šŸ‡¾šŸ‡Ŗ Don't mention Yemen

I suppose the short answer is all of them. MPs pension funds are heavily invested in Arms companies like BAE systems. Despite promising to switch to an ā€˜ethical investmentā€™ policy when this came to light. They are also hugely invested in Tobacco companies. ā€˜Children in Needā€™ and ā€˜Comic Reliefā€™ also invest heavily in the Arms trade, which is probably even more disturbing. At the last count, in 2015, Children in Need had 97 million stashed away in their investment portfolio instead of giving the money direct to charities. Presumably the main beneficiaries will be the full time employees of these ā€˜charitiesā€™ who no doubt will be on fat salaries. Of course there will also be more than a few MPs and Peers who are directly benefiting from their consultancies etc with the Arms trade. It is a dirty business.

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The first thing we need to do with the Saudiā€™s is stop selling them our apostrophes.

They donā€™t need them, and itā€™s an immoral trade that breaks international law and should be banned.

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Just a point of order and remember that the Youth is are well supplied and armed.

By Iran.

What youth?

Yemeni?

I guess itā€™s autocorrect on Houthi.

Just wanted to big up that Mark Curtis the tweeter in the original post. Iā€™ve been following him on twitter for a while now, but donā€™t really know who he is. Iā€™ve not read any of his books and only checked out his website for the first time a couple of hours ago but he relentlessly posts really interesting stuff that highlights the dark side of British foreign policy and the main stream media. As an ex fellow of Chatham House, he seems to know his onions.

Has anyone read any of his books? would you recommend them?

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Samsung spell check sorry.

Houthis

The nightmare of Yemen the suffering and the Aid & Charity appeals DO get coverage here.

Equally casualties are given a Heroā€™s welcome and we have an extra day Public holiday for Martyrs Day each year.

Yes it is bad but equally Aid agencies are trying to help & rebuild.

Yemen has always been a cluster fuck of a Nation. It was safe enough for me to travel there a few times in the late 90ā€™s. Even then I missed the Euro 98 penalty shoot out due to being arrested on arrival.

Before the ā€œwarā€ it was torn by tribal rivalries and people suffered

Life under the last Iranian backed regime was also brutal.

Let alone the mess of the North/South Cold War divide & they led the insurgency in Oman that was only stopped by a few heroic SAS & Strikemaster Pilots.

But the total lack of coverage in the West is appalling but then"your spin doctors" canā€™t push the Arab Spring democracy line to justify involvement in a proxy war.

Yemen would get worse if democracy was imposed. It is too fractured and needs time to recover before it can transition

Not read his books, but have been reading his articles for a while(think goat posted something of his last year that made me take notice of him) and going on them, i would have to say yes.

Your own post suggests you donā€™t need much convincing. Let us know what you think of them.

P. S can you start with Secret Affairs: Britainā€™s collusion with radical Islam.

Phil, you know the score, but I think youā€™ve got a blind spot on Iran.

I remember that one of our first debates concerned the Tunb Islands. Youā€™d noted them as an example of Iranian aggression and expansion.

Hereā€™s the thing. The Tunbs were taken from the UAE during the reign of the Shah. The Iran we know is the post-revolution Iran, the same one that shortly after its formation, decried pretty much all the Arab World as unislamic, accusing them of falling from their faith. Harsh words, which led to the expansion of Saudi funding of what would eventually become Al Qaeda and any other number of extreme groups following a path close to the Wahhabi doctrine.

Yes, the Iranians are engaging in the same kind of proxy sponsorship that every other country with a dog in the fight is doing. Yes, the rhetoric from its Supreme Leaders and Presidents has been incredibly truculent (especially when translated by Western media).

The post 1979 Iran has never invaded anyone that didnā€™t invade Iran first. It is not an aggressor state, and the vast majority of groups it has funded are resistance movements in occupied territories, usually fending off the advances of an aggressor state.

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Fair points Pap. Not sure I can add more to that so wonā€™t try.

Plus Iran is ā€œaxis of evilā€ so always gets bad press.

Actually I wasnā€™t having a dig at them in the way Pap was implying. It is such a fascinating place

In some ways their ā€œpositionā€ is more of unofficial opposition the US style globalisation.

Their ā€œotherā€ role is defending the Shia faith against the ā€œwestern backedā€ Sunni faith. Iranā€™s ā€œgripeā€ is simply that they donā€™t believe the Saudis are true Muslims and so shouldnā€™t control The Holy Sites.

Donā€™t have a soft spot for them just balanced

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I would actually love to go. Looks like one of the most beautiful spots on Earth, in certain parts of the country.

One of the huge problems with that now is that until Trump has gone, and possibly thereafter, going to Iran will probably prevent you from going to the US.

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Totally agree Pap. The Ex wanted to go there - I worked for an American Company so had serious protocols to follow so couldnā€™t go. She loved it, so many beautiful Cities.

Middle Son was in and out for work a few times - loved the place - he made some great friends there while skate-boarding.

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Yes, I know itā€™s James Corden, but finally Yemen is making the news:

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And the UK supports Saudi Arabia and seems to be doing nothing to ensure at least humanitarian aid is provided - shameful, but not unexpected.

ITV News has been bang on this the last couple of nights. Bravo.

How the fuck can you think of Yemen on a night like this?