Dare to be a Daniel, was the title chosen by Tony Benn for his early memoir, the first lines of the following poem are from an old salvation Army hymn that had been sung to him by his parents. I try to keep faith, dare to be different.
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone,
Dare to have a purpose firm,
And dare to let it know.
Dare to stand with the voiceless,
the occupied daily denied,
stand shoulder to shoulder,
with devoted words of meaning,
committed breaths carrying no fear.
Seed the earth with love,
persistent grains of freedoms cry,
move forward with language of hope,
in blazing movements of united flow.
Seek out the hallmarks of truth and justice,
drink from the vessels of life,
keep faith as our changeless songs hum out,
in fearless cry, together we right their wrongs.
On the breeze, our voices lift,
for tomorrows bright sun to shine again,
leave footprints by rivers' waves of friendliness,
in flows of solidarity and stealth.
Another one bites the dust, so soon after Bob Crow, it feels like a real kick from the darkness. Tony Benn, was one of the first people to politically inspire me, with his honest outlook, passionate zeal and integrity, who gave up his aristocratic title to walk as a principled man of deeds, a true man of the people, a champion of brothers and sisters everywhere, the powerless, who stood up for the Palestinians freedom, from the river to the sea, a man who I have been privileged to meet, his greatest hits on constant replay on my stereo, in faltering times he allowed me to keep faith. Taught me the value of solidarity.
He spoke out about the greedy among us, the multinationals, against wars for profit, in Afghanistan and Iraq.A champion of the abolition of the monarchy, and any strike that was going, he stood shoulder to shoulder with us all, with unfaltering belief and abiding determination that power and the powerful should be held to account.
We must continue his deeds, set about building a genuine alternative to capitalism that does not get bogged down in sectarian bullshit, carry on the torch of his beliefs in a better world and his determination to end the sorrow of war.A world where politics is not the language of brute force but an articulated vision of the possible - of justice, progress and peace and equality.
His last written volume was called ' Free at Last' and now he is, but his breath of devotion will run forever.He died peacefully, at his home in West London, so so long comrade. R.I.P
" There in every human heart from the beginning of time there have been two flames burning , the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope that you can build a better world. And those two flames are burning in our hearts today, in the hearts and minds of millions of people."
- Tony Benn
Tony Benn on BBC's refusal to brodcast Gaza appeal
Today marks the 46th anniversary of the My Lai massacre,the mass murder of hundreds of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians at the hands of U.S soldiers from Charli company, 11th Infantry Brigade.They went through the village of My Lai nercilessly killing old men, women, children and infants. There wre reports of gang rapes as well as large groups mowed down by machine gun fire. It did not help if families huddled in their huts or whether they came out with their arms up in surrender, they too were killed. In total 504 villagers were murdered. After attempts at a cover up, the news got out.
The incident marked a turning point in the Vietnam War sparking worldwide outrage at the atrocities committed by the American troops.
Eugene McCarthy had served as a civilian in the War Department in 1944 and later was to become a Senator in Minnesota. In 1968 he campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president in 1968 as a peace candidate.
My Lai Conversation
How old are you, small Vietnamese boy?
Sixfingers. Six years.
Why did you carry water to the wounded soldier, now dead?
Your father.
Your father was the enemy of the free world.
You are also now are enemy of free world.
Who told you to carry water to your father?
Your mother!
Your mother is also enemy of free world.
You go into ditch with your mother.
American politician has said,
"It is better to kill you as a boy in the elephant grass of Vietnam
Than to have to kill you as a man in the rye grass in the U.S.A."
You understand,
It is easier to die
Where you know the names of the birds, the trees and the grass
Than in a strange country.
You will be number 128 in the body count for today.
High body count will make the Commander-in Chief
of the free world much encouraged.
Good-bye, small six-year old Vietnamese boy, enemy of free
world.
