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2 Mar 2016: “Walter Mitty” character – George Demetrios Papadopoulos yearned for political stardom – The FBI provided the opportunity

Born in Chicago, he graduated from DePaul University in 2009 with a degree in political science and government.

Richard Farkas, a Russian politics professor at the University, on discovering that his former student was one of Trump’s few foreign policy advisers said: “he studied for a bachelor’s degree in political science. All the classes I taught during my tenure would’ve centred on Russia. His expertise was virtually non-existent. It was thin and embellished. Lots of young people, when they aspire to get close to a campaign, exaggerate their experience. George did that in spades and it was the talk of the department here. I’ve been really generally embarrassed by the fact that I don’t have a lot to share, my classes were 20 to 25 and he was invisible even in a class that size.”

After graduating, he enrolled at, “University College, London School of Public Policy” where in 2010 he gained a “Masters of Science” degree in security studies. Returning to the US he was employed by the Hudson (right wing think tank) Institute, first as an unpaid intern then as a research assistant to a senior fellow at the institute from 2011-2014.

In November 2015 there was a terrorist attack on Paris, France and in the days following every Republican presidential candidate began frantically scrambling to hire experts to bulk up their campaign’s foreign policy credentials. All of the of the Republican foreign policy establishment was working for the front runners, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

Barry Bennett, Campaign Manager, for Republican candidate, Ben Carson recalled: “It was utter and total desperation to find people.” So when a resume from an unknown young man named George Papadopoulos arrived, unsolicited, at the Carson campaign headquarters, Bennett gave it more attention than it deserved and hired him.

Papadopoulos brief period as an advisor to the Carson campaign passed without note. Armstrong Williams, who served in various roles in Carson’s campaign, said: “After the Paris terrorist attack, Barry Bennett and his deputy Lisa Coen thought we had to have substance so they had this hiring spree, employing all these people to show we had foreign policy experts, Papadopoulos was one of those people.” He was paid $8,500 for his work in December 2015 and January 2016, and then received only a partial salary, $2,125, in February, when he left the campaign.

Bennett resigned from the campaign in December 2015 and within two months, most of those he had hired were let go due to restructuring and cuts. No one in the Carson campaign remembers much about Papadopoulos, perhaps in part because he worked remotely from Chicago, Bennett said. “If there was any work output, I never saw it.

05 Mar 2016: George Papadopoulos joins the Trump campaign

Up to “Super Tuesday,” 1 March 2016, the Trump campaign had been a largely family affair with little external input or support from the Republican Party and he was lagging in the polls.

But when the swingometer shifted in Trump’s favour there was a realization that “Team Trump” was devoid of competent foreign policy advisors and this generated an urgent scramble to compile a legitimate list of experienced people as the media and those in political circles kept pressuring the campaign to release names.

According to Trump campaign spokesman, Sam Clovis, then a policy advisor, he urgently put together a “team” (including Papadopoulos) so that Trump could release names in an attempt to “at least shut up” the critics.

During the campaign, Clovis defended the team he had compiled for Trump, saying that “these are people who work for a living” who have “real world” experience, and that “if you’re looking for show ponies, you’re coming to the wrong stable.”

But to this day, some senior staff in the Trump White House blame Clovis for recruiting staff without due diligence, saddling Trump with the incompetent Papadopoulos.

08 Mar 2016: Opportunist Professor Mifsud offered Papadopolous access to Putin

ALERT: Mifsud had a close working relationship with Claire Smith of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee and eight-year member of the UK Security Vetting panel. He was no stranger to MI6

Mifsud’s interest was sparked after being told by Papadopolous, who was then living in London, that he had been appointed to the Trump campaign team as an advisor. They met in Italy on 14 March 2016 and again in London 24 March 2017.

At the second meeting Mifsud was accompanied by a woman who, according to Papadopolous, was introduced to him as Olga Vinogradova a relative of Vladimir Putin.

Following the meeting Papadopolous emailed Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski advising that he had discussed with Olga Vinogradova the possibility of arranging; “a meeting between Trump’s campaign team and the Russian leadership to discuss US – Russia ties under President Trump.”

Lewandowski told him he had done “great work” and to keep them informed. Around a week after Papadopolous attended a campaign team meeting in Washington at which he touted his connections and proposed a meeting between Trump and Russian President Putin.

