veteranstoday--2020-01-25--An Assault Upon Democracy

An Assault Upon Democracy

I entirely agree with President Trump ’ s very able legal team – the Democrat impeachment process is an assault upon democracy .
It ’ s a naked attempt to reverse the result of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election by taking out a candidate the Dems know can ’ t beat .
It ’ s a democratic disgrace , small ‘ d ’ .
Last week ’ s report by the Government Accountability Office , a highly partisan , non-independent branch of Congress can safely be ignored .
Clearly timed to influence the trial in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can it be a crime for the executive branch to go under budget on funds allocated by Congress ?
The GAO are a joke , no offense intended .
Unsurprisingly the focus is now turning towards the dubious circumstances under which Hunter Biden was appointed to the Burisma Board .
The Democrats are on shaky ground here and they know it .
The population of Pompeii was on firmer ground back in AD79 .
The Democrats are still banging on about Russian hacking of the DNC as though it actually happened .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago .
The download speed was way too high for a hack .
The download had to be done locally , probably onto a portable hard drive .
Moreover it was done in Eastern time , that is to say not from Russia !
The very fact that this nonsense is still being pushed shows that the Democrats are acting in bad faith .
Overblown rhetoric on the Senate floor can ’ t make up for an absence of evidence of wrong-doing by the President , either over the 2016 election or his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the ratings for the Senate trial are pretty low .
I imagine reruns of Friends are getting better numbers , never mind reruns of Hogan ’ s Heroes or I Love Lucy .
The Senate is showing a great deal of sense in adopting an expedited procedure .
Effectively they are saying that there ’ s no case to answer .
There isn ’ t .
It ’ s a crock .
The process has been political from beginning to end .
It ’ s about abusing the impeachment process for political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be said about ‘ von ’ Mueller ’ s silly investigation .
I ’ m aware that I said I ’ d do a column on that , but I fell asleep half way through reading his turgid report , no offense intended , which has now been overtaken by events .
It ’ s in the running for the Top Ten Silliest Reports of All Time award .
Monty Python couldn ’ t have done a sillier report , frankly .
I had to mention Monty this week , in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the passing of that great comedian and medieval historian Terry Jones .
The Spanish Inquisition sketch was truer to life than ‘ von ’ Mueller ’ s report , with the difference that nobody expected it .
No one is now arguing that Flight 752 crashed because of mechanical failure .
It suffered mechanical issues alright , like the starboard engine blowing up , but only after it was hit by an Iranian missile , or rather red-hot fragments from the exploding warhead .
There is no way the plane was under control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the port ( No 1 ) engine was still generating some power and the plane was asymmetric .
The issue is whether the plane was shot down accidentally or not .
There are surprisingly few accidental shoot-downs of civilian airliners .
Modern missile systems like the SA-15 Gauntlet are sophisticated and quite able to distinguish real threats from harmless airliners .
I suspect that my argument that Flight 752 was deliberately targeted has had some impact within the MSM .
My columns are read by mainstream journalists , even if none , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to quote me .
Very few commentators were saying last week that the shoot-down was deliberate , but then very few commentators have the experience and technical knowledge to be able to distinguish between a friendly fire incident involving a civilian airliner and a deliberate shoot-down .
I ’ ve correctly called six deliberate shoot-downs now – TWA800 , AF447 , IY626 , MH370 , MH17 and PS752 .
I ’ ve also partially acquitted the USSR over the shoot-down of KAL007 , where there were mitigating factors , principally the sabotage by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Inertial Navigation System , and correctly acquitted Captain Rogers of responsibility for the shoot-down of IR655 , which was set up by the Iranians themselves in order to embarrass the US .
As they always say in the best westerns , ‘ it ’ s awfully quiet out there ’ .
The MSM have gone very quiet over the 752 shoot-down .
I know perfectly well what ’ s happened .
A small number of aviation-literate journalists have taken either my column or the Iranian claim of misidentification , or both , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it could have been accidental .
The answers were no doubt along the lines of ‘ no way José ’ , especially if the journalists were Mexican .
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been involved in five of the above shoot-downs , bringing down four aircraft directly ( 800 , 447 , 626 and 752 ) , and supplying the weapons system ( the Fakour 2 ) for MH370 .
I am quite satisfied that the IRGC SAM battery were notified by Iranian ATC of 752 ’ s engine start or pushback @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointed in a direction of 100 to 120o before the 737-8KV reached the hold point of Runway 29R , that the K-Band fire control radar was lit shortly after target acquisition , that the operators were fully aware that their target was a Boeing 737 aircraft and that two missiles were launched to be certain of a kill .
I am tolerably satisfied that the first warhead exploded in front of and slightly below the cockpit , instantly killing or disabling the pilots , following which the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descending turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear what happened to the second missile but it was probably detonated in-flight once the first missile had hit .
Depending upon how close it was to the first missile however it may have been shredded by fragments as the first warhead exploded or it may have missed the target as it turned and descended .
I am quite clear that the intent was to murder all the souls aboard .
With two missiles and a non-hardened target incapable of meaningful evasive maneuvers so soon after take-off there is absolutely no question of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to reflect that in covering up the shoot-downs of TWA 800 and later aircraft they jeopardised the safety of air navigation .
The Iranians are getting away with it , indeed it rather looks as though they have got away with it .
The British and Canadian governments , no doubt advised by the Cabinet Office and Pricy Council office respectively , are treating their dual nationals as purely an Iranian responsibility inside Iran , that is to say they are treating them as Iranians .
Neither the Cabinet Office nor the Privy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they might have cleared the shoot-down in advance .
Given the non-denial and the suppression of the truth about the shoot-down by both governments I suspect that they probably did .
With great respect neither bureaucracy has high ethical standards .
I am quite satisfied that neither British Prime Minister Boris Johnson nor Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau green-lighted the Iranian decision to shoot down Flight 752 and murder its passengers and crew .
The motive appears to have been to deter the Ukrainian government from releasing information relating to Hunter Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and/or commence a criminal investigation into that appointment .
It is perfectly clear that Teheran wants the Democrats to win in November and is willing to murder innocent men , women and children in order to defeat President Trump .
Iran wants a free hand in the Middle East , which President Tump won ’ t give them .
Although there have been a number of recent murders connected with the Democratic Party I do not believe that anyone in the Party signed off on the plan to shoot down 752 .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was only taken after the targeted killing of the Iranian terrorist Qassem Suleimani .
We will probably find that the IRGC battery in question was lighting fire control radars on 737-800 sized targets for several weeks in advance .
The Iranian air defense system has not been seriously tested since the Iran-Iraq War , long before Iranian deployment of the SA-15 .
The shoot-down will have been practised and rehearsed well in advance .
Sorting out the motive of course requires connecting dots .
This is something the MSM are simply not equipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editor to connect the shoot-down of a Ukrainian airliner with a political scandal involving a Democratic vice-president , his son and the Ukraine would be tasking him or her with something they have neither the training nor aptitude for .
It would be like entering a cockerpoo in the 1910 tonight at Crayford Greyhound Track .
As reported in my last column Cabinet Secretary , or , if you prefer , Kabinettratsführer , ‘ Ritter ’ Mark ‘ von ’ Sedwill , is opposed to the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement .
As Senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daily Telegraph by letting in Huawei to our 5G network Sedwill is effectively trying to turn Five Eyes into Six-Eyes , by adding communist China .
The result , inevitably , would mean Five Eyes becoming Four Eyes , as you guys could not possibly be expected to continue sharing intelligence with us .
I am not of course accusing Der Kabinettratsführer of anything , yet .
However , given that communist China is the world ’ s most corrupt country , whose economy has been built up on the back of offshore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Office is the most corrupt organisation in the United Kingdom , it is legitimate to ask if anyone in Peking has been spraying money around .
Don ’ t forget that the last Cabinet Secretary , the German agent Jeremy ‘ von ’ Heywood , arranged a £50 million bung on the back of a HS2 contract in a failed effort to stop the referendum on EU membership from going ahead .
Heywood ’ s own share was £1 million , paid into his offshore account in the British Virgin Islands .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project in which the Cabinet Office have an interest for corrupt payments .
It does not follow that any such payment has been made , just as didn ’ t follow that Al Capone never paid any federal income tax .
When dealing with sleazy organisations however you have to be on your guard .
Huawei have to be blocked .
We then need to go on the offensive and give the company a good smack , working in close concert with you guys .
It would help if State would be good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although of course they ’ re anti-British and are no doubt relishing the opportunity to rub our noses in it .
President Trump is a deal-maker however and may well have spotted a trade-off .
It ’ s high time the offensive MSM claim that the Royal Family are supported from public funds was fact-checked .
The total Sovereign Grant for 2019/2020 is a measly £82.4m .
This represents about a quarter of the Queen ’ s revenues from the Crown Estate .
In 2018/2019 the Treasury trousered no less than £343.5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s net profit , by the way , not gross receipts .
The capital value of the Crown Estate is a massive £14.3 billion .
This income belongs to The Queen .
It is high time that is was returned to Her , along with ownership of the Royal Palaces .
That ’ s right – Buckingham Palace is actually owned by the government , which is ludicrous .
Obviously responsibility for maintenance of the Royal Palaces would transfer with ownership .
There is no sensible prospect of the MSM ever reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will only have themselves to blame when the reform happens , as happen it must .
The withdrawal agreement bill has finally become law .
The House of Lords passed some silly amendments , in a futile attempt to frustrate Brexit .
One of them concerned so-called ‘ child ’ refugees , some of whom will have manipulated their ages .
Others will be young people , that is to say teenagers , rather than children .
There ’ s also no particular reason why family reunion couldn ’ t take place over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UK .
The UK has been overwhelmed with bogus refugee claims – in the immigration judiciary we used to reckon that only about 2.5 % of asylum claims were genuine .
The 1951 Refugee Convention is obsolete and has outlived its usefulness .
The Home Office are well aware that it has been abused .
Possibly as a warning shot across their Lordships ’ bows someone came up with idea of moving the House of Lords to York , which very frankly was as silly as the proposed amendments .
It would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The sensible way to reform the House of Lords of course is to abolish life peerages , leaving the existing life peers to die out , and restore the remaining hereditary peers .
It ’ s the life peers who have brought the House into disrepute , with their Euro-fanaticism .
As you guys are discovering with the impeachment process it ’ s a bad idea to have fanatics in your legislature .
The United Kingdom , at long , long last , leaves the European Union at 2300 hours GMT on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Square for the party !
Sadly however there won ’ t be any bongs from Big Ben .
( I always like a few bongs at a party . )
Obstructionist to the last the Palace of Westminster authorities demanded £500,000 for the bongs , about thirty times as much as it cost on New Year ’ s Eve .
I ’ m sorry to say that the government have mishandled this issue .
They should have been planning the celebrations as soon the election was out of the way .
The result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low-key departure .
The government gives out the impression that it ’ s housetrained and in the grip of officials , who have acted in bad faith on the EU for decades .
The government is still trotting out fraudulent trade stats , for heaven ’ s sake !
Labour leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry ( we were in the same tutorial class in the Inns of Court School of Law ) falsely claimed on the BBC ’ s Question Time on Thursday that we do “ 50 % ” of our trade with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the trade claim is a blind – what matters is exports , not overall trade .
Leaving out the Republic of Ireland probably only about 30 % of British exports go to the EU .
Plan A is to get my next column out on Friday , concentrating on Brexit .
Given the party we ’ re likely to be having on Friday night I doubt I ’ ll be much use on Saturday !
My Christmas reading included The Titanic Secret by James Becker ( Gallery Books , 2012 ) , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Secret by Clive Cussler and Jack du Brul ( Putnams , 2019 ) .
After more than a century of fairy tales about First Officer Murdoch trying to avoid the iceberg it seems that word has spread that he was actually trying to hit it .
The absurd premise of Becker ’ s book is that the Secret Service Bureau wanted to sink the Titanic in order to prevent a German/American military alliance aimed at Great Britain .
Given German influence in Washington the latter part of the premise is not so outlandish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head of the SSB , who features in the book , was nothing if not a gentleman .
He was also a former Royal Navy officer .
The Royal Navy doesn ’ t torpedo ocean liners in peacetime , even French ones .
Becker has the Admiralty sortieing a new diesel-powered D class submarine to intercept Titanic .
She refuels in mid-ocean , which is something Jerry tried in World War II , although not nearly as often as you might suppose .
( They had bases on the west coast of Ireland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to refuel . )
It ’ s well-written and a good read , but for the truth about the Titanic have a look at Chapter 13 of Spyhunter !
This Week ’ s Movie Review : Out of the Clouds ( 1955 : dir .
Basil Dearden ) For the benefit of new readers , including many in Britain , I don ’ t just review the latest blockbusters like 1917 but classic movies , usually with a defense or aviation theme , particularly those which American readers may not have seen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have become available .
You wouldn ’ t have found a copy of Out of the Clouds at your local Blockbuster in the old days .
It ’ s a charming movie .
Centered on a romance between two Jewish passengers who chance to meet at London Airport ( Heathrow ) , the nice Jewish girl , played by Margo Lorenz , flies in from Tel Aviv on a dear old BEA Vickers Viscount , whilst the nice Jewish boy flies in from New York on a Pan Am DC-6B .
The lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steel and there ’ s a wonderful cameo from James Robertson Justice , playing a BOAC Stratocruiser captain .
There are lovely shots of the Viscount , the DC-6B , the Stratocruiser and a BOAC Lockheed Constellation .
For an aviation enthusiast it ’ s an absorbing movie , shot at a time when civil aviation was in transition from piston power to turbine power .
It ’ s schmaltzy but with the news full of reports of fried koalas and the latest Iranian airliner shoot-down a bit of schmaltz is no bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gets shown at Christmas .
It ’ s sweet .
The romance is chaste , the humor , mostly supplied by James Robertson Justice , is gentle and the drama underplayed .
The cast is just wonderful – Robert Beatty is there , along with Bernard Lee ( M in the Bond movies ) and Eunice Gayson .
It ’ s by no means a great movie but I guarantee you ’ ll be smiling by the end .
There ’ s no point emailing in and saying it ’ s dated .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ course it ’ s dated .
That ’ s the whole point .
It ’ s so old somebody from the airline comes to fetch you when your plane is ready and the captain has to shut down an engine in flight and feather the prop – all the little things that used to add such charm and interest to international airline travel .
The book on which the movie ’ s based , Springboard , by John Fores ( Hodder & Stoughton , 1956 ) , which was actually published after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read too .
It ’ s a bit harder edged than the movie .

