Tweet
Once again the silence exhibit by my fellow Jamaicans in regards to our former slave/colonial master (Britain) is deafening. I noticed not one poster in the other wikileaks posts, mentioned the corrupt, racist and arrogant practices of Britain, that were exposed in these leaked cables. There is almost a unexplained reverence and loyalty by a lot of Jamaicans towards Britain, which leads to a reluctance to criticize her.
The BRITS were responsible for the enslavement of our ancestors and their empire was built on the blood sweat and tears of Africans enslaved in Jamaica. America does not owe Afro -Jamaicans reparations ,Britain does. So IMO we should not let Britain of the hooks. Whenever Britain’s dirty deeds are exposed ,we should highlight them just as much , or even more that America’s. instead we tend to the opposite.
Just a reminder ,Britain was front and center in regards to the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain has perhaps benefited more economically from the invasion of Afghanistan that the USA. In one of the cables released , prince Andrew displayed typical British arrogance ,when he gloated that Britain has more investments (relative to the size of its economy)in Afghanistan than the USA.
Bottom-line Britain and the USA foreign policies are almost identical .There might be a few disagreements between these two major powers but in the end these are only minor . Who can forget Tony Blair saying Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with the USA .
The followings excerpts from the leaked documents, will serve to illuminate the sullied underside of our former colonial/slave master.
"Prince Andrew used his royal position to demand a special briefing from the Serious Fraud Office weeks before launching a tirade against the agency's<span style="font-size: 14pt"> "idiotic" .</span>investigators at a lunch with businessmen in Kyrgyzstan".
"Soon after, believing he was speaking in private to a group of sympathetic British businessmen, <span style="font-size: 14pt">he appeared to condone bribery</span>, and scorned the work of the SFO's anti-corruption investigators in investigating the Saudi royal family.
"For instance,<span style="font-size: 14pt"> the royal family was involved in trying to persuade South Africa</span> to buy BAE's Hawk jets, <span style="font-size: 17pt">despite the air force not wanting the planes</span> that cost two and a half times the price of their preferred aircraft. As an ANC MP at the time, <span style="font-size: 14pt">I was told that £116m in bribes</span> had been paid to key decision-makers and the ANC itself. The royal family's attitude is part of the reason that BAE will never face justice in the UK for its corrupt practices.
Guardian
<span style="font-size: 17pt">Civilians shot by UK forces: read all cases from the war logs</span>
"The US army's archives contain descriptions of at least 21 separate occasions in which British troops are said to have <span style="font-size: 14pt">shot or bombed Afghan civilians, including women and children.</span>
The logs identify at least 26 people killed and another 20 wounded as a result. Some casualties were accidentally caused by air strikes, <span style="font-size: 14pt">but many also are said to involve British troops firing on unarmed drivers or motorcyclists who come "too close"</span> to convoys or patrols. Their injuries result from what are described as "warning shots" or "disabling shots" fired into the engine block, as required by the military's "escalation of force" regulations.
The number of dead and wounded alleged to have been caused by the British include <span style="font-size: 14pt">16 children, at least three women and a mentally ill man".
</span>
<span style="color: #660000"><span style="font-size: 14pt">"Witnesses described a shooting spree in which vengeful or scared UK soldiers shot at bystanders, killing two and wounding five</span>".
</span>
guardian
To prevent information overload, i will post other "unsettling" snippets another time.
The BRITS were responsible for the enslavement of our ancestors and their empire was built on the blood sweat and tears of Africans enslaved in Jamaica. America does not owe Afro -Jamaicans reparations ,Britain does. So IMO we should not let Britain of the hooks. Whenever Britain’s dirty deeds are exposed ,we should highlight them just as much , or even more that America’s. instead we tend to the opposite.
Just a reminder ,Britain was front and center in regards to the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain has perhaps benefited more economically from the invasion of Afghanistan that the USA. In one of the cables released , prince Andrew displayed typical British arrogance ,when he gloated that Britain has more investments (relative to the size of its economy)in Afghanistan than the USA.
Bottom-line Britain and the USA foreign policies are almost identical .There might be a few disagreements between these two major powers but in the end these are only minor . Who can forget Tony Blair saying Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with the USA .
The followings excerpts from the leaked documents, will serve to illuminate the sullied underside of our former colonial/slave master.
"Prince Andrew used his royal position to demand a special briefing from the Serious Fraud Office weeks before launching a tirade against the agency's<span style="font-size: 14pt"> "idiotic" .</span>investigators at a lunch with businessmen in Kyrgyzstan".
"Soon after, believing he was speaking in private to a group of sympathetic British businessmen, <span style="font-size: 14pt">he appeared to condone bribery</span>, and scorned the work of the SFO's anti-corruption investigators in investigating the Saudi royal family.
"For instance,<span style="font-size: 14pt"> the royal family was involved in trying to persuade South Africa</span> to buy BAE's Hawk jets, <span style="font-size: 17pt">despite the air force not wanting the planes</span> that cost two and a half times the price of their preferred aircraft. As an ANC MP at the time, <span style="font-size: 14pt">I was told that £116m in bribes</span> had been paid to key decision-makers and the ANC itself. The royal family's attitude is part of the reason that BAE will never face justice in the UK for its corrupt practices.
Guardian
<span style="font-size: 17pt">Civilians shot by UK forces: read all cases from the war logs</span>
"The US army's archives contain descriptions of at least 21 separate occasions in which British troops are said to have <span style="font-size: 14pt">shot or bombed Afghan civilians, including women and children.</span>
The logs identify at least 26 people killed and another 20 wounded as a result. Some casualties were accidentally caused by air strikes, <span style="font-size: 14pt">but many also are said to involve British troops firing on unarmed drivers or motorcyclists who come "too close"</span> to convoys or patrols. Their injuries result from what are described as "warning shots" or "disabling shots" fired into the engine block, as required by the military's "escalation of force" regulations.
The number of dead and wounded alleged to have been caused by the British include <span style="font-size: 14pt">16 children, at least three women and a mentally ill man".
</span>
<span style="color: #660000"><span style="font-size: 14pt">"Witnesses described a shooting spree in which vengeful or scared UK soldiers shot at bystanders, killing two and wounding five</span>".
</span>
guardian
To prevent information overload, i will post other "unsettling" snippets another time.
Comment