Does Anyone Remember the Manchester Bombing?

With obvious apologises.

After all I'm not talking about December 1992 bombing in Parsonage Gardens. Nor am I talking about the June 1996 bombing on Corporation Street.

Instead I'm talking about the events of May 22nd 2017 (22/5/17). When the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) was bombed during a concert by US popstar Ariana Grande. This killed 22 civilians and saw a further 112 hospitalised with serious injuries.

The bombing occurred shortly after the March 22nd (22/3/17) Westminster Bridge runover and marauding knife attack. Which killed 5 and saw a further 49 hospitalised with serious injuries. It also occurred just 12 days before the June 3rd (3/6/17) London Bridge runover and marauding knife attack. Which killed 8 and saw a further 48 hospitalised with serious injuries.

These attacks occurred at a time when Britain was starting to take a position of opposition to the actions of the Muslim Brotherhood and particularly its Turkish branch in Syria. Groups such as the United Turkmen Army (UTA) and the Army of Islam (JAI). A reversal of a long term position of British support for these groups.

Probably the most high profile example of this shifting position was the killing on June 16th 2016 (16/6/16) of Jo Cox, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party.

In her role as an MP Jo Cox was the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Syria group. A role she used to give political and material support to Muslim Brotherhood groups active within Syria. Particularly the White Helmets group.

The White Helmets are a propaganda arm of Al Qaeda and the wider Army of Conquest coalition. Al Qaeda are a declared enemy of Britain which it has been fighting since 2001. So at the very least Jo Cox was guilty of the crime of high treason against Britain.

There is also the precedent set in case the of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Liberian warlord Charles Taylor. This holds that those who provide material support to groups engaging in Crimes Against Humanity are guilty of those Crimes Against Humanity. Even if they did not personally order or carry them out.

So alongside high treason against Britain Jo Cox also committed multiple Crimes Against Humanity. Such as Genocide and Cruel and Inhumane Treatment by way of sexual slavery.

As such Jo Cox was entirely lawfully killed. Provided a reasonable person would believe that her death would prevent her giving speeches in Parliament in support of the Muslim Brotherhood groups or appearing at fundraising events for them.

Unfortunately the British police have decided they would rather have a Labour government than a Conservative one.

So they chose not to investigate the killing of Jo Cox properly. Instead choosing to wrongly convict Tommy Mair of her murder. Because that version of events better fitted the political position of the Labour Party.

As a result it needed to become public in February 2018 that far from being the hero the Labour Party consider him to be Jo Cox's widower - Brendan Cox is a sex offender.

The Westminster Bridge, Manchester and London Bridge terror attacks also occurred during possibly the most politically important period in Britain's modern history.

On June 23rd 2016 (23/6/16) the British people, through a public referendum, voted to leave the European Union (EU). On March 29th (29/3/17) Britain formally left the EU. Pending a two year notice period which is set to expire on March 29th 2019 (29/3/19).

In preparation for this difficult time the governing Conservative Party called a General Election for June 8th 2017 (8/6/17). The objective of calling this early election was to boost their slender majority of just 7 Parliamentary seats. A larger majority would give Britain a stronger hand in negotiations with the EU.

The Manchester bombing was carried out by Salman Abedi. A British born Libyan who returned to Libya to join the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) terror group. Abedi had been transported to Libya and trained in bomb making by the British government. He was returned to Britain by the Royal Navy in 2014.

This was done as part of British support for Qatar's efforts to seize control of Libya's oil fields by overthrowing the Libyan government of Muammer Qaddafi.

This was a wholly illegal war that the British Conservative government of the time were more than happy to join. Due to Conservatives like David Cameron, Thomas Tugendhat, Gavin Williams and others soft hands getting all sweaty with excitement at the prospect of sending other people to fight a war.

Although David Cameron had been deposed as Prime Minister and replaced by Theresa May by May 2017 voters tend not to make that sort of distinction. So a Conservative trained terrorist murdering British citizens in a British city was an extremely bad look for the Conservative Party in the middle of an election campaign.

The London Bridge attack of June 3rd (3/6/17) made the Conservatives look even worse. It came just six days after Prime Minister May reduced the UK terror threat telling us we were all safe again.

All three terror attacks and particularly the Manchester bombing required a huge response from the emergency services. Including the National Health Service (NHS) which is so cherished by the British electorate.

