing the burden of oppression wherever in the world it might surface.

Media outlets are now an extension of the state, (witness BBC Scotland’s biased coverage of the referendum campaign.) There are no, “War Correspondents” only, “embedded journalists” who produce heavily censored and sanitized reports. Where targets used to be, “bombed into submission” they are now subject to, “surgical strikes” creating a false premise that such actions are, “healing” by their nature. Death of civilians and massive destruction of dwellings reported often as, “collateral damage”.

What a confusion, “War is Peace and Peace is War” George Orwell

Trading Penalties

Alistair (Flipper) Darling issues, (from his cave) another tome of gloom & doom twaddle, Said;

” Businesses in Scotland could suffer if they are cut off from the UK’s single market by a, “Yes vote”. But the rules of the EEC market are explicit; Countries, members of the European Economic Community operate with no imposition of duties on trade with one another. We would be wise to ignore anything emanating from the, “Bitter Campaign” lot. They have clearly lost the plot and I expect the referendum also.

Friends of Israel in Westminster

The Labour Party and the rise and rise of the Jewish lobby in Westminster.

The labour party is ruled by the Jewish lobby.

Westminster Rules – The Committee on Standards in Public Life:
“Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.”

Quotes

I had a very clear view about the history of Israel, about the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people, about the enormous suffering and loss during the Holocaust, as well as the extraordinary struggle that my father described to me of people to create this magnificent homeland.”- Gordon Brown in a speech given to the Labour Friends of Israel in April 2007, as quoted in the Israeli paper The Jerusalem Post, “New British PM will likely be friend to Israel”, June 27, 2007.

The Labour for Israel group, (LFI) was founded in 1957. It is; “A Westminster based lobby group working within the British Labour Party to promote the State of Israel”. The group is well connected within the party, and has regular meetings with ministers. Ambitious MPs see a role at LFI as a good way to get ahead. Chairs of the LFI very often go on to become UK government ministers. James Purnell, (head of Communications at the BBC) and Jim Murphy, (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland), are two recent chairmen.

One of Tony Blair’s first acts on becoming an MP in 1983 was to join Labour Friends of Israel. He retained close links to the group throughout his career.
Blair succeeded in making the Labour party more attractive to donors connected with the Labour Friends of Israel. The key figure in building these relationships was, of course, Michael Levy. Blair met Levy in 1994 at a dinner party thrown by Gideon Meir, number two at the Israeli Embassy. Blair was just back from a trip to Israel with the LFI.

The two men quickly recognised the mutual benefits offered by the relationship. By early 1995, Blair was leader of the opposition and he dropped in on his new friend for a swim and a game of tennis almost every weekend. Levy had been collecting donations to a blind trust, known as the Labour Leader’s Office Fund, raising nearly two million pounds, a sum “previously unimaginable for a Labour leader”. Blair maintained that he was unaware of the sources of these donations despite being in almost constant contact with Levy and even meeting some of the donors. Jon Mendelsohn, a former chairman of the LFI, Gordon Brown’s chief election fundraiser, speaking in 2007, described Tony Blair’s achievement in transforming the Labour Party’s position on Israel. “Blair attacked the anti-Israelism that had existed in the Labour Party.

Blair told Levy, “I am absolutely determined that we must not go into the next election financially dependent on the trade unions.” Instead, Zionism became pervasive in New Labour. Blair had become financially dependent on large donors, some of whom had very strong views on Israel. Lord Levy is estimated to have raised over fifteen million pounds for Blair before the “cash for peerages” affair brought Levy’s fundraising to an end in the summer of 2006.

If you are unhappy with the foregoing vote, “Yes” in the September referendum so that Scotland can be freed from the control of such a powerful lobby.

“In our country the lie has become not just a moral category, but a pillar of the state.”—Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The Conservative Party and the rise and rise of the Jewish lobby in Westminster.

Westminster Rules – The Committee on Standards in Public Life:
“Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.”

Quotes
“I am proud not just to be a Conservative, but a Conservative friend of Israel; and I am proud of the key role CFI plays within our Party. Israel is a democracy, a strong and proud democracy, in a region that is, we hope, making its first steps in that direction.” David Cameron.

