Today the Queen otherwise known as Mrs Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, turns 90, a long life indeed, and also shares a birthday with my own grandson who himself turns four today, so salutations to him as well. Many of us today instead of joining in the sycophantic celebrations that are taking place would instead actually like to have a debate about Britain's future. After all no-one should be head of state for decades without any elections. Do we simply sit back and watch her son Charles become King, after her reign? A long life is not an excuse in itself for a long reign. The fact that the Queen is now the longest reigning monarch I do not see in itself as a cause for celebration, but an opportunity and reminder of how much we need real radical democratic reform. Millions of us are simply not interested anymore in royal milestones, in times of austerity, and as usual we are denied the opportunity to hear any real debate about the future of the monarchy. In a statement posted by Republic a grassroots movement that has over 5,000 members and 35,000 supporters it said todays event " reminds us that support for the monarchy is bound up with support for the Queen." The group has also criticised the BBC's coverage, I agree with them, adding it is the usual fawning display that simply does not warrant or deserve this amount of coverage, is there not much more worthy things that need reporting? It is completely over the top. The Republican movement in Britain has announced that it will campaign to make the case for holding a referendum on the future of the British monarchy after the Queen's death. Like me it does not think that the British monarchy a harmless tourist attraction that most people think, rather that it has a history of abusing public money and meddling in politics. Furthermore is it not the case that as long as we remain subjects not citizens, of our country, our political and social attitudes will continue to retain an archaic flavour that is harmful equally to our image of ourselves and attitude of others towards us. Until we turn our back on hereditary power at the top of our political, military and religious institutions we have little chance of shaking of the mentality of society defined by class that serves to prop up the same elitist status quo. How can we continue to tolerate a hereditary monarch representing the feudal society of medieval England in a modern democratic state. How is it is still acceptable that the British taxpayer still has to pay £75,000,000 a year to support one of the richest families in Britain ( wealth accumulated and robbed from people during previous centuries) when people are made homeless, forced to sleep on the streets, how can we justify spending this on relics that serve no purpose while 13 million of us are in poverty and 913,000 of us are having to rely on foodbanks.. The Queen's private residence Buckhingham Palace estimated to be £55 billion!! The monarchy like slavery , sexual and class discrimination and colonial exploitation is a throwback to our shameful past and an impediment to a bright future. So happy birthday Mrs Windsor, but please let the British public decide now whether we want you or not, I have already made up my mind, it is outdated and does not serve our modern needs,an irrelevent drain on our society so viva republic.
On this day April 20th, 1914, the National Guard and Colorado Fuel & Iron Company guards carry out the Ludlow massacre.
It happened after months of
intermittent violence between the striking miners and the mine
detectives employed by the J.D. Rockefeller owned Colorado Fuel &
Iron Company.
Miners were generally paid according to tonnage of coal produced,
while so-called "dead work", such as shoring up unstable roofs, was
often unpaid. Between 1884 and 1912, mining accidents claimed the lives of more than 1,700 Coloradans
In 1913 alone, 104 men would die in Colorado’s mines, and 6 in the
mine workings on the surface, in accidents that widowed 51 and left 108
children fatherless.
Colliers had little opportunity to air their grievances. Many colliers resided in company towns,
in which all land, real estate, and amenities were owned by the mine
operator, and which were expressly designed to inculcate loyalty and
squelch dissent.
Frustrated by working conditions which they felt were unsafe and unjust,
colliers increasingly turned to unionism. Nationwide, organized mines
boasted 40 percent fewer fatalities than nonunion mines. Colorado miners had repeatedly attempted to unionize since the state's first strike in 1883. The Western Federation of Miners organized primarily hard rock miners in the gold and silver camps during the 1890s. Beginning in 1900, the UMWA began organizing coal miners in the western states,
including southern Colorado. The UMWA decided to focus on the CF&I
because of the company's harsh management tactics under the conservative
and distant Rockefellers and other investorsors. To break or prevent
strikes, the coal companies hired strike breakers,
mainly from Mexico and southern and eastern Europe. CF&I's
management mixed immigrants of different nationalities in the mines, a
practice which discouraged communication that might lead to
organization.
