The go-to guy
For reasons which defy all known science, John McTernan remains the first number on the BBC’s speed-dial list when they need a commentator to represent Labour views. It’s a remarkable editorial decision, given that McTernan despises the party’s current leadership almost beyond words, and it doesn’t seem too fond of him either.
But on today’s Good Morning Scotland, McTernan really kicked it up a notch.
(Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, 27 November 2015)
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The extraordinary eight-minute rant above makes it almost beyond belief that the state broadcaster can continue to present McTernan as a Labour voice. But then again, we suppose we can understand their confusion. Because although Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay might claim McTernan is “unemployable”, his party doesn’t seem so sure:
As recently as June this year, McTernan was still Scottish Labour’s chief of staff, on a salary (paid by UK Labour) far outstripping those of branch office manager Jim Murphy or his successor Kezia Dugdale.
He operates in a strange limbo, condemned by the likes of Findlay and John Prescott but regularly hired by the party, never officially disowned and therefore plausibly able to be regularly presented as an authentic representative – even while calling his own leader a liar, praising David Cameron to the heavens, penning scores of articles for the Tory press and insisting that Labour has no chance of winning the next election.
Cynical readers might consider the inordinate frequency of McTernan’s appearances on the BBC part of a deliberate intent to distort the centre of political discourse to the right (particularly when they’re combined with the on-air ubiquity of Nigel Farage). We have no view on that, other than that we live in strange times.
John McTernan accusing someone else of being closed-minded is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard on the radio. His lack of self-awareness is absolutely staggering.
John McTernan: never knowingly funny, but always hilarious.
Its what tells me more about the current political direction of the BBC. The Robinson rules, the Tory pressure, the underhanded bias.
All of it smacks of massive political bias from the BBC.
But we know that no?
But I’m sure McTernan represents one of the Labour Parties within the Labour Party so let him get on with it.
Of course the BBC being impartial should allow the other Labour parties within the Labour Party equal time. Kezia because she speaks so fast should be only allowed half time and then bring on the oranges
It’s because, although it’s possible to switch off the TV or radio, it’s impossible to ‘switch off’ the BBC.
We can stop buying a newspaper or chose a different newspaper, but we are stuck with the BBC as gatekeeper through the licence fee.
Cutting off their funding is the only effective way to alter the BBC.
I and I think everyone else is absolutely bemused by SLAB’s number 1 supporter, namely BBC Scotland who are usually so keen to present anything that can be twisted to SNP – BAD should keep interviewing McT as he is the SNP’s top recruiting sergeant???? Anybody got any ideas??
Auld Rock
To say out loud, “Its a death cult that kills people, fellow Europeans in Paris, because of their lifestyles, nobody is safe,” after their illegal invasion of Iraq, possibly killing a million non European people?
Same red/blue tory freak show has Trident too.
Do Labour have masochistic tendencies? Utilising this guy smacks of Labour Central undermining Mr Corbyn yet again, by continuing to let this pernicious fool rant and rave on media.
The £3 memberships are really screwing Labour to the wall big time. What on earth can the Labour Party do other than keep railing against Corbyn,desperately hoping that the gullible public will eventually come on board to their way of thinking.
Corbyns job is akin to those who hand feed Great White Sharks,but in a paddling pool
What an utter Fanny
If the Labour party has friends like mc Tehran it doesn’t need any enemy’s.
there is a total offensive (which is offensive) on all fronts from the right wing in this country…
The media is saturated with pro-war stances, television programs are relentlessly pro- war / removal of ISIS/ISIL.
The message is deliberately tuned to illicit an emotional / fear response before you have time to think about it rationally, and to drive all of us together as the UK “tribe”
Anyone who stands up to/ resists this message is the subject of a barrage of negative media coverage, disparaging remarks and ridicule. This serves to minimise the effect of their actions on the right wing agenda and to discourage others from joining in collectively against the “tribe”
it is classic group manipulation and most folk will fall in line without even blinking – which is all they need….
We are going to war folks….the mob who do as they are told will collectively drag us in
“There is a death cult in Paris and possibly the UK . . .
… therefore we must bomb Syria.”
Seemples!
“Cynical readers might consider the inordinate frequency of McTernan’s appearances on the BBC part of a deliberate intent to distort the centre of political discourse to the right”
I can’t think of any other reason. A Lab Tory merge for a unionist strategy against the SNP.
Sounded like some of the zoomers I used to hear here on Call Kaye. Stopped listening to that too.
They pay him a lot of money to tell them they are rubbish when anyone will tell them that for free but they wrongly believe advice is worth what you pay for it.
So he is unemployable as all he can do is put labour down and abuse them for money………..hang on is that not a job.
Dominatrix.
I’ve just listened to this recording of McTernan
Currently trying to get my jaw off the floor, may need medical help
Really, he is a five bell alarm frothing at the mouth idiot
Its unbelievable that Labour actually pay him
Why on earth do the BBC automatically go to this pratt?
The classic bit was when he stated that it was the voters that mattered NOT the Labour membership. The membership are not the country, MPs are not their for members. (so how do MP’s get chosen again?)
Also the way he spat out that Corbyn was a PACIFIST! as if it was a dirty belief, according to McTernan, the country will not elect a pacifist (just the opposite I presume)
“but we are stuck with the BBC as gatekeeper through the licence fee.”
I woke up to yet another letter addressed to “The Legal Occupier”, with a “We will be visiting your area soon.” printed on the front of it, hanging half-arsedly through my letter box.
My shredder wishes to pass on its thanks. My shredder loves the BBC.
I tuned into the broadcast this morning by accident and probably caught about three quarters of the tirade.
For some reason I did not recognise the voice, it seemed rather strangely plummy, so sat and listened while sippimg my tea. After several seconds both my wife and I were reduced to hysterical laughter thinking GarryR and BBCScot had totally lost it and found a new shires tory lunatic commentator
GarryR’s disingenuous questioning on this occasion was also very amusing particularly his ability to totally ignore and glide over McT’s condescension. I began to think the whole thing had been scripted.
I just hope they continue to invite him on to lighten my mornings but suspect that a new comedy career beckons McT within the Tory party unless of course David Icke beats him to it
McTernan is clearly a man who knows some secrets. I can see no other explanation for his current exalted position. Am I the only one who hears him and thinks he’s a vile creature, displaying nothing but contempt for all those around him? He wouldn’t last 5 minutes in my local.
Forced myself to sit through all of it against my better judgement.
Surely the men in the white coats canny be far away?
This wee dick needs kitted out in cammies and webbing, given an SA80 and boarded on the next flight to Syria.
It is amazing how guys like McT who love to talk big about crushing people are so often those who couldnae punch their way through a wet paper bag.
R Type Grunt says
“He wouldn’t last five minutes in my local”
You must be a patient lot.
Mr McTernan pretty much said that the views of the Labour Party membership should be ignored.I think he would be much happier if the Labour Party had no members,just big business donors.Anyway,it’s all good fun.
Madness, utter madness.
It won’t be their children in the front line. Not the Blairs, the Cameron’s, the Benns, the Kinnocks. Only one member of the Senate in America has a child serving in the armed forces.
War mongering carpet bagging bastards.
And after the war Cameron can earn millions being the next ‘peace envoy’ to the Middle East.
Or perhaps Murdock will give him a directorship in the Genie oil company which has obtained the contract for the drilling rights in the Golan Heights, and the operating rights in existing wells in an occupied Syria. See Craig Murray’s blog for evidence of this.
There are no words to accurately describe the evil, cynical, criminal way this is playing out.
McTernan is a poisonous and malign influence, whose continuous presence within the Labour party confirms that it is ersatz tory sham, a faux opposition whose existence is to con the electorate into believing we live in a democracy.
His puppet masters have let this rabid dog loose to savage the weak Corbynesque spasmodic attempts to breathe real left political principles into the dying body of Britlab.
His job, like that , which failed with SLAB, is to keep Labour as a pale imitation of a political opposition. Hence his dishonourable and despicable attack on Corbyn.
The fact that this human cockroach survives testifies not only to his powers of survival at all costs but also to the British State’s desperation to push us into another war.
Like you, I have been taken aback by the fact that BBC Scotland turn so readily to Mr McTernan as the voice of the Labour Party.
