KimPhilby’s profile

29 Jul 2015 12:59:23
Different times. Sinn Fein just wanted the British out of ulster and a united Ireland and for the most part attacked military and political targets, only when that wasn't working they started hitting soft targets like Warrington.

The likes of Hamas etc want a Jew free middle east and have a stated aim of extermination. I don't think anyone in the ira ever said the solution was to slaughter the whole population of Britain.

Regards the middle east its complicated. The Israelis claim its ancestral land but then steal land off others and are ethnically cleansing the place. The arabs as stated want their land but won't acknowledge any Jewish claims. Some even want all western presences removed. But then you have the west that wants the oil. So until someone bends it's not happening. That's an over simplication of things but essentially the core positions.

Don't get me wrong parts of the region are very nice. Even some of the people are nice. But the people in charge are very bad. I got dragged over on a regional tour, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, on a fact finding out mission. You've never experienced anything like it. This is the dangers of being good at your job but in the doghouse, you get the unpleasant jobs.

Wondered off topic a bit there. The problem is further complicated because the people who should sort this out, the united nations, is useless. Is this not why it was created? Instead it splits along political faultlines. Britain sides with America for the oil, Russia backs its arab clients states and the Chinese just make themselves a nuisance. So its an impasse.

28 Jul 2015 23:13:27
Some people you just can't talk to as they don't want peace.

28 Jul 2015 23:19:05
And yes I do applaud Miliband for saying no to Syria, best avoiding that mess all together.

Wish i'd had more success in saying no to Syria, horrid place, some very nasty people in charge.

Your not going to get peace until there's a change in mindset on both sides. However both sides are waging a war of extermination. So I don't think it'll happen in my lifetime.

28 Jul 2015 17:19:29
The infighting will continue because it suits others. They are doing all they can do to stoke it. The conservatives are even telling their activists to sign up to the labour party to vote for corbyn.

Burnham I can't comment on but it wouldn't surprise me. Politician jumps on tragedy for personal gain, who would believe it.

I believe Ms Berger is Jewish, so of course she's in groups like friends of Israel. She must get on fantastically with corbyn who thinks hezbollah are a bunch of misunderstood innocents.

28 Jul 2015 13:21:26
You could argue that this has already happened with Blair succeeding John Smith and subsequent events.

I think labour is already ruined and I predict it splitting into two parties, one on the blairite wing trying to occupy the left centre ground, maybe even merging with what's left of the liberal democrats, and the left wingers becoming ever more left wing and forming an outright socialist party.

27 Jul 2015 21:53:45
Franky you didn't read what Morty put, most of those he listed were I the 20s and voted conservative. An old guy like corbyn with 30 year old policies won't attract the youth vote.

A true left wing party us a scary thing as they inhabit a land of ide policy. Not the real world of practicality.

I know corbyns type, I dealt with a few labour party and union figures, I wouldn't hold out hope that he's your hero.

27 Jul 2015 13:33:35
If the masses wanted socialism they would have voted for Miliband. Outside of the big northern cities like Manchester and Liverpool and inner city London and Birmingham labour lost. And even in those places support eroded.

Scotland voted snp because of the independence farce, and a few people are now regretting voting with their emotions. As like ukip the snp is a one trick one issue party lacking an answer to any serious economic question.

Why are people relying on tax credits?

I grew up in a socialist country. A real socialist country. It wasn't fun. It was a bloody grim hard slog. I loved the fact I had a job that enabled me to live and travel in the west and all you had to offer. And as soon as the great experiment collapsed the first chance I had I moved to the west. Took EU citizenship and moved to Britain. And I only took EU because I couldn't get British. So I'm no ukipper either as under them i'd be getting thrown out too.

But I've spent the last 30 years viewing the effects of state socialism across Europe, and it doesn't work. Great soundbites but unworkable. And someone like corbyn isn't the answer.

27 Jul 2015 09:42:48
Britain as a country is becoming more right wing not less. Look at how labour were expecting to win the last election on a left based platform. The results were a conservative win.

Back in the early 80s one of the jobs I had to do at the embassy in London was a complete analysis of the British political situation and the prospects of a socialist takeover either peacefully through the ballot box or by revolution largely instigated by the trades unions. My conclusion was unlikely on the first case and impossible on the second case. Since then the country has moved right, thatcher, privatisation of services, right to buy, Blair taking labour right, the coalition, its taken England as a country right with a few left pockets in the inner cities. Scotland is a left leaning country.