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Cameron had spent the previous 7 years slashing the budgets of those emergency services. Explaining why the police would prefer a Labour government. Public officials in Labour controlled Manchester certainly did not hesitate to speculate that Conservative cuts may have harmed the emergency response to the bombing.

As such the Manchester bombing was carried out by Qatar as a nation state. The objective being to influence the outcome of the General Election and by extension Britain's exit from the EU.

Ideally Qatar would want to put the Labour Party of Jo Cox in power. However failing that they would settle for weakening the Conservative government and by extension weaken Britain's hand in negotiations with the EU.

With Britain paralysed by the Brexit negotiations it would certainly be in no position to lead a robust opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood and particularly its Turkish branch in Syria. If Britain makes a complete mess of the Brexit negotiations it risks permanently losing its status as a global power.

Sadly Qatar succeeded. Significant sections of the British electorate were stupid enough to vote for the Labour Party at the June 2017 election.

As a result the Conservative Party lost its majority. It is now remains in power as a weak minority government propped up by a complex confidence and supply arrangement the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The problem is that the DUP are an extremely hardline Northern Irish Unionist party. Their reputation for obstinace stems from their founder Dr Reverend Ian Paisley. He quickly earned the nickname; "Dr No." This isn't a Republican versus Unionist issue. Even the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) think the DUP can be too extreme.

One of the main sticking points in Brexit negotiations is the issue of the border between the Republic of Ireland which will remain part of the EU and Northern Ireland which will leave as part of the UK. The creation of such a border is strictly forbidden under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Which is part of the reason why the DUP have such a strong, deep ideological desire to create such a border.

Unfortunately the DUP's strong desire for this so-called; "Hard Border" bears no relation to how the border between the Republic and the North has ever functioned. Even at the height of the Northern Irish Troubles which the Good Friday Agreement ended the border between the Republic and the North was always considered more of a suggestion than a rule.

In talking about how closely the economies of the Republic and the North are intertwined I mentioned the North West Region Cross Border Group (NWRCBG). This treats the north-west of the island of Ireland as a single economic area. It was established in 1976. At the height of the Troubles.

During the Troubles the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) became famous for setting off car bombs made out of fertiliser. Such as the one they detonated in Manchester in June 1996.

The specific brand of fertiliser they used was often; "Net Nitrate." This was produced under government subsidy in the Republic. PIRA got hold of it in the North because Unionist farmers were smuggling it across the border on an industrial scale because it was so much cheaper than the non-subsidised version.

When the DUP are not involved the EU is actually very good at coming up with compromises to solve problems such as this. The prime example being Cyprus.

In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus. It continues to illegally occupy the northern part of the island. In 2008 Cyprus joined the EU.

This creates the somewhat odd situation where the entire island of Cyprus is considered part of the EU. However at the same time the northern part of the island is not considered part of the EU. Because it is under Turkish occupation.

Goods flow pretty smoothly between northern and southern Cyprus. Goods from southern Cyprus flow into Turkey and goods from northern Cyprus flow into the wider EU. Customs checks are focused on stopping goods from the wider EU flowing into Turkey and vice versa.

Turkey is of course part of the EU customs union which British remoaners are desperate for Britain to stay part of. Despite the Turks hating every second of their customs union membership.

Due to its significantly weakened status following the June 2017 election Britain has not taken any firm action to punish Qatar for the Manchester bombing or for interfering in the election.

Qatar's neighbour Saudi Arabia though has taken very harsh action to punish Qatar.

In June 2017 Saudi Arabia imposed a total blockade on Qatar. This involved not only the complete breaking off of political and economic ties Saudi Arabia also completely sealed Qatar's borders and expelled its citizens.

Saudi Arabia is currently in the process of building a canal between it and Qatar. In order to physically separate Qatar from Saudi Arabia and cut it off from the entire Arabian Peninsula. On its side of the canal Saudi Arabia intends to build a nuclear waste dump.

So this diplomatic spat has certainly gone far beyond sanctioning the bank accounts of a few mid-level government officials.

Obviously nations don't take action that widespread for just one reason.

Saudi Arabia's main dispute with Qatar is over its rather insane hatred of Iran.

