Showing posts with label abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abuse. Show all posts

Why Ireland needs a judicial public inquiry into historical child sexual predatory abuse within Boarding Schools, Day Schools.

Open letter to Irish Government, Churches and Media
~
Why Ireland needs a judicial public inquiry into historical child sexual predatory abuse within Boarding Schools, Day Schools.




As a child of Ireland, a ward of guardians, I was placed in five Irish Catholic boarding schools over a 11 year period, from 1966 through to 1977. 

A convent boarding school, an elite preparatory school, an Irish speaking school, a reformatory boarding school, another Irish speaking school.

I was subjected to predatory abuse within all these schools. I was utterly alone. I had no advocates, no protectors, I told no one. It was quite awful, all the time. I became habituated to that state. That was my normal. A child of Ireland. I fled Ireland aged 19.

I have endured the adverse effects of cPTSD for all my adult life.  I had always thought I was the problem. Shame, self loathing, narcissism, a tendency to be a bully, paranoia, sleep problems, always over compensating, never good enough. In my heart and mind, a darkness lurked. 

This has impacted all my adult relationships, adversely. I accept my part in all of that. I also understand the symptoms of years of chronic exposure to abuse as they present as behaviour. 

I am in counselling.

I know for sure that I am not an outlier, a unique and rare case. 

I was a child alone, as were so many others, who will remain countless until we find out how many were predated upon by men and women who got away with it, more or less, courtesy of the power of the Institutions.

Survivors deserve honesty, justice and reparation, support and recognition, kindness and respect.

This Inquiry could have been suggested in 1992.  There were already enough proven cases and allegations known to the Government of Ireland and to the Churches to justify same.

What harms have fallen upon survivors in the past 30 years, as a result?

Ireland, as a State and a people,  must avoid  repeating that failure to act in a timely manner.

We need a full Public Inquiry covering all State and Religious run schools across Ireland, where any allegations of predatory abuse have ever emerged since commencement of the State. 

We must start with judicial oversight, with open verified access to all religious order data and papers related to predatory abuse mandated, as a means to meet the needs of Survivors. 

The State and Institutions know what they knew. Survivors do not. That is an inequitable disparity. 

And that is the problem that only a Judicial Public Inquiry can resolve. Timely in this instance means complete the task, look at and appraise the full extent of the child predation, bullying, the violence and psychological abuse, hold accountable those who are accountable, make reparations and design a schooling system, a cultural environment that prevents all of that from ever happening again.

Every child of Ireland deserves nothing less than that, past and present.

Corneilius Crowley







Kindest regards

Corneilius

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Why Bullies are Attracted to Leveraged Distal Power Over Others: Suggestions on How to Prevent This Dynamic, in order to Prevent Harm.

A look at the pattern observed where Hierarchical Power Structures 'attract' some people who internalise power as a personal characteristic - "I want to be King of the World" - many of whom are bullies, men and women who are willing to abuse and harm others in order to gain, enhance, protect and project the power their position gives them, as part of their personal identification. 

This is written in the context of the politics of England, in the run up to Christmas 2021.

~
Henry VIII, serial wife murderer, ruthless and cruel.


Oliver Cromwell, replaced the equally ruthless King Charles he and his allies murdered with his own Dictatorship, under the guise of Democracy.

Only for his enemies and subordinates to restore the Monarchy, 
as a device to bind the population to the Oligarchs Parliament via The Church of England. The real life English Game of Thrones.


Iain Duncan Smith, Architect of cruel and callous Universal Credit Sanction System


Jacob Rees-Mogg, the rouge of prorogation, the Brexit joker, the Covid profiteer.


Cameron, Patel, Chumocracy and Cronies who cashed in on a manufactured PPE crisis in the midst of a Pandemic


Blair, the liar who launched an illegal, amoral War of Aggression,
and brought in the notorious Work Capability Assessment regime.


Milošević was indicted on 24 May 1999 for war crimes 


Trump and Netanyahu, corrupt in business, manipulatively inciting violence for political and gain.


Johnson, who has lied and gaslighted the English people in order to drive a Herd Immunity policy designed to protect the Hoard, not the people.


The Daily Mail, owned by off-shore extreme right wing billionaires, publishes misinformation, lies and spin as 'opinion' as if it were equal to evidence, under the guise of 'Free Speech'.


Rupert Murdoch, accused by Malcom Turnbull of causing the deaths of millions of people. He is known as the 'king maker' of English Politics, and was directly responsible for the election of Tony Blair,


'Saj' Javid, a former CDO salesman posing as Secretary of Health, whose ending of preventative public health measures, which he claimed would 'make us all healthier', sent tens of thousands into Hospitals that were already over stressed by an on going pandemic, having spent the year prior to his appointment earning three times his MP salary working for JP Morgan whose greedy eyes are watering at the prospect of a Health Service for sale.


and the anthesis of all of the above, Jacinda Ardern, who holds empathy as a strength essential to healthy governance.