Is he speaking for himself? Is he speaking on behalf of the ‘Establishment’? He has unbridled contempt for Mr Corbyn and is being given a platform to pour out his bile. He seems to be making a pitch for employment by the right.
I felt that Gary Robertson was genuinely taken aback by the vitriol, and, when he dared to put an alternative view he was treated with similar disdain.
Who is responsible for the decisions of BBC Scotland’s News and Current Affairs about the direction of its editorial policy and the decisions about who to engage for comment. On ‘Call Kaye’ Anthony Beevor appeared for yet another occasion to promote the case for the bombing of Syria, with Ms Adams seeming only to be seeking views within that context.
“Why on earth do the BBC automatically go to this pratt?”
‘Cause Ian Murray was busy. Abstaining somewhere I think.
McTeirnan is a Great British latterday Rasputin,the allure he seems to have over the Establishment elite.
There’s more than a hint of the Mad Monk about him.
He’s like a jobby that cannot be flushed.
As clear a piece of pompous arrogant back-stabbing as you’re ever likely to hear.
McTernan must be the Tories’ best (not so secret) weapon.
I dont often swear but ‘FUCK ME’ that was dire.
1) Being a pacifist isnt Labour Party Policy
2) Dont even think of being a leader unless you want to bomb the shit out of stuff
3) Attending ‘Stop the War’ rallies is equivalent to being a naughty schoolboy
Etc… etc…
It speaks volumes about NuLabour that the repulsive wee nyaff was ever employed and retained in the first place. It says even more about the BBC that he’s rarely off it.
No further comment, its unfair, except, please, please, please, John stand for election in 2016, but get yourself laid first! All that pent up tension is bad for you
@Lochside,
Agree with every word. Labour are finally revealed as window dressing for the State. Keep the plebs in order by giving them a choice.
Aye the pacifist comment is pure propaganda.
Here’s an excerpt from the Goering quote that I saw on Rev’s twitter last week from Gleen Greenwald:
“There is one difference, ” I pointed out. “In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare war.”
“Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
This is manufactured outrage on the part of Cameron and McT. They mean to drag us into war. Make no mistake. Now Corbyn…just has to get aff his knees, and get the warmongers tae fuck. (but will he?)
It’s kinda worrying listening to what are essentially Tories in the Labour party, and knowing that there are too many others with the same view but less dementedly on show!
Watching part of the lords in a debate about security, I think, John Reid and a few others trying to push for return of ID cards.
That man in particular has always creeped me out, little did I realise how many more of them there are…
Pacific Quay’s love affair with McTernan and that of the BBC as a whole may relate to the fact that they believe they need to be rid of Corbyn to make Labour/Slab electable again.
Corbyn is a huge asset to us and must stay because for as long as he is there chaos and division will reign.
Just WOW.
What Scott Minto said.
Corbyn will either have to call him out for the obnoxious prat that he is, or shrivel and call it a day!
Said last week that Corbyn was not a person who could lead from the front and he has lost the support from the ‘dressing room’ big time over the Trident and Syria events.
Real Labour dahn South is the same as pretend labour in North Britain, they ignore the members and look after their own interests.
I thought I saw, in my mind’s eye, the bony hand of Murphy on McTernan’s shoulder as he ranted through that tirade.
Nasty…very! Virtually calling a chap a ‘tractor’, the bold McTernan. 🙂
So, the Liar McTeirnan accuses the leader of Labour, his party, his employer of being a liar and goes on to give David Cameron a full some and glowing report card!
The only truculent sixth former in evidence is himself!
Is he losing his mind over losing his contacts at the top and any influence he might have had?
It is a race between himself and J.C. to see who loses their job first. If J.C. goes first McTeirnan hopes to hang on to his position, if not he will Definately be unemployable apart from baggage carrier to Jim Murphy across Eastern Europe.
Priceless insanity!
Clearly McTernan is a tory but he just doesn’t seem to realise it. Would somebody please tell him so that he can join them and be done with it? At least then we could respect his honesty.
mealer says:
” McTernan pretty much said that the views of the Labour Party membership should be ignored.”
Ignoring their voters too has been mainstream Labour thinking for some time!
I did like Stu’s analysis a few months back were he showing that Blair won a GE with fewer votes than Kinnoch lost one. What Blair did was turn millions off politics.
I don’t follow McTernan enough to know for sure, but my guess would be that be is a fan of Blair.
Another interesting analysis of war and peace focuses on Blair as a young candidate losing Beaconsfield in 1982. The only time he lost while standing in an election. It was safe Tory, so he had no chance. This was the midst of the Falklands War which saw a large swing to Thatcher. The lesson many took from that time was that a short successful war can raise a politician’s standing in Enland. The theory goes that Blair became obsessed with the idea that he too could boost his fortunes with war. Perhaps true, perhaps not.
There does seem to be an obsession among multi coloured Tories that they can carve out a piece of history through war, mimicking Thatcher.
Personally, I think Thatcher was astonishly lucky! Defeat would have destroyed her. And, I don’t think Blair did much positive for his image through war. Maybe Cameron thinks he can be a Thatcher rather than a Blair. And, all bought with human life.
Why do the bbc go to mcternan for his opinion?
Well he’s a rabid war monger, and given the bbc has a director from BAE as one of it’s Trusties you can bet your arse that there’s big bucks in this for some at the top.
Where there’s blood there’s brass.
Still look on the bright side, we can always buy more fucking poppies in November, and if it gets really bad, we can blame the refugees.
@Alasdair MacDonald
It’s anthony glees, who seems to be on that show every week
Always calling for ordinance to rain down – otherwise we won’t be a world power etc
Obsessed with England’s place in the pecking order
@Daisy Walker
Don’t you hold back Daisy! 🙂
I am confused here.
Why is being a pacifist, if indeed Jeremy Corbyn actually is, a crime these days?
McTernan claims Jeremy Corbyn is a pacifist, I saw the Labour guy on This Week last night make a specific claim to not being a pacifist. Why are Labour bending over backwards to make people aware that they are a pacifist?
What is wrong with being a pacifist, at least if someone is one then we all know exactly where we stand. However, with warmongers like Blair, Cameron, McTernan we have absolutely no idea where we stand other than lots of our young military will be killed as part of the UK’s adoption of the position of being the US’s lap dog and … erm … OIL!
I wonder if McTernan has to show his Conservative and Unionist membership card every time he enters a BBC building for a *ahem* interview.
Ach!…meant to add this. By-elections in Fife summary in Herald.
link to archive.is
If Stuart’s recent poll on BBC programme listeners and viewers was fairly accurate it appears to me the BBC are having little or no effect on Scottish opinions. As last nights resounding victories for the SNP would indicate.
You would think the Establishment Media had figured out by now that they are driving voters to the SNP. Mind you I hope they only figure it out after we get independence.
If JC really cares about those thousands of innocents who are about to die, then he has to take the fight to those red tory warmongers. They will not be silenced until he takes them on and gives them a good kicking. It may have escaped his attention, but his beloved Labour party is on the verge of extinction, so what is there to lose by upping the stakes?
If JC stays to form and backs down to avoid confrontation and keep his beloved party together, then he will not be kindly regarded by history and by all those who supported him in the hope of an alternative future for the Labour party.
That sounded rather fascistic, a touch of the black shirt there with his glorifying war and contempt for the people. And France HAS been involved in the Middle East, especially Syria and Lebanon, for over a hundred years. France was bombing ISIS in Syria before the Paris bombing.
McTernan and the warmongers despise the UN and the rule of law. These people are dangerous. I do hope Corbyn stands up to them. I hope they all resign and he can recruit a front bench of decent humanitarian people to represent Labour members.
I’d like to think that that was a wake up call to SLAB members but I’ve almost begun to give up hope.
Just a wee side thought here.
When McTernan loses his job, as he surely will, is it true that his next job will be *ahem* special advisor to President Trump? 😀
What’s even more baffling is Neil Findlay defending Better Together at any cost, he will never be taken seriously either at this rate.
Labour is tearing itself apart, and even Neil Findlay is happy at the prospect of decades of Tory rule and Red Tory rule.
