On 18/8/1634 Urbain Grandier, a handsome and successful seducer of women and
priest of the parish of Loudun a small French town, was tried, tortured and burnt at the
stake. He had been found guilty of being in league with the devil and
seducing an entire convent of nuns in what was the most sensational case
of mass possession and sexual hysteria in history. Grandier maintained
his innocence to the end and four years after his death the nuns were
still being subjected to exorcisms to free them from their demonic
bondage.was accused and convicted of sorcery, This event would inspire Aldous Huxley's book The Devils of Loudun. An historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression and mass hysteria. Later turned into a controversial film by Ken Russel The Devils ( 1971). Aldous Huxley's vivid
account of this bizarre tale of religious and sexual obsession
transforms our understanding of the medieval world.What is seem as liberation is in fact enslavement, fanaticism as seen with its appearance in the human condition has penetrated through all history. With his compelling narrative, Mr Huxley manages to hit the nail on the head. Religion becomes not only the opium of the people, but also becomes the pornographer of the masses. Strongly recommended, as are most of his books.Relevant when it was written, relevant today, its message still echoing with warning. Truth and reason still being manipulated by our leaders and so called prophets.
Be careful where you lay your devotions.
' At all times, all to many Christians have behaved as though the devil were a First Principle, on the same footing as God. They have paid more attention to evil and the problem of its eradication than to good and the methods by which individual goodness may be deepened, and the sum of goodness increased. The effects which follow too constant and intense a concentration upon evil are always disastrous. Those who crusade, not for God in themselves, but against the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse than it was, before the crusade began. By thinking primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself. Though frequently Manichaean in practice, Christianity was never Manchaean in its dogmas. In this respect it differs from our modern iodolatries of Communism and Nationalism, which are Manichaean not only in action, but also in creed and theory. Today it is everywhere self-evident that we are on the side of Light, they on the side of Darkness. And being on the side of Darkness, they deserve to be punished and must be liquidated ( since our divinity justifies everything) by the most fiendish means at our disposal. By iolatrously worshipping ourselves as Ormuzd, and by regarding the other fellow as Ahriman, the Principle of Evil, we of the twentieth century are doing our best to guarantee the triumph of diabolism in our time.'
This video originally appeared for the Ministry of Justice (Moj) employment and support allowance appeals video, back in March, then this video was pulled after less than a week, on the orders of senior officials. When you click on the original video link it has dissapeared http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L8EPHDjequ , not sure why it was pulled because the video is actually reasonably informative and reassuring for people who have no experience of appeal tribunals.
Normally MoJ videos get very little attention, but because of Mr Graylings intervention, this video became very popular indeed.
He apparently e.mailed the ministry complaining about, amongst other things, the fact that it told claimants:
. that they are twice as likey to win their appeal if they appear in person rather than having a paper hearing;
. that the DWP doesn't normally send a representative to the hearing;
. to send additional evidence to the tribunal, when Grayling wants it sent to the DWP.
Now the video is back, and to their credit, after their initial panic MoJ officials seem to have left it unaltered.
Perhaps the Torys don't want to be seen as being helpful, after all they are the rabid nasty party, deeply lacking in compassion or empathy, and have an image to maintain dont they?
Today in Labour history June 27th, 1905, The Industrial Workers of the World , also known as the wobblies was founded at a 12 day Convention in Chicago. The wobbly motto is ' An injury to all is an injury to all.'
They were noted for their use of poetry and song to promote their radical ideas, publicise strikes and other protests and generally present the case for what was, for a time at least, a dynamic and imaginative orgainisation. Their work was designed to provoke thought, and was deliberately immediate in its message, in order to get it across to as many people as possible. A potent symbol to them was the death on 19th November 1915 of Joe Hill. His defiant songs were sung on picket lines across America, they saw him as an innocent man, framed and murdered by a corrupt judiciary who feared the power of his words, he became their martyr.
The Wobblies struck at the core of America's dark soul, attacking capitalism, demanding an end to wage slavery, equality, promoting workers solidarity based on revolutionary principles, with a combination of anarchist, socialist and anti-war beliefs. Their tactics was not only the spreading of infomation, but was also combined with direct action, general strikes, sit ins and acts of sabotage.
At their peak the organisation claimed over 100,000 members with as many as 300,000 workers who rallied in their support. The IWW became for its members to be, not only their union and party, but their social centre, their home, their school, and in a manner of speaking their religion, a faith in which they lived by. Singing and reciting their poetry and songs.
' We meet today in freedom's cause
And raise our voices high
We'll join our hands in union strong
To battle or to die.'
' If the workers took a notion
They could stop all speeding trains;
Every ship upon the ocean
They can tie with mighty chains
Every wheel in the creation
Every mine and every mill
Fleets and armies of the nation
Will at their command stand still.'