Jeremy Corbyn, a man too honest for the English Ruling Class to allow into Power.
Humane decency handling State Power understood as a threat to the pathocracy.

~
Healthy Governance is possible, there are honest strong politicians who can make this work. But they need a population that understands the problem, and is engaged with the putting forward and implementing solutions. Socio-political adversarial division undermines the goal.
~

When we study history we see that all too frequently that, as a class, Rulers were people who were ruthless, often violent, dependent upon a corps of other people whose sense of conscience or caring responsibility towards others with less power than they accrued by their association with Rulers was practically non-existent.  Allowing poor people to die in large numbers was not a moral issue for such people. 

Men and women, past and present, who would lie and manipulate other people's perceptions in order to groom support, in order to  evade accountability for actions they took or are taking that cause others harm.  

And outside the structures of Governance, there are the extremely wealthy, the Wealth Extraction Oligarchy who influence politicians to assure their power to influence legislatures and protect their wealth extraction remains unregulated, the kinds of people who lobby Government to impose outrageously harmful policies in the midst of an pandemic.

It is no surprise, really, that such an attraction prevails in hierarchal violent social power systems where some people take leveraged institutional power and use it to rule over others, to bend entire populations to their will, for personal gain as much as the sense of entitlement of an established ruling class to prevail over a population.

"L'etat, c'est Moi!"

The entitlement to Rule over-rules the duty of care to govern well. In that regard here's a distinction I make where I point to a significant difference between Rule and Healthy Governance.  Those who rule tend to seek to enhance and then protect their power, most often at the expense of other people, and they do so by sense of entitlement - they believe in their own superiority.  Whereas healthy governance is the careful administration of the shared commons, grounded in careful and transparent deliberation on the evidence, with an eye to avoiding avoidable harms, in order to nurture the whole community and such a drive comes from humility and empathy.

Secrecy is common in the former, transparency essential to the latter. Lies prevail among Rulers, honesty is characteristic of good democratic governance. Rulers assume their opinion has the same validity as evidence, and tend to deny  evidence that undermines their position. Those who govern well will engage with evidence and follow where it leads, adjusting policy as new evidence emerges, in order to nurture their communities.

Rulers seek compliance, healthy Governance seeks engagement and co-operation as the basis for action to be taken, with mutual consent.  Democracy was in part designed to regulate the former so that the latter could emerge as the standard everyone deserves, and be developed over time into a robust and healthy system of governance.

The Path to Pathocracy

Pathocracy is a term coined by a Polish psychologist and writer, Andrejz Lobaczewski

Definition: pathocracy (n). A system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of normal people (from Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes, by Andrejz Lobaczewski)

The origins of the word come from the Greek pathos, “feeling, pain, suffering”; and kratos, “rule”

Pathocracy therefore describes those Governments and Institutions which inflict pain -sanctions, penalties, impoverishment, marginalisation - upon people as a means to persuade, cajole, dominate or control entire populations.

"The transition to pathocracy begins when a disordered individual emerges as a leader figure. While some members of the ruling class are appalled by the brutality/ irresponsibility of the leader and his acolytes, his disordered personality appeals to some psychologically normal individuals. They find him charismatic. His impulsiveness is mistaken for decisiveness; his narcissism for confidence; his recklessness for fearlessness."

source: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-34/november-2021/problem-pathocracy writer: Steve Taylor

Profiles

In the UK, Boris DePeffiel Johnson, Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, Sajid Javid, Priti Patel, Iain  Duncan Smith, Steve Baker, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Desmond Swayne, Anthony Lynton Blair, William Cromwell, King Charles, King Henry VIII, William The Bastard and many, many others fit this behavioural profile well. 

They all sought power for personal gain, out of hubris. They all created and projected  a charismatic persona for public consumption. They all gathered people around them who would carry out their policies and protect their power, ruthlessly. 

They all sought funding and support for their power from others who wished to maintain and  enhance their wealth extraction methods through their sponsorship of those who occupied the positions of power. Who pays the piper calls the tunes.

"Soon other people with psychopathic traits emerge and attach themselves to the pathocracy, sensing the opportunity to gain power and influence. At the same time, responsible and moral people gradually leave the government, either resigning or being ruthlessly ejected. In an inevitable process, soon the entire government is filled with people with a pathological lack of empathy and conscience. It has been infiltrated by members of the minority of people with personality disorders, who assume power over the majority of psychologically normal people.".

Bullying is a core component of such behaviours. How bullying operates in politics - the struggle for power in any situation - is an interesting and pertinent subject.

Kitty Jones, an English writer on political science and social care systems wrote a detailed blog, 'How Bullying Works:  Projection and Scapegoating' that is one of the best I have ever read.

She goes through the various strategies and tactics of bullying as it plays out in Politics. It is a superb piece of informative writing. Well worth your attention, and easy to read, without dumbing down in any way.