I think the prospects of a labour win in 2020 are slim. More likely in 2025. But history shows a left wing dominated labour party does not win elections. Things will have to get very bad first.

That's just my assessment. As a non native unbiased observer. As I say I did it as a job. I could be wrong. But I don't see corbyn winning. There's a reason the conservatives want him to win.

26 Jul 2015 21:38:45
The same platform that the labour party ran on in the early 1980s. Most of which policies originated in the Kremlin.

Corbyn might win the party election, but he's got very little chance of winning a general election.

26 Jul 2015 11:19:48
No i'd been on the vodka. However it helps to explain labels to avoid confusion.

26 Jul 2015 00:53:19
At the next reunion meeting of section 3 I may wait till the 3rd bottle of vodka and ask a few leading questions.

26 Jul 2015 00:55:10
So if "they" are a Bolshevik group does being a member of the communist party of the soviet union give any plus points?

24 Jul 2015 10:48:31
Who's creepypasta? I just provided general background, yes this sort of thing went on but I think is particular case is over exaggerated for the purposes of providing a good scare story. If this sort of thing interests anyone there are plenty of true stories out there of experiments conducted by the Germans, Japanese and soviets on prisoners.

As I said experiments were widely conducted into the effects of a range of drugs and or techniques, the gulags provided a stream of unwilling volunteers. The first half of this story seems entirely plausible, its the sort of thing that happened. The second half descends into a bad horror movie and is quite unrealistic.

24 Jul 2015 10:55:14
I think they'll tighten surveillance first, the new snoopers laws, then I think we're a couple of years away from Identity cards. That'll be a shock for most people.

23 Jul 2015 17:55:05
Course you did, I think it depends on how quickly they want to push the agenda.

23 Jul 2015 14:59:02
So your not a Zionist Bolshevik then ed?

Do you think we will see a totalitarian style regime in Britain? How long do you think it would take to implement? Do you think it would be easy or difficult to implement? And who do you see being the "acceptable" public face to bring it in, labour or the conservatives?

Personally I think its a long way off happening yet as peoples personal freedoms and will to protest haven't yet been eroded enough.

The election and its fall out have been interesting to see. The country seems to have gone to the right whilst labours hurtling to the left. Haven't seen this for years.

22 Jul 2015 22:45:36
Personally in conclusion I'd have to say I don't think its real. It starts off as something that plausibly could have happened. God knows in the 1940s there were enough captured nazi scientists eager to carry on their crackpot experiments and enough of our own as well and a large supply of victims to use. But it descends into some gore soaked horror show with various medical and historical inaccuracies. Blood loss alone kills reasonably quickly. So no for me its not real. Maybe something similar happened and someone's exaggerated to make a good scare story.

22 Jul 2015 22:10:35
As for this particular story, I'm not sure. I never heard anything about it during my career, although totally different directorates so not a surprise if some things are buried.

Is it true? Honestly I don't know, I'd have to look further into it. I'm not sure who I could ask either as the older generations have pretty much gone now.

However the version I've just read through to get some background read to me like a Hollywood horror movie.

I'm afraid I've not seen any pictures but pictures can be faked, incredibly easily at that with modern technology. Without provenance they could be anything.

Short of finding an eyewitness who was there (unlikely as their probably all dead), finding the original file in kgb archives (unlikely, you'd never get in and a lot of the most secret were shredded in '91) or without sufficient technical or medical knowledge of the compound used your not really going to have a definitive answer either way I'm afraid.

22 Jul 2015 21:36:50
Right then.

Did the nkvd experiment on political prisoners in the 1940s?

Yes. The nkvd did and the kgb continued to do so throughout its existence.

Did these experiments involve sleep deprivation?

It was a standard technique during the purges to extract "confessions". My understanding is these were refined involving drugs. The 2nd chief directorate of the kgb were the ones involved with policing the soviet union and various unfortunates fell into their hands. Some of this took part at the lubyanka at the back of Moscow centre but mainly at lefortovo and other facilities.

22 Jul 2015 18:26:32
Certainly, I will provide something later after dinner and a long soak.