Boris Johnson, sorry is not enough.Time for you to go now.

Boris Johnson has told us pathetically today that he was sorry, that the public  will forgive and forget but he is seriously wrong. The public have some very painful memories and great sadness from the last 2 years, long memories.  We won't  forget,. 

 Lives were put on hold. Weddings were cancelled. Funerals of loved ones were missed. People across the country did their patriotic duty and obeyed the law. And all the while, the man who made the rules not only broke the rules but lied about doing so, taking us all for fools.

 Two thirds of voters (64%) want Boris Johnson to resign following the Sue Gray report. - 83% believe he broke lockdown rules - 75% believe he is not telling the truth.

In her inquiry into lockdown-breaking gatherings, senior civil servant Sue Gray condemned some behaviour as ‘difficult to justify’ but was not able to say very much in her interim report (because 12 of the 16 gatherings she investigated are now subject to police investigation). But what she does say is damning.

She is clear that there has been a serious failure of leadership and judgement in Number 10. Johnson is trying to convince us that we don't have enough evidence to hold him accountable but we do! It’s clear that Boris Johnson partied while the rest of us obeyed the law, and then he lied about it.

Opponents were critical of the limited nature of the report and renewed their calls for Johnson to quit. “Everyone knows Boris Johnson broke the rules and lied to the country,” said Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat party.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said she found the report “sickening”

“It is the most fundamental failure of any prime minister and I’m absolutely shocked that Boris Johnson can even show his face in Parliament today,” she told Sky News. “He should be resigning because he has lost the confidence of the British people.”

Boris Johnson is now under criminal investigation and speaker  It is telling that Lindsay Hoyle MP kicked out SNP leader Ian Blackford  in the chamber the only member of the House of Commons to suffer any consequences for Boris Johnson repeatedly lying to Parliament for speaking the truth  saying Johnson lied. The Speaker has made the Mother of Parliaments look ridiculous by ordering him out. Why can MPs not call a spade a spade? Are they representative of the public or not?Our democracy  is a  joke.

 Enough is enough.Failure of leadership. Behaviour difficult to justify. Any decent Prime Minister would have resigned by now but this man has no decency.Today proves beyond doubt that Boris Johnson a sorry excuse for a man, devoid of any shame without intellect or any respect but indulgent constructs so unfit for office. No  more bluster or distraction, Johnson simply must go.now.

Gŵyl Gildas Ddoeth/ St Gildas Day : Father of Welsh historians.

 

St. Gildas, Patron Saint of Welsh historians and bell founders. generally known as Venerable Gildas the Wise (c.500-c.570) feast day is celebrated today 

 He was probably born in the year when the Britons defeated the Saxons at the battle of Mount Badon (most scholars presume that this took place in the 490s near the city of Bath in Somerset). Though Gildas's own origins are obscure;  tales suggest that he was born in Scotland on the banks of the Clyde (possibly at Dumbarton), the son of a Pictish king, named Cau (or Nau) and, and he most likely had several brothers and sisters. 

In his youth St. Gildas was married but was later widowed. The saint became a close disciple of St Illtyd in South Wales in his famous Llanilltud Fawr Monastery in the Vale of Glamorgan. Such great saints as Sts. Samson and Paul Aurelian may have studied in Llanilltud together with him. St. Gildas is regarded as one of the principal apostles of the Orthodox faith and early preachers of Wales, though very scarce details of his activities in the region survive. He was one of the most influential fathers of Welsh monasticism in the sixth century. Some biographers even attribute to him the composition of a monastic rule.

He lived in a time when the glory of Rome had faded from Britain. The permanent legions had been withdrawn by Maximus, who used them to sack Rome and make himself Emperor.

Christianity had arrived in Wales at the height of Roman power and was banned initially by the authorities who were suspicious of its secrecy and exclusivity. At first it was an urban religion, and the first Christian martyrs in Wales were killed early in the fourth century at the legionnaires' town of Caerleon.

However it soon became tolerated. and by the end of the 4th century Christianity became the sole official religion of the Roman Empire.

Gradually Roman power declined in Britain, until finally in 410 AD Emperor Honorarius advised the Britons to organise their own defences against the Barbarian threat. The only account to survive from this period comes from  St Gildas.

Gildas wrote of the decline and ruin of Britain caused by its debauched and decadent rulers, with the pagan invaders being God's revenge for their spectacular fall from grace. The conflict, particularly with the Anglo-Saxons, created a process during the next two hundred years whereby a 'Welsh' people emerged out of the remaining Romano-Britons and native peoples, with their identity being chiefly based on a common religion and a common language.

According to St. Gildas  writing in about 540, the British Christians “received the faith without enthusiasm”, but nevertheless kept it “more or less pure right up to the nine-year persecution by the tyrant Diocletian” in the early fourth century. He goes on to describe that persecution, when lack of enthusiasm turned into great zeal: “Before ten years of this whirlwind had wholly passed, the wicked edicts were beginning to wither away as their authors were killed. Glad-eyed, all the champions of Christ welcomed, as though after a long winter’s night, the calm and serene light of the breezes of heaven. They rebuilt churches that had been razed to the ground; they founded, built and completed chapels to the holy martyrs, displaying them everywhere like victorious banners. They celebrated feast days. With pure heart and mouth they carried out the holy ceremonies. And all her sons exulted, as though warmed in the bosom of the mother Church."

Gildas was known for his piety and his education. He was not afraid to publicly rebuke monarchs who did not uphold Church teachings, even though rebukes were typically met with swords rather than Court penalties.

What is fiction and what is fact sometimes becomes blurred in the telling of many saints’ stories from the early Church. Such is the case with St. Gildas. There are two accounts of the life of St. Gildas the Wise, and it is important to note neither of which tell the same story. Both biographies contain irritatingly unchronological and misleading statements, which have led some critics to reject the lives as altogether valueless. 

The earlier one, from the 9th century, was written by an anonymous monk of Rhuys, at the monastery where Gildas ended his days. It is long, detailing Gildas' studies with St. Illtud and his work in Ireland, and emphasizing Gildas' work in Brittany. The second life, is by Welsh cleric Caradoc (or Caradog) of Llancarfan, from the 12th century. He was a friend of Geoffry of Monmouth (c. 1095 - c. 1155), author of a famous History of the Kings of Britain, one of the earliest sources for Arthurian mythology; besides the Life of Gildas and another of Cadoc (or Cadog), another Welsh saint, Caradoc is also claimed to have written a continuation of Monmouth's work. Caradoc's life emphasizes Gildas' ties to Wales, and it also connects him to Arthurian mythology, having Gildas meet King Arthur and forgive him for slaying one of Gildas' brothers,Cuil (or Hueil) nevertheless  no contemporary sources support that hypothesis. In truth however , we know little of the man beyond his name. The Life also includes the first mention of Meligaunt (here Melwas), an Arthurian villain who kidnapped Queen Guinevere. According to the most popular version, the future saint was born in Scotland, in what is now Dumbarton on the banks of the River Clyde, but according to another version, his birthplace was in North Wales.

In his youth St. Gildas was married but was later widowed. The saint became a close disciple of St Illtyd in South Wales in his famous Llanilltud Fawr Monastery in the Vale of Glamorgan. Such great saints as Sts. Samson and Paul Aurelian may have studied in Llanilltud together with him.

St. Gildas is regarded as one of the principal apostles of the Orthodox faith and early preachers of Wales, though very scarce details of his activities in the region survive. He was one of the most influential fathers of Welsh monasticism in the sixth century. Some biographers even attribute to him the composition of a monastic rule.