Saudi Arabia views Iran as the opponent preventing it from exerting complete control over the entire region. Qatar thinks that but maintaining relations with Iran it can circumvent Saudi Arabia. Allowing it to exert complete control over the entire region.

Coming a close second though is Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Particularly the action it takes to destabilise Libya, Egypt and Syria. The Manchester bombing was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

As soon as the Saudi blockade took effect Turkey stepped into to prop up its Muslim Brotherhood ally Qatar. In terms of crucial imports such as food, and in particular milk, Turkey is really now Qatar's sole trading partner.

In August 2018 though the Turkish economy began to collapse. The main element of which was the Turkish currency, the Lira, losing around 20% of its value in the space of a week.

The collapse of the Turkish economy is not due to US sanctions on two Turkish government officials, steel tariffs or anything else US President Donald Trump has done. The primary cause is a wider trend in the global economy.

In 2008 the developed World went through an economic crisis. This led to interest rates being slashed to next to nothing. As a result investors started putting their money into developing nations such as Turkey with higher interest rates. This massive inflow of investment actually caused the Brazilian economy to overheat to the point it exploded.

Now, particularly the US economy has recovered and become stronger than ever. As a result interest rates are rising again. This has prompted investors to take their money out of the US stockmarket and developing nations and put it into more stable developed nation's bonds.

Alongside Turkey this shift in investment has also caused problems for South Africa and particularly Argentina. Turkey though is particularly exposed because President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan is as corrupt as he is delusional.

Representing the Justice & Development Party (AKP) Erdogan has stayed in power through largescale infrastructure spending. Things like the bridge over the Bosporus. This has all been funded by banks giving out cheap loans to Erdogan's cronies. As a result Turkey can't raise interest rates without bankrupting Erdogan's cronies and exposing the myth of Turkish economic strength.

So Erdogan simply lies about it. Claiming that all economists throughout history are wrong. Rather than controlling inflation raised interest rates apparently cause inflation.

Turkey's economic collapse became so bad that on August 15th (15/8/18) it was forced to accept a US$15bn bailout from Qatar. At the time both Qatar and Turkey were open about the fact this was the Muslim Brotherhood paying back Turkey for the support it had given Qatar in June 2017.

The first condition attached to this Qatari bailout was that on September 13th (13/9/18) Turkey was forced to raise interest rates by a whopping 6.25% to 24%. By contrast the US interest rate is 2%.

Although I have serious doubts about Erdogan's mental competence Turkey and certainly Qatar know this situation is unsustainable. Although Qatar has deep pockets it can't hold out against the Saudi blockade while at the same time propping up the Turkish economy.

This means that both Qatar and Turkey are now absolutely desperate to enlist international support in pressuring Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade.

On October 2nd (2/10/18) Qatar and Turkey set about trying to enlist that international support. By inventing a story of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi being murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

This is very reminiscent of the May 2018 case of Arkady Babchenko. A journalist Ukraine claimed had been murdered by Russia.

Despite the Ukrainians presenting 'evidence' including photographs and video of Babchenko's corpse people very quickly called bullsh*t on this. Forcing the Ukrainians to admit that Babchenko was alive and they'd simply made the whole thing up. In an effort to enlist international support against Russia.

The main part of Turkey and Qatar's accusation is that Turkey has CCTV footage of Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi Consulate. They claim that they don't have CCTV footage of him leaving and have demanded that Saudi Arabia prove that he is still alive.

This accusation goes against all widely accept notions of justice. Where the burden of proof is entirely on the person making the accusation.

It is after all impossible to prove that you haven't done something which hasn't happened. For example I can't prove that Star Wars isn't really happening in a galaxy far, far away.

It is particularly difficult for Saudi Arabia to prove this negative because of the day Qatar and Turkey are claiming Khashoggi's death occurred.

It used to be that diplomatic relations between nations were governed by the 1961 Vienna Convention.

This places absolute protection on diplomats and diplomatic premises such as Embassies and Consulates. These rules are so strict that simply failing to protect a diplomat or diplomatic premises let alone murdering an Ambassador is grounds for war.

Then on September 11th 2012 (11/9/12) US Ambassador Christopher Stevens was murdered in Benghazi, Libya. By Ansar al-Sharia - a Muslim Brotherhood affiliated terror group.

In response nothing happened. There was no punishment.