"Very few people, when put to the test, have the integrity and moral courage to stand up against bullying, harassment, abuse, threats and corruption. The targets of adult bullying are selected often because they DO have the moral courage to challenge; many people will pass by on the other side.

A target of adult bullying is most often chosen because of their strength, not their weaknessResearch shows that targets of bullying tend to have highly developed empathy, and sensitivity for others, a high degree of perceptiveness, high moral values, a well-developed integrity, a strong sense of fair play and reasonableness, a low propensity to violence, a reluctance to pursue grievance, disciplinary or legal action, a strong forgiving streak and a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue.

Often,
 targets of bullying are independent, self-reliant and “different” in some way. Some people often disingenuously confuse these hallmarks of character with weakness."

This really does define the mass media mistreatment of Jeremy Corbyn and Meghan Markel in the English News media of recent years. We all know many more examples of that dynamic than we should.

Albert Mayles, a film maker, once stated: “Tyranny is the removal of nuance.” Caricature is one of the tactics to obscure the humanity that detail always reveals. Right wing News Media tends towards caricature of those targeted for bullying.

So let's take a quick look at a recent example of bullying in politics, perpetrated by a Senior Minister, an incident that demonstrates some of this dynamic.

The target of the bullying settles out of court:  

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/04/priti-patel-reaches-six-figure-settlement-with-ex-home-office-chief-philip-rutnam

"Priti Patel has reached a six-figure settlement with a senior civil servant after claims that he was forced out of his job for intervening in her alleged bullying of fellow staff, it has emerged.

Whitehall sources said Sir Philip Rutnam, a former permanent secretary in the Home Office, received a £340,000 settlement with a further £30,000 in costs. He had threatened to take the home secretary to an employment tribunal hearing in September."

This recent example concerns Home Office Minister Priti Patel, who  was accused of bullying staff within her department. A senior official, Sir Phillip Rutnam, with a distinguished career and a degree of seniority, tried to protect the persons bullied by Patel, by confronting her behaviour. He was then fired by the Patel. The evidence of bullying and thus unfair dismissal was good enough for the official to go to court, suing for unfair dismissal. The evidence was good enough to support employing expensive solicitors and barristers. 

Patel settled case out of court, in part by threatening massive increase in court costs that would obliterate any award, and induce even more stress upon the official. 

Another form of bullying.  Using the budget reach of the Government to frighten a claimant. The Government is using this tactic to put pressure on The Good Law Project which has spent the last two years exposing crony capitalism and other potentially criminal acts of this Government.

Rutnam chose to cut his losses and accept the settlement, and thus no confirmation of the bullying is placed on the record.  Obviously he could not return to work in the Civil Service with that poisonous cloud hanging over him.

Priti Patel evaded accountability, remained in office, and today continues to push legislation that amounts to bullying. Pushing asylum seeks adrift in the English Channel in small leaky boats back to France. Making peaceful protest practically a criminal offence. The Cabinet is also proposing legislation to allow Ministers to ask Parliament in which the Conservatives hold and 80 seat majority to set aside judicial rulings where the courts have found the Governments action unlawful. Bullying. It is all legalised bullying.

The Official Who is Forced to Quit:  

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/20/alex-allan-the-veteran-windsurfing-mandarin-who-quit-over-bullying

"It might only have been two sentences long and dressed in formal language, but Sir Alex Allan’s resignation statement made his feelings abundantly clear.

“I recognise that it is for the prime minister to make a judgment on whether actions by a minister amount to a breach of the ministerial code,” said the veteran civil servant – who helped oversee MI5, MI6 and GCHQ in his former role as chairman of the joint intelligence committee – adding: “But I feel that it is right that I should now resign from my position as the prime minister’s independent adviser on the code.”

Alex Allen, a lifetime civil servant, who has given more service to the State than Johnson and Patel combined, and who they ought to treat as their senior, quits because Johnson backed Patel, going against Allen's assessment. Alex Allen was tasked with maintaining codes of conduct, he carried out an investigation, named the bully, and his assessment was rejected. Johnson knew well Allen would resign, rather than stay in post. One more honest official removed. Job done.

Push the strong out of the way. 

The Fish that rots from the Head.

"Soon the pathology of the government spreads amongst the general population. As Lobaczewski wrote, ‘If an individual in a position of political power is a psychopath, he or she can create an epidemic of psychopathology in people who are not, essentially, psychopathic" 

https://goodreads.com/work/quotes/1467675-political-ponerology-a-science-on-the-nature-of-evil-adjusted-for-polit  

Leading by careful, theatrical, choreographed example via news and public broadcast performance is part of the tactical playbook of the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. Presented as the likeable rogue, they get away with  misconduct, repeatedly, because they arrange matters with their allies in the News Media to carry off the act, with commentary that portrays them as being funny, or boyish, or righteous. 