The Conservative Friends of Israel, described by Conservative Party politician and historian Robert Rhodes James as “the largest organization in Western Europe dedicated to the cause of the people of Israel.” is beyond doubt the best connected, and probably the best funded, of all Westminster lobbying groups. Eighty percent of Conservative MPs are members. The Foreign Secretary and his team are subjected to persistent pressure by the CFI. It was only senior MPs whose careers are winding down that felt able to voice what many MPs told us in private.

1. Michael Mates, Former member of the Paliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee said, “the pro-Israel lobby in our body politic is the most powerful political lobby. There’s nothing to touch them.” He added, “I think their lobbying is done very discreetly, in very high places, which may be why it is so effective.”

The Laudable aims of the Conservative and Labour Parties and Friends of Israel

1. “Friends of Israel”, seeks to promote a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel educating members of both movements on the policy successes and challenges within Israeli society”.

2. “Friends of Israel”, supports the government of Israel in its efforts to continue to seek the realisation of a two state solution, with Palestine, recognised and safe within its borders, living peacefully alongside a democratic and viable Palestinian state.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9740044/The-cowardice-at-the-heart-of-our-relationship-with-Israel.html
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/16/pro-israel-lobby-conservatives-channel4-dispatches
If you are unhappy with the foregoing vote, “Yes” in the September referendum so that Scotland can be freed from the control of such a powerful lobby.

Good Riddance To The Rotten Parliament (2005-2010)

Good Riddance To The Rotten Parliament (2005-2010)

Time to reflect upon the criminal activities of Westminster politicians. Much change? Not a lot. Scotland deserves better than to be subjected to the rule of law that is Westminster. It is time that Scotland removed itself from the sleaze. Vote, “Yes” in the referendum so that Scotland can be a nation again. Free to decide it’s own future. With a written constitution guaranteeing the rights of all it’s citizens.

How will it be known in years to come? The Rotten Parliament? The Duckpond Parliament? The Flipping Parliament? It has certainly been a long Parliament. The final year has been a traumatic experience. But notwithstanding the calamity that it brought upon itself, this was not a Parliament that achieved a great deal beyond further restricting the freedoms of the people that elected it, by failing to stand up to an over-mighty executive.

What great and lasting reforms will the parliamentarians of 2005-10 be able to point to with pride? The ban on smoking in public places, perhaps, or the introduction of identity-card legislation for the first time since 1952, or restrictions on free speech and the further erosion of personal responsibility while more national power drained away to Europe.

It is hardly a Parliament that historians would consider worthy of study were it not for one factor that will mark it out from all others. The great expenses scandal of 2009, whose consequences have been, and will continue to be, far-reaching.

Not only did it lead to the first removal of a Speaker in more than 300 years, it has also subjected the body that makes the law to outside scrutiny for the first time since the Glorious Revolution, because the public can no longer trust its elected representatives to behave in a proper way. As legacies go, that is a pretty shameful one. Full article here;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7573025/General-Election-2010-Good-riddance-to-the-Rotten-Parliament.html

Carrillion – £Billions of UK Taxpayers Hard Earned Cash Gifted to Obscenely Rich Shareholders with Offshore Accounts – Time to Get Shot of the Lot of Them

 

 

 

 

30 Oct 2017: PFI firms avoid tax despite £2bn profits – Carrilion shareholders should be held accountable – No Public Money to be used for any bail-out

Five of the largest listed offshore Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funds have paid    little or no corporation tax despite making billions in profits

The five companies, including Guernsey-based funds HICL Infrastructure Company (HICL), John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) and International Public Partnerships (INPP), own hundreds of public assets including schools and hospitals, a European Services Strategy Unit (ESSU) report has shown.

Between them, the funds made a profit of £2.9bn over a five-year period from 2011 to 2017, and paid £13.5m in taxes.

Nothing was paid in corporate tax by the funds, which have been registered in offshore territories for the past six years.

ESSU director Dexter Whitfield told BBC that offshore companies were profiting massively from buying public assets, having annual returns as high as 28% from their PFI investments.

Calling PFIs a “private sector profit machine”, Whitfield said that if the government had built public infrastructure through public investment and ran it through in-house services, the whole “edifice” would not be happening.

Research from the ESSU showed 12 offshore infrastructure funds had equity in 547 PFI/PPP projects, amounting to 74% of all 735 PFI/PPP projects in the UK.

Additionally, it was found that 45.4% of all 735 current projects was owned by 9 offshore infrastructure funds.

