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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Thu Dec 05, 2024 01:18 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link What?s the Difference Between Scepticism and Cynicism? Wed Dec 04, 2024 19:00 | James Alexander
What's the difference between scepticism and cynicism? Cynicism is especially necessary for assessing politics, says Prof James Alexander, as it sits below scepticism, making us question the motives of those who rule us.
The post What’s the Difference Between Scepticism and Cynicism? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Manchester United Drops LGBT Rainbow Jacket After Muslim Star Player Refuses to Wear It Wed Dec 04, 2024 17:30 | Will Jones
Manchester United dropped an LGBT rainbow jacket that the team was planning to wear on Sunday after a Muslim star player refused to wear it, in the third LGBT Pride controversy to hit the Premier League this week.
The post Manchester United Drops LGBT Rainbow Jacket After Muslim Star Player Refuses to Wear It appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link More Than 50 Experts Ready to Defend Letby, Says Her Lawyer Wed Dec 04, 2024 15:14 | Will Jones
More than 50 experts stand ready to defend?Lucy Letby, her barrister has said, as the police confirm they have questioned her in prison over more deaths and collapses.
The post More Than 50 Experts Ready to Defend Letby, Says Her Lawyer appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link AI is a Misnomer Wed Dec 04, 2024 13:00 | Joanna Gray
AI is a misnomer, says Joanna Gray. It's not and will never be 'intelligent'. The fact that human 'super recognisers' are needed to spot the mistakes that AI makes at least 25% of the time should be proof enough.
The post AI is a Misnomer appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

international / politics / elections Thursday March 08, 2012 - 12:53 by Yassamine Mathe
Yassamine Mather writes on the latest rather odd elections in Iran: how would you like it if all candidates for the Dail had to be approved by the Catholic Church? In these elections which were confined to conservatives, Khamenis faction won 75% of the seats leaving Ahmadinejad isolated. What does this mean for the people of iran? Yassamine says: For now, the supreme leader has got his way. Craven ‘reformists’ will not stop him; and imperialist sanctions, sabotage and war will only make things worse. Only the Iranian masses can put an end to this blood-soaked regime. Full text at link. ... read full story / add a comment
Israel could strike at any moment
international / anti-war / imperialism Monday March 05, 2012 - 17:32 by pat c   image 1 image
There is an eerie sense of deja vu as the rhetoric used by the Imperialist leaders echoes that used in 2003 prior to the invasion of Iraq. Ben Lewis reports on debates in Westminster , international developments and the ever present danger of an Israeli attack on Iran. Full text at link.

The debate was initiated by Conservative MP John Baron, perhaps the only Tory MP who opposes an attack on Iran. His motion was simple and straightforward: “This house believes that the use of force against Iran would be wholly counterproductive and would serve only to encourage any development of nuclear weapons; and calls upon the government to rule out the use of force against Iran and reduce tensions by redoubling diplomatic efforts.” Malcolm Rifkind, Tory chairman of the intelligence and security committee, moved an amendment that completely changed its content. The amendment deleted everything except “This house” and replaced the rest of Baron’s motion with: “… supports the government’s efforts to reach a peaceful, negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue through a combination of pressure in the form of robust sanctions, and engagement led by the E3+3 comprising the UK, US, France, Germany, China and Russia; and recognises the value of making clear to Iran that all options for addressing the issue remain on the table”.

The Rifkind amendment, which was passed by an overwhelming majority of 285 to 6. Those who voted against the amendment were Labour MPs John McDonnell, Paul Flynn and Dennis Skinner; Jonathan Edwards of Plaid Cymru; Mark Durkan of the Social Democratic and Labour Party; and Baron himself. ... read full story / add a comment
BBC PRESSTITUTES
international / worker & community struggles and protests Sunday March 04, 2012 - 11:25 by BrianClarke   text 5 comments (last - tuesday march 06, 2012 - 18:07)   image 1 image   video 1 video file
The rate of Unemployment is 23.3% in Spain, almost 21% in Greece, 15% in Portugal, also 15% in Ireland and almost 7.5% in Germany. It means close to 17 million people were out of work in the first month of 2012, and that's on paper. ... read full story / add a comment
international / crime and justice Friday March 02, 2012 - 14:17 by Sam Malone   text 10 comments (last - tuesday april 03, 2012 - 23:26)
Congratulations to Ian Bailey who eventually scored a victory in the Supreme Court yesterday, ultimately at a huge cost to the State. The questin is what will happen to the perpetrators of the frame up of Ian Bailey, particularly the Gardai. Surely this frame up can not become another cover up. Minister Alan Shatter you need to take focus of what is going on in the Justice and Legal System.

... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Thursday March 01, 2012 - 15:15 by pat c   text 11 comments (last - sunday march 04, 2012 - 10:18)
James Turley writes about the Imperialist campaign against Syria and asks where the Left and the Anti-War Movement are. Full text at link.