We have seen how frequently some ordinary citizens who cite 'one rule for them, one rule for us' as their excuse for their own misconduct are given air time and publicity as 'vox pop' segments. That line of justifying reckless behaviour is also encouraged via online microtargeted content. The activity of encouraging reckless behaviour among supporters, justified by the simplistic analyses of matters, which is part of what I call political grooming.

Microtargeting sends content to individual users and is mostly invisible to anyone other than the targets. Three people living in the same home could see entirely different materials, targeted at their specific biases.

The encouragement of bias in this way leads to spread of seemingly emergent reckless behaviour and thus the sense of the 'right' to abuse 'enemies' spreads. 

Protestors egg shops, assault police, stand outside Schools and Vaccination centers, etc., etc... the activists the justify their behaviour by claiming they are acting to preserve their 'Freedom' or asserting their 'Sovereignty'. Dog whistle politics provides cover for abusive behaviour. 

The technical term for the method of inciting street level recklessness to make it appear a natural outpouring of community level concern is astroturfing: creating the image of an organic self directed grass roots emergent movement - it looks like grass but it's plastic, manufactured.

The Populist Narrative is Simple

"The pathocracy government presents a compelling simplistic ideology, promoting notions of future greatness, with a need to defeat or eliminate alleged enemies who stand in the way of this great future."

Brexit, Make America Great Again, Oven Ready Deal. Cool Brittania.

Political Grooming operated with total impunity throughout Brexit. We need to understand how it operates, why it works, how to disarm it and how to prevent it. 

Political Grooming.

What is grooming?  When a person or agency targets a person or group of people, having studied their vulnerabilities - insecurities, fears, biases, hatreds  - and then uses various means to tap into those, and then deliberately exacerbates the emotions associated with these, in order to drive behavioural change that can be exploited by the targeting entity.

It is fundamentally and profoundly psychologically abusive. I wrote a blog that described how this operates, why it works, and how to disarm it, with suggestions on how to prevent it by defining grooming as psychological abuse, and thus a criminal offence. I used the Eu Referendum as an example.

https://dwylcorneilius.blogspot.com/2021/06/grooming-how-it-operates-why-it-works.html

Prevention hinges around recognising this activity as psychological abuse at scale, perpetrated against a population. However, even as a large part of the population recognise the harms, the people who have been groomed, manipulated and those who manipulated them persist with their position.  Obviously those who drove the propaganda cannot retract from their stance.

The difficulty for those who have been manipulated by emotional methods of grooming that create attachment, habituation and internalisation of the groomers world view is that detaching from it is an intense emotional challenge to their sense of identity, of self. 

Therefore both the groomers and the groomed, end up in a cornered position. The groomers are protected by the political power they have grabbed, and their asymmetric power to 'flood the content zone with their content' and thus they continue to push out a stream of denialism, as outlined in the article on Pathocracy by Steve Taylor. 

What needs to be understood is that the groomers also rely upon anger aimed at the groomed by others, because that anger generates a defence reaction among the groomed. It is critical that we see the groomed as being victimised by the groomers, and that we find ways to reduce anger at them, increase empathy for them and thus build bridges that help establish humane solidarity. In that way we can turn the tide from within the grass roots. The people most deserving of our ire are the groomers.

"a government uses propaganda to stoke hatred towards enemies, and to create a cult of personality around the leader. In the general population, there is an intoxicating sense of belonging to a mass movement, inspiring loyalty and self-sacrifice."

So we can see this - loyalty and sacrifice - among those who still support Brexit, even as the massive harms it has caused are being documented.

"A list of the economic self-harm caused by Brexit is set to be tapered off when it reaches 1,000 entries in the coming days or weeks.

R. Daniel Kelemen, a scholar of law and political science who holds the Jean Monnet Chair at Rutgers University, has been documenting the impact of the UK’s split with the European Union since the start of the year using hashtag #BrexitReality.

A mere eight months on he has already reached more than 950 entries, with the thread set to end when he hits the 1,000 mark."

Even before the final vote in the EU Referendum, 'sacrifice' was a theme for the grass roots Conservative voters.

"A survey by YouGov suggests a majority of them would prefer Brexit took place to a host of scenarios, including 61% in favour of it even if it caused “significant damage to the economy”.

It suggests leaving the EU is by far the most important issue to the grassroots, even if it would see the party, officially called the Conservative and Unionist Party, abandon its unionist credentials.

Almost two-thirds of the members would be willing to allow Scotland to leave the United Kingdom, and 59% would rather Northern Ireland left than Brexit not taking place at all.

And 54% would rather see the Tories “destroyed” than stay in the European Union, with four in 10 even saying they would be happy to see Jeremy Corbyn inside Number 10 if it meant leaving."

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/list-of-economic-self-harm-caused-by-brexit-reaches-1000-entries-291251/

Going further back, Austerity was accepted as a necessary sacrifice by Conservative grassroots voters, Labour centrists and business leaders as an acceptable sacrifice, in 2010 and again in 2015, 2017 and 2019, in spite of the fact that the basis for it was a lie, and in spite of the immense social harms it caused.

