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mediawatchThe Pathetic RetardIs there no limit to the depth of the absurd which this blatt can not reach?Why no comment about Willie Bain ,or about his personal circumstances. How can he claim to stay in the constituency but work full time in London? Does a grown man really come home from London to stay with his parents every weekend, or is he just incapable of doing his own dirty washing? Also why no comment from the Retard about Willie Bain being jeered at Labour's 2005 Party conference when he opposed workers rights? The simple answer to all these questions of course is that Labour are now utterly desperate. Mediawatch has information from a reliable source within the Labour Party that Labour are phoning al over Scotland appealing for activists' help Daily Record 04 Nov 2009 Gaffe-prone Nats candidate puts his foot in it again with Asda girl BUNGLING SNP candidate D a v i d Ke r r d ropped another clanger yesterday when he asked a sales assistant at an Asda fish counter what she was selling. Claire Donald looked bemused when First Minister Alex Salmond and David Kerr stopped for a chat. But then the Glasgow North East by-election candidate asked: “What areyou selling here?” She replied “fish” and Salmond was forced to asked incredulously: “What are you selling here? Fish. It’s obvious.” But after the politicians moved on, a bemused Claire showed that while she may know her salmon, she didn’t know her Salmond. She asked a photographer: “Who was I talking to?” Yesterday, Kerr attempted to cool the controversy about where he was born. The Record revealed on Monday he had claimed to be born in Cumbernauld when he fought Falkirk West nine years ago but was now claiming to be born in Dennistoun. His birth certificate shows he was bornin a nursing home in Govan. Kerr claimed the controversy was a sign of desperation by Labour. He said: “It is remarkable with nine days to go in a crucial by election, when this area has so many important issues facing it. “It’s an area with big problems but huge potential. “ We’re running a positive campaign to show how we can unlock the potential of this area and the Labour Party are reduced to one of the silliest in by election history.” Salmond said: “This is a nothing issue. David’s family were living in Duke Street, Dennistoun. Nobody seriously expects him to have been born in the house.” He defended Kerr’s claim to have been born in Cumbernauld when he stood in the Falkirk West by-election in 2000. He said: “David wasn’t standing in Cumbernauld. He was standing in Falkirk. “It was a mistake made in a leaflet made 10 years ago and there was no advantage in that. “But what matters is that we are concentrating on the issues that matter in this by-election.” Glasgow South West MP Ian Davidson, whose seat includes Govan, said: “If this man can’t tell the truth about where he was born, can he be trusted to tell the truth about anything?” Labour candidate Willie Bain added: “I’ve lived in this part of Glasgow all my life and am proud to have done so. I believe MPs must earn the trust of those they seek to represent. “People expect their MP to tell truth and be straightforward.” The Retard War Goes On Labour Panic Becomes Desperate Daily Record 05 Nov 2009 SNP by-election candidate David Kerr makes blunder over jobseeker's allowance Nov 5 2009 Magnus Gardham Bungling by-election candidate David Kerr yesterday admitted he did not know how much unemployment benefit is worth. The SNP hopeful had no idea when he was asked during a radio interview - despite nearly 4000 people in Glasgow North-East relying on Jobseeker's Allowance. Kerr - who claims he would be the best candidate to fight for jobs - was asked on Radio Scotland how much cash unemployed people get each week. He said: "Jobseeker's Allowance? Pass." The benefit is worth up to £64.30 for single people over 25 and £50.95 for those under 25. Labour's Willie Bain - who answered the question correctly when asked later in the day - says all the by-election candidates should know the figures. He said: "It's important because there are too many people on Jobseeker's Allowance. "The key thing for the next MP here is to get people back to work. That'll be the focus if I'm elected." The SNP have accused Labour of "failing" Glasgow North-East down the years as jobless totals remain high in the area. According to latest figures, 3819 people there claim Jobseeker's Allowance - 6.5 per cent of all those living in the constituency. Voters go to the polls next Thursday to choose a successor to former Commons Speaker MichaelMartin. Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis will today call for a high-speed Union Railway to slash journey times between Scotland and London. The UK minister is due in Glasgow to gauge support for the proposed north-south link. He said: "We encourage the people of Scotland to make their voice heard and get involved in what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform our transport connections." The new railway could cut journey times from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London to two hours and 16 minutes. Under the plans, London would be linked to Scotland within 20 years. CIA Criminals The Obama administration must release these criminals for sentencing in Italy. Until it does so no national of any other country in the world must be extradited to the United States. CIA men who seized cleric off street Prosecutor Armando Spataro addresses the court at the end of the two-year ‘extraordinary rendition’ trial in Milan. Picture: Getty/AFP Published Date: 05 November 2009 By Nick Pisa in Rome TWENTY-THREE CIA agents have been found guilty of kidnapping a Muslim cleric from an Italian street – and ordered to pay him 1 million in damages. After a landmark "extraordinary rendition" trial, the head of the CIA's Milan station, Robert Seldon Lady, received the longest sentence – eight years – while his 22 spy colleagues were each given five years. However, none of the Americans was in court for the verdict and they are not expected to serve their sentences. The trial centred on the kidnap of cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, on 17 February, 2003, from a street in Milan. He was then taken to a United States airbase at Aviano, near Venice, before being flown on to Germany and then, finally, Egypt. He was held there for four years before being released without charge. The cleric claimed he had been tortured while being held. This was the first time an extraordinary rendition case had been brought to trial anywhere in the world. Judge Oscar Magi took three hours to reach his decision. While he found the 23 CIA men guilty, he cleared former Italian Secret Service director Niccolo Pollari and his colleague Marco Mancini. Prosecutors had asked that they be given 13 years and ten years in jail respectively, but the judge said he could not reach a verdict on them because of aspects of the case governed by state secrecy. However, two Italian agents, Pio Pompa and Luciano Seno, were found guilty for their part in the kidnap and given three years each. The then head of the CIA in Italy, Jeff Castelli, was cleared because of diplomatic immunity. Judge Magi also ordered all those found guilty to contribute to the 1m (£895,000) damages he awarded Abu Omar as well as a further 500,000 for the cleric's wife. Despite not securing convictions for all the accused, prosecutor Armando Spataro said he felt vindicated by the result of the trial. "The verdicts have established the truth uncovered by our investigation," he said. Defence lawyers had argued they were unable properly to defend their clients due to a state secrecy injunction obtained by the Italian government. The trial was seen by many critics as a sham, as the Italians had said they would not be seeking the extradition of the Americans – but it did cause tension between the two countries. It also saw friction between prosecutors and the Italian government, which obtained a Constitutional Court ruling that some evidence was covered by state secrecy. During the two-year trial in Milan, the CIA refused to comment and its officers remained silent, until Lady told an Italian newspaper during the summer that he had been "only following orders". Speaking from a secret location, the now retired CIA man said: "I console myself by reminding myself that I was a soldier, that I was in a war against terrorism, that I couldn't discuss orders given to me." Joanne Mariner, of Human Rights Watch, said the verdict "sends a strong signal of the crimes committed by the CIA in Europe". Those crimes were "unacceptable and unjustified," said Ms Mariner, who was in the court room for the verdict at the end of the trial. In Washington, CIA spokesman George Little declined to comment on the convictions. He said: "The CIA has not commented on any of the allegations surrounding Abu Omar." THE MAN THEY KIDNAPPED ABU Omar is a member of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Islamic movement dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government. The group has been linked to the murder of President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and a terrorist campaign in the 1990s that culminated in the massacre of western tourists in Luxor in November 1997. As a result, it is considered a terrorist organisation by the both the United States and European Union. After the Egyptians declared the group illegal, Nasr sought asylum in Italy. His seizure while walking to a Milan mosque was described by Swiss investigator Dick Marty as a "perfect example of extraordinary rendition". Swinney Spells It Out The Herald 05 Nov 2009 Swinney: saving Garl could have threatened other links SAVING Glasgow’s airport rail link could have jeopardised improvements to the city’s links with the rest of Scotland, MSPs heard last night. Finance Secretary John Swinney claimed at Holyrood that re-opening the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (Garl) issue with Network Rail