tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post8680055142497296775..comments2024-03-01T08:19:54.547+00:00Comments on BobFromBrockley: Confusionism in Brockley: A cautionary talebobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15439386754907203808noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-17811005431679017932016-12-19T23:23:52.795+00:002016-12-19T23:23:52.795+00:00Well of course Zionism can create a space for fasc...Well of course Zionism can create a space for fascism too and frequently does. But you wouldn't want to give that idea a public airing would you ?Stephen Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186948418417181914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-7224443838683167132016-12-19T23:20:42.278+00:002016-12-19T23:20:42.278+00:00Well of course Zionism can create a space for fasc...Well of course Zionism can create a space for fascism too, And regularly does but you wouldn't want to give that idea a public airing would you ?Stephen Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186948418417181914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-75830563093776940772016-12-13T10:29:40.078+00:002016-12-13T10:29:40.078+00:00Sacha, I'm not sure that's excacly what I ...Sacha, I'm not sure that's excacly what I meant. Maybe I should edit that sentence. I don't at all that the BFoI is a nasty right-wing organisation and absolutely don't think that the Brockley Society is. What I was trying to say is that disturbing fascist-aligned ideas can come packaged in a veneer of progressiveness or spirituality. An obsession with the evils of finance capital or the money economy is one of the apparently progressive causes that can be totally innocent but can be a Trojan horse for fascist thinking. The same might be true of anti-Zionism, which in itself is obviously not fascist but can create a space for Holocaust denial and other fascist-aligned forms if thought to lurk, as we'I've seen with Gilda Atzmon and his pal Alison Chabloz, whose journey has led them to the far right but who retain an appeal a,on g "progressive" anti-Zionists. bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15439386754907203808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-43858903130637901472016-12-13T10:07:34.057+00:002016-12-13T10:07:34.057+00:00Hi Bob - so the organisers didn't have Russell...Hi Bob - so the organisers didn't have Russell to speak in the end, but you still say if you scratch the surface of the BFoI (as a whole?) you find a nasty right-wing organisation? Can you explain more about this?<br /><br />Sacha IsmailAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-85717660743025266492016-11-30T15:36:35.542+00:002016-11-30T15:36:35.542+00:00Assuming Jackie Walker's account on Jill's...Assuming Jackie Walker's account on Jill's Facebook page is accurate, it is very much to her credit that she withdrew from the event on learning about "Mr More than Doubtful" and his record on the Holocaust and sexual abuse. It is also - it should go without saying - awful if Jackie or the Brockley Society faced any abuse or racial slurs. <br /><br />And again, if I didn't stress this enough in the post, it is also to Broc Soc's credit that they disassociated themselves with Russell; they (like Jackie) were in a difficult position given how late we all realised how More Than Doubtful he was. <br /><br />I'm not on Facebook, so apart from the screencap someone sent me which is included in this post, I never saw any trace of these goings on at all. However, I'm told that, as well as the stuff about the "Zionist harassment gang" and "hacking" (whatever "hacking" means in this context), I am told by people who are on Facebook that Jackie has described me as a "discredited local blogger" and also as the 'nastiest Zionist blogger in my locality". I'm not sure how many "Zionist bloggers" there are in Thanet or Brockley, so there might not be much competition, but I'm really not sure what I did to earn that epithet. I'd be curious to see what she could find on my blog or Twitter to feed to justify it. All my posts on Israel/Palestine can be read here, of you want to try to find some dirt: http://brockley.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Izzy%2FPal The short version is that I am a "Zionist" to the extent that I think Israel has about as much right to exist as any other nation-state. <br /><br />If Jackie Walker, or anyone from the Brockley Society, or anyone involved in or attending the festival, would like to have their say, I would very much welcome their comments here. bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15439386754907203808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-75396359277267174892016-11-29T08:12:16.718+00:002016-11-29T08:12:16.718+00:00I gather that Jackie Walker (JW) didn't actual...I gather that Jackie Walker (JW) didn't actually speak in the end. She has given her own account in a rather odd exchange on Jill Mountford's facebook page. For those who don't know the background, Jill is in the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL), some of whom like JW are active in the pro-Corbyn Momentum group. The AWL, to their credit, have criticised JW's remarks about Jews and supported removing her from her position as Vice-Chair of Momentum. JWs post on Jill's wall was a hostile and provocative 'AWL should be ashamed', which led on to discussion in comments of the Brockley Festival of Ideas. <br /><br />'I’ve lived in this beautiful area of south-east London on and off for more than 50 years. It’s a cohesive, multiracial community with a thriving community organisation, the Brockley Society that focuses mostly on the preservation of trees, the summer fair, but this summer they invited me to their Festival of Ideas. On one issue they came clean; Oswald Mosley’s grandson was a member of the group. He made it clear he despised his grandfather, was haunted by his record and hounded by imbeciles (my word not his) who somehow think evil is inherited (kind of similar to racism if you think about it). Thank God we all don’t carry the label of our notorious ancestors! What neither I, nor they knew at the time was one of the organisers was more than doubtful, had posted awful things, not just relating to the holocaust, but questioning the complicity of sexually exploited children. As soon as the Brockley Society advertised I was going to speak, abuse and racial slurs were posted on their web site and FB pages. They closed their comments but refused to be intimidated. Using their regular techniques, the social media 'Zionist harassment gang' that follow me around dug into the background of everyone involved in the Festival and revealed the name and tweets of Mr. More than Doubtful. When I found this out – verified it (not using the material of the 'harassment gang' which is so often lies, slurs and defamation, I withdrew from the Festival – and the Festival withdrew support from Mr. Doubtful. All this too late for me give my contribution face-to-face but luckily, when the audience heard the pressure from the harassment gang to silence me, and the techniques that had been used, they voted almost unanimously to have my contribution read out – to great applause'.<br /><br />In another comment she clarified that the 'Zionist harrassment gang' 'are a group of Zionists, mostly based overseas, who troll every venue I go to speak at, hack the accounts of my hosts, lie and do what they can to prevent me speaking'.<br /><br />I think it says all you need to know about her twisted world view that confronted with a few critical tweets from local bloggers, in which Israel wasn't mentioned at all, JW immediately presents this as an issue of persecution by some kind of international Zionist conspiracy. There was no need for any hacking of accounts, all the facebook, twitter and web posts people have been talking about were public. And by her own account if people hadn't looked into this, she and the Brockley Society would never have known about 'Mr More Than Doubtful'. I don't know what people applauded at the event, but if it was this kind of conspiracy nonsense they are the ones who should be ashamed (would anyone who was there like to comment and what was actually said?)<br />Morbid Symptomsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-56937747971847901682016-11-27T13:22:03.502+00:002016-11-27T13:22:03.502+00:00Interesting stuff. As you've said there been m...Interesting stuff. As you've said there been much speculation on community fb pages about what this guy is about. The impression I get is that he's loopy. There's a big tinfoilhat element to most of his posts.ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03098490080327707110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10131050.post-37660669497370398432016-11-26T19:22:48.067+00:002016-11-26T19:22:48.067+00:00great and facinatinggreat and facinatingAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17906317436800746603noreply@blogger.com