Yvette Cooper

Morning Star Editorial: Netanyahu’s arrest warrant is a nightmare for Starmer

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-netanyahus-arrest-warrant-nightmare-starmer

EVASIVENESS on whether Britain will comply with the International Criminal Court (ICC’s) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exposes government hypocrisy.

It underlines the crisis engulfing the Western-defined and policed “rules-based international order” and the dilemmas this poses for liberal imperialists like Keir Starmer.

Neither he nor Home Secretary Yvette Cooper can risk slamming the arrest warrant as “outrageous,” as US President Joe Biden does.

Washington has never signed up to the ICC. Its political leaders are open about being rule-makers not rule-takers, insisting other countries comply with the court’s rulings — as when Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded that every ICC member honour the arrest warrant for Russia’s Vladimir Putin — while rejecting its jurisdiction over anything the United States or its citizens do.

Britain’s role is subordinate. It belongs to the ICC and claims respect for the court’s neutrality.

Hence Cooper’s mealy-mouthed talk of “proper processes that need to be followed.” In fact, as the chair of the foreign affairs select committee Emily Thornberry acknowledges, the proper process is straightforward: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC… we are required to, because we are members.”

But to admit that would raise questions the Starmer government is determined to ignore. If the prime minister of Israel is a wanted war criminal, systematically starving the civilian population of northern Gaza among other crimes, how can Britain justify continued support for his war — which it continues to provide, for all the empty talk about immediate ceasefires, through arms sales, shared surveillance flight data and allowing the use of RAF bases on Cyprus to supply its military?

…

Original article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-netanyahus-arrest-warrant-nightmare-starmer

Labour is lying when it says there would have to be ‘legal processes’ before Netanyahu’s extradition
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK's air force has been essential in Israel's mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.

Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: Netanyahu’s arrest warrant is a nightmare for Starmer

Journalism is not a crime – Tell that to the British state

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https://www.declassifieduk.org/journalism-is-not-a-crime-tell-that-to-the-british-state/

Police raided the home of journalist Asa Winstanley. (Photo: AsaWinstantley.com)

Why are no national news outlets covering the crackdown on pro-Palestinian journalists in Britain?

“Journalism is the lifeblood of democracy” proclaimed prime minister Keir Starmer in a comment piece for the Guardian at the end of October. “Just because journalists are brave does not mean they should ever suffer intimidation”, he wrote.

Yet 11 days before his article was published, officers from the counter-terrorism unit of the Metropolitan Police raided the home of Asa Winstanley, a well-known pro-Palestinian journalist with the Electronic Intifada, and seized his devices under provisions of the UK’s Terrorism Act.

Winstanley was presented with a letter indicating that the raid was part of ‘Operation Incessantness’, a counter-terror initiative about which little is known.

This is not the first use of anti-terror laws to try to silence pro-Palestinian voices in recent months. 

It follows the detention at Heathrow Airport of Richard Medhurst and the arrest of Sarah Wilkinson in August 2024, both of whom are independent journalists prominently associated with reporting Israel’s war on Palestinians.

The attacks on journalists are part of a wider pattern of harassment of pro-Palestine activists. 

…

In response to these outrageous infringements of journalists’ ability to do their jobs, Declassified UK noted back in September that “they are part of a sinister development that has serious implications for civil liberties and freedom of speech, yet it has been ignored by the mainstream media”.

This continues to be the case. Not a single national news outlet in the UK has reported on the policing of British pro-Palestinian journalists. Not one of them has thought to investigate what ‘Operation Incessantness’ might mean for press freedom. 

Not one of them has reflected on the precedent set by the use of anti-terror laws for reporting on Gaza.

…

https://www.declassifieduk.org/journalism-is-not-a-crime-tell-that-to-the-british-state/

dizzy: Bloggers are journalists and journalists are bloggers. Restrictions are applied to this blog contrary to human rights principles. Comments are not permitted, stats are manipulated. I finally managed to connect to Google Analytics and it told me I had 8 page views on one day, 14 on the following day – at least it’s obviously total BS.

I assume that UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is responsible for this but it could be Germany since this blog is hosted in Germany. I have no idea tbh because I’ve never been told and never been given the opportunity to challenge it.

On the plus side, I think that the Fascist human rights violators may also be paying for my hosting. If I’m reaching a far wider audience than acknowledged, somebody is paying for that bandwidth. Somebody is also paying to hide my name. I used to pay for it – about £20 a year – but decided that I couldn’t afford it one year. My name appeared on the DNS record but was hidden within about 20 minutes.