The front line of Better Together has disappeared or voted out or ran away, Neil Findlay is taking up Better Together’s baton.
That’s how he’ll be remembered.
Great job Mr mc Ternan, would the last slab supporter please turn out the office lights. He can think himself a founder of independent Scotland.
I heard this “live” this morning and actually couldn’t help laughing.
Mr McTernan was presented as a voice of Labour and came across as completely unhinged.
Throughout the “8 minute rant” all I could think of was “and so Labour self-destructs”.
What’s not to like?
[…] For reasons which defy all known science, John McTernan remains the first number on the BBC’s speed-dial list when they need a commentator to represent Labour views. It’s a remarkable editorial decision, given that McTernan despises the party’s current leadership almost beyond words, and it doesn’t seem too fond of him either. […]
McTernan reminds me of one of these androids from the film beyond westworld
What an odious self important little man. His arrogance is breathtaking, his ignorance awesome. There is really nothing you can say about such a person. He makes my skin crawl
And for our further delectation, McT’s just tweeted ‘For those who haven’t seen enough of me on the BBC recently, don’t worry – I’m on @bbc5live and @BBCBreakfast tomorrow.’
The powers that be at the BBC, really do seem intent on downing Corbyn.
I’m astonished!
@ R-type Grunt
That’s my suspicion too. He knows an awful lot. How else can he still be on the payroll after such astonishing failures to do what he was paid for – not just here in the Yook but elsewhere. He’s a walking disaster area for anyone who hires him. Would you hire him, with a c.v. like that?
Why is he still clinging on to Labour like a limpet?
What’s he got on them?
I love McTernan everytime he opens his big mouth, he puts big clumsy foot in it, and it sends more supporters to the SNP.
What woud we do without him.
The BBC works to maintain an extreme right wing British Government, so which better way to undermine the apparent left leaning Corbyn than sending an invitation to McTernan to rant on the radio, even if much of it is incoherent rubbish.
Notice the current British media narrative that continues to suggest Corbyn is facing a massive Labour revolt for having the cheek to suggest an alternative to even more bombing in Syria.
That the complete destruction at the hands of “allied forces” of many Syrian towns & cities has done little if anything to prevent the murders in Paris last week, is apparently irrelevant.
That the French ownership of a nuclear deterrent didn’t deter a group of fanatics from a brazen shooting spree isn’t even mentioned.
In fact, neither Britain’s or America’s nuclear deterrent or any of its military muscle has prevented a long catalogue of terrorist atrocities against both countries over the last 30 years or so; the 1983 bombing of the US & French Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, the 1993 & 2001 attacks against the Word Trade Center towers in NYC, the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, multiple bombings in London in 2005, two unexploded car bombs in London in 2007 & the murder of Fusilier Drummer, Lee Rigby in 2013.
It is odd that it never seems to cross the minds of our military experts that bombing London, Brussels or Paris might be a good idea since these cities, just like many in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen & Afghanistan seem to be hotspots for Middle Eastern inspired terrorists.
McTernan “Corbyn is like an incompetent supply teacher” comedy gold!!!!!!
Hey John, what about the fact that the MPs who talked over Corbyn and barracked him showed disdain for the majority of Labour members who voted for Corbyn as leader?
Those MPs had better watch it or they might just get deselected by the membership.
McTernan also assumes that a bombing campaign will have any effect on Daesh at all. They have long adapted to being attacked from the air. Only ground troops can shift them and where are they? The FSA has no ability and few troops. The other islamist militias show little appetite, the Kurds will limit their offensives to their own areas and Assad clearly sees Daesh as useful idiots as they attack his other enemies.
Planes are coming back from bombing runs with all ordnance unfired and undropped due to a lack of targets. So where will Britain’s targets magically come from?
Its gonna end in tears.
Rev
Good to see the butchers apron toned down on your Sealand Gazette-colour is now much more appropriate 🙂
McTernan: the unemployable in pursuit of the unelectable.
Apologies to Oscar Wilde.
PLEEZE don’t anyone tell Labour that McTiernan is a rather obvious Tory plant in their organisation.
Let him run and run on.
Better again if they are still paying him his huge salary.
If we had to create a situation favourable for killing off SLAB and Englsh Blairite Tories , we could not possible have made a better one up, even after 3 or 4 rounds and everyone thinking ‘outside the box’????
Thomas William Dunlop says:
27 November, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Its gonna end in tears.
Popcorn … Ordered!
Irn Bru … Ordered!
Bacon Sarnies … Ordered! (for the interval you understand 😉 )
Potato Crisps … Ordered! (for when the popcorn runs out you understand 😉 )
Check list complete! 😀
Oh just in casr McTernan pops in for a wee chat later I’ll just leave this here I think. 😉
link to youtube.com
All red tories should strap on a pair and start up a break away New New Labour party, in conjunction with all our BetterTogether chums in Pacific Quay.
The comedian on Question Time last night said same thing as this guy, about how Lab MP’s represent the people who elected them and the Lab members are a bunch rotters, for believing in JC.
So man up red toryboy world, SDLP went down like a lead balloon back in ancient history but at least they had the courage of their convictions.
Vote SLabBBCour, leader Jon Macterrnan, deputy Bliar MacDoufcukall, Jackie Bird. whatisface Brewer, etc
Whatever happened to the SDLP?
McTernan is constantly wheeled out because he’s a neo-liberal which the establishment broadcaster is using to destroy corbyn. Corbyn is dangerous and has to be put down. Labour is still rife with MPs who have been bought by the city of London.
As far back as 1997, John McDonnel was standing up against the city and warning labou not to court the bankers and all credit to him. He scored a stoater of an own goal their other day when he had an open goal in front of him. Unbelievable.
@Lesley Anne
I’ve been munching on the choccy raisins all week watching both the Conservatives and Labour muppet show.
Mmmm, I may need to place a new order. 🙂
Thomas William Dunlop says:
27 November, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Its gonna end in tears.
Will it ever end?
I love the guy, get him on the Telly loads
I want to see him more on Misreporting Jackie Burd and I’M JOHN MCKAY (War War War) (Murder Death Kill)(Death to all Pacifists) I can’t get enough of him
His sweaty rotten pluke ridden puss is a gift to us, even the folk in his own party can’t stand him
This man is a walking talking example of why every Scottish Citizen should be voting SNP/SNP and making a big loud noise about doing it
A Campaign Yes “Keep McTernan on our screens”
You never know maybe his own party will stop paying TV licences and complain to the BBC about Bias against Labour
link to theguardian.com
Red tory The Graun puts the boot in to Ken Livingston, and isn’t he rude to tory hackdom sometimes, so dont vote Ken, he’s a rotter too. UKOK hacks are so tory, they clearly have no idea just how ghastly they really are, if you’re not a tory. Or maybe they do.
This sticks out every single day in everything that farts out of teamGB newsrooms and their “deliberate intent to distort the centre of political discourse to the right.”
Pity all the UKOK propagandists in their Scotland region though. Big 6 months ahead to bring down the SNP.
Headtracker
I think your confusing the SDP with the SDLP. SDP went to it’s political grave some time ago but the SDLP is till active in the 6 counties in the North of Ireland.
Inverclyder
“He is like a jobby that cannot be flushed”
Unbelievably spot on. This captures the man and his annoying ways to perfection. Plus, it made me laugh out loud. Thanks for that!
McTernan and McDougal,a bowler hat each and you have got Laurel And Hardy, a pair of nincompoops that whatever they try turns into a disaster.
McTernan should be rotting in jail for `publishing` information about postal vote counts before the close of voting,thus potentially influencing undecided voters.
link to youtube.com
heedtracker says:
“Whatever happened to the SDLP?”
You meant SDP, but we all knew what you meant.
What happened to the SDP? Damned good question!
The ‘D’ bit, of course became the Dem in LibDem.
But what of the people?
Well, now! The only one I can find who is still active in politics is none other than Anna Soubry MP, Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise. She left the Tories and joined the SDP in 1981, but later returned to the Tory paddock.
McTernan and Murphy for that matter would have been great spitting image puppets.
Yep the BBC and all the neo-liberal press outlets will go all out to destroy Corbyn and McDonnel. People’s QE is probably one of the most dangerous threats to the banking establishment.
