Monday 29 December 2014

Wounded Knee Massacre remembered

                                             
                                                         poster by Bruce Carter

Today in history, December 29th 1890 - The U.S 7th Cavalry carried out the Wounded Knee Massacre near Wounded knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.The Native Indians had gathered to participate in a religious revival movement known as the Ghost Dance. Fearing large numbers of Indians gathered in one place, the U.S military tried to ban the ceremony and crush their right to assembly.
In the aftermath as many as 300 Lakota Sioux men, women and children were killed, many shot in the back while attempting to flee. Their bodies left to freeze  in a mass grave. It serves today as a constant   reminder  and example of the brutal mistreatment and oppression bestowed upon the Indians. Today I remember  these ancestors lost on December 29th, 1890, their peace on earth shattered, all those winters ago.
In 2008 a petition was  launched demanding that the U.S reclaim the medal of Honour  that was given to the 7th Cavalry  for their role in the massacre, and to remove any  recognition the U.S military bestowed to its entities for the massacre and to obtain  the return  of personal items taken from the Lakota people.
In 1973 the American Indian Movement (A.I.M ) occupied Wounded Knee, noting its historic significance - a 71 day stand off ensured with federal law enforcement officials. Leonard Peltier an A.I.M leader was asked  by traditional people at Pine Ridge  in South Dakota to support and protect them. He was later illegally arrested by means  of coerced and fraudulent testimony for the murder of 2 F.B.I agents. He is now one  of the longest held political prisoners in the United States, 37 years and counting .He is in declining health,so timing for justice is short.
An earlier post on the case can be found here:-

http://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/leonard-peltier-day.html.

                                           Leonard Peltier


Lakota accounts of massacre at Wounded Knee



Sunday 28 December 2014

Lawrence Ferlinghetti ( b 24/3/19) - Pity the Nation



Pity the nation 

Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.









Friday 26 December 2014

What if it was you?



Happy Boxing Day.

To coincide  with this  day, a major date in the hunting calender, the League against Cruel Sports is launching a new national ad campaign  to portray the cruelty of hunting with dogs for sport. The hard hitting film asks the question, What if it was you? and shows the cruelty of hunting from a hunted animals perspective.

As many as 80% pf the public think that fox hunting should not  be made legal again.

The pro-hunt lobby it seems is completely  out of touch with modern British society. It is now time for the pro-hunt lobby to respect the  law, respect our wildlife and respect the will of the British people. The cruelty and casual disregard must not be allowed to return.

Today across the country it is pissing down, but there are still those riding horseback, who hope for fox hunting to return I hope they all get a good soaking, and have a thoroughly miserable time, and all get thrown off their horses..

The Tory's are also hoping for a repeal  of the fox-hunting  ban  if they win 2015 election, offering a free  vote in the next in the next Parliament in May. They must be stopped in their tracks.

Meanwhile



AND REMEMBER :-








Wednesday 24 December 2014

I have a dream


'On the night before Christmas, we'll all  be about,
while the people are sleeping, we'll realise our clout,
we'll expropriate goods, from  the stores, because that's fair,
and distribute them wide, to those  who need care.'


All I guess I really want  for Christmas is the abolition of white supremacist, capitalist, heteropatriarchy, and the end of David Cameron and his coherts power, Dave, who this morning  expressed his commitment to Christian values, saying "giving and sharing and taking care of others at home and around the world was something Britain could be proud off." Oh the bloody  hypocrite. The same  David Cameron who wants to stop us all from fighting for our rights. Let's all put our faith into action, and next year kick the Tories out. Real progress can only be achieved, if the Conservatives power is taken away. This day, coming soon, is the one I will truly celebrate. Together let's kick out the Tories.


Anyway Merry Crimbo.... blog will probably be quiet, for a bit, the library I use will be closing for its mandatory holiday season. Thanks for all who have supported blog, another world is not only possible, it is inevitable. Despite it all, have a good one.
Best wishes...heddwch/peace.




Oh ,by the way,
Father Christmas says Free Palestine




Sunday 21 December 2014

On the threshold (a poem for the Winter solstice )




We remember, old friends
the warmth of breath,
on the threshold now
of new beginnings,
escaping the darkness
bridging the void,
lighting  fires to rekindle
the glow from within,
releasing again
the eternal surge and flow,
of humanity's embrace,
hands stretched out
travelling light,
mapping the invisible
on this shortest day,
toasting new beginnings
setting course on paths of freedom,
as moon's shadow casts its seed
and the night dances
with the cathedral of earth
and the white bones of winter,
yuletide brings gentleness to restore 
to allow all things to become possible.

Saturday 20 December 2014

Sleaford Mods - Jolly F*cker



Ready for Christmas.... Fuck... I'm never bloody ready for christmas, it's all a illusion, as they  smash us up, over and over again, don't leave us with many crumbs, as coldness and starvation takes hold, but those tory blighters  will still be  having a toast, sitting comfortably in their cozy homes, filling their bloated faces  with cake. Yes the spectacle of consumerism and distraction draws close, but in these times of austerity and crisis, it is crucial to remember  that the seeds  of a better society already lie embedded  in the contradictions of the current one. In these dark times, when  hope seems lost, we must constantly remind ourselves that the seeds for  a better world already  lie deep in the scorched earth of the present one. As they continue  building their walls of oppression, tommorrow we  must carry on confronting and challenging head on, let us be the  spirit of revolution reincarnated, striking down upon the  scrooges of our time, as  darkness seems to envelop the world.
Bah humbug, merry crisis and a happy new fear. Hope the future is brighter, reignites all with passion and integrity.