Continue ReadingJournalism is not a crime – Tell that to the British state

Thoughts of the Day 21 October 2024

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‘Thought of the Day’ is a feature of BBC Radio 4 news at early in the morning. It usually features some religious nutter spouting some very simplistic religious rubbish. It’s a sermon and sermons are usually fantastic babbliing by mad people. The trouble is – of course – that the presentation is within their particular religious framework often with no regard for logic or reason. It used to drive me mad – I’d be thinking “You’re so biased and short-sighted, can’t you see <WHATEVER>?”. I’ve just heard “Prayer for the Day” for the first time ever because I’m up so early, need to remember to change channel in future.

So here I am giving my own thoughts of the day. While I realise that I am regarded very highly be some of my valued audience, you are so welcome to disagree. I want you to disagree. Make notes. He’s wrong on this, this and this. That’s not how it works because … <YOUR REASONING>. Don’t just disagree, know exactly why and what you disagree with, be able to argue what points you disagree with me.

It’s a real shame that you can’t comment on this blog – that’s because comments are censored probably by UK’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper with the full knowledge and agreement of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. That’s a topic for another Thoughts of the Day, let’s just say that it doesn’t really conform with human rights laws, does it? No doubt that there’s some justification for it … OK let’s leave it for now and discuss it soon on some laterer Thoughts of the Day. I’ve also not forgotten that I’m supposed to write a piece on carbon capture and storage but I have been and am still quite ill.

Back to the point, let’s have some thoughts of the day, more thoughts of the day I suppose.

Firstly, you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes do you? United States providing a missile interception capability to Israel, drones and rockets getting through …

Trying to find an appropriate nickname for Kamala Harris who fully supports Israel's genocide.
Trying to find an appropriate nickname for Kamala Harris who fully supports Israel’s genocide.

Secondly, I think that we should regard public statements by US and UK on Israel to be intended to deceive and mislead. Their actions prove that they’re talking total BS in public. USUK militaries are participating as much as the IDF FFS.

Thirdly, I think that WW3 is on the cards. I was expecting it a few weeks ago actually and it’s getting on a bit really re: the presidential election. People get scared and tend to vote with what they’ve got if there’s a war on. Russia and North Korea [ed and China] will be on Iran’s side. Russia has got some of it’s fleet there already. I know from keeping up with the news that Russia has got some F.O. serious new missiles the capabilities of which have yet to be demonstrated.

There’s a protest on 2 November. I’ve got a bus ticket and some walking boots on the way.

Continue ReadingThoughts of the Day 21 October 2024

Government ‘showing disregard for the law’, Liberty warns in anti-protest legal challenge

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Keir Starmer confirms that his government is cnutier than Suella Braverman on killing the right to protest.
Keir Starmer confirms that his government is cnutier than Suella Braverman on killing the right to protest.

https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/government-showing-disregard-for-the-law-liberty-warns-in-anti-protest-legal-challenge/

  • Home Office continues appeal against Liberty’s successful legal challenge to anti-protest rules, which the High Court had previously found unlawful
  • Legislation gave police ‘almost-unlimited’ powers to impose conditions on protests that caused ‘more than minor’ disruption.
  • Liberty said “We will ensure a government is not allowed to wilfully ignore the rules at the expense of our fundamental human rights” 

The human rights organisation Liberty has questioned the new Government’s “concerning disregard for the rule of law” as the Home Office has instructed lawyers to proceed with an appeal against a recent High Court ruling that anti-protest legislation had been created unlawfully.

The legislation, which significantly reduced the threshold at which the police could impose almost-unlimited conditions on protests to anything that they deemed caused ‘more than minor disruption’, had been brought in by then Home Secretary Suella Braverman in June 2023. Previously the threshold had been set at anything that caused ‘serious disruption’.

Liberty challenged the legislation in court, arguing that it was unlawful since it had already been democratically rejected by Parliament just a few months earlier, and was subsequently brought in “via the back door” through ‘secondary legislation’, which required less Parliamentary scrutiny and debate.

In May 2024, the High Court agreed with Liberty’s arguments, ruling that “more than minor cannot mean serious”. The Court also found that the Government had failed to undertake a fair consultation period, instead only inviting thoughts from those it knew would be supportive of its proposals, such as the police but not protest groups.

The previous Government had lodged an appeal against the ruling, and despite requesting an adjournment and meeting to discuss the regulations, the new Government has now decided to continue the appeal. The appeal hearing is expected to take place later in the year.

…

https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/government-showing-disregard-for-the-law-liberty-warns-in-anti-protest-legal-challenge/

Continue ReadingGovernment ‘showing disregard for the law’, Liberty warns in anti-protest legal challenge