( Some lucky villagers like these two children below, survived the massacre)
" Ah life is a gate, a way, a path to Paradise anyway, why not live for fun and joy and love or some sort of a girl by a fireside, why not go to your desire and LAUGH"
Practice kindness all day to everybody and you'll realise you're already in heaven now. "
" Live travel, adventure, bless and don't be sorry. "
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsburg is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation. A creator of spontaneous Bop prosity I owe him an enormous debt.
He wrote some of the most beautiful words I've ever read, as well as taking part in adventures I can only dream about.
Born Jean-Louis Kerouac, on March 12 1922 in working class Lowell, Massachusetts, he was of French-Canadian descent. The youngest of three children, he was heartbroken when his older brother Gerard died of rheumatic fever at the age of nine.
He grew up learning English as a second language. After a spell in the Navy,(discharged for having a schizoid personality) he became a merchant seaman, then decided on the life of an itinerant wanderer, a lifestyle that gave him inspiration for his later novels.
His works were of an autobiographical nature, reflecting a deep social disillusionment influenced by drugs, alcohol, mysticism and biting humor. I like his work a lot.
Sadly he died of internal bleeding at the young age of 47, as a consequence of long term alcohol abuse. His stature as a great writer nevertheless continues to grow.
Had he lived today would have been his 92nd birthday, so Happy birthday Jack kerouac, we will never know another quite like him.
On Tears
Tears is the break of my brow,
The money tempestuous
Sitting down in dark railyards
When to see my mother's face
Recalling from the waking vision
I wept to understand
The trap mortality
And personal blood of earth
Which saw me in - Father, father
Why hast thou forsaken me?
Mortality & unpleasure
Roam this city-
Unhappiness my middle name
I want to be saved.
Sunk- can't be
Won't be
Never was made-
So retch!
211th Chorus
The wheel of the quivering meat
conception
Turns in the void expelling human beings,
Pigs, turtles, frogs, insects, rats, roan
Racinghorses, poxy bucolic pigtics,
Horrible unameable lice of vultures,
Murderous attacking dog-armies
Of Africa, Rhinos roaming in the
jungle,
Vast boars and huge gigantic bull
Elephant, rams, eagles, condors,
Pones and Porcupines and Pills-
All the endless conception of living
beings
Gnashing everywhere in Consciouness
Throughout the ten directions of space
Occupying all the quarters in &out,
To huge Galazy Lightyear Bowell
Illuminating the sky of one Mind-
Poor!
I wish I was free
of that slaving meat wheel
and safe in heaven dead.
"There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep rolling under the stars." - Jack Kerouac
Kerouac interviewed in French with English subtitles.
Sad to hear the news earlier that Bob Crow, the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) had passed away in the early hours of this morning. He will be greatly missed, strong passionate voices like his are needed now more than ever. He will be remembered for a long time because he stood up for others, working tirelessly for his union, committed too to the many whose voices are simply ignored. A man for all people, he realised that together as one we can release the chains, in his own words " 'If you fight, you won't always win. But if you don't fight, you will always lose.'"
A friend of progressive causes across the globe, an anti fascist, who fought for the underdog and for what he believed,proudly standing with the Palestinian people, challenging Israels policies, speaking also over the years at the Trade Union Congress for peace and justice for all,
An effective leader, of enormous integrity, bravery and vision. His defence of standards in public transport was about much more than the interests of his own members, it was for the general society and our shared responsibilities.
His struggle was ours, for a better society. His work unfortunately unfinished, so we must carry on his deeds.
The enemies of the working class knew his value, in their consistent campaign of vilification, led by the Daily Mail. Only yesterday he gave a frank and quite candid interview with Radio 4, with his last breaths he never flinched an inch.
So thank you Comrade Bob Crow, my thoughts go out to his family and friends and all those he worked so hard to represent.
The struggle continues.
Excerpts from a lecture by William S. Burroughs on public discource, recored at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics on August 11, 1980. The complete 90 minute sound file can be downloaded here. http://www.archive.org/details/naropa_william_s_burroughs_lecture_on
(Other topics discussed include nuclear weapons, disarmament, aliens, function of the artist, writing, cut-up method, mind-altering drugs, reincarnation, and economics.)