Then on December 19th 2016 (19/12/16) Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was murdered in Ankara, Turkey. By a member of Erdogan's personal police protection unit.

In response nothing happened. There was no punishment.

As a result the Muslim Brotherhood and particularly Erdogan have started to think that these rules do not apply to them.

Turkey is currently holding three US diplomatic staff in prison. Only of Friday (12/10/18) did they agree to release Andrew Brunson - one of 16 US citizens Turkey is currently holding hostage.

As part of an agreement with the US Turkey was supposed to release Brunson on August 20th (20/8/18). Turkey broke the agreement and chose to underline its hostility by opening fire on the US Embassy in Ankara.

Given the Muslim Brotherhood and Erdogan's utter contempt for the accepted norms of behaviour all nations have been increasing the security of their diplomats and diplomatic premises in Turkey. This is particularly true of Saudi Arabia which is almost in a state of war with Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to increase security at its diplomatic mission to Turkey was to fly in a specialist team on October 2nd (2/10/18). In Saudi Arabia - like much of the Muslim world - Friday is the weekend. That team's work involved taking the Consulates electronic systems including CCTV offline while it was upgraded.

Of course Turkey has claimed this 15 man team was an assassination squad. However Turkey is also claiming that these men flew out of the country on 15 different aircraft at 15 different times. In fact they fly out on two aircraft at two separate times.

Although its only a small detail to get wrong it shows that Erdogan no longer feels he has to put in any effort to make his lies seem convincing. After all any Turkish journalist who dares to question Erdogan is either shot or put in prison. Can Dundar was actually shot while being sent to prison.

Likewise Turkey have claimed that Khashoggi's murder was recorded by his Apple Watch. The problem is that Apple Watches need to be within around 100ft or connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the iPhone it is paired with.

A key part of Turkey's claim is that Khashoggi had given his iPhone to his fiance before entering the Consulate. Despite Erdogan's justice & development Turkey lacks the communications infrastructure to allow Apple Watches to connect directly to a cellular network.

Turkey also claimed that Khashoggi's killers used his fingerprint to unlock his Apple Watch. No Apple Watch made has fingerprint recognition technology

Turkey has gone on to claim that it has a team of experts working around clock to crack the security code on Khashoggi's iPhone. Meaning we're supposed to believe that he gave his iPhone to his fiance to call him but didn't give her the security code.

Some have suggested Turkey's claims about the Apple Watch are simply made up to provide cover for bugs and other electronic surveillance devices Turkey had in the Saudi Consulate.

That though would only further explain why Saudi Arabia flew in a specialist team to upgrade the Consulates security systems. It also shows the level of hostility between Turkey and Saudi Arabia

Whether they were made by an Apple Watch or electronic bug Turkey is refusing to share these apparent recordings of Khashoggi's murder with anyone. We're just supposed to take Erdogan's word for it.

The content of these recordings which Turkey claims to have are said to be particularly gruesome. Full of the harrowing scenes which are often included in horror movies to shock and grab attention.

Although not a forensic expert I've seen enough TV detective shows to know this isn't the sort of murder you'd plan to carry out in the Ambassador's office or the main conference room. Instead you'd do it in somewhere like the kitchens or a utility room. Anywhere tiled rather than carpeted.

That begs the question of why on earth was Turkey bugging the Consulate's kitchen?

If you were bugging a Consulate you focus on the important rooms where there is intelligence to be gathered. Such as the Ambassador's office, the conference or the communications.

If Turkey has had the ability to bug all of those rooms and still had time to bug the kitchens. Well, then this must be the most spied upon Consulate in diplomatic history.

Turkey has not confirmed whether it has audio, video or both types of recordings. It certainly hasn't shown them to anyone. As a result it is not really possible for me to do anything other than speculate on them.

I should point out though that it is extremely common to fake video and audio footage of brutal murders. It is after all the entire basis of the TV and Movie industry.

For example example Rose McGowan, who was brutally murdered in the 1997 movie; "Scream." Turns out;  Not really dead.

Erdogan has a long record and spectacular record for falsifying, particularly electronic evidence. The most famous example being the 2011 "Sledgehammer" case.

Here Erdogan claimed a group of military officers were plotting against him and had them jailed. The key piece of evidence was a document produced on Microsoft Word 2007. Which of course didn't exist in 2003 when the plot was supposedly taking place. Eventually all electronic evidence in the case was found to be forged.