All attempts to democratise money and stop banks controlling the quantity of money in the economy have eventually failed.
Marcia says:
27 November, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Headtracker
Ok Thanks Marcia! They probably will never have to guts to break away but they should.
If you were an MI5 gimp, who would you pull in to mix it all up for the lefties out there toryboy world? This dude.
@ Andrew McLean 3:38.
And just who are you wishing that upon???
John McTernan is not an elected politician, why the hell is he allowed to get away with speaking about the leader of the Lab party in that way?
He was voted in not McTernan.
McTernan should be sent to the front line to fight against ISIL.
Still recall sitting open mouthed at a video where John gave a talk at some fringe Tory event and stating that Thatcher missed a trick by not privatising the Tube.
I don’t think they come any more Blairite than John. In fact Blair might say “steady on John”.
There is a battle going on for what is left of the soul of the Labour Party. I heard Gemma Doyle talking on the radio on the way home. This particular spat is going to provide Stu with years worth of “remember when they said this was OK” quotes.
I like his “France is not involved” – not like its been bombing Syria for 14 months, that could not be a reason for the attackers, the attackers are only motivated because they are eeeevvvvvil.
While listening to McTernan with starburst all I could hear while G was talking was a persistent sniff sniff sniff it’s there all the way thru.
Could he be spending too much time “partying” with Gideon and partaking in a sherbert fountain or two. I prefer the one with a liquorice stick not the one in the wee bag.
Ah – sweet John McTernan he did credit me with making chokkablog inaccessible via twitter a while back due to one of my heels being caught in Kevin’s blog logic.
He has bought me a bracelet which I have decided to wear as an anklet, and which he has accepted my invitation to put in place.
Unfortunately he was unable to meet with me yesterday to live-stream a general discussion about politics.
I really think you are all being grossly unfair to a man who has treated me with the utmost respect.
As ever, it’s oil and gas that is the prize, and tempting reconstruction contracts.
The Westminster elite want ISIL out of the Syrian oilfields now that they’ve been rumbled. But they want the other “moderate” terrorists to move in, 70,000 of them, to occupy the ground.
NOT ASSAD and his Russian allies. Or is it too late ?
link to rt.com
Maybe what McTernan and Co have is an awful lot of BP and BAe Systems shares?
Sounds like you’ve got your finger in many pies PRose, or is it on the pulse…does he have a pulse?
Labour MP in the Herald states that Jeremy Corbyn is acting like the ‘Fuhrer’ because he wont join the ‘Bomb the Arabs, except the ones who don’t have oil we can steal, into the stone-age’ club’.
The Fuhrer cos he doesn’t want to bomb people?
Why do people still vote Labour?
@ Dr Jim
I absolutely agree.
From my point of view, McTernan epitomises the cynicism that pervades UK politics. However, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his articulate presentation of British establishment ‘values’. I further enjoyed his interviewer coming over as an incompetent prat, who couldn’t cope with someone being so vulgar. It didn’t reflect well on the competence of the BBC and that is in itself a positive.
Slab must be wondering whether they are coming or going. Serves them right. They were happy to employ this creep and they would have been delighted – and that includes ever so friendly Jeremy – if he had delivered the goods. Instead he was an abject failure and I am grateful to him for that.
But I rather think that he, his red tory chums in England and the BBC don’t see it that way. The way they see it is that the Slab clowns didn’t listen carefully enough to his clever advice; didn’t act on it the way they should have; and were clowns that even Billy Smart couldn’t have trained. I must admit he didn’t have much to work with.
I vote for more of him on tv. I want him to undermine the Labour party and its ‘leader’ who have been happy to turn their minds to much more important issues while Scotland withered on the vine for generations. I will not forget and I will not forgive Corbyn and his peers for their part in exploiting my country for the sake of their bloody party.
McTernan and the Labour party deserve each other. I enjoy watching them knocking lumps out of each other.
My hope is that the SNP will be increasingly recognised as the only civilised political party and Scottish people will turn to them in ever greater numbers – as in my opinion, they should.
Special Agent McTernan now on channel 4 news. Definitely getting their MI5 money’s worth, toryboy wise.
Mcternan making idiot of himself now on channel 4 news saying Ken Livington should be thrown out of Labour party for saying suicide bombers killed themselfs!
The guy is quite obviously a Tory through and through.
Like all the Tories, for as long as there has been Tories, he uses the term, “Britain”, when he means United Kingdom, “British”, when he means English and, “The country”, when he means The United Kingdom.
@ Lesley-Anne 4.15pm
That might have been his audition tape. He seems eminently qualified for a job with Trump – a man who appears as deranged as his hair.
Call Me Dave
“I thought I saw, in my mind’s eye, the bony hand of Murphy on McTernan’s shoulder as he ranted through that tirade.”
Ooohh
The Ghost of Blairism past!
Oh Mr Moodie
call for Mr Moodie.
McTernan back on CH 4 news with Ken Livingstone.What a shambles the Labour party are .Almost feel sorry for them —-NOT !!!!!!!!!!
Fiona at 6:22
sorry Fiona he’s taken, this is the love of his life link to google.co.uk
See Fiona you’ve no chance! Bet your gutted! 😉
arthur thomson @7.08
Top comment so far m8.
Broonpot at 3.30pm mentions not recognising the strange plummy tones as those of McT. They reminded me of someone else. Who could it be?
Got it. It’s Creepy Jim. Have the two had identical brain implants or did Creepy Jim take elocution lessons from McT?
It’s the oh-so-creepily smooth intonation. Makes the flesh creep, so it does.
JGedd says:
27 November, 2015 at 7:17 pm
@ Lesley-Anne 4.15pm
That might have been his audition tape. He seems eminently qualified for a job with Trump – a man who appears as deranged as his hair.
Just out of curiosity is there a name for a collection of deranged individuals or do we need to *ahem* invent one? 😀
some were concerned that corbyn would be the only leader who might rally Scottish labour, indeed the new anti trident stance is an example of exactly that, but if he is unable to hold his mps together and they depose him, which mcternan is quite clearly trying to do, then the fall out will damage labour in Scotland to a greater extent than if they had just elected one of the other 3 talking heads.
While the polls and by election results show no corbyn bounce in Scotland, if he is deposed, the mass membership resigning and card cutting up in England will be seen in Scotland too and, regardless of who replaces corbyn, dipity dug will have no choice but to abandon slabs anti trident stance.
kez may have no choice but to reverse the result at the slab spring conference next year, just before the launch of the hollyrood election campaign
“Wee McT” has never done a productive day’s work in his life. After wrecking the Australian Labour party as a party of government, he came to Scotland and worked his magic here. Insanity…repeating the same pattern of behaviour and expecting the outcome to be different. “Wee McT” belong in Alice in Wonderland.
McTernan was never very good. However he was clever enough to build a career out of pseudo scientific political marketing.
The problem with a career built on a bed of straw. Is that eventually people get wise to the fact that it’s all smoke and mirrors.
Once you destroy a few campaigns and parties. People ask for proof that your big idea has merit. Behind McTernan is a catalogue of abject failure.
His biggest failure is as a human being. Calling Corbyn a liar for believing in something. Is the epitaph of a lonely narcissist who died alone.
Sheesh! What a tool, a very sick puppy.
Did you hear the romantic tone, in his description of Cammers? I was a bit sick in my mouth (only at his deep love of a Tory, not of a man!) It does kind of explain his latching on to Murphy.
I suppose the Tories wouldn’t entertain him?
The word pacifist is obviously a term of abuse to his ilk.
Did anyone else hear the constant sniffing? Might explain some things.
He was named Buffoon of the week, this week, on the UK Cop Humour page, because he wrote a piece on how wrong Gideon was not to cut the Police budget. Those boys in blue know some choice abusive terms.
I think BBBC Scotland should be given pelters for this interview – what a revolting ” former Labour advisor” and why should he be allowed to denigrate the elected leader and in such a puerile manner?
Sounded like a cv to me! Very dismissive of members and voters, so, who should labour serve? Sounds like it should be the country! Mmmmm! Motherland? Anybody?
This guy is worth his weight in gold to the SNP. Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake!
Would that interview recording not be a suitable case for reprising,
“A cry of PISH! rang out above the crowd?”