Friday 19 December 2014

Lights out for Gaza


Switch off your lights tonight 7pm -8 pm in solidarity  with Palestinian families in Gaza.
Currently  they only get electricity for 6 hours a day.Power off for 18 hours.
Today there  is a global solidarity campaign highlighting this problem and the innocents  living with  a blockade on the Gaza strip and  its ongoing power crisis.
The Palestinians in Gaza suffer from power shortages for long hours, that has been exasperated after the last Israel war.
Combined  with poor electricity infrastructure, there is shortage of  industrial fuel to generate power and technical  issues with Gaza's power plant, linked with Israel's recent bombing campaign.
Daily life is a constant battle for the deprived residents of  one of the worlds most densely populated places on earth.

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Surprise, Surprise G4S guards found not guilty of manslaughter of Jimmy Mubanga


Surprise, surprise - 3 state employed private security guards working for G4S accused of 2010 manslaughter of deportee Jimmy Mubanga, walked free earlier this week after being cleared by an Old Baily jury - like the police,  except somebody,somewhere makes a profit from public money and nobody anywhere is held accountable, and Justice once again gets blindfolded.
It is difficult to reconcile this verdict with the evidence at the trial that over 20 people  heard Jimmy Mubanga say "I can't breathe".Another sad signifier of the numerous cases of private companies wholly inappropriate conduct over the last few years.

Happy birthday Chelsea Manning

I have written about Chelsea Manning several times before today I mark her 27th Birthday. Chelsea Elizabeth Manning changed her name from Bradley earlier this year to reflect the fact that she is trangender and wants to live as a woman. The above picture  is how she sees herself "this  is the closest representation of what I might look like if I was allowed to present and express myself the way I see fit." Currently she is serving a 35 year prison sentence for whistleblowing and for revealing to the public that the U.S army, the C.I.A and Iraqi and Afghan forces committed  human rights violations in breach of international law.
It was revealed  earlier in the week by her Welsh aunt,( Chelsea  herself attended Tasker Millward school Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire for four years) that US authorities tortured her with barbaric techniques. which posed,  a  psychological  threat to her health.
These allegations add further to the growing calls to investigate US interrogation techniques, as well as the roll of British intelligence played in this process.
No circumstances whatsoever can ever justify the use of #torture. Perpetrators  must be held accountable.
Chelsea manning has always claimed she acted in the public interest, hoping to spark a meaningful debate on the costs of war, specifically on the conduct of  the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. However she was not permitted to present this as evidence at her trial, and was only allowed  to explain her motives at the sentencing  phase.

Before her conviction, she had already been held for three years in pre-trial detention, including 11 months in conditions which the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture described as cruel and inhumane.
Today marks her fifth birthday spent in prison. For many across the world we perceive her as a heroine who was not afraid to speak out, blowing the whistle on war crimes. Her treatment is an example of how far the U.S will go to try and cover  up its crimes. There will  be vigils and standouts  in a number  of cities across the world, to mark the occasion, and calling for her freedom.
Her supporters are gathering in London  between 14.30-16.00 on the steps  of St Martin in the fields Trafalgar Square.
Please sign Amnesty International's petition calling for her immediate release.
Happy birthday/ Penblwyd Hapus Chelsea Manning


Heddwch/peace


Link to Amnesty International Petition



http://www.refusingtokill.net/Chelsea%20Manning/amnesty_renews_call_for_chelsea.htm




" In our zeal to kill the enemy, we internally debated the definition of torture. We held individuals at Guantanamo for years without due process. We inexplicably  turned a blind eye to torture and executions by the Iraqi government. And we stomached countless other acts in the  name of our war on terror."


- Chelsea Manning


Letter asking for clemency, August 2013



Monday 15 December 2014

The Met aint happy


A number of false advertisements alleging that the police are racist have been spotted around London. It is believed that they were put up at the weekend  with political magazine Strike claiming credit for them.
In a facebook post Strike said after complaints were received ' if  only the met put this much effort into investigating their own crimes and corruption.'
https://www.facebook.com/strikemagyo 
The police remind me of alcoholics, who do not  deal with their problems, until  they put their hands up and say, yes, think we've got ourselves a problem.
The posters which borrow the logo of the  Metropolitan Police have  been seen occupying advertising spaces on bus stops across the capital, and have also been spotted  outside the Mets own headquarters. Another ad says " We caused the 2011 riots by shooting an unarmed civilian and then ling about it. And we got away with it."
Have always admired  the likes of Adbusters myself, and I must say it is always nice when  people try to  redress the balance a little bit.
Meanwhile some of the posters have been cordoned off while police look for evidence.

Sunday 14 December 2014

Waiting for the Great leap forward

Oxford academic Danny Dorling recently  observed a remarkable and disturbing phenononem. Last years the world's richest 1%  owned 41% of the world's wealth. What bloody century are we living in? Pinched myself, yes it's the 21st, but it gets even worse. This year alone the richest 1% owned 48% of total wealth. That's an increase of just 7% in just one year.
If this is to continue for say another  7 years,  this would mean that the 1% would earn 100% of the world's wealth. Crazy. It does not take an economist to point out  that it's just not possible. 
Dorling concluded therefore that in the next 7 years something is going to happen. No one can tell what, but I have a few ideas. It is clear  that if things continue as they are, something seismic is going to happen. Hope people are pushing in the direction I want it to go.
Waiting for the great leap forward.

http://www.counterfire.org/articles/analysis/17567-is-russell-brand-right-do-we-need-a-revolution



Thursday 11 December 2014

Solidarity with anti-police brutality solidarity protestors.



Around 2,000 anti-police solidarity protestors occupied West field shopping Centre in London last night, as the group formed a huge die in  to protest at  the Staten Island Grand Jury's decision  not to indict Police Officer Daniel Panteleo Garners death  on December 4th. Protestors describing the mood as  jubilant,  many holding aloft placards that read I can't  breathe an no justice , no peace.
People were obviously angry, and justified in being so,  for the situation that has  become critical in the U.S, that is also a problem internationally, as seen with the killing of the Palestinian Zihad Abu Ein the minister of the wall and settlement resistance suffocated to death by  an Israeli  policeman in the West Bank,  and here in the U.K that urgently needs  addressing.Police brutality must come to an end.

