For some time now, the SKWAWKBOX has been predicting privately that it was only a matter of time before desperate, integrity-free Tories or their mouthpieces tried to ‘weaponise’ Venezuela to attack Jeremy Corbyn. They’re scraping the bottom of the barrel and coming up empty on everything else, so it was inevitable.
Sure enough, Tory Minister Alan Duncan got the ‘desperation short-straw’ and was all over BBC News this morning.
A sweating and uncomfortable-looking Mr Duncan tried hard to appear outraged about Venezuela, demanding that Jeremy Corbyn ‘publicly condemn’ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, ‘or else we’ll have a very good idea what he stands for‘.
Tories don’t have hearts, of course, but if Duncan did have one, it wouldn’t have been in it because even he must know how desperate it sounds. Or perhaps he was just cognisant of his own, less than spotless track record on the matter of protest and how to handle it.
Let’s leave aside for moemnt the very pertinent question of how accurate and balanced the reporting of the situation in Venezuela by the BBC and others actually is – it’s already on record, for example, that very similar attempts to bring down Maduro’s predecessor were made by outside powers under corporate influence.
Even without that, it’s extremely interesting to watch Tory politicians and mouthpieces try to use the troubles of another country to attack a politician that they’ve been unable to land a blow on for anything in this country.
Especially when they’ve expressed… ‘interesting‘ views on lawful protest in this country.
You see, we already know what Jeremy Corbyn stands for – fairness, justice, an end to austerity, a society ‘for the many’ – because he’s always been the same and has steadfastly refused to ‘change hats’ for short-term political gain. Unlike a certain Mr Duncan.
So the SKWAWKBOX has a question for Alan Duncan – and any other cookie-cutter, arrogant Tory politician or media drone currently involved in the burgeoning attempt to tar Corbyn by association with a government trying to resist violent revolution on the other side of the world.
When he answers it properly, then he might just be in a place where he’s entitled to demand a response of anyone else:
Will you condemn the Venezuelan rioters?
In June, London saw the ‘Day of Rage’ protest – which passed off almost entirely peacefully – where protesters demanded, among other things, that the government take proper action over the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The Murdoch-owned S*n was not happy. Under a sub-heading of:
the rag quoted one Alan Duncan:
These are obviously agitators with two decades of form. It is disgusting beyond measure that they should exploit the Grenfell Tower fire for their own revolutionary politics.
But that’s mild by comparison with an earlier opinion expressed by Mr Duncan. In 2008 he spoke to right-wing Telegraph TV about people outside Parliament who were peacefully protesting against the planned expansion of Heathrow Airport:
Protesting peacefully about an unwanted airport expansion or against a government that can only stand up by bribing Irish politicians?
Well, that’s ‘agitating‘, ‘revolutionary politics‘ – and you’re bloody well lucky not to be shot or gassed.
Taking to the streets to build barricades, burn properties, throw fire-bombs, fire stones and other projectiles at police – in order to bring down a democratically-elected government?
Apparently that’s fine.
You’d almost think that Duncan and the Tories were cynically and hypocritically grasping at anything they think they can weaponise against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour cause.
Surely not.
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Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
Reblogged this on vondreassen and commented:
Alan Duncan is already well known to be particularly stupid moron.
He’s not even THAT clever.
That’s hilarious. I’m in that video (on the roof) and I had no idea Duncan was so upset by it. Obviously I was in custody when the interview occurred.
Duncan is doing Trump’s bidding, probably on the orders of someone with whom Trump has been seen walking hand in hand.
https://twitter.com/Wirral_In_It/status/892743883960045569
Reblogged this on sdbast.
It’s the sheer brazenness of the Right whose mendacity knows no bounds that can only astonish. VP Pence today said America holds Maduro “personally responsible”, presumably giving the green light to have him chased up a sewage pipe like Gaddafi. They are so arrogant they don’t even change the story line; Kiev 2014 springs to mind.
I think it’s worth putting “shot and (tear) gassed” into context.
Mr Duncan is referring to the people on the roof of parliament directly above the PM’s office (not “outside” as described by Skawkbox) and the risk that they were running if the police had misinterpreted their intentions. (And he doesn’t use the words “bloody well lucky”)
And so far as I understand it the intention of the “day of rage” was indeed to try and “bring down” our democratically elected government.
Violence from both sides is of course to be condemned in Venezuela, so long as there is an alternative means of protest through the ballot box. If that were to disappear then what alternative would people have to restore democracy?
