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[Music]

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I

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welcome to Sputnik orbiting the world

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with me George Galloway and me gri one

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of the greatest practitioners of what

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should be the noble art of Journalism

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Claude Coburn once said that when it

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comes to government information nothing

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is true until it's officially been

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denied the proper relationship he said

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between a journalist and the state

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should be the relationship of the dog to

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the lampost his dispatches from the

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Spanish Civil War were legendary he

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founded the week in 1933 studying

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standards in British journalism which is

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still running today though the standards

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are less heathered a family of great

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journalists one of whom Patrick curn of

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The Independent Newspaper in London is

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this year's foreign correspondent of the

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year though frankly in my opinion he is

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that every year this week he wrote about

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our friends the Saudis and how they

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paying for murder and Mayhem in many

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parts of the world I'm pleased to say

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he'll be joining us on board the Sputnik

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to discuss it but first the Sea of

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hypocrisy which has engulfed the world

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following the demise of the freedom

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fighter armed struggler and my friend

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Nelson Mandela countries and even

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individuals who collaborated with the

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crime of aparte to the eth degree have

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literally elbowed each other out of the

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way to get their selfies in at his

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funeral events none more so than our own

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Prime Minister David Cameron who in his

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not so distant youth campaigned with the

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Federation of conservative students to

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hang Nelson Mandela his leader Margaret

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Thatcher said that Mandela was a

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terrorist and that anyone who thought

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thec would ever rule South Africa was

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living in Cloud cucko land I was there I

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heard her I saw her lips move we'll be

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joined shortly by the pan africanist

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campaigner Esther Stanford Kai who

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fights for reparations from the

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colonialist pow for the people of Africa

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but first gri if hypocrisy was the order

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of the day inside the parliament you

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were outside what was it like there

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outside there were real people with real

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feelings let's see find it very

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hypocritical of the neocons who are now

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glorifying thater and claiming unath

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shamed thatcherism when until Mandela's

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death it was forgotten that she

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occasionally took the wrong side of the

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fence position calling now Mandela a

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terrorist she was with pinish

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have we forgotten these things the ncu's

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peaceful means up until the shield

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Massacre and when 69 people get

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innocently murdered you've got to change

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your approach and Mandela was a

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wholeheartedly good person but at the

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end of the day people don't realize what

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a brutal regime the aparted regime was

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we continue his duty as he did to his

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country we would like a good uh

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reconciliation after the Libyan Civil

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War so we would like all of Libyan

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parties take the bath of the nson

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Mandela to bring everybody in Libya

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together to build our country great

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stuff did I spot Mr Blair's Middle East

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Minister Peter Hayne in the crowd there

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well spotted and I managed to interview

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him as well really I did let's have a

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look at that then Mr you know you've

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done a lot against apide regime at the

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time what are your memories of Mr Nelsa

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Mandela nson Mandela for me is somebody

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who went back to my childhood because my

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parents were active in in the anti-

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apartate struggle in Petoria and South

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Africa in the dark Grim days of apartate

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the most evil system in the world at the

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time and they were supporting him and I

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remember him as a teenager as a little

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boy I remember his speech in his trial

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when he faced the death penalty when he

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said that he would be prepared to die

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for his freedom and the freedom of his

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people so for me he's inspired my entire

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political life as such a fantastic

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person because of his commitment to

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social justice democracy and freedom so

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do you believe he realized his

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dreams Nelson Mandela was an idealist as

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well as a leader he was somebody who

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showed fantastic courage and he's

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probably the most admired political

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figure across the world universally

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admired universally liked and that is

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not just because of his courage and his

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leadership and the way he sacrificed the

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best days of of his life in prison for

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the freedom of his people it's because

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he's also a people's person he cares

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about people and I can remember

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countless times when he just was very

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very nice to everybody he met however

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important or unimportant they

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were how did you feel when you heard

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prime minister C Cameron speaking uh

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giving his condolences and speaking

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about Mandela knowing his

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past campaigning against him well there

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was some people who said they were

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against apartate and there were others

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who did something about it the people

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who did something about it in the anti-

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apartate movement they have caused to be

