Glasgow Rangers and Aston Villa, have been accused of playing "anti-football", during miserly seasons, both, built on solid defensive foundations. Manager Walter Smith, like Martin O'Neill o.b.e., do not disappoint their critics - playing two holding midfielders, instead of the usual one and hoofing the ball skyward with a rush of Vinnie Jones testicular fortitude.. While Rangers fans were rioting in the City of Manchester yesterday, reports were coming in, of one "Kerry Recruit Villain" from Tralee, rioting when his BBC TV broke down.
Police in the Irish Republic report, that on the annuncement of Villa "Opening Talks with their want away, only star, Garreth Barry" this Aston Villa fan, threw his BBC TV out the window. His wife hearing the commotion, came from her bedroom and started laughing, when he started to screech" Can you not feel ma Pain ". The police were called, they are called Gardai in the Irish republic. All of the Gardai in Kerry play Gaelic football and when they heard he supported an American Sawcer Team, called Aston Villa and did not play Gaelic Football, they arrested him. Instead of bringing him to the local police cells, however, they took him to the mental hospital in Tralee. The Villa Fan whom we shall henceforth call "The Kerry Recruit Villain" continued to screech" Ma TV broke down, what about the Barry Brain Drain from Villa, with O'Leary gone and no brain, Villa will be relegated. Can you not feel our pain ? Gareth Barry who's ancestors come from nearby West Cork, in the Irish Republic refuses to stay, despite an offer of 140,000 pounds a week.
Unfortunately after many attempts to restrain the Kerry Villain, he was placed in both a Straight-jacket and a Closet. It is reported that, that he has however, come out of the closet today, while on the psychiatric couch of Professor O'Connell, a relative of Kerry's only proper footballer Mick O'Connell, from Valencia Island. It has emerged that he was been eating too many Kerry Pink Spudz and has been snaeking into all the bars in Tralee and Killorglin, swallowing all the heads, of all of the pints of porter(the creamy bitds of stout, only) when the punters weren't looking, quite often when they went to the toilets.
It has also just emerged, that Mr Murphy will be released later today, after pleas from his wife(nee Ryans ) who said, that if he is alllowed to walk down the lonely Banna strand and shout out to sea, even though it won't answer him, it will calm him downand is good therapy. It has also been revealed that abnormal BBC service has been returned to the town of Tralee(unfortunately) after this latest hitch. His wife is one of the Ryans, from near the Banna strand, featured in Ryans Daughter, immortalized in the famous song, about Roger Casement who landed there to "No answering call, came from the lonely Banna Strand." Friendly crowd weren't they ?
Meanwhile Celtic and Villa fans refuse to riot, despite revelations, that Martin O'Neill o.b.e., made a present of Villa's, Player of the Year, Steven Davis for just 4 million to Rangers, arch-enemy of Celtic. Davis who was mentored by the great, David O'Leary who refused to sell him to Man Utd, despite an offer of 14 million pounds, prior to the purchase of Carrick. Davis was dumped by MON to make way for flop Petrov who cost 10 m. O'Leary regarded the sale of Davis as akin to selling the 'Soul of Villa' or the family silver. With young Steven Davis, O'Leary achieved much better results than MON o.b.e. has for Villa, in the first 2 years, despite the vast sums spent by MON o.b.e., since his arrival at Villa Park.
Many Villains throughout GB are reported to be hospitalized and traumatized, like the "Kerry recruited Villain" since the arrival of MON o.b.e. and the departure of Barry, who is the final piece of the Villain Brain Drain. They do however have MON o.b.e. to instruct them what to do with the ball, on the sideline and where the dressing room is.
The Magazine Punch of Peasant Caricatures, particularly the starving Irish peasantry, originally from a time of keep them ignorant and illiterate and give them cartoons is closed. There are more than a few laughs about this one.
The old joke, "Punch is not as funny as it used to be - but then again it never was", drew little laughs as it folded.
Four years later the Egyptian businessman Mohamed al Fayed brought it back to life.
He funded new exposés on the likes of Peter Mandelson, the architect of New Labour, and the media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
But eventually it was costing £40,000 per issue to produce with subscriptions at only 6,000 and Mr Al Fayed closed the title again in 2002.
The magazine, which was a British institution, had carried articles by William Makepeace Thackeray and A. A. Milne as well as cartoons by the likes of Sir John Tenniel, the illustrator of "Alice in Wonderland". It had particularly insulting cartoons, during the Irish famine, which was a calculated engineered holocaust by the British Government, that reduced the Irish population from 9 million to 3 million in the space of 2 years. Modern revisionist historians and journalists, who are salaried by the British secret services, are still trying to re-write Irish history and erase this, among other facts from the records.
Then there are cartoons from the Republic !
The British formally protested publication of a caricature by Adolphe Willette in Le Courrier Français of April 17, 1898, which showed Queen Victoria walking with a bottle of rum in her hand (Figure 4). The British again protested in the aftermath of a special issue of Le Rire of November 23, 1899, designed by Willette, which bitterly attacked British imperialism ; for example, one drawing depicted a crucified Ireland asking, "Oh God, who I have long implored! Are you English?" (Figure 5) (16
FIGURE 5. Britain protested this November 23, 1899 issue of the French journal Le Rire, portraying a crucified Ireland.
One of the most famous diplomatic incidents in the history of caricature was provoked by an anti-British issue of L'Assiette au Beurre published on September 28, 1901, designed by jean Veber. Filled with bitter attacks on the use of concentration camps by the British during the Boer War, the most sensational caricature depicted "impudent Albion" in the form of a woman displaying her backside to the world, upon which could be seen the features of King Edward VII. King Edward personally complained about this drawing to French ambassador Paul Cambon, who wrote to his brother that the design was "scandalous,"
In Ireland we understand what the word (Shoah) Holocaust, (The Great Hunger) means. Believe me, we understand, its in our blood and our genes. Between 1845 - 1847 our population, was reduced from 9 million to 3 million by ethnic cleansing, by systematic, calculated, heartless, engineered famine. The revisionist historians have tried to re-write our history but this is fact. Our country too, lost 6 million people. It is so difficult, to forgive this, I am in tears about this but we must forgive and move on, for the future and for our children's sake.
As an Irish person, who is outraged by the systematic ethnic cleansing, being carried out currently in Gaza Concentration Camp, I have found the above, my most informative source, thus far, in trying to understand Israel and these war crimes. My only reservation, is the author's analysis of Leon Trotsky.