Despite attempts to suppress union activity, secret organizing by the
UMWA continued in the years leading up to 1913. Eventually, the union
presented a list of seven demands on behalf of the miners:
Recognition of the union as bargaining agent
An increase in tonnage rates (equivalent to a 10% wage increase)
Enforcement of the eight-hour work day law
Payment for "dead work" (laying track, timbering, handling impurities, etc.)
Weight-checkmen elected by the workers (to keep company weightmen honest)
The right to use any store, and choose their boarding houses and doctors
Strict enforcement of Colorado's laws (such as mine safety rules, abolition of scrip), and an end to the company guard system
The major coal companies rejected the demands and in September 1913,
the UMWA called a strike. Those who went on strike were promptly evicted
from their company homes, and they moved to tent villages prepared by
the UMWA. The tents were built on wood platforms and furnished with
cast iron stoves on land leased by the union in preparation for a
strike.
When leasing the sites, the union had strategically selected
locations near the mouths of canyons that led to the coal camps, for the
purpose of monitoring traffic and harassing replacement workers.
Confrontations between striking miners and working miners, referred to as "scabs" by the union, sometimes resulted in deaths. The company hired the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency to protect the new workers and harass the strikers.
Baldwin–Felts had a reputation for aggressive strike breaking.
Agents shone searchlights on the tent villages at night and fired
bullets into the tents at random, occasionally killing and maiming
people. They used an improvised armoured car, mounted with a machine gun the union called the "Death Special"
to patrol the camp's perimeters. The steel-covered car was built in the
CF&I plant in Pueblo, Colorado from the chassis of a large touring sedan. Frequent sniperr
attacks on the tent colonies drove the miners to dig pits beneath the
tents where they and their families could be better protected.
As strike-related violence mounted, Colorado governor Elias M. Ammons
called in the Colorado National Guard on October 28. At first, the
Guard's appearance calmed the situation, but the sympathies of Guard
leaders lay with company management. Guard Adjutant-General John Chase, who had served during the violent Cripple Creek
strike 10 years earlier, imposed a harsh regime. On March 10, 1914, the
body of a replacement worker was found on the railroad tracks near Forbes, Colorado.
The National Guard said that the man had been murdered by the strikers.
In retaliation, Chase ordered the Forbes tent colony destroyed. The
attack was launched while the inhabitants were attending a funeral of
infants who had died a few days earlier. The attack was witnessed by
photographer Lou Dold, whose images of the destruction appear often in accounts of the strike.
The strikers persevered until the spring of 1914. By then, the
state had run out of money to maintain the Guard, and was forced to
recall them. The governor and the mining companies, fearing a breakdown
in order, left two Guard units in southern Colorado and allowed the
coal companies to finance a residual militia consisting largely of
CF&I camp guards in National Guard uniforms.
On the morning of April 20, the day after Easter was celebrated by
the many Greek immigrants at Ludlow, three Guardsmen appeared at the
camp ordering the release of a man they claimed was being held against
his will. This request prompted the camp leader, Louis Tikas,
to meet with a local militia commander at the train station in Ludlow
village, a half mile (0.8 km) from the colony. While this meeting was
progressing, two companies of militia installed a machine gun on a ridge
near the camp and took a position along a rail route about half a mile
south of Ludlow. Anticipating trouble, Tikas ran back to the camp. The
miners, fearing for the safety of their families, set out to flank the
militia positions. A gunfight soon broke out.
