When the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do, sir?
John Maynard Keynes
On 15 February 2003, 100 000 marched from Glasgow Green to the Armadillo. I was at the tail-end with Ayr CND and just behind a feminist group with protest boards saying ‘The only bush I trust is my own.’
A few days before that, with around 20 University of the West of Scotland students, I attended a vigil organised by Ayr CND at the Cenotaph in the town. The CND guys with acoustic guitars taught the students to sing ‘Where have all the flowers gone‘ and Country Joe & the Fish’s ‘Vietnam Song.’ They loved the call and answer to spell out F.U.C.K!
Around the same time the University admin threatened to remove me from the email system for campaigning against the war, on it.
I was then angrily opposed to Western interventions in other parts, feeling sure that all of them so far had made things worse than they were before.
I know the Hussein regime was a brutal dictatorship with genocidal tendencies toward minority ethnic groups which threatened its rule in any way but it was a pro-Western secular state in which the placid majority and women lived better lives than they would have had in neighbouring theocracies. A friend had travelled for work to the equally secular Libya and Syria, in the 1990s, and described them as pleasant, civilised and safe.
With many of you, I suspect, my prediction proved horribly correct. Hundred’s of thousands died, millions were displaced and with Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran, it is now an even worse place to live in.
Western interventions and support for allies such as Saudi Arabia have worsened the quality of life in places such as the above four, but also in Yemen, in those many African countries with an Islamic presence and in many of their now hardened neighbours, including Pakistan and India, Sudan and Egypt.
On the edges of Europe too, Russia has been pressurised by NATO and Western economic forces into becoming an even more brutal dictatorship, that harms its own and neighbouring populations.
I’m not daft.
As a socially liberal, economic leftist, I wouldn’t last long outside of ‘The West’. Having played the major part in producing these monsters, the West has ironically now become my only safe home.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
One of the things which surprised me about that awesome demonstration was the number of colleagues and acquaintances I saw whom I knew were either Tory party members or Tory voters or the kind of person who until that day would sneer at any political demonstration. There were not huge numbers of such people, but, in many years of attendance at similar kinds of demos, I had never seen them attend. On speaking to some afterwards, they had various reasons, but all of these reasons were, to some degree, ones I could understand even though I disagreed with some.
I think Iraq signalled the start of the death of Scottish Labour. Many of lifelong until then voters like I was never voted Labour again.
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Sorry, but I disagree that the Putin was ‘forced by the west’ to be a brutal dictator. His history clearly shows that is exactly who he always was. As the very wise Maya Angelou put it: When someone shows you what they are, believe them the first time.
That we have our own brutal history does not excuse his brutal invasion of his neighbors and it is not the reason for it. Nor does it mean that we should try to appease him by allowing him to conquer neighboring nations.
When the alliance fought Hitler, in many parts of the world the history of the UK was nearly as horrific. That did make appeasing him a good idea. I see no reason to believe that appeasement would work any better now.
That did not work well in the past. I see no reason why it should work now.
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Did I say ‘Putin was forced?’
Please debate with me honestly
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No, Prof., I admit you did not use the word ‘forced’ but this seems to mean that: ‘On the edges of Europe too, Russia has been pressurised by NATO and Western economic forces into becoming an even more brutal dictatorship…’ Does not ‘pressurised imply force? It does to me, but if that is not what you meant then I offer an apology.
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A government doesn’t need to be involved in a war to harm it’s people. Look how many thousands have died because of tory austerity policies. Look how many died of covid because the government didn’t think it was a serious threat. The UK government cares no more for the people they are tasked with looking after than those dictators they think need punished for the same crime.
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As far as the “interventions” in the Near East are concerned,it was mainly about OIL and control over it.
It is going to be interesting to see the shift in geopolitics if the West and China manage to free themselves from fossil fuel dependency.
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Protests in Africa about an oil pipeline being installed by China and couple of other countries, 900 miles of it from Uganda to Tanzania through a national park.
Rich countries are keen to get their dirty hands on other countries’ resources, as we know in Scotland, and climate credits are still a thing. What a world.
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26 million Russians died saving the West in the 2nd world war. 1/2 a million in UK. 1/2 million in France. Russia was devastated saving the West. Every country has a right to protect its borders. Ukraine hostilities were created by US/UK (as usual) breaking International Treaties. 2014. They caused the War in Ukraine. Johnstone and Biden. Supporting a rough regime of corruption in Ukraine by threatening Russian Borders. NATO has missiles trained on Russian from every quarter. They also cause as much trouble as they can with China. Russia and China have reduced poverty.
Defence spending US $740Billion. The highest in the world. A 1/3 of all world spend. 340million people. Next is Saudi Arabia. A autocracy.. 33 million people. 1/3 migrants. Defence spending. $65Billion+.
Russian Defence spending $65Billion. 150million pop. Half since USSR. Counties in Eastern Europe got self determination and self governance. 1990.
China Defence spending. $228Billion. 1.4Billion people.
UK Defence spending $50Billion. 65million people. Increasing to £5Billion by the Tories. Instead f increasing NHS £5Billion on essential service, Killing people rather than saving lives.
Scotland paying too much for Trident and Defence.
Biden and Johnstone are laundering public money through Ukraine for personal,gain. They are being paid public monies to support war in Ukraine. Breaking International Treaties with impunity once again. Killing and destruction once again. To line their pockets. Johnstone as Foreign Secretary went straight to Trump when elected to start trouble on the Russian border. Trump refused. Military states causing conflict worldwide. The Ukraine is a corrupt regime of lawlessness. Now supported by Western states for personal gain. Laundering £Billions of public money through Ukraine,to their associates More Western propaganda. Biden and Johnstone totally corrupt. Trump tried to stop war that is why they are trying to get rid of him. The US (UK) are military states trying to cause war and destruction since the 11WW, worldwide. They did not have enough of it. They need talks to stop the destruction in Ukraine. The Ukraine leadervis a warmonger.. Along with US/UK regimes causing nothing but war for decades. The Middle East, Vietnam etc for their own personal gain. Blair/Brown Millionaires. Johnstone millionaire. Biden £Billionaire. Total world destruction. Wasting £Billions of public monies that could be better spent worldwide reducing poverty and death etc.
The EU was funded after WW2 to prevent starvation and war. About time they got on with it and prevented eternal war and destruction. Stood up to US/UK to help the human race. Illegal war, financial fraud and tax evasion causing death and destruction world wide. Westminster promised the Middle East the vote. Reneged and caused death and destruction to democracy. Killing millions of people for personal gain. Kept secret under the Official Secrets Act. Illegally selling weapons to Saudi Arabia since the 1960s Harold Wilson keot serect under the Official Secrets Act. Johnstone completely corrupt taking the UK out of the EU for personal gain. Wasting £Billions of public money and leaving people in poverty. The list is endless of Westminster (US) illegal abuse of power. The secret Balfour Agreement. The Irish Troubles. The unequal Union. The destruction worldwide. The abuse of power worldwide. The corruption and lies. The phoney Press. MSM tax evading non Dom’s supporting corruption for personal gain.
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People in Scotland can vote to end the Westminster corruption. Vote for Independent Parties and Independence. Break Westmibster corruption, killing and waste. A higher turnout. The efforts being made by Westminster paid agents to stop democracy and Independence in Scotland. It just needs a higher turnout to vote the opposition out.
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