The police used intimadatory methods, a met standard which  resulted in 76 people being arrested, people kettled, despite the support of shoppers and staff.

So doing a die  in  results in arrests, but actually causing people to die leads to nothing.  Tell me where's the justice in this?  Many have now been bailed with some still being held  but  all will still need our support.
People are learning again to stand up and be counted, in solidarity, they find strength, and time and time again it is proved, that tactics used against peaceful protests do not work, as people return to the streets in increasing numbers, getting  stronger and stronger.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

The 1984/85 Miners Strike remembered as Winters draws it's breath





Haunting image of the 1984/85 British miners strike. We should never  forget the brave men and women  who stood up to the Thatcher Government. And never forgive the police who brutalised
 the working class men and women.
30 years ago they had been on strike  for about 9 months and were ready to face Christmas on strike. The propoganda  from the government, Coal Board and the police was relentless. Many were suffering real hardship. But were to stand solid for a further 3 months. With friendship and solidarity, despite the unbelieavable significant hardship and relentless harassment  they refused to be broken. United by struggle, united by belief,  generating images  of strike action that remain powerful today
It was difficult to get  by at any point  in the strike, but it is difficult for anyone who was not there to imagine what Christmas was like  for  the many mining communities, as parents relied on their unions, charity and the goodwill  of strangers  miles away  for presents for their kids.
The bitter  legacy of Thatcher is  that 20,000  people die in the UK every winter because they cannot afford heat, yet the  very industry that could have sustained people was crushed, and closed down. Resulting in  20,000  people dying every  year  in the past  30 years  because of Margeret Thatchers's cruel twisted policies. Lest we forget





  
                                            Notice the boarded up fireplace.



Monday 8 December 2014

Remembering John Rety (8/12/30 - 3/2/10) - Anarchist, Poet and Artist


Today I remember  writer, editor, artist, publisher, chessplayer, anarchist and pacifist John Rety.
Born Reti Janos to a Jewish family in Budapest in 1940, his political views were shaped by his childhood experiences. His grandmother escaped a pogram in Serbia by swimming across a river with her children strapped to her back, while following the outbreak of war, John's family knew life as Jewish people was going to be extremely difficult.As a child partisan  in the second-world war he saw his grandmother shot in front of him
An anarchist  from a young  age he was sub-editor of one of its  leading journals Freedom between 1963 -1968. A rich and colourful  life, after arriving in London in the 1950's  he became a painter, and started to produce  still-lifes and landscapes, something which he subsequently  gave up in 1977, after sadly  his studio was broken  into and all his painting  stolen. Luckily for the world he would take up  poetry.
John met his partner Susan Johns in 1958. Together they moved into Robert Street, Regent's Park and scraped a living by  putting on a ja night at a Soho baseent bar, then ran a second hand furniture store in Camden High Street.
On all accounts  he was a gentle human being, of huge intellect, with depth and power with unwavering political passion, with  undoubtable charm and humour, dedicating his life to the causes of  peace,  he was active against the Vietnam War, a member of the radical anti nuclear group the Committe of 100, a supporter of squatters rights, libertarian education,  and the myriad forms of freedom and social justice.When the land rights group The Land is Ours  occupied a derelict plot owned by Guiness in 198. and turned it into an experiment in sustainable and cooperative living, John described the South London site as "anarchy in action",saying that as a partiipant, he had " now seen anarchy in practice and, so far, it works." (Freedom, 18 May, 1996)
 He was respected by all who came across him. He was also an accomplished chess player and  passionate listener of music.He was to become well known in the  literary world for his contributions to poetry, founding in 1982, the Torriano Meeting House
 https://torrianomeetinghouse.wordpress.com/  in Kentish Town, North London which became known for its performances, exhibitions and political activities, which is also where   he founded  the Hearing Eye Press http://hearingeye.org/  a wonderful publishing house that he ran with  his partner Susan  1987 which continues to  this day.
He had a non-sectarian approach to life, avoiding walls and was to become poetry editor of the Morning Star, where  he published a different  poet every week, releasing the superb poetry collection Well Versed in 2008 with a foreward  by the late Tony Benn.
His own poetry has been a source of tremendous  comfort and joy since I first encountered them, spontaneous free verse of much inspiration, richly evocative, and imaginative.
He died of a heart attack on the third of February 2010,aged 79, his legacy a rich and strong one, still touching and resonating with peoples lives.


" There  is no other movement  in the country or anywhere  in the world, which operates as does the anarchist, openly,  spontaneously and altruistically. We do not resign to superstition, bigotry, chauvinism of any kind. We are not afraid of power,  neither master nor slave."

- John Rety, 28.1/95


I conclude with 3 poems from his pen that I particularly enjoy.


Art and the Man

The  man in the garden was numbering
the leaves
the tree was  just  a tree
The man was just a man
The numbering took ages
That was in the Summer
Every  leaf was numbered
in the Autumn the man
Gathered the fallen  leaves.

The man was in the garden pinning  back
the leaves
the tree was no longer just a tree
The man was no longer just a man
He was an Artist and his work of art was
the tree.


Tenant

Oh yes,  we can ignore  the shouting
whether behind closed doors
or out  in the open fields.
We can choose our friends
And ignore the problems of
the dirty, the unwashed, the ignorant
And avoid if we can the aggressive
Close our eyes to the beggars of the town,
Oh yes,  we can ignore the shouting
We can ignore our own pleading,
our own anxieties.
We are not as bad, not as ugly
Not so stupid as that raving
That undescribably filthy
Oh yes we can hear what is decent
We can hear the nice noises, the acceptable ones
We can hear the adding machine, the police siren,
The everso friendly voices on the screen
On the pulpit, on the rostrum and on the telephone
the quick cheery tune that escorts us across the
     street.
They are sanctioned these voices
Therefore they are good.
Oh yes, we can ignore the shouting
Our lease  is duly signed
And our job is secure
Here is your key, now get on with it,
Noon day and night
Secure it tight
Leave on the light
Let them think your hovel is occupied
While you are on a flight
to some exotic sight
Oh yes, we can ignore the shouting
And we can hardly remember
The shouting, the misery, the  desperation
All that is of the past
The utter, utter degradation,
Now is our turn, my turn,  my key's turn.