The fighting raged for the entire day. The militia was reinforced
by non-uniformed mine guards later in the afternoon. At dusk, a passing
freight train stopped on the tracks in front of the Guards' machine gun
placements, allowing many of the miners and their families to escape to
an outcrop of hills to the east called the "Black Hills." By 7:00 p.m.,
the camp was in flames, and the militia descended on it and began to
search and loot the camp. Louis Tikas had remained in the camp the
entire day and was still there when the fire started. Tikas and two
other men were captured by the militia. Tikas and Lt.Karl Linderfelt,
commander of one of two Guard companies, had confronted each other
several times in the previous months. While two militiamen held Tikas,
Linderfelt broke a rifle butt over his head. Tikas and the other two
captured miners were later found shot dead. Tikas had been shot in the
back. Their bodies lay along the Colorado and Southern Railway
tracks for three days in full view of passing trains. The militia
officers refused to allow them to be moved until a local of a railway
union demanded the bodies be taken away for burial.
During the battle, four women and eleven children had been hiding
in a pit beneath one tent, where they were trapped when the tent above
them was set on fire. Two of the women and all of the children
suffocated. These deaths became a rallying cry for the UMWA, who called
the incident the "Ludlow Massacre."
In addition to the fire victims, Louis Tikas and the other men
who were shot to death, three company guards and one militiaman were
killed in the day's fighting.
The Ludlow Massacre became a rallying cry for union organizers and
labor activists for years afterwards. It would be decades before the
rights the Ludlow strikers fought for, such as the right to join an
independent union, an eight-hour workday, and child labor laws — were
enshrined in law with the passing of the National Labour Relations and Wagner acts as part of FDR’s New Deal.
These strong protections for unions paved the way for the longest
period of prosperity in American history, the Long Boom of the post-WWII
economy.
Though it has been mostly forgotten by the history books, the Ludlow Massacre inspired historians like Howard Zinn and Georg McGovern to write about it. Zinn described the Ludlow Massacre as "the culminating act of perhaps the
most violent struggle between corporate power and laboring men in
American history". Musicians like Woody Guthrie among other wrote songs about Ludlow.
Today
the Ludlow Monument, stands at the site
of what was the Ludlow colony. It is now officially a national historic
landmark, commemorating “a pivotal event in American history,” when
workers and their families fought and died so that they did not have
to surrender their rights and freedom at the job site. May they rest in power.
Lest we forget. Unions learnt from Ludlow, fought back strong, and were able to forge and implement new forms of welfare support and working class power. Over the years with stricter labour laws and increased enforcement of them curtailed the right of employees and gave strength to those in unions. So that business leaders are denied repeating the abuses of old. Long may this be so.
There was a massive demo in London over the weekend. Thousands took to the streets in other cities too. All largely ignored by the mainstream media including the BBC, who did however take time to provide us with the story of two young Royals jetting half way round the world to be photographed sitting on a bench. This was the actual news - Royals sitting on a bench. A bench that had apparently been sat on by another royal bum many years previously. 150,000 people ignored who had traveled from all over the UK to protest against austerity, Tory misrule and a sick system, ordinary proud people who had gathered to denounce public sector cuts, the treatment of the disabled and the vulnerable through welfare cuts and the privatisation of the N.H.S. I know which story I was most interested in hearing about, much more significant and relevent than a thousand words about royalty. Guess I'm just biased. Sad to see the BBC along with Murdoch's sky news missing this huge discontent in British society for something so trivial. I guess it will take more than marching to divert the media's gaze. In other news, Jamaica plans to end Queen's rule as Head of State, who knows hopefully it will be our turn next.
Life is a voyage of discovery and transformation Containing equal measures of ugliness and beauty, Prisms of moveability and change Balancing acts between holding on and letting go, Riding on waves of wonder and transition Surging high above or deep below, Navigating times eternal cycles The pulse of the morning and the light of evening stars, Moments slow - then last forever On journeys without maps, where roads turn into rivers, Divisions forcefields continue to be unbroken Love's reasoning uninterrupted constantly flows, As no cages or fences remain to lock us in.