I entirely agree with President Trump’s very able legal team – the Democrat impeachment process is an assault upon democracy. It’s a naked attempt to reverse the result of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election by taking out a candidate the Dems know they can’t beat. It’s a democratic disgrace, small ‘d’.
Last week’s report by the Government Accountability Office, a highly partisan, non-independent branch of Congress can safely be ignored. Clearly timed to influence the trial in the Senate its conclusions are junk. How can it be a crime for the executive branch to go under budget on funds allocated by Congress? The GAO is a joke, no offense intended.
Unsurprisingly the focus is now turning towards the dubious circumstances under which Hunter Biden was appointed to the Burisma Board. The Democrats are on shaky ground here and they know it. The population of Pompeii was on the firmer ground back in AD79.
The Democrats are still banging on about Russian hacking of the DNC as though it actually happened. This conspiracy theory was fact-checked over two years ago. The download speed was way too high for a hack. The download had to be done locally, probably onto a portable hard drive.
Moreover, it was done in Eastern time, that is to say not from Russia!
The very fact that this nonsense is still being pushed shows that the Democrats are acting in bad faith. Overblown rhetoric on the Senate floor can’t make up for an absence of evidence of wrong-doing by the President, either over the 2016 election or his dealings with Ukraine.
I suspect that the ratings for the Senate trial are pretty low. I imagine reruns of Friends are getting better numbers, never mind reruns of Hogan’s Heroes or I Love Lucy. The Senate is showing a great deal of sense in adopting an expedited procedure. Effectively they are saying that there’s no case to answer. There isn’t. It’s a crock.
The process has been political from beginning to end. It’s about abusing the impeachment process for political gain and nothing more.
The same could be said about ‘von’ Mueller’s silly investigation. I’m aware that I said I’d do a column on that, but I fell asleep halfway through reading his turgid report, no offense intended, which has now been overtaken by events. It’s in the running for the Top Ten Silliest Reports of All Time award.
Monty Python couldn’t have done a sillier report, frankly. I had to mention Monty this week, in which all men and women of goodwill mourn the passing of that great comedian and medieval historian Terry Jones. The Spanish Inquisition sketch was truer to life than ‘von’ Mueller’s report, with the difference that nobody expected it.
The shoot-down of Flight 752
No one is now arguing that Flight 752 crashed because of mechanical failure. It suffered mechanical issues alright, like the starboard engine blowing up, but only after it was hit by an Iranian missile or rather red-hot fragments from the exploding warhead. There is no way the plane was under control when it veered to starboard, probably because the port (No 1) engine was still generating some power and the plane was asymmetric.
The issue is whether the plane was shot down accidentally or not. There are surprisingly few accidental shoot-downs of civilian airliners. Modern missile systems like the SA-15 Gauntlet are sophisticated and quite able to distinguish real threats from harmless airliners.
I suspect that my argument that Flight 752 was deliberately targeted has had some impact on the MSM. My columns are read by mainstream journalists, even if none, so far, has been brave enough to quote me. Very few commentators were saying last week that the shoot-down was deliberate, but then very few commentators have the experience and technical knowledge to be able to distinguish between a friendly fire incident involving a civilian airliner and a deliberate shoot-down.
I’ve correctly called six deliberate shoot-downs now – TWA800, AF447, IY626, MH370, MH17, and PS752. I’ve also partially acquitted the USSR over the shoot-down of KAL007, where there were mitigating factors, principally the sabotage by the DVD of the 747’s Inertial Navigation System, and correctly acquitted Captain Rogers of responsibility for the shoot-down of IR655, which was set up by the Iranians themselves in order to embarrass the US.
As they always say in the best westerns, ‘it’s awfully quiet out there’. The MSM has gone very quiet over the 752 shoot-down. I know perfectly well what’s happened. A small number of aviation-literate journalists have taken either my column or the Iranian claim of misidentification, or both, to serious military experts and asked them if it could have been accidental. The answers were no doubt along the lines of ‘no way José’, especially if the journalists were Mexican.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been involved in five of the above shoot-downs, bringing down four aircraft directly (800, 447, 626 and 752), and supplying the weapons system (the Fakour 2) for MH370. I am quite satisfied that the IRGC SAM battery was notified by Iranian ATC of 752’s engine start or pushback, that the F-Band search radar was pointed in a direction of 100 to 120 deg. before the 737-8KV reached the hold point of Runway 29R, that the K-Band fire control radar was lit shortly after target acquisition, that the operators were fully aware that their target was a Boeing 737 aircraft and that two missiles were launched to be certain of a kill.
I am tolerably satisfied that the first warhead exploded in front of and slightly below the cockpit, instantly killing or disabling the pilots, following which the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descending turn to starboard. It’s not clear what happened to the second missile but it was probably detonated in-flight once the first missile had hit. Depending upon how close it was to the first missile however it may have been shredded by fragments as the first warhead exploded or it may have missed the target as it turned and descended.
I am quite clear that the intent was to murder all the souls aboard. With two missiles and a non-hardened target incapable of meaningful evasive maneuvers so soon after take-off, there is absolutely no question of minimal force.
The MSM might wish to reflect that in covering up the shoot-downs of TWA 800 and later aircraft they jeopardized the safety of air navigation. The Iranians are getting away with it, indeed it rather looks as though they have got away with it.
The British and Canadian governments, no doubt advised by the Cabinet Office and Privy Council office respectively, are treating their dual nationals as purely an Iranian responsibility inside Iran, that is to say, they are treating them as Iranians. Neither the Cabinet Office nor the Privy Council Office has denied my suggestion that they might have cleared the shoot-down in advance.
Given the non-denial and the suppression of the truth about the shoot-down by both governments I suspect that they probably did. With great respect, neither bureaucracy has high ethical standards. I am quite satisfied that neither British Prime Minister Boris Johnson nor Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau green-lighted the Iranian decision to shoot down Flight 752 and murder its passengers and crew.
The motive appears to have been to deter the Ukrainian government from releasing information relating to Hunter Biden’s appointment to the board of Burisma and/or commence a criminal investigation into that appointment. It is perfectly clear that Teheran wants the Democrats to win in November and is willing to murder innocent men, women, and children in order to defeat President Trump. Iran wants a free hand in the Middle East, which President Trump won’t give them.
Although there have been a number of recent murders connected with the Democratic Party I do not believe that anyone in the Party signed off on the plan to shoot down 752. I do not believe that the shoot-down decision was only taken after the targeted killing of the Iranian terrorist Qassem Suleimani.
We will probably find that the IRGC battery in question was lighting fire control radars on 737-800 sized targets for several weeks in advance. The Iranian air defense system has not been seriously tested since the Iran-Iraq War, long before Iranian deployment of the SA-15. The shoot-down will have been practiced and rehearsed well in advance.
Sorting out the motive, of course, requires connecting dots. This is something the MSM is simply not equipped to do. Asking the average newspaper editor to connect the shoot-down of a Ukrainian airliner with a political scandal involving a Democratic vice-president, his son and Ukraine would be tasking him or her with something they have neither the training nor aptitude for. It would be like entering a cockerpoo in the 1910 tonight at Crayford Greyhound Track.
Huawei
As reported in my last column Cabinet Secretary, or, if you prefer, Kabinettratsführer, ‘Ritter’ Mark ‘von’ Sedwill, is opposed to the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement. As Senator Rubio persuasively argued this week in the Daily Telegraph, by letting in Huawei to our 5G network, Sedwill is effectively trying to turn Five Eyes into Six-Eyes, by adding communist China. The result, inevitably, would mean Five Eyes becoming Four Eyes, as you guys could not possibly be expected to continue sharing intelligence with us.
I am not, of course, accusing Der Kabinettratsführer of anything, yet. However, given that communist China is the world’s most corrupt country, whose economy has been built upon the back of offshore high-yield trading programs, and the Cabinet Office is the most corrupt organization in the United Kingdom, it is legitimate to ask if anyone in Peking has been spraying money around.
Don’t forget that the last Cabinet Secretary, the German agent Jeremy ‘von’ Heywood, arranged a £50 million bung on the back of an HS2 contract in a failed effort to stop the referendum on EU membership from going ahead. Heywood’s own share was £1 million, paid into his offshore account in the British Virgin Islands.
It is now best practice to review any project in which the Cabinet Office has an interest in corrupt payments. It does not follow that any such payment has been made, just as didn’t follow that Al Capone never paid any federal income tax. When dealing with sleazy organizations however you have to be on your guard.
Huawei has to be blocked. We then need to go on the offensive and give the company a good smack, working in close concert with you guys. It would help if State would be good enough to relent and extradite Anne Sacoolas, although of course they’re anti-British and are no doubt relishing the opportunity to rub our noses in it. President Trump is a deal-maker however and may well have spotted a trade-off.
Royal finances
It’s high time the offensive MSM claim that the Royal Family is supported by public funds was fact-checked. The total Sovereign Grant for 2019/2020 is a measly £82.4m. This represents about a quarter of the Queen’s revenues from the Crown Estate. In 2018/2019 the Treasury trousered no less than £343.5 million from the Crown Estate. That’s net profit, by the way, not gross receipts. The capital value of the Crown Estate is a massive £14.3 billion.
This income belongs to The Queen. It is high time that it was returned to Her, along with ownership of the Royal Palaces. That’s right – Buckingham Palace is actually owned by the government, which is ludicrous. Obviously responsibility for maintenance of the Royal Palaces would transfer with ownership.
There is no sensible prospect of the MSM ever reporting royal finances fairly or accurately. They will only have themselves to blame when the reform happens, as happen it must.
Brexit
The withdrawal agreement bill has finally become law. The House of Lords passed some silly amendments, in a futile attempt to frustrate Brexit. One of them concerned so-called ‘child’ refugees, some of whom will have manipulated their ages. Others will be young people, that is to say, teenagers, rather than children.
There’s also no particular reason why family reunion couldn’t take place over in Europe rather than here in the UK. The UK has been overwhelmed with bogus refugee claims – in the immigration judiciary we used to reckon that only about 2.5% of asylum claims were genuine. The 1951 Refugee Convention is obsolete and has outlived its usefulness. The Home Office is well aware that it has been abused.
Possibly as a warning shot across their Lordships’ bows someone came up with the idea of moving the House of Lords to York, which very frankly was as silly as the proposed amendments. It would be like moving the Senate to Little Rock.
The sensible way to reform the House of Lords, of course, is to abolish life peerages, leaving the existing life peers to die out and restore the remaining hereditary peers. It’s the life peers who have brought the House into disrepute, with their Euro-fanaticism. As you guys are discovering with the impeachment process it’s a bad idea to have fanatics in your legislature.
The United Kingdom, at long, long last, leaves the European Union at 2300 hours GMT on Friday. I shall be in Parliament Square for the party! Sadly however there won’t be any bongs from Big Ben. (I always like a few bongs at a party.) Obstructionist to the last the Palace of Westminster authorities demanded £500,000 for the bongs, about thirty times as much as it cost on New Year’s Eve.
I’m sorry to say that the government has mishandled this issue. They should have been planning the celebrations as soon as the election was out of the way. The result, sadly, will be a fairly low-key departure. The government gives out the impression that it’s house-trained and in the grip of officials, who have acted in bad faith in the EU for decades. The government is still trotting out fraudulent trade stats, for heaven’s sake!
Labour leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry (we were in the same tutorial class in the Inns of Court School of Law) falsely claimed on the BBC’s Question Time on Thursday that we do “50%” of our trade with the EU. Nonsense! For starters the trade claim is blind – what matters is exports, not overall trade. Leaving out the Republic of Ireland probably only about 30% of British exports go to the EU.
Plan A is to get my next column out on Friday, concentrating on Brexit. Given the party we’re likely to be having on Friday night I doubt I’ll be much use on Saturday!
Recent Reading
My Christmas reading included The Titanic Secret by James Becker (Gallery Books, 2012), not to be confused with The Titanic Secret by Clive Cussler and Jack du Brul(Putnams, 2019).
After more than a century of fairy tales about First Officer Murdoch trying to avoid the iceberg, it seems that word has spread that he was actually trying to hit it.
The absurd premise of Becker’s book is that the Secret Service Bureau wanted to sink the Titanic in order to prevent a German/American military alliance aimed at Great Britain. Given German influence in Washington, the latter part of the premise is not so outlandish. C, however, the first head of the SSB, who features in the book, was nothing if not a gentleman. He was also a former Royal Navy officer.
The Royal Navy doesn’t torpedo ocean liners in peacetime, even French ones.
Becker has the Admiralty sortieing a new diesel-powered D class submarine to intercept Titanic. She refuels in mid-ocean, which is something Jerry tried in World War II, although not nearly as often as you might suppose. (They had bases on the west coast of Ireland and Mexico and didn’t need to refuel.) It’s well-written and a good read, but for the truth about the Titanic have a look at Chapter 13 of Spyhunter!
This Week’s Movie Review: Out of the Clouds (1955: dir. Basil Dearden)
For the benefit of new readers, including many in Britain, I don’t just review the latest blockbusters like 1917 but classic movies, usually with a defense or aviation theme, particularly those which American readers may not have seen.
With streaming, even the most obscure movies have become available. You wouldn’t have found a copy of Out of the Clouds at your local Blockbuster in the old days.
It’s a charming movie. Centered on a romance between two Jewish passengers who chance to meet at London Airport (Heathrow), the nice Jewish girl, played by Margo Lorenz, flies in from Tel Aviv on a dear old BEA Vickers Viscount, whilst the nice Jewish boy flies in from New York on a Pan Am DC-6B. The lead is played by that fine actor Anthony Steel and there’s a wonderful cameo from James Robertson Justice, playing a BOAC Stratocruiser captain.
There are lovely shots of the Viscount, the DC-6B, the Stratocruiser, and a BOAC Lockheed Constellation.
For an aviation enthusiast, it’s an absorbing movie, shot at a time when civil aviation was in transition from piston power to turbine power. It’s schmaltzy but with the news full of reports of fried koalas and the latest Iranian airliner shoot-down a bit of schmaltz is no bad thing. That’s why it gets shown at Christmas.
It’s sweet. The romance is chaste, the humor, mostly supplied by James Robertson Justice, is gentle and the drama underplayed. The cast is just wonderful – Robert Beatty is there, along with Bernard Lee (M in the Bond movies) and Eunice Gayson. It’s by no means a great movie but I guarantee you’ll be smiling by the end.
There’s no point emailing in and saying it’s dated. It was shot in 1954. Of course, it’s dated. That’s the whole point. It’s so old somebody from the airline comes to fetch you when your plane is ready and the captain has to shut down an engine in flight and feather the prop – all the little things that used to add such charm and interest to international airline travel.
The book on which the movie’s based, Springboard, by John Fores (Hodder & Stoughton, 1956), which was actually published after the UK release, is well worth a read too. It’s a bit harder-edged than the movie.