Freedom

                  for Philip on his seventieth birthday

Where is that land
Show me that land
Don't say it  never existed
Petofi, Makhno and Durutti-
did they all die in vain?
Are we just  dreamers ansd
Abstract thinkers
Don't we know more than that?
What I don't know, you might know
Somebody, somewhere  on the wide ocean
Up a high mountain
Where beauty conquers terror
Might still know where
Behind the  screen of clouds
-Don't tell me it's only in my mind-
Is that land, the land of the free,
Don't say it never existed.


Further Reading:-

Songs of Anarchy and other Poems; Box 2 1989

Notebook in Hand: New and Selcted Poems 2012

Through the Anarchist  Press; a Column in Freedom; 1996
Beautifully illustrated by his daughter Emily Johns

Sunday 7 December 2014

Angela Davis - A Message


 Angela Davis is known internationally for her ongoing  resistance to all forms of oppression, supporting the movements of social justice in the.  U.S and abroad.Her messages from the past still hold much power and relevance,  especially in relation to events that have happened in our recent past

excerpt from the black power mixtape

"I mean that's  why when someone asks me about violence.... I just  find it incredible. Because what it means is that the person asking that question has no idea what people have gone through...  what black  people have experienced in this country since  the time the first black person was kidnapped from the shores of Africa."

"Something is wrong.... Maybe the real criminals in this society are not the people who populate the prisons... but those who have stolen the wealth of the world from the people... and everytime a Black child dies ....we should indict them for murder because they're  the ones  who killed that black child." 

" No potential victim of the fascist  terror should be  without the knowledge that the greatest  menace to racism and fascism is unity!"


-Angela Davis


AND FROM NEW YORK TO GREECE TO PALESTINE


WE REVOLT BECAUSE WE CAN'T BREATHE







Friday 5 December 2014

A Picture speaks a thousand words.


Pictures speak a 1,000 words, but as I write more than 180 Palestinian children have been  kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces in the past 45 days. While international  law states that child imprisonment should be used as a last resort, the Israeli  occupation forces view it as a matter of routine. Recently  draconian laws have  been used with greater frequency against children, including Administrative Detention orders which allow for detention without published evidence.
Under  military orders in force  in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, any Palestinian over the ageof 16 is considered an adult, while  inside Israel  the age of an adult is 18. Moreover,  a Palestinian child over 14 years are tried as adults in an Israeli military court, and are put into prisons with adults. These are direct violations of international law.
When children are arrested they are usually taken to  adult military detention centres and interrogation centres. There are no specialist juvenille facilities, courts or personnel  within the Israeli system apart from Telmond prison. Children held in Israels prisons are beaten, tortured, placed in solitary  confinement, and made to stand in cages outside in the cold. This is a systematic, institutionalised and  co-ordinated attempt  by Israels Government and Army to make their presence felt, as humiliation daily continues, taking the occupation  to an extreme and absurd level, that  will undoubtedly have a significant impact on their future  development as individuals. It is obvious to me that some people in this world have no shame at all. These are  more reasons why I keep  on posting about issues that I feel should concern the world. This is not how a normal state acts, and by refusing to sanction this rogue state for its abuses,Western governments themselves become complicit  in these crimes against children. 





Wednesday 3 December 2014

Big Brother is watching you.

One way or another, the Home office and Theresa May wants police surveillance off everyones web and mobile records and the banning of unpleasant opinions. The anti-terrorism and security bill will oblige internet service  providers (ISPs) to retain information linking IP ( Internet Protocol) addresses to individual uses. It will  result in the police getting more   powers to force internet firms to hand over details linked to IP addresses in order  to help identify criminal suspects online.
The fact is that the fear of terrorism and extremist activities, now  makes everyone of us a suspect. Way before the internet we  have lived with fear and suspicion it is  part of our human nature, but with the internet age  it seems it  is now time  for all of us to be treated  like children, who cannot be trusted to act  responsibly based on what we here. Facebook  itself has also started behaving like a worried nanny, it seems you cannot hang bout there under  an identity that your friends know or trust, it seems that if we do not comply , we will be silenced, and turfed out.
Extremity is a state  of mind, that cannot be erased or killed, however hard people try, it can however be pushed further underground where its danger can still be spread. Voices silenced  will only foster more division, paranoia under the orders of what I personally see as a dangerous out of control extremist organisation the Conservative Party.If this does not bother you, then carry on, you might be  comfortable that 'Big Brother' is watching you, but I ask you who is watching Big Brother. Could someone tell the government and the opposition, because they don't seem to have been kicking up much of a fuss, that the George Orwell's book 1984 was a warning not an instruction manual.
" Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human liberty. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" - William  Pitt the Younger.

Sunday 30 November 2014

Keep on Dancing - Gabrielle Roth (4/2/41 -22/10/12)


" We dance to reclaim our brilliant ability to dissapear in something bigger, something safe, a space without a critic or a judge or an analyst. The beat is a love that never dissapoints, and  like all loves it demands 100% surrender. It has power to seduce moves  we could only dream. It grabs us by the belly, turns  us inside  out and leaves us abruptly begging for more.
The beat is bad, wicked, sick, whatever the word is now.
Dance to fall in love with the spirit in all things."

Friday 28 November 2014

This coked up P*****k should be sacked.