McTernen could become a special adviser for ISIS.
Lesley-Anne
“Just out of curiosity is there a name for a collection of deranged individuals or do we need to *ahem* invent one? ”
It would have to be A Bedlam. 🙂
Bryandoonthetoon, hit the nail on the head!
Go for it John Boy get right intae them. I can hear the Labour party membership cards being torn up from here.
Here`s a wee treat Jolly boy John “For Real!”
link to youtube.com
Sorry Brian.
I hope no-one is tearing up their Labour membership cards———yet.
This is one show that must go on.
Are you all ignoring my comment at 6:39?
McTernan has perfect delivery and timing, a very dry responsive subtle ironic humour. Apparently when he was auditioning as a stand-up he turned up in the wrong room and the Labour Party gave him the job. The rest is history.
Probably the only comedian not to be booed off the stage of the Apollo at some time or other. They thought he was doing rap.
@ Paula Rose. Politely ignoring. What can it mean?
Heathcote Williams has a follow up to Royal Babylon. “Obama Lord of the Drones”. Sheds some light on the reason why these Pashtun Tribesmen hate the great satan with a vengeance.
In six short parts:
link to youtube.com
The Establishment want rid of Corbyn…… The Media are the voice of the Establishment McTernan represents the establishment (rather well)…… Where’s the surprise with The BBC choosing McTernan to present their chosen vision of THEIR Labour Party.
Around the general election I was driven into a rage by his endless appearances on TV and radio. Not just the BBC – all of them. And tonight he was on Channel Four news. To say he is repellent is too kind.
Paula M Rose. I read your comment at 6.39
Am I in your good books now.
Don’t stop or interrupt our John he is the best recruiting sergeant the SNP ever has had!
Large numbers of employees of firms in the arms and related industries holding contracts with the MoD are seconded to that ministry ,while civil servants in the ministry are seconded to the firms
link to theguardian.com
Thank goodness that these interlocking interests can operate brazenly in this outsourced economic political system. Just as well mind you as we find ourselves in the ‘long war’ who is fighting with whom and who are the real power brokers?
link to counterpunch.org
And more importantly how do you extract yourself from the ‘long war’- this person has some suggestions
link to charterforcompassion.org
This person does not
link to counterpunch.org
Paula Rose,
I read your comment at 6.39 too. I’m still hiding behind the sofa.
At least we will be able to live with our consciences when a few years down the line, the Syria is revealed to be all about oil. Vote Snp, Snp in May
Just listen to the contempt this guy has for both ordinary members of the Labour party AND for backbench Labour M.Ps. His sense of entitlement really is astounding: He really thinks that the cliche who sit at the head of the Labour party should be able to ignore the feelings of all the rank and file. Disgusting.
Dictators the world over go to war with somebody when things are getting difficult at home. The think the distraction will save them. In the long run they always fail. It’s just the wee matter of the hundreds of thousands of deaths that cause the people to turn on them in the end. Every empire in history ended in failure. No warmongering dictator lasts the distance. And lets face it, Cameron is nothing else to Scotland.
Pravda GB is Scotland’s enemy number one.
We can’t get independence until it has been destroyed.
@Lesley-Anne 7.43
idiots : amadáin, leibidí, liúdramáin, dúramáin, bómáin
arse ; tóin, bundún, poll, amadán, pleota, leibide
tit ; meantán, cíoch, amadán, breallán
turkey; turcaí, amadán, liúdramán, leibide
I meant to say “war”.
John McTernan was the idiot appointed to “advise” Julia Gillard when she was PM of Australia. Australian Labor ended up getting the lowest primary vote in 80 years at the subsequent election and Tony Abbott became PM. That worked out well, didn’t it?
Hi Paula Rose.
My inbuilt sense of decorum precluded me from commenting on your input.
Our John is the best recruiting agent the SNP has ever had . His despotic rants are grist to our mill, let him rant on he is the best recruiting sergeant we have ever had. Let him continue, he is doing great. We can’t loose with opposition like that.
McT, Radio Shortbread rentahonk.
The epitomy of two very inventive terms coined by WoSsers!
Daisy Walker,
“It won’t be their children in the front line. Not the Blairs, the Cameron’s, the Benns, the Kinnocks. Only one member of the Senate in America has a child serving in the armed forces.”
70% of the elderly voted No because they are British nationalists proud of the British Empire to their dying days.
If only the idiots would realise what you wrote.
McTernan is full of bitterness, well suited for the palace of westminster.
Yesterday’s Herald’s front page ……. Osbourne Gambling on economic growth in order to avoid cutting Tax Credits..
However Gideon doesn’t have to gamble that the economy is going to grow in order to afford, buying over 100 F35 fighters, renew Trident, build 8 Type 26 Frigates and bomb Syria (fingers crossed …..his not mine)
Independence closer every day!
@Paula Rose says:
Are you all ignoring my comment at 6:39?
Tongue impacts cheek.
Meanwhile in the real world
link to twitter.com
So according to McTermite, the people of Britain want war. Only a war monger is entitled to be PM.
Noticed the comment at end “former Labour Party advisor” the clue is in the word former bbc, he wasn’t very good at it, so why have a reject on giving his opinions when his “own” party don’t want them.
How about an online petition to get Pizza Face McTernan kitted out in full battle gear and sent out to the front line? C’mon, John, show all those naive rookies how it’s done!
What are the 77th going to do when they lose? Will they go on to cyber terrorism in Syria or will they lose it in alcohol and drugs. Will they try to bring independent Scotland down or will the independent state of England try to coexist with Scotland in the world where they are Greece the sunshine.
Freemasonry
The word without is somehow missing.
@ galamcennelath at 6.13
There’s another one – much, much closer to home:
link to en.wikipedia.org
They want air war and then ground war but who knows the outcome, in a year or decade? the Taliban are taking back control of Afghanistan
link to edition.cnn.com
UK war is long way from reprobates like McTernan beating the war drums, in BBC vote SLabour Scotland radio studios.
link to bbc.co.uk
To anyone who still believes the official take on 9/11, can I recommend “9/11: decade of deception”.
@Free Scotland @10.28
Full battle gear?
Give him inadequate supplies, no body armour, European theater fatigues, cold weather boots, a weapon totally unsuited to desert warfare and then shove him on the front line facing daesh.
This is how the first British army units mobilised for the gulf war circa 2003, remember?
British bungling continues. For it has always been so.
guy on sky papers Oldham by-election
UKIP is seen as a patriotic result,regarding Syria
wtf
Without the sunshine.
Strange times indeed.How can this man have the audacity to comment on (national t.v.) or whatever it is supposed to represent.For being unemployable it would appear to be a cushy way to live.
@Wuffing Dug @ 10:40
Actually, yes, that’s more like it.
Mc Teirnan,along with(allegedly)ISIL, doesn’t seem to have a very high opinion of pacifists,pagans and prostitutes.
However,none of the IS attackers have ever given those highly judgmental reasons for any of their attacks.
Rather, all the attackers have stated military aggression of particular Western states,or provocation of so called blasphemous cartoonists(apart from the Brussels attack on a synagogue) which had its own dynamic.
Why don’t they attack the pacifist,pagan,prostitutes of Switzerland,Ireland, Holland, Austria,or Germany, if that is their motivation ?
People like Mc Teirnan,and there are many,continue to put words in the terrorists mouths in order to justify their own brand of state terror.
Whilst I don’t pretend to know the answer to all this,when people like him lie about the true motivation of these vengeful attacks,we will continue in a long cycle of tit for tat terror.
bookie from hell says:
“UKIP is seen as a patriotic result”
Extreme right wing politics can appear beguilingly simple for some people, and both England and the US do have a pre-disposition for it right now!
@Wuffing Dug
You forgot Gulf War Syndrome.
But don’t fret, everyone else seems to have forgotten about it as well.
It just seems to have died a death.
Like a lot of it’s victims
Aw man, what I wouldn’t give to see McT walk into a studio to find that the other guests are Rose Gentle and Reg Keys.