veteranstoday--2020-01-25--Morocco Had Role In U.S. Civil War?

Morocco Had Role In U.S. Civil War?

The Diplomatic Intrigue That Gave Morocco a Cameo Appearance in the U.S. Civil War In the winter of 1862 , Union troops occupied Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers .
Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy .
Two ironside battleships , the Monitor and the Merrimack fought to a stalemate off Hampton Roads , Virginia .
And on the coast of North Africa , 40 U.S. Marines landed in Tangier , Morocco , to help quell a riot and take possession of two Confederates who had been arrested by the U.S. Consul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about mainly because of the infamous exploits of the C.S.S .
Sumter , a Confederate blockade runner commanded by Raphael Semmes that had been terrorizing the U.S. Navy and Northern merchants throughout the Atlantic .
On January 18 , 1862 , the Sumter docked in Gibraltar in need of fuel and repairs .
Through clever persistence , the U.S. consul in Gibraltar , Horatio Sprague , had successfully kept the Sumter there by pressuring the town ’ s merchants to refuse the Confederates all necessary supplies .
Without coal , they were stuck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tangier resided the U.S. consul to Morocco , James DeLong , himself a former judge from Ohio and abolitionist who freed two slaves traveling through his jurisdiction in 1854 .
…..Read More :

By Meilan Solly/Smithsonianmag.com
In the winter of 1862, Union troops occupied Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy.
Two ironside battleships, the Monitor and the Merrimack fought to a stalemate off Hampton Roads, Virginia. And on the coast of North Africa, 40 U.S. Marines landed in Tangier, Morocco, to help quell a riot and take possession of two Confederates who had been arrested by the U.S. Consul.
This bizarre Civil War episode came about mainly because of the infamous exploits of the C.S.S. Sumter, a Confederate blockade runner commanded by Raphael Semmes that had been terrorizing the U.S. Navy and Northern merchants throughout the Atlantic.
On January 18, 1862, the Sumter docked in Gibraltar in need of fuel and repairs. Through clever persistence, the U.S. consul in Gibraltar, Horatio Sprague, had successfully kept the Sumter thereby pressuring the town’s merchants to refuse the Confederates all necessary supplies. Without coal, they were stuck. Across the Strait of Gibraltar in Tangier resided the U.S. consul to Morocco, James DeLong, himself a former judge from Ohio and abolitionist who freed two slaves traveling through his jurisdiction in 1854… Read Full Article on SmithsonianMag.org
Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator. She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues. Carol’s Archives 2009-2013


veteranstoday--2020-01-25--Perspective On Novel Coronavirus From China

A novel coronavirus , designated as 2019-nCoV , emerged in Wuhan , China , at the end of 2019 .
As of January 24 , 2020 , at least 830 cases had been diagnosed in nine countries : China , Thailand , Japan , South Korea , Singapore , Vietnam , Taiwan , Nepal , and the United States .
Twenty-six fatalities occurred , mainly in patients who had serious underlying illnesses.1 Although many details of the emergence of this virus — such as its origin and its ability to spread among humans — remain unknown , an increasing number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human-to-human transmission .
Given the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus ( SARS-CoV ) outbreak in 2002 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ( MERS-CoV ) outbreak in 2012,2 2019-nCoV is the third coronavirus to emerge in the human population in the past two decades — an emergence that has put global public health institutions on high alert .
China responded quickly by informing the World Health Organization ( WHO ) of the outbreak and sharing sequence information with the international community after the discovery of the causative agent .
The WHO responded @ @ @

A novel coronavirus, designated as 2019-nCoV, emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. As of January 24, 2020, at least 830 cases had been diagnosed in nine countries: China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nepal, and the United States. Twenty-six fatalities occurred, mainly in patients who had serious underlying illnesses.1
Although many details of the emergence of this virus — such as its origin and its ability to spread among humans — remain unknown, an increasing number of cases appear to have resulted from human-to-human transmission.
Given the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) outbreak in 2002 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in 2012,2 2019-nCoV is the third coronavirus to emerge in the human population in the past two decades — an emergence that has put global public health institutions on high alert.
China responded quickly by informing the World Health Organization (WHO) of the outbreak and sharing sequence information with the international community after the discovery of the causative agent. The WHO responded rapidly by …
Read Full Article at NEJM.com


veteranstoday--2020-01-25--Australia: Drought, Raging Wild Fires, Now Deadly Spiders!

Heavy downpours in Australia recently offered some relief to the fire-ravaged country , which has been battling deadly blazes since last fall .
But wet conditions have paved the way for another natural threat .
As Amaani Siddeek reports for the Guardian , wildlife officials have warned that residents near Sydney could soon experience a “ bonanza ” of sightings of the funnel-web spider , an aggressive arachnid with a potentially deadly bite .
Funnel-webs are a family of more than 40 spiders , among them the notorious Atrax robustus , or Sydney funnel-web spider , which is native to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ named for the shape of their webs , burrow under logs and rocks , typically rushing out of their hiding spot to attack prey such as beetles , cockroaches , and small snails .
But the recent climate has prompted male funnel-webs to surface for another reason .
“ Because of the recent rain , and now , the hot days we are now experiencing , funnel-web spiders will start to move around , ” explains Dan Rumsey of Australian Reptile Park near Sydney .
“ In particular , male funnel-webs as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ female funnel-web spider to mate with.
” Unfortunately , male funnel-webs are of particular concern ; their venom is six times more potent…

by Brigit Katz/Smithsonianmag.com
Heavy downpours in Australia recently offered some relief to the fire-ravaged country, which has been battling deadly blazes since last fall. But wet conditions have paved the way for another natural threat. As Amaani Siddeek reports for the Guardian, wildlife officials have warned that residents near Sydney could soon experience a “bonanza” of sightings of the funnel-web spider, an aggressive arachnid with a potentially deadly bite.
Funnel-webs are a family of more than 40 spiders, among them the notorious Atrax robustus, or Sydney funnel-web spider, which is native to eastern Australia. These critters, so named for the shape of their webs, burrow under logs and rocks, typically rushing out of their hiding spot to attack prey such as beetles, cockroaches, and small snails. But the recent climate has prompted male funnel-webs to surface for another reason.
“Because of the recent rain, and now, the hot days we are now experiencing, funnel-web spiders will start to move around,” explains Dan Rumsey of Australian Reptile Park near Sydney. “In particular, male funnel-webs as they start to venture to look for a female funnel-web spider to mate with.”
Unfortunately, male funnel-webs are of particular concern; their venom is six times more potent… Read Full Article at SmithsonianMag.org
Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator. She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues. Carol’s Archives 2009-2013


veteranstoday--2020-01-25--Americans desperately looking for exit door in Iraq: Former UK envoy

[ Editor ’ s Note : Peter Ford ended his British diplomatic career after only three years , ( 2003-06 ) , primarily due to his outspoken criticism of British policy toward Syria where he had been ambassador , which we can all see in hindsight was to participate in the carving up and recolonizing Syria with puppet leaders .
His educational training had been in Arab studies so he landed on his feet in 2006 with the the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East ( UNRWA ) , a UN agency created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and human development of Palestinians .
Ford is one of the good guys .
But I disagree with his premise of Trump looking for a “ face-saving way out ” of Iraq .
Doing that would not only remove US leverage on the Iraqi government , meaning interfering in its internal affairs , but send a message to US Persian Gulf allies depending on their US big brother to help these states keep their boots on the necks of their Shia populations .
Imagine that .
More importantly , as Trump has said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria ’ s Deir Ezzor , he needs the western Iraq Anbar province bases to move US troops and make believe ISIS opposition around creating enough small level mayhem as a smokescreen for the US remaining .
And lastly , the US , Israel , and other nearby states want to block any possible land bridge between Iran , Syria and Lebanon that could become the core of a powerful military force that could protect the Shia populations from being preyed upon by Sunni un-elected masters .
Who knows , maybe the Iraqis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ base helping them keep a lid on ISIS , if they needed it .
We sure as hell know the Saudis aren ’ t capable of fighting anyone .
Once the US is out of the Mideast there will be great incentive to complete peace deals , the last thing that Deep Staters want to see… Jim W. Dean ] Jim 's Editor ’ s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal Jim 's work includes research , field trips , Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more .
Thanks for helping .
Click to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desperately looking for a “ face-saving way ” and an “ exit door ” to pull the American troops out of Iraq after the assassination of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on his orders and the ensuing anti-US sentiment in the Arab country , says a former British diplomat .
Peter Ford , former UK ambassador to Syria and an expert on Middle East affairs , made the remarks during a Friday edition of the Press TV ’ s The Debate program while commenting on the Iraqis ’ mass protest against the presence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nationwide protest came three weeks after the US launched an assassination drone attack in Baghdad ’ s airport that martyred the top Iranian commander and a prominent member of the Iraqi government , Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis , along with several other people .
Since then , anti-US sentiment has been running high in the Arab country and a few days after the assassinations , Iraq ’ s parliament voted to expel the US troops .
“ The march followed the voting by the parliament — a clear majority in the parliament voted for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ironic that the Americans who are always boasting about their support for democracy and criticizing other countries because they don ’ t have proper parliament , and here we have a brazen case of an Arab parliament demanding US departure and the Americans ignoring it , insulting it in fact , ” Ford told Press TV .
“ It ’ s clear that a very significant majority of Iraqis are not happy at all , especially after the murder of General Soleimani , it was an insult to the honor of Iraq .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ realized what the repercussions would be in Iraq itself and now they ’ ll be showed the exit door , I don ’ t think they can go on resisting for much longer , I think Trump is looking for a face-saving way out , this is why they are exploring the possibility of NATO taking over the role — although I think this would be unacceptable also — it shows how desperate the Americans are to find the exit door .
Trump does have a political need not to be humiliated , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he added .
The former UK diplomat went on to say that the US used the so-called campaign against the Daesh ( ISIS ) terrorist group as a “ pretext ” to continue its military presence there , but added , Iraqi security forces can fend for themselves in the face of the Takfiri outfit .
“ This is a pretext ; the idea that they are there to fight the remnants of ISIS is a transparent empty pretext .
The security forces of Iraq are now well capable of staying on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ISIS , particularly if they had help from others like Iran and Russia and Syria together to keep ISIS completely down and out , but the Americans are using the ISIS ’ scapegoat as a pretext to justify their presence , ” Ford underlined .
He also hailed Iran ’ s retaliatory attacks on US bases in Iraq following the assassination of the country ’ s national hero , saying , “ It was an evil act , which invited retribution , which came with the Iranian strikes on the US bases… Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that technically they can strike American bases with missiles and most importantly they have the necessary courage and commitment to do it.
” Since the early hours on Friday , huge crowds of men , women and children of all ages converged on the Jadriyah neighborhood near Baghdad University , with protesters carrying banners and chanting slogans calling for the expulsion of US forces .
Iraq ’ s al-Ahd news network reported that Iraqis from all of the country ’ s provinces had gathered in the city .
The massive rally came after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stage “ a million-strong , peaceful , unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations ” .