Jeff Sessions dismissed the proposal “out of hand” declaring it a non-starter.

But, by 11 April, 2016, ignoring the Session’s directive, Papadopolous, Mifsud and Vinogradova had established an email chain in which Papadopolous continued to seek a meeting for himself in Russia to discuss foreign policy. To which Mifsud had replied; “This is already been agreed. I am flying to Moscow on the 19th of April for a Valdai meeting, plus other meetings at the Duma.”

Papadopolous next met with Mifsud for breakfast and a briefing at a London hotel on 26 April, 2016 at which Mifsud, told Papadopolous he had learned that the “Russians had obtained ‘dirt’ on then-candidate Clinton” in the form of “emails of Clinton… they have thousands of emails.”

It is not clear which tranche of Clinton’s emails Mifsud was referring to but in the month of April 2016, a hacker group known as “Fancy Bear” had breached the network defences of the “Democratic National Committee”, a fact not released to the public in the US until 22 July 2016. Mifsud’s info provision had to have been obtained at the time he was in Russia!!!

So there were 2 hacking incidents. WikiLeaks, who denied any connection with the Russian government, had, on 16 March, 2016 already published a searchable archive of Clinton emails from her private server obtained, the group explained, through the “Freedom of Information Act”.

Papadopolous believed the new information would be valuable to the Trump campaign and he submitted a second “meet the Russian’s” proposal to the Trump campaign team leaders. Which was dismissed.

A few days later Olga Vinogradova emailed Papadopoulos; “we are all very excited by the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump. The Russian federation would love to welcome him but only once his candidature is officially announced.”

Papadopoulos emailed Mifsud on 30 April 2016: “it’s history making if it happens,” thanking him for his: “critical help.”

Mifsud was close to sealing a deal with Papadopoulos

A few weeks later, a contact, allegedly Ivan Timofeev, the Programme Director of the Valdai Club Foundation Council, allegedly spoke with Papadopoulos about laying the groundwork for an early meeting between the Trump campaign team and officials in Moscow.

Ever keen Papadopoulos persistently emailed members of Team Trump seeking authority reach out to individuals he believed had high-level Russian government connections.

In August 2016, at a meeting in Washington, DC, he told the team his connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-presidential candidate Trump and President Putin.

Paul Manafort and Sam Clovis praised Papadopoulos work ethic, but a wary Manfort advised it would be inappropriate for Trump to attend any meetings.

He then sent an email to associate Rick Gates firmly rejecting the idea of Trump making a trip to Russia. Saying; “We need someone to communicate forcefully that DT will not be doing any trips or meetings with Putin.

It should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send the wrong signal.”

Months passed but the “history making” meeting was never arranged thanks to the scepticism of Rick Gates

Other aspects for consideration

The meeting in a hotel in Italy in March 2016 between Mifsud and Papadopoulos was between associates, not a first time meet as claimed by the FBI.

Mifsud served as convenor and Director for “International Strategic Development” in the London Centre for International Law Practice (LCILP) in 2016. and the LCILP’s director for “International Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Law” from February to April 2016 was George Papadopoulos.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Papadopoulos hoped that Putin’s “niece” would introduce him to the Russian ambassador in London.

A spurious allegation since Putin does not have one. Information that could have been found in less than a minute through a “Google” enquiry.

The woman, identified as, Olga Vinogradova, was described by Mifsud as “just a student, but a very good-looking one, and Papadopoulos’s interest in her was very different from an academic one.”

Later revelations revealed “Olga Vinogradova,” to be a 32 year old graduate from St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Now a wine company manager, (married name) Olga Polonskaya, she lives in St Petersburg and is one of a dozen Russian women listed as friends on Facebook with Mifsud.

Polonskaya’s brother, Sergei Vinogradov, told the press that she had never worked for the Russian government, and had been introduced to Papadopoulos having previously met with Mifsud to discuss a promised internship.

Her English was poor and at the meeting on 24 March 2016, she was not able to fully follow the conversation between Papadopoulos and Mifsud. He added: “it’s totally ridiculous, She’s not interested in politics. She can barely tell the difference between Lenin and Stalin.”

