. . . from the opening shimmering, evocative western and Arab strings followed by an extraordinary tympani high on the ramparts by a slip of a girl knocking seven mighty shades out of a colossal tambour. I was hooked from that moment on.
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Africa, Film, Media, World music, multiculturalism
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Tagged Armand Amar, Bab Makina, Diad Damia, Enkjargal Dandarvaanchig, eric clapton, Fez, Fez festival of sacred music, Gombodorj Byambajarga, hegira, John J Kelly, layla, Layla and Majnun, legend of layla and majnun, mongolian throat singing, Mulawwah, Riad Damia, Sufis, Thusmagazine in Fez, Umayyad, world music
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Though I hate to say I told you so, this Thus post from August 2009 “Where’s Gordon Brown in the Libyan Desert Storm?” deals at length in customary erudite fashion with the extraordinary rehabilitation of Whacko Jacko Gadaffi, his socialite son Saif, erstwhile cocktail guest of both Mandelson and Osborne and the strange silence surrounding the [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Development, Economics, Energy, Global security, Insurgency, Intifada, War on Terror, democracy
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Tagged Al Megrahi, Bahrain, BP, Colonel Gaddafi, George Osborne, Gordon Brown, liberal intervention, Libya, Peter Mandelson, Saif Gaddafi, Sarkozy, Saudi incursions into Bahrain, SNAFU, Tony Blair, Whacko Jacko Gaddafi
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December 31, 2009 – 8:16 pm
Clearly the Chinese government has a poor grasp of history. Last time they tried to stop English dope peddlers we sent gunboats up the Yellow River and pounded their Mandarin asses until they agreed to be addicted to opium. In those great days we were helped by the US, then Imperial apprentices, now big swinging [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Afghanistan, Human rights, International Affairs, Law and order, Political spin, War on Terror, human rights abuse, miscarriage of justice
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Tagged British heroin smuggler Akmal Shaikh knew what he was doing and did it for money, China executes the most people i is 14th when per capita judicial killing is taken into account, China's judicial killing of a British citizen carries more legitimacy than the countless acts of extra-judicial killing perpetrated daily by the US under the banner of liberal intervention, Chinese-British relations, one death is a tragedy 1000 a statistic, opium war, the fragrant Hamid Karzai
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August 24, 2009 – 4:18 pm
It is rumoured in Kabul that the Independent Election Commission is under pressure to rush out election results in an effort to accustom public opinion to the legitimacy of a Karzai victory which some are already claiming could be greater than 70 percent. Unofficial reports (Press TV) claim that Karzai has won with 3,244,196 votes [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Afghanistan, Development, Global security, Insurgency, Intifada, Law and order, Palestine, United Nations, War on Terror, democracy, gaza
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Tagged Abdullah, Afghan elections, Afghan government of national unity, AIPAC, anti-semitism, by John J Kelly, Fatah, fundamentalists, Ghani, Hamas, Independent Election Commission is under pressure to rush out election results, Jews, Karzai, Karzai rumoured to declare victory by more than 60%, Palestine, taliban intimidation caught on camera
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August 23, 2009 – 8:48 pm
This morning, in a cynical volte face, Abdullah Abdullah, the leading challenger to incumbent, President Karzai, declared that the Afghan election was rigged, having previously declared himself the winner. Earlier speculation that the two candidates identified by a Free and Fair Elections spokesman as responsible for widespread intimidation and ballot-rigging in the Afghan election (Thus passim) [...]
August 23, 2009 – 7:12 pm
Over the past three days, as the Lockerbie ‘terrorist’ release turns into a full-blown international incident, we have heard not one word, or even a Twitter, from the man who saved the wurreld (and its banks). This is highly unusual; Gordon and his wife Sarah Twittered from Inverkilliecrankie, or wherever they are on holiday, catching [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Africa, Global security, Human rights, International Affairs, Law and order, Libya, Totalitarian drift, US Politics, War on Terror, democracy, extradition, human rights abuse, miscarriage of justice
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Tagged Add new tag, admitted discussing the subject a couple of weeks ago with Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif at the Rothschild villa in Corfu, by John J Kelly, Colonel Gaddafi, David Miliband, FBI head Robert Mueller, Gordon Brown, Gordon Brown's silence, Iran Air, kenny MacAskill, Libya, Mandelson, Mandelson has prosptate operation in sympathy with al Megrahi, Pan Am Flight 103, Prince Andrew, Saif-al-Islam Gaddafi, Scottish National Party
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Afghanistan could become Obama’s Vietnam, if it isn’t already. Al Qaida, the Taliban and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalyse have never been in ruder health. By John J Kelly. Drone bombing insurgents, much less civilians, will not win the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan, which has now spread to Pakistan, enabling the possibility of [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Development, Global security, Insurgency, Law and order, US Politics, United Nations, War on Terror, carpet bombing, democracy, human rights abuse
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Tagged Afghan elections August 2009, Afghanistan, Afghanistan could become Obama's Vietnam, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Ashraf Ghani, Former Pakistani SIS head, fundamentalism, Hameed karzai, Iraq, Lt-Gen (rtd) Hameed Gul, Mahdi Army, Obama, Osama Bin laden, Pakistan, Pashtun, Russians in Afghanistan, Taleban, US Middle East policy, War on Terror
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It used to be difficult to shut Tony Blair up, especially on the subject of Iraq. Remember his epic war speech to Parliament, when the phrase ‘weapons of mass destruction’ was repeated more than 15 times? Now he only speaks for $400,000 a pop to neocons or lectures the Pope on theology. He might yet [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Global security, Insurgency, Iraq, Policy, Political spin, Spin doctors, Totalitarian drift, UK politics, War on Terror, carpet bombing, citizens' rights, miscarriage of justice
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Tagged (Sir) John Chilcot, Add new tag, Alastair Campbell, Basra, Blair, Blair's 1999 Chicago 'Humanitarian Intervention' speech, Butler enquiry, by John J Kelly, David Miliband, Dodgy Dossier, General Sir Richard Dannatt, Gordon Brown, in the interests of national security, International Criminal Court at the Hague, Iraq War, Iraq War enquiry, John Scarlett, M16, Mossad, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, Thus Magazine, weapons of mass destruction, Yellow Cake Nigerian uranium
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Not long ago, in a country far away, the world held its breath as a tightly-fought election drew to its climax. The popular democratic candidate appeared to have won, but at the last minute, 25 key votes from the electoral college of a state run by the candidate’s brother assured victory for the son of [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in Barack Obama, Genocide, Global security, Intifada, Iran, Iraq, Israel, carpet bombing, ethnic cleansing, gaza
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Tagged 2000 US election, Afghanistan, Democracy Inc, Global security, Iran elections, Iraq, US foreign policy, War on Terror
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March 27, 2009 – 12:25 pm
. . . highlights the tragedy of a wasteful adventure which cost the lives of soldiers, civilians and insurgents, and ended in unnecessary and undeserved ignominy for the British Army “Our departure from Iraq ends a dismal period in our military history” writes Michael Portillo, former (Conservative) UK Defence Secretary, in this week’s excellent edition [...]
By John Kelly
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Also posted in British identity, Global security, Insurgency, Iraq, War on Terror
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Tagged Basra, British Army betrayed, britishness, Gordon Brown, iraq bodycount, John J Kelly, Matt d'Ancona, michael portillo, oxford research group, spectator, What Michael Portillo saw in Basra
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