It is possible that for some time Gildas lived as  a very ascetic hermit on Flatholm – an island in the Bristol Channel, situated off the coast of Cardiff in Wales. A number of other ancient ascetics of South Wales used to live on this island as well.  There he established his reputation for that peculiar Celtic sort of holiness that consists of extreme self-denial and isolation. At around this time, according to the Welsh, he also preached to Nemata, the mother of St David, while she was pregnant with the Saint.

Gildas is noted not only as a prominent ascetic, preacher, founder of monasteries and teacher of monks, but also as a spiritual author. Gildas was not a trained historian. His book, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae  (“On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain”), was written in c.540. In this work Gildas strictly reproaches his compatriots the Britons, for whose sins Britain was attacked and invaded by Angles and Saxons. In this book the saint gives an account of British history from the Roman period until his own time (which makes him sadly an invaluable source), describing the corruption and decline of faith among many of his contemporaries, including rulers and clerics. Gildas is scathing in his condemnation of clerics, but even more so in his criticism of the British kings during his lifetime, particularly those in Wales and the south-west of modern England. He seems particularly upset that these kings pay homage to an unnamed, but presumably pagan, ruler. Gildas veils his writings as metaphors and veiled allusions based on Biblical tales. Gildas saw the devastation wrought by Germanic invaders as the wrath of God visited upon the British for the sins of their churchmen and kings. Later this book was cited by such distinguished historians as St. Bede of Jarrow and the learned monk Alcuin. The writings of Gildas reflect his profound knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, works of some authors of antiquity (for example, Virgil) and even books of Church Fathers of East and West, like St. Ignatius the God-Bearer of Antioch and St. John Cassian. Unfortunately his book, leaves out just about everything we'd really like to know. Although that was the era of the legendary king Arthur, Gildas never mentions him. In fact, he ignored all too many names and dates. Mostly he was concerned to show how the sins of the clergy and nobles weakened the Celts and made them a pushover for the Saxons.

Sadly  almost nothing survives of the literary works of Gildas, except for a longer book, “The Epistle,” a series of sermons on the moral failings of rulers and the clergy. The book demonstrates Gildas’ vast knowledge of the Bible and classical works. and these books enjoyed great popularity in Wales, England and Ireland for many centuries. .

Gildas' reputation stood high among the early monks, but he is less esteemed by later and modern writers. Historians who have quarried his early chapters are understandably irritated that he did not provide a clear narrative with names and dates; and the extraordinary Latin-bias of his main invective seems tiresome, its purpose irrelevant to other ages. The narrative is unclear because it was written from oral memory, which is always defined by the direct limits of people within their own age - anything outside of living memory takes on a slightly unreal, or legendary air.

All Gildas understood of the Roman past was that it was orderly; although he knew two northern walls, he knew nothing of when or why they were built. Oral memory took him back to the wars and a dateless Vortigern but no further.

Through the missionary work Gildas did in Ireland, he converted many there, and may be the one who introduced anchorite customs to Irish monks. From Ireland, Gildas retired to Rhuys, in Brittany, where he founded a monastery. He wrote many works on running a monastery, but only the Penitential, a guide for abbots to set punishments, still exists.

 He is considered one of the most influential men in the early English Church.The influence of his writing was felt until well into the middle ages, particularly in the Celtic Church.Today this celebrated saint is venerated in France, Wales and Ireland, but above all in Brittany. One of the main centers of his veneration is Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys (named after him) in the Rhuys Peninsula, Morbihan, Brittany where he is said to have died  around 571. The major relics of this saint were kept here in ancient times (and, according to later traditions, a portion of his relics was kept at Glastonbury in England where he may have labored for some time).

In the eighteenth century a part of his relics was said to be preserved at Vannes Cathedral in Brittany. The wooden monastery founded by Gildas in Rhuys was rebuilt in the eleventh century in stone and the large abbey existed there more or less until the French Revolution, and the saint’s relics healed the mental diseases of numerous pilgrims.

As far as historical accuracy goes, the accounts of Gildas must be regarded with a pinch of salt, but nevertheless his writing remains one of the few early written histories of Britain, and as such has remain a popular reference point in an age with few written records.and is quoted by Bede and Alcuin.. Two manuscript copies of his writings are preserved in Cambridge University.Whether completely factual or peppered with inspiring (and sometimes strange) myth, the legends of saints are still powerful and fascinating tales,

Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 : One Day

 

Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day, on the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz Birkenau,the largest Nazi death camp in occupied Poland. where 1.6 million men, women children were killed in the holocaust. Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates as well as victims of later genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Darfur.

The day aims to remind people of the crimes and loss of life and encourage remembrance in a world scarred by genocide  and prevent it ever being forgotten.

 

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” 

 

 These are the words of Elie Wiesel, a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He, along with 1.3 million other Jews, was held prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, and he was also one of only 200,000 (approx) Jews who survived it.

Elie went on to write a number of books about his own personal story and that of the Holocaust (also known as 'the Shoah’ in Hebrew) in general, and his works — along with the likes of Primo Levi (author of If This Is A Man) and Anne Frank, whose diary is famous across the world — are some of the most defining stories of that era. They are books I would implore everyone to read, especially as a 2021 study found that over half of Britons did not know that six million Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust, and less than a quarter thought that two million or fewer were killed.

And though it is easy to leave history in the past, events like The Holocaust must be remembered — they must be remembered out of respect for those who lost their lives, for those who overcame the most severe form of persecution and went on to become productive members of the communities in which they settled and for those who are yet to even step foot on this planet. We must, as Elie Wiesel says, “bear witness” to these events, and pass their stories and their lessons onto the next generation, so that we can avoid such horrors happening again.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Holocaust was the greatest crime of the 20th century because of the sheer scale of the premeditated and industrialized murder of six million Jews alongside the six million Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, hundreds of thousands of others were targeted by Hitler's regime - including trade unionists, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transpeople, (LGBT) gypsies, disabled people and the mentally ill, and others attacked for their race or simply being different. 

At Belsen, Chelmno, Revensbrul to name a few more among hundreds where the inhumanity of man to man was endorsed by the Nazi regime.It is the worst dehumanization that happened until today. It was industrial and they went all the way. They dehumanized them completely, to a pile of hair and gold. Survivors recount horrific examples of ethnic cleansing, torture, cruelty and savagery, often corroborated by the Nazi hierarchy’s meticulous recording of the whole truly awful scenario.International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a stark reminder of where hate and antisemitism can lead if not countered. Worryingly, this year’s commemoration efforts  will take place against a backdrop of rising antisemitism and Holocaust distortion all over the world.

 The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2022 ,set by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) is ‘One day’: looking at how a single day can change your life as a victim or survivor of genocide and persecution, and how we can keep telling the stories of genocide victims and survivors. 

Holocaust and genocide survivors also often talk about the one day in their life when everything changed, sometimes for the worse and occasionally for the better.

Additionally, the HMDT says that “it may be hard to pick out just One Day, as for many, to keep going through each and every day was a huge struggle, with no end in sight and no glimmer of hope that the next day would be any better”. 

It may be one day in our calendar but we commit every day to create a better future so that one day, all people are free from oppression and persecution. 

Increasing levels of denial, division and misinformation in today’s world mean we must remain vigilant against hatred and identity-based hostility. 

Rapid technological developments, a turbulent political climate, and world events beyond our control can leave us feeling helpless and insignificant.

The utterly unprecedented times through which we are living currently are showing the very best of which humanity is capable but also - in some of the abuse and conspiracy theories being spread on social media - the much darker side of our world as well.

The national Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s annual UK commemorative event will be streamed online again this year, due to the pandemic.

It will run from 7pm to 8pm and at 8pm households across the UK are encouraged to safely light candles and place them in their windows in remembrance of those who were murdered for who they were, and to stand against prejudice and hatred.Those who are able to do so are encouraged to share a photo of their candle on social media, using the hashtags #HolocaustMemorialDay and #LightTheDarkness.