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proud and Nelson Mandela never failed to

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thank them people in the anti apartate

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movement struggling for his freedom he

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always used to say to us without what

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you did I would not be a free man today

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and my people would not be free those

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who did not support the anti- aparted

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struggle those who either opposed it as

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many did including members of parliament

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here in Westminster or or those who did

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nothing I don't think they can have any

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cause for Pride at

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all well Peter Hayne didn't answer the

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question of whether he thought Mandela's

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dreams had been realized I think it's a

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fair bet that my next guest and myself

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don't consider that the mass of the

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South African people have had their

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dreams realized yet Esther Stanford

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kosai am I right about that you're

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absolutely correct the majority of

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Africans in South Africa have still been

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waiting for the promises of so-called

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democracy and freedom and in fact the

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freedom that they have enjoyed and the

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Democracy that they have enjoyed post

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1994 has really been a choiceless

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democracy the land has still not been

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returned to the people we're seeing

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increasing impoverishment we're seeing

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many of the promises that thec made

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still not being delivered on it's good

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to have a vote but you can't eat it it's

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good to have freedom of speech and

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assembly and so on but you can't live

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under it it's not a roof the discontent

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amongst the masses about thec government

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was evident wasn't it when the president

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of the Republic was roundly booed in the

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football stadium uh by the public who

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gathered for the Mandela Memorial that's

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correct and that's just giving an

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indication of the feelings of the people

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which are often suppressed in the mass

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media because we are led to believe that

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we have this one happy family in South

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Africa this rainbow nation and it is

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really it pays the powers that be who

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still maintain the wealth and the

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political power the economic power to

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create this mythology to suppress the

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population in to not resisting and not

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revolting but that's no longer working

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the the the propaganda machine has

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airbrushed mandella's Life as a freedom

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fighter as a political prisoner as an

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ally of Cuba and the former Soviet Union

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for example all that's forgotten and

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they are airbrushing the Contemporary

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reality of South Africa in which the

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mass of the population uh whilst it's no

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longer subject to the crude uh

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vulgarities of a parte you don't get an

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official coming to measure the curls on

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your head to see which racial

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stratification you should be in or

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telling you you can live in District 4

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but not in district 6 and so on uh but

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of course money is now causing the

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separate development if AP parite means

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uh two different uh peoples uh living in

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the same country under entirely

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different conditions well apart it

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hasn't ended no it it never ended in

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fact economic apart

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always remained and so it was well known

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when thec came to power in 1994 they did

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say they might be in government but

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they're not in power and that is exactly

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true and we are saying the fact that I

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mean the the whole economic situation is

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linked to the land crisis there was a

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promise that the uh there would be 30%

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redistribution of land by

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2014 that Target has now been pushed

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back to 2025 and it's well known that

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the commonest characteristic between

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those that have wealth and those that

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don't have it is the question of land an

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access to land land use land ownership

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and also the ability to benefit from the

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institutions and everything that comes

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out of the land when you were Vox

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popping uh the public there do you find

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any trace of the kind of disappointment

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that Esther and to some extent myself

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are expressing here apart from the the

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lady who was very pronounced about

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teters um T teters line not really cuz

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everybody there young old black why they

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were just in a spirit of the good

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memories of Mandela it's a good thing

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that people love Mandela uh and most

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people love him for the best of reasons

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but it can also be a big big coat of

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lipstick uh on the face of something

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that isn't quite so pretty yes I mean I

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question what it is that people love

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about Mandela because the imagery and

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the image making that we are seeing

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across the corporate mass media is of

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this saintly figure this pacifist this

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person who had this superhuman capacity

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for forgiveness and that's actually

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quite interesting and it reminds me of a

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comment that was made by a lord in the

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British House of Lords in 1996 in a

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debate on slavery and the question of

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reparations and he actually said well

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bring bring up this issue of reparations

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goes counter to the African Humanity

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because African people are actually

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quite forgiving and so I don't see why

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we should be expected to be so forgiving

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there's a question of Justice and

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Justice still has not been realized it

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was quite interesting that uh President

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Obama got the best reception uh from the

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crowd at Mandela's Memorial he doesn't

