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Monthly Archives: March 2022

The Sun

BANGED UP BOJO

Banged up Bojo. A fine is not enough. Jail Johnson !! Satire alert.

Banged up Bojo

Read recent articles P&O Ferries and Brexit, Brexit and WW III, Brexit Freedoms, Gavin Esler.

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Book : Changing Minds on Europe and Brexit

Music : Rage Against The Brexit Machine

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I want to know if my MP broke the law. If these people were members of the public, their names would be in the papers. They are no different.

Write to your MP. Ask politely if they are a criminal.

Brexit Doesn't Pay

Brexit Doesn’t Pay

We want to explain a long term project to send a potent message to Brexit supporting MPs that Brexit Doesn’t Pay. We will do this by damaging the majorities held by Brexit supporting MPs in Parliament by systematically engaging their constituents in conversation about their record nationally and locally, through information leaflets and on social media. We plan to do this as ‘non party campaigners’ and will offer no guidance as to how people vote. We will just ask them not to vote Tory. By doing this we will leaven their majorities and allow other political parties to do their best.

Join us every Monday at 8 pm on ZOOM via https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81072241054 to discuss the project.

We have a database that identifies a number of MPs who have:

  • Slim majorities.
  • An association with the far right side of the Conservative party and, of course, Brexit.
  • Some “Trophy Tories” who we would like to send a message of shock and awe to, per Dominic Cummings’ strategy for Brexit.

Find the database at Google Drive. Add your name and mail your details to peter@academy-of-rock.co.uk to help lead the project in your local area.

COUNTYConstituencyMP first nameMP surname
SOUTH
HertfordshireHitchin and HarpendenBimAfolami
Welwyn HatfieldGrantShapps
StevenageStephenMcPartland
East SussexLewesMariaCaulfield
HampshireAldershotLeoDocherty
FarehamSuellaBraverman
New Forest WestDesmondSwayne
North East HampshireRanilJayawardena
North West HampshireKitMalthouse
Portsmouth NorthPennyMordaunt
Southampton, ItchenRoystonSmith
KentDartfordGarethJohnson
DoverNatalieElphicke
GraveshamAdamHolloway
Sittingbourne and SheppeyGordonHenderson
South ThanetCraigMackinlay
Gillingham and RainhamRehmanChishti
OxfordshireWitneyRobertCourts
SurreyCarshalton and WallingtonElliotColburn
Epsom and EwellChrisGrayling
ReigateCrispinBlunt
Esher and WaltonDominicRaab
Surrey HeathMichaelGove
BerkshireWokinghamJohnRedwood
BuckinghamshireWycombeSteveBaker
Isle of WightIsle Of WightBobSeely
West SussexCrawleyHenrySmith
East Worthing and ShorehamTimLoughton
HorshamJeremyQuin
BedfordshireMid BedfordshireNadineDorries
WEST
AvonNorth East SomersetJacobRees-Mogg
North SomersetLiamFox
Weston-Super-MareJohnPenrose
CornwallNorth CornwallScottMann
South East CornwallSheryllMurray
St Austell and NewquaySteveDouble
DevonNewton AbbotAnne MarieMorris
DorsetChristchurchChristopherChope
Mid Dorset and North PooleMichaelTomlinson
SomersetSomerton and FromeDavidWarburton
YeovilMarcusFysh
NORTH 
NorthumberlandBlyth ValleyIanLevy
Berwick-Upon-TweedAnne-MarieTrevelyan
HumbersideCleethorpesMartinVickers
Haltemprice and HowdenDavidDavis
North YorkshireThirsk and MaltonKevinHollinrake
West YorkshireMorley and OutwoodAndreaJenkyns
ShipleyPhilipDavies
South YorkshirePenistone and StocksbridgeMiriamCates
SCOTLAND
ScotlandMorayDouglasRoss
West Aberdeenshire and KincardineAndrewBowie
LONDON
Greater LondonChipping BarnetTheresaVilliers
KensingtonFelicityBuchan
Islington NorthJeremyCorbyn
Hornchurch and UpminsterJuliaLopez
Uxbridge and South RuislipBorisJohnson
Sutton and CheamPaulScully
EAST
NorfolkGreat YarmouthBrandonLewis
South NorfolkRichardBacon
SuffolkSuffolk CoastalThérèseCoffey
CambridgeshireHuntingdonJonathanDjanogly
EssexBraintreeJamesCleverly
Epping ForestEleanorLaing
Harwich and North EssexBernardJenkin
MaldonJohnWhittingdale
Rayleigh and WickfordMarkFrancois
Rochford and Southend EastJamesDuddridge
Saffron WaldenKemiBadenoch
ThurrockJacquelineDoyle-Price
Chingford and Woodford GreenIainDuncan Smith
WithamPritiPatel
WALES / NORTH WEST
ClwydClwyd WestDavidJones
South GlamorganVale of GlamorganAlunCairns
Mid GlamorganBridgendJamieWallis
LancashireFyldeMarkMenzies
MerseysideSouthportDamienMoore
CheshireMacclesfieldDavidRutley
Greater ManchesterBolton WestChrisGreen
Bury NorthJamesDaly
Bury SouthChristianWakeford
Bolton North EastMarkLogan
Heywood and MiddletonChrisClarkson
Blackley and BroughtonGrahamStringer
Hazel GroveWilliamWragg
MIDLANDS
NorthamptonshireCorbyTomPursglove
DaventryChrisHeaton-Harris
Northampton SouthAndrewLewer
South NorthamptonshireAndreaLeadsom
WellingboroughPeterBone
MansfieldBenBradley
NottinghamshireGedlingTomRandall
StaffordshireLichfieldMichaelFabricant
South StaffordshireGavinWilliamson
StoneWilliamCash
TamworthChristopherPincher
Stoke-On-Trent NorthJonathanGullis
WarwickshireNorth WarwickshireCraigTracey
West MidlandsDudley SouthMikeWood
Halesowen and Rowley RegisJamesMorris
SolihullJulianKnight
Hereford and WorcesterBromsgroveSajidJavid
North HerefordshireBillWiggin
RedditchRachelMaclean
ShropshireShrewsbury and AtchamDanielKawczynski
NORTHERN IRELAND – DUP
County AntrimLagan ValleyJeffreyDonaldson(Sir)
South AntrimPaulGirvan
North AntrimIanPaisley(Jr)
East AntrimSammyWilson
County DownUpper BannCarlaLockhart
Belfast EastGavinRobinson
StrangfordJimShannon
County LondonderryEast LondonderryGregoryCampbell