You can register to watch the ceremony on the HMDT website. 

We can all stand in solidarity. We can choose to be the light in the darkness. 

Holocaust Memorial Day enables us to remember – for a purpose. It gives us a responsibility to work for a safer, better, future for everyone. Everyone can step up and use their talents to tackle prejudice, discrimination and intolerance wherever we encounter them.

We must remember that genocidal regimes throughout history have deliberately fractured societies by marginalising certain groups, and how these tactics can be challenged by individuals standing together with their neighbours, and speaking out against oppression and all forms of racism and discrimination. The Holocaust is not just a Jewish tragedy, but it is a lesson to all of us of all faiths in all times and a continuing reminder to stand with “others” when their rights and freedoms face attack.

In the years leading up to the Holocaust, Nazi policies and propaganda deliberately encouraged divisions within German society – urging ‘Aryan’ Germans to keep themselves separate from their Jewish neighbours. The Holocaust, Nazi Persecution of other groups and each subsequent genocide, was enabled by ordinary citizens not standing with their targeted neighbours.
Let 's not forget  that the Holocaust did not appear out of thin air, it was built on hatred for "the other," politically weaponized by those seeking ever more power. As politicians today say never again, some are walking down that same path. Today there are still those that are stoking up increasing division in communities across the UK and the world, antisemitism, racism and Islamophobia are on the.rise again. We must oppose attempts to divide us along the lines of race, religion or ethnicity.
Far right and fascist forces are growing. Many of them deny the horrors of the Holocaust. and are whipping up racist scapegoating.Neonazi electoral advances in Europe are linked to anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and anti-semitic violence.

In recent years, Muslims and Roma have faced fascist hate, as new communities are victimised by the far right. As openly nazis appallingly revel in the crimes of the Holocaust, now more than ever, we need to stand together with others in our communities in order to stop division and the spread of identity-based hostility in our society.

Somehow  human beings around the world are capable of so much hate, we should work together to prevent this. Remember those who have resisted, shown bravery and courage. Remember all the victims of the Holocaust. Those who were murdered because of who they were, and reflect on the dark evils of Nazism, anti-Semitism and racism. While you do. please think about those people who are also facing genocide today; The Uighur Muslims in China, The Rohingya in Myanmar and also the Palestinian people too.

We should never forget where hatred and bigotry can lead. There can never be anytime for passivity, and we must  stand strong against the dark forces  of intolerance, bigotry, racism and division that create them.When we remember the Holocaust, “never again” must mean exactly that.

On Holocaust Memorial Day, Here is a list of some other  places  and people that the world sometimes forgets.

Cambodia,

Darfur,

Siebrenica,

Karabakh, 

Liberia,

Sudan,

Holodonor,

Armenia, 
                                 
the ethnic cleansing of indigeneous Palestinians,

The Indigeneous Peoples of  America,

Checknya,

Congo,

India

and the genocide of slavery

and on and on and on.

Sadly  there will always be individuals, organisations and regimes who want to exploit differences for their own ends and we must have the courage to speak out  against hatred and intolerance where we see this happening. In a world which is increasingly fractured, where we have some leaders that are more interested in promoting division than harmony, it is vital we remember that there is far more that unites than divides the human race, to prevent a repeat of the horrors of the past, lets strive to work for equality , peace and justice for the whole of mankind. Be the light in the darkness.

Through our collective acts of remembrance, we honour the survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experiences to ensure that, one day in the future, such atrocities never happen again.

First They Came - Pastor Martin Niemoller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the Trade Unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade Unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left To speak out for me.

Read more about Holocaust Memorial Day

 

Remembering George ' al-Hakim ' Habash, Palestinian Revolutionary (1/8/25 - 26/1/08)

 

Today I remember George Habash, the refugee doctor and founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a revered leader of the Palestinian liberation movement, died on January 26, 2008 in Amman, Jordan. The cause of death was reported to be a heart attack.

Born on August 1, 1925  into a prosperous  family of Greek Orthodox merchants, in Lydda, Palestine, then under  control of the British Mandate,when Palestinians were facing the materialization of the colonial settler project known today as Israel. 

His father was Nicholas Habash, a well-known businessman; his mother’s name was Tuhfa. He had six siblings: Rizq, Phoutine, Elaine, Angele, Najah, and Salwa. His wife, Hilda Habash, was his cousin; she accompanied him throughout his career and was his lifelong comrade at all stages of his of struggle. He had two children, Maysa and Lama.

Habash completed his elementary education in Lydda and then moved to the National Orthodox College in Jaffa for his secondary education; he received his matriculation certificate at Terra Sancta College in Jerusalem.

Habash returned to Jaffa where he worked as a teacher. He was then barely sixteen years old. The general atmosphere in Palestine was charged with anger and fear due to the policies of the British Mandate and the increasing acts of terrorism by Zionist gangs like the Haganah, the Irgun, and the Stern.

In 1944 Habash was admitted to the medical school of the American University of Beirut. He was an exceptional student who divided his university years between his study and his numerous hobbies such as athletics, art, and music in addition to cultural and political activities. The latter assumed growing importance especially in light of events in Palestine and the UN Partition Resolution issued in November 1947.

The dominant influence on his thought and nationalist identity came from contact with the thought and teachings of Arab history professor Constantine Zurayk. Dr. Zurayk was a secular Arab unionist, nationalist, and liberal thinker. During this period the university was full of Arab students from all the Arab countries who carried with them their national concerns and dreams. Their meeting place was the cultural student society al-Urwa al-Wuthqa. Zurayk was its spiritual father, and Habash was elected its general secretary for the academic year 1949–50.

The real turning point in Habash’s life during his university years was the Nakba of 1948, as one Palestinian city, town, and village after another fell to the Zionist forces and its inhabitants were expelled. Habash cut short his medical studies and in June 1948 went to Lydda, his hometown, where he joined a medical clinic and acted as an assistant to the surgeon who was treating the wounded civilians and defenders of the town. Lydda and neighboring Ramla fell to the Zionists on 11 July 1948. Its inhabitants (some sixty thousand) were expelled and forced under gunfire to walk toward the interior of the country. Habash, his parents, and his siblings were among those expelled. He treated the old, the women, and the children who fell by the wayside.

Dr. Habash attended Anglican school and then public school in al-Lydd during his early education; he then studied at the Orthodox school in Yafa, before secondary school in Jerusalem. He completed high school in 1942. During his childhood years, he was deeply influenced by the situation in Palestine, including the Palestinian revolution which took place between 1936 and 1939 

Years later, Habash was to observe:“It is a sight I shall never forget. Thousands of human beings expelled from their homes, running, crying, shouting in terror. After seeing such a thing, you cannot but become a revolutionary”.

Having fled to Beirut, Habash pursued his studies in pediatric medicine at the American University of Beirut and graduated first in his class in 1951. The same year he was arrested after a demonstration. In 1952, he founded the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM) with Wsdi Haddad  (a Palestinian), Ahmad al-Khatib (a Kuwaiti), and Hani al-Hindi (a Syrian).

Determined to spread the movement abroad, Habash opened a Clinic of the People and a school for Palestinian refugees in Amman at the end of 1952. He remained there until 1957 .Active during the events of 1956-57 in Jordan, he went underground in April 1957 after the proclamation of martial law by King Husayn. Convicted in absentia, he fled to Syria after it had joined with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic (UAR).

Attracted like many Arab nationalists to the ideas of Jamal Abd al-Nasir, he looked to extend the influence of the ANM to different Arab countries. For him, contrary to the cadres who formed Fatah, Arab unity was the engine of the liberation of Palestine. The Syrian secession from the UAR in 1961 and the subsequent return of the Ba'th to power in that country forced Habash to take refuge in Beirut. In April 1964, he created, within the ANM, a regional command for Palestine that regrouped the Palestinian members of the organization.