from Press TV, Tehran, ..with Peter Ford
[ Editor’s Note: Peter Ford ended his British diplomatic career after only three years (2003-06), primarily due to his outspoken criticism of British policy toward Syria where he had been ambassador, which we can all see in hindsight was to participate in the carving up and recolonizing Syria with puppet leaders.
His educational training had been in Arab studies, so he landed on his feet in 2006 with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a UN agency created in December 1949 to support the relief and human development of Palestinians. Ford is one of the good guys.
I disagree with his premise of Trump looking for a “face-saving way out” of Iraq. Doing that would not only remove US leverage on the Iraqi government, meaning interfering in its internal affairs, but send a message to US Persian Gulf allies depending on their US big brother to help these states keep their boots on the necks of their Shia populations. Imagine that.
More important, as Trump has said he “wants the oil” in Syria’s Deir Ezzor, he needs the western Iraq Anbar province bases to move US troops and make believe ISIS opposition around creating enough small level mayhem as a smokescreen for the US remaining.
And last, the US, Israel, and other nearby states want to block any possible land bridge between Iran, Syria and Lebanon that could become the core of a powerful military force that could protect the Shia populations from being preyed upon by Sunni un-elected masters.
Who knows, maybe the Iraqis would feel more comfortable with a Russian base helping them keep a lid on ISIS, if they needed it. We sure as hell know the Saudis aren’t capable of fighting anyone. Once the US is out of the Mideast, there will be incentive to complete peace deals, the last thing that Deep Staters want to see… Jim W. Dean ]
Jim's Editor’s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal
Jim's work includes research, field trips, Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more. Thanks for helping. Click to donate >>
– First published … January 25, 2020 –
President Donald Trump is desperately looking for a “face-saving way” and an “exit door” to pull the American troops out of Iraq after the assassination of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on his orders and the ensuing anti-US sentiment in the Arab country, says a former British diplomat.
Peter Ford, former UK ambassador to Syria and an expert on Middle East affairs, made the remarks during a Friday edition of the Press TV’s The Debate program while commenting on the Iraqis’ mass protest against the presence of American forces in their country.
The nationwide protest came three weeks after the US launched an assassination drone attack in Baghdad’s airport that martyred the top Iranian commander and a prominent member of the Iraqi government, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, along with several other people.
Since then, anti-US sentiment has been running high in the Arab country and a few days after the assassinations, Iraq’s parliament voted to expel the US troops.
“The march followed the voting by the parliament — a clear majority in the parliament voted for the departure of US forces — how ironic that the Americans who are always boasting about their support for democracy and criticizing other countries because they don’t have proper parliament, and here we have a brazen case of an Arab parliament demanding US departure and the Americans ignoring it, insulting it in fact,” Ford told Press TV.
“It’s clear that a very significant majority of Iraqis are not happy at all, especially after the murder of General Soleimani, it was an insult to the honor of Iraq. I don’t think the Americans realized what the repercussions would be in Iraq itself and now they’ll be showed the exit door, I don’t think they can go on resisting for much longer, I think Trump is looking for a face-saving way out, this is why they are exploring the possibility of NATO taking over the role — although I think this would be unacceptable also — it shows how desperate the Americans are to find the exit door. Trump does have a political need not to be humiliated, not to have a Vietnam moment,” he added.
The former UK diplomat went on to say that the US used the so-called campaign against the Daesh (ISIS) terrorist group as a “pretext” to continue its military presence there, but added, Iraqi security forces can fend for themselves in the face of the Takfiri outfit.
“This is a pretext; the idea that they are there to fight the remnants of ISIS is a transparent empty pretext. The security forces of Iraq are now well capable of staying on top of what’s left of ISIS, particularly if they had help from others like Iran and Russia and Syria together to keep ISIS completely down and out, but the Americans are using the ISIS’ scapegoat as a pretext to justify their presence,” Ford underlined.
He also hailed Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US bases in Iraq following the assassination of the country’s national hero, saying, “It was an evil act, which invited retribution, which came with the Iranian strikes on the US bases… Now Iran has had a chance to prove that technically they can strike American bases with missiles and most importantly they have the necessary courage and commitment to do it.”
Since the early hours on Friday, huge crowds of men, women and children of all ages converged on the Jadriyah neighborhood near Baghdad University, with protesters carrying banners and chanting slogans calling for the expulsion of US forces.
Iraq’s al-Ahd news network reported that Iraqis from all of the country’s provinces had gathered in the city.
The massive rally came after influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iraqis to stage “a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations”.


veteranstoday--2020-01-25--Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin Speaks Truth To Empire on Trump’s Soleimani War Crime

Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange .
She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 40 years .
Described as “ one of America ’ s most committed — and most effective — fighters for human rights ” by New York Newsday , and “ one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement ” by the Los Angeles Times , she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential work of peace worldwide .
She is the author of ten books , including Drone Warfare : Killing by Remote Control and Kingdom of the Unjust : Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection .
Her most recent book , Inside Iran : The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran , is part of a campaign to prevent a war with Iran and instead promote normal trade and diplomatic relations .
Her articles appear regularly in outlets such as The Guardian , The Huffington Post , CommonDreams , Alternet and The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ :

Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 40 years.
Described as “one of America’s most committed — and most effective — fighters for human rights” by New York Newsday, and “one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement” by the Los Angeles Times, she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide.
She is the author of ten books, including Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control and Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection.
Her most recent book, Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is part of a campaign to prevent a war with Iran and instead promote normal trade and diplomatic relations.
Her articles appear regularly in outlets such as The Guardian, The Huffington Post, CommonDreams, Alternet and The Hill.
Medea can be reached at:


veteranstoday--2020-01-25--The Sadness of Submissive Quietly Re-Colonized Malaysia