In turn, we will supply support through bringing the team leaders together, supplying leaflets at various points and providing training in the gentle art of Brexorcism. We have just completed our our second book on the subject:

Re-Boot Britain
Click to order on Amazon or direct with a discount via e-mail reboot@academy-of-rock.co.uk

Essential reading to change minds about Brexit

What needs to be done?

Study the list of locations and find people who will be willing and support to lead the campaign in the different areas. Both in terms of your real life contacts and via social media. When you get someone who is interested, pl send their details over to me via e-mail reboot@academy-of-rock.co.uk

Support our activism via Patreon, Paypal or GoFundMe

Books : Let’s Talk About Brexit, Re-Boot Britain

Music : Rage Against The Brexit Machine

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Changing minds on Europe and Brexit

Changing minds on Europe and Brexit

Finally it’s out !! The new book on Changing minds on Europe and Brexit is here. Click to buy on Amazon or contact me by e-mail via peter@academy-of-rock.co.uk for your personal copy. If you are a sponsor of Re-Boot Britain, you can get a heavily discounted copy to just cover costs.

To find out what it’s all about, join me on Thursday 7 April at 7.00 pm GMT via ZOOM. Here’s the book blurb to give you an insight as to why you will want to buy a copy.

Brexit has broken Britain, economically, socially, culturally, politically and environmentally. Quite simply, Brexit has not delivered what was promised on the tin in 2016, for anyone in our DisUnited Kingdom. This book explains how we may join anew for a better Britain in a better Europe for a better world.

  • Strategies and scenarios to join anew 2021 – 2031.
  • Brexit freedoms, unicorns, ghosts and fantasy stories laid to rest.
  • The influence of Russia and Vladimir Putin on Brexit and the Johnson Junta.
  • The psychology of ‘Brexorcism’ and the anatomy of the Brexit psyche.
  • Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) applied to the task of softening hardened minds on Brexit.
  • How to hold difficult conversations with Leavers in regret and Remainers in remission.
  • How does Brexorcism differ in real life from online conversations and what can you do about it?
  • Strategies to put forward a positive vision of a united Europe and heal rifts from the ‘dialogue of the deaf’ over 6 years.
  • Stories to motivate you and show how these strategies work in practice. Alongside this we explore a number of ‘glorious failures’ as they offer even better insights to success.
  • A resource section on how to break ‘parliamentary paralysis’, how to make progress in advocacy to MPs and how to engage mainstream media (MSM).
  • How to multiply your impact and pro-Europe / anti-Brexit influence in real life conversations, lobbying and in mainstream and / or social media.