Following the 1967 war when Israel conquered the West Bank, Gaza and parts of Egypt and Syria, Dr. Habash founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist-Leninist party. The program of the PFLP calls for the establishment of a democratic, secular and socialist state in all of Palestine.In its December 1967 founding statement, the PFLP declared: 

 

“The masses are the authority, the guide, and the resistance leadership from which victory will be achieved in the end. It is necessary to recruit the popular masses and mobilise them as active participants and leaders . . .

“The only language that the enemy understands is the language of revolutionary violence . . .

“The slogan of our masses must be resistance until victory, rooted in the heart with our feet planted on the ground in deep commitment to our land. Today, the Popular Front is hailing our masses with this call. This is the appeal. We must repeat it every day, through every breakthrough bullet and the fall of each martyr, that the land of Palestine today belongs to all the masses. Every area of our land belongs to our masses who have defended it against the presence of the usurper, every piece of land, every rock and stone, our masses will not abandon one inch of them because they belong to the legions of the poor and hungry and displaced persons . . .

“The struggle of the Palestinian people is linked with the struggle of the forces of revolution and progress in the world, the format of the coalition that we face requires a corresponding . . . coalition including all the forces of anti-imperialism in every part of the world.”

The PFLP grew to be the second-largest faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).The PFLP was opposed to any Arab concession to Israel because Israel was not ready to reciprocate. It was equally uncompromising toward the West and conservative Arab regimes, both of whom, together with Israel, were the enemies of the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation.

Under Habash’s leadership, the PFLP forged close and active ties of combat solidarity with national liberation movements in all parts of the world – the ANC in South Africa, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and the Irish Republican Movement, to name but a few, embracing training, material assistance, joint operations and moral encouragement.

In 1968 Habash received an invitation from the Syrian authorities, which turned out to be a trap. He was arrested and charged with forming paramilitary cells. He spent 10 months in the worst prison in Syria, the Shaykh Hasan prison, where he suffered considerable mental torture. In prison, he devoted his time to reading the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Ho Chi Minh, and Mao, gaining deeper insights into Marxism. He was sprung out of prison by his comrade Wadi Haddad, who organized an escape that was startling in its boldness.

In 1969, Habash moved secretly to Jordan to join the resistance groups taking shape there in guerrilla bases following the defeat of the regular armies in 1967. In the years that followed, guerrilla activity from Jordan against the occupying forces inside Palestine steadily increased.

Under Wadi Haddad’s supervision, the PFLP adopted, in addition to armed struggle, the tactic of hijacking Israeli and western airliners (while attempting not to harm passengers) as a means to draw world attention to the two tragedies of 1948 and 1967 and to place the suffering of the Palestinian people squarely on the agenda of pro-Israeli western capitals and the international fora.

Soon, escalating guerrilla activities, violent Israeli reactions, and the irresponsible behavior of some Palestinian factions led to increased tension between the Palestinian armed groups and Jordanian security forces. In 1970, Dr. Haddad organized the hijacking of three western jumbo jet airliners; they were landed in a desert airfield in Jordan, the passengers and crew were evacuated, and the planes were blown up. This incident led to armed clashes between the Jordanian army and security forces and the Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan. Fighting moved from Amman to the forests of Jarash, where battles raged until the end of 1971. Thereafter the Palestinian fighters and their commanders withdrew to Lebanon.

On the personal level Habash suffered a near-fatal heart attack in 1972 and a severe brain hemorrhage in 1980 with which he coped through strength of will. In 1972 the Israeli Mossad murdered his close friend, the novelist and PFLP spokesman, Ghassan Kanafani, by placing a bomb beneath his car seat in Beirut and in 1978 the Mossad used poison to murder his lifelong friend and comrade Wadi Haddad. These two events traumatized Habash, who had barely escaped assassination himself: in 1973 the Mossad hijacked a Middle East Airlines plane on which Habash was a scheduled passenger but did not board because of a last minute precautionary security measure. 

At the organizational level, the PFLP announced in 1972 that it had abandoned the tactic of hijacking planes; by then it, like other Palestinian groups, became increasingly mired in Lebanese politics. A game of alliances and balancing among the political forces in Lebanon led to a split into two major camps, the one supporting and the other opposing guerrilla activities against Israel. In 1975, a vicious civil war erupted in Lebanon. Israel very quickly exploited the new situation and worked to fan the flames, using the opportunity provided by its interim agreement with Egypt (Sinai II Agreement, September 1975) and then by the Peace Treaty (March 1979). 

 Egyptian-Israeli relations, in particular the separate peace, constituted by far the most important regional developments in that period, because it removed the strongest Arab military power from the Arab-Israeli equation. Together with other nationalist groups, the PFLP forcefully opposed these developments.

The Egyptian move greatly contributed to Israel’s decision in 1982 to invade Lebanon and lay the siege to Beirut. The siege, a first for an Arab capital, lasted eighty-eight days during which the city was bombarded continuously by land, sea, and air. It ended when the international community intervened, resulting in the withdrawal of the Palestinian military forces, administrative cadres, and leadership from Lebanon.

Habash left Beirut with the PLO led by Yasir Arafat, but, instead of joining Arafat in Tunis, he headed to Syria, convinced of the need to continue the struggle against the Israeli occupiers from a front-line state, irrespective of the challenges involved. So he sailed from Beirut with the other fighters but left the ship at the Syrian port of Tartus and from there headed to Damascus. He chose Damascus as his residence and as the headquarters of the PFLP throughout the eighties, making e a number of trips to Arab and foreign capitals. During that decade, he took active part in the meetings of the Palestine National Council held in Algiers—the sixteenth (1983), the eighteenth (1987) and nineteenth sessions (1988) —where he urged continued resistance.

During this period Habash was once again the subject of another hijacking attempt by the Israelis. In February 1986, Israel’s air force intercepted a private jet bound from Tripoli (Libya) to Damascus. Habash, scheduled to fly on that plane, had cancelled his reservation at the very last minute.

In 1993 he  opposed to the Oslo Agreement warning that it particularly targeted a central issue of the Palestinian national movement, the right to return. In 1994 and 1995, he called for internal and external meetings for Palestinian leaders and activists in exile, to launch campaigns and establish al-Awda committees and right to return organizations everywhere possible in order to protect this vital and central right for Palestinian refugees in light of the new threat posed by Oslo and its effects.,

 Habash contributed to the organization of the Damascus-based opposition, included for the first time Islamist organizations outside the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine convened its sixth conference in 2000, in which Dr. Habash participated, delivering his last address as General Secretary, before declaring his resignation from the post. He did this, providing an example for allowing the transfer of leadership within an organization through its democratic processes, which he upheld as a value that strengthened, rather than weakened, organizations and movements. The Front elected Abu Ali Mustafa to succeed Dr. Habash as General Secretary. From 2000 through 2008, Dr. Habash established the al-Ghad al-Arabi center for studies and lived in Amman near his daughters and family

Remaining intransigent, affectionately called al-Hakim ("the Doctor" or "the Sage"), George Habash was known for his towering intellect who never wavered in his beliefs until the end, he  maintained a great amount of respect among Palestinians, notably for his consistent refusal to align his organization with any Arab regime and for his revolutionary zeal in pursuing his goal of liberating Palestine. All major Palestinian parties and organizations hailed Dr. Habash,  as an historic leader of the Palestinian struggle. 