At this point, the only further addition I would make, is that we are in danger of allowing cerebral masturbation, to become a substitute for genuine human compassion and action, for the victims of the victims of genocidal war crimes. Currently monstrous war crimes are being committed by the US and Israel.
I personally believe our first action, must be a well organized, International Boycott of all countries currently guilty of war crimes. A simple majority of nations voting at the UN, should decide this matter immediately. In the meantime, I am currently boycotting all American and Israeli goods and services. I urge all intelligent people of goodwill, worldwide, including compassionate Americans and Jews to do the same.
I need help with organizing this, in an effective peaceful international way. We also need to find effective united ways, to deal with the considerable dis-information in the media, from very powerful agencies. This campaign to be effective and not fall foul, to black propaganda, must dis-associate itself entirely, from all violence, justified or not, to be effective.
Believe me, the propaganda and lies will come, so please, keep it peaceful, keep it
simple and stay united.
To stay United, I repeat, we must keep it simple, division and those who promote it,
is a friend of the enemy.
United we stand, Divided we fall.
BOYCOTT THE USA AND ISRAEL NOW !
We have powerful enemies and if you do not hear further from me, wherever you are, please continue this campaign, it will ultimately be successful. The word boycott originates in Ireland's struggle with British imperialism. If we stay united and persistent, it is the most effective weapon we have, internationally, to bring this perpetual violence to and end with justice. They will try to divide us, with propaganda, Above all else, keep it simple and stay United !.
Thousands flee Mother Nature's wrath
Human suffering on a roughly Biblical scale
by the Rockall disaster management bureau and Chris Wildman
Thousands of demoralised and wretched people are today streaming from centres of civilisation worldwide amid fears that Planet Earth has another Biblical-scale disaster up its sleeve with which to further castigate humanity.
One family's tale is typical: their belongings packed into the back of a Renault Megane, the Hardings have decided to quit their Basingstoke home in favour of a small holiday cottage in Cornwall. Speaking at a service station on the westbound M3, Frank Harding explained: "I can't take any more, to be honest. First New Orleans, then Central America, then Pakistan. There's a limit to how much on-the-spot disaster coverage the average human can bear."
Harding's wife Tania, an attractive 43-year-old brunette, sobbed: "We got to get away from here before a typhoon hits Malaysia and thirty thousand schoolchildren are buried in a catastrophic mudslide...." At this point she broke down completely as a news crew arrived with a satellite uplink to catch her suffering for a live TV audience of millions.
"Human suffering on an unimaginable scale..." began the news correspondent as the Hardings attempted to make good their escape.
On distant Rockall, meanwhile, the Fighting Dog and Pikey was packed to the gunwales last night with locals attempting to grab five minutes' respite from the relentless media onslaught of tragedy and despair.
"Don't mention the word 'Guatemala' for God's sake," whispered landlord Vince as he poured us a couple of pints of Olde Wifebeater. "Some bloke got his head kicked in in the bogs yesterday just because his name was Stan. People are at breaking point."
When quizzed as to a suitable subject of conversation, Vince offered: "The local paper ran a nice piece last Tuesday about a cat stuck up a tree. The fire brigade rescued it and delivered the poor thing safe and sound to its octogenarian war hero owner. It fair brings a tear to your eye, it really does."
In related news, the US was stung last week by accusations that their initial pledge of $100k to earthquake-ravaged Pakistan was somewhat less than generous given that country's $1m pledge to Katrina disaster relief, Chris Wildman reports. Accordingly, the US administration has rethought its offer and has upped its charitable donation to $10bn.
Vice-President Lon Cheney explained how the new figure had been reached: "It's really quite simple. We worked on the principle that since Pakistan is our next target in the War On Terror™ we will be saving about $20bn by not having to flatten the sh*it out of the place in an impressive Shock'n'Awe® depleted uranium display. Let's face it — there's fuc*k all left to bomb."
God enlists Wright & Obama in War on Terror
Titanic struggle for supremacy
by How Tenji on the road to perdition
George Bush is perhaps one of the most modest of world leaders. Where other heads of state behave as if they are God, George is content merely to speak with his creator. Alas, a direct line to the Almighty is not the exclusive preserve of American presidents and others have also been praying leaving our heavenly father in something of a dilemma.
God: Please kick Muslim assBush, in an address to the people of the USA, revealed for the first time the astonishing scope of the War on Terror™. What has hitherto been regarded as a bit of a scrap between a military super-power and some brown people with tea-towels on their heads, has now been revealed as only the earthly manifestation of a greater battle between supreme beings.
Following the attacks of 9/11 Franklin Graham, one of the President's religious advisors, gave this statement: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe Islam is a very evil and wicked religion."
The president revealed to a jubilant nation that whilst the US armed forces were kicking ass in Afghanistan and Iraq the Almighty was taking care of the inferior God of Islam; the self-styled Allah.
"The people of this great country prayed to the Almighty that he would, in his infinite mercy, kick some Muslim ass," said a prayerful president in a broadcast to the nation last night. He continued: "When the two towers collapsed I implorated our Heavenly Father and asked for his help. But he is a democratic god and he refused to act without a clear mandate. Only when a majority of those praying were asking for divine retribution did he visit his wrath upon our enemies."
The President went on to explain: "The Asian tsunami was a direct response to the attacks of 9/11. As sure as if it were a holy missile fired from a divine battleship that flood which killed 200,000 Muslims and other heathens was part of America's War on Terror™. Let us be in no doubt that the Lord sent this sign upon the very eve of the birthday of the Prince of Peace as a clear message to all mankind not to mess with Uncle Sam."
Warming to his subject, the President went on to explain that Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New Orleans was the result of a Muslim counter-attack: "Compared to the power of Our Lord in his tsunamic judgement this attack upon the Christian USA was as nothing. But we must ask why He allowed this evil to befall us, His chosen nation? The answer, my fellow Americans, is that He was displeased with the immorality that was so widespread in that city. Like a latter-day Sodom He has allowed Allah to damage us as a warning."
Onlookers were visibly shaken by this news and spontaneously began praying for forgiveness, a strengthening of the US dollar and the continued rise of the Dow Jones. President Bush interrupted their worship to explain that he had personally spoken to the God of ages and together they had secretly planned a counter-attack.
"The Pakistan earthquake was his divine response to my prayers," said a pious and humble George Bush. "When our god smites, you stay smitten." He concluded to a chorus of cheers and cries of "Amen to that brother".