Even as a series of UN Human Rights report made it plain that disabled people in England were being harmed, and their Human Rights being undermined, the 'sacrifice' was accepted by voters and the right wing media. Others paid the price, carried the cost. That is the nature of sacrifice - those who promote it do not make it.

Incompetence as a mask

None of this is 'incompetence', even through many will make that attribution, especially those who do not realise the abusers are genuinely capable of such cruelty. Johnson is not incompetent, his action has been quite deliberate.

The action of the abuser is deliberate. It is intentional action designed to cause harm. The veil of 'incompetence' is accepted and often designed to pre-empt the mergence of social solidarity - if and when the population as a whole really understands what is being done, then solidarity across diverse positions within the population will emerge. 

Thus seeding divisions along logical fallacy lines of 'thinking', encouraging and exacerbating bigotry and hatreds within the population is both strategic in the long term and tactical in the short term - the aim is to protect and enhance the Power of those who are abusing the Power of the State, and more, by deflection.

This is the reality of English Government Covid Policy. It is deliberate.

Democracy and regulation of pathocracy.

Protecting a population from the harms of unregulated violent power of any kind is the core purpose of healthy democracy.

Steve Taylor writes about this in The Psychologist article.

"Since there does appear to be a link between the dark triad traits and political power, surely the attainment of political power needs to be more strictly regulated. Or to put it more neutrally, since ruthless, narcissistic people with a lack of empathy and conscience seem to be attracted to positions of power, surely we should take some measures to restrict their access to power?

To an extent, this has always been the purpose of democracy. As Ian Hughes (2018) points out in his book Disordered Minds, the aim of democracy is to try to protect the mass of people from disordered authoritarian leaders. This is why, as Hughes also points out, authoritarian leaders with psychopathic or narcissistic traits distrust democracy. Once in power, they do their utmost to dismantle and discredit democratic institutions, including the independence of institutions and the freedom and legitimacy of the press. Moreover, such leaders are unable to comprehend the principles of democracy, since they regard themselves as superior, and see life as a competitive struggle in which the most ruthless deserve to dominate others. Any of this sounding familiar in a UK context?"

Source: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-34/november-2021/problem-pathocracy  written by Steve Taylor.

Christmas, a break and a chance to think about a reassessment.

This Christmas, as we spend time with family, as students, teachers, health workers and carers, as brothers and sisters, as grand parents and grand children, as neighbours passing card to one another we will share the love, we will be kind, and within that context, of human kindness and solidarity, perhaps we can also spend a little time looking at this, be more willing to gently face the truth, with collective kindness in mind, and then we could also start to build a union of grass roots people, good, decent people especially students, parents and teachers, who ought by right be concerned with evidence based policy deliberations, for that surely is the base of all genuine learning and indeed,

Healthy Democracy extends beyond voting for loyalty or party.

We can steer towards policy, away from party loyalties, and identify as people and communities who care for one another, who value autonomy in harmony with empathy for one another, who live with diversity and compassion and want to nurture all our communities, and who want to protect all our children.  Yours and mine, and theirs.

We must organise to take the Power away from the bullies, for they are few, and they are causing great harm, and we are a multitude of really good people - it is we who have done most to reduce the spread of the virus, it is we who have born the costs.

As Steve Taylor writes:

"Once they possess power, pathocrats usually devote themselves to entrenching, increasing and protecting their power, with scant regard for the welfare of others. However, Lobaczewski also noted that pathocracies never become permanent. 

At some point, they are destined to fail, because their brutality and lack of moral principles are not shared by the majority of the population, who possess empathy and conscience. "

Please remember this, even if hope seems fragile, even as the harms pile up, even as exhaustion sets in.  The dominance of the pathological is not in evitable, nor is it an inherent setting of the Human condition.

Another way to frame it is to see the situation as a domestic abuse situation, scaled up to a Nation : roles and dynamics in one are seen in the other. I wrote this blog drawing on that analogy, to give a brief over view of the roles played by various entities and groups, exploring the dynamics of the current situation.

https://dwylcorneilius.blogspot.com/2020/07/this-is-abuse-relationship-dynamic.html

As good neighbours we can help to confront the situation, when we are aware, well informed, interested, engaged and working together. 

This article from the Waging Non Violence website shows what can be done, even in the most difficult situations. We in England need a constitution, and legislation that prevents the rise of bullies and grifters through the ranks of mostly decent hard working people who really want to govern healthfully and with empathy.

https://wagingnonviolence.org/2012/01/how-swedes-and-norwegians-broke-the-power-of-the-1-percent/

"While many of us are working to ensure that the Occupy movement will have a lasting impact, it’s worthwhile to consider other countries where masses of people succeeded in non-violently bringing about a high degree of democracy and economic justice. Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They “fired” the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something different.

