My main critical friend, who when I became addicted to opioid painkillers, constructively said ‘Some f*****g professor!’ , agrees with me on Tucker Carlson, a Christian and a Trump fan, despite him holding those two positions which we both reject.
I think she agrees that he has the clearest, most direct, most convincing, most penetrating and most entertaining take on Trump and the war on Iran, that we’ve seen – ‘he’s a slave to Israel.‘
Today, I see in the Herald, that the wonderful Mary Beard, again who we both love, agrees.
In ‘Awful people can be correct’: Mary Beard talks the past and present:
and:
Source:
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Yes awful people can occasionally be correct .
ie awful Offord on the subject of awful Sarwar.
And, come to that, awful Sarwar on the subject of awful Offord .
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I sometimes watch Tucker Carlson videos. He interviews some interesting people. He is now opposed to Donald Trump for betraying his election promises, particularly the promise to end forever wars, specially the Iran war.
Other MAGA supporters are also now opposed to Trump such as Candace Owens, Meghan Kelly, Alex Jones and Jo Rogan. (Jo Rogan may have changed his mind since Trump has just authorised the use of psychedelics research to treat depression and addiction, a position Jo Rogan campaigned for and I agree with him on that).
I think it’s “grown up” to accept that you disagree with some views, sometimes profoundly disagree, but agree with others. Only teenagers live in a fantasy world of Good v Evil screaming “bigot” “fascist” and “literal Na*i” at anyone with a different opinion. Adults have to learn to get on with each other and negotiate a modus vivendi.
Trump IMO is stuck in Teenager mode and sometimes even Toddler. Carlson has the insight to admit when he is wrong.
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There is nothing wrong with screaming ‘fascist’ at someone who is in fact a fascist. It is a fallacy to believe you can negotiate with people who do not believe in negotiation. That Trump and some of his most rabid supporters have fallen out is a matter to be cheered, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that it means that they have ceased being fascists.
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Frankly the analysis of the Herald is rather childish, sadly to be expected from the once great newspaper. No one has any difficulty ‘wrapping their head around’ Beard and many, many others remarking on the fact that some of Trumps major supporters, including Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, Megyn Kelly, and Candace Jones, are severely criticising Trump for the Iran War. Besides being ‘Christian’ nationalists, they are all strident American isolationists. They view Trump’s abandonment of isolationism as a total betrayal. Their mistake about Trump, of course, was thinking that a toxic narcissist like Trump believed in anything but himself. The mistake would be to mistake that for a change in the determination of Carlson et al to undermine and destroy democracy. Few people are making that mistake.
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O/T
Here is a strange reality and also, I think, is a fact.
Alistair McConnachie of ‘A force for Good’ has no confidence in a pro UK party winning in Scotland, especially one that was founded by him.
Why do I know that ?
Well yet again a party, that was founded by him, will stand in the Scottish elections in May , with a party name that is called the ‘Independent Green Voice’ that has a leaf as a party emblem.
Now the actual real Scottish Green party raised this as an issue in a previous election with the (useless) Electoral Commission, as in this (fake) party name when IGV were first registered with them.
The logo for IGV has the “Green” in a larger font than “Independent” or “Voice”.
On 22 May 2021, the Electoral Commission ruled out a review of the name or emblem for IGV, stating:
“No concerns were raised with us in relation to this application to add an emblem to a long-registered party. We are satisfied that there are clear and sufficient differences between the two party’s registered names, descriptions and emblems to avoid confusion.”
(So they whitewashed this because “No concerns were raised with us in relation to this application to add an emblem to a long-registered party”, really, so what about the party name) ?
Well they are right in respect to there being “sufficient differences between the two party’s” as one is a legitimate GREEN party and the other one is not.
Which I am sure they too also know, considering McConnachie was the one who first registered the party with them in 2003, but why did he add a leaf as his party logo at a later date in 2021? (Why indeed)
Let’s be honest here those of us who, unlike the Electoral Commission, are not idiots , obviously saw what McConnachie was trying to do, which was to confuse some voters in Scotland into voting for his party as they may have wrongly thought that they were actually voting for the official Green party in Scotland.
“In the previous Scottish elections the official Scottish Green party were 1,000 votes short of gaining a list seat in Glasgow (where IGV received 2,210 votes) and were 100 votes short of gaining one in South Scotland (where IGV received 1,690 votes)”.
Now surely if one calls one’s party “Green” and then uses a leaf as a party emblem , then that suggests that your party must then support green policies , No ?
While reality is that McConnachie is noted as being a far right activist , and two candidates for his new (fake) party are Max Dunbar and John Robertson who were both formerly British National party activists.
So they are all most certainly not supporters of green policies, plus he, McConnachie, was also a former Scottish organiser for UKIP who, as a party, are opposed to green initiatives and they also very much oppose Net Zero policies.
What was amusing though is that UKIP refused to renew his membership into UKIP when he began questioning the Holocaust.