A Marxist, a Christian and a Palestinian, upon Habash’s death, he was eulogized by various statesmen and politicians and the  Palestinian Authority declared three days of national mourning and the Palestinian flag lowered to half-mast in recognition of this great leader. The PFLP deputy Secretary-General, Abdel Raheem Mallouh, called Habash an ‘historic leader’ and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh described him as having ‘spent his life defending Palestine’

In his obituary in ‘The Guardian’, Habash is cited as widely being known as ‘the conscience of the Palestine revolution'.The  BBC labeled him “Palestinian radical”. However the NY Times described him as a “Palestinian Terrorism Tactician”.

 Overall, George Habash will be remembered most of all for his upstanding character. Truly, he was completely and utterly incorruptible. The Saudi, Qatari, Kuwaiti, Jordanian, Emirati, Moroccan and (then-Saddam-ruled) Iraqi regimes all tossed money at him in hopes of swaying and controlling him. He never took a penny. Indeed, the Arab dictatorships – all in the pay of Washington and “Tel Aviv” – despised him with every fiber of their slave-like beings. The people of Resistance throughout Palestine  and the Diaspora, especially in the Palestinian refugee camps… Adored him. This alone should tell you anything and everything you need to know about the man and what kind of human being he was

made him what he was — a major Arab revolutionary figure of our times.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/view-point/the-dreamer-of-a-pure-revolution/articleshow/2753977.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 a major Arab Revolutionary of our times,

also made him what he was — a major Arab revolutionary figure of our times.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/view-point/the-dreamer-of-a-pure-revolution/articleshow/2753977.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

also made him what he was — a major Arab revolutionary figure of our times.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/view-point/the-dreamer-of-a-pure-revolution/articleshow/2753977.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Not too long before he passed away, Habash said, “You’ll see that the day will come soon when these borders will fall and Arab unity will be achieved.”

He was mourned by Palestinian’s the world over after he was lain to rest after an open casket funeral at a Greek Orthodox Church in Amman, Jordan Jan. 28. 2008. His funeral was attended by prominent Palestinian leaders, friends, family, and comrades such as his daughters and his widow Hilda Habash, longtime friend and comrade Leila Khaled, DFLP leader Nayef Hawatmeh, PFLP politburo leader Maher Taher, Israeli Knesset member Ahmad Tibi, head of the Palestinian National Council Saleem al-Za’anoun and Fatah leader Faruq Qaddumi,.

He remains an example of steadfastness and revolutionary mind, who gave to the Palestinian people the means to confront the occupation  of their land. Al-Hakim. once famously said, “Palestine. All of Palestine. From the River to the Sea.” It is sad that he died without seeing either of his dreams materialising, Arab unity or an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people, I long with many others hope that day comes one day soon,

“There are men who struggle for a day and they are good.
There are men who struggle for a year and they are better.
There are men who struggle many years, and they are better still.
But there are those who struggle all their lives:
These are the indispensable ones”
(Bertolt Brecht, )

Covid pandemic nowhere near over despite Government Policy

 

I literally can't imagine being stupid  enough to say " I've had enough of this virus, it;s time to start living our lives again" in the midst of a deadly pandemic, But it;s now government policy.

This despite the head of the World Health Organisation  warning leaders across the globe that the Covid-19 pandemic is ‘nowhere near over’ and new variants are likely to emerge.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned against the assumption that the newly dominant Omicron strain is significantly milder and has eliminated the threat posed by the virus.

He told a press briefing: ‘Make no mistake, Omicron is causing hospitalisations and deaths, and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities.’

Dr Tedros said that the next few weeks remain critical for health care systems in some countries, particularly those with low vaccination rates. 

 He said that while the current wave of the virus may be past the peak in some parts of the world, ‘no country is out of the woods yet’ and now is not the time to ‘give up and wave the white flag’. 

"Omicron continues to sweep the world, last week, there were over 18 million reported cases,’ he said.

‘The number of deaths remains stable for the moment but we are concerned about the impact Omicron is having on already exhausted health workers and overburdened health systems

‘In some countries, cases seem to have peaked, which gives hope that the worst of this latest wave is done with, but no country is out of the woods yet."

‘I remain particularly concerned about many countries that have low vaccination rates, as people are many times more at risk of severe illness and death if they are unvaccinated.

‘Omicron may be less severe, on average, but the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading, hurts the overall response and costs more lives.’

Studies have suggested Omicron is much more contagious than previous strains but seems to cause less serious disease in patients.

Dr Tedros said: ‘This pandemic is nowhere near over and with the incredible growth of Omicron globally, new variants are likely to emerge, which is why tracking and assessment remain critical.

‘We can still significantly reduce the impact of the current wave by sharing and using health tools effectively and implementing public health and social measures that we know work.’

Fewer than 10% of people in lower-income countries have received one dose of Covid vaccine.

The global vaccine sharing facility Covax delivered its one billionth dose of vaccine over the weekend but more still needed to be done to achieve vaccine equity around the world.

The intervention comes after some European nations saw record new case numbers.

France reported nearly half a million new daily cases lastt  Tuesday, while more than 100,000 new infections were recorded in Germany within 24 hours on Wednesday for the first time since the start of the pandemic. 

Wearing face masks has been a crucial part of the strategy to contain COVID-19, alongside the vaccination programme and social distancing.

Wearing face masks can provide both personal protection against COVID-19,  and is also a public health measure to prevent the spread of the disease to others, particularly vulnerable people.

 Research and personal information continue to show the value of risk reduction a mask can offer from respiratory pathogens as well as allergens,."

While it might not make sense to wear a mask 24/7 once COVID-19, is contained, masking is easy and may be justifiable in risky settings. It may be logical during cold and flu season, too. Ultimately, each person who chooses to wear a mask would be doing a little something extra to keep themselves and those around them healthy in a post COVID future.

Face masks can help curb the spread of COVID-19, because the virus that causes the disease is primarily transmitted in the air. This means that people with the virus - especially those who may be asymptomatic and unaware that they have it - spread it through respiratory droplets that are exhaled when they cough sneeze or talk. These droplets are then inhaled by somebody else.

In addition, COVID-19 infection can be spread through much smaller particles which we breathe out - so-called aerosol spread. Because these particles are so small and light, they remain suspended in the air, building up in the air surrounding an infected person if ventilation is inadequate.

Multiple studies have shown face masks help to block these droplets and particles from escaping into the air. Another study of people who had flu or the common cold found that wearing a surgical mask significantly reduced the amount of these respiratory viruses emitted in droplets and aerosols.

Epidemiological data also suggest face masks can help curb the spread of disease. Last year, US researchers compared the COVID-19 growth rate before and after mask mandates in 15 states and the District of Columbia. It found that mask mandates led to a slowdown in daily COVID-19 growth rate, which became more apparent over time.

In countries like China, Singapore and Taiwan, mask-wearing was already common before coronavirus. After the outbreak of severe acute respirator syndrome  (SARS) 2002, masks became increasingly popular to protect themselves and others during cold and flu season were very much willing to mask up, 

It is worth noting that though the use of facemasks in Japan can be traced back to before the 20th century, it was the Spanish influenza pandemic between 1918 and 1920 that signifiicantly altered the status of wearing masks.

This shift was triggered by the search for effective ways to contain the influenza pandemic. By the autumn of 1918, Japan’s National Public Health Bureau, learning from cities like San Francisco that successfully responded to the pandemic through mask orders, took action. Local authorities across Japan were directed to encourage people to wear masks in hospitals, on trains and trams, and in crowded areas. A year later, free masks were provided to those who could not afford them, and theatres, buses and cinemas were added to the list of public places where wearing masks was mandatory.

 It’s not difficult to see why; wearing face masks can be an effective measure to reduce transmission. By providing an additional layer of protection, they can help to prevent the wearer from spreading viral infections to others, which is particularly useful in high-risk circumstances where physical distancing proves impossible and the level of ventilation is either minimal or unknown.