Projects in education and health accounted for two-thirds of PFI/PPP projects which offshore infrastructure funds had 50% to 100% project equity in. (Economia)

 

 

 

20 Nov 2017: Don’t believe the hype Carrilion is far from finished

The financial difficulties at Carillion and other construction groups has prompted the HSBC offshoot, offshore registered HICL Infrastructure to take steps to ensure it is not hit by the failure of a contractor at one of its many UK public sector investments.

As an operator of schools, hospitals and other buildings in the UK under public private partnerships (PPP), HICL has service arrangements with many facilities management firms.

Half-year results from the £2.8 billion infrastructure fund on Wednesday revealed 15% of its assets are linked to contracts involving Carillion, which is fighting for survival after a series of cost-overruns on projects in the UK and the Middle East and the ousting of its chief executive and the axing of its dividend in the summer.

Carillion’s plans to sell its healthcare division to Serco will reduce HICL’s exposure to the company to 8%, with Serco increasing to around 6%.

Outside healthcare, Carillion will continue to work with HICL on defence projects, such as Allenby and Connaught, a 35-year private finance initiative (PFI) providing four garrisons to the army in Salisbury Plain and Aldershot.

Following profits warnings from other construction and facility operators, the issue of counterparty risk has risen up HICL’s agenda. ‘Contingency plans are in place to ensure continuity of operations if one or more of the group’s PPP projects are affected by the failure of a subcontractor,’ the company said.

Harry Seekings, infrastructure director at Infrared Capital Partners, HICL’s investment adviser, said: ‘This is not just about Carillion.’ He declined to give more details but said the company had a range of options, according to circumstances, from switching to another contractor or managing a facility itself.

 

 

But senior managers at Carrilion have no need to be worried financially

Financial clawback conditions for executive bonuses were significantly relaxed by the Tory government in 2016 with result that top managers gain financial benefit from the collapse of the organisations that they are responsible for.

 

 

 

 The PFI Scandals, (Blair, Brown and the Unionist Tory Party)

Ah !!! The Private Finance Initiative, (PFI). Lest we forget.

PFI is one of the greatest financial cock-ups in modern times. Recklessly committed to by a Labour government, all smitten by the spell of Thatcher John Major and their acolytes Blair and Brown.

The sell-off, (at knock down prices) of public owned building assets,  to private enterprise was a disgrace then and is even more so now.

Selection of one deal for a closer examination, from a huge number of sell-offs was difficult. But the contract quoted is atypical of arrangements put in place by the labour Government led by Blair and Brown:

Mapeley Steps, (a foreign owned conglomerate)  purchased in excess of 1000 properties within the UK, from the Inland Revenue,

The Inland Revenue then signed off a PFI contract with the company committing government to handing over vast amounts of taxpayers money in rent money, (leasing back the formally government owned assets almost without limit of time.

Adding insult to injury Mapeley Steps, (having bought the properties at a knock down price) immediately transferred ownership, title and all other aspects of the contract to a Caribbean tax haven so that all revenue gathered from the UK government would be free of any form of UK tax liability.

Embarrassing indeed, but there’s more. The property sell off, included the entire HM Revenue and Tax Office estates UK wide, who, at the time of the sale were officially committed to the closure of tax haven loopholes.

£Billions of taxpayers hard earned cash is being siphoned off to offshore trusts.!!!!! (RT)

Click to access 553.pdf

 

 

 

Nowhere is government-corporate collusion in tax avoidance more worrying than in the UK Private Finance Initiative (PFI) industry.

 

So as to realise maximum return on investment,  “special purpose vehicle” shell companies were registered ‘offshore’ for maximum ‘tax efficiency’ in a growing number of tax havens as subsidiary outlets of the main contractors and these have been have been major players in the PFI game from the outset.

An example is HICL, an offshoot of HSBC which provides backing for nearly 43 UK infrastructure projects – mostly NHS hospitals and schools.

The situation is that very many publicly treasured infrastructure assets, paid for by UK taxpayers, are now in the hands of the super-rich and the bankers.

 

 

 

Why does any of this matter?

It begs the question- “who would you rather was in charge of your hospital, a local health authority or a financial investment company?”

The NHS, for all its flaws, is organised around some noble principles such as universal access and the highest possible quality of treatment, but private ownership seriously threatens these. Investment companies are concerned only with profitability.