Both countries had a history of horrendous poverty. When the 1 percent was in charge, hundreds of thousands of people emigrated to avoid starvation. Under the leadership of the working class, however, both countries built robust and successful economies that nearly eliminated poverty, expanded free university education, abolished slums, provided excellent health care available to all as a matter of right and created a system of full employment. Unlike the Norwegians, the Swedes didn’t find oil, but that didn’t stop them from building what the latest CIA World Factbook calls “an enviable standard of living.”

It can be done, Together we can do this, May you have a nurturing Solstice and mid-winter or mid-summer holiday where ever you are on this beautiful Earth. 

Solidarity! 



Project for Peace and Justice : Mission Statement

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Open DemocracyThrough reporting and analysis of social and political issues, we seek to educate citizens to challenge power and encourage democratic debate across the world.

Good Law Project : using the Courts and The Law to hold Power to account.



Kindest regards

Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

This blog, like all my other content creation work is not monetised via advertising. If you like what I present, consider sharing my content. If you can afford the price of a cup of coffee or a pint of beer/ale/cider for a few months, please donate via my Patreon account.

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Pile Them High, Sell Them Short, Contracts for Cronies and Let The Market Rule!

English News Mefia, and the English Parliament are this week exercised by reports of callous language by Johnson that remain unverified - no witness has come forwards to say that he or she heard Johnson make those comments - and yet no attention has been paid to the proven statement made by Johnson back in February 2020 where he basically said it already - well not exactly... but almost..



Do you recall how Behavioural Science and Data Modelling were cited as the drivers of UK Government policy in March 2020? They did not cite epidemiology. they did not refer to virology and public health best practice was not mentioned.

Boris Johnson delivered a speech in Greenwich on February 3rd 2020, a month before those briefings. The policy direction had been adopted already.

Here's the full transcript of that speech.


And here is the most relevant section.

"And in that context, we are starting to hear some bizarre autarkic rhetoric, when barriers are going up, and when there is a

1. **** risk that new diseases such as coronavirus will trigger a panic ****

2. ****and a desire for market segregation that  ****

3. **** go beyond what is medically rational ****

4. **** to the point of doing real and unnecessary economic damage, ***

then at that moment humanity needs some government somewhere that is willing at least to make the case powerfully for freedom of exchange, some country ready to take off its Clark Kent spectacles and leap into the phone booth and emerge with its cloak flowing as the supercharged champion, of 

5. ****the right of the populations of the earth to buy and sell freely among each other.***

And here in Greenwich in the first week of February 2020, I can tell you in all humility that the UK is ready for that role.

6. ***We are ready for the great multi-dimensional game of chess **

 in which we engage in more than one negotiation at once and we are limbering up to use nerves and muscles and instincts that this country has not had to use for half a century."

My comments on this speech, what I think it reveals, starting with my comments on Johnson's choice of words

1. The panic stage was long over, by February 3rd - the WHO and all well run Governments were preparing for local epidemics and a global pandemic, and doing so with diligence and a calm serious focus. Johnson knew Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand were already putting zero community transmission strategies in place. He was disparaging those efforts. WHO had by this stage issued warnings just short of declaring a global pandemic. Italy was experiencing the initial surges into their hospitals, with exponential spread of the virus already evident and tens of thousands of British ski tourists in the area, unprotected.

2. The only proposed barriers were to human traffic, there was no blocks on trade or goods or finance being proposed anywhere. He lied, blatantly.

3. What was medically rational was adopting a zero community transmission strategy and resourcing it fully. Every other approach was irrational, in that it ignored the proven epidemiology. The approach of the UK Government was wholly irrational. It was a deliberate choice to allow harm rather than prevent harm. He gaslighted the audience.

4. The policy choice to allow slow spread is precisely what caused the need for multiple lockdowns, which caused more harm to people and more harm to the economy than would have happened had the UK adopted a zero community transmission strategy,  by a long  and wide margin. It is impossible to prevent surges if one allows slow spread within the community and has no suppression systems in place. That was already well understood by the epidemiology community, SAGE and WHO.

5. The human right to proper health care for the entire population was abrogated, it was denied, it was effectively removed by the decision which had clearly been already made by February 3rd 2020 - the subsequent decisions perpetrated a slow spread tactical battle that was bound to become a war of attrition that the vulnerable lost. 130,000+ horrific deaths, 320,00 cases of long covid, 3,000,000 small business owners excluded from financial support, delays in providing day to day health care as hospitals were swamped by covid cases. All of this was avoidable.

15 months later, the policy of UK Government remains opposed to zero community transmission and amounts to total population infection, aka 'Herd Immunity' - this leads directly into the potential for vaccine escape variants, which puts everyone at risk of back to square one again. 

Johnson's words then, and every policy since then are congruent with the charge of malfeasance in public office, leading to corporate manslaughter and wilful economic harm, with cronyism thrown in as a bitter condiment.