Keys is one of the very few people who’s ever made Blair squirm in public –
link to youtube.com
Only in the Labour party could you be an MP for thirty years end up being voted leader of that party only to be hated by the very party you represent and who’s members elected you for the job because you’re saying the same things you’ve always said
Then that very Labour Party ask you to lie to the folk who cast their vote for you or resign
I bet poor old Jeremy wishes he’d never opened his mouth, he could have seen out his remaining years comfortably doing the nothing he’s always done, retired and become a revered expert on, does he actually know anything about anything?
Pretty bemusing eh, he could be the first leader of a political party with no chance of ever winning an election to be assassinated by one of his own political advisors
I’ve just written a script for a movie there and didn’t realise it (right naebody steal my brilliant idea)
Aw naw wait….Damn
What was McTernan doing between 1977 and 2005? There’s a gap in his life on Wikipedia.
‘Attended University of Edinburgh where he studied English’ then nothing until 2005. He was born in 1959 so would have gone to Edinburgh Uni in about 1977. Did he graduate? If he graduated in 1981, theres 24 years of career missing. Havent found it anywhere.
Strangely similar to Murphy’s shadowy life.
This is from Guido Fawkes:
Special Advisor to Harriet Harman at DSS. Harman was sacked.
Helped run Frank Dobson’s Mayoral Campaign. Dobson lost.
Special Advisor to Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish. McLeish had to resign over an expenses “muddle”.
Helped run Labour’s Scottish Parliament Campaign in 2007. Labour were beaten in Scotland for the first time in 50 years.
Chief of Communications for Julia Gillard. She was ousted by her own party.
Chief of Staff to Jim Murphy. Labour lost all their seats in Scotland, including Murphy’s, bar one.
His career starting in 2005 doesnt sound too successful, unless he spent 24 years training as a special agent to destroy Labour.
I was going to try and score some cheap points about Labour (UK) before I listened to this but I am dumbfounded. He appears to have a deep felt hatred of the Labour party membership because they don’t realise they are keeping him and his mates from their rightful position in politics. Power is all that matters, beliefs, principles are easily discarded or sold to the highest bidder for McTernan and his ilk. His mantra is Labourbad, SNPbad, everyone but me bad.
@Free Scotland @10.52
They had to requisition gear from the septic tanks.
At least they look after their forces (aye, in the field – superior weapons, technology, support and general supply).
Back home they don’t give a shit, same as here.
Maybe we’ll see the next Ron Kovic.
I thought about joining the forces when I left school.
Came to my senses though.
@K1 says: 27 November, 2015 at 3:40 pm:
” … This is manufactured outrage on the part of Cameron and McT. They mean to drag us into war. Make no mistake. Now Corbyn…just has to get aff his knees, and get the warmongers tae fuck.”
I see the present rift in the Parliamentary Labour Party as the false Red Tories last attempt to hold onto the party they stole from the real Labour Party while under the influence of Tony Blair.
It has become what could be described as, “A Mexican Stand off”, or, “Catch 22”, stalemate.
The elected to power Blairites, (more Tory than Tories), are in the process of losing their grip upon the Labour Party Leadership. Meanwhile the more left-wing membership are in the process of regaining leadership.
The bother is that the Blairites have lost the membership while the Lefties have not yet established leadership.
The time is now for Jeremy to call the Blairites bluff for the party is doomed if they continue this Mexican Standoff. What McTernan has just done is throw down the gauntlet. If it is not picked up the Blairites regain power.
The problem both factions have is that it is neither the elected to office Blairites nor the old guard, backed by party members, who will decide Labour’s future but the non-party Labour voters.
Correction to my earlier post at 10.58
In his interview, it is McTernan himself who seems to deride pacifism,not IS,so,the bit he made up was the pagan and prostitutes motivation nonsense.
One for the warmongers.
Harry Leslie Smith, “This year I will wear a poppy for the last time”.
link to theguardian.com
McTernan is pining for the good old days when the Labour Party was more Tory than the Tories.
And that is the root of all his problems, he can’t come to terms with the fact that those days have gone, for good.
Glamaig says:
“What was McTernan doing between 1977 and 2005?”
Ian Brotherhood highlighted ….
link to wingsoverscotland.com
…. That he was a councillor in London’s Southwark Borough in 1986 and 1990.
Wiki says he was with Scottish Arts Council in 2002.
@Capella
Thanks for the article on remembrance day.
So, time to put things in perspective.
First of all, I’m against bombing ISIS. That means I’m very much in favour of bombing ISIS.
It goes without saying that I’m against Trident renewal. So, I hope they renew Trident.
As long as Corbyn is in power we are going to have Tories and Tories are bad. Naturally I want Corbyn and the Tories to stay.
That means more cuts to welfare and they’ll probably start dismantling Barnett too. All good.
The crazy thing is there’s no contradiction in anything I said above.
That’s the world we live in. Get with the program.
@galamcennalath (11.51) –
Good find! 🙂
I can’t even remember writing that. Seriously.
@K1 says: 27 November, 2015 at 6:47 pm:
”
Sounds like you’ve got your finger in many pies PRose, or is it on the pulse…does he have a pulse?”
Rumour hath it that not only is there not a pulse but no reflection in his Mirror, (nor indeed in his Daily Record).
Has our Darling Paula Rose fallen under the influence of something a bit more deadly and sinister than her Pinacolada?
@ call me dave
It’s very poignant I thought but makes the point, loud and clear. I should have archived it though. Here is the archive link:
link to archive.is
Meanwhile the Independence wars continue.
First there is the continuing Propaganda war and, more recently, since GE15, the Economic war of attrition, the object of which is to seriously degrade the economy of Scotland as a means of undermining the credibility of the SNP Scottish Government. Westminster hopes that this, in turn, will lead to a revival of the Unionist parties in Scotland and thereafter to restore Unionist control of the Scottish Parliament.
The waging of these two ‘wars’ against Scotland is clear evidence that Westminster knows that Scottish Independence spells the onset of the economic and political ruination of the entire British Establishment, lock, stock and barrel. It is difficult to overstate the scale of such an event.
However, while it is very bad news for the privileged elite, it will mean very good news for the vast majority of the UK population and, in particular, for Scotland. The stakes are very high. Which is why it is very important to remain focussed and patient. McTernan is an interesting character in a dysfunctional kind of way and is a source of intrigue and entertainment. But he is a long way from being the one to follow. No, that man is Cameron, for the moment.
To understand how the Westminster strategy is playing out, we have to keep our eyes on Cameron and on his main strategist, the universally acclaimed master of the very dark arts of political skullduggery, the Australian, Lynton Crosby.
If Scotland is to be successful in it’s aspirations of self-determination, then the Independence movement must not let these two men out of their sight.
The televised and print media will attempt to keep the UK population focussed on Syria, ISIS and national security with a sprinkling of other headlines. But Cameron knows what is of greatest importance, and that is, to defeat the Scottish Independence movement. There is no greater threat to the British Establishment.
Thankfully, the Scottish Electorate is more and more attuned to the political and economic machinations of the British State and has resolved to oppose it in the best possible way – by seeking self-determination and Independence. Like many countries before us, Scotland will soon become independent of British Rule. Like them, we too will prosper and flourish as we shake free from the enormous, suffocating burdens of British Colonial rule.
Vote SNP/SNP and embrace Scottish Independence.
@ galamcennelath
Did you see that I found another Tory – SDP – Tory switcher?
(Not important, but since you’re posting just now, I thought I’d mention it and see if you can guess who it is without going back and searching for my post 🙂 )
@ troz at 8.23
“McTernen could become a special adviser for ISIS.”
By jove , I think you’ve got it If we sent him over to give them advice, they’d be fighting amonst themselves and giving up in no time.
Aaaarrgghhh!
Just got round to reading and listening to this and wish I hadn’t.
This gadgee is an advisor to Labour yet he states between 1:00 and 1:00 two very interesting sentences that will give you an idea of his mindset. (as if you needed it)
“Particularly when when Cameron(Boak)absolutely made the case”
“Corbyn was clearly lying to the shadow cabinet”
This man is a supporter of Labour, his heart and soul is in the party, his advice is acted on, his knowledge is legendary.
This man advised Tony Blair, he advised Jim Murphy and no doubt he has the ear of Kezia Dugdale. Well more fool her, for he is OBVIOUSLY poison to what’s left of Labour in Scotland.