But Papadopolous, in his affidavit and guilty plea to the FBI confirmed he and Polonskaya had continued to correspond her allegedly emailing; “I have already alerted my personal links to our conversation and your request for a foreign policy trip to Russia.”

Papadopoulos said he became attached to Mifsud because, among other reasons, the professor claimed to have substantial connections with Russian government officials, and he thought the relationship would increase his importance as a policy advisor to the campaign which is nonsense he and Mifsud were colleagues at The London Centre for International Law Practice (LCILP)

The offer of 26 April, 2016, passed to Papadopoulos by Mifsud to “dish the dirt” on Clinton through the provision of emails, allegedly from the Russian’s was useless since Wikipedia had already published the information 16 March 2016.

2000: Harvard University and Billionaires. Epstein established the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation. The foundation was registered in the Virgin Islands. One of the foundation board member was the wife of John de Jongh Jr., the governor of the Virgin Islands who had also served as the Commissioner of Finance as his grandfather had done before him. The foundation financed numerous scientists, including several scientists and Nobelists, such as Epstein’s and Ghislaine’s close friend, Professor Murray Gell-Mann(J) from New Mexico.

2001 Harvard University President and Clinton’s ex-Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers(J) provided an office, for Epstein’s personal use at Harvard.

2001: Ghislaine is less available to Epstein on Little St. James island as she re-established and widened her friendships with her New York based family, friends and businesses forcing him to review his arrangements.

2001: Epstein hired a new team to assist with business matters and other activities. He recruited Lesley Groff(J), 38, to be his Executive Assistant. At one stage she became pregnant and talked of leaving. He bought her a Mercedes-Benz E320 to make her commuting easier and agreed to pay for a full-time nanny so that she could keep working for him. ”There is no way that I could lose Lesley to motherhood,” told the N.Y.T. He brought in Sarah Kellen(J?) to take charge of his Rolodex and Adriana Ross (aka Adriana Marcinkova), a former model from Poland became his ”sex sessions” organizer and trusted Lolita Express pilot.

2002: President Clinton. Epstein flew the former President Bill Clinton, and Hollywood Actor Kevin Spacey to an Aids policy conference in Africa on his private Boeing 727 jet. Spacey said later: “I didn’t want to be around Epstein because I felt he put the President at risk on the trip because of the number of very young girls with the group.” He also flew Clinton to a number of other destinations on the Lolita Express or one of his smaller Gulf Stream planes. In total there were around 26 flights on board the Lolita Express. Flight logs confirm Adriana Ross, (aka Adriana Marcinkova) to be the girl who flew most frequently with Bill Clinton. Epstein and Clinton became very good friends evidenced by Clinton’s visits to Epstein’s New York mansion where a number of pictures and paintings of sexual nature were displayed, including one depicting Clinton wearing Monica Lewinsky’s dress. A joke perhaps but a message to Clinton reminding him of the power of Israel. After all, Lewinsky is Jewish and it was Israel that first heard about her honeypot relationship with then President Clinton. “It was hanging up there prominently — as soon as you walked in — in a room to the right,” a law enforcement source told the “New York Post.” “Everybody who saw it laughed and smirked.”Clinton must have felt thoroughly humiliated when he saw the picture. It showed who was the boss.

2002: The Israeli influence: Shimon Peres, ex-Prime Minister of Israel and powerful protege of ”the father of Israel” David Ben-Gurion, introduced Ehud Barak to Epstein. Barak, is an ex-chief of Israeli military intelligence and ex-Prime Minister of Israel. Being in close terms with powerful Israelis indicates his importance. Epstein starts financing Barak. Israeli outlets reported he had received more than $3 million in payments from Epstein-connected institutions from 2004.

2002: John Bronckman(J) from the powerful Edge Foundation invited Epstein to Billionaires’ dinner at TED event where the big money meets the biggest scientists. Epstein was accompanied by Sarah Kellen and Cindy Lopez who were photographed with the creator of the Edge Foundation and Billionaires’ dinner organiser, John Brockman(J).

2002: Fatherless Epstein, outlined plans to several Jewish billionaires and scientists to impregnate women with his and other high IQ, Jewish male’s DNA and pledged $30 million to Harvard University to establish the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, directed by Martin Nowak(J), a professor of mathematics and biology.