They were founded and led ( though they did not really have leaders) by miner and socialist William 'Big Bill' Haywood (1869 -1928)
and mine workers agitator Mary ' Mother' Jones (1837 -1930)
A famous Wobbly slogan whenever aked who their leader was ;
' We are All Leaders!'
At a time when other trade unions refused to accept immigrants, minorities and women, and unskilled workers, their only restriction was that you had to be a member of the working class. Together they energised people, sparks were lift, and in every strikes and protest across America their presence would be felt. They began to become known as revolutionaries with a singing voice.
Solidarity Forever- Pete Seeger
Their power and subsequently their weapon was their utter refusal to compromise in a single-minded march towards a utopia that pitted them against the combined forces of the state and business. It was this and their refusal to support U.S entry into World War 1 and their refusal to abandon strikes and other revolutionary tactics during the war which was used as an excuse, for thei membership to be increasingly attacked, beaten, their organisers thrown in jail. Non violent IWW strikers were attacked by police and troops, and vigilantism and lynchings were encouraged against them. They were labelled as 'enemy aliens' and traitors and hundreds were arrested. Combined with splits within their organisation , their influence faded, but never died. Membership unfortunately began to decline, but as individuals and in small branches across the world their legacy lives on, not forgotten still promoting its original aims organising workers by industry rather than trade, still thirsting for solidarity, still organising, still resisting.
In these divided times,of economic despair, perhaps what we need now is a strong international radical voice that stands defiantly, on behalf of the people, following an old tradition of solidarity that does not seperate along lines of nationality, race or gender, speaking too to the unemployed, the sick, and the marginalised spreading messages of hope among the carnage that is being unveiled by bankrupt economic policies.Today we do not have to ride freight trains to spread our messages, today it's just a click away and infomation can be spread in an instant. Following the combined flags of red, black and green. An organisation is urgently needed that does not condemn the actions of its membership, that listens and understands.
Preamble to current IWW Constitution
'The working class and the emplying class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the god things of life. Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class, take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth. We find that the centering of the management of industries into fewer hands make the trade unions unable to cope with the ever growing power of the employing class. The trade unions foster a state of affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers in the same industry, thereby helping defeat one another in wage wars. Moreover, the trade unions aid the employing class to mislead the workers into the belief that the working class have interests in common with their employers. These conditions can be changed and the interest of the working class upheld only by an organisation formed in such a way that all its members in any one industry, or in all industries if necessary, cease work whenever a strike or lockout is on in any department thereof, thusmaking an injury to all. Instead of the conservative motto, ' A fair day's wage for a fair day's work.' we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, 'Abolition of the wage system.' It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. The army of production must be organized, not for everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to carry on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.'
It is not a dream, when we think of another world, it is is achievable and clearly signposts and the paths are already marked.Struggle can be hard, but with solidarity, I guess it can be beautiful too. Paul Robeson - Joe Hill
Utah Phillips & Ani Di Franco - Unless you are free.
Continuing the Olympic theme, a song remembering the victims of Bhopal.
The groundswell is growing in London agaist the elitism and commercialisation of the London 2012 Olympics, dubbed in some quarters ' The rip off Olympics.' One commentator has captured the mood:
In Bhopal nearly 200 survivors of the word's biggest industrial disaster have burned effigies of Lord Coe and an Indian official in protest against Dow chemicals sponsorship of the games.
A FACE IN THE SAND - Manoj Jacob
A face in the sand
A quivering hand.
Does anybody know
Or understand?
What blew through the air,
A bloody nightmare
it twisted Bhopal
Beyond repair.
A spine inclined
A jaw you can't find,
Eyes that can't see
That death has been kind.
Legs that can't walk,
Tongues that can't breathe,
Lives frozen in rock.
Chorus:
Hey long arm of the law, slip out of pockets of gold;
Filled by the promises of riches untold.
Those pockets have loopholes, those pockets of gold;
It's time you found out our lives can't be sold.
Is justice no more?
Can money buy all,
Make the righteous fall
And look the other way?
Can the guilty walk free,
Screw the judiciary,
kill ourright to be
And call it democracy?
(Repeat chorus)
They say justice delayed
Is justice denied?
Been 25 years
But the tears haven't dried.
The fight will go on
Till justice is won,
And the face in the sand
Won't fade till we're done.
(Repeat chorus)
A face in the sand
A quivering hand.
Does anybody know
Or understand?
A spine inclined,
A jaw you can't find,
Eyes that can't see
That death has been kind
DROP DOW CHEMICALS AS PARTNERS FOR LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES
Organisers of the London Olympics 2012, boast it will be the most environmentally friendly ever. But with all the medals coming from one huge polluting hole in the ground in Utah, it could be more greenwash than green. An investigation by People & Power into alleged violation of environmental standards by a key sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. With a little over one month to go untill the games, criticisms of the games sponsors are reaching crescendo. The concept of 'sustainability' will need to stand up to scrutiny if London is to truly achieve its vision of 'the greenest games ever.' How can this happen before any contrarian voices are drowned out by the cheers of Olympic crowds, hovever, is up to us.