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deserve it in my view but what was your

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take on that oh mix mixed views about

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Obama because Obama again represents

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this symbolism a kind of symbolism

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that's akin to a Mandela in terms of

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people feel enamored of the fact that

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this is supposedly the first black

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president of America but what people are

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not seeing is the role that he is

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playing as the head of us Empire and

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Military commanderin-chief and so what

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it's also demonstrating is how while

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people are not able to be Discerning as

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to really what people's role is and we

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get very much caught up in symbolism

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rather than the substance Esther

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Stanford kosai thanks for joining us on

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Sputnik we'll be back after the break

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talking about the tyranny in Saudi

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Arabia and Britain's peculiar love

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affair with it we'll be right

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back welcome back to Sputnik now The

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Independent Newspaper is one of

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Britain's better newspapers and its

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foreign correspondents usually take

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first prize and the very best of them is

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with me now here on the Sputnik Patrick

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curn thanks for joining us you wrote uh

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wonderful piece this week about the

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somewhat peculiar relationship between

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Britain and Saudi Arabia indeed Western

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countries and Saudi Arabia who as you

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demonstrate in the piece are responsible

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for and paying for extremism uh

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sometimes of a very virulent kind uh

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throughout the world throughout the

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Muslim world uh what's your conclusion

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as to why we should be in this peculiar

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relationship with

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them well it is very strange as you say

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since it's in plain view that the way

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that uh militant

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fundamentalist Sunni

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fanaticism has grown up

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really over the last 30 years has been

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through the support of Saudi Arabia and

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the gulf

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monarchies um yet the US and Britain

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have gone out of their way to pretend

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that somehow Iran is behind it or Iraq

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is behind it um well their own reports

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as revealed in the 9/11 commission and

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by Wikileaks say private donors in Saudi

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Arabia and the Gulf are the people who

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support

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Al-Qaeda and uh extreme Sunni

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organizations well the world was fixated

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this week when President Obama just

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shook the hand of the Cuban leader rul

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Castro which is a country 90 Mi away

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from his Coast but Western leaders are

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forever kissing the nose of the Saudi

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ruling Elite and selling them guns you

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know you look at Syria

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today um you know who fund

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the uh insurgents they were supported by

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Gat until Midsummer now Saudi Arabia has

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taken over the file speaks of raising a

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substantial Sunni Army uh that somehow

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will be against uh uh Assad but will

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also be against Al-Qaeda but yet

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Al-Qaeda linked organization seem to be

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part of it so there's no question about

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their Central role in funding um

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fundamentalists uh Jihadi

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organizations from the 1980s from the

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time of the Taliban in

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Afghanistan uh the insurgents in

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Syria uh the uh Iraq uh you know this

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record is obvious and pretty well

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undenied well as you put it in in plain

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view and that was uh ever thus the

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fathers of the Taliban the fathers of

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00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:31,800
al-Qaeda indeed some of the found

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00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:34,720
members of al-Qaeda were initially paid

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for in Afghanistan by Saudi money rooted

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through Sadat's Egypt on the orders of

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the American Administration with the

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British of Mrs thater uh close behind

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but this seems to have survived the

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al-Qaeda turn which slaughtered

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thousands of Americans yes I mean it's

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00:15:50,639 --> 00:15:55,759
pretty extraordinary I mean there is

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00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:57,120
still part of the 911 Commission report

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00:15:55,759 --> 00:15:59,440
I think which is to deal with Saudi

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Arabia which hasn't been published

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00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:06,480
but why has it happened I think one

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00:16:02,519 --> 00:16:09,519
reason is that all these Al-Qaeda linked

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organizations are primarily killing

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00:16:09,519 --> 00:16:15,199
other Muslims they're killing Shia and

356
00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,839
if they're not killing other Muslims

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they're killing Christians Iraqi

358
00:16:16,839 --> 00:16:24,240
Christians Syrian Christians suppose for

359
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a moment that they were killing uh

360
00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,040
people in Western Europe or in America I

361
00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,079
don't think they'd be quite the same

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00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:32,720
tolerance