2003: One of Epstein’s biggest supporters was evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers, who would go farthest to defend him. He said Epstein gave him $40,000 to study the relationship between knee symmetry and sprinting ability. He also said he believed girls matured much earlier than in the past. He said, “By the time they’re 14 or 15, they’re like grown women were 60 years ago, so I don’t see these acts as so heinous.” (Reuters)

2003 The Jewish Orthodox Trading Floor. “Vanity Fair”, columnist Michael Wolff(J), was invited to Epstein’s office and noted the entire floor was occupied by Orthodox Jews. He also visited Epstein in his offices at 457 Madison Avenue, the Villard House, where Random House once had its offices. Wolff(J) explained, “His literal office is where Bennett Cerf’s was. It’s an incredibly strange place. It has no corporate affect at all. It’s almost European. It’s old—old-fashioned, unrehabbed in its way.” Nearby, Wolff went on, “the trading floor is filled with guys in yarmulkes. Who they are, I have no idea. They’re like a throwback, a bunch of guys from the fifties. So here is Jeffrey in this incredibly beautiful office, with pieces of art and a view of the courtyard, and he seems like the most relaxed guy in the world. You want to say ‘What’s going on here?’ and he gives you that Cheshire smile.” (New York Magazine)

2003: Into the Model Agencies. Epstein financed the development of the modelling agency MC2, fronted for him by Jean-Luc Brunell(?) and Jeff Fuller(J). The agency which specialised in young Eastern Europan and Israeli models, operated out of New York, Miami and Tel Aviv. Brunell was known to be the sleaziest male manager in modelling business and had faced many allegations of drugging and sexually abusing his models. His partner Jeff Fuller(J) managed the Tel Aviv end of the company. MC2 was a reference to the famous Einstein equation E = MC2, the energy-mass equivalence. E equals Epstein, the energy and the models equaled C2, the mass multiplied/energized by Epstein.

2005: Brunel telephoned Epstein and left a message, (transcribed onto a notebook page) which was later filed as evidence in a later case against Epstein. It read: “I am providing a Russian girl to teach you how to speak her language. She is 2×8 years old, not blonde. Lessons are free and you can have your 1st today if you call.” (New York Post) Does the message mean that two eight year old are involved? Or does 2 x 8 mean to sex 8 year old? (2=to, x=sex) or a sixteen year old (2×8 =16)

2005 Mark Epstein formed his own agency, Saint Model and Talent and from Manhattan’s on East 66th Street where he provided accommodation for his and brother Jeffrey’s models. The agency folded before it got started

2003: Epstein controlled the media. Vicky Ward, a long time friend of Ghislaine Maxwell, was a columnist for “Variety” wrote an expose about Epstein. Craydon Carter(J-) the editor, was visited by Epstein and asked to remove any reference to underage girls. Any reference to women or young girls was removed. Carter offered her the excuse that the article was stronger as a business story. Conrad Black was her then husband’s boss. The title of the Vanity Fair ”expose” became a complimentary, ”The Talented Mr. Epstein”.

1999 – 2005: The English newspaper “The Spectator”, controlled by media mogul, Conrad Black(wJ), was part of the Hollinger Group, which included the Jerusalem Post. The board of the group comprised many extreme Zionists, including Les Wexner, mentor of Jeffrey Epstein. Taki was a respected columnist for “The Spectator”, and wrote an article about Epstein which was less than complimentary. Black, was asked to adopt a more positive approachand it was never published. Boris Johnson, was the paper’s editor. Many years later Taki said: “I wrote that column for 42 years and it was the only one that was spiked. In it I called Epstein a raging pedophile and it was killed. (Taki’s Magazine)

2003: Epstein with designs on becoming a newspaper magnate in an attempt to prevent further exposes, secretly backed his friend Wolff, in an unsuccessful bid for the “New York Magazine”.

2004: Epstein and Mortimer Zuckerman(J) financed Maer Roshan’s(J) purchase of the “Radar” magazine.