India is now, sadly, going through a horror of a second wave because their politicians have taken the same attitude and approach as those in the UK. 

6. The British Empire and the wannabe Hindu Empire, Johnson and Modi - sacrificing citizens as pawns in their great game of chess. 

To recap.

I am paraphrasing his words and suggesting the intent here :

 'we intend to let the bodies pile up, because we believe we can make vast profits from this situation by not doing the epidemiologically correct strategy that others are doing - we are different, better, superior super men of profit!'

How muscular!  How Brexit.

I predicted in a number of blog posts this time last year that the policy direction of the UK Government was going to cause more harm, harm to people and to the people's economy. I hated making that prediction, I detest that I was correct, I would gladly be wrong, be made a fool of, be a boy who cried wolf needlessly. I would endure all that, and more, happily had it been that the 127,000 + deaths and 350,000 long covid cases had not been brought about by UK Government policy.

It was the gaslighting and lies, the cronyism which contrasted with the forthright communications of Jacinda Ardern and others in the Zero Community Transmission states that really alerted me to the situation.

The Gamble of the Privateers.

The economic futures that the likes of William and Jacob Rees-Mogg of the Sovereign Individual ideology are promoting is that of Free Ports, Enterprise Cities and Private Cities that operate free of regulation by democratic state legislatures. Easier  then for these new entities to avoid regulation that is needed to deal with climate change, air pollution, water pollution and the many other externalised costs that underpin the wealth of extractive industry billionaires but put the whole of humanity at serious risk of long term harm.

Cities run as Corporate States, with citizens as captive customers. Dubai, a dubious set up with ultra wealthy management for ultra wealthy clients, underpinned with low paid immigrant labour deprived of the most basic standard of workers rights, is cited as an exemplar. This is part of the underlay of Brexit, that no English News Mefia will acknowledge. The Sovereign Individual. Privateers. Buccaneers.

The Game of Chess.

Meanwhile the British Press are falling over themselves to avoid the truth, to maintain the taboo this blog article is breaking. 

Labour's leader, Sir Keir Starmer and his personal choice of front bench are largely enfeebled in Parliament, they are almost totally futile, in that they support this government and whilst trying to make it look like they are being critical, they offer no solutions, the make no assertive challenge to the policy of slow spread and are in their subservience a walking, talking health and safety violation. 

Grooming gangsters operate with impunity to spread the lies that the covid19 is a hoax, that lockdowns are causing more deaths than they prevent, that we need to learn to live with the virus and keep calm and get on with it.

By not specifying schools as places where mask wearing is mandatory, schools are being indirectly pressured to stop students wearing masks, in effect to become super spreaders - the only possible reason must be that to complete Government policy total infection must be achieved sooner rather than later, rather than not at all. That is in line with the 'let the herd take it on the chin' dynamic. Right wing media are touting mask wearing as an infringement rather than a safety measure.

English Football fans are willing to take on the Oligarchs they are funding, yet unwilling to take on the Government that is killing their relatives, harming their economy, paying their furlough. What is that?

It's a mess. an awful, horrible mess and  many, many innocents are suffering as a result.

Pile those bodies high, and sell them cheap! 

Harm causation on an industrial scale, callous avarice disguised as Nationalism. Lies, gaslighting, cronyism. Intent.

Malfeasance in Public Office :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malfeasance_in_office#England_and_Wales

Under English lawmisconduct in public office is a criminal offence at common law which dates back to the 13th century.[2][3]

The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. It is confined to those who are public office holders, and is committed when the office holder acts (or neglects to act) in a way that constitutes a breach of the duties of that office.[4]

The Crown Prosecution Service guidelines on this offence[2] say that the elements of the offence are when:

  1. A public officer acting as such.
  2. Wilfully neglects to perform one's duty and/or wilfully misconducts oneself.
  3. To such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder.[5]
  4. Without reasonable excuse or justification.

The similarly-named misfeasance in public office is a tort. In the House of Lords judgement on the BCCI case, it was held that this had three essential elements:[6]

  1. The defendant must be a public officer
  2. The defendant must have been exercising his power as a public officer
  3. The defendant is either exercising targeted malice or exceeding his powers


"Misconduct in public office" is often but inaccurately rendered as "misconduct in a public office", which has a different meaning. 

Something needs to shift, or there will be more harms caused that could have been avoided.

The place where the shift needs to come from is both within the Houses of Parliament and among the electorate.

Who will protect the most vulnerable?

Who will indict the culpable?

I sincerely hope the vaccines will help ameliorate the situation, yet I fear they will not. I would not want to bet on them, given the nature of this government.



Kindest regards 
Corneilius

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

Letter to Media : Protecting the vulnerable, defining abuse, inhibiting exploitation.



To the editor,

I propose a discussion about establishing a legal definition of a behaviour that we are all too familiar with.