A ‘Brexorcism’ requires time, patience, unconditional positive regard and skill. This book provides these elements, drawing on a range of approaches to change management from psychology, sociology and therapeutic approaches.

Here are a few samples to whet your appetite:

Read recent articles P&O Ferries and Brexit, Brexit and WW III, Banged up Bojo, Gavin Esler.

Support our activism via Patreon, Paypal or GoFundMe

Book : Changing Minds on Europe and Brexit

Music : Rage Against The Brexit Machine

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Brexit and P&O Ferries

This is an extract from our forthcoming book on Brexit, making the links between Brexit and P&O Ferries crisis. Pre-order our book by mailing us at peter@academy-of-rock.co.uk

P&O Ferries’ employees have just had their first taste of Brexit freedoms as I write this book.  800 P&O Ferries’ staff have just been fired without notice via Zoom, with their jobs going to overseas workers, in a race to the bottom on wages and employment rights.  Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, was on the front line with the RMT union, crying crocodile tears for the workers, presumably en-route to visit her husband in prison … Natalie forgot to mention that she helped to block a potential new law in October 2021, which would have curbed employers’ ability fire UK employees without notice or rights, informed by our Brexit bonfire on standards.  In case of doubt, P&O Ferries have not been able to adopt the same policies in France and The Netherlands, due to better employment standards in their own countries and, of course, EU directives.  Damn that EU – protecting workers rights!  So much for Brexit providing British jobs for British workers and so on.  MP Chris Grayling recently changed the law which allowed P&O to do this.

Join us at Re-Boot Britain Monday at 8 pm via ZOOM – link here : Rage Against The Brexit Machine

Alongside our Natalie, the RMT union are also united in grief about the move when, in fact, they advised their workers to vote for Brexit in 2016.  For the avoidance of doubt, here is the statement the RMT put to their membership, to help swing the Brexit vote.  The RMT are far from being the only union to have been succoured in by the Brexit illusions, mainly due to a dislike of free market economics, faux sovereignty and nationalism.  Here is the RMT’s statement in full, from 2016:

Brexit and RMT
Footnote from George Smit : The quote of RMT “advice” is full of lies: ie maternity leave in any of EU country is longer, better remunerated and with more social & workers protection than any UK company offers.

The Book of Brexorcism : Let’s Talk About Brexit

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Read recent articles Brexit Freedoms, Putin Power Play

Brexit and RMT

The RMT find themselves in the rather awkward position of being complicit.  So, frankly, are the employees who voted for Brexit and still believe in the sunlit uplands.  Still, quite literally, this group now have their freedom … from jobs and a livelihood.  People are calling for the law on fire and rehire to be amended and, of course, it is hard to argue against this as being a good thing.  But the root cause of the mess is Brexit and a ‘patch up job’ misses the underlying malaise.  It is always a mistake to treat symptoms and not deal with the causes of problems.  We will see many more examples of the ‘unintended consequences of Brexit’ in the coming months and years.

I do feel sorry for the employees, especially those who voted Remain, next, those who were taken in by the slick Brexit lies and now regret their decision and are prepared to say it out loud.  I’m finding it difficult to be concerned about the small hardcore Brexiteer group of P&O employees and trade union ideologues who remain (sic) resolute that Brexit is a good idea, despite losing their jobs.  This is an act of self-harm.

We can envisage a new Maslow styled hierarchy of Brexit blame. Of course our Government are trying to blame the P&O boss. Although guilty, he is simply exploiting Brexit freedoms. Brexit and P&O Ferries are intimately linked.

Brexit and P&O Ferries
Natalie Elf Thick tries to deflect the blame
Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Continuing our theme on censorship, this piece, written by Alan Bullion was censored by Byline Times, presumably as it criticises the left. Whilst I don’t agree fully with all that it says, I would defend Alan’s right to say it to the hilt. All leaders and political systems have faults and some tend to believe that they are messiah like. Blair is not immune to our failings as humans and in this article, Alan argues that Tony Blair’s commitment to representative democracy may have set up the conditions for UKIP / Farage to gain oxygen and fuel the Brexit debate. As always at Re-Boot Britain, comments are welcome and free. In the words of George Michael, listen without prejudice.