Senior US army assault chaplains are meeting to plan the USA's next step. Franklin Graham, an outspoken critic of pretty much everything, drew the line at adding nail bombs to parcels in the annual "Operation Christmas Child". He is said to have rejected the proposal on the grounds that although the Muslims and Hindus were clearly "Bound by Satan's power" they needed to be shown the mercy and compassion at the centre of Christian teaching. As a result, the US plans to link donation of all future aid to victims of natural disasters to a program of compulsory religious instruction to be organized by the Reverend Graham.
Religious leaders and meteorologists have been in prolonged discussions to try to establish whether hurricane Rita and recent tornadoes in the mid-west are of natural or super-natural origin. The recent cold snap in the UK is not thought to be suspicious.
Irish police were celebrating St. Patricks day, today after grilling and interrrogating BBC suspects, involved with Real IRA training exercise.
Gardai, the official name for the Irish police, arrested some BBC journalists over the weekend, who it is believed were part of a Real Irish Republican Army naval exercise. It is believed the BBC journalists may have participated in the paramilitary training exercise, in County Donegal in the Irish republic. There is speculation that the BBC journalists may have also have travelled to Rockall, an island off the coast of Donegal, as part of an elaborate naval republican miltary exercise.
The four along with seven other accused Real IRA volunteers, were arrested in Donegal, the northwestern county which borders the north eastern part of Ireland, or the six counties, still occupied by the British army in barracks there. The arrests are part of an investigation into paramilitary activity, the police said.
In a statement the police said, a further four BBC journalists had been arrested and detained under the Offences Against the State Act. The BBC public broadcaster admitted its journalists were among the 11 real IRA arrested. It is still not clear, whether they will be accused of IRA membership.
"The four journalists normally work on BBC current affairs programmes and it is beleved they had full editorial clearance from the BBC " the British corporation admitted on its news.bbc.co.uk website.
"A spokesperson said the police were fully aware that they were also BBC journalists," the BBC admitted. It is still not clear if they were in disguise.
The IRA campaign, in which more than 3,600 were killed in three decades, had subsided, after a power-sharing executive was installed last year. But police in the occupied 6 counties warned recently of stepped up operations by the Real IRA.
The four BBC journalists along with seven other IRA men arrested, are being questioned by the police in three separate police stations, in the border county of Donegal, beside the island of Rockall. The British also dispute ownership of this Irish island, where there are believed to be large deposits of gas. The BBC suspects were still being held on St Patrick's eve but were released on compassionate grounds for the Irish holiday. Several of the undercover Gardai, were observed today celebrating the arrests, in local bars.
Seven of the arrests were made on Saturday and a further four yesterday. Although the BBC released only limited details, it is admitted they were with the Real IRA, though it is not clear what exactly their status was. A statement from the BBC said: "They had full authorisation". The Real IRA were fully aware they also worked for the BBC.
Irish police said the arrests were part of "ongoing investigations into paramilitary activity".
BBC journalists are normally restricted by detailed guidelines, from involvement with or membership of military organisations, such as the Real IRA, though some date from heated controversies, arising from censorship of the IRA in the 70s.
The Real IRA in sporadic miltary activities since the split, with some members who went off and joined the PSNI, a british paramiltary police force. The IRA include a number of shootings which seriously wounded several paramiltary police officers.
A considerable number of Real IRA personnel have been jailed. The recent shootings of the british occupying para-police, suggest they have staged a recovery.
Last month increased measures such as vehicle checkpoints by the para-police, have made a reappearance in parts of the northern occupied six counties of Ireland. In a recent newspaper interview, the Real IRA announced it is forcing British troops back on to the streets out of their barracks, into public view as legitimate targets. A republican spokesperson said: "We believe the British soldiers will be brought back onto the streets, to bolster these new para-cops under the new name of the PSNI. This will shatter the facade, that the British presence has gone and normality reigns."
Police sources recently described the Real IRA as "extremely dangerous".
The Rockall Times supports Ireland's brave smoking ban
by our woman on the wagon, Miranda Givings
There are those who would claim that our beloved land is tonight
under the threat from a wave of Puritanism so virulent that it is
nothing short of a fatwa, or even a jihad, possibly. At the very least
it's a mini Crusade: a sort of long weekend break of a Holy War but
without Richard the Lionheart.
This crusade of which we speak is, of course, the increasing
tendency towards non-smoking, which — at its most fanatical — leans
towards a literal anti-smoking interpretation of non-smoking. Ireland
has fallen, the panic-mongers say, and it can only be a matter of time
before beloved Albion also succumbs to an age of darkness and despair.
Perhaps you are among those who are reduced to tears by the thought
of the smokeless celidh, the nicotine-free craic and the Dublin theme
bar deserted save a few disconsolate members of the Salvation Army,
supping white cranberry juice and half-heartedly shaking their
tambourines.
Perhaps you are, but have you ever thought about the human cost of
smoking? The 5,000 innocent lives snuffed out each and every year by
other peoples' second-hand toxins?
The anti-smoking lobby tell us that one of these innocent souls dies
in agony every 11 minutes. We'll take their word for that if they take
our word that every 11.2 minutes someone, somewhere, is killed on a
bicycle. Co-incidence? We think not.
While we agree that the terrible human cost of smoking must be addressed, we at the same time demand that all risks to our kiddies' futures be treated equally seriously.
One fervent public health spokescrusader who we didn't actually
contact but who insisted on coming to our offices and shouting loudly
through the letterbox confirmed that smoking-related diseases will in
future be treated at the smoker's own expense. That sounds fair enough
to us. Why should the non-smoker pay? After all, do smokers pay extra
tax to inflict their filthy habit on the rest of us? No.
Ask yourself this: Do kiddie-fiddlers get free board and lodging and
psychiatric treatment at our expense? No they bloody well don't. Making
fag addicts stump up in cash, in advance, for cancer treatment is
exactly the sort of hands-on, direct action we like here at The Rockall Times.
And while we're about it, let's extend this punitive plan. Fat people
would be a good start. We know that the obese deliberately stuff
themselves with crisps, chips, chocolate and oven-ready microwaveable
pizzas so that they can get themselves a fast-track, heart-attack
driven passport to intensive care easy street. Let the fat bastards pay
for their own coronary bypasses.
Obesity causes huge health problems and costs tasty-looking thin
birds like me a fortune in medical insurance. Why don't you fat, ugly
women stop filling your faces with fish suppers and get some bloody
exercise? Or try walking the rug-rats to school instead of driving them
there in your smelly, diesel MPVs? Better still, jog to school and
smoke a couple of fags on the way. That should shed a few pounds.