“Organised operations that target peoples cognitive biases, their social wounded-nesses, their insecurities, prejudices and worries, their misunderstandings, cultural conditioning and fears, and do that through public and social media, through marketing, propaganda and media campaigns operating as cottage industries or at an industrial scale, intentionally targeting and manipulating vulnerable people for ideological, religious, political or economic advantage.”

This behaviour is grooming.

If we had legislation defining this, and then criminalising it because it is intentional exploitation of human vulnerability and thus it is a profound abuse, then media platforms would be unable to permit any publishing of such content on their platforms, and it would be impossible then to exploit as a revenue stream.”

Yours etc…

Do not fob this UK Ruling Faction's behaviour off as incompetence - it is clearly deliberate


a repeated behavioural pattern indicates intentionality


Whose Immunity?

"deliberate action
by the Ruling Faction -
a harmful infraction
of a States duty of care
to the citizen,
and to other states.
They spread the virus,
they spread the cash,
These venal people
are a lethal rash,
one we cannot even scratch.
they have an 80 seat
immunity."

More than 9 months ago, New Zealand reported their first death caused by COVID19, on February 29th, 2020. 

The first UK death from COVID19 was recorded a month earlier in England, the death occurred on January 21m and was reported January 29th. 

On the 3rd of February, the UK Prime Minister in a speech in Greenwich, publicly rejected taking the known, proven steps to prevent an epidemic escalating within the UK.

His words: 

"there is a risk that new diseases such as coronavirus will trigger a panic and a desire for market segregation that go beyond what is medically rational to the point of doing real and unnecessary economic damage, then at that moment humanity needs some government somewhere that is willing at least to make the case powerfully for freedom of exchange, some country ready to take off its Clark Kent spectacles and leap into the phone booth and emerge with its cloak flowing as the supercharged champion, of the right of the populations of the earth to buy and sell freely among each other."

Throughout that month, the UK was importing the virus via 80,000 English Ski tourists travelling to and returning from Northern Italy and Austria, where an epidemic was known to be taking place.  The UK abandoned existing contact tracing and isolation systems that had been operating. They lost control of the virus, and made no effort to suppress and control it, and stop community transmission - at best their policy choice has always been to somehow control it and manage a slow spread, in order to 'protect the economy'.

Both countries had the same information available at the same time.

Both Governments and their expert advisors and external independent expertise knew about this new infectious respiratory disease, how it spread, what the implications were in terms of case fatality rates, asymptomatic spread etc.

All of this was known at the time, and the need to prevent community transmission was very well understood.

The experts all understood that no matter how slowed down the spread of the virus might be by obviously inadequate measures, it always contains the potential to rapidly move beyond control causing widespread and deep harm, and thus necessitating a series of full lockdowns. Waves upon waves of disaster.

Here, Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's Prime Minister, speaks to a news anchor on the first New Zealand fatality..

One of the items they discuss is managing borders. 

I urge all my readers to watch it.  Pay close attention to Ardern's logic, and compare that with what we know about the English Ruling Faction's apparent 'logic'.




In this global pandemic, every state has a duty of care to not export the virus, to achieve zero community transmission within it's own borders, every state has a duty of care in this to all other states.

Just as you and I, as people sharing the same streets and areas, we too have that same duty of care -to not spread the infection - it has to be said that those who wilfully risk spreading the disease are harming the entire community, and cannot be said to be acting on the available evidence.

Those who, due to lack of financial support, are forced to take risks cannot be scapegoated to protect the governments that refuse to take the correct action. Those whose work is essential - shopkeepers, rubbish collectors, nurses, porters, care workers, teachers, bank clerks serving the public, post offices and their staff, public transit staff, police, ambulance crews and many, many others - need the rest of us to prevent the spread of the virus so that they can get to and from their essential it us all work, in relative safety.

Comparing New Zealand's leadership with the UK ruling faction leadership:


Being Social.

New Zealand  is not a Socialist state by self definition - however their Government  has behaved as a genuinely socially caring state should in terms of dealing with the viral infection spread by SARSCOV2 in order to avoid the deaths and harms caused by the disease stage of the infection, COVID19.

The New Zealand Government acted on the available evidence and the skills learned in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and others and they have suppressed community transmission and they have fully supported the health and welfare of all the people, with all the resources of the state, without profiteering.

That is socialistic in action.

Social. It is not an ideological stance - it is a social stance.

Community. All of us matter. 

Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior.

What the Ruling Faction of the UK is doing is disaster capitalism - profiteering from the disaster.

Deliberately, callously exploiting people's vulnerabilities in spite of warnings, in spite of their 'errors' being clearly defined, identified, quantified and presented to them, they have persisted with policies that ensure slow spread of the virus, which guaranteed surges would occur.

If this was being done within a family group, we could have no problem calling this outright lethal intentional abuse and cruelty.

We would not fob it off as incompetence. 

We cannot fob the behaviour and actions of this English Ruling Faction as mere incompetence.

It is abusive behaviour.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

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