It is clear at this point that the Syrian uprising - met with such ruthless brutality by the Ba’athist regime - is in the process of being transformed into some kind of civil war. It is equally clear that imperialism has taken sides against the government of Bashar al-Assad. What is less clear is who exactly is fighting the Ba’athists....

All this raises the question: where is the workers’ movement and the left? In Syria, alas, it is hardly in a position to challenge the Islamists for dominance of the uprising. Its largest sections, especially the Syrian Communist Party, are hopelessly compromised by the regime. To the left of the ‘official communists’, there are only small, nascent organisations, which as yet lack visible penetration into society at large. The uprising has involved political strikes, but not on any large scale.... ... read full story / add a comment
international / arts and media Tuesday February 28, 2012 - 13:26 by JoeMc   text 1 comment (last - tuesday february 28, 2012 - 16:13)
PhiliIMC reports on the slaying of Indymedia Kenya organizer Stephen Nyash last Tuesday . The shooting occurred in the Korogocho ghetto of Nairobi, where Nyash had lived and worked for most of his life. ... read full story / add a comment
national / rights, freedoms and repression Tuesday February 28, 2012 - 11:12 by Indyjourno
Eamonn McCann in todays Belfast telegraph writes about the 'losing' of Marian Prices pardon ... read full story / add a comment
international / rights, freedoms and repression Monday February 27, 2012 - 18:27 by @   text 6 comments (last - monday march 12, 2012 - 01:08)
Feb. 27 WikiLeaks press conference: The Global Intelligence Files
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20736311
... read full story / add a comment
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international / sci-tech Saturday February 25, 2012 - 17:44 by Pleb   text 5 comments (last - sunday february 26, 2012 - 20:49)   image 1 image
(original article is in Scientific American, re-published here in the public interest)

By Julian Dibbell

• The Internet was designed to be a decentralized system: every node should connect to many others. This design helped to make the system resistant to censorship or outside attack.
• Yet in practice, most individual users exist at the edges of the network, connected to others only through their Internet service provider (ISP). Block this link, and Internet access disappears.
• An alternative option is beginning to emerge in the form of wireless mesh networks, simple systems that connect end users to one another and automatically route around blocks and censors.
• Yet any mesh network needs to hit a critical mass of users before it functions well; developers must convince potential users to trade off ease of use for added freedom and privacy.
... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Friday February 24, 2012 - 17:50 by pat c   text 2 comments (last - saturday february 25, 2012 - 13:18)
British Foreign Secretary William Hague claims that the World is Facing a new Cold WAr unless Iran gives up its hopes of constructing nuclear weapons. Peter Manson thinks this is a load of codswallop and analyses whats really going on. Full text at link.

Foreign secretary William Hague’s absurd claim that the world faces a “new cold war” if Iran does not give up its aim of acquiring nuclear weapons might not stand up to examination, but Hague was undoubtedly given a boost on February 22 when a team from the United Nations-sponsored International Atomic Energy Agency returned from a two-day visit to Iran. ... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Saturday February 18, 2012 - 15:11 by Yassamine Mathe   text 1 comment (last - saturday april 07, 2012 - 12:15)
Yassamine Mather examines the current threats to Iran, the internal situation and discusses how the drive to War by the Imperialists should be opposed. Full text at url below.

In the last few weeks Iranians have woken up every day to news of further military threats and new sanctions. Anyone you contact in Iran will tell you how the constant media ‘analyses’ of if/when the bombing will start is affecting the national psyche, how morale is down, how the current situation is reminiscent of the terrible days of the Iran-Iraq war.

One Iranian blogger summarised the frustration of many Iranians when he lambasted callous statements by United States and Israeli officials debating the likely timing of air raids and military attacks against Iran. He wrote “These people discuss the timetable for bombing Iran as if they were deciding on dates for family holidays.” ... read full story / add a comment
national / rights, freedoms and repression Saturday February 18, 2012 - 14:15 by Indyjourno   text 2 comments (last - thursday july 12, 2012 - 23:07)
Marian Price has been moved to Hydebank Wood a womens prison while her lawyers are set to begin judicial review proceedings against her internment.
... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Friday February 17, 2012 - 18:18 by pat c   text 23 comments (last - wednesday march 07, 2012 - 22:38)
Sanctions: such a simple word, it sounds harmless. But sanctions are really War by other means. Here Michael Jansen writes about the reality of sanctionsc as ordinary Syrian people suffer. Full text at link.

SHOESHINE BOYS and girls line up with their simple kits along the pavement across from the luxury Cham Palace Hotel, which charges more than a poor man’s monthly wage for a single night’s stay.

Women holding bundles which may or may not be babies sit on the broad walkway in a colonnade. Grubby children peddling chewing gum and lottery tickets pursue pedestrians for blocks in the hope of receiving a coin or two. In all the years I have been visiting Syria, I have never seen such desperation.