I am not sure when and how it happened , or even what precisely took place , but suddenly , nothing feels the same , and nothing feels right in Malaysia .
Several years ago , things used to be totally different here .
One would land at KLIA ( Kuala Lumpur International Airport ) – in the past one of the most modern and well-run mid-sized airports in the world , located some 70 kilometers from the city – and feel the omnipresent optimism and pride .
Malaysia was on the rise : a fast train was connecting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was passing near the famous Formula-1 circuit , the new capital city of Putrajaya , a modern city designed for science and technological research – Cyberjaya – and finally terminating at the modern KL Sentral train station and public transportation hub .
Futuristic Kuala Lumpur also counted with a super modern and elegant concert hall fully dedicated to classical music .
It was right under the Petronas Towers , once the tallest building in the world .
Modern monorail and driverless trains were transporting people in style to different corners of the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was present , but everyone knew that Malaysian censors were too lazy to read ) .
Extreme , Indonesian-style , misery hardly existed .
Malaysia had ‘ made it ’ – it had landed itself on the list of the highest development index countries ( Human Development Index , HDI , measured by UNDP ) – together with countries such as Chile and Argentina , Russia and Qatar , as well as the nations of Europe and North America .
Malaysia was manufacturing its own car brand – Proton – and was teaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aircraft .
Nightclubs were packed , political humor thriving , and even religions were not immune to criticism , as long as the punches were being delivered in an ‘ appropriate ’ and secular environment , behind the curtains of bookstores and private events .
In those days , I loved visiting Malaysia .
I loved living there , for weeks and months .
Next door , collapsed Indonesia felt like the decomposing carcass of a huge fish : covered by smog , intolerant , intellectually destroyed , racist and at war with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to escape to Kuala Lumpur for weeks ; in order to gain perspective , in order to eat well , to visit theaters , concerts , parks , to interact with my Malaysian friends – writers , filmmakers , and academics .
Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur felt as if they were existing on two different planets .
A 1 hour and 40 minutes ’ flight , and everything would diametrically change .
Suddenly it was possible to walk under the trees and on wide sidewalks , to attend great concerts , to read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and above all , to be understood .
And yet , yet even then , there was something rotten in the intellectual fabric of Kuala Lumpur .
It was hard to detect , to explain , but it was constantly there , right under the surface .
Now I am looking back , and I am trying to comprehend .
It is not easy , but not impossible .
I recall a Malaysian filmmaker who made a 2-minute long film and attended dozens of international film festivals showing it – all expenses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bark , nothing serious .
But he was a Malaysian , and therefore worth being pampered and supported .
Because Malaysia had very few filmmakers , and the West wanted to make sure that it owns them .
It felt obnoxious , even perverse , as I knew several great , brilliant left-wing filmmakers in Chile , Brazil , France , the U.K. who made ground-breaking films , but were not supported by anyone , living near-starvation existence .
I remember how , decisively , all Malaysian ‘ intellectuals ’ were refusing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the horrors that were taking place in neighboring Indonesia .
Why ?
Because Indonesia , after 1965 , became a true Western neo-colony ; plundered , brainwashed and looted by both local treasonous and corrupt ‘ elites ’ and by multi-national corporations and Western governments .
Someone was , of course , paying for this silence .
I recall how Malaysian writers were falling over each other to attend a “ Writers ’ and Readers ’ Festival ” in Ubud , Bali , Indonesia – an anti “ LEKRA ” ( pre-1965 coup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ belonged such great novelists as Pramoedya Ananta Toer ) event organized by pro-Western institutions and pseudo-intellectual Goenawan Mohamad .
All expenses paid , of course ( by whom , we could only guess ) .
Unlike in many Latin American countries , or in China or Russia , for Malaysian and Indonesian intellectuals , there is nothing like “ dirty money ” .
Money is money – always halal .
Malaysian filmmakers , writers , and other intellectuals never criticize the West , but diligently support Western propaganda , when it is targeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as South Africa .
The United Kingdom has been omnipresent , through family ties , ‘ education ’ , through the British Council which has been spreading funding and ideological dogmas , but also through its main propaganda outlets such as the BBC .
I met a writer who had her entire work sponsored by the Western outlets , and who was flown to places as diverse as the Caribbean Islands and Alaska , as a reward for her writing , which has been glorifying both transgender rights and big business construction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she replied , simply and honestly : “ I have two children to raise ” .
Malaysian art festivals have been clearly propagating the Western line of thinking .
By mistake , I was invited to one ( in the old city of Georgetown ) .
But never again .
There are certain unwritten rules , including no open criticism of Western imperialism , and no direct support for countries like China , Russia , Cuba or Venezuela .
Local artists and writers are paid to talk and write about sexual habits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , instead of the horrors taking place next-door , like the genocide in West Papua , where Indonesia has managed to murder around 500,000 people on behalf of Western multi-national companies and governments .
Taboo is also touching what made Malaysia a relatively wealthy – thorough plunder of its environment through palm oil plantations and mining , as well as the mistreatment of indigenous people on the territory of two of its states located on Borneo Island .
Malaysia changed ; became unrecognizable .
And it happened unbelievably fast .
Kuala Lumpur ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choking on smog from the burning Indonesian islands of Kalimantan ( Indonesian part of Borneo , the third-largest island in the world ) and Sumatra , but no explosion of outrage has been detectable from the Malaysian “ thinkers ” .
No outrage over US and EU attacks against Afghanistan , Libya or Syria .
Even Malaysian leaders , at times , were more outspoken than the funding-hungry local intellectuals .
Prime Minister of Malaysia , according to Reuters , reacted to the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani : “ Muslim countries should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday after describing the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani as immoral.
” Malaysian ‘ educated circles ’ have been proving , again and again , that their country is a well-behaved colony .
A cowardly , client state .
Suddenly , for people like me , those who were well known but at odds with Western imperialism , it has become near impossible to work ( give speeches or to get interviewed ) in Malaysia .
All the doors have gotten shut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Malaysian academics , artists or politicians .
Cowardice and self-interest , has become the main driving force .
I have never forgotten , how during the conflict between the Philippines and Malaysia , I went to Borneo and wrote an extremely sarcastic essay about the event .
I got powerful quotes from the Filipino people , who even crossed the sea in order to talk to me , on the record .
I got a couple of quotes from Malaysians , too .
But after my long essay was published , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know you will be so sarcastic in your work ” .
They were too careful , too disciplined , unwilling to risk anything .
There is no way to get quotes from the Malaysians , about the terror which the West is spreading all over the world , or about the West ’ s best ally – Wahhabism .
Or about the shameless collaboration of the Southeast Asian nations with the West .
Not even about that “ greatest Malaysian secret ” : “ Almost all that scientific research , and native production @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives , like Indonesia , although on a much higher level , from the plundering of its natural resources ; from irreversibly and brutally ruining of its land by cutting down the native forest and turning both peninsular Malaysia and Borneo into one huge and horrific oil palm plantation , dotted with mining pits .
Malaysia also functions as an assembly like a maquiladora for multi-national companies.
” Those who protest or speak out about what has been done to the native people of Borneo , die .
And so , nobody does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spine of Malaysia : its unwillingness to risk .
Its a lack of courage .
Its dependence on former and present colonial masters .
Its submissiveness .
I described this kind of behavior in this part of the world in my political novel Aurora .
The great fiery socialist , anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist Indonesian leader , Ahmed Sukarno , knew all this very well .
He saw Malaysia as basically a puppet state of the West .
He had launched a campaign of Konfrontasi against his neighbor and its British handler .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ back : it later quietly embraced the fascist regime of General Suharto , which overthrew Sukarno and the Communist Party of Indonesia ( PKI ) , in the bloodiest coup in the history of mankind ; a coup which was triggered by the West in 1965 .