The ownership of hospitals by on and offshore investment funds sharply reduces accountability and transparency so monitoring the performance of PFI hospitals becomes problematical.

The veil of ‘commercial confidentiality’ prevents government from understanding and thereby solving any problems that arise.

Admittedly contractors can’t make any changes to previously signed PFI contracts they purchase but the practice of buying and selling PFI contracts has ensured the UK has ended up in a situation where the majority of the public infrastructure is owned by an oligopoly of offshore investment funds and banks.

This gives them disproportionate market power and provides them with a very real influence over the provision of public services in the UK.

But crucially the ownership of public infrastructure by private financiers is another indictment on the PFI system itself, which has consistently proven to be inflexible, bad value for money and impossible to regulate.

PFI contracts are also legally protected from cuts, which ensures their sustained profitability and when faced with shortfalls in revenue,

PFI contracters force hospitals to re-shape around contractual needs, rather than clinical ones. This means that front-line services like beds, doctors and nurses are cut before non-essential items like maintenance and service work.

 

 

 

Scamming the Taxpayer – selling public assets

This is achieved when a number of companies form a single bidding entity (known as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).)

The SPV contracts to provide, construction, maintenance and services of the assets over their lifetime, (usually up to 30 years).

Companies within the SPV are free to sell their equity stake in the contract in a secondary market.

It is a fact that, after the construction phase of a project is complete, the financial risk associated with the project plummets and the project can be re-financed, making it very attractive to investors.

Construction companies have been exploiting the foregoing earning themselves a small fortune.

Reports are that Construction giant Carillion plc sold its stake in 24 contracts for £278 million, making an average profit of 40%.

When considered against Carillion’s average operating profit between 2003-2009 of 1.2% this figure is astonishing.

Other construction companies are enjoying similar levels of profit in the secondary market and reports estimate they have made in excess of £350 million in profit between them.

The contracts represent a sound investment and are being snapped up by banks and offshore investment funds in a market that has swollen over the past decade.

Although PFI is paid for ultimately by the public purse, there is no regulator in the secondary market or mechanism by which the public share any of the massive profits being reaped.

 

 

 

Massive sums of money supposedly ring fenced for patient care in the English NHS handed over to PFI private contractors

The English NHS will pay approximately £70bn to private contractors for PFI schemes originally valued at £11bn.

Many NHS trusts’ PFI repayments take up in excess of 10% of their annual turnover with many contracts lasting around 30 years.

And the annual payments continue to rise.  Currently, the English NHS pays £1.5bn per year. But, this figure is expected to rise annually until 2030 when it will reach £2.5bn. payments which are due to be a financial drain on resources until 2048.

The result is chaos within the NHS in England. With fees rising every year, and taxpayer cash being handed to private companies funds are not being spent on patient care or hospital staff.  And, as budgets are cut and NHS trusts are forced to look for “savings”, these payments bring about ever more closures and cuts in services to patients.

 

 

 

Labour Controlled Glasgow City Council guilty of financial mismanagement

In Glasgow, the 3ED consortium, (involving the Miller Group construction company, the Halifax bank and Hewlett Packard computers) signed off on a contract with Glasgow City Council to construct and retain operational control of the Council’s school buildings for 30 years.

The city council rents the buildings from 3ED for an annual adjustable fee initially at £40.5 million.

600 ancillary staff were removed from Council employment and transferred to a private employer.

At the end of the 30 year contract the assets will return to city council control.

Nice earner for the private contractors who, against an outlay of between £2-400m will recoup, in excess of £1.5bn – three or four times the initial outlay

 

 

 

 

 

UK Trident – Off the Shelf Lease of a Redundant Nuclear Weapons System That Does Not Deliver

 

 

Image result for trident faslane images

 

 

 

Trident Nuclear Deterrent Rent or Buy?

The much vaunted truly independent UK nuclear deterrent is in fact totally reliant upon American missiles (built by Lockheed Martin) and is administered by a private consortium which is two thirds controlled by American companies (Lockheed Martin and Jacobs Engineering) to the cost of over £600 million a year to the British taxpayer, (plus vast cash injections for nuclear infrastructure and design programmes) is nothing short of a scandal.