Economic sanctions touted as targeting the regime actually affect the poor, punish the middle class, and destroy commerce. ... read full story / add a comment
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international / worker & community struggles and protests Tuesday February 14, 2012 - 23:40 by T   text 1 comment (last - thursday february 16, 2012 - 19:59)   image 1 image
Since approximately the early 1980s Capitalism has been on the offensive to attack working conditions and take away the hard won labour rights of the previous century or so.

In those years we have seen manufacturing jobs move offshore and increasing amounts of temporary and part-time jobs which have less rights than full time jobs.

We have seen multi-national and chain stores declare bankruptcy to allow these firms to walk away from their healthcare and pension obligations, only to re-open the following week.

But yet this is not good enough and the capitalists and because of the logic of capitalism itself, as usual never give up and have their sights firmly set on things like decent wages, holiday pay, sick pay, pensions and health-cover.

And leading the latest innovation in exploition is IBM Germany with their new programme called, "liquid" and reported in an article titled 'IBM launches new form of day-wage labour' on the www.wsws.org website. ... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Tuesday February 14, 2012 - 12:42 by pat c
The US Navy is building up its forces in the Persian Gulf, more provocations against Iran. With another Aircraft Carrier Battle Group arriving, Admiral Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet upped the ante: “We’ve developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we’re prepared,” he said. “We’re just ready for any contingency.” Full text at link.

The increasingly menacing character of US rhetoric toward Iran was underlined by the comments to the media on Sunday by Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the US 5th Fleet based at Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

While couched in terms of “defence”, Fox’s remarks contained a barely concealed threat. President Barack Obama has repeatedly declared that the US will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon and that “all options are on the table” to prevent that from taking place. Fox was signalling that the 5th Fleet was “ready today” for “any contingency”, including war. ... read full story / add a comment
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dublin / arts and media Saturday February 11, 2012 - 17:42 by SCOOP   image 1 image
The SCOOP are currently recruiting enthusiastic, bright, creative interns and volunteers for 2012. This is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself into the SCOOP team, become part of something worthwhile and to learn how this unique and innovative organisation operates. ... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Friday February 10, 2012 - 13:41 by Moshé Machover
Israeli Marxist Moshé Machover writers on how the Israelis continue to plot action against Iran. They will likely use a military provocation to get Tehran to react and use the ensuing disturbances to drive more Palestinians out of the Occupied Territories and Israel itself.

One thing is beyond any doubt: a major aim of Israel’s foreign policy is the overthrow of the Iranian regime. What is not generally understood are the motives behind this aim, and the present Israeli government’s preferred means of achieving it. In this article I would like to say something about the motives, and then explain why prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s preferred means is war - one likely to ignite a major conflagration. ... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-war / imperialism Wednesday February 08, 2012 - 00:23 by T
In the murky world of wars, covert operations and so called intelligence agencies, it can be hard to work out at times what are the true motives behind any particular policy, campaign or action. In the case of Afghanistan and Pakistan it has been long stated that the aim of the US govt is to disrupt Pakistan and cause so much civil strife so as to lead to the breakup of the Pakistani state. And as part of the ensuing chaos, the aim would be to launch an operation to seize the Pakistan nuclear weapons so as to deny the only Muslim power of having these happens. This apparently would make the world safe. To do this the US needs to start a civil war and the northern provinces have been the target of multipe operations by the Pakistani army and also of Drone attacks by the CIA.

... read full story / add a comment
international / anti-capitalism Saturday February 04, 2012 - 20:42 by Darren C   text 2 comments (last - thursday february 16, 2012 - 13:50)
Yes, it’s kicking off everywhere.

Over the last 18 months we have seen a sea change in resistance and popular consciousness. The Arab Spring has put revolution back on the agenda of global politics.

In Britain, we’ve seen the occupation of Millbank and student revolt, the huge TUC March and now the massive N30 strike.

... read full story / add a comment
Irish News front page 2nd February 2012 - full story here
antrim / rights, freedoms and repression Thursday February 02, 2012 - 19:38 by Theobald Wolfe Tone   image 1 image
The Irish News 2 February 2012
Exclusive - Full scale of abuse against Catholic worker revealed
Seanin Graham, Health Correspondent,

The full scale of the sectarian abuse against a Catholic social worker can be revealed today. Co Down woman Laurena Kane (43) was awarded a £60,000 payout from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust at the High Court last week but The Irish News has now seen the result of an internal investigation which sets out the case in full.

While the trust did not admit liability until last month, the internal 2009 investigation concludes the "sustained" sectarian comments represented a "serious case of alleged harassment" which the trust failed to address.

The leaked document reveals the contents of interviews with the "chief protagonist" of the abuse - named in court as Barbara Lowry - and six other staff members.
... read full story / add a comment
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