On the other hand, we were told that jogging can cause knee and
ankle problems, so it seems only fair that conscientious pavement
pounders should pay for any knee and foot repairs themselves. Dangerous
sports are another area long overdue for legislation. Why should you or
I pay for a hip replacement for some rich stockbroker who's fallen base
over apex in a Piste-related accident in Klosters? According to a
recent survey conducted by the Fitter Britain Association,
sports-related injuries cost the UK £106,437,000 every year and result
in roughly 129,437.28 hospital admissions every week. Jesus H. Christ.
And they expect us to pay for that?
After kicking the sports fraternity into touch, we suggest the
Government tackles the thorny problem of history. It's criminally
irresponsible to allow monsters like Winston Churchill to appear in
books. Not only did he chain-smoke obscenely large cigars, he drank
huge amounts of alcohol, was grossly overweight, and never exercised.
And we call this a national hero? Is this any kind of example
to be setting our kids? No, it isn't, so it's out with the airbrush for
Winnie and enter stage right health-conscious Aryan Adolf Hitler. We
can think of no better example of responsible and considerate behaviour
than the slim, non-smoking, teetotal vegetarian with his legendary love
of animals. His personal habits should be an example to us all and his
life a reminder of what a truly healthy lifestyle can achieve.
Remember: Adolf Hitler didn't smoke.
But perhaps the worst example of inconsiderate, self-destructive
behaviour that threatens the health of our nation is the increasing
number of middle-aged men suffering heart attacks during the monthly
execution of their conjugal rights. This must be looked at urgently. If
it's not distasteful enough the idea of lard-arsed proto-wrinklies
poking their shrivelled wives, think about the poor paramedics who have
to go in a clear up the mess. And, once again, it's us who foot the
bill.
Sunbathing is another activity which cannot be allowed to continue;
the skin cancer risk is simply too great. The list goes on, but to
summarise, just imagine this: a middle-aged fat bloke enjoying a
drunken post-coital cigar whilst skiing naked down a sun-kissed piste en route to a tour of the lard factory. Had enough? Us too — it makes our blood boil.
Implementing such sweeping improvements in the health of our
citizens might run into some resistance, but we are confident that —
just as the appointment of a drugs "czar" several years back has
practically wiped out the use of illegal substances — persuading the
nation to voluntarily give up smoking, eating, drinking, skiing,
sunbathing and sex should not prove insurmountable. Especially when
backed by legislation, fines and imprisonment. Forward with Britain.
More of Miranda Givings' campaigning journalism can be found here.
Anniversaries of Mai Lai Massacre and Iraq Invasion
I was surprised to find this in the BBC today. There are great reporters working for the BBC but the editors seldom allow material such as this, Israel wants the BBC closed down. The article explains well, the mentality behind massacres at Mai Lai in the Vietnam war and the Haditha massacre, after the Iraq invasion. Strangely the first massacre created an outcry worldide, at that time, today the American media couldn't care less, about covering their war crimes or be bothered to cover the massacres, in Iraq properly. They have also cultivated a care less culture in our modern world to such atrocities.
Perhaps its because the American media has been flooded by CIA undercover agents, working for the media. Since the troubles in Ireland, our media in Ireland, has been inundated with British secret service agents, writing unadulterated black propaganda, in a revision of our history and to potray the liberation struggle, as simply sectarian. The sectarianism as has happened Iraq, is stirred up by the invaders as counter insurgency tactics. These war crimes of creating sectarianism or divide and conquer which the British used all over the world and taught the Americans has now murdered more than
1,185,800 children, women and men in Iraq since the illegal invasion. The sectarian tactics used , whether racist, religous or sexist are taught by the British to the US, after their years of experience with colonial war crimes in the past.
All of this coincides with the assasination of hundreds of honest real journalist worldwide in the last few years, often by hired assassins of the secret services. Anyway the 15th of March, was the anniversary, let us hope that there are still a few human beings left, who are not brainwashed, who still have empathy for the victime of our modern day Holocaust, committed daily by the US government, with more that 3 trillion tax dollars of their citizens money. Their country is almost bankrupt from this madness. They have to pay the Sunni insurgents to stop shooting at them, so that they can potray to their people before the election, that things are getting better ! Like Ireland, this makes young people angry, who then take up arms to defend their families. Is it any wonder young people from the middle-east are so angry about these massacres, being treated as second class citizens in their own country, or the Nuclear weapons the US has given Israel, a tiny rogue state, to bully their neighbours, and threaten their failies withextinction.
It is rather strange that the western media will not try to find the answers, as to why thousands of young people are committng suicide, using their bodies as weapons in the middle-east, when they witness these massacres and injustice. Woiuld you be angry, if your people were murdered and treated like this ? The media meantime controlled by the CIA, M15, M16, are brainwashing us into believing, all of these war crimes and torture are ok !. I will probably be censored soon, as I was already, in the British media, for writing this material. My Lai: Legacy of a massacre
By Celina Dunlop
Forty years on, and "My Lai" is synonymous with "massacre".
Women and children in My Lai, Vietnam, shortly before they were killed by US soldiers
504 people were killed by US soldiers in the My Lai massacre
The killing of Iraqi civilians at Haditha has often been referred to as a modern-day My Lai.
The name is shorthand for slaughter of the defenceless, the benchmark of American wartime atrocity.
The murders of 504 men, women, children and babies happened in a northerly province of South Vietnam on 16 March 1968.
It proved to be a turning point for public opinion about the Vietnam War.
Yet, most of what we know about the event comes from a single, widely publicised court martial in 1970-71.
A young Lieutenant - William Calley - in Charlie Company was tried and
convicted of murdering 22 "oriental human beings" in My Lai on that
sunny morning in 1968.
Forgotten tapes
Media attention on Lt Calley's trial was extensive and the glare of publicity so bright it hid the wider, more awful truth.
Before that trial got under way, the United States army had, behind
closed doors, completed an investigation of its own into the events at
My Lai, and specifically into the possibility that those in authority
had deliberately covered up a massacre.
Convened on 1 December 1969 in the basement of the Pentagon, The
Department of the Army Review of the Preliminary Investigations into
The My Lai Incident, known in abbreviated form as The Peers Inquiry,
was chaired by Lt Gen William 'Ray' Peers.
In just 14 weeks, the Peers Inquiry conducted a comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation into the events of 16 March.
More than 400 witnesses were interviewed, and their testimony was tape-recorded.
When the inquiry concluded on 15 March 1970, those recordings were boxed-up, stored and forgotten.