2005: In March, Palm Beach Police received information about Epstein’s illicit behaviour and tasked Police Chief Michael Reiter and Detective Joseph Recarey, to investigate, Later that year having identified between 36 and 60 girls they descended on Epstein’s home. A video of the raid showed dozens of pictures of naked girls and women on the walls, including one of a six-year-old girl bending over in a tiny dress, which was deemed so sinister that the authorities blurred it out when the film was released. Ghislaine Maxwell was a person of interest from the start. The girls interviewed by the palm beach police repeatedly described her as the coordinator of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. But detectives were never able to interview Maxwell. The chairman of Palm Beach police pension board, Gerry Goldsmith(J), pressured Chief Reiter, to drop the investigation preventing it from becoming public. Goldsmith’s behavior would later be attributed to a shady past and he his plans to run for Mayor. Later he would lose by one vote.

Quango’s rule KO!!! Just gimmie the money honey

Scottish taxpayers are picking up a £22million annual bill for the salaries of chief executives and committee members of almost 100 public bodies, (quangos) including some people don‘t even know exist:

And this does not include Scotland’s 32 local authorities, 14 health boards, police, fire and ambulance services,

The Water Quango’s

Four quangos manage elements of Scotland’s water systems.

Former Scottish Water CEO Douglas Millican who departed in May 2023, received £520,000. This comprised a salary of £270,000, a long-term incentive payment of £160,000 and a bonus of £80,000.

Disasters under his watch include sewage spills directly into Scotland’s rivers, lochs and seas and a heavy fine imposed on it in May 2023 for releasing chemicals into a Fife river that killed hundreds of salmon and trout in October 2018.

His successor, Alex Plant, was awarded an even higher annual salary of £295,000.

Alex Sutherland, CEO of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS), on an annual salary and incentives exceeding £400.000 was sacked at the beginning of December 2023 following revelations of financial irregularities.

See the 2022/23 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.

The annual salary and incentives of the CEOs of the other two quangos including, the Scottish Canals, Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland is around £400,000.

Summarised from a report written by Hannah Rodger, Sunday Mail, Chief Reporter

Events in Scotland

The SNP has admitted that its officials helped write NHS transgender guidance on the use of “preferred” lavatories and changing rooms.

The Scottish Government revealed that its civil servants were part of a policy development group charged with drafting a new “gender transitioning guide” for the NHS.

The guidance warned that telling a trans person they cannot use their “preferred facilities” could amount to “unlawful discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment”.

A freedom of information (FoI) request disclosed that the “development process” for the policy involved “subject matter experts” from “both the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland”.

The response refused to disclose the legal basis for the guidance, and did not say whether the experts were affiliated to the trans lobby groups that have previously advised the SNP administration.

Feminist campaigners said the revelation was significant as ministers had been trying to avoid becoming embroiled in the public debate over trans women accessing single-sex spaces.

(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/d30a2c5f8a73c303)

The Equality Act Guidance

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/schedule/3/part/7

12 July 2023: Westminster’s Draft Guidelines for Civil Servants in the UK

New draft policies for civil servants block some trans staff from using single-sex spaces such as toilets, and force staff to accept transphobic views in the workplace.

The document was produced by the Cabinet Office and the Government People Group and outlines proposed changes to the UK Civil Service’s “Gender Identity and Intersex policies”.

The proposals state civil servants should equally recognise “gender critical beliefs” and “gender identity beliefs” – meaning that employees can openly share controversial views on trans lives without being penalised.

Responding, a trans civil servant commented: “My existence is not a belief. How can my safety be just as important as someone’s belief that I shouldn’t be safe? This feels like it was written by someone gender critical, just to give transphobes more clout.”

The leaked document also proposed “changes on access to toilets”, so that only trans people with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) would be permitted to use single-sex facilities.

The leaked bathroom policy reverses existing Civil Service guidance, which states that trans employees are free to have a “flexible” gender expression and to use “any appropriate single sex toilets and other facilities”.

The proposals emphasise that “employees can hold different opinions and beliefs in the workplace” on trans and non-binary lives “as long as they engage in reasoned and rational debate.”

The document explains that “gender critical beliefs are protected” under the Equality Act and continues: “This affords protection from discrimination or harassment suffered as a result of holding that belief and insulting or offensive comments” about a person who holds anti-trans views “can amount to bullying, harassment of or discrimination against that person.”

The Civil Service HR Organisational Policy Team last updated its “Gender Identity and Intersex policies” in 2019. Since then, LGBTQ rights have slid backwards in the UK, with trans rights especially coming under attack from politicians and right-wing journalists.