Timelapse photography by Martin Setvak http://www.setvak.cz/timelapse Selected clips are from the2008 and 2007 galleries.Music by Biosphere ( 'As the Sun kissed the Horizon' and ' Poa Alpina' from 'Substrata,' Origo Sound 1997).
Beautiful day over here, not sure what to do watch a game of Rugby Wales Verses England (wonder if you can guess who I will be supporting) or go outside spend sometime in the garden. Either way I will keep on dreaming.
Ingeborg Bachmann was an Austrian Poet and short story writer. She wrote a doctoral thesis on philosophy at Heidgegger. She was awarded the Buchner Prize in 1964. Her work focused on themes of personal borders, the establishment of the time, and the philosophy of language. I decdicate this post in solidarity to my sisters everywhere on International Womens Day remembering all the struggles and sacrifices they have made. Heddwch/peace.
Every Day
War is no longer declared
but continued. The unheard-of thing
in the every-day. The hero
keeps away from the fighters. The weak man
has moved up to the battle zones.
The uniform of the day is patience,
its decoration the humble star
of hope worn over the heart.
It is awarded
when nothing goes on,
when the drumbeat subsides,
when the enemy has grown invisible
and the shadow of everlasting arms
covers the sky.
It is awarded
for desertion of the flag,
for courage in the face of the friend,
for the betrayal of unworthy secrets
and for the non-observance
of every order.
More than 40 women from the U.S based anti-war group Code Pink on there way to Gaza as part of a delegation for International Womens day are staging a sit in insidde Cairo International Airport after being refused entry into the country since Tuesday, airport officials in Egypt have said today. They were travelling to witness the hardships facing the 1.7 million residents og Gaza, and to deliver humanitarian aid and call attention for a long term strategy to achieve peace and justice for Palestinians. Standing in solidarity with the terrible life that women, children and old people have to endure daily in Gaza.
Some of the activists have been deported, they include women from many different countries, including Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, American human rights campaigner Medea Benjamin, and Northern Ireland human rights advocate Anne Patterson.
Ms Benjamin, who travelled alone, was assaulted by Egyptian security officials deported to Istanbul, Turkey, on March 4 and was hospitalised overnight in Istanbul until her flight to the US midday on March 5," according to a press release by CODEPINK.
It is widely being seen as a backward step in Egypst support of the Palestinian cause and the Gazan people in particular.
Link to CODEPINKS website here:-
March is kite flying weather, support the people of Afganistan, Palestine, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia by flying a kite. Kite flying has become synonomous with Afghanistan as a well loved pursuit which was banned under the Taliban, now Afghans are more used to the presence of UK armed surveillance drones flying above. Having to live under the mental pressure and physical destruction which British drones (currently operated from RAF Waddington, Lincoln) now reap.
A campaign launched by Voices for Creative Non-Violence UK in solidarity with the Afghanistan Peace Volunteers who want to end the use of drones. In commemoration of the Afghan New Year 21-23 March.
More information here:-
Oh and if you haven't signed the following please do.
Who Controls my sky?
Small World Theatre which is local to me, has got through to the final shortlist of 3.
With your help it can go all the way?
Drones are currently being tested in my local area. Unmanned Surveillance and weapons equipped aerial devices, although the drones may not be armed when tested there have been worrying accidents. Small World Theatre would like the opportunity for my community to creatively discuss this controversial subject and share different views.
Is this a vital multi billion pound industry for Wales?
Is West Wales part of a programme that assists surveillance and remote killing?
Small World is an artist led organisation, who with the National Theatre Wales is helping explore the impact of the use of drines locally, nationally and internationally.
In a personal capacity as a member of Cardigan Pembrokeshire Amnesty International Group we have been campaigning against them for a number of years.We have constantly condemned there use, which are used to assist surveillance and remote killing.