(Imagine being so bad that even UKIP will not allow you to be a member of their party).
So basically all that he, McConnachie, has created is a party whose name and party emblem is a lie .
He obviously has absolutely no confidence in creating a party name that one would immediately associate as being clearly one that is pro UK , that’s because he also knows only too well that there is not a majority support for any pro UK party in Scotland.
Like say why not use, as a party name , this ‘UK Force For Good party’……..
Typical BritNat , cheating , lying and subterfuge is the only way that they think they can con voters in Scotland into voting for them and so then perhaps denying a legitimate Green party some legitimate votes in the Scottish elections.
The Electoral Commission is complicit in this con as I find it to be a tad suspect that they do not know who Alistair McConnachie actually is and also what he really represents.
Clue – not green policies.
So as well as his past affiliation with a party like UKIP, then a reality check is needed here, what with “Green” being in his (fake) party name and also a (fake) party emblem that is a “leaf” and then what ?……the Electoral Commission thought, yes that is all credible for this individual who registered this party with us, the Electoral Commission.
I mean is it not false advertising by him?
The establishment of course always finds way to try and stop democracy happening in Scotland in our elections do they not.
Which is why McConnachie knew that he would probably get a way with creating this fake green party name.
I hope the Green party in Scotland make sure that voters know all about this, if not then they are likely to see a repeat of 2021 , where his fake party will be gaining undeserved votes that were possibly really intended to be for the real Scottish Green party.
Liz S
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* two candidates for his new (fake) party are Max Dunbar and John Robertson who were both formerly British National party activists.
two candidates for his new (fake) party in 2021 were Max Dunbar and John Robertson who were both formerly British National party activists.
“in 2021 were” important fact that I missed in my above comment.
Liz S
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More subterfuge …..from the usual suspects that are the BBC.
MSM Monitor posted this:
“Scotcast features well known Scottish Labour activist Prof. June Andrews but fails to inform people of her political background. In the 2024 general election she campaigned for Labour candidate Gregor Poynton. In Oct 2024 BBC Scotland had to apologise for platforming the same academic without telling people she was a Labour activist. Andrews is currently posting pro-Labour campaign material on social media. Martin Geissler and his Scotcast colleagues have some explaining to do”
Also he posted this:
“How is it someone who stood as a Scottish Labour candidate last year can appear on a BBC Scotland election campaign programme to discuss a key election area – the NHS – and be presented as an impartial academic with no mention of her links to Labour”?
Agree MSM Monitor.
She stood as a candidate for Labour in Broxburn , Uphall & Winchburgh in 2025 in a council by-election.
Labour MP Gregor Poynton posted this on Facebook:
“Labour’s candidate, Prof. June Andrews, has been working tirelessly—knocking on thousands of doors, visiting local businesses and community groups, and listening to the issues that matter to you. With her vast experience as a nurse and in public services, she would be a great champion for the local area on West Lothian Council”.
Now, as MSM Monitor noted in one of his above posts, the BBC in Scotland were previously (apparently) ‘reprimanded’ and so noted in the section of the BBC website called ‘BBC Corrections & Clarifications’, that is when they did this before with someone else, as in them failing to note the person’s political affiliation with a UK political party during an interview.
2024 BBC corrections and clarifications section:
“Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland, 28 October 2024
In an interview about charity Age Scotland’s concern that more older people will be taken to hospital with hypothermia this year following cuts to the winter fuel payment, the programme spoke with a guest as an expert in the care of older people.
Our editorial guidelines state that “We should not automatically assume that contributors from other organisations (such as academics, journalists, researchers and representatives of charities and think-tanks) are unbiased. Appropriate information about their affiliations, funding and particular viewpoints should be made available to the audience, when relevant to the context.”
While the contributions from the guest were appropriate for the item, in hindsight, with the interview moving into areas of political decision-making, the programme should have found a way to convey to listeners more information on the guest’s party political standpoint. We have reminded our teams of the importance of this in preparing and conducting interviews.
20/11/2024“.
“We have reminded our teams of the importance of this in preparing and conducting interviews” ?
Well guess what , they , BBC Scotland via Scotcast, are choosing not to adhere to this.
As MSM Monitor’s above post confirms , the latest edition of Scotcast did not disclose to their audience that their ‘expert’ in opining upon the NHS was actually a former Labour candidate in a Scottish Council by-election.
(Of course I am assuming that BBC HQ did indeed “remind their teams in Scotland of this important part of interviews with individuals” aka what the BBC news teams in Scotland likes to call their – specially picked time and time again- ‘experts).
It is quite shocking of course but not in the least surprising.
Liz S
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US has the highest Jewish population, after Israel.
The US has been involved in eternal war since WW2. Spends the most on Defence (attack). Spends $760Billion. A third of the world spend. 260Million pop.
China pop 1.4Billion spends $228Billion. Russia (150Million) pop. $69Billion.
UK spends £55Billion. Pop 67Million.
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