Well we would if we turned up in this state. Who knows he might not be under the influence, he could just be a swivel eyed loon., like most of the hypocritical, corrupt elite  that none voted for, that surround him. At the end of the day, whatever he does in private is  up to him, but when he is busy tearing our country apart  and the faces of suffering  are being caught up in  a near end cycle  of misery, due to him and his friends. This mans actions should be accounted for and forever questioned, people  take drugs everyday but do not come up with policies as bad as his, whatever he's on, he's still an arse.In light of the Governments failing drug policy, George Osborne's bizzare appearance at Prime Ministers Question time,  begs the question what planet are some of these M.Ps on, its certainly not ours. Personally think the whole ruddy cabinet should be sacked.


Thursday 27 November 2014

William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer



Uncle Bill...it's time for a Thanksgiving Prayer again. His message  still continues to spin with vitriolic  spin,  delivered to America, still as relevant as ever, still a dark elegy for our times, 28 years after William Burroughs first delivered it. Here he thanks America  for its violence, racism, oppression and homophobia. A nation that still  today cannot seem to mind its  own business. Thank goodness that there are still those outside, that seek to make this world a  place better.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Unbelieavable!: Tony Blair wins Save the Children's Global legacy award 2014.


Tony Blair, the man who was hugely responsible  for killing, injuring and displacing, thousands  of Iraqi  children ( among his many crimes)  has been recognised for his humanitarian work by the worlds  foremost childrens charity, Save the Children.
How could this organisation make such a monstrous error, but their chief executive is known to be a Blair underling. This so called Middle East Peace Envoy, has already been named 'Philanthropist of the year'!! by GQ magazine, while lining his greedy pockets, a friend  and someone who has been  criticised for a range of shadey dealings with autocrats and dictators.
This is a man  known throughout Iraq and Afghanistan  for the trauma that he has caused. To offer him such an accolade and reward is sickening. Tony Blair  because of his support for the 2003 invasion    is guilty of infanticide, the subsequent perhaps one and a half million deaths in a country  where half the population were children.
This man should not  be lauded, should not be applauded, for he has offered the world no apology, he should be shamed, many would like to see his arrest for being what he  represents, nothing but a war criminal, the causer of so much pain and division.
Many of  the charities  own staff have since complained  that the presentation of this award   has discredited  and misappropriated and betrayed  Save the Childrens founding principles and values.It is worth noting that Save the children  recently appointed Samantha Cameron, wife of Dave, as their 'Ambassador for Syria, and their  chief executive Justin Forsyth was special envoy to Blair for three years, perhaps it's just a case of us not actually being in it all together.
I am truly outraged that Save the Children, is being seen as contributors to the impunity, whitewashing and rehabilitation of this hollow man. An organisation that represents and serves the interests of children should not be complicit  in whitewashing the innocents  killed.I can see no justification in this reward, his reputation for many remains rotten to the core.
Please join me is supporting this campaign to get this reward removed from a warmongerer and profiteer of death who has long poisoned the well of public trust.






http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-save-the-children-charity-from-giving-tony-blair-their-annual-global-legacy-award

Tuesday 25 November 2014

"Don't tell the people to calm down! Tell the cops/military to stand down!"


The anger and outrage in Ferguson, Missouri and in solidarity protests around the "U.S" are not just about Michael Brown. This is a long, bloody  history of political violence, against typically, people of color, and/or oppressed classes in general. To speak of the real history here, is to talk about, first of all, a nation that founded itself on indigeneous genocide, stolen land and broken treaties. It is to talk about a militarised police state that got its hands as bands of mercenaries hired to track down runaway slaves (literally called the "slave patrol") or hired thugs brought in  to bash the heads of striking workers. Not much has changed in these years - for many, if not most, indigeneous and people of color.
"Black Reality and White Denial" are going strong in America, the home of the KKK.
White supremacy is a system  of power that is active today as any time in this culture's history. While activists must do everything they can do to dismantle  personal and institutional racism'

Solidarity with the people of Ferguson.

Read these guidelines for how people with privilege can ally and show solidarity with people of color on the frontlines of resistance to racism.

http://www.deepgreenresistance.org/en/what-we-do/deep-green-resistance-white-ally-guidelines





Monday 24 November 2014

We Stand With Shaker: Official Campaign Video



In 2002 Shaker was taken, blindfolded and shackled to Guantanamo Bay, to Guantanamo Bay, and is now the only British resident there. Here's the official campaign video  for the Stand with Shaker, calling for the immediate release of Guantanamo#  of Shaker Aamer the last British resident still held.

Features 'A song for Shaker Aamer ' written by Andy Worthington and performed by his band the Four feathers. His continual incarcernation is a scandal and an embarrassment. The failure of the British Government to challenge this illegal incarcentation is shameful and damaging. Shaker is suffering from  post-traumatic stress disorder after over 12 years of torture. It is time to bring him home.

Video by Billy Dudley. Please share widely.

Sunday 23 November 2014

Make films not war


Vittoria Arrigoni  was an Italian born reporter and pro-Palestinian activist who lived and reported in Gaza until his death in 2011. The film Stay Human records intellectuals, authors, activists as they read Arrigoni's account of Israel's Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, which left 1,200 civilians dead.
Arrgoni fulfilled one of the most important  duties of a bystander in a time of war: he bore witness. The readers who bring his words to life in this unique 'reading movie' include Hwaida Arraf, Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein and Mairead Maguire.

Watch the trailer and the whole film here :-

https://stayhuman.tv/

Friday 21 November 2014

Paddy Hill and the Birmingham Six



Today, marks 40 years since the Birmingham pub bombings and the wrongful arrest of the Birmingham six.
40 years later Paddy Hill is still seeking justice of the 21 who lost their lives, the 182 injured and the families of all those affected. We remember the death of innocents, but also  the death of justice, where people are gaoled,  not because they are guilty, but because the police needed a conviction, . Victims left dehumanised, spending their lives, seeking some form of justice.