John, you and I are the same age, I went to the same school as you, Firhill in Oxgangs. That’s the only thing we have in common.
I’m ashamed that I even shared your space.
Perhaps McTernan advised Tony Blair that it would be perfectly legal to launch a war in Iraq. He seems belligerent enough for that.
While we await the Chilcot inquiry and the expected conclusion that the invasion of Iraq was illegal, the Westminster warmongers, and John McTernan, might want to consider the consequences of embarking on yet another illegal middle east adventure. At least, there ought to be consequences in the Hague.
Bombing in Syria without the permission of the Syrian Government is illegal. However much they spin it, they are bound by international law. That’s the opinion of some experts.
link to rt.com
There’s another justification for war that the US has developed, which is that the state in question, Syria, is either unable or unwilling to deal with the nuisance that is ISIL. But that is very shaky ground as this paper from the International Centre for Counter Terrorism in the Hague describes.
link to icct.nl
Before there is any vote in Westminster, the legality of military action needs to be clarified. I hope that Jeremy Corbyn, and the SNP, insist on upholding the UN and rule of law.
Of course Corbyn could screw the right-wingers by simply sending a referendum out to all labour members. Bomb Syria yes/no?
That would be fun.
Manandboy , while I get your point about the TV/ media keeping the population focussed on Syria ( and ain’t the Labour Partys antics making it easy for the Tory bandwagon) , to me, the immediate issue isn’t Scottish Independence for the establishment.
Call me cynical and make no mistake, what happened in France was horrific but the same establishment calling for us to bomb the bejesus out of , well not really sure, were the same attack dogs who were decrying anything French two months ago,in the Brexit or else campaign.
As Dale Winton used to say, “you got to be in it, to win it”- well, think , the spoils of war…
Thepnr at 12:40
I know it is late, and we do get heated but the term used is offensive to traveling people, it’s bad enough to contend with bigotry, but to be compared with J Mcternan is beyond the pail
Oh, whoops!
The delusional much vaunted world-wide respect, admiration etc. of the Great British moral high-ground might be going to take another knock.
link to independent.co.uk
OT
Phrase in the Herald: “… embattled MP Natalie McGarry …”
I can just see it now, there’s McGarry with turrets and battlements, the townspeople on the walls with cauldrons of boiling oil, the archers in the embrasures making short work of the poor sods in the vanguard of Westminster’s army through the arrow slits. Cannons blasting the ranks of opposing knights of the order of something or other.
Meanwhile in the courtyard there’s the cavalry, knights with rampant lion penants, getting ready to charge out and set fire to the siege engines, with McMerlin standing by to give them blue saltire fire for protection. And there in front of or rather behind the the screaming mob outside the gates is The Baillie, carefully planning the shortest route to the escape pod ready to blast forth into empty outer space. Again.
They could make a movie of it.
@cearc
Didn’t you hear the man telling us that asking the membership is wrong? The MP’s are supposed to represent the choir invisible.
@Andrew McLean
It’s true, I do have a problem keeping my big mouth shut. Not to worry I do use it to OUR advantage at any opportunity. I hope!
We will not win by keeping our gobs shut.
I’ll just leave this here –
link to mail.google.com
Paula, You ought to delete your latest post as a matter of urgency
Another labour gripe. Of course none of the Unionist parties ever take donations from business folk.
They must be in deep search mode for anything that they can use to smear anything SNP.
Probably learnt the technique from McTernan but it’s been going on for years now. One rule for us and another for youse yins!
link to archive.is
PS:
Paula Rose your link kicks me off wings and activates my e-mail in box !!??.
Paula, this link contains a log of my son’s recent emails. I must ask you to delete it as a matter of urgency.
Is McTernan a tory plant? Kind of thing the Eton types would come up with. Jolly jape, eh, what.
A follow up to the Pearson report
link to caltonjock.com
It’s not really mr mcternans fault really – I mean he’s obviously a psychopathic narcissistic racist but give anyone one with those mental health issues that kind of platform fuelled with the idea there opinion matters and there gonna go for it.
I think the BBC should be ashamed of themselves praying on the mentally ill to try and get a story.
Putin – ‘To avoid a bitter war which nobody craves, for several times, I told the Americans to muzzle their rapid dog in Turkey’.
There are more people killed by each other in the West than in any ‘terrorists’ . Elected governments in the West sanction and kill their own citizens. Then kill others in other countries to divert attention from their criminal activities. Blair and Brown should be in jail for the damage they have done to the world economy. They are murdering, greedy, lying criminals. Westminster illegally kills people at home and abroad. They are a disgrace. Most of Westminster are criminals who should be in jail. Cameron/Osbourne are criminal lying murderers. A danger to Britain and the rest of the world. The ‘terrorists’ are within.
# To muzzle their rabid dog. Labour should take note.
‘Campaigners Sean Clerkin and Piers Doughty Brown are to appear in court over allegations of threatening behaviour at Scottish Labour’s HQ. Labour allege the the protestors had used ‘bullying and aggressive tactics’ towards the party’s staff members.’
Police Scotland in the Labour/Unionists pockets again, wasting taxpayers money in a malicious prosecution against vulnerable disabled rights campaigners. The Crown Office is a Law unto itself. A total waste of public money to support lying Labour/Unionists.
These campaigners will incurr Legal expenses and be caused much unnecessary strife.
A ‘Crowdfunder’ to give support.
@ Boris ***
{ : > )
The crooks are running the asylum. Glasgow Police turn a blind eye to criminality at GCC for funding.
Political show trial costing £5Million, Helicopter crashes, criminals not charged for favours, condoning sectarian marches and activities. Arresting vulnerable people on trumped up charges. ‘Charges’ which never go to court. Not charging lying drivers. Wasting £Millions of public money.
@call me dave/capella
Cheers for the guardian link. It felt awkward at times not wearing the poppy this year and Harry worded it beautifully in a way I never could to people.
I do wonder if one of the main reasons for poverty is to offer a ‘way out’ for people. A trade and a decent wage in the armed forces.
Money is made artificially scarce for reasons such as this IMO.
Someone once said a true patriot is one who protects the people from the government.
Astounding. He is introduced as a Labour person and is positively fawning about the most right wing Tory leader since ‘that’ woman. He speaks like an opinionated halfwit.
The only way the situation in Syria/Middle Esst will be resolved is by talks and s cease fire. Russia tried to broker talks, the West refused. Bombing even more innocent vulnerable people will just make the situation worse. All the attacks done in most countries were by their own (disaffected) citizens or their associates.
Cameron is only trying to make political capital out of killing vulnerable, innocent people abroad, to divert from sanctioning and killing vulnerable innocent people in Britain. Cameron policies are ludicrous. He just keeps on running away taking the easy fix. He is an alcoholic. Alcoholics make poor decisions, until they get the necessary help and abstain. Trade and give aid. Do not invade. Have they learnt nothing from years of war and debt. Sort out Israel, the Apartheid festering sore.
@manandboy (and Call me dave)
You’re seeing your gmail account, so presumably you’re already logged in. I see a page “Welcome to Gmail” witha a login / register top right, because I rarely log in to gmail and not automatically either.
@Paula Rose
You’re probably trying to send a link to your account, but it doesn’t work that way.
No harm done.
Two Disabled campaigners have been charged with harassing and bully Murphy and Labour/Unionists by Glasgow Police. They are due to appear in court. Unionists politicians are illegally using the Police to settle scores. The Crown Office is a Law into itself. Harrassing citizens going about their lawful business. The Police are in the Unionists pocket intent to stop freedom of speech and people’s lawful right to protest.
The Campaigners will now be subject to strife, worry and legal expense. The troughing, lying Unionist politicians will waste even more public money.
Natalie McGarry lies is another false accusation by the lying Press. If the figures quoted by the Press are accurate, there is more money in the account than out of it. An editor didn’t add it up but ran the story. The ‘Press’ are an absolute disgrace. They can’t count or understand elementary Maths.
Note how they are going after the attractive women. Mysodistic, lying, bully dinosaurs. There is a lot of spite and jealously there. WFI is a shambles. YES affiliations are constantly attacking the SNP with false accusations, which they know to be untrue. The enemy within, anything for a bit of cheap publicity.