It's a worlwide issue though and effects us all, so please vote for them here :-
30 years ago on March 1, 1984, the state owned National Coal Board under American Ian MacGregor aided and abetted, by the then Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher announced that it planned to close 20 coal pits with the loss of over 20,000 jobs. This decision was to go and pit Mrs Thatchers government against the NUM and its then president, Arthur Scargill.
The year-long strike that followed would change the political, economic and social history of Britain forever. The courage and determination of the striking miners, their families and communities would charge and inspire the political consciousness of hundreds of thousands of people, as it did for me, aged 16 and a half at the start of the strike.
It would see the full force of the state out to try and break and tear apart communities with the use of road-blocks, beatings, snatch squads, phone taps and the erosion of civil liberties.
Miners on picket lines were brutalised and attacked by baton-wielding police in full riot gear. For me at the time this was to be a year of great awakenings, seeing their fight, I started to see connections with other peoples struggles. The plight of the poor and unemployed, Nicuaragua and Apartheid South Africa, people being daily attacked by Margaret Thatchers rabid Government. I decided to take sides with with those who decided to take on the right wing policies of Thatchers government.
The rights and wrongs of whether the miners should have had a national ballot has been widely discussed, but like many others at the time I believed that once the miners were out, it was our duty to support and work for them. Within weeks of the strike starting 80% of miners supported the strike, standing against what they saw as the unjustifiable attacks on their right to existance and resistance.
Later at Orgreave it became apparent, of the true intentions of Thatchers government, with the full collusion of the police ,it was noticed that they had no intention of finding reconciliation or settlement to this industrial dispute. The sole intention was an ideological one, to mortally wound the National Union of Mineworkers, to defeat it with military force and with naked violence ,by any means necessary.
Despite increasing hardships the miners fought on with determination and bravery. During the course of the strike over 6,000 were arrested, with over 20,000 miners being injured in acts of state violence.
Throughout the strike I would witness, how the right wing media tried to vilify and undermine. The media being used to lie, and used as a weapon to crush the miners resiliance, the media also enabling to misrepresent, and divide the movement.The propoganda part of Thatchers assault, was being pushed out everyday. At her so called enemy within.
Psychological pressure was also used, with the police encouraged to wave wads of cash at pickets, designed to undermine and demoralise, the use of scabs increased, bussing them through picket lines in a determined effort to break the will of the striking miners.
Throuhout the country, groups emerged, either as individuals or part of miners support groups, raising money and awareness, standing in solidarity. Disparate groups found common ground, from the Unemployed, the Peace Movement, students, other Trade Unions, all standing firmly behind the miners in their great struggle. The women from the mining communities in particular acted as bulmarks of strength, organising welfare and support, collecting food and money and giving much needed moral energy. Lesbian and Gay support groupss also played a vital role and consequently the NUM led the pride demonstration in London in 1985. It was an energising time, new friends were made, the camerardie that emerged was simply amazing.
Sadly eventually some miners started drifting back there will broken, but it should be noted that 63% of the miners stayed out to the bitter end, and finally they were defeated, there can be no denying this unfortunate fact.
Sadly they were also let down by the Labour Party, especially their spineless leader Neil Kinnock, who refused to attend picket lines or events supporting the miners, in effect helping Thatchers dirty war of attrition. Other Trade Union leaders let them down to, unfortunately.
30 years later I remember the courage and sacrifice made during this bitter struggle and the spirit of revolt they unleashed, and those who remained defiant to the end, and acknowledge the miners who were arrested and locked up on trumped up charges.The communities that never fully recovered from the financial blow of the strike. Those who fought for the survival of a humane society here in Wales and across Britain, and a vile government who used the state in almost all its entirety to defeat the miners and to teach the whole working class a lesson. Passions remain unwaned, and I feel the miners strike has left us with a legacy that we should be proud of, of a people and community standing together in solidarity in the face of adversity.
30 years on solidarity is needed more than ever, as we remember the miners struggle, and continue our own for jobs, social justice and welfare. in our opposition to the current Con Dem coalition Government, who are carrying on where Thatcher left off.
The fight continues.
Test Department and the South Wales Striking Miners