363
00:16:29,079 --> 00:16:35,959
attitude towards these uh private donors

364
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:40,560
in Saudi Arabia and the gulf monarchies

365
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who are allowed to operate so freely I I

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00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:46,319
can understand why cynical Western

367
00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:50,160
politicians are prepared to avert their

368
00:16:46,319 --> 00:16:52,600
gaze from 911 and uh 77 in England when

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00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:55,519
55 people were slaughtered on the London

370
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:57,160
transport uh system the Madrid bombings

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00:16:55,519 --> 00:16:59,920
were an even larger number were

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slaughtered but the role of the media

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00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:06,799
you would have thought would be to point

374
00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:09,400
out the inconsistency hypocrisy of being

375
00:17:06,799 --> 00:17:11,640
in bed with Al-Qaeda the same Al-Qaeda

376
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:14,120
that sowed such Carnage in our own

377
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,480
countries I still find it amazing

378
00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:17,480
because it's one of those stories which

379
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:19,720
is very dramatic but you don't have to

380
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,880
dig for you don't need need to you don't

381
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:25,679
have to know some highly informed

382
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:28,039
Diplomat or have some secret Source uh I

383
00:17:25,679 --> 00:17:30,520
mean it's been more perhaps patent

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00:17:28,039 --> 00:17:34,000
through documents you know released by

385
00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:36,360
Wikileaks there's a long uh memorandum

386
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:39,000
from Hillary Clinton at the end of

387
00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:42,000
2009 say exactly the same thing as the

388
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,880
911 Commission had said seven or eight

389
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:47,039
years

390
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:50,120
earlier um that the people who support

391
00:17:47,039 --> 00:17:53,520
Al-Qaeda and the Jihadi organizations

392
00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:56,600
are primarily donors in Saudi Arabia and

393
00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:58,600
the gulf and there's no change in this

394
00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,600
and not much is done about so so it

395
00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:04,200
seems to me one of the great stories of

396
00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:07,679
the world but largely uncovered indeed

397
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:09,760
uh and I suppose the most obvious

398
00:18:07,679 --> 00:18:12,280
explanation is that we do very good

399
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:15,120
business with Saudi Arabia there's the

400
00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:17,799
endless recycling of Saudi petrol

401
00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:20,440
dollars through London and New York and

402
00:18:17,799 --> 00:18:24,120
uh and so on but it could it be that

403
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:26,840
there is more to it than just brass

404
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:30,360
could it be that uh that Al-Qaeda

405
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:32,720
somehow a useful weapon and reserve for

406
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:34,960
the big Powers I mean they have been

407
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:37,480
used in Syria in exactly that way it's

408
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:41,200
all a bit like Afghanistan I think in a

409
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:44,799
way that there's a time when it's

410
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:48,760
all okay to fund these very dangerous

411
00:18:44,799 --> 00:18:50,520
people and then surprise surprise the

412
00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:56,200
you find that they don't like you very

413
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:59,159
much and uh they turn into some new form

414
00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,960
of al-Qaeda which is what Stein of

415
00:18:59,159 --> 00:19:03,159
course thought he could build a monster

416
00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:05,600
and keep uh control of it but the reason

417
00:19:03,159 --> 00:19:08,039
it's called a monster is because you

418
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:11,480
can't uh keep control of it but what's

419
00:19:08,039 --> 00:19:15,000
going to happen now I think we agree

420
00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:17,280
that the uh the war though continuing to

421
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:20,240
rage in Syria and blood continuing to

422
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:23,640
flow has turned decisively against

423
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:26,520
Al-Qaeda and the Fanatics I think that

424
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:28,600
Geneva 2 or three or four will

425
00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:31,120
ultimately bring about some kind of

426
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,720
negotiated end to this conflict but all

427
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:36,720
these jihadis are dressed up with

428
00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:38,000
somewhere to go where might they go well

429
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,880
some of them will come back and

430
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,600
presumably won't have changed their

431
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:45,159
views very much uh they'll spread all

432
00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:48,120
over the place like they did from

433
00:19:45,159 --> 00:19:50,799
Afghanistan um I think very late in the

434
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:53,840
day this has begun to worry Washington