He wasn’t *only* referring to people on the roof. He was asked about his own experience of protesters outside Parliament and went on to talk about roofs as well. What proof do you have that the ballot box isn’t an option – apart from the media telling you so?
This has been tried before, when Chavez was president – as the linked video refers. No reason now to assume the reports are impartial any more than there was then.
And the day of rage was *peaceful*. Protests in Venezuela are provably not.
No – he specifically refers to the people going up on the roof being lucky not to have been shot or gassed – starting about 18 seconds in.
I fear that you’re misrepresenting what I said about the ballot box. My words were “If that were to disappear..” ie a hypothetical future condition.
Whether the day of rage was peaceful or not, I understand that its stated intention was to bring down the government. I understood that we at least still have the ballot box for that.
Whether the reports from Venezuela are impartial or not, neither of us are there – we can’t tell. It’s significant, however that the Spanish socialists, who aren’t presumably Tory / US lackeys have some strong words to say about President Maduro.
“http://www.psoe.es/actualidad/noticias-actualidad/el-psoe-condena-la-detencion-de-leopoldo-lopez-y-antonio-ledezma/”
John Locke: Man ( Humankind) have rights by their nature.
Civil society precedes the state, both morally and historically. Society creates order and grants the state legitimacy. (civil society has precedence over the state…the state is there to serve).
If a ruler (government such as the tories) seeks absolute power, if he (it) acts both as judge and participant in disputes, he (it) puts himself (itself) in a state of war with his subjects and we (the subjects or citizens) have the right and the duty to kill (depose) such rulers and their servants (government).
Locke uses the word ‘kill’ but to put into perspective he was writing this in an age of revolution.
WHO’S ALAN DUNCAN CALLING A VULGAR STUNT?
HE’S THE VULGAR STUNT OR WORDS TO THAT EFFECT!
JEEZ, YOU WOULD THINK BY LISTENING TO HIM DROLL ON HIS HALLO WAS GOING T SLIP, A PROPER NOB”!
THAT’S WHY HE’S A TORY!
Whilst the situation in Venezuela warrants close scrutiny, the Labour Party leadership will take no lectures on international relations from the Tory Party gun runners whose weapons are, as we speak, being used by the Saudi regime to slaughter women and children in Yemen.
And it will certainly not be dictated to by the right wing Labour MPs who disgracefully sided with the Tory gun runners and the head chopping, anti-Semitic, homophobic Saudi dictatorship by abstaining on the Yemen motion put forward by the Labour leadership to stop the humanitarian crisis currently happening in Yemen.
“https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism”
I shall have to defer to your expertise in that particular field, Graham.
listening to some of the tories i wonder if they have so many er-secretaries because they can’t actually read and write grown-up
@Internal Affairs
No expertise I’m afraid.
I’ll plead guilty if I can be shown to have used the tactic elsewhere, but I certainly haven’t on this thread.
I would suggest trying to divert attention from the fact that your beloved Tory Party is arming Saudi head choppers to murder women and children in Yemen is whataboutism of the lowest order.
You really are a thoroughly despicable and immoral individual, Graham.
I think you’re turning this on its head.
There is no mention of Saudi Arabia nor Yemen in the article above which is about Venezuela and Alan Duncan.
Whilst I’m commenting on the subject and contents of the article you’re, in effect, saying “what about Yemen?”
And I repeat my original assessment of this individual ( Hindson) —-
His only intention and purpose is to cover the actions of his Govt paymasters by appearing reasonable on the surface but below is an all out Tory Troll who is as unpleasant as they come .Visit some of the articles surrounding Grenfell tower fire and note his ducking and diving to straight questions and utter lack of sensitivity and compassion , and then note here again on this topic the same pattern of comment .
His reason is to undermine this blog ,make you think it is unworthy of belief and to question its writers honesty. Whilst providing a blanket of cover for the actions of the establishment and his Govt who he defends every time very subtly . There is a very clear pattern of action that he masquerades as ” debate” but successfully in some cases “pushes all the right buttons ” ,that wind up honest decent people with a moral conscience , something he clearly has none of .
One should bear in mind the following fact that HIndson wrote in an earlier reply thread,
Graham Hindson 30/07/2017 at 3:44 pm · ·
As a life long Conservative voter it’s unlikely to be my CLP!
Thus there you have it , self confessed Tory Troll and hence any and all comments by this troll need to be viewed bearing this fact in mind.
Reblogged this on elizapdushku's World.