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Watching you 2

Posted on March 09, 2019 by

A real advert currently showing on TV:

An older version:

We aren’t the 99% 13

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

It's even happening in Bath. Even in one of the richest corners of Britain – a city so posh that it refused a local organic dairy farm permission to open a boutique ice-cream concession in its expensive new showpiece shopping development in case it "lowered the tone" – there's an Occupy protest. A couple of dozen tents huddle together in Queen Square, a small green space in the middle of a busy traffic junction that's more accustomed to hosting farmers' markets and games of boules.

To be honest, I'm surprised there are that many. Bath's housing, parking and public transport are all so cripplingly costly that poor people can barely get into the centre of town even for a visit. But still, like most of the Occupy protests nationwide (those that still survive at all, anyway), the numbers are pretty pitiful. At a time when the government has all but openly declared class war, when everyone from the Socialist Worker to the Daily Mail is furious at the greed of the wealthy, why isn't the whole country out on the streets, rather than a few little pockets camping in the cold?

The answer is obvious, but for some reason is never spoken aloud. Despite the Occupy movement's catchy and evocative slogan, we aren't the 99%. But that's understandable, because "we are the 33%" doesn't carry quite the same moral punch.

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The Hangman’s Lottery 21

Posted on October 04, 2011 by

A couple of weeks ago, a group of state employees took a man called Troy Davis from his prison cell in Atlanta, Georgia to a small room and strapped him to a gurney. They inserted a needle into one of his veins, hooked up the needle to some tubes connected to a machine and, at a given signal, pressed a button on the machine in the full and clear knowledge that it would cause poisonous chemicals to be pumped into his bloodstream until he died of asphyxiation.

These people – every one of whom doubtless considered themselves an ordinary, decent, caring member of society, living in the most civilised and cultured country on Earth – participated willingly in the killing despite knowing that there was an enormous degree of doubt as to whether Davis was in any way responsible for the death of the man in whose name he was being executed.

Bafflingly, very few people found this behaviour at all odd.

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    • Sven on Telling the truth by mistake: “Well, I’m really glad they cleared that up for us.Nov 22, 13:37
    • Karen on Telling the truth by mistake: “So a man with a self id’d £5 bit of paper is a “woman”, according to them. And a woman…Nov 22, 13:30
    • sarah on Telling the truth by mistake: “I didn’t get it until your response! 🙂Nov 22, 13:30
    • Alison on Telling the truth by mistake: “For just a wee ‘bit of admin’ this sure has created an awful lot of words. And whilst some of…Nov 22, 13:21
    • Rev. Stuart Campbell on Telling the truth by mistake: “(You’re fired – Ed)Nov 22, 13:15
    • Graham on Telling the truth by mistake: “Nah that’s just what they call a mobile phone these days.Nov 22, 13:07
    • Muscleguy on Telling the truth by mistake: “Indeed the S35 order determined that such is not within ScotGov’s competence. It treads on Reserved matters as they well…Nov 22, 12:58
    • Campbell Clansman on The Long Unravelling: “In the real Scotland, they had 4 council by-elections yesterday. The “Indy” parties received 25.5%, 32.2%, 26.3% and 33.4% of…Nov 22, 12:40
    • TURABDIN on The Long Unravelling: “In this situation we may have something akin to the«Coalition of the Willing». That too was driven by money, arm…Nov 22, 12:18
    • Hatey McHateface on The Long Unravelling: “Here we go, Ros, 30 seconds of online searching: “Research by Clarion Security Systems estimates that there are over 942,562…Nov 22, 12:14
    • Andy on The Long Unravelling: “Also off topic – but would there be a Children In Need piece coming up?Nov 22, 12:13
    • Hatey McHateface on The Long Unravelling: “Jeezo, Mia. My post was a classic “gotcha” and you’re such a godamn humour-free zone and po-faced finger-wagger you can’t…Nov 22, 12:05
    • Michael Laing on The Long Unravelling: “Howsabout you just respond to my questions, Bellend? How does being in the UK benefit Scotland?Nov 22, 12:04
    • sarah on The Long Unravelling: “James Kelly says they were all Labour seats being defended! So they were held by Labour, not won, he says.Nov 22, 11:57
    • Michael Laing on The Long Unravelling: “Then we get to the attack on farmers… A former Labour Starmer aide is on camera saying ‘we will do…Nov 22, 11:54
    • sarah on The Long Unravelling: “O/T Returning to the issue of removing Scotland from the Union, there are two articles on which way to approach…Nov 22, 11:53
    • Zander Tait on The Long Unravelling: “That would be Survation, Fido.Nov 22, 11:45
    • Southernbystander on The Way Forward: “The majority of Scots are pro-Trump eh? How sad. But I don’t believe you – you have literally just made…Nov 22, 11:31
    • Mia on The Long Unravelling: ““Two of them. The USA and the UK” ahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!! And then you have the brass neck to claim that I…Nov 22, 11:21
    • Hatey McHateface on The Long Unravelling: ““How many of those country’s governments are controlled by USA/UK?” Two of them. The USA and the UK. FFS, Mia,…Nov 22, 11:06
    • Mia on The Long Unravelling: ““IMHO all they really want to do is put a lot of distressed farms on the market to be snapped…Nov 22, 11:02
    • Hatey McHateface on The Long Unravelling: ““You are on here, every day, all day” Nope. “repeating all this revolting ‘killing babies with bayonets’” Nope. “denounce everyone…Nov 22, 11:01
    • Mia on The Long Unravelling: ““41 countries are providing active support to U” How many of those country’s governments are controlled by USA/UK?Nov 22, 11:00
    • The Flying Iron of Doom on The Long Unravelling: “Which poll was that then?Nov 22, 11:00
    • Mia on The Long Unravelling: ““If we’re bombed to ashes won’t the subsidised bars go too? And the pensions?” Not necessarily. A couple of possibilities…Nov 22, 10:55
    • Republicofscotland on The Long Unravelling: “Its shows us – just how corrupt and far removed the political scene is from Scots, when Anas Sarwar the…Nov 22, 10:51
    • Mia on The Long Unravelling: “An much more distressing thought for me is that, if those disgusting individuals with absolute no principles, no morals, no…Nov 22, 10:39
    • Hatey McHateface on The Long Unravelling: ““as long as those parasites who claim to represent us can keep their salaries, pensions and access to subsidised bars,…Nov 22, 10:38
    • Republicofscotland on The Long Unravelling: ““Glasgow is an Indy stronghold.” Of course it is – why do you think that there are more security cameras…Nov 22, 10:28
    • Mac on The Long Unravelling: “You are on here, every day, all day, posting the same black lies that have been debunked a long time…Nov 22, 10:27
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