The leaked document defines being trans as holding a “gender identity belief”, while a “gender critical belief” is the label for people with anti-trans views.

Defining “gender critical belief”, the document states: “A belief that recognises women only as adult human females and men only as adult human males and that it is impossible to change sex which is determined at conception.”

In a training session civil servants were told that using the phrase “adult human female” to define a woman could be seen as transphobic.

Network leaders are collecting internal views on the leaked document and its policies, with senior management meetings planned to occur over the next few weeks.

The Stonewallers are not happy bunnies

Responding to the leaked document, Jolyon Maugham, director of the Good Law Project, which has advocated for trans rights, said: “These measures are illegal – the Equality Act does not just protect trans people who have a gender recognition certificate”

Robbie de Santos, Stonewall’s director of external affairs, said: “The leaked guidance contains many highly exclusionary and reprehensible suggestions that, combined, would effectively make it impossible for trans people to work in the civil service.

Not only would this guidance be unworkable in practice, but it would be unlikely to stand up to legal challenge, as it brazenly ignores the long-established rules around single-sex spaces as outlined in the UK’s world-class Equality Act.

Everyone should have the same opportunity to thrive in the workplace. But these guidelines would serve only to promote bullying and exclusion of trans people – a group who already experience diminished career prospects.”

The SNP manifesto commitment to the LGBTI network

01: Seek full devolution from the UK government of employment, equality and immigration

02: Introduce measures ensuring LGBT+ and intersex people are treated with dignity, respect and free from discrimination

03: Reform Gender recognition laws and recognise non-binary people in all official documents

04: Pardon retrospectively where needed, pardons for gay and bi people criminalised for their sexuality

05: Provide funding for life-saving PrEP medication

06: Protect the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act

07: Outlaw conversion therapy

08: Champion LGBT+ equality and human rights worldwide

The inclusion of the radical programme of change in the manifesto, was approved by Sturgeon and Swinney without discussion with or support from party members and broke new ground for the Party and there are many in the Party who are very unhappy with the leadership. But the force is with the WOKE leadership who chose to be guided in their policy decisions by Scottish Government funded, pseudo LGBTQI charities.( £30-£40 million annually)

The Scottish LGBTI Equality Pledge

The Pledge has been developed by the Equality Network, Scottish Trans Alliance, Stonewall Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland and other charities working for LGBTI equality and human rights in Scotland. It calls for candidates to commit to:

01: Promote positive mental wellbeing for LGBTI people, ensuring that actions to improve Scotland’s mental health specifically address the inequalities LGBTI people face.

02: Support LGBTI people to have equal access to health and social care services, including by reforming NHS gender identity services to be fit-for-purpose.

03: Improve LGBTI rights and protections in the law, including by reforming laws on gender recognition and ending conversion therapy.

04: Support LGBTI young people to flourish in schools through the continued implementation of inclusive education.

05: Stand up for all LGBTI people, including the most marginalised – LGBTI people of colour, refugees, disabled people, older people, and trans people.

We intend to get as many MSPs committed to LGBTI equality in the next Scottish Parliament as possible. Please take the time to email your candidates to let them know this matters to you, and ask them to sign our LGBTI pledge. It can make a real difference!

The undernoted SNP candidates signed the pledge

Aberdeen Central – Kevin Stewart
Aberdeen Donside – Jackie Dunbar
Aberdeen South – Audrey Nicoll
Aberdeen West – Fergus Mutch
Airdrie & Shotts – Neil Gray
Banff & Buchan – Karen Adam
Clydesdale – Màiri McAllan
Dundee East – Shona Robison
Dundee West – Joe FitzPatrick
East Kilbride – Collette Stevenson
Edinburgh Central – Angus Robertson
Edinburgh North – Ben Macpherson
Edinburgh South – Catriona MacDonald
Glasgow Kelvin – Kaukab Stewart
Hamilton-Larkhall – Christina McKelvie
Shetland – Tom Wills
Strathkelvin & Bearsden – Rona Mackay

List Candidates

Central Scotland – Neil Gray & Christina McKelvie
Glasgow – Kaukab Stewart
Highlands – Sarah Fanet & Emma Roddick & Tom Wills
Lothians – Graham Campbell & Catriona MacDonald & Ben Macpherson & Angus Robertson
Mid Scotland & Fife – Stefan Hoggan-Radu & Fiona Sarwar
North East – Fergus Mutch & Lynne Short
South Scotland – Màiri McAllan
West Scotland – Michelle Campbell & Rona Mackay

https://www.equality-network.org/scottish-lgbti-equality-pledge/

The Trilateral Commission – (The New World Order)

It was formed in 1973 by private citizens of Japan, North American nations (the U.S. and Canada), and Western European nations to foster substantive political and economic dialogue across the world.