in an attempt to save the airport link could have delayed planned improvements to the Glasgow-Edinburgh line and further upgrades on the east coast. The member’s debate instigated by Glasgow-Anniesland MSP Bill Butler was one of the best attended ever, with ferocious exchanges between about 50 present. Mr Butler said claims about the growing cost of the project were “misleading and inaccurate,” adding: “The Government’s proposal to axe Garl is plain wrong. No convincing case has been advanced to ditch the project. On the contrary, the evidence to reinstate the project in the budget is highly persuasive. “I hope all members, including backbenchers on the Government side, will press ministers to reconsider.” Sandra White, SNP MSP for Glasgow, accused Labour MSPs of political posturing, calling then “puppets on a string”. However, Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown insisted: “The decision by the SNP Government to cancel Garl has no redeeming features. It is wrong in principle, wrong in practice, wrong politically and commercially, flawed in method and unnecessary.” Mr Swinney said he had a duty to balance the budget, to which scant attention had been paid during last night’s debate. He said the decision was made with the best interests of the Government budget as a whole at heart. Comment and Feedback From "Albanch" Dear Media watch Yes the BBC concentrated on David Kerr's personal details and he handled himself well. However the BBC has never asked Willie Bain about his personal circumstances as to how can he claim to stay in constituency but work full time in London. Does a grown man really come home from London to stay with his parents every week end or is he just incapable of doing his own dirty washing. Also why no questions from media about Willie Bain being jeered at Labour's 2005 Party conference when he opposed workers rights. From The Guardian web site: Labour divided over secondary strikes Matthew Tempest, political correspondent, in Brighton guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 September 2005 19.28 BST Ed Blissett, of the GMB, backed the move, warning that it was "simply unacceptable that in the third term of a Labour government" workers could be sacked while absent from work due to sickness or maternity leave. William Bain, from Glasgow NE, was jeered when he claimed the call amounted to a "return to the employment practices of the 1970s or '80s". Unlike Labour's dirty tricks the SNP are not using these personal matters but concentrating on the issues. Heard Bain interview on Radio Scotland this morning when he did not mention a single Westminster issue and refused to answer whether he agreed that disgraced speaker Martin should be given a seat in House of Lords. "Albanch" PS David Maddox was born and brought up in England. Here is the Guardian link http://www.guardian.co.uk/politic...5/sep/26/labourconference.labour9 Dear Mediawatch Comrades & Friends just to let you know that Gus Abraham who ran the 1820 blog has packed it in and decided to write freelance for Bella Caledonia and other publications. Keep up the good work. Yours for Scotland Editors Mike Small & Kevin Williamson Blogs and Websites Joan McAlpine http://joanmcalpine.typepad.com/joan_mcalpine/ Mike Russell MSP http://mrussellindia.wordpress.com/ Ian Hamilton QC www.ianhamiltonqc.com Bella Caledonia http://bellacaledonia.wordpress.com Bye Election Bulletin http://www.snpforglasgownortheast.blogspot.com/ Craig Murray http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/ Keep an eye on Oor Wullie at; www.williebain.com Scottish Independence Convention http://scottishindependenceconvention.org Scots Independent http://www.scotsindependent.org/ BellgroveBelle: http://www.bellgrovebelle.blogspot.com Joe Middleton http://www.politicalnewsfromscotland.blogspot.com/ Moridura http://moridura.blogspot.com/ Julie Hepburn http://bidforfreedom.blogspot.com/ Labour Blog http://www.keziadugdale.com/ Kezia is Head, office of Lord George Foulkes MSP Tory Blog . Ruth Davidson's Glasgow NE by-election blog http://www.ruthdavidson.org.uk/home Calum Cashley http://calumcashley.blogspot.com Dave Fallows http://www.davefallows.blogspot.com/ Bill Wilson MSP http://www.billwilsonmsp.org/ Scottish Review http://www.scottishreview.net/KRoy133.html Politics Blog http://scottishpolitics.blogspot.com/ DestiNATION http://www.destination.sco.eu/ind...;task=view&id=10&Itemid=2 Anne McLaughlin MSP http://indygalgoestoholyrood.blogspot.com/ Additional of Interest http://scotgoespop.blogspot.com http://www.christianjones.net/ http://the-universality-of-cheese.blogspot.com/ http://ayewecan.blogspot.com Mediawatch is prepared by SNP activists in the west of Scotland.It has no official connection whatsoever with the Scottish National Party. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Party. It is circulated to a substantial number of contacts in politics and in journalism both in Scotland and internationally. 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