Bodies of women and children lie in the road leading to the village of My Lai, following the massacre
That day it was just a massacre. Just plain right out, wiping out people
Leonard Gonzales
Testimony to the Peers Inquiry
In 1987, they were shipped to the US National Archives, as one
small portion of a massive group of records of US Army activities in
Vietnam.
There they remained hidden, never catalogued, never investigated, never uncovered - until last year.
I spent many months trying to track down the tapes.
Again and again, I was told they did not exist, but after much
persistence, 48 hours of recordings from the key witnesses were
declassified and made available to me.
And on 15 March, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the massacre,
some of the most powerful testimony will be broadcast for the first
time, on the Archive Hour on BBC Radio 4.
Some of the interviewees' statements reveal the mentality of the soldiers involved in the massacre.
"I would say that most people in our company didn't consider the
Vietnamese human... A guy would just grab one of the girls there and in
one or two incidents they shot the girls when they got done," said
Dennis Bunning.
"That day it was just a massacre. Just plain right out, wiping out people," said Leonard Gonzales.
"Kill everything"
The wider, more awful truth that Gen Peers uncovered, was that
this was an illegal operation, planned and co-ordinated at Task Force
level by Lt Col Frank Barker.
It wiped out not one but three villages: My Lai, Binh Tay and My Khe.
And not one, but two companies were involved: Bravo and Charlie.
Both of these companies were given the same briefing by their
respective commanding officers, permitting them "to kill everything and
anything."
"It's not just the people of Task Force Barker that are on trial...
It's the Army, it's you and it's me... and it includes our country and
our people in the eyes of the world," said Gen Peers, during his
investigation.
He concluded that 30 senior officers had been negligent in their duty.
After the inquiry, 14 officers were charged with crimes.
Ha Thi Quy, a survivor and witness of the 1968 My Lai massacre, pictured here in September 2007
Ha Thi Quy, a survivor of the massacre, remembers the dead
But the only participant convicted of anything at My Lai was Lt William Calley.
Gen Peers also proposed new methods of training soldiers,
guidelines for the treatment of civilians in wartime and new army
leadership criteria.
His recommendations still influence today's army training manuals.
"The My Lai Tapes" are a record not only of atrocity writ large but also of heroism.
They are a record of how war can bring out not only the worst but also the best in people.
Above all they are a record of lessons learned 40 years ago, in My Lai,
Binh Tay and My Khe - lessons that should not be forgotten.
Celina Dunlop is picture editor of the Economist. The Archive Hour:
The My Lai Tapes will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 2000 GMT on
Saturday, 15 March, 2008. You can also listen online for seven days after that at Radio 4's Listen again page.
The Vietnamese foreign minister last night expressed anger at reports in the Canadian media (US media inbed with Bush) that Iraq had degenerated into "another Vietnam".
Nguyen Tse Nien, speaking to one reporter who is still not inbed, expressed his wish to make it absolutely clear that the comparison to Iraq was "deeply hurtful to the heroic Vietnamese people" who had "struggled valiently to throw off the yoke of US imperialism" while maintaining a "healthy Indo-Chinese sense of humour".
Nien challenged: "Answer me this: how many Sunni Muslim stand-up comedians can you name? Exactly. Have you heard the one about the Cambodian, the Laotian and the Vietnamese? Well, all three of them are in a tunnel complex outside Saigon when a GI comes through the entrance and he says to the Laotian, 'If you spare my life, I'll give you three water buffalo' and to the Cambodian, he says 'If you spare my life, I'll give you five water buffalo' and to the Vietnamese he says 'If you spare my life, I'll give you seven water buffalo and suck up to you long time, ten dollar'. Jaysus, that always cracks me up."
Comedy analysts confirmed Nien's assertion that Iraq lacks the necessary credentials to stand comparison with fun-loving Vietnam. One expert told us: "The Brits did try an open-mike stand-up club in Basra following Sadaam's overthrow, but on the first night some Sunni bloke gets up and says 'I'm not saying my Mother in law's fat, right...' and then blows himself up before delivering the punchline. I tell you, they need to work on their delivery."
Back in Ho Chi Minh City, meanwhile, Nien underlined another fundamental difference between the two countries. "It always pisses me off when I hear US Vietnam vets and winter soldiers, banging on about their nightmare wartime experiences," he explained. "They spend a couple of hours dropping napalm bombs on some kids and rice farmers in a village and then it's back to the whorehouse for a bottle of JD and a night banging virgins for five bucks a pop. I don't suppose there are many pole-dancing clubs in Baghdad offering thirteen-year-old girls to anyone with an M-16 and a crewcut, just a few frat boys I guess. Hasn't this Spitzer guy heard of Vietnam ? Why hasn't the pentagon or those guys on Wall Street told him about outsourcing ?"
In Baghdad, the average GI would agree. "I did seven months in 'Nam and spent most of 'em gang-banging whores, daughters of rice farmers, ay buddy, at five dollars a pop. This Spitzer guy was paying two thousand and the FBI were wiretapping him, sounds more like one of the innocent kids or payback to me ?" sighed one combat-hardened frontline colonel." Who do these hypocrites think they are kiddin ? Jaysus, you've got more chance of scoring in a convent full of octogenarian dykes than getting your rocks off here. Anyway all the virgins have popped it in Fallujah now, with all that white powder !. I tell you, if the guys don't get some tight pussy action pretty soon I reckon there'll be a My Lai-style massacre going down, if there 's any of em left and no messin'.
In conclusion, however, Nien did concede one direct parallel between Vietnam and Iraq: "The US is going to get its born again, virgin, Christian, ass whupped," he chuckled.
US intelligence bureau the FBI has confirmed that it is holding an Irish citizen suspected of a range of offences including sexual solicitation, sexual extortion, lewd sexual conduct and cunnilingus.
Patrick Murphy has so far been held for 72 hours without access to relatives, his family or a lawyer, but FBI sources have stressed that this is for reasons of state security, given that Murphy is " the second most dangerous criminal in New York".
A Bureau spokesman this morning confirmed that, despite continual grilling, Murphy had so far refused to speak. "He's one tough customer, that's for sure," noted the grim-faced G-man. "But he'll break eventually, they always do."
The FBI has also countered claims that they are holding the wrong individual. "Nope, the name on the computer matches the name on his passport," asserted an intelligence officer in mirrored sunglasses. "Absolutely no doubt about it."
Murphy is charged with soliciting an escort who had been with him in the Mayflower hotel. He allegedly then used cash from an ATM, in an elaborate ruse to bribe the escort for sexual favours. It is believed he was attempting to build a vast criminal empire of prostitution. Agents claim, that he abused one of their associates in 1999 for "not cleaning the toilet seat after him", when he visited New York.