The idea of the commission was developed in the early 1970s, a time of considerable discord among the United States and its allies in Western Europe, Japan, and Canada. To quote its founding declaration:

“Growing interdependence is a fact of life of the contemporary world. It transcends and influences national systems… While it is important to develop greater cooperation among all the countries of the world, Japan, Western Europe, and North America, in view of their great weight in the world economy and their massive relations with one another, bear a special responsibility for developing effective cooperation, both in their own interests and in those of the rest of the world.”

“To be effective in meeting common problems, Japan, Western Europe, and North America will have to consult and cooperate more closely, on the basis of equality, to develop and carry out coordinated policies on matters affecting their common interests… refrain from unilateral actions incompatible with their interdependence and from actions detrimental to other regions… [and] take advantage of existing international and regional organizations and further enhance their role.”

“The Commission hopes to play a creative role as a channel of free exchange of opinions with other countries and regions. Further progress of the developing countries and greater improvement of East-West relations will be a major concern.”

Canada is committed to Trilateral Commission agenda

Upwards of 75% of Canada’s economy is heavily dependent on its relationship with the USA. President Trump is not enthralled with the aims and aspirations of the leaders of countries who are committed to Trilateral policies, (Canada and the UK, etc) to which he attributes much of the discontent in the World through the unplanned and uncontrolled redistribution of humanity.

Canada’s is breaking away from USA control and is devloping new trading partners and alliances. This could reduce business between the countries by around $1 trillion, although retained trading may reduce this to nearer $400billion annually. Still a heavy hit on the USA economy, particularly near the border where many businesses are closely integrated.

President Trump will not be enamoured by Canada’s breakaway and he may respond by reducing the USA’s $1 trillion financial commitment to NATO to recover the loss. The finance recovered would be used to subsidise industry advesely affected by Canada’s new relationships. Canada the UK and the other EU nations will need to up their contributions to NATO which will hurt.

Warnings for Canada

Canada is diversifying its trading arrangements reducing its reliance on the United States, which currently accounts for over 75% of its exports. But there are pitfalls ahead, with little experience in trading with countries in the Pacific. Namely:

India

Communication Issues: A lot of factors to consider. Different time zones and work ethics can lead to misunderstandings and delays.

Regulatory and Banking: Banking and government regulations complex and vastly different to all other countries.

High Import Duties: Import duties are high, if imports are allowed.

China

Political and Trade Tensions: The arrest in Canada of a Huawei executive, has created significant trade tensions.

Market Access: China has strictly observed conditions for trade, such as agreeing that Taiwan is part of China.

Retaliatory Tariffs: China imposed a 100% tarrif in March 2025, on Canadian canola, pork and seafood.

The European Market: Canada is looking to strengthen trading with the EU, but meeting health, safety and other regularity requirements of the market will take a long time to absorb.

Asia-Pacific Region: There good openings with countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Logistics: Canada’s trading infrastructure, is not well developed on its Western seaboard and it will take around 5 years to correct this weakness.

Trade Wars and Protectionism: Global trading is high risk and newcomer to the world market, Canada, has not previously had to deal with protectionist policies which introduce potential for unscheduled disruption causing internal market problems.

Summary

The Donald is determined to “Make America Great Again” and he intends to achieve his goal by resetting relationships with countries who have been ripping America off for over a century. So its back to 1917 and start again.