How on Earth can it be considered an independent nuclear deterrent when the delivery system is an entirely American off-the-shelf missile system and the private company that is responsible for every aspect of the British nuclear programme, including the design of the warheads themselves is two thirds American? Take it away from Scotland

http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/uk-nuclear-weapons-privatisation.html

 

 

Image result for trident faslane images

 

 

The Euro & Scotland

The Euro and Scotland

The matter of an independent Scotland, (within the European Union) being forced to Join the Euro surfaces, from time to time, usually in the, “Blether Together” supporting press. This is another example of the lies, “Blether Together” routinely spreads, sewing seeds of doubt in the minds of those who might yet be undecided. The fact is that Scotland cannot apply, nor can it be forced to apply for membership of the Euro.

When a Member State enters the euro area, its central bank becomes part of the Eurosystem made up of the national central banks of the euro area and the European Central Bank, (ECB), which conducts monetary policy in the euro area independently from national governments.

Should Scotland express a wish to join the Euro, after membership of the European Union is complete, it would first need to meet the convergence criteria for entry to the euro area. This requires voluntarily participation in the, “Exchange Rate Mechinism 2”. (ERM2).

ERM2, mimics the Euro conditions thereby helping non-euro area Member States to prepare for them. Successful participation in ERM2, for at least two years is considered as confirmation of the sustainability of economic convergence and that the Member State can play a full role in the euro-area economy. It also provides an indication of the appropriate conversion rate that should be applied when the Member State qualifies and its currency is irrevocably fixed. See attached article;

http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/adoption/erm2/index_en.htm

Money Where Does it Come From?

But how did the nation get to this state. “Easy answer”, said the Chancellor, “Alistair Darling” sitting in one of his 3 taxpayer funded homes watching television as the, “City of London” burned. Blame the bankers not me or my friends. But surely our highly paid politicians, of all persuasions should have been aware of the impending financial disaster, since the, “Sub-Prime Mortgage Scandal” had surfaced in the USA 6 weeks before impacting on the UK.

A recent survey of Westminster politicians, of all persuasions revealed one of the key reasons contributing to the disgraceful lack of action which should have ensured the UK would be protected from the excesses of a financial market that, (with the full support of UK politicians) was operating against the interests of the UK taxpayer. The survey, commissioned by the reform campaign group, “Positive Money”, found that of the total number of politicians;

1. 80% lack basic understanding of where the UK’s money comes from.

2. 71% believe that only the government has the power to create money.

3. 9% said they didn’t know who creates the nations money.

4. 12% only, correctly responded, “Yes” in response to the statement, “New money is created when banks make loans, and existing money is destroyed when members of the public repay loans”.

Summary

Positive Money, reported,

1. “the troubling findings show that the UK government is still ill-prepared to see the warning signs of another financial crisis.”

2. “MPs have no chance of understanding the house price bubble unless they know these basic facts about money.”

3. “The financial crisis was caused by banks that created too much money and lent it recklessly. We’re now in danger of repeating the same mistakes.”

4. “Prevention of a second financial crisis can be achieved but the risk of a, “housing bubble” needs to be constantly monitored and addressed.

5. “The government should introduce measures stripping banks of their power to make new money.”

But Scotland need not remain in, “the madhouse” that is Westminster. We have an opportunity in the, September referendum to break free and regain our rightful place in the world as an independent nation. Vote, “Yes” to independence.

http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2014/08/19/poll-three-quarters-of-mps-dont-understand-how-money-is-made/

The Demise of the United Kingdom

Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One The Demise of the United Kingdom

Benjamin Franklin, one of United States of America’s founding fathers, loved Scotland and the company of it’s highly respected philosophers of the, “Great Scottish Enlightenment.” Had he lived in these times he would have encouraged Scotland to vote, “Yes” to independence. In discussion with, Thomas Jefferson, (a fellow founding father and friend) referring to a nation’s right to be free he said;

“He who sacrifices Freedom for security deserves neither”

His advice is clear and unambiguous. Do not succumb to the, “no” campaign’s patronising unspecified promises of jam tomorrow, (remember 1979.) Have confidence take the opportunity and elect for freedom.

He also wrote, “Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One”. Clearly Westminster politicians either did not read it or choose to ignore the advice, which is possibly the reason why Scottish independence will bring about all that is predicted therin.

“http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Rules_By_Which_A_Great_Empire_May_Be_Reduced_To_A_Small_One