Since the coup , Malaysia has flatly refused to openly criticize anything about Indonesia : from murdering 2 million people in 1965 to the genocide in East Timor , as well as the on-going genocide in occupied West Papua .
And of course , no word @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as something similar , although not as extreme , has been taking place in Malaysia itself .
Now , Malaysia feels depressed and looks depressing .
Here , in this essay , on purpose , I do not talk much about the previous political era , and about the return of “ Doctor M. ” to power .
Nor do I write about who used to sponsor Anwar Ibrahim , and who then decided that it is unwise , for now , to sponsor Anwar , shouting that it is time to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
Let me just say that almost all these decisions came from abroad .
Let me recall , however , how most of the foreign-sponsored members of the so-called Malaysian opposition were determinedly supporting the totally discredited neo-liberal Anwar Ibrahim when he was a ‘ Washington ’ s favorite ’ .
And they dropped him precisely when the marching orders arrived from far away in Europe and the US .
Doctor M whom they “ fought ” so determinedly against , but of course for a fee , suddenly deserved a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told that he does , by their “ handlers ” .
It all happened so openly , so shamelessly , and so predictably .
Yes , Malaysia is a sad country .
Two of its wide-body passenger jets went down , killing hundreds of people and ruining one of the proudest airlines in Asia , but no one here truly investigates , how and why it occurred .
It is not a fully taboo topic , but it is definitely semi-taboo .
Almost no one is investigating the past , either .
Things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unlike in neighboring Indonesia .
Of course , the horrors that have been taking place in Indonesia are incomparably greater in comparison to the ‘ mild devilishness ’ which happened in Malaysia .
But still… It took a Sri Lankan born author , Lloyd Fernando , to describe the religious ‘ riots ’ in Malaysia ; the 1969 killings and wave of torture unleashed against non-Muslims in his powerful novel “ Green is The Color ” .
Locals would never dare .
And who really questions in the open that bizarre , racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so many decades ?
Here , the slight Muslim majority ( bumiputera ) has many more rights than the highly productive Chinese group , as well as deeply discriminated against Indians .
Bumiputera ( children of the land ) somehow does not extend to original people living in Borneo .
In Malaysia , there are different laws for Muslims and non-Muslims .
Here , a Malay person is “ born Muslim ” , by definition .
He or she can not change his or her fate .
It is simply a grotesque reality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to criticize !
You would be finished in no time if you live in Malaysia .
But back to the “ sadness of Malaysia ” .
That ’ s where I wanted to begin and end this essay .
Things did not go well .
Doctor M ’ s plans never really materialize .
Petronas Towers remained the tallest building only for a few years , and even the fountains in front of them went on an austerity regime and began working only in the evenings .
The concert hall below now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sprawling city .
Now it is also compromising .
There are more and cheaper pop shows performed behind its lavish doors , and there are less and less great performances .
The ‘ flagship ’ KLCC Mall suffers from constantly broken escalators , and its once prestigious art gallery is closed , almost half of the time .
The Formula-1 circuit in Sepang closed down in 2017 .
Kuala Lumpur International Airport ( KLIA ) has become a traveler ’ s nightmare , with inefficient staff , terrible lines , unnecessary double or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ photographing and other excessive inconveniences to the passengers .
Public transportation has survived only in Kuala Lumpur and its greater area .
Elsewhere , there were countless projects , and monstrously costly failed plans to build monorails , trams , and an urban rail : from Malacca , Georgetown , Johor Bahru , to Putrajaya .
Cyberjaya never managed to ‘ fly ’ , or to compete with Singapore .
Nothing great came from its research facilities .
Only second-rate scientists settled there .
As in the much bigger Indonesia , Malaysia could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great writer , scientist or thinker .
In smaller towns , the situation is even more pathetic .
Kuching was celebrating the fact that the long-postponed light rail project will soon start being constructed .
But the 2nd era of Dr. M has begun .
Countless public works have been stopped .
What was already there , like the only existing public railroad in Borneo , which originates in Kota Kinabalu , has been castrated , its service reduced to two runs per day .
Why ?
So , just as in Indonesia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force-sold to the citizens , so gas could be burned , and corporations could make billions from building new roads , further ruining the natural environment as well as the urban areas .
And those well-funded Malaysian intellectuals ?
As mentioned earlier in this essay , they began glorifying the highway-builders in their books , even in novels .
Coincidence ?
I will leave it up to you to decide !
Dr. M. torpedoed many grand projects previously signed with China .
That was most likely the deal that was made behind the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government would enjoy peace with the West .
London and Washington will stop trashing the old man and his coalition .
Local NGOs and Malaysian artists and ‘ intellectuals ’ paid by Western organizations , institutions , and governments will scale down or even entirely stop their criticism .
In exchange , the Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI ) will be almost entirely kicked out of Malaysia , or at least , thoroughly castrated .
This is , of course , an absolutely horrible deal for Malaysia , but it appears that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place , the trend is here to stay .
After all , ‘ it is all about China , isn ’ t it ?
’ At least for the West and its dependencies .
Everything has somehow failed in Malaysia , but especially those dreams about the building of a great , proud and productive nation .
I filmed in Kota Kinabalu , recently .
Two years ago , there was an attempt to build a boardwalk , a public area facing the sea .
You know , a small replica of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Latin America , South Africa , Europe , and of course in China , and even in the Gulf .
Now , with the new government , even that tiny public space was privatized ; rented to some businesswoman from Kuala Lumpur .
She fenced it off , put some kitsch figures and a tiny shack with a “ horror show ” performance , and began charging an entry fee of RM5 ( US1.25 ) per person .
I asked the cashier how she felt about this corporate takeover of a stunning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I asked about savage capitalism in Malaysia ; she had no idea what I was talking about .
Later , I asked several of my Malaysian friends about the ruined land , which has been unbearably scarred by the oil palm plantations ( almost half of the world ’ s production ) , or by mines and other terrible ventures .
They refused to comment , at least on the record .
Reason : “ too dangerous ” .
“ They all have families ” .
I talked to the indigenous people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They did talk .
About brutality , about being forced to convert , religiously .
About people who were killed , who disappeared .
I talked to people in Papua New Guinea and from the Solomon Islands , where the Malaysian logging companies had been committing crimes against humanity , including rapes , torture and sexual abuse of children .
I described my findings in my book – Oceania .
But this is just an essay , not an investigative report full of names and numbers , about a country which I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collapsed , sold itself , and reduced itself to a gloomy mediocrity .
Malaysia was set to take off , to fly , to show the way for so many other countries of the world .
But its people , its ‘ elites ’ and ‘ intellectuals ’ , decided to put their personal interests first .
They helped to re-introduce the mentality of a colonized nation .
“ Go to hell with your aid !
” The Indonesian President Sukarno screamed into the face of the US Ambassador in Jakarta .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 2 million Indonesians were killed – the rest was frightened into insanity and then brainwashed .
Malaysia never truly rebelled .
It never went from one extreme to another , from pride to slavery .
Its people never refused the aid ( or payment for services provided ) from the West .
They survived , as a result .
But have they ever truly lived ?
Malaysia has never really experienced real freedom and exaltation from moving forward , on its own , without looking over its shoulder , and without fear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a philosopher , novelist , filmmaker and investigative journalist .
He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries .
Five of his latest books are “ China Belt and Road Initiative : Connecting Countries , Saving Millions of Lives ” , “ China and Ecological Cavillation ” with John B. Cobb , Jr. , Revolutionary Optimism , Western Nihilism a revolutionary novel “ Aurora ” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction : “ Exposing Lies Of The Empire ” .
View his other books here .
Watch Rwanda Gambit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “ On Western Terrorism ” .
Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East , and continues to work around the world .
He can be reached through his website and his .
His Patreon