435
00:19:50,799 --> 00:19:55,360
and London and Paris but you know to my

436
00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,240
mind surely it's too late because you

437
00:19:55,360 --> 00:20:01,159
have hundreds and thousands of these

438
00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:05,440
people well that's a fact uh the uh

439
00:20:01,159 --> 00:20:08,000
people in this country uh have been

440
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:10,640
transfixed by the horror of what

441
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:13,919
happened on a South London Street a year

442
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:16,080
or so ago where an attempt was made to

443
00:20:13,919 --> 00:20:18,840
decapitate a young soldier in broad

444
00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:23,360
daylight in front of women and and

445
00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:25,320
children uh by the very people that the

446
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:28,240
British and other governments are

447
00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:31,480
supporting in Syria if these fanatics

448
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:33,760
had gone to Aleppo to commit such an

449
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,679
atrocity uh the British would have paid

450
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:37,200
for the

451
00:20:34,679 --> 00:20:39,159
knife well you know they just I'm not

452
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:42,440
you know I don't think that they they

453
00:20:39,159 --> 00:20:46,080
somehow they don't associate supporting

454
00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:48,559
in general Rebels with the guys who are

455
00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:52,760
cutting throats in the streets of Aleppo

456
00:20:48,559 --> 00:20:55,960
you know last week they they shot a guy

457
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:58,480
who was a um he was selling diesel in

458
00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,360
Aleppo and he described himself self as

459
00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:04,280
the god of fuel as an advertising slogen

460
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:06,240
they shot him for blasphemy immediately

461
00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:10,120
you know this is one of many

462
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:12,200
stories um and so I think it's only now

463
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:14,760
that they quite be the the people are

464
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:18,080
beginning in government to realize what

465
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:22,480
a sort of Frankenstein as you say

466
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:24,919
they've been allowing to develop in

467
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:27,279
Syria and in Northern Iraq this is a

468
00:21:24,919 --> 00:21:28,559
great sthe of territory that is now

469
00:21:27,279 --> 00:21:31,400
under the control

470
00:21:28,559 --> 00:21:33,000
of al-Qaeda despite everything all these

471
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:36,840
billions of dollars these enormous

472
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:40,440
security organizations established since

473
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:42,520
911 how come that Al-Qaeda which used to

474
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:45,080
be a very small organization is now a

475
00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,400
very big organization and controls

476
00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:50,080
everything or much of what happens

477
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:52,279
between mosul a city in Northern Iraq

478
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:54,799
and the Mediterranean you know this is

479
00:21:52,279 --> 00:21:56,440
an extraordinary uh development

480
00:21:54,799 --> 00:21:59,559
especially as we were led to believe

481
00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:02,000
that upon the kill killing of Bin Laden

482
00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:03,840
that was more or less the end yeah

483
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,480
that's this was but this is you know

484
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:09,240
there's a phoniness about all this of

485
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:11,720
we're combating Al-Qaeda where do we go

486
00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:14,000
do we go to Northern Iraq with our very

487
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:17,840
strong Northern Syria no we go to the

488
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:22,080
hill Villages of Yemen you know bedwin

489
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:25,400
encampments there and have drone strikes

490
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:28,039
or you know in North weran this is not

491
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:30,679
where the action is I mean you can it's

492
00:22:28,039 --> 00:22:33,200
kind of easy to do there and you can

493
00:22:30,679 --> 00:22:35,520
publicize great victories but it's not

494
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,679
where the serious battles are being

495
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:40,279
fought and it's not where the serious

496
00:22:37,679 --> 00:22:42,440
battles are being lost Patrick curn

497
00:22:40,279 --> 00:22:43,440
thanks very much indeed for joining us

498
00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,880
on the

499
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,880
Sputnik thank you so

500
00:22:47,279 --> 00:22:51,559
much well this is the part of the show

501
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:55,080
where you have your say through our

502
00:22:51,559 --> 00:22:58,080
internet portal rtor Sputnik where the

503
00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:00,000
traffic is growing increasingly busier

504
00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,400
what's new well this week on Twitter I

505
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,760
asked the people what they thought about