However, Murphy"s distraught mother is convinced that this is a case of mistaken identity. His hysterical mother told: reporters "There's no way he did all the things they say he did. How could he? He's only nine months old."
While FBI interrogators concede that their suspect's silence may be due in part to his tender years, they are sticking to their belief that little Patrick is their man. It is believed the escorts phone was wiretapped by the FBI on another matter, at the Mayfair Hotel and the lewd suggestive evidence has been taped.
"I'll say it again," gasped an exasperated Fed. "The man we're looking for has the same name as the person we are holding. Therefore they are the same person. And to suggest that this guy is not capable of running a brutal criminal regime is to ignore the facts. Patrick Murphy is the name of the man who laundered more than $65 billion with one of the most respectable firms trading on the New York stock exchange last year. The firm was almost put out of business. Patrick Murphy is the name of the infant we are holding. End of story."
When it was suggested to the FBI that they were illegally using anti-terror legislation to hold the infant, they countered that their records show, that a Patrick Murphy also visited Fallujah back in 1999 and may be carrying chemical agents once used by Saddam Hussein.
If convicted, Murphy faces 100,000 years in jail without hope of parole.
Pecker Dunne was born into a travelling family in Wexford c1933. Like other travellers, he used to play on a fiddle he made himself. He performed outside hurling and football matches. He also busked widely in Ireland, England and France.
Resembling a Mexican bandit with his trademark beard and stocky build, he is a colourful character, as widely known around Ireland as Margaret Barry was to a previous generation. He is best known for The Miximatosis Rabbit and a version of The Black Velvet Band called The Old Morris Van. It was from him that Sweeney's Men got Sullivan's John.
For the past 20 years or so he could be heard singing and playing the banjo in Killarney and at Munster Final day in Thurles. He featured in the film Trojan Eddie with Richard Harris and Stephen Rea. Nowadays he lives in County Clare.
Aged 74, he was treated in a local hospital in 2007 for a throat illness. His spirit was as high as ever. Sr Carmel O'Sullivan said: "Part of his healing process is playing music and we've found that he has brought a lot of pleasure to other patients in the hospital as well. He has been playing the banjo behind his back, playing it with a biro and also with a part of a bicycle pump."
History of an Irish Musical Family.Mickey Dunne and his pipes are a unique and well-known phenomenon in the world of traditional Irish music. Mickey's style of piping embodies the free-flowing traveller piping style associated with the legendary Johnny Doran, Finbar Furey, and Paddy Keenan, all of whom have provided Mickey with inspiration. Mickey now provides the next generation of pipers with inspiration by his playing and his generosity with his other musical skills. He is a sought after and a welcome presence at tionols (A gathering of Uilleann pipers) around the globe.
Mickey playing pipes
Mickey's first Uillean pipe CD was The Limerick Lassie, widely hailed as a unique and masterful piping experience. Copies are available from Na Piopairi Uillean in Dublin. The new Dunne CD Legacy features Mickey with daughters Brid and Niamh in a heartfelt offering of gratitude to all who came before them. It gives an insight to the unique contributions these present day Dunne's offer to the dynamic and ever-changing traditional music art form.
Mickey studied the art of Uillean pipe-making under the tutelage of the legendary Cillian O'Briain. He now manufacturers quality chanters, practice set and half sets in his hometown in Caherconlish County, Limerick. Mickey Dunne is life president of the Thomond Pipers Club in Limerick, an organization recently re-established after the lapse of a century.
Concert for the Thomond Pipers Club, 2003.
Concert for the Thomond Pipers Club, 2003. John Rooney, Paddy Keenan, Finbar Furey, Mickey Dunne.
Playing pipes
He is resident musician at Nancy Blake's in Limerick every Monday and Wednesday night, where he can be heard playing his much-loved Irish music with his long time musical friends.
Mickey can be contacted at:
Templemichael,
Caherconlish,
Co Limerick.
Whoever thinks Pecker Dunne or his assistants needs Viagra or ever needed Viagra is a fuckin eejit and know nuthin about travellin people. Now fuck off and leave me in peace you buffer !
Paul Burrell says he has no plans to be in the UK in the near future
Former royal butler Paul Burrell has refused to return to the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
He had been asked to explain discrepancies between his evidence and comments reported in the Sun newspaper.
In a video recording obtained by the Sun, Mr Burrell apparently claims he introduced "red herrings" during his evidence and held back facts.
The coroner said he cannot compel him to give evidence because he is outside the court's jurisdiction in the US.
Lord Justice Scott Baker said in a statement: "The coroner asked him to give further evidence either in person or via videolink from abroad.
"Mr Burrell has refused to do this and, as he is outside the court jurisdiction, the coroner has no power to compel him to give evidence."
'Play the game'
Mr Burrell's conversation was recorded in a New York hotel on 18 February after he gave evidence to the inquest a month before.
Sections of the transcript of the conversation have been read to the jury at the High Court.
In it, Mr Burrell said he had made the 500-mile round trip from London to his home in Cheshire to pick up documents for the coroner because he had to "play the game".
In the transcript, Mr Burrell said: "I sacrificed my own integrity for the bigger picture, but people are wise enough to realise that.
"Perjury isn't a very nice thing to have to consider."
I was trying to impress him. The comments I made to him were not correct
Paul Burrell
Profile: Paul Burrell
A witness statement made on 26 February was also read to the jury, in which he said in his evidence to the inquest he had not concealed "anything remotely relevant to the inquiry".
"I accept that whilst I was under cross-examination my evidence may at times have strayed from the strictly relevant, but at no time did I tell any untruths."
'Showing off'
He said when the conversation took place he was "tired and depressed and had been drinking all evening".
During the conversation, he was "showing off", he added.
"I am not proud of this. I was trying to impress him. The comments I made to him were not correct."
Court officials have said an investigation into whether he committed perjury was not in the coroner's remit.
At the time of his three-day appearance at the inquest in January, Mr Burrell described the experience as "horrid".
Meanwhile, the coroner told the inquest that it was "a mystery" that no photographs existed of Diana's final car journey prior to the crash in Paris which killed her, Dodi Al Fayed and driver Henri Paul in 1997 - even though the vehicle was pursued by paparazzi.
But picture agent Laurent Sola, whose photographers were working on the story that night, said any unclear pictures would have been discarded.
"If there were photographs of Princess Diana and they were not clear or blurry they would be cut off and thrown away," he said.