The Great Olympic Greenwash (an investigation).
Related:-
Vote Rio Tinto for Greenwash Gold
Rio Tinto is the only Olympic supplier that was able to start production without having an audit in place, according to the watchdog Committe for a Sustainable London 2012. War on Want executive director John Hilary has added ' Rio Tinto's record should disqualify it from being the Olympics medals supplier. No companies should be allowed to wrap themselves in the Olympic flag if they duck their responsibilities over human rights or environmental abuse.
Some words that arrived in the library 10 minutes ago.
A feather lands softly
upon a wave caught by a fierce wind,
turns into many trees with flowing branches
beyond the warm breeze of terror..
Offers no explanation
follow's earth's ripple,
delivers hope, beyond anger
caused by dark murderous intent..
Sweet invocations
of mystery and mischief
flowing with the scent of memory,
a distant hum, a consistent drum.
Catching breath, unravelling thought
treading softly among inner sanctuary
hiding from danger, finding portions of calm
some kind of nourishment, before tomorrows storm.
The times are hard, and the land lies dark
but a hungry sap will always rise
there are old traditions that carry the truth of seasons
in tandem with the longing of present reason.
Paradise does not need to be lost
each day we make is tailor made,
Albion, Gwalia it's fragrance sweet,
calling, calling, calling.
The abhorrent noise of the Watchkeeper 'drones' or 'umnanned aerial vehicles' being flown round above Aberprt and other parts of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Powys and North Pembrokeshire continues. While this constant buzzing - often for hours on end, may no be as piercing and sudden as that of low military jets in mid Wales, the purpose is just as sinister and a constant reminder of how Wales is being abused to further the cause of government sponsored 'remote killing.'
The hateful noise of these cruel machines makes anyone on the ground below wonder:
Do the parents of children playing in their gardens, on the beach or walking on the coast path know that above them, the weapons company Qinetiq is developing a machine to spy on and target victioms in Afghanistan - or wherever else our Government decides to use them?
Is the spying equipment being tried out on the people and properties in Wales?
Why were we told at the Airspace Use ' Public Consultation' that the drones would make no noise? That was patently untrue.
Over £26 million of our money has been spent on developing Parc Aberporth. Fewer than 39 people are employed there to test these offensive killing and spying machines. What a waste of money - we could invest public money in much better jobs for local people, energy efficiency measures for homes and public services.
Is this what we want for Ceredigion and Wales?
We are also told that in future these Watchkeeper drones may be armed. We are constantly reminded of how precise are drones. This means is that there is a high probability that a drone hits the target that it was aiming at. It says nothing about whether the target was the right one to begin with, even if one concedes that a government has the right to target and kill anyone it pleases - as judges jury and executioner.
Let our elected representatives in Wales think again - and think hard. There really are better, more environmentally and morally sustainable ways of investing the fruits of or precious labours on behalf of our children and grandchildren
Thanks to CND Cymru from where above article was borrowed.
Amnesty International and my local group have been campaigning for the last few years, with others, concerning the use of Parc Aberporth near Cardian as a devlopment and testing site for inmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) commonly referred to as Drones. Drones are used by Israel against innocent civilians in Gaza and their use constitutes human rights abuse. This coming Saturday 23 June Cymdeihas y Cymod, Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales, will hold a service of repentance by the drones testing site in the farm yard of Hendre farm, Blaenannerch, SA43 2AN, at 3 0'clock. I will be there under our group banner, join us if you want.
For further details and directions please see
Furthermore Drones are immoral and intolerable and are vehicles for spying. As remote killing machines they represent a further and cruel devolution in human behaviour, escalating conflicts causing fear and resentment and contribute nothing towards any long term solution.
They kill innocent civilians indiscriminately and are dehumanising for the operator as well as target victims and those under surveillance. Operated by satellite, they escalate the use of space as a theatre of and platform for killing and war. They are big business across the world and are certain to herald the development (marketing & sale) of 'anti-UAV weapons'.
Military drone attacks are calculated by some to kill 50 civilians for every combatant killed. However, a senior administration official has said that the number of civilians killed in drone strikes in Pakistan under Mr Obama was in 'single digits'.. This is because the US military counts all military age males in a strike zone as combatants ... men, women and children can all be considered 'terrorists'unless 'there is explicit intelligence postumously proving them innocent'.