506
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:07,039
the hypocrisy around the Nelson Mandela

507
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:09,120
me Memorial and Ellen anworth said that

508
00:23:07,039 --> 00:23:13,520
Mr Mandela must have been spinning in

509
00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:15,919
its grave zash Anna replies bunch of

510
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:17,960
socks murderers and war criminals it is

511
00:23:15,919 --> 00:23:20,600
sad South Africa allowed so many war

512
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:22,799
criminals to attend his funeral not up

513
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,640
to him of course crash the market says

514
00:23:22,799 --> 00:23:27,240
seeing Cameron at Nelson Mandela's

515
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:29,760
funeral is on a par with Dennis Skinner

516
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:31,120
faking green at Tes funeral yeah of

517
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:34,039
course Dennis skner would never have

518
00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,919
done that David Cameron however did

519
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:38,440
David Cameron was a Leading Light in the

520
00:23:35,919 --> 00:23:40,240
Federation of conservative students as

521
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,400
was the speaker I may say of the House

522
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:45,559
of Commons though he has sincerely

523
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:47,919
repented these people wore t-shirts with

524
00:23:45,559 --> 00:23:51,520
Mandela's face on them saying hang

525
00:23:47,919 --> 00:23:54,440
Nelson Mandela I was there and saw them

526
00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:57,440
doing it they campaigned actually

527
00:23:54,440 --> 00:24:00,760
launched a paid for campaign in support

528
00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:03,279
of a party against sanctions on South

529
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,840
Africa and for the hanging of Mandela

530
00:24:03,279 --> 00:24:07,400
and yet there they are shedding their

531
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:09,600
crocodile tears over the great man's

532
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:11,159
coffin it's enough it's enough to turn

533
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:13,960
your stomach really what else have you

534
00:24:11,159 --> 00:24:16,000
got I got a few replies on um the

535
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:19,080
question how uh people think about the

536
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:21,480
Saudi relation uh with Britain and Rose

537
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:24,080
replies to that well Queenie likees

538
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:27,440
Saudi royals as well doesn't she nice

539
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:29,399
cozy brutality abuse and armed sales

540
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:32,440
lovely I doubt that the queen likes the

541
00:24:29,399 --> 00:24:35,600
Saudi royals to be honest but the it's

542
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:38,000
not properly appreciated overseas the

543
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,279
queen makes none of these decisions the

544
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:43,279
Prime Minister tells the queen who is

545
00:24:40,279 --> 00:24:46,520
coming to stay with her uh On Any Given

546
00:24:43,279 --> 00:24:48,399
Tuesday and who is to be whed and dined

547
00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:52,000
and taken down the Streets of London in

548
00:24:48,399 --> 00:24:54,080
an open top uh Carriage David Thomas

549
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:57,480
replies to the question why we have such

550
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:59,520
a amicable relation with the Saudis I

551
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,880
pass that to our friends in the UK arms

552
00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:04,919
and trade to respond well undoubtedly

553
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:07,080
it's about arms sales in large part uh

554
00:25:04,919 --> 00:25:09,880
Britain has sold tens of billions of

555
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:12,039
pounds worth of weapons to a Saudi

556
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,360
dictatorship that actually is incapable

557
00:25:12,039 --> 00:25:16,120
even of using them they're probably

558
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:18,159
rusting in the desert right now it's a

559
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:20,360
kind of recycling of the petrol dollar

560
00:25:18,159 --> 00:25:22,440
it's a kind of protection money the

561
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:24,600
Saudis get diplomatic and political

562
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,799
support from Western countries and in

563
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:29,120
return they spend all their money here

564
00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:30,840
well those were the best we of this week

565
00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:32,399
well that's all we've got time for

566
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,840
unfortunately but if you enjoyed the

567
00:25:32,399 --> 00:25:36,919
Sputnik come back next week at the same

568
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:40,200
time do please keep the tweets coming at

569
00:25:36,919 --> 00:25:43,679
rtor Sputnik that's it for me G and from

570
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,679
me George Galloway it's been

571
00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:48,569
[Music]

572
00:25:55,799 --> 00:25:58,799
marvelous