Sir Brian Souter

• Context:The European Union awaits a decision from President Trump regarding potential tariffs on its goods, threatening a significant trade relationship valued at trillions of dollars.
• These tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically increase costs for consumers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic, sparking retaliatory measures from the EU. The core issue lies in trade imbalances and regulatory differences.
• Detailed Summary:
  • Trade Volume:The EU-U.S. trade relationship is the most important globally, with goods and services valued at $2 trillion in 2024, averaging $4.6 billion daily.
  • Trade Imbalance:The U.S. has a trade deficit with the EU, largely due to a goods imbalance of approximately $233 billion, although the U.S. has a surplus in services.
  • Tariff Threats:Trump initially imposed a 20% import tax on EU-made products, later reduced to 10% but threatened to raise it to 50%. The EU is prepared to retaliate with tariffs on American products.
  • Key Issues:
    • The U.S. criticizes EU agricultural barriers, particularly health regulations.
    • Trump has also criticized EU value-added taxes (VAT).
  • Potential Impacts:
    • Higher tariffs could lead to increased prices for U.S. consumers.
    • Companies like Mercedes-Benz and Campari Group are considering their pricing strategies.
    • Some companies, like LVMH, may shift production to the U.S. to avoid tariffs.
  • Perspectives:
    • Economists warn of negative consequences.
    • Trump aims to stimulate American manufacturing with tariffs.
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Scotland – The fight for home rule a stepping stone to independence

The movement for home rule evolved in the 1980s and 1990s with the Scottish Constitutional Convention emerging as a key player.

The Convention published the Claim of Right for Scotland, asserting the right of the Scottish people to determine their own form of government.

The Convention produced a report with detailed proposals for a devolved Scottish Parliament, which ultimately led to the 1997 referendum and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

The Scottish Covenant and the subsequent Constitutional Convention was led by Paisley born, Canon Wright, an inspirational figure who played a crucial role in the long-term push for devolution and the establishment of a Scottish Parliament.

Canon Kenyon Edward Wright -Born: 31 Aug, 1932; Died: 11 Jan, 2017

Canon Kenyon Edward Wright was born in Paisley, the son of a technician for the major local employer J&P Coats, he attended Paisley Grammar, studying later at both Glasgow and Cambridge universities.

He was the man who had possibly the strongest claim to have been the godfather of devolution. He will be remembered for his role in cajoling disparate Scottish opposition groups to work together and moulding a single coherent case for constitutional change.

He was invited to lead the seemingly impossible task of creating a consensus that was to drive the path towards a second devolution campaign and the resulting creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

In doing so, he set a mark for political campaigning in Scotland. By the second referendum, he had even brokered the return to the fold of the Scottish National Party, which had boycotted the convention.

The arrival of Canon Wright to the political stage, as executive chair of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, kick-started the home rule campaign with an assertion of the sovereign right of Scots to determine their affairs. Although hardly a household name, he was recognised then as an articulate Church figure and an energetic campaigner fascinated by politics and community activism.

At 23, newly married, he travelled with his bride, Betty, to India as a Methodist missionary. Their sojourn was to last 15 years.

In 1970, he returned to the UK as director of urban ministry at the prestigious Coventry Cathedral. He was quickly promoted, and directed the cathedral’s international ministry.

Now a Canon, he returned home to Scotland in 1981 as general secretary of the Scottish Churches Council, an appropriate post for an Episcopal priest well used to working with other denominations to achieve shared goals. He was still in his forties and keen to make his mark. His arrival came as the Christian churches were experiencing decline. A once notably pious nation was lapsing rapidly into secularism, even agnosticism.

Inspired by the efforts of Roman Catholics aiding the Solidarity movement in Poland and at odds with the right wing politics of Margaret Thatcher which she proudly espoused to the General Assembly in her infamous Sermon on the Mound. He decided it was time Scots had a voice in decision making within the UK

The Conservatives had long opposed devolution, and relied on the internecine warfare between the opposition parties – particularly Labour and the SNP – to continue what was effectively “direct rule” from Westminster.

In this context, Canon Wright made his now-celebrated comment: “What if the other voice we all know so well responds by saying ‘we say no, and we are the state’? Well we say ‘yes – and we are the people’.”

When he arrived, the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly had produced the Claim of Right for Scotland, which was to be the basis of the convention’s work.

Canon Wright pulled together its constituent partners, including political parties, trade unions and other interests. He did so with a certain style, and produced the convention’s final report in 1995. Its main points were adopted by the New Labour government in 1997, and approved by referendum that same year.