Thursday 20 November 2014

NHS final Faith



Good  film from  the People's NHS. We must save the NHS from the corporations  and the vultures in power . As Private health  firms are on course  to win more  than £9bn of NHS contracts to look after patients as a result of  the coalitions ramping  up of competition  in the health service.Private contractors ares damaging our beloved NHS  and simply wasting money, as they cherry pick the most profitable treatments.We urgently need to protect the NHS's services, we must  keep faith, in only 3 years the Tory's and their friends have given us cuts, queues and chaos, only ramping up I guess what New Labour began, lest we forget. If it carries  down on this road to privatisation, it will cease to exist as we know it.The NHS cannot be sold. It belongs to us all.
We have no time to waste this is an emergency.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Joe Hill (7/10/1879 -19/11/15) - An Injury to one is an injury to all.


Today I offer a poem in rememberance of Joe Hill, on the anniversary of the murder by the state of this itinerant worker, labour activist, revolutionary union martyr and singer songwriter of the Industrial Workers of the world, who gave rise to the labour motto ' An injury to one is an injury to all.'
Born Joel Haggland  in Sweden, he came to  the U.S.A  on 1902. Active in the Labour movement  throughout his live,  in January 1914, he was arrested in Salt Lake City and accused of murder. He died proclaiming  his innocence. From his conviction  to his death he became an icon for workers everywhere,  and his subsequent  execution sent echoes around the world. For many his spirit and his legacy  lives on.
This is a short account of his later framing and execution: https://libcom.org/history/1915-the-murder-of-joe-hill.

Two earlier posts of mine can be found here :-

http://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/happy-birthday-joe-hill-7101879-191115.html
http://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/joe-hill-7191879-191115-joe-hills-last.html

Still Dreaming of Joe Hill

Through the dusty ages
the earth creaks and moans,
dark shadows try to break people bones
the air is still , thick with mire,
daily each border, delivers human shame
parasites still create walls of oppression,
build bloodstained monuments that can't thwart hope
because the mighty human spirit carries resilience,
within us all, lay rivers of resistance.

Standing together we are strong
in our palms, another world glows,
with unity's strength 
we set people free,
no tyrant's grip 
can ever stop us,
we serve the weak and defenceless
protecting with dignity and defiance.

Today we remember
when Joe Hill was shot down,
his enduring dream survives 
gives us strength,
shoulder to shoulder 
solidarity lives,
an injury to one
is an injury to all.


Monday 17 November 2014

Revealed : How the Coalition has helped rich by hitting the poor.


In a  landmark study of the coalition's tax and welfare policies  6 months before a general election,  it has been revealed how money has been transferred   from the poorest to the better off,  apparently refuting the chancellor of exchequer's claims that the country has been 'all in it together.'
According to  independent research published today, and seen by the Observer Newspaper George Osborne has been engaged in a significant transfer  of income from the least well off half of the population to the more affluent in the past four years. Those  with the lowest incomes have  been hit hardest.
In an intervention that will  come as a major blow to the government's  claim to have shared out the burden of austerity equally, the report by economists at  the London School of Economics and the institute for Social and Economic Research at the  University of Essex, finding that :-

1. Sweeping changes to benefits and income tax  have had the effect of switching income from the  poorer half of households  to most of the richer half, with the poorest 5% in  in the country in terms of income loosing nearly 3% of what they would  have earned if Britain's tax and welfare system of May 2010 had been retained.

2. With the exception of the top 5% who lost 1% of their potential  income. It is the better half of the country that has gained financially from the changes, with an increase of between 1.2% and 2% in their disposable income.

3. The top 1% in terms of income have also been small net gainers from the changes bought in by David Cameron's government since May 2010, which includes a cut in the top rate of income tax.

4. Two-earner households, and those with elderly family members, were the most favourably treated, as a result  of direct tax changes and state pensions respectively.

5. Lone-parent families have done worse, losing much   more through cuts in benefits  and tax credits and higher council tax than they ever gained through higher income tax allowances. Families with children in general. and largefamilies in particular, also did much worse than the average.

6. A quarter of  the lowest paid 10% have shouldered a particularly heavy burden, losing more than 5%  of what would have  been their income without the coalitions's reforms.

For more on this see here:-


http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/15/coalition-helped-rich-hitting-poor-george-osborne


and more here


http://www.welfareweekly.com/
Not that any of the above surprises too much, this is what the tories and their friends do, look after the rich, lie to the people, persecute the sick, diabled and vulnerable. Surely they are not fit to represent the people of this country. It is is time to destroy this nasty coalition.

Sunday 16 November 2014

Henry Miller (26/12/1891 - 7/6/1980) - Utopian Speculations.


An American writer I admire, Henry Miller, is known for breaking existing  literary forms, who sought to reestablish the freedom to live  without  the constraints and  restraints of civilization.
His works often reflected   hos own personal experiences, measured with  a humanism that often shocked and outraged. Writing about all phases of his life, everything that happened  to him struck  him as being of equal and monumental importance.His total  surrender  to life without meaning has resonated with me for a while,  and despite succumbing  to what some people have referred to as 'existential despair' he never  completely  surrendered reason. He has become one of the worlds forbidden writers, forbidden because he dared to speak from his dark passionate heart, of some place beyond ideology , where the shadows of the soul  know no time.The perception of Henry Miller as a writer and literary outlaw remains today.
The following paragraph was quoted in  Normal O. Brown's Life against death and he comments on  Millers's text as follows:' Utopian speculations such as these of Henry Miller must come back into fashion. They are a way of affirming faith in the possibility of solving problems that seem at the moment insoluable. Today even the survival of humanity is a utopian hope.'
Here's to Henry Miller spiritual Anarchist.