The coroner replied: "It does seem a bit odd that all the photographers seem to have had the same problem, if they took any photographs."
Israel keeps setting pre-conditions, as a pretext, to enter negotiations to talk about a peace. It is a mechanism which has been used to appear reasonable to world opinion and as a delaying tactic for decades now, since long before the Oslo Peace Accord, does anyone remember that ?. About two years ago Israel stated, that Fatah were not an elected party, to negotiate with, and demanded elections, as a pretext to delay further peace negotiations. The Americans as is usual in this matter, did what the Israeli lobby in Washington ordered and demanded, there be elections in Gaza and the West Bank.
Palestinians in good faith, doing what was possible, for the sake of peace, went ahead with elections. Lo ! and behold !, to the shock and horror of both the Americans and Israeli's, Hamas was elected the Government of Palestine, by the people in a free and fair election. The goal posts were moved again. Israel said it would not negotiate with Hamas and demanded that the the US designate them as a terrorist organization. The US, the supposed beacon of democracy, would not accept the election result and bowed to the stranglehold of the Zionist lobby in Washington and a compliant, subservient pimp press, once again and promptly follow Israeli bidding.
This ridiculous deadly game of pre-conditions, has been played out now, for more than forty years with the slaughter of innocents.The international corporate media, which is meant to be an integral part of democracy, are an essential tool in this process of criminalizing all dissent in the middle-east. Zionist Israel is disingenuous, fact. Zionist Israel has no interest in peace, quite the reverse actually, because every year that goes by without settlement, they are land grabbing and illegally building more settlements on the west bank. To be fair there is a minority of Jewish people who are sick of the killing and want peace. In Ireland we call people such as the Zionists, Land grabbers and they have currently left the Palestinian people, with less than 14% of their original lands, this is robbery with murder, its as simple as that, no excuses.
Anyone who is remotely familiar with the middle-east, knows these facts. These are the basic facts, at the root of all the wars against Islam for the last forty years, which incidentally included, what they term a terrorist war, used by Gold Meir to originally found the state of Israel, supported and funded by Britain. This is the fuel that feeds the Al Queda fire, this is one of the main reasons why they attacked the World trade centre in New York. War is big business and ordinary citizens of the US or Ireland are not meant to know this, hence press censorship. Hence the one sided pro-Israeli propaganda, in the corporate western media. There has been a war in the middle east, in one form or another, for more than fifty years now and the first victim of war is the truth.
Everyone knows what the solution is and its very, very simple, its not rocket science. All of these talks, about talks, is just a smokescreen from the truth. Every dog on the street knows that the solution is simply, that Israel return to pre-1967 borders, it is as simple as that. Palestine will have to make a sacrifice and go a step further than what Mahatma Gandhi suggested and recognize the state of Israel.
MAHATMA GHANDI
"Palestine
belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the
English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the
Jews on the Arabs. What is going on in Palestine today cannot be
justified by any code of conduct. The Mandates have no sanction but
that of the last War. Surely it would be a crime against humanity to
reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews
partly or wholly as their national home. I am not defending the Arab
excesses. I wish they had chosen the way of non-violence in resisting
what they rightly regarded as an unwarranted encroachment upon their
country. But according to the accepted canons of right and wrong,
nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of
overwhelming odds."
Perhaps one of the most appropriate for remembering this great soul of Ghandi, is the tribute from one of Israel's most intelligent sons, Albert Einstein; "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood." It is however certain that these generations to come will have lessons to learn from the extraordinary life of Mohandas Gandhi"
The US is using this dispute since the Suez crisis, as an excuse to make war after war in the region to get cheap oil out of the Middle east. They ousted the British Imperialists, the previous robbers of people's natural heritage in the region, after the Suez saga. They do give them a little of the spoils of war in return, cheap oil contracts. They have just murdered "1,173,743" children, women and men in Iraq, and murdered 3,974 of their own sons as Cindy Sheehan will verify, since their illegal invasion. This includes the use of chemical weapons, torture, instigating tribal fratercide, spilling millions of gallons of human blood, in the faint hope of millions of gallons of cheap oil, in the future. All they have accomplished, is the installation of a pro-Iran government in Baghdad, how clever.
The plain people of Ireland, which was Britain's first colony, have plenty of experience of these underhand murderous barbarian tactics. We are quite familiar with the lies and propaganda of these liars and murderous Imperialists. Gaza right now has been turned into a Concentration Camp by Israel. Last week saw the executions of more than 120 prisoners, in this open air prison, including the murder of more than 20 children and babies by Israel. Presently Israel i slowly strangling Gaza and Palestinians depriving them of food, medicine and electricity. The most vulnerable, children elderly, sick are dying from this slow cold, heartless, genocide being committed by Israel.
Anyone who speaks about this or speaks the truth is branded a terrorist or an extremist. I am nether, I am simply an Irish citizen who is disgusted and made physically sick witnessing the daily Genocide at Gaza Concentration Camp, by Israel using American Jet fighters and weapons, paid for by you, the American taxpayer, to the tune of 3 trillion, tax dollars. To add insult to injury, they murder and slaughter babies and children in the name of religion and keep using the holocaust of the last century, as justification for another chosen race, to ethnically cleanse the middle-east of Arabs.
Its time the world stood up these bullies and said enough is enough. Israel and the US should be immediately expelled from the UN. There is more than enough evidence that both the US and Israel are war criminals. Any world citizen with a modicum of political savvy know this to be fact, we have witnessed it daily on our TV screens now for more than fifty years now, are you sick of it ?. The US and the Israeli response to articles like this, is to either use Mossad and secret agencies worldwide, to silence the messenger, or journalist, or torture them in secret locations, as designated terrorists, in secret torture camps, worldwide.
The truth will set us free but first, we must let the truth be free. Stop the Censorship. Contact your elected representative wherever you may be and demand that they immediately call for the expulsion, of both the US and Israel from the UN as branded war criminals. Do not settle for the common political cheap superficial platitudes of careerist politicians and nudge, nudge, wink, wink, complaints. Demand action now !. There can be no more excuses for barbarism and state terrorism. You are either with us or against us, make up your mind. We are either a civilized world or we too are barbarians. Its time for action, contact your elected representative immediately, NOW by telephone or email and stop this bloodshed.
Evil will prevail, while good citizens do nothing, as happened in Fascist pre-war Europe. Good citizens of Israel, we also need your help, we are aware you are there.
Silence on this matter is no longer ethical, this is Genocide !. Silence is tacit approval of War Crimes.
Earlier transcripts, from a news blackout by the British media, of censored information, deemed by the authorities, as not appropriate for British commoners.
