
SCL – A Very British Coup - branchless
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2018/03/20/scl-a-very-british-coup/
======
GreeniFi
I would say that most Brits I meet are good. But there is a certain kind,
usually an Englishman, who is pure selfish evil. I’ve lived in a few countries
where SCL/CA has been active, and its destabilizing propaganda resulted in
death and turmoil. I think there are three drivers at play in the formation of
these, “the worst kind of Englishmen”:

1\. Boarding school syndrome, covered in this article for its role in Brexit.
It renders its victims as lacking empathy.
[https://www.google.com.mx/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/educatio...](https://www.google.com.mx/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/09/boarding-
schools-bad-leaders-politicians-bullies-bumblers)

2\. A sort of Affluenza which has infected the British upper and upper middle
classes. As the UK has become more and more expensive, the upper middle class
lifestyle, involving private schools, a flat in London and a house in the
country, have become out of reach, and it has induced a sort of elite
desperation. 3\. An English ‘exceptionalism’. Many Brits are somewhat
parochial, and although they know very little of the outside world, seen
through the eyes of empire in a very simplistic way (which many elites do),
you can get this type of behavior taking place.

~~~
te_chris
Absolutely this. I've lived here 3 years now and I love the British, but the
self-defined English, yikes. Narrow-minded, lazy, parochial, backwards-
looking. They don't all look to Farage, but they may as well.

The worst thing about these people is the complete lack of self awareness they
have of their own country (the UK, not England). They think England is the
guiding light in an otherwise dark place, something which the rest of the
world admires and aspires to, whereas the reality couldn't be more different
in my experience speaking to other foreigners about the UK. The things that I
and others admire are things like the BBC, this beacon of objectivity and
quality, and bulwark against American dross (changing in the days of
streaming, but still), the openness and energy of London, the innovation of
British design and art, the energy of the creative scenes here, even the
polish and efficiency of the professional and finance sectors. The self-
defined English think this is the problem.

I hope brexit is a sluice for these people.

------
trifidpaw
The webpage of Mark Turnbull for the SSI at Exeter University appears to have
been taken down days after the article (story) was published.

[https://web.archive.org/web/20180321124441/https://www.exete...](https://web.archive.org/web/20180321124441/https://www.exeter.ac.uk/strategy/members/markturnbull/)

~~~
ttctciyf
It's not just the webpage.

> The University of Exeter has confirmed that it is no longer associated with
> one the directors of scandal-hit Cambridge Analytica.

> It was revealed by DevonLive.com on Wednesday that the company's managing
> director Mark Turnbull was an honorary fellow at the Exeter University
> Strategy and Security Institute.

> The university confirmed on Thursday that his status has now been revoked.

[https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeter-
university-...](https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeter-university-
cuts-ties-man-1372587)

------
pjc50
Also:
[https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/976848641628491778](https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/976848641628491778)

"Suspended Cambridge Analytica Chief Executive Alexander Nix has been recalled
to the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee which claims there
were "a number of inconsistencies" in evidence he gave to MPs last month"

------
DonaldFisk
Undercover reporters investigate Cambridge Analytica:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbeOCKZFfQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbeOCKZFfQ)

The information commissioner is still waiting for her request for a search
warrant, made on Monday, to be heard by a high court judge:

[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/22/cambridge-
an...](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/22/cambridge-analytica-
warrant-high-court-adjourns-hearing-information-
commissioner?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Sync_Dev)

Meanwhile, crates with documents have been removed from the building:

[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/information-
commissio...](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/information-commissioner-
cambridge-analytica_uk_5ab03488e4b0697dfe19a876)

Doesn't look good.

~~~
branchless
The UK establishment are directly involved in CLS.

Are you sure there will be a genuine investigation? UK Saudi arms inquiry was
withheld because it didn't fit UK aims:

[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/home-
office-...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/home-office-
terrorist-funding-report-saudia-arabia-focus-not-publish-conservatives-
government-a7766381.html)

No prosecutions for 2008 banking collapse.

I think it looks pretty good (for CLS).

~~~
OrganicMSG
I think that the more the UK state covers for CLS, the worse the blowback
could be. Every single country that CLS has been involved in will have an
official starting an investigation and dusting off the extradition forms.

~~~
branchless
The ruling party has prominent people on the board / with shares! This is why
you and I are not in the UK establishment. We are inhibited by shame and a
fear of losing. When we step back they double down. Everything or nothing, no
in between. It is their birthright.

~~~
OrganicMSG
I don't buy into all of that particular narrative, as it was obviously started
by someone playing divide and conquer games.

~~~
branchless
You don't believe a party which is steeped in class division and owns a
company that seeds false news are not nice people?

Maybe I should send a couple of girls round, get some pictures? You don't win
arguments with the truth!

They are not nice.

~~~
OrganicMSG
I think that the entire concept of The Establishment, UK class distinctions
and the whole class war movement that accepts the basic premise, amplifies it,
then reflects the image back, is one of the most successful long running
dīvide et imperā strategies in existence, so why would I ever go along with
it?

~~~
branchless
I don't agree with your analysis.

------
OrganicMSG
So, if this is all to be believed and we link it with what else is known,
elements within the oldest of the Old Guard at the top of UK politics,
alongside the Putin oligarchy and some US billionaires who align with the Dark
Enlightenment orthodoxy, are deliberately destabilising the US political
system, trying to break up the EU, while actively undermining hundreds of
other democratic systems around the world.

I really started to wonder what the hell was going on when right wingers
started shouting the anti-globalist slogans of the late '90s left wing
anarchist movement, as that clearly was an agenda that was unlikely to have
organically transferred. A group of billionaires wanting to rule openly over
balkanised microstates, in opposition to the globalising efforts of the
liberal free marketeer billionaires, was one though that kept coming back to
me. And look, here they all are.

------
quantumofmalice
I'm relatively indifferent towards the matter, social media is cancer, but
compare and contrast narratives:

[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/harper-reed-
oba...](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/harper-reed-obama-
campaign-microtargeting/)

~~~
pjc50
1) It seems like the Obama campaign was "above board", even giving interviews
about what they were doing;

2) CA overstepped their agreement with Facebook, agreed to delete their data,
and didn't

3) The CA process specifically harvested data from _friends of_ people who'd
signed up, including under false pretences.

4) The Channel 4 interview talking about bribes and entrapment:
[https://www.channel4.com/news/cambridge-analytica-
revealed-t...](https://www.channel4.com/news/cambridge-analytica-revealed-
trumps-election-consultants-filmed-saying-they-use-bribes-and-sex-workers-to-
entrap-politicians-investigation)

Edit: 5) It doesn't seem like anyone on the right claimed the Obama campaign
was unethical in this way at the time?

~~~
ballenf
Not sure it's so different. Here's from an Obama's campaign digital head:

> Facebook was surprised we were able to suck out the whole social graph, but
> they didn’t stop us once they realized that was what we were doing.

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/03/19/why-
are...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/03/19/why-are-we-only-
now-talking-about-facebook-and-elections/)

Whereas team Obama didn't just get friends of friends, they got everyone
regardless of their privacy settings or apps in use?

edit: adding original source for the quote instead of forbes:

[https://twitter.com/cld276/status/975568130117459975](https://twitter.com/cld276/status/975568130117459975)