Tony Blair is perhaps the most controversial Labour Prime Minister of the post-war period. Most come to bury not praise his significant legacy and reputation, especially since the furore surrounding the Iraq war and its subsequent aftermath. Just this year we have had an online petition attracting millions of signatures opposing his proposed knighthood, both from left and right-wing critics.

Indeed, it is often forgotten brushed aside that Blair led his party to a huge majority under the ‘New Labour’ project in 1997, followed by two more convincing general election victories, one after the Iraq war.

In order to better understand how the Brexit referendum of 2016 and its aftermath occurred, I have analysed the timeline and impact of several key events under the Blair/Brown governments which led up to those fateful events of Britain leaving the EU.

Of course, I am not suggesting that these actors alone were to blame. Farage, Cameron, Johnson, Cummings and several others – all privileged public-school educated white men – clearly played their part.

But as I will argue below, the actions of Blair and others around him led to a process where an already sceptical British public became increasingly critical of the EU and its perceived ills. This resulted in the calamitous narrow vote in favour of departure in 2016.

The fringe cause of Euroscepticism under Farage and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) had been previously the province of right-wing fanatics and Home Counties pub bores.               

The rise of UKIP as an electoral force

The first touchstone in our trajectory was when Blair went along with the proposal by the then Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown to introduce proportional representation in the 1999 elections to the European Parliament. This led UKIP and its leader Nigel Farage to gain a mainstream and increasingly influential foothold in politics. Blair had not been won over to PR, rather it was a political compromise to avoid the introduction of PR to elections for the House of Commons. or local government.

Ironically, while Farage was sceptical about winning an in/out Brexit referendum, Blair, along with Ashdown, Cameron and Clegg, were overwhelmingly enthusiastic.  They severely underestimated public fears, stoked by Farage, that such a binary vote would result in disaster on a huge turnout, driven by immigration and issues such as ‘sovereignty’.

Narcissist and messiah?

In June 2014, the novelist and former Labour acolyte Robert Harris, while publicising his book The Ghost, described Blair as a ‘tragic narcissist with a messiah complex’, who would be doomed to live a ‘tragic life’ and face trial at the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.

There was an element of truth in this harsh judgement. Both Blair and his barrister wife Cherie were often accused of being ‘money mad’, rushing around the world advising dubious autocrats on how to improve their image.

There might well have been an element of neediness there, which others such as former Labour MP Leo Abse psychologically analysed in The Man Behind the Smile. Indeed, Blair was well suited to the world of celebrity politics and self-publicists such as Kim Kardashian.The tragedy was that he would never be able to completely resurrect his image after the Iran/Iraq war, despite his other considerable achievements at winning elections.        

The truth is inevitably more complex. In my 1996 article ‘What Blair Believes’, published in the Jewish Quarterly, I argued that Blair was driven by a simplistic dualist ideology devised by Anglican mystic John Macmurray, which he imbibed while at university. This belief system basically sees protagonists in international politics as either essentially ‘good’ or ‘evil’, thereby explaining Blair’s support for US President Bush in Iraq.

Blair was highly active on the EU. For example, he was instrumental in establishing the cross-party grouping Britain in Europe, specifically to argue the case for the UK signing up to the Euro (single currency) and the European Monetary Union, via a popular referendum. This came to a crescendo in the wake of the sudden death of Princess Diana in August 2007. 

There were serious differences over this issue between Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown. This was further exemplified by the clash over the Treaty of Lisbon and the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), which was signed in December 2007 and came into force two years later under Brown.

Originally a referendum was promised by Labour Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for Spring 2006, but that never happened, adding more fire to the UKIP fray that the court was increasingly compromising British sovereignty. 

Eastern European migrants and the reserve army of labour

In May 2004, Blair, supported by Home Office minister David Blunkett, decided to allow migrant labour from the eight Eastern European countries that would be joining the EU. Unlike the UK, other EU member states such as Germany had instead opted to impose a seven-year delay from these countries achieving full entry to work.   

As these Eastern European migrants started to arrive, Blunkett went on BBC2 Newsnight to defend the policy, declaring that there was ‘no obvious upper limit on migration’. That calendar year alone there was a net increase of 350,000. Blunkett later conceded that he lost public support and made a mistake.

