Archive of paywalled Atlantic article
Peter Mandelson, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, was recalled Thursday after the extent of his friendship with the disgraced financier became impossible to deny. In a 10-page message in the now-infamous 2003 scrapbook, he called Epstein his “best pal” and included several photos of himself. Describing the financier as “mysterious,” Mandelson said that he would often be left alone with Epstein’s “interesting” friends—an assertion that appeared over a picture of an unknown young woman in her underwear.
[…]
Americans might be tempted to look at the situation in Britain and think: Consequences for misguided actions—remember them? That’s the right impulse. In the United States, the Epstein scandal has devolved into a mere political soap opera, in which the victims are largely forgotten and Trump is so far unscathed. British voters who are angry with their government might find some small consolation in the fact that on their side of the Atlantic Ocean, ethical lapses can still carry a serious political price.
Of course there was always something sinister about Mandelson with his Rasputin-like hold on Tony Blair and ability to resurrect from apparent political death. One of the best moments in the 2001 book “Them: Adventures With Extremists” is when Jon Ronson is trying to infiltrate a Bilderberg Group meeting with a pre-infamy Alex Jones and sees Peter Mandelson on a coach going on.
Release the Trump/Epstein files
the whole thing is a bit weird though - his assosciation was known since last year, and he was transparently visiting Epstein in prison. Why now?
Journalists uncovered that he had misrepresented the facts when the Prime Minister chose to ask him specific details before appointing him.
forced to confront it because of the bday book I suppose. which is pitiful but our media… goddamn we need a return to old school journalism, I just can’t see how it happens without newspapers.
I just can’t see how it happens without newspapers.
Sucks that billionaires own the privately owned media, and what they don’t own they can just buy. That’s where national news services should step in.
defend the beeb at all costs. it’s imperfect but better than dang near anything we have.
The beeb is already captured. Their reporting on Gaza is amongst the worst, and the chairman is Tory who uses “impartiality” as an excuse to suppress common sense and compassion
the beeb has had good times and bad. the trick is to rescue the institution and it’s legacy while purging the fuckwits.
it’s worth it to try.
I dread to think about your moral compass if you think the beeb is still worth defending. I gave up on the bbc in 2016, and it’s gotten so much worse since then.
I dread to think about your moral compass
I don’t think about you. at all.
Yeah, that’s the kind of mindset that leads folk like you to believe the BBC is still a reputable institution.
He was going to face questions from us media that would embarrass and intensify the scandal for the us administration.
They knew, guy was unrepentant and still gushing over epstein and referred to his residences with a yum yum comment. Guy fucked kids and was Israel’s bitch as a result, but liked it.
rubs palms let’s get cracking with the next one!
I swear every Labour scandal he is involved somehow. Yet he still keeps coming back, like a political boomerang.
Starmer knew and Mandelson until a few months back was aggressively unrepentant, casting himself as the true victim.
Starmer is a pos and labour needs to sweep this aristocracy out of there, they are neck deep in israel’s blackmail and complicit in that and ending the right to protest and locking down the internet and putting every site everyone visits within the grasp of their political leadership, local cops, hackers, foreign intelligence, criminal groups etc.
A Corbyn type with an aggressive countenance needs take the party and purge everyone in leadership, everyone.
Best I can do is internet censorship and arresting people in t-shirts.
Well we are also are going to need a masturbatorbase, for national security purposes we need to know every web page you have considered whacking off to, you know, for the kids.
British voters who are angry with their government might find some small consolation in the fact that on their side of the Atlantic Ocean, ethical lapses can still carry a serious political price.
We’re far too concerned with a few brown people to bother with something important like this.
Learn from our example here in the States: don’t stop at recalling a politician for such heinous behavior. Make sure their victims see justice and are made as whole as a legal, capitalistic system can afford.
If not, they’ll be more powerful the next time you see them.
The Brits are very good at hanging fringe elements out to dry. Show me when they held someone to account who had real power and not an over-the-hill/failed politico.
The deputy prime minister was forced to resign just last week. The only higher position than that is PM.
Losing your job is unfortunate but a mild response for what many of these people did. Show me when they put one of these cretins in prison.
The deputy PM only avoided paying tax IIRC
People go to prison for tax evasion, at least in civilized countries they do.
Are you talking about anyone in particular?