@ yesindyref2 call me dave, manandboy
I see the welcome to gmail login page too. I’m not usually logged in.
So looks as though it’s OK but a puzzle as to what PR intended to link to?
What on earth are the BBC thinking? Is there an SNP mole in Pacific House?
The real story here is that Labour is tearing itself apart.
But the BBC don’t want to give you that!
The BBC loves war (and poppies). The BBC are drooling over thoughts of ‘Shock & Awe’ photies.
God help Syria.
At the height of IRA murders of civilians in the UK, Eire was never bombed. Nor did anyone think of bombing Germany after Bader Meinhof atrocities. Because to do so would have been seen as murderous (illegal) aggression against innocent people.
Shame the same ‘logic’ does not apply to Syria, Iraq &Afghanistan. Now, why is that?
What if senior Labour MPs were implicated in CSA enquiry and UK cabinet were blackmailing them? Would explain much of their baffling decisions being contrary to supporters strongly held views
BBC 1 news this morning. Up pops McTernan to talk about Police numbers and cuts.
Strangely he came over as a total berk. Is this normal?
BBC why have this guy on — at any time. Who is his pals at the BBC?
Herald updates the McGarry story which seems to be as unclear as ever it was.
Let’s see the books says McGarry.
link to archive.is
Call me Dave
link to heraldscotland.com
Do you think someone’s nose was put out of joint by not being included?
The whole McGarry thing is a farce. Note the media quickly dropped the story. They pursued Thomson for weeks. You might find that McGarrys Lawyer will be thinking about a defamation case against the Record. Their headline was outright lies and done in a manner which aimed to assassinate McGarrys character.
Ken 500 @ 8.20am.
Agreed Ken, except on your point about “they can’t count”. I think they can count very well, it’s just that in their rush to blacken anybody connected with the S.N.P, they don’t bother, as usual, to check the known facts. I enjoy the information you provide us with, so keep up the good work.
Hope they have more than five rounds in their plastic crappy SA80 this time.
I voted YES because I’m a pacifist. I do not want to be part of a warmongering nation with weapons of mass destruction, the 4th largest defence budget in the world, a nation that goes to war illegally.
The way I see things is that at the moment there is absolutely nothing I can do because even if the whole of the country were pacifists and attended the ‘Stop the War’ rally it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference.
The warmongers are in charge and they will take us to war it’s what the 55% wanted.
Big Jock says:
28 November, 2015 at 10:35 am
The whole McGarry thing is a farce. Note the media quickly dropped the story.
Ruby replies
Article in the Herald today. Comments closed again!
SNP MP Natalie McGarry’s legal team demands release of Women for Independence financial audit
Aamer Anwar, Ms McGarry’s solicitor, has called in forensic accountants to examine accounts and called for information held by Women for Independence to be released to his team to aid the investigation.
He said: “If Women for Independence want to get to the bottom of this shambles, it is essential that we are provided with full details of what they allege the financial discrepancies to be.
“Nobody has been able to even provide definitive details of what went wrong. My firm will be approaching Women for Independence to request this. It would be very helpful to know what the discrepancies actually are and what accounting methods were used.
“To date a copy of the so-called audit has not even been provided to Natalie. Surely natural justice means that she is entitled to such information and be allowed to answer the serious questions she faces. Cooperation by the Women for Independence would be helpful to everyone and stop the damaging wild speculation and trial by media.”
‘Women for Indy won’t be disappearing to drink tea and eat cereal’
Perhaps after all this media attention WFI will be invited to speak at Unionist events. They could perhaps do a McTiernan or an Alex Bell.
It will be interesting to see where future funding comes from.
What’s Kate Higgins doing these days?
Cuilean@8.46,
Probably because the people of Syria/Iraq/Afghanistan, aren’t:
1)White,
2)Christian,
3)European,
4)Western,
5)First World,
6)Rich and Influential.
Stephen.
McTernan advised Blair on Iraq, that wen’t well. I wonder how they sleep at nights?
McTernan advised Murphy on 2015 general election, that wen’t well. Jim’ll fix it.
Regards Syria, I believe McTernan is trying to rewrite history using the present to justify the past, i.e. The Middle East has always been a basket case and we are correct in intervening and there is a long proven record of intervention, to keep us safe they want to kill us, their not human and their uniquely evil, etc, etc.
I wonder if Blair is still pulling McTernan’s strings? Ken Livinston hit the nail on the head this week stating the obvious correlation between Iraq and 7/7. There was then a co-ordinated media attack to discredit him and link his comments to Corbyn, to further discredit Corbyn. What lovely people the press are!
Interesting McTernan and the interviewer (Gary Robertson), managed a whole eight minutes without mentioning Scotland once? Have Scots no opinion on war?
Compare this from Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail:
For all that, this week also saw Mr Corbyn’s finest hour as Labour leader. He excelled in the Commons debate over Syria, coming over as statesmanlike, eloquent and well-informed. All of his questions were to the point. Will bombing make any difference? Who are the forces on the ground? Who will take back ISIS territory? Are the air strikes legal? How does the Prime Minister consider that bombing will help to achieve a political settlement? What is the risk of civilian casualties?
Mr Corbyn emerged from Thursday’s parliamentary debate as a more adult, well-informed and trustworthy figure than David Cameron.
If the bombing of Syria does turn out to be the issue that finally breaks Corbyn’s leadership, he could not have been defeated in a more honourable cause.
To the demolition job from McTernan and you realise Labour are through the looking glass in a topsy turvy world that defies critical analysis.
McTernan is a buffoon whose complete inability to understand how other people think means he has absolutely no grasp of political situations. He is the only political commentator who is reliably wrong.
He’s a gift to the independence movement because he is unable to understand the independence movement and so can be always be relied upon to devise opposition strategies that fail, or even help our cause.
He’s a gift for opponents of Labour because he doesn’t understand that by using his position within the Labour party to support Cameron and attack his own side, he undermines the Labour party and will ensure it remains unelectable.
He believes in overthrowing democracy when he, personally, disgrees with democratically made decisions. He thinks this is a sensible approach. That’s the level his thinking is at.
When it comes to war, he’s like a chess player who hasn’t yet learned what all of the pieces do, and who can’t think more than one move ahead.
Idiots like John McTernan were responsible the staggering mess that was Iraq. It’s unbelievable that anyone still listens to him.
Ot I heard on the radio news that some serving m.p.s are involved in the child abuse crimes so why haven’t they had to resign their parties whip like the S.N.P. Mps I mean their names must be known to the police and their party leaders ?or is it,just us that are to be held to account this is part of the Democrisey that we want to bomb others to impose it
But he, McTernan speaks in such reasoned tones.
Now where did I read about people who speak in calm controlled tones, yet… whilst they are…..?
there will be no stop the war rally. the usual left wing organisers are being misdirected towards another war…the war on global warming.
The corrolation has been running since the falklands, and it works quite well.
even googles front page is getting in on the act…have a look:
“speak up on climate change #ourstoloose”
With apologies for OT, but children are at risk now!
Brian Paterson:
The net is closing for Establishment paedophiles.
#OpDeathEaters
#WhiteRabbit
What’s up? Your Google broken?
See Bari Gadgi – Town/Kirk Yetholm, the Scottish Borders’s gypsy toons.
Brian Powell writes, “Cutting off their funding is the only effective way to alter the BBC.”
Whatever we think of the BBC (and as a communist I find its news programmes’ politics just a little unsympathetic), we must never assist Murdoch’s war to destroy it.
capella, thank you very much for your post and its links, which I have printed out and will study.
It seems clear that we will be openly attacking Syria if Jeremy Corbyn does not impose a 3-line whip on his MPs to support their membership, who have voted by a very large majority not to bomb Syria.
If anyone on these islands gets maimed or killed in retaliation for the decision to indiscriminately bomb Isis in Syria, I will lay the blame for their death/ injury directly at the door of McTernan and his warmongering cronies. Contrary to what he said, Isis may have misgivings about the morals of the West, but the reason given for the bombing of Paris was France’s resumption of bombing of Isis positions in Syria. The same reason was given for the downing of the Russian passenger jet, after we persuaded Putin to join in.
His views are so irrational and extreme that he loses all credibility, fortunately.