At the time I was visiting Kent sixth forms and colleges to make the case for remaining in the EU. Comments from working class children in those schools told stories of perceived resentment at migrants taking jobs such as cleaning, catering and car mechanics, and driving down wages.

It was in 2005 when I campaigned as a parliamentary candidate in Hammersmith and Fulham and was confronted on the doorstep by a British plumber who claimed he had been undercut by the nice Polish plumbers taken up promptly by middle-class housewives.

‘It’s all right for the likes of the Blairs, living their aloof and cosmopolitan lives in Islington and Brussels’, was the implication.

So now we come to 2022, with Tory cuts to universal benefits, rising food and fuel prices, and tax increases.

We are still talking about migrants … while there are severe shortages of food and farm labourers, lorry and bus drivers. And ironically, as the consequences of Brexit become ever more stark, arch Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has just been appointed by Johnson as minister for Brexit Opportunities. You couldn’t make it up.  

The Book of Brexorcism : Let’s Talk About Brexit

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Read recent articles Brexit Freedoms, Censorship

Censorship

I was astonished to receive a letter from The European Movement banning me from attending a lecture by Gavin Esler on my birthday today. The reason given was that I am taking The European Movement to court. It is not however the real reason.

Banned

The real reason is that Chris Hammond does not wish to meet me, in case I embarrass him about the fact that he indulged in a concerted smear campaign with others last year to pervert the course of The European Movement elections. The below letter from Sevenoaks and Swanley & Tonbridge in Europe (SSTIE) includes a paragraph that refers to me as the only other candidate. They used their own “Nationbuilder” bulk e-mail system to contact thousands of EM members. This could count as a case of defamation. It could also count as a misuse of the system or at least a perversion, in terms of data protection law. See below for just one of the letters that was written about me. There are others of an even more personal nature, but I am not permitted to share them due to the imposition of a gagging order by The European Movement.

At the time I asked the other candidate Yvonne Wancke, to ask these people to cease and desist, as we had a good relationship at the start of the election and we had agreed to conduct the campaign fairly. Yvonne refused and I can only draw the conclusion that she approved of the campaign tacitly or otherwise.

Dear Peter


On Saturday 4 September European Movement Branches
will elect a new Chair of the Branches Forum



This key role is going to be hugely important as the European Movement determines the way forward and the future relationship between HQ and the branches.
 
It is essential that this works well in both directions. The Movement needs the branches so that it can grow and thrive. The enthusiasm and energy that exists in those groups must be fostered and supported by HQ, and the groups need to see the advantages of supporting the Movement as a whole.
 
A relationship based on working closely together for the benefit of all is essential, and there is a great deal of work needed to ensure that good relationships are established and maintained.
 
This will require a Branches Forum Chair who can and will build teams that will work collaboratively over a wide range of issues. The Chair will need to establish consensus amongst the branches and with HQ so that each group and the Movement will work harmoniously towards our common goals.
 
This is certainly not a role for someone who seeks to be the centre of attention, or who thrives on publicity. It needs someone who knows about building consensus and agreement, and who can use those skills to the benefit of the European Movement as a whole.
 


That is why we urge you to vote for YVONNE WANCKE to be the next Chair of the Branches Forum.
 

Patrick Reynolds                                                       Chris Hammond
Sevenoaks Swanley & Tonbridge in Europe           East Kent European Movement


Robina Jacobson                                                       Colin Gordon
North East for Europe                                                Oxford for Europe

John Gaskell
South West Surrey

As regards the accusation made in the letter, it is true that I am taking The European Movement to the small claims court for non-payment of expenses. This is a ‘one of a kind’ claim as their youth arm were recently fined £1800 by HMRC for non-submission of accounts and non-payment of VAT. I feel fully justified in taking them to court for this and expect the judge to make the judgement, not some committee in East Kent who simply want to avoid embarrassment for their own bad behaviour. The ultimate humiliation came from the fact that I only got to find out about the smear campaign when Patrick Reynolds, secretary of the Sevenoaks branch, did not know how to use the e-mail system and sent the smearing e-mail directly to me !! 🙂 Despite what people probably think of Vladimir Putin, at least he knows how to conduct skulduggery properly !!

Goodness knows how we’ll ever manage to rejoin the EU with people like this leading the charge. One of my weaknesses is that I find petty bureaucracy troublesome.