' The cultural era is past. The new civilization, which my take centuries or a few thousand years to usher in,  will not be another civilization - it will be the open stretch of realization which all the past civilizations have pointed to. The city, which was the birth place of  civilization, such as we know it to be, will exist no more. There will be nuclei of course, but they will be mobile and fluid. The peoples of the earth  will no longer be sent off from one another within states but will flow freely over the surface of the earth and intermingle. There will be no fixed constellations of human aggregates. Governments will give way to management, using the  word in a broad sense. The politician  will become as superannuated as the dodo bird. The machine will never be dominated, as some imagine; it will be scrapped, eventually, but not before men have understood  the nature of the mystery which binds them to  their creation. The worship,  investigation and subjugation of the machine  will give  way to the larger one of power - and of possession. Man will be forced to realize that power must be kept open, fluid and free. His aim will be not to possess power but to radiate it.'


Friday 14 November 2014

Africa Stop Ebola



There's already a song about Ebola by high profile Francophone West African musicians. Why doesn't Mr Bob Geldof simply promote this song? Or even acknowledge  its existence? 'Africa stop Ebola' features a number of international  stars :- Tiken Jah Faloky, Amadou and Marian, Salif Keita, Ounu Sangare, Kandina Kora, Mory Kante, Sia Tolno, Barbara Kana and rappers Didire Awadi and Markus and Mokoke, so why another rehash of the grotesque ' Do they know its Christmas'. We should remember that this crisis is part of a long colonial disengagement, Geldof just compliant in  glossing neo-liberal policies  towards the continent with a humanitarian/ anti poverty sheen of respectivitety, gathering together in my humble opinion a worthless pile of toss,  which ignores the richness of Africa's own musical voice that is already out there.
The Ebola crisis is tragic and devastating, a crisis for humanity,the fight against it, is a fight well  worth supporting but we should not ignore or erase the efforts of those that come fromAfrica  while making it appear that western actions  are what saved the poor diseased Africans once again. We should not either forget  that the aid industry that has emerged from efforts like Band Aid, have themselves  fuelled human rights abuses, and corruption across the African continent and missed the Ebola crisis in its entirety. Ebola is a pestilance but we  must carry on treating  sufferers and  the people from country's effected with dignity and respect.

Please share and support the above project , all profits of which go to Medecins Sans Frontiers/Doctors without borders

http://www.msf.org.uk/ 




Wednesday 12 November 2014

" We will kill you. We will break your bones.".




Torture is an everyday reality in Tibet yet survivor accounts are rare, used by China as a weapon against political dissent, since the Chinese forcefully took over Tibet in 1959.Harsh treatment is common at the prisons where diissidents are held, with prisoners routinely subjected to torture,  beatings, and forms  of abuse.

Ex-political prisoners are closely monitored by Chinese authorities, their families often under threat if they speak out and escape into exile  overseas is increasingly difficult. When Tibetans  do share information they are risking everything.

Hear from  torture testimonies read  by the actors Dominic West, Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and David Threlfall. 
As many as 133 Tibetans have also set themselves ablaze in self-immolation protests calling for Tibetan freedom, opposing Beijing's rule and calling  for the return  of their exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. As others have also resisted their actions represent the wishes and  aspirations of  countless Tibetans living under  repressive Chinese rule.
You can also read about recent incidents and learn how you can join the campaign to stop torture in Tibet.
Please  share the testimonies widely,  lets show the Chinese that the world is watching, and continue to help global Tibetan groups who campaign to secure the release of courageous individuals who symbolise the enduring resistance  of Tibetans inside Tibet.

Free Tibet.

http://freetibet.org/













Monday 10 November 2014

Berlin Wall vs Palestine Wall


Of  course a real comparison  would be measured  by   how the soviets regularly pulverised West Berlin from the air and occasionally  launch massively destructive ground attacks  destroying Berlins  basic infrastructure, and preventing all flights landing, and refusing to talk to whatever government the population elected.  And refusing to allow most goods into the city.
It is a good thing  that Israel  is the only democracy in the region, means anything other than the best equipped army running the show.
Remember too,  that the Berlin wall was 96 miles long,  while the Palestinian wall is significantly larger stretching out over 400 miles.
Anyway  yesterday Palestinian youth  destroyed a hole in Israels security wall  with the Palestinian territories as a symbolic gesture  to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Like the Berlin Wall previously  it snakes through Palestinian land, isolating people from their land, extended family and friends, and one day soon, this oppressive apartheid wall  will one day fall. too Despite all obstacles the Palestinian peoples determination  to be free remains as strong as ever. Their thirst  for freedom grows, the walls that surround them, do not protect, but cruelly divide, they don't prevent a peoples existence, but only serve to incite resistance.


    

Sunday 9 November 2014

Lest we forget


90% of victims of war are civilians , lest we forget to move forward from  bloodshed and work for peace. If as much money was put into this objective as  there is  nto killing  and its misery it would benefit the whole world.
Those who benefit the most financially are those  with investments in the war machine and land/resource grabbing. Today I feel  reinforces the ideal of patriotism and militarism,  in stark contrast to the original ' Armistice day' when the   nations of the world  hoped to be united in peace. The horrors and misery of World War 1   still need remembering,   but not in a way that reinforces an ugly military agenda. Today politicians stand praying for peace while preparing for war...their hypocrisy abounds. The grisly facts  and horrors of war in all our histories is worth more  than  all the false red poppy illusions that are being seen today. Sadly  the red poppy today has been hijacked  by arms companies, look how last week Lockheed Martin, the World's biggest arms company sponsored the Poppy Rocks Ball., and Thales joined Boris Johnson in a Big Red poppy Billboard at Westminster.  
Today I remember all those sadly lost, in two World Wars but also those that everyday risk their lives  to build peace and prevent conflict, and time  turn to one another as friends, united in our goals  working together, so that the future potential of conflict could be resolved to the extent  that all the current spending on arms and the war machine was no longer necessary.

Friday 7 November 2014

Israels protective edge operation.