Diane Inquest, Secret Service questions remain unanswered ???. The usual censorship of the press continued in Britain on the Diane inquest. Commoners in Britain suffered another day of a news blackout, of startling new revelations at the inquest, into the cause of her death and questions that remain, regarding the involvement of British secret services.
Mr. Darren Lyons had told police, he was convinced that British secret service agents had raided his office in London, searched and/or planted audio and video surveillance devices there.
Mr Lyons was cross-examined on the dark subject of secret service involvement, by Mr. Nicholas Hilliard QC.
Hilliard: Right. The next incident I want to ask you about, please, Mr Lyons, is the early hours of 5th September 1997. So we are moving on three days or so from the Tuesday, all right?
Lyons: Yes, sir, yes.
Hilliard: We have - and again perhaps we will hear about this later - a police computer print-out that deals with a call, I think at 00.52, so 8 minutes to 1 in the morning of 5th September 1997.
Lyons: That is correct, sir.
Hilliard: When the police were called and came to the premises.
Lyons: Yes, sir.
Hilliard: Now, I think you had gone out, is this right, to dinner with staff that evening?
Lyons: That is right, sir.
Hilliard: Can you help us, please, with what happened when you came back to the offices?
Lyons: Yes, sir. As we came back, I noticed, walking back towards the office, that the whole of Clerkenwell Road was lit up, except for my office, which I found obviously strange, and there was not a light on in the building. As I approached over to the building, I unlocked the door, the alarm was not on, there was no power to the building. As I entered, I saw a faint light or something behind it with a - to describe it to you, sir, there was a wall between the front and back office computer room that was all bricked glass, so it was diffused. I walked in and saw this, found it odd and - it seemed like some kind of a flashlight or - there was certainly a fuzzy light and then I heard a ticking noise. Now, obviously, as you can imagine at the time, with what was going on around us, the first thing that registered in my brain was a degree of panic as I felt that this could be - came from the earlier threat that had been made to our offices and other threats throughout this particular time. I immediately ran from the office and dialled the emergency services and several police cars arrived within four to five minutes, I think. I cannot be specific on the time, but pretty much immediately. The police offers told me, when they arrived, not to panic, entered the building, and they could find at the time, sir, no visible force of entry into my premises. From what I have said before, nothing seemed to have been stolen, so ...
Hilliard: Right, but if we take it bit by bit, they found nobody on the premises, is that right?
Lyons: That is correct, sir.
Hilliard: Although you heard the ticking sound and no doubt because of what somebody had said in the phone call earlier in the week, they were going to blow the building up, you were concerned about that, but no ticking bomb was found, is this right, in the premises?
Lyons: No, it was not, sir, indeed, but you can understand the worry at the time with that kind of sound.
Hilliard: I quite understand because, as I say, of the call that you had had earlier in the week.
Lyons: Indeed.
Hilliard: In the police computer print-out for that night, at 18 minutes past 1 in the morning, there is an entry that says that the ticking sound was clocks ticking in the newsroom.
Lyons: If that is what the police statement says, that could well be the case, sir. There certainly were several clocks up on the newsroom wall, behind quite a solid glass panel, from all our country destinations and offices round the world, whether it be Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, London and Tokyo.
Hilliard: The light that you had seen, the kind of flashlight, did that transpire to have come from a computer screen that was still on?
Lyons: The police - that is exactly what the policeman said to me. The strange thing was that the power was completely cut out.
Hilliard: Right. Just one other part of this topic.
Lyons: Yes, sir.
Hilliard: You have expressed, I think, in the past, the opinion that the security services were in your offices that night.
Lyons: Sir, I think that comes from a situation where certainly there had been - on the street and talk between the photographers at the time, there had been another break-in to another French gentleman, I think it was Lionel Cherrault's home or office.
Hilliard: We heard all about that yesterday.
Lyons: Okay.
Hilliard: So we know what what you are talking about.
Lyons: Okay. I think that - the talk that came back to my office at the time was that people had been saying that the security services broke into his situation and stole computers. I think the assessment at that stage, sir, was made on why would two picture agencies have people break in at the same time. So it was another situation of - I suppose one would say "assumption". I have no evidence of who was in my office that particular night at all. I got out of there as quickly as I could.
Hilliard: I suppose we have to add if anyone was actually in your office that night.
Lyons: Point taken, sir, yes.
Hilliard: In due course, did you make a statement - I asked you about this earlier - to somebody who was acting on behalf of Mohamed Al Fayed? Did you talk about the events that you have been telling us about?
Lyons: Yes, I did. I recall - I think it was a Mr Macnamara at the time.
Hilliard: How did that contact come about? What was the first contact?
Lyons: It was a telephone conversation. He phoned me and was extremely polite and asked me could he come - I cannot remember the time or date this took place or the time after the incident, but he asked if he could come down and meet me privately to discuss the situation. Mr Fayed had felt that my thoughts on the subject of what happened and those particular nights surrounding that time would be helpful, and also to get some photographs of the last days of his son that were taken with the Princess of Wales in the South of France, which I packaged up and sent over to his office as a gift.
Hilliard: So, what, there had been some initial contact after which you had sent some photographs?
Lyons: That is correct, sir, and then a meeting was arranged. Mr Macnamara came over and met me in a bar in Clerkenwell, a bar called "1920". We sat down and had a frank discussion. I think he asked me would I make a statement and of course - I said of course I would. In these circumstances, I would be willing to help Mr Fayed in every way I could.
Hilliard: Were you paid any money for the photographs that you had provided?
Lyons: No, sir, I was not. I was offered, for my time and expenses, an envelope, which I refused to take, but thanked him anyway.
Hilliard: Did you know what was in the envelope?
Lyons: No. I assumed it was money because I was told at the time, "Mr Fayed would like you to have this for your time and expenses", sir.
Hilliard: In any event, you had provided, is this right, photographs of them on the holiday in the South of France by this time? You had already provided those?
Lyons: That is right, as a gift. Yes, sir, I sent them over because they were wonderful pictures of the two of them together and I felt that it was a nice thing to do in the circumstances, and he was very - I also received a call back from Mr Macnamara after that, that Mr Fayed was extremely appreciative of this.
Mr. Lyons has maintained over the last ten years that secret service agents raided his office. The puzzling thing about the incident is that on a very busy London street, this was the only office that suffered a power cut and no other building was affected.
Questions remain unanswered: Who broke into the Big Pictures office and what were they after ? What about the the raid on Mr. Cherrault's office at the same time ???