Today I remember the life of Vittorio Arrigoni a renowned Italian human rights/ peace activist, who served as a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement, who worked closely with the fishermen and farmers of the occupied Gaza strip. Who for ten years worked for the recognition of Palestinian rights under Israeli occupation. During the Israeli offensive against the Gaza strip in 2008-09 he acted as a human shield while working with the Palestinian Red Crescent humanitarian organisation. He was also abroad the 2008 Free Gaza Movement Vessel and was imprisoned in Israel several times. He also worked as a freelance journalist for the Italian daily IL Manifesto and for his own blog Guerilla radio. His daily dispatches written between bombing raids and patchy internet access ended with the plea - "Stay human." which became the motto of anti-israeli peace protests in his native Italy. His authoritative and deeply moving eyewitness accounts were published in 2010 under the title Gaza - Stay human. On April 14 2011 he was kidnapped and the next day brutally murdered by militants in Gaza, which caused international outcry and was unanimously condemned by both Hamas and the Palestinian National authority. A senseless, shocking mindless act. Known for his infectious smile, and deep humility and the tattoo he bore on his arm of the word resistance written in arabic. Along with his dedicated support of the Palestinians, who embodies many of the qualities that draw people to Palestine - his immense bravery - against the odds - when confronting incredible violence and his unwavering determination to stay human and loving in the face of inhumanity towards the very end. He remains a hero to the Palestinian people and many others across the globe.
Currently going viral, new one from Cassetteboy. If your not worried about the Investigation Powers Bill ( aka the snoopers charter) you obviously don't know enough about it. The Investigators Poers Bill will make us less safe and less free. It will force communication companies like Sky, BT, Google and facebook to collect and hand over details and record everything you do online. All of this will be logged abd analysed and used to build an intimate picture of your life, as a means of keeping us under control. It is a dangerous piece of legislation, which is also a human rights issue, who knows how your data could be used if the information they hold on you got into the wrong hands, the Governments hands already pretty dangerous. At the end of the day it could needlesly violate your rights. Visit https://www.privacyinternational.org and join the campaign against the Governments sinister new snooper charter.
France As spring awakens, tens of thousands of people have recently occupied the streets of major European capitals. People taking to the streets to protest against their governments and call for the resignation of their political leaders. In Reykjavik, Iceland mass protests bought down their Prime Minister in wake of the Panama papers and in London similar demonstrations have taken place demanding that dodgy Dave Cameron resigns. While in France a burgeoning movement of anger has emerged known as uit Debout ( up all night ) that has swept the country people's assemblies have been organised and city squares have been occupied inspiring the world. And in Athens, Greece refugees have marched to demand open borders and respect for their human rights and dignity. We are witnessing a resurgence of mass protests, an unprecedented escalation in large scale citizen protests, movements building for a better future, trying their best to achieve social change. People not usually interested in politics interested in this spirit of change. People connecting and joining the dots, demanding another way, it seems like an impossible spirit to kill. Diverse in their goals but unified by their people power but all motivated by a strong desire for change. The long history of social movements that have the ability to transform our lives is a notable one, that seek to end the rule of money so that people and planet come before profits. With the impact of austerity hitting us all hard, causing economic hardship and unfairness the inevitable results are these waves of rebellion. The mainstream media seems intent on ignoring these mass protests, but the spirit is growing and spreading, hope is alive and in the air, people now boiling with rage but with the desire to construct something brand new, from the bottom up, whilst despising a system made by the elite for the elite, a system that everybody is beginning to realize is broken and cannot be fixed. As our leaders continue to treat us as dirt, want us to remain broken, together we will rise and in solidarity we will find our strength. With resistance, triumph and compassion I have a strong belief that our futures can be changed for the better, forwards we move, our roads are clear. All these things give me hope as I write. One of lives lessons is always moving on. These movements have no limit, no borders and belong to all who wish to be part of it. This spring hope is well and truly in the air. As the late singer Phil Ochs once said "In such ugly times the only true protest is beauty." I will end with the following poem by Emily Dickinson :- Hope is the thing with feathers " Hope is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without words- And never stops -at all - And sweetest - in the gale - is heard - And sore must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm - I've heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.