When we talk of Israels protective edge operation in Gaza, we  should not forget over 2130 humans bombed to death, the over 500 children  or the 89 families  exterminated. We speak of the living, and this is their life. Tens of thousands  of refugees  will be finding shelter from the cold, wind and the rain,in bombed United Nations schools and the remains of  their destroyed homes.
And Gaza remains beseiged, the biggest ghetto in the world awaiting the next round of oppression, knowing that  any form of resistance will be labelled terrorist.
Boycott Israel.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Remember, remember!


'Behind every mask  there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea..and ideas are bulletproof.'

-Alan Moore -'V for vendetta'

Solidarity with all those marching tonight, may you ignite the world with passion. Gorgeous moon tonight also, don't forget to look up as it lights the way. Together we can all dismantle the masters house


Tuesday 4 November 2014

Moan

Still can't upload  photos or video in libraries, but that is the least of our problems. At the moment in time we have a corrupt authoritarian government thrashing everything decent about this country, flogging of our public services, cutting our beloved welfare state- all of which we have paid for, killing 1000's through their cruel draconian policies, founded on social Darwinism and eugenics by stealth, and what are the nation and media babbling on about? How much Millibland  gave a woman who was begging, and how he looked while doing it, the same as he usually does. Tories, labour, the bloody liberals, where  is the difference. There whole damn country seems to be heading back to the workhouse times. A man immoral bunch that make me ashamed and angry to say the least
Tens of thousands  of desperate jobseekers will be forced to cancel Christmas too, due to benefit sanctions, job centres develop a scrooge like mentality at this time of the year, about 59,000 job seekers were sanctioned  in December 2013.
Gradually all are support and sustenance is being kicked away. Bah.

Saturday 1 November 2014

Prisoner of Palestine - by Seize the Day


A powerful song from the band Seize the Day about the conflict in Palestine. No images just words.

Seize the Day are a great  forward thinking bold green anarchist band.


Still having problems with libraries computers please bare with me.

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Assata Olubala Shaker (b 16/7/47) - She who struggles, Poet , Revolutionary.


Assata Olugbala Shakur was born JoAnne Deborah Byron  on July 16, 1947, in Flushings, Queens Jamaica, New York. a descendent of slaves. Adopting an African name, she took on Assata, meaning 'she who struggles,' Olugbala, meaning 'love for the people,' and Shakur, meaning 'the thankful. An inspiring individual she was the first woman to be placed on the FBI's most wanted  Terrorist list, Shakur was a member  of the Black Panther Party and the Black liberation Army..
In the early 1970', several false criminal accusations for murder, robbery and kidnapping were bought against Shakur. All except one were later acquitted or dismissed. In 1973, Shakur and two other friends were cornered by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike, and became involved in a shootout where she was  severely wounded, apprehended and charged  for the murder  of  Werner Foerster, a New Jersey State Trooper. Although Shakur  protested her innocence, and subsequent medical and forencic evidence  indeed  proved it was not possible for her to have  shot the state trooper, she was however convicted of the murder. She was incarcenated  in several prisons throughout the 1970'  until she managed a daring escape in 1979, and has managed to live in exile  in Cuba since 1984.She is recognised  by the Cuban Government as a revolutionary fugitive in exile, at once venerated by supporters, the Cuban Government continue to contribute to her living expenses, and is regarded as an icon by many others, as a living link  to  a revolutionary era.
The FBI's animalistic hunting of her resumed after nearly 40 years when it labelled  her a terrorist, offering $2 million for her capture,  still reminding the world, and becomming a symbol of America;s gaping racial divide, reminding us that the oppression  of Black women by America is far from over and to many the world over she continues to remain an inspiration to all lovers of freedom,  as a courageous fighter, liberator and hero, and is defended by many who do not want to see her returning to a prison cell.
She has since continued to dedicate  her life to challenging injustice, advocating  on behalf of those persecuted using her skills as a writer, artist and poet. In 1987 she published a powerful memorable book 'Assata Shakur - An Autobiography' where she outlines her beliefs, and the book contains many of her poems, two of which I include here. In this book she also writes from a perspective whose life continues to be on trial.
Long may Sister Assata Olubala Shaker retain her freedom and we carry on breaking down the chains.

" Nobody in the world, nobody in history has ever gotten their freedom  by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them."

- Assata Shakur

Affirmation - Assata Shakur


I believe  in living
Ibelieve  in the spectrum
of Beta days and Gamma people.
I believe in sunshine
windmills and waterfalls,
tricycles and rocking chairs.
And I believe that seeds  grow into sprouts.
And sprouts  grow into  trees.
I believe  in the magic of the hands.
And in the wisdom of the eyes.
I believe  in rain and tears.
And in the  blood of infinity.

I belive in life.
And I have seen the death parade
march through the torso of the earth,
sculpting  mud bodies in its path.
I have seen the destruction of the daylight,
and seen bloodthirsty maggots
prayed to and saluted.

I have seen the kind become the blind
in one every lesson.
I have walked on cut glass.
I have eaten crow and blunder bread
and breathed the stench of indifference.


I have been locked by the lawless.
Handcuffed by the haters.
Gagged by the greedy.
And, If I know any thing at all,
it's that a wall is just a wall
and nothing more at all,
it can be broken down.


I believe in  living
I believe in birth
I believe  in the sweat of love
and in the fire of truth.


And I believe that a lost ship,
sneered by tired, seasick sailors,
can still be guided  home
to port.

Love is Contraband in Hell - Assata Shaker

Love is contraband in Hell,
cause love  is a acid
that eats away bars. But you, me, and tomorrow
holds hands and makes vows
that struggle will multiply.
The hacksaw has two blades.
The shotgun has two barrels.
We are pregnant with freedom.
We are a conspiracy.
It is our duty to fight for our freedom
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to  lose but our chains.

Reprinted from :-

Assata An Autobiography (1987/2001)

Here is a link to a campaign that continues to support and  defend her:-

http://www.assatashakur.com/





Assata Shaker in her own words