by Andre Vltchek for VT
I am not sure when and how it happened, or even what precisely took place, but suddenly, nothing feels the same, and nothing feels right in Malaysia.
Several years ago, things used to be totally different here. One would land at KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) – in the past one of the most modern and well-run mid-sized airports in the world, located some 70 kilometers from the city – and feel the omnipresent optimism and pride.
Malaysia was on the rise: a fast train was connecting the airport to the sprawling metropolis. It was passing near the famous Formula-1 circuit, the new capital city of Putrajaya, a modern city designed for science and technological research – Cyberjaya – and finally terminating at the modern KL Sentral train station and public transportation hub.
Futuristic Kuala Lumpur also counted with a super modern and elegant concert hall fully dedicated to classical music. It was right under the Petronas Towers, once the tallest building in the world. Modern monorail and driverless trains were transporting people in style to different corners of the city.
Bookstores were well stocked (censorship was present, but everyone knew that Malaysian censors were too lazy to read). Extreme, Indonesian-style, misery hardly existed. Malaysia had ‘made it’ – it had landed itself on the list of the highest development index countries (Human Development Index, HDI, measured by UNDP) – together with countries such as Chile and Argentina, Russia and Qatar, as well as the nations of Europe and North America.
Malaysia was manufacturing its own car brand – Proton – and was teaming up with Japan, hoping to co-produce aircraft.
Nightclubs were packed, political humor thriving, and even religions were not immune to criticism, as long as the punches were being delivered in an ‘appropriate’ and secular environment, behind the curtains of bookstores and private events.
In those days, I loved visiting Malaysia. I loved living there, for weeks and months.
Next door, collapsed Indonesia felt like the decomposing carcass of a huge fish: covered by smog, intolerant, intellectually destroyed, racist and at war with itself and its colonies. I used to escape to Kuala Lumpur for weeks; in order to gain perspective, in order to eat well, to visit theaters, concerts, parks, to interact with my Malaysian friends – writers, filmmakers, and academics.
Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur felt as if they were existing on two different planets. A 1 hour and 40 minutes’ flight, and everything would diametrically change. Suddenly it was possible to walk under the trees and on wide sidewalks, to attend great concerts, to read to an excited audience from my books, and above all, to be understood.
And yet, yet even then, there was something rotten in the intellectual fabric of Kuala Lumpur. It was hard to detect, to explain, but it was constantly there, right under the surface.
Now I am looking back, and I am trying to comprehend. It is not easy, but not impossible.
I recall a Malaysian filmmaker who made a 2-minute long film and attended dozens of international film festivals showing it – all expenses paid. It was just a tiny bark, nothing serious. But he was a Malaysian, and therefore worth being pampered and supported. Because Malaysia had very few filmmakers, and the West wanted to make sure that it owns them. It felt obnoxious, even perverse, as I knew several great, brilliant left-wing filmmakers in Chile, Brazil, France, the U.K. who made ground-breaking films, but were not supported by anyone, living near-starvation existence.
I remember how, decisively, all Malaysian ‘intellectuals’ were refusing to criticize, or even to acknowledge, the horrors that were taking place in neighboring Indonesia. Why? Because Indonesia, after 1965, became a true Western neo-colony; plundered, brainwashed and looted by both local treasonous and corrupt ‘elites’ and by multi-national corporations and Western governments. Someone was, of course, paying for this silence.
I recall how Malaysian writers were falling over each other to attend a “Writers’ and Readers’ Festival” in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia – an anti “LEKRA” (pre-1965 coup left-wing writer’s organization to which belonged such great novelists as Pramoedya Ananta Toer) event organized by pro-Western institutions and pseudo-intellectual Goenawan Mohamad. All expenses paid, of course (by whom, we could only guess).
Unlike in many Latin American countries, or in China or Russia, for Malaysian and Indonesian intellectuals, there is nothing like “dirty money”. Money is money – always halal.
Malaysian filmmakers, writers, and other intellectuals never criticize the West, but diligently support Western propaganda, when it is targeting Russia, but even such far-away countries such as South Africa.
The United Kingdom has been omnipresent, through family ties, ‘education’, through the British Council which has been spreading funding and ideological dogmas, but also through its main propaganda outlets such as the BBC.
I met a writer who had her entire work sponsored by the Western outlets, and who was flown to places as diverse as the Caribbean Islands and Alaska, as a reward for her writing, which has been glorifying both transgender rights and big business construction of motorways. When I confronted her, she replied, simply and honestly: “I have two children to raise”.
Malaysian art festivals have been clearly propagating the Western line of thinking. By mistake, I was invited to one (in the old city of Georgetown). But never again. There are certain unwritten rules, including no open criticism of Western imperialism, and no direct support for countries like China, Russia, Cuba or Venezuela. Local artists and writers are paid to talk and write about sexual habits, such as homosexuality or transgender issues, instead of the horrors taking place next-door, like the genocide in West Papua, where Indonesia has managed to murder around 500,000 people on behalf of Western multi-national companies and governments.
Taboo is also touching what made Malaysia a relatively wealthy – thorough plunder of its environment through palm oil plantations and mining, as well as the mistreatment of indigenous people on the territory of two of its states located on Borneo Island.
Malaysia changed; became unrecognizable. And it happened unbelievably fast.
Kuala Lumpur (as well as Singapore) has been choking on smog from the burning Indonesian islands of Kalimantan (Indonesian part of Borneo, the third-largest island in the world) and Sumatra, but no explosion of outrage has been detectable from the Malaysian “thinkers”.
No outrage over US and EU attacks against Afghanistan, Libya or Syria.
Even Malaysian leaders, at times, were more outspoken than the funding-hungry local intellectuals. Prime Minister of Malaysia, according to Reuters, reacted to the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani:
“Muslim countries should unite to protect themselves against external threats, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday after describing the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani as immoral.”
Malaysian ‘educated circles’ have been proving, again and again, that their country is a well-behaved colony. A cowardly, client state.
Suddenly, for people like me, those who were well known but at odds with Western imperialism, it has become near impossible to work (give speeches or to get interviewed) in Malaysia. All the doors have gotten shut. We cannot get any quotes from Malaysian academics, artists or politicians.
Cowardice and self-interest, has become the main driving force. I have never forgotten, how during the conflict between the Philippines and Malaysia, I went to Borneo and wrote an extremely sarcastic essay about the event. I got powerful quotes from the Filipino people, who even crossed the sea in order to talk to me, on the record. I got a couple of quotes from Malaysians, too. But after my long essay was published, the Malaysians protested: “We did not know you will be so sarcastic in your work”. They were too careful, too disciplined, unwilling to risk anything.
There is no way to get quotes from the Malaysians, about the terror which the West is spreading all over the world, or about the West’s best ally – Wahhabism. Or about the shameless collaboration of the Southeast Asian nations with the West. Not even about that “greatest Malaysian secret”: “Almost all that scientific research, and native production, totally failed: the country basically lives, like Indonesia, although on a much higher level, from the plundering of its natural resources; from irreversibly and brutally ruining of its land by cutting down the native forest and turning both peninsular Malaysia and Borneo into one huge and horrific oil palm plantation, dotted with mining pits. Malaysia also functions as an assembly like a maquiladora for multi-national companies.”
Those who protest or speak out about what has been done to the native people of Borneo, die. And so, nobody does, anymore.
This is what broke the spine of Malaysia: its unwillingness to risk. Its a lack of courage. Its dependence on former and present colonial masters. Its submissiveness. I described this kind of behavior in this part of the world in my political novel Aurora.
