How Hard is it for the Truth to Be Heard?

Yesterday Harriet Harman was lying through her teeth on the Andrew Marr show, claiming that the Government had never had any idea any of its intelligence was coming through torture. Meanwhile, the Government has refused to testify on this subject before the Parliamentary Joint Commission on Human Rights, where such lies may have consequences. If Harman is telling the truth, what do Ministers have to hide from the Parliamentary Commission?

Of course, she is not telling the truth. I today sent this memorandum to the Joint Commission on Human Rights, offering to give evidence before them - if Ministers won't tell them what is happening, perhaps I can:

I wish to offer myself as a witness before the Joint Commission on Human Rights on the subject of the UK government's policy on intelligence cooperation with torture abroad.

I appeared as a witness in person before both the European Parliament and European Council's enquiries into extraordinary rendition. My evidence was described by the European Council's Rapporteur, Senator Dick Marty, as "Compelling and valuable".

The key points I wish to make are these:

* I was British Ambassador in Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004.

* I learned and confirmed that I was regularly seeing intelligence from detainees in the Uzbek torture chambers, sent me by the CIA via MI6.

* British Ministers and officials were seeing the same torture material.

* In October/November 2002 and January/Februray 2003 I sent two Top Secret telegrams to London specifically on the subject of our receipt of intelligence gained under torture. I argued this was illegal, immoral and impractical. The telegrams were speciifically marked for the Secretary of State.

* I was formally summoned back to the FCO for a meeting held on 7 or 8 March 2003 specifically and solely on the subject of intelligence gained under torture. Present were Linda Duffield, Director Wider Europe, FCO, Sir Michael Wood, Chief Legal Adviser, FCO, and Matthew Kydd, Head of Permanent Under-Secretary's Department, FCO.

* This meeting was minuted. I have seen the record, which is classified Top Secret and was sent to Jack Straw. On the top copy are extensive hand-written marginalia giving Jack Straw's views.

* I was told at this meeting that it is not illegal for us to obtain intelligence gained by torture, provided that we did not do the torture ourselves. I was told that it had been decided that as a matter of War on Terror policy we should now obtain intelligence from torture, following discussion between Jack Straw and Richard Dearlove. I was told that we could not exclude receipt of specific material from the CIA without driving a coach and horses through the universality principle of the UK/US intelligence sharing agreement, which would be detrimental to UK interests.

* Sir Michael Wood's legal advice that it was not illegal to receive intelligence got by torture was sent on to me in Tashkent (copy attached).

* On 22 July 2004 I sent one further telegram on intelligence got by torture, with a lower classification, following FCO communications on the subject. (Copy attached).

It was my final communication before being dismissed as Ambassador.
In conclusion, I can testify that beyond any doubt the British government has for at least six years a considered but secret policy of cooperation with torture abroad. This policy legally cleared by government legal advisers and approved by Jack Straw as Secretary of State.

Craig Murray
2 March 2009

So now I wait to see what response I get. The Foreign Affairs Committee refused to call me to give evidence, and I rather fear that the Joint Commission on Human Rights may continue the British parliamentary tradition of ostracising whistleblowers.

Source: craigmurray.org.uk

French President Nicolas Sarkozy friend says 9/11 was a lie

One of France's most successful stand-up comedians and a close friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked outrage by becoming the latest French star to question the official account of the September 11 attacks.

In an embarrassment to the French President, and with just two days to go before the seventh anniversary of the deadly terrorist strikes, Jean-Marie Bigard - a member of Mr Sarkozy's inner circle of showbiz friends - said the official version was a "lie".

"We are now absolutely certain that these two planes - the one that supposedly fell into a forest (flight 93 in Pennsylvania) and onto the Pentagon don't exist... those planes are still flying.

"It's an enormous lie," he told Europe 1 radio.

"It's an American missile that hit the Pentagon, they provoked it themselves, they killed fellow Americans.

"Usually one learns of these things 30 years afterwards. We know it now," he went on.

Mr Bigard, who has staged shows to a full house in Paris' football stadium, le Stade de France, added: "We are beginning to seriously consider that neither Ben Laden nor al Qaeda were responsible for September 11."

He cited the controversial 2002 bestseller L'Effroyable Imposture (The Big Lie) by Frenchman Thierry Meyssan, which claimed the Pentagon crash was a "fake", as well as the hit internet conspiracy film Loose Change.

His comments were condemned as "grotesque" by former French foreign minister Hubert Védrine. "There will always be people who believe that things are being hidden from them, that everything is being hidden from them," he said.

Europe 1 has issued an apology but Mr Bigard said he stood by his words. The crude and scatological comic, whose humour travels poorly, was one of several celebrity friends Mr Sarkozy took with him to meet the Pope late last year, as he is a devout Catholic.

He is the second French star to accuse America of fabricating the 9/11 attacks.

In March, the Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard angered Americans with a similar conspiracy theory on a chat show.

The 32-year-old, who won a BAFTA award for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, had said that the US regularly lied about major events, up to and including the terrorist attacks on New York.

"I think we're lied to about a number of things," he said, even claiming the Americans had destroyed the Twin Towers themselves because they were an outdated "money sucker".

Expanding her conspiracy theory, Miss Cotillard said it would be "a lot more expensive" to rebuild the towers "which is why they were destroyed," with the loss of thousands of American lives.

She later was forced into an embarrassing climb-down, with her lawyer saying she "never intended to contest nor question the attacks of September 11, 2001," and that her remarks were taken out of context.

"It is almost impossible to fight against this phenomenon," conspiracy theory specialist Pascal Froissart told Le Parisien. "Because the fact of denying it spreads the rumour even further."

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Over 60% of People Do Not Trust the Government

A poll conducted by the World Public Opinion (WPO) has found that over 60% of the population of Great Britain and the United States do not trust their governments. The poll showed that 67% of Brits have low levels of trust in the Labour Government while 60% of Americans feel the same way about the Bush Administration.

Overall dissatisfaction of government responsiveness was much higher with 77% of Brits and an even higher percentage, 83% of Americans.

With each passing year, we see Western Governments becoming more brazen with lies and imposing limits on our freedoms and privacy.

The poll also asked “Whose Benefit is Country Run For?”

Unsurprisingly, 60% of Brits perceive their government as serving powerful special interests rather than the interests of the people as a whole, likewise 80% of Americans said the same.

Distain for corporate influence on governments is clear, but perhaps the lack of faith in the government goes even deeper. Obviously there has been fabrication of evidence and spinning lies to the population in order to gain support for the illegal invasion and occupation of nations.

Then there is the use of outlawed weapons in those occupied countries, which cause damage for generations to come, and of course the propaganda which is fed to and disseminated by the mainstream media, all which is becoming increasingly less effective as the ‘alternative’ media grows.

Maybe issues closer to home has also damaged trust in the government. A weakening economy while national debt goes through the roof, or possibly the high levels of surveillance we must endure thanks to new anti terrorism laws which give the government access to every aspect of our lives.

This is of course just the tip of the iceberg; there is no single issue that has caused the majority of the population to mistrust their government. It is an accumulation of constant betrayal over many years which has lead to the decay in trust and possibly more importantly, the loss of hope within the people.

Source: RINF.com