Authorities in Japan began to use public health campaigns in earnest to encourage the use of masks in the early 2000s. There was a growing push for people to understand that their individual actions mattered, not only for their own health but also for the health of their communities and the country at large.

Gradually, the practice of mask-wearing became less dependent on a specific pandemic threat and premised more on an individual duty to protect one’s family, community and country, which demanded sustained engagement. It was not surprising then that public campaigns also built upon themes that integrated family and work life. On the one hand, mask-wearing came to symbolise the love and care in people’s relations with their family members. At the same time, masks became embedded in an employee's contribution to the national economy because it prevented the interruption of work due to sickness.

 Children even took masks to school on a weekly basis and there was little need to impose fines on adults to get them to wear masks. Most people did it willingly, often at their own initiative. Millions of masks continued to be manufactured for personal use in Japan, with demand stoked by an emerging culture of mask-wearing being linked with being a good family member, neighbour and citizen.

In western countries including the UK, however, mask-wearing is a new phenomenon. While some see it as an important means to halt the virus's spread and a sign of social consideration, others have politicised masks - claiming they infringe on individual rights.

At the same time Far right nationalists, anti-vaxxers, libertarians and conspiracy theorists have come together over COVID, and capitalised on the anger and uncertainty simmering in some sections of the community, spreading all sorts of misinformation across the internet and social media, These movements thrive on anxiety, anger, a sense of alienation, a distrust in government and institutions.

 If you go back two years ago, anti-vaxxers were a tiny minority. They have grown significantly in size and influence online.

Many of these groups share similar ideas: that there is a cabal of politicians and elites who are oppressing you. That freedom is at risk, that one must stand up for liberty, that there is a wealthy and unelected ruling class controlling you.

COVID, with all the fear, uncertainty, lockdowns, policing and employment impacts it brings, has helped bring these groups together. 

A recent study has found that the far-right has extended their reach through messaging app Telegram and COVID-19 conspiracy theories. The London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue study has found that the far-right has been using COVID-19 conspiracy theories to recruit people into their extremist views. 

It found that 90% of the most viewed posts from far-right groups contained misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines or the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing them.

Furthermore, much of the COVID-19 misinformation spread by far-right groups was underpinned by white supremacist ideologies, including extreme misogyny, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, the study found.

Face masks have become a symbol of control to a very vocal minority, and remain a symbol of an increasingly divided society, between those we have restricted too much and those who feel we have not intervened enough during the pandemic.

Not once have I said that wearing masks are  100% protective , but neither is wearing a seat belt, It is about lowering the risk to respiratory pathogens and we still need vaccines and other healthcare and public health mitigation measures to protect ourselves. and each other.

"I'm done with COVID" is pretty much code for "I'm pretty sure I'll  be ok I I get infected, and what happens to other people is of no concern for me," or "I;ve had enough of balcony railings holding me back, I want my freedom, remove them and let us all fall of balconies wherever we want!"

Those that say Covid is over, lets get back to normal, other than being selfish and privileged, it's shortsighted, more case, strains on healthcare and other systems, risk of new variants, etc, It portrays an unimaginably reckless indifference to human life. 

I was angrily asked the other day "Why are you still wearing a mask, are you a sheep?" I didn't reply but do wonder why it bothers some so much, but should have said, one  being I dislike wearing masks, but I wear one with humility, out of kjndness and respect, It's not hard and not the end of the world and mainly because there is still a global pandemic, that so far has killed over 6 million so I'm wearing a mask because although I have no symptoms, I could still have COVID and therefore infect you.. 

There's; a lot of anger around  currently, I think it started with Brexit and Covid  has increased it and unleashed an untapped tribal mentality,  but sadly not for the greater good., and I also currently feel like our society is regressing at such a rate to the point of no return.

The Government  has  said it was now safe to lift Covid restrictions, Cleearly removing COVID 19 restrictions prematurely will mean increased cases and prolong the problem. Face masks are inconvenient but they do help reduce the spread. Only a complete idiot would advocate removing face masks whilst the virus is still prevalent.

 But the "It's over" narrative is dangerous. Unfortunately, pandemics don't come with an expiration date so this could still stretch on longer than we'd hoped, even  with the development of the vaccines, that some are still refusing to take. As much as we'd all like to hope that the vaccine  of which 70% of the population has had means an instant return to normal, it's not. Hopes for the future  have been dashed by new, mutated strains of the virus that have been discovered and spread through the population, such as the latest dominant strain, Omicron. But I guess we are on the right track.

But please ignore this vile excuse for a Government, these bastards are trying to kill us, They are aiming for survival of the fittest, herd immunity, killing of the weakest so that few live to collect pensions.Classic heartless Tory policy. Remember British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's inept handling of the COVID pandemic led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths,

Go about your business and life seems almost normal. Then you read about numbers of deaths and infections,  masks not allowed in schools, people deciding between  eating or heating, and think  what kind of society are we living in. If you want to live, stay safe keep safe,  keep wearing masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, and avoid the forces of fascism. 

Thank you to everyone who continues to take COVID  seriously, who advocate for better masks, ventilation, air filters, who care about high risk people, vulnerable  communities, who listen to warnings and advice of disabled people and Long Covid. Keep being kind to one another.we will get through this build a fairer society.

Anyway here's a picture of The Beatles  wearing smog masks as a precaution against heavy fog in Mannchester  where they played the ABC Cinema, December 1965

Remembering The Battle of Isandlwana of 1879

 

                                  The Battle of Isandlwanad - Charles Fripp

On 22 January 1879 a British army camp was annihilated by a 20,000-strong Zulu regiment sent by King Cetshwayo kaMpande to defend his land and independence.at the Battle of  Isandlwana  Of the 1,750 British and auxiliary troops defending the camp, some 1,350 were killed by the Zulu army. Zulu casualties were also high, but at around 2,500 (though accurate figures are not known), this was a much lower proportion of the force that attacked the camp.

The defeat was a huge shock in Victorian society, ameliorated only by the successful defense of Rorke's Drift camp on the Natal border the same day. The Battle of Rorke's Drift was immediately marked with as many as 12 Victoria Crosses and later immortalised in the film Zulu starring Michael Caine. Isandlwanad  howevr was conveniently forgotten as long as possible.

The late 19th century was a tumultuous time for European empires. As revolutions sprang up in the Americas, some crowns sought to expand their borders, while others struggled to maintain control of their territories. Meanwhile, the British resolved to continue their colonization of Africa, particularly in the south, where diamonds had recently been discovered.

Since the British arrival in South Africa at the beginning of the 19th Century, Zululand had proved a troublesome nation in their efforts to control the region. During the first three decades of the century the British made no attempt to challenge Shaka, the founder of the Zulu Empire, and his immediate successors. From the 1840s through the 1860s however, British (and Boer) power gradually increased as Zulu military control grew weaker.White settlers grew in number,expropriating the bulk of the land, and subjugating the black majority. Through conquest, a capitalist economy arose, born in blood and exploitation.

By the 1870s the Zulu Empire threatened British expansion into the diamond and gold-rich interior and in 1878 the British High Commissioner of Southern Africa, was Sir Bartle Frere,  who was a key figure in Britain’s imperialist agenda for the continent.In this role, he governed British possessions in the southernmost region, with the goal of creating a confederation of Brits, South Africans, and Boers—the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Dutch settlers.

Land negotiations between the British Empire, the South African Republic, and the powerful Zulu Kingdom were becoming increasingly tense. Although British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wanted his country to avoid war, especially in the midst of other conflicts with Eastern Europe and India, Frere thought the Zulus would be an ongoing threat to British interests. Accordingly, he planned an invasion of Zululand, located along the coast of the Indian Ocean.