The great fiery socialist, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist Indonesian leader, Ahmed Sukarno, knew all this very well. He saw Malaysia as basically a puppet state of the West. He had launched a campaign of Konfrontasi against his neighbor and its British handler. And the neighbor – Malaysia – fired back: it later quietly embraced the fascist regime of General Suharto, which overthrew Sukarno and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), in the bloodiest coup in the history of mankind; a coup which was triggered by the West in 1965.
Since the coup, Malaysia has flatly refused to openly criticize anything about Indonesia: from murdering 2 million people in 1965 to the genocide in East Timor, as well as the on-going genocide in occupied West Papua. And of course, no word about the monstrous destruction of Indonesian nature, as something similar, although not as extreme, has been taking place in Malaysia itself.
Now, Malaysia feels depressed and looks depressing.
Here, in this essay, on purpose, I do not talk much about the previous political era, and about the return of “Doctor M.” to power. Nor do I write about who used to sponsor Anwar Ibrahim, and who then decided that it is unwise, for now, to sponsor Anwar, shouting that it is time to give “another chance to Doctor M”. Let me just say that almost all these decisions came from abroad.
Let me recall, however, how most of the foreign-sponsored members of the so-called Malaysian opposition were determinedly supporting the totally discredited neo-liberal Anwar Ibrahim when he was a ‘Washington’s favorite’. And they dropped him precisely when the marching orders arrived from far away in Europe and the US. Doctor M whom they “fought” so determinedly against, but of course for a fee, suddenly deserved a “second chance”, when they were told that he does, by their “handlers”. It all happened so openly, so shamelessly, and so predictably.
Yes, Malaysia is a sad country. Two of its wide-body passenger jets went down, killing hundreds of people and ruining one of the proudest airlines in Asia, but no one here truly investigates, how and why it occurred. It is not a fully taboo topic, but it is definitely semi-taboo.
Almost no one is investigating the past, either. Things are hushed up, hidden, not unlike in neighboring Indonesia. Of course, the horrors that have been taking place in Indonesia are incomparably greater in comparison to the ‘mild devilishness’ which happened in Malaysia. But still… It took a Sri Lankan born author, Lloyd Fernando, to describe the religious ‘riots’ in Malaysia; the 1969 killings and wave of torture unleashed against non-Muslims in his powerful novel “Green is The Color”. Locals would never dare.
And who really questions in the open that bizarre, racist arrangement which has been governing Malaysia for so many decades? Here, the slight Muslim majority (bumiputera) has many more rights than the highly productive Chinese group, as well as deeply discriminated against Indians. Bumiputera (children of the land) somehow does not extend to original people living in Borneo.
In Malaysia, there are different laws for Muslims and non-Muslims. Here, a Malay person is “born Muslim”, by definition. He or she cannot change his or her fate. It is simply a grotesque reality.
And try to address it, try to criticize! You would be finished in no time if you live in Malaysia.
But back to the “sadness of Malaysia”. That’s where I wanted to begin and end this essay.
Things did not go well. Doctor M’s plans never really materialize.
Petronas Towers remained the tallest building only for a few years, and even the fountains in front of them went on an austerity regime and began working only in the evenings.
The concert hall below now feels increasingly small, for such a sprawling city. Now it is also compromising. There are more and cheaper pop shows performed behind its lavish doors, and there are less and less great performances.
The ‘flagship’ KLCC Mall suffers from constantly broken escalators, and its once prestigious art gallery is closed, almost half of the time.
The Formula-1 circuit in Sepang closed down in 2017.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has become a traveler’s nightmare, with inefficient staff, terrible lines, unnecessary double or even triple security checks, fingerprinting, photographing and other excessive inconveniences to the passengers.
Public transportation has survived only in Kuala Lumpur and its greater area. Elsewhere, there were countless projects, and monstrously costly failed plans to build monorails, trams, and an urban rail: from Malacca, Georgetown, Johor Bahru, to Putrajaya.
Cyberjaya never managed to ‘fly’, or to compete with Singapore. Nothing great came from its research facilities. Only second-rate scientists settled there.
As in the much bigger Indonesia, Malaysia could not give birth to even one single great writer, scientist or thinker.
In smaller towns, the situation is even more pathetic. Kuching was celebrating the fact that the long-postponed light rail project will soon start being constructed. But the 2nd era of Dr. M has begun. Countless public works have been stopped. What was already there, like the only existing public railroad in Borneo, which originates in Kota Kinabalu, has been castrated, its service reduced to two runs per day.
Why? So, just as in Indonesia and Thailand, private vehicles could be force-sold to the citizens, so gas could be burned, and corporations could make billions from building new roads, further ruining the natural environment as well as the urban areas.
And those well-funded Malaysian intellectuals? As mentioned earlier in this essay, they began glorifying the highway-builders in their books, even in novels. Coincidence? I will leave it up to you to decide!
Dr. M. torpedoed many grand projects previously signed with China. That was most likely the deal that was made behind the closed doors: the “new” government would enjoy peace with the West. London and Washington will stop trashing the old man and his coalition. Local NGOs and Malaysian artists and ‘intellectuals’ paid by Western organizations, institutions, and governments will scale down or even entirely stop their criticism. In exchange, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will be almost entirely kicked out of Malaysia, or at least, thoroughly castrated.
This is, of course, an absolutely horrible deal for Malaysia, but it appears that for as long as this government is in place, the trend is here to stay. After all, ‘it is all about China, isn’t it?’ At least for the West and its dependencies.
Everything has somehow failed in Malaysia, but especially those dreams about the building of a great, proud and productive nation.
I filmed in Kota Kinabalu, recently. Two years ago, there was an attempt to build a boardwalk, a public area facing the sea. You know, a small replica of those grand waterfronts that one can see in Latin America, South Africa, Europe, and of course in China, and even in the Gulf. Now, with the new government, even that tiny public space was privatized; rented to some businesswoman from Kuala Lumpur. She fenced it off, put some kitsch figures and a tiny shack with a “horror show” performance, and began charging an entry fee of RM5 (US1.25) per person.
I asked the cashier how she felt about this corporate takeover of a stunning public space?
She did not understand. I asked about savage capitalism in Malaysia; she had no idea what I was talking about.
Later, I asked several of my Malaysian friends about the ruined land, which has been unbearably scarred by the oil palm plantations (almost half of the world’s production), or by mines and other terrible ventures. They refused to comment, at least on the record. Reason: “too dangerous”. “They all have families”.
I talked to the indigenous people of Borneo, in Sabah and Sarawak. They did talk. About brutality, about being forced to convert, religiously. About people who were killed, who disappeared.
I talked to people in Papua New Guinea and from the Solomon Islands, where the Malaysian logging companies had been committing crimes against humanity, including rapes, torture and sexual abuse of children. I described my findings in my book – Oceania.
But this is just an essay, not an investigative report full of names and numbers, about a country which I used to love, but which has collapsed, sold itself, and reduced itself to a gloomy mediocrity.
Malaysia was set to take off, to fly, to show the way for so many other countries of the world.
But its people, its ‘elites’ and ‘intellectuals’, decided to put their personal interests first. They helped to re-introduce the mentality of a colonized nation.
“Go to hell with your aid!” The Indonesian President Sukarno screamed into the face of the US Ambassador in Jakarta. As a result, Sukarno was overthrown, and 2 million Indonesians were killed – the rest was frightened into insanity and then brainwashed.
Malaysia never truly rebelled. It never went from one extreme to another, from pride to slavery. Its people never refused the aid (or payment for services provided) from the West. They survived, as a result. But have they ever truly lived?
Malaysia has never really experienced real freedom and exaltation from moving forward, on its own, without looking over its shoulder, and without fear.
[First published by 21 Century Wire]