Following that embarrassment Erdogan has worked hard to take much tighter control of Turkey's Courts.

Another of Erdogan's ludicrous lies is that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are secretly allies. All the fighting and dying their doing against each other is simply a ruse to disguise this vast conspiracy against Turkey.

Pretty much every week I'm reading Turkish claims that they have video and audio recordings proving this conspiracy between the SDF and ISIL.

At around 17:10 on 15/10/18 (UK date) I'll have to pick this up later. Possibly tomorrow.

Edited at around 18:40 on 15/10/18 (UK date) to add;

Qatar's hand has been forced by having to bail out the Turkish economy. However for Turkey this is a particularly good time to try and enlist international support against Saudi Arabia.

The US mid-term elections are being held on November 6th (6/11/18).

Under Democrat President Barack Obama the US was extremely supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood.

For example the US militarily and politically supported the Muslim Brotherhood's war against Libya.

The US certainly did not move to punish Qatar over the murder of Ambassador Stevens.

In fact they doubled down on their support for the Qatari puppet government in Tripoli against Khalifa Haftar's government in Benghazi. Despite Hafter leading the operation to rescue US citizens.

Under Obama the US even went so far as to cover up Qatar's role. By trying to blame the violence on a movie made by Islamaphobic Republicans.

Likewise under the Democrats the US supported, politically and militarily, the Muslim Brotherhood's operations against Syria. For example in August 2016 the US allowed Turkey to illegally invade and occupy the Garvaghy Road area of Syria. In order to protect ISIL and Al Qaeda's supply lines with Turkey.

The US certainly did not punish Turkey over the murder of Ambassador Karlov. In fact they decided to punished Russia by expelling 35 Russian diplomats on December 29th 2016 (29/12/16).

There are many examples of similar support I can list in what is already a very long post. However I think the one incident which sums up US Democrats support for the Muslim Brotherhood was the response to the November 13th 2016 (13/11/18) ISIL massacres in Paris, France.

In response NATO nations were keen to meet to invoke their Article 5 mutual defence clause. As they did after the US was attacked on September 11th 2001 (11/9/01). This would have forced Erdogan to end his support for Muslim Brotherhood groups or leave NATO.

Obama's response was to refuse an emergency NATO summit. Instead choosing to meet with Erdogan to make clear he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Erdogan. Against NATO.

Under Republican President Trump the US has been far less supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although internal opposition and concerns about a military base Obama foolishly built in Qatar have prevented them from tackling the Muslim Brotherhood threat.

For example on February 15th 2018 (15/2/18) the US Secretary of State visited Turkey. This was intended to be the meeting at which Turkey was forced to end its military occupation of the Garvaghy Road and Afrin Canton.

However the day before saw the Parkland school shooting and Democrat demands to ban the AR-15. A rifle of huge significance in Turkey's occupation of Afrin Canton and Garvaghy Road.

During the meeting Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller announced the indictment of 13 Russians. Supporting Democrat claims Hillary Clinton's failure to replace President Obama was the result of an elaborate Russian conspiracy.

As they campaign for a so-called; "Blue Wave" at the mid-terms Democrats have already latched onto the Khashoggi story. Paying particular attention to President Trump's links to Saudi Arabia through his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

This is something Democrats have been conditioned to do. Qatar has long worked with Mueller briefing on Kushner specifically. Hardly something you would expect from a Special Prosecutor claiming to be protecting US politics from foreign interference.

Beyond general support for the Muslim Brotherhood Erdogan has something very specific to gain from the Democrats winning control of the US Senate.

Erdogan very much wants to buy the US' brand new F-35 multirole strike aircraft. The main selling point of the F-35 is its stealth technology. It's ability to evade air defence systems.

However Erdogan is also buying the Russian S-400 air defence system. This will allow him to train the S-400 to shoot down the F-35. Fatally undermining NATO's air power for a generation.

Needless to say Republicans in the Senate have blocked the sale of the F-35 to Turkey.

History suggests a Democrat controlled Senate will be much more eager to please Erdogan.

19:15 on 15/10/18 (UK date).

Edited at around 17:55 on 16/10/18 (UK date) to generally tidy the above.