50,000 people live uner the new 500 sq mile UAV fly zone. Two drones crshed in the first months of flying out of Parc Aberporth so there are serious local concerns about safety. The Welsh Assembly has not carried out any public assessments drone flying over Wales. No infomation was made available about crashes or known accidental fatalities.
The type of drone flown at Parc Aberporth (Hermes?Watchkeeper) has been used by the Israeli military to target civiliands during its attacks on Gaza.
The European Convention on Human Rights makes public organisations responsible for not invading our privacy. Watckeeper drones carry powerful cameras and other tracking equipment for surveillance, monitoring and reconnaissence exercises. Welsh Assembly Government (Wag) has not given assurances that they will act within the law on this issue.
LIVING IN THE NO FLY ZONE - Harry Rogers
LIVING IN THE NO FLY ZONE HEAR THE SOUND OF A DRONE NEIGHBOURS MAKE A GROAN BEEN LEFT ON HIS OWN
HAPPENING MORE AND MORE LIVING ON THE FLOOR UNDERNEATH A DOOR THIS IS MODERN WAR
DON'T WANT NO UCAV BOMBING YOU AND ME DON'T WANT NO RFID TRACKING YOU AND ME DON'T WANT NO CTTV WATCHING YOU AND ME ALL WE WANT YOU SEE IS A COUNTRY THAT IS FREE
SOLDIERS HAVE ALL GONE BUT THIS WAR CARRIES ON THE CEASEFIRE IS A CON IT'S OUR ARMEGEDDON
DON'T WANT NO UCAV BOMBING YOU AND ME DON'T WANT NO RFID TRACKING YOU AND ME ALL WE WANT YOU SEE IS A COUNTRY THAT IS FREE
At this moment in time many people in the UK are enjoying the UEFA Euro 2012. But also happening is the fate of a young Palestinian fotballer named Mahmoud Sarsak, he is currently in a critical condition after 89 consecutive days of hunger strike. This follows his detention under 'administrative detebtion' procedures, where he is being held by Israel without charge and without trial. He has been detained since July 2009, when he was detained at a checkpoint as he travelled from his home in Gaza to join the national Palestinian squad for a match at Balata in the Northern West Bank. In their first home international last year, an Olympic qualifying match against Thailand, the Palestinian team was without eight key players, all of whom had been refused permission to travel from Gaza to Ramallah.
The 25 year old had once hoped to push the ranking of his national team back to a reasonable standing. If Palestinians ever deserve to be called fanatics, it is in relation to their love of soccer.Their struggle to play it, is linked with their struggle for freedom. Palestines ranking at 164th in the world is testament not to any lack of passion for the game, but to Israel's constant attempts at destroying even this pastime, and passion.
Growing up in refugee camps it is through sports like football that many Palestinian youth are enpowered.
Earlier this year, the UN determined that Israel's policies in the occupied territories amounted to a violation of the UN's convention prohibiting apartheid.
Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director, Philip Luther on Mahmoud said
' After almost three years in detention, the Israeli authorities have had ample opportunity to charge al-Sarsak with a recognisable criminal offence and bring him to trial. They have failed to do so, and instead repeatedly affirmed his detention order on the basis of secret infomation withheld from him and his Lawyer.'
He has also been denied proper access to medical treatment repeatedly during his hunger strike. For someone on the verge of death, this amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Israel's international obligation.
Time is not on his side and the matter gets urgent by each day, the international community has daily been speaking out, with Eric Cantona, Red Card against Racism and the FIFA President all speaking out against his continual detention.
You can support Mahmoud today by following this link, and try and help release him so that he can return to his family and friends. Asking your MP to make urgent representations to the Foreign office now.
"This new type of man. . . turns his interest away from life, persons, nature , ideas- in short from everything that is alive; he transforms all life into things, including himself and the manifestations of human faculties of reasoning, seeing, hearing, tasting, loving. Sexuality becomes a technical skill . . . feelings are flattened and sometimes substituted for by sentimentality; joy, the expression of intense aliveness, is replaced by 'fun' or excitement; and whatever love and tenderness man has directed towards machines and gadgets. The world becomes a sum of lifeless artefacts; from synthetic food to synthetic organs, the whole man becomes part of the total machinery that he controls and is simultaneously controlled by. He has no plan, no goal for life , except doing what the logic of technique determines him to do. He aspires to make robots as one of the greatest acievements of his technical mind, and some specialists assure us that the robot will hardly be distinguished from living men. This achievement will not seem so astonishing when man himself is hardly distinguishable from a robot. The world of life has become a world of 'no-life'; persons have become 'nonpersons', a world of death."
Reprinted from
' The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness'
Jonathan Cape , 1974.
Incidentally this blog is 3 years old today, so thanks to all who have dropped by, left a comment, shown encouragement and to all the other blogers who have given me inspiration, you know who you are.
Am beginning to run out of steam, but will plough on for a bit. Time to lose control.