Some justifications for war, or casus belli, were put together by Frere, based on a few minor incidents that Frere insisted were proof of Zulu aggression. It was largely political theater, given that the British were looking for any excuse to clash with the Zulu. On December 11, 1878 Frere sent an ultimatum to Zulu King Cetshwayo, ordering him either to dismantle the military system of his nation or else face war with the British Empire. Cetshwayo had long made efforts to avoid outright war with the British; however he found it impossible to comply with this request as approving the British Agent’s presence would largely strip him of power. When Cetshwayo failed to respond to the ultimatum, Frere ordered an attack without approval from the British government. 

  

  

                                                        Cetshwayo 

On the 22nd January 1879 the British invaded Zululand. Their army was composed of nearly 1,800 troops, made up of both British and African men from the neighbouring British colony of Natal. Although they faced a force of roughly 20,000 Zulu warriors, the British felt assured of their victory due to superior military resources.Led by Commander-in-Chief Lord Chelmsford, the center British column advanced and made camp at a hill named Isandlwana, taking no defensive precautions. Chelmsford claimed he saw no need to do so; past colonial wars had shown that a small, well-trained, well-equipped army could overcome indigenous forces in spite of a numerical disadvantage. Chelmsford was actually more worried about the work that would go into moving their wagons and oxen into a defensive position than he was about a potential attack from the Zulus. 

However, the battle which ensued would prove to be an embarrassing defeat for the British as they were out-manoeuvred by Cetshwayo’s men despite being equipped with vastly military technology mainly with traditional iron spear 'the assegai', a slim hardwood spear with a fire-hardened iron tip. When thrown at the enemy it was often fatal. King Shaka, also introduced a shorter version known as the iklwa, a stabbing spear with a broad, sword-like head. Both weapons were withdrawn from a wounded foe and could be used again.  and cow-hide shields, they also had a number of  muskets and old rifles.

By the end of the battle the British had lost around 1,300 of their force of 1,800 while the Zulus suffered a relatively light loss of around 1,000 men.

The Zulus’ triumph, however, would not last long. In order to preserve the Imperial image of power and prestige and to avoid the Zulu victory inspiring other nations to revolt against British colonial rule, they launched a nine-month counteroffensive that would engage at least 17,000 British troops, the largest Army they sent to Africa. Britain would emerge victorious in this Anglo-Zulu War, Ulundi, the Zulu capital, was taken by July 1879. and  forces captured Cetshwayo on August 28, 1879, forcing him to agree to the dismantling of the Zulu Empire into 13 small states.Eight years later, on May 9, 1887, all of these states were annexed by the British.

Cetshwayo was exiled to Cape Town and later to London, earning the respect and sympathy of the British public for his dignified and peaceful inclinations. After the war was over Chelmsford came in for much criticism. he'd underestimated his enemy. The Zulu warrior was a fit. tough, fighting man, used to outdoor life and totally dedicated to the authority of his elders

Behind the  British of course, was the whole social and economic power of British imperialism. In contrast the Zulu army, efficient and skilful fighting force as it was, was a “part-time” army, which also had responsibilities for maintaining production.

In public, British imperialism claimed a big military victory in occupying Ulundi. But its shrewder representatives , such as the new army commander Wolseley, recognised that they would be over-reaching themselves to try to smash the Zulu completely. They offered peace provided that the military age-regiment system was disbanded, but on the basis that the Zulu would not be deprived of any land.

Thus the victory of Isandhlwana further delayed expropriation of Zulu land. It also had a wider impact in SA history. Together with the 1881 uprising by the Transvaal Boers, it persuaded British imperialism to retreat temporarily from its plans for annexation and confederation.

The Battle of Isandlwana remains the British Army’s worst-ever defeat against a native enemy whose military weaponry was not nearly as technologically advanced as their own, and serves as an important  landmark in the history of Africa as an example of successful resistance to colonial rule and imperialism and a symbol to black South Africans that white domination was not inevitable. I honor the heroism of the Zulu warriors who sacrificed their lives to preserve their land and kin against the European conquerors. The Zulu victory at Isandlwana is an exception to the rule that Europeans, with their technological superiority, always prevail in  battles.

The battle was also remembered in a film from 1979 starring Peter O'Toole and Burt Lancaster called Zulu Dawn that never proved as popular at the box office as the previous film mentioned. It is perhaps not surprising that cinema audiences preferred a heroic defence to a blundering defeat. But this is a shame. Zulu Dawn is a fine film that portrays the workings of the Victorian British army in a wonderfully visual and realistic way. The racism underlying the whole campaign is there throughout. It deserves to be remembered as the better movie of the two.

 

       

                               Zulu attack at the Battle of Isandlwana - Richarc Caton Woodville

                                                             

Zulu Dawn (1979)

A Hum

 

Tears of repentance forever flow from my eyes

In days of confusion, like jesus christ on the cross

The blood of red wine coursing through my vein

The  loneliness of everlasting pain

Find time to raise my voice, spread some love

Inhaling deeply as I reminisce

Curse injustice, cruelty I dismiss

Have no reason to be afraid

Witnessed for long time, light flickering

The hum of bass, guitar and drum

People who drove me crazy

Allowed my lips to keep drinking

With bloodshot eyes, release defiance

Should have got  a taxi

But found a way home

Beyond  the heartache

I count my blessings

As time runs out forever

This is not my final word

A gobshite without end

The moon and sun will rise

Leaves dancing on the wind

Rumbles of thunder awakening

Life  glowing in eternity.

Hurrah for the Blackshirts : Remembering The Daily Mail's Support For Fascism

On January 15 1934, The Daily Mail newspaper ran with the notorious headline “Hurrah for the Blackshirts” which was written by Viscount Rothemere, whose family incidentally still own the Mail, an article that  celebrated Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists (BUF).

Mosley was highly influenced by Benito Mussolini, so much so that members of the BUF were given the nickname of ‘Blackshirts’ as their uniform was modelled on that worn by those belonging to the National Fascist Party in Italy.Mosley’s Blackshirts dressed up like Mussolini’s thugs and saluted like Hitler’s, but theirs was a distinctly English program. The first of Mosley’s “10 Points of Fascism” announced that the BUF was “loyal to King and Country” and its “watch-word… is ‘Britain First.’”

 Mosley himself was commissioned in the 16th Lancers but joined the Royal Flying Corps at the outbreak of the First World War. Injured in a crash in 1915, he rejoined the Lancers and fought in the trenches between October 1915 and October 1916. He joined the Conservatives after military service to become an MP at 22. From the first, he challenged the old guard even within his own party, and was re-elected as an Independent before crossing the House to join Labour where he campaigned on unemployment. With his matinee idol looks and dramatic oratory, Mosley cut a darkly glamorous, radical figure.After the 1931 general election, Mosley toured Europe and it was that particular expedition which drew his attention to fascism. Following his travels, at 34 he founded the New Party, which – influenced by Mussolini – morphed into the quasi-military British Union of Fascists 19 months later in October 1932, with Mosley himself as the leader.

 Lord Rothermere, had launched the Daily Mail in 1896 with his elder brother, Alfred Harmsworth, who was later named Lord Northcliffe. By 1930, they owned 14 daily and Sunday newspapers, and a substantial share in three more.Shortly after Mussolini came to power, Rothermere laid his cards on the table. In an article in the Mail entitled “What Europe Owes to Mussolini,” he expressed his “profound admiration” for Italy’s new leader.

“In saving Italy he stopped the inroads of Bolshevism which would have left Europe in ruins… in my judgment he saved the whole Western world,” Rothermere declared.