European Movement
European Movement

I was looking forward to a chat about prog rock with Gavin as he is a big fan, but it won’t kill me if I don’t. I will instead enjoy my birthday on a cycle ride to Canterbury.

I had been thinking about writing what has come to be known as “Reading Gate” down to experience. I must say that the pathetic actions of the local European Movement branch and that of their agents hiding in the shadows have rather stiffened my resolve to ensure that justice is done.

In other news I find that this is not an isolated incident. Byline Times have just censored an article written about Tony Blair that takes a mildly critical view of his leadership decisions on democracy. The style of democracy being put forward by The European Movement and Bylines appears to be more related to Putin’s democracy. I would tell them, but Lord Andrew Adonis and his sidekick Richard Wilson have blocked me on Twitter for giving them valuable feedback.

Coming soon, the banned article on Tony Blair, a Ukraine update and the new book on rejoining the EU.

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Putin Power Play

Putin Power Plays

An analysis of Putin Power Plays by Gary Honey.

Events of the last week have shown that forecasts can be wrong, however we have learnt that Putin is determined to remove Zelensky and install a puppet regime in Ukraine. Such is his determination that direct conflict with the EU or NATO seems more like ‘when’ not ‘if’ with escalation unavoidable. There are a couple of things that could de-escalate current tensions and I discuss them below by the names given by others: The Palace Coup and The Chinese gambit:

The Palace coup – envisages Putin being removed by Russian politicians who consider his attempt to subjugate Ukraine is damaging Russia as a credible world power. He has an inner circle of eight ‘securocrat’ officers or Siloviki, profiled by Paul Kirby on the BBC website – with no evident dissent among them. He also has a 30-member security council that unanimously endorsed his decision to invade Ukraine and was televised doing so. Finally, he has a lower house of 409 Russian MPs all of whom supported the vote to restrict news reporting to the state broadcaster. No objections or abstentions on that vote televised yesterday.

Any political opposition is either in jail like Alexei Navalny or already murdered like Boris Nemtsov, so it is fair to say that after 23 years in power Putin is as secure from defenestration as Stalin was right up his death on 5 March 1953, exactly 69 years ago.

The Chinese gambit envisages Putin being offered a face-saving exit or ‘exit ramp’ by a third party he respects. At the moment Putin is only likely to halt his armies if President Xi Jinping suggests it or offers to mediate a peace deal with NATO. Putin has shown that he will listen to other leaders like President Macron of France but rejects any request to halt his military advance on humanitarian grounds.

Threats from the United Nations carry no weight because it is headquartered in New York, and because Russia has a veto as one of the five permanent members of the UN security council.

Putin would not recognise President Biden as an independent mediator, he believes the US is still his greatest adversary. Although he respects the US military arsenal, he suspects Biden is reluctant to get involved in any new European war. He’s happy to provoke NATO but not yet attack a member.

Putin agreed to delay his invasion until the Peking games concluded on 20 February so as not to distract media attention away from the games. If Xi could extract some advantage he would step in as a mediator, but the longer the war goes on the more he learns about the West’s resolve.

History shows that a tyrant or despot usually meets a violent end, either at the hands of his own people or at the hands of his enemies. For now, the West, or liberal democracy, must balance two distinct risks – the risk of action versus the risk of inaction. See also Action on Ukraine. As well as Gary’s fine analysis of Putin Power Plays, we must also consider disruptive interventions such as the surgical removal of Putin or a gradual realisation on the part of the West that inaction may well lead to World War III. Here are Garry’s 10 lessons from the first 10 days of Putin Power Plays:
 
1.The Ukrainian people resolutely do not want to be liberated by Russians.
 
2.NATO and the EU have been played by Putin for years and woken up to it too late.
 
3.Putin is prepared to use brutality in Ukraine as he did in Grosny and Aleppo.
 
4.Counter-action is needed but fear of escalation results only in paralysing inaction.
 
5.Sanctions are neither fast acting nor effective – ‘banks don’t stop tanks’.
 
6.Putin didn’t just want Ukraine to keep out of NATO, he wanted subjugation.
 
7.Rolling up other former soviet domains will inevitably mean conflict with NATO.
 
8.The UN was created in 1945 by world leaders who had experienced Hiroshima.
 
9.Those, like Gordon Brown, who have dealt with Putin say he only respects force.
 
10. China will only step in if Chinese citizens stuck in Kyev are endangered.

Find Gary Honey on Linkedin.

Read this comment by Greg Newman.

