This blog will be going dark for a few months. The Queen kindly paid for my dinners for over twenty years while I was a British diplomat and Ambassador, and now she is going to be paying for my dinners again. That is very kind, I thought she had forgotten me.Murray's imprisonment could be punishment for his support of Julian Assange, but it may also be motivated by the power struggle in Scotland between the Scottish National Party - which has dithered on independence since the UK security services rigged the referendum in 2014 - and the 'old guard' represented by Alex Salmond, which is trying to rescue genuine nationalist independence from the jaws of mediocrity, Covid-1984 and perpetual corruption.
The following is a statement from Nadira [Murray's wife]:29.07.21A Craig Murray Justice Campaign has been formed which I hope you can support. Find them on twitter @cmurrayjustice . Their website will be up shortly and details will be posted on this site.
Today is the most heartbreaking day. My husband whose health has been found to not be suitable for prison must hand himself in for detention within hours following the UK Supreme Court's decision not to hear his appeal.
We were extremely hopeful that the Supreme Court would hear his case and had no doubt that this particular case should have been heard given how important and relevant it is in the context of Freedom of Speech in the UK. Instead, the Supreme Court declined to hear it.
Yet again my heart is deeply saddened to find that the UK, once a country which placed great importance on Human Rights issues, has failed to listen to my husband's case. Additionally, the Scottish Court outright dismissed Craig's poor health, having been made aware through the mandatory Social Work report and doctor's reports that his wellbeing would be at risk if forced to go to jail.
At first I tried to come to terms of him being jailed in the hope he would be granted dignified conditions in jail but I am saddened and shocked to learn he could be placed among criminals, with no ability to bring books or enable him to write, with no entertainment allowed. He is being treated like a criminal. This is not a just punishment, this is a deliberate attempt to break the spirit of anyone brave enough to make use of free speech.
Given a pen and paper what do you do? You write in your own voice speaking the truth. Having been with Craig for two decades he has always spent his time and energy highlighting injustices and standing up for what is right, carefully, considerately and consistently.
I was brought up during Soviet times, and post independence in my own country, Uzbekistan. I have witnessed and personally experienced myself what the price of freedom of speech truly is. Opponents were 'disappeared' or it was claimed they had 'taken their own life', or been locked away in asylums. I am filled with fear this pattern is now repeating itself in the UK. It is appalling to see Craig is going through the same treatment in the so-called 'human rights' respecting country UK.
This is an attack on Truthtellers. His writings are those of a highly qualified Journalist, Human Rights Activist, former Rector of Dundee University and former British Ambassador. To us, his family, this situation is devastating: I am now left with my 5 months old baby, yet to find a good way to explain Craig's jail sentence to his confused and anxious 12 year old son.
Of any readers concerned with the loss of freedom of speech and equality before the law I ask that you show active and outspoken solidarity with my partner.
Sydney widens police powers, ordering residents to wear masks AT ALL TIMES outside home amid surge in cases
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Those living in the eight areas, designated as "local government areas of concern," will have to wear a mask "at all times" on leaving their place of residence, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday.
Freedom of movement is also severely restricted. Barring "exceptional circumstances," residents are banned from traveling more than five kilometers (three miles) from their home. Neither shopping nor working out count as exceptions.
As residents brace themselves for the crackdown, thousands of officers were deployed across the area to monitor compliance, according to Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force Mick Fuller. "So, you can expect to see more police on the ground. You can expect to see more enforcement. We have been in this [situation] now for a number of weeks," Fuller said.
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Unveiling the new policy, Police Minister David Elliott said that regional officials and police "detest[ed] the fact" they "had to" increase fines and wield more power.
"It is certainly not something that we want to do and it is, in fact, something that we cannot wait to shred," he said.
Nevertheless, he urged law-abiding citizens to continue reporting those in violation of the health orders to Crime Stoppers, adding that the police already had "tens of thousands of people reporting breaches."
Comment: Covid insanity is up another notch in Los Angeles - a tribute to the success of this mass mindlock experiment.
Details of LSUSD testing program are available online at https://achieve.lausd.net/covidtestingappt.