His frequent visits to Italy seemed only to further stoke Rothermere’s enthusiasm for the Duce.

“He is the greatest figure of the age,” Rothermere proclaimed in 1928. “Mussolini will probably dominate the history of the 20th century as Napoleon dominated that of the early 19th.” He praised Mosley and the Blackshirts seeing them as the correct party to “take over responsibility for [British] national affairs”.

 Rothermere initially believed that Britain was “not suited” to fascism, but a general strike in 1926 and a fear that Baldwin was displaying “the feebleness which tries to placate opposition by being more socialist than the Socialists,” led him to reappraise this view as a new decade dawned.

 The Mail’s enthusiasm for the Nazis would grow as their support in Germany surged.By the 1930 election, when the Nazis’ seats in the Reichstag jumped from 12 to 107, Rothermere was a convert.

“[The Nazis] represent the rebirth of Germany as a nation,” Rothermere wrote in the Mail. The election, he correctly prophesied, would come to be seen as “a landmark of this time.”

It wasn’t hard to see why the Mail’s fawning coverage of the Nazis so delighted the Fuhrer — the paper uncritically reported the butchery of the Night of the Long Knives.

“Herr Adolf Hitler, the German Chancellor, has saved his country,” began its story on the frenzy of extrajudicial killings, and cheered the Nazis on as they trampled the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

When German troops marched into the Rhineland in March 1936, the Mail suggested Hitler had “cleared the air” and warned against “Bolshevik troublemakers.” It offered a glowing report of the Anschluss two years later — penned by Price, who had hitched a ride in Hitler’s convoy as it sped towards Vienna.

 Grateful for this unusual support from the foreign press,gained the Mail exclusive access to publish interviews with Hitler, it also earned Lord Rothermere and his son a place at the dinner table as honoured guests of Hitler himself.Following his meetings, Rothermere believed Hitler — a “simple and unaffected man” and a “perfect gentleman” — to be “obviously sincere” in his desire for peace. “There is no man living whose promise given in regard to something of real moment I would sooner take,” he later argued. A vicious reactionary anti-semite, Rothermere saw the Nazi dictator as an ally against the spread of (Jewish) communism and backed Hitler's actions to remove Jews from public life in Germany. During the Munich crisis of 1938 his papers urged capitulation to Hitler's demands for the German-speaking regions of Czechoslovakia (though they did advocate rearmament, just in case). The Mail objected time and again to the admission to Britain of Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria. 

                                                      Lord Rothermore and Hitler

Under the headline Hurrah for the Blackshirts Rothermore praised Mosley and the Blackshirts seeing them as the correct party to “take over responsibility for [British] national affairs”;auding Mosley’s aim of bringing Britain “up to date” by following in the footsteps of Europe’s “best governed” nations, Italy and Nazi Germany. The article urged a similar “revival of national strength and spirit.” Following their proprietor’s cue, staff at the paper began showing up for work wearing black shirts.

Rothermere’s other newspapers also threw their support behind the effort. The Mirror urged its readers to “Give the Blackshirts a helping hand,” and printed the addresses of Mosley’s local recruiting offices. A visit to Germany or Italy, Rothermere assured readers, showed that “the mood of the vast majority of the inhabitants was not cowed submission, but confident enthusiasm.”

The Sunday Dispatch offered free tickets to Mosley’s rallies, prizes for readers who submitted letters on why they liked the Blackshirts, and regular features on attractive female fascists, under headlines such as “Beauty joins the Blackshirts.”

 By 1936 anti-semitic assaults by fascists were growing and windows of Jewish-owned businesses were routinely smashed. Hurrah for the Blackshirts!’  The Daily Mail headline is just one chilling indication of the very real threat Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists posed in the mid 1930s which concluded with a direct call for young men to join Oswald’s party.and  certainly helped boost  the BUF membership considerably, perhaps to as many as 50,000 active members..

 When, on 7 June 1934, Oswald Mosley addressed a tumultuous rally at London's Olympia, his British Union of Fascists seemed on the verge of political acceptability. Yet with its chaos, violence and subsequent condemnation in the press, Olympia marked the beginning of the end for the Blackshirts.

Mosley’s blackshirts had been harassing the sizeable Jewish population in the East End all through the 1930s and a primary focus of its anti-immigrant and antisemitic sentiment was Stepney, an East End neighborhood then home to 60,000 Jews descended from families who fled pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as Irish and other immigrant workers. and on 4th October 1936, Mosley planned the BUF’s biggest and boldest initiative yet. His uniformed Blackshirts would march through London’s East End, home to one of the country’s largest Jewish communities. The intention was quite clear: to cause fear and stir up hate. On the day, more than a hundred thousand east enders, of any faith or none, turned out to protect their community. The fascists were forced to retreat in what became known  as the Battle of Cable Street https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2021/10/remember-battle-of-cable-street-no.html. in which tens of thousands of anti-fascists  battled 6,000 police and 3,000 BUF Blackshirts to refuse the fascists passage through Stepney. Taking their example from Spanish Communists during the siege of Madrid months earlier, they used as their slogan “¡No pasarán” and erected three sets of barricades on Cable Street. Irish dockworkers tore up paving stones and filled the street with broken glass and marbles to defeat mounted police. They did, not pass.

Mosley lost thousands of supporters as people began to make links between what was happening at home and events in Nazi Germany.s the Second World War loomed,.and during the Second World War, the British authorities viewed Mosley as an enemy sympathiser – if the Nazis successfully invaded the UK, it was believed he would head up the regime on home soil – and had him interned, along with his wife. The pair lived together in the grounds of Holloway prison for the majority of the war, before being released in 1943.After the war, Mosley formed the Union Movement in 1948, but his influence had waned.and The Union Movement was eventually dissolved in 1973 after failing to gain significant ground.

The Daily Mail began to change its editorial line and moved away from explicitly supporting fascists and their regimes. But, the racism and xenophobia remained a key part of their  so called ‘journalism’ and has continued through to this day. Rothermere died in 1940 a broken man, desperately disappointed that the great dictator in Berlin had not forged an alliance with London to vanquish Stalin. He was an utterly disgusting human being..

The forces of Fascism are on the rise again, in Europe and around the world.we must continue to resist wherever they are promote and try to come together. Those who daub synagogues with anti-semitic graffiti or defile mosques with anti-Islamic hate or any other communities that suffer abuse or racism, we  must  forever be on the side of those communities, and they will never be given any welcome, and be outnumbered and humiliated by antifascists. Whilst they continue to intimidate and stoke up division with their racist ideology and their  hatred against difference and people marked as socially undesirable. they  will always be met with resistance, their routes blocked by those that seek to defend their communities from fascist violence.

Sill a high-circulation right-wing tabloid much beloved by “Middle England” The Daily Mail still weathers the occasional barbs about its disreputable past whilst creating hate-filled media stories that create a violent culture of hostility towards migrants and refugees. Remember Rothermere was pro-Nazi. The Daily Mail was pro-Nazi. The Daily Mail is the traitors' paper. Never forget, never forgive. Lower than vermin, as Aneurin Bevan once said. 

 

 Daily Mail Poem

I pour scorn on its petty margins
Its distortion of realities silhouette,
The daily shame, should be its new name
Cross out all its lies, we'd be left with empty pages,
Drinking toasts to underbellies of nastiness
It sharpens its pen on bile,
With agenda of spreading hatred
Is enough to scramble your brain,.
A bully that's scared of everything
Its dark heart  distorts reality,
With script of venom and division
In truth, worth nothing at all,
Its pinning sense of intolerance
Is a message I don't want to hear,
A tabloid  rag not fit for the gutter
Full of twisted opinion and bad news
Designed to leave us disheartened,
Don't know how anyone can call it a friend.