Surgical removal may just mean another of the inner Securocrat or Security Council members steps in to continue the barrage on Ukraine and possibly further.
Inaction by NATO to implement a no fly zone also seems at odds with the reality of the situation.
The bit about the Beijing Olympics is interesting, but how could President Zu be convinced to stick China’s neck out for the sake of the West?
And what of the destabilisation of Europe’s western flank, which started long before Brexit was a hot topic? Was that just a distraction, to keep European eyes looking westwards while to Europe’s east, shenanigans were in play?
It appears Russian control and command lines to its troops on the ground in Ukraine are shaky at best, and the tabletop chats with Aeroflot employees are not what they seem to be… Unless every transmission contains codes orders to various Russian-controlled military units…
That the UK shows huge monetary values of sanctions, but less than perhaps 30 individuals targeted, says more for how successfully the Russian dictator has inveigled himself into the British Cabinet and Government – 30 days’ notice is so all the Tory recipients of Russian donations, in a numbered Dollar or Euro or Sterling account in a Russian bank (no doubt!) can extricate their ill-gotten gains to the relative safety of offshore British Dependent Territories, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, a war and movement of people (women and children, mainly, note!) the likes of which has not been seen in Europe for decades is happening – and nobody seems willing to lift a finger to help stop the cause.
World War III, yes, it does look that way.

Read The Book of Brexorcism : Let’s Talk About Brexit

Listen to the Music : Rage Against The Brexit Machine

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Read recent articles Orphaned by Brexit, Dead Cats

Posted in Russia, WW III | 2 Replies
Act for Ukraine

Action on Ukraine NOW

Further to a meeting of people from all over Europe, this article contains a very brief assessment of the situation regarding Ukraine as seen at the current moment, plus a range of initiatives that people can conduct individually or collectively.

Slow death, sudden death or peace?

Ever since Liz Truss allowed Putin to open up the question of nuclear bombs and mutually assured destruction, the western world has been paralysed by self interest instead of facing Putin down. Whilst it is wise to be cautious about Putin’s decision making skills, it is wiser to not be paralysed by them. Here are the broad range of options on the table:

Slow death

Allow Putin to take Ukraine or a part of it : Putin is emboldened and continues his march through Europe. Result : The world gets nuked eventually aka SLOW DEATH.

Sudden death

Allow the current state of too little, too late sanctions runs the risk of making Putin think the West is not united. Result : The potential for WW III grows a step closer aka SUDDEN DEATH.

Peace

The West unites and faces Putin down on every level. This might mean NATO destroying Putin’s war machine on the march into Kiev etc. Result : PEACE.

I realise that these positions are far too simplistic and discrete, nonetheless accommodation and avoidance by the West may result in the same terrible outcomes in the short or longer terms. That makes them equivalent. There are also wider moral and ethical questions that arise from an invasion of a country which was not an aggressor.

Putler
Two cheeks of the same arsehole

What must happen?

Every day, sanctions must be ratcheted up to the point that they weaken the Russian war machine and affect the will of the Russian people to resist. Each and every country must take some pain as sanctions are not surgical devices. If we want to survive Russia they are essential.

NATO and UN must take decisive action. It is justified and essential – Russia have made an unprovoked attack on Ukraine. They have also used illegal weapons. Ukraine may fall without NATO involvement, then Putin moves on to the rest of Europe. Write to NATO via mailbox.ypp@hq.nato.int A no fly zone must be considered again. By not doing it, world leaders are committing Ukraine to sudden death and the world to slow death. Both are death.

What can we do here in UK?

Find existing actions at Stand With Ukraine. Find protests and marches at activism.

Our own Government’s offer for refugees is beyond pathetic. Write to Priti Patel to point this out in your own way via withammp@parliament.uk

Write to UK MP’s about Russian Oligarchs to ask them to do more. Some examples of targets below. Click on this link to write to them. Sign the petition Support Ukraine.

Here is a list of Russian billionaires and their ties to the Tories. Also read and act upon Chatham House – The Tory kleptocracy problem.

Support EU Flag Mafia who are taking a van to Ukraine to take supplies and bring back refugees. Send money via PayPal to ital.seeds@virgin.net

With thanks to June, Sonja, Richard, Elwyn, Judith, Lisa, Alan, Roger, Adrian, Greg, Irina, Simon, Heike, Geor, Daphne.

NATO must support Ukraine
NATO must support Ukraine