Tory leader who looks like a train continues to treat us as idiots, as he tries desperately to react to the public's disgust at his and others tax avoidance and evasion. He has announced that HMRC will be working with the National Crime Agency to lead a wold class task force to investigate allegations of tax dodging and money laundering bought to light by the leak of 11 million files by a Panama Law firm. But Cameron in charge does not exactly inspire much confidence - a man who has made a career out of advising people on how to dodge tax who once publicly stated that the whole concept of tax was ' legalised extortion.' And so the story keeps on running, since he has not drawn a line under the story, we all now know how much money he has been making, profits made and how supposedly bloody transparent he is. Now that we have started we will continue to keep asking much needed questions. Each day he looks more and more at unease , the case of Dave a man who looks like a train continuing to treat us all as idiots. We should keep pointing out to him how big money has continually corrupted and tainted British politics. This is a man who has had the audacity to cut the benefits of disabled people who cannot dress or look after themselves , while the tax payer continues to pays him around 53 k a year to help him and his wife (Samantha worth in her own right £29 million ) to dress and look after themselves. David Cameron cannot keep on treating us as idiots, with added lies and expect the people to continue to trust him. His ethics and morality have now been called into question and it is clear that he is not passing the test as he continues to be evasive and defensive and his obvious unwillingness to be straight to the public that he supposedly serves . because of this his credibility now lies in shatters as his policies continue to lead to direct cuts in services and benefits that are hurting millions of people right now in Britain. No wonder that Dennis Skinner had the tenacity to call him ' Dodgy Dave" and did not to withdraw the remark and then subsequently got kicked out for speaking the truth. Thank Dennis. Yes dodgy Dave by name and nature I hope that he will continually be given the shunt and shown all the derision that he deserves. Even he admits he could have handled this affair much better, it just shows yet again how his government is run for the privileged few and not for the majority of the population.
Dennis Skinner on dodgy Dave
Let us hope that this sorry affair will lead to new rules being put in place , that lead to more openness and transparency that enables the British public to know more about the dubious nature of our leaders business dealings. Old research also reveals that wealth does not trickle down - it just floods offshore :-- http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/jul/21/offshore-wealth-global-economy-tax-havens/ In response to his gaffes a large scale public call for a general election in 2016 is now going viral. British patience has finally reached its limit. It also comes as no surprise to learn that as our Tory Government destroys our steel industry, that Margaret Thatcher a political hero of Cameron's who herself contributed to the destruction of the coal industry and society as a whole, also benefited from not paying no tax. It has been revealed that her own children will continue to avoid millions in inheritance tax since their mothers house in Belgravia, London, was registered to an offshore trust yet still taxpayers had to fork out for the cost of her funeral three years ago this month. Has it not always been the case up to now of one rule for some and a completely different one for the rest of us less fortunate. Sadly tax avoiders usually need to be pushed before they can change their attitudes. In the meantime when Cameron's election leaflet pops through our doors in the next few days printed by a German printing company you can send it back to the following address and the Conservative Party will get the 'bill for the postage.
In light of Howard Marks's passing this great advocate for the legislation of cannabis, is it not time to change the law. It is a fact that 45% of us here in Britain have tried it, and a majority of 47% currently support its legislation. As seen in the Independent newspaper on Saturday. Is it not time that the UK reformed its cannabis policy speak out about its continual prohibition and offer direct comparisons how UK citizens are treated unfairly compared to our equals in Spain, Uruguay, Canada, Jamaica, and a growing number of US states. At the moment Cannabis consumption, possession and supply are currently illegal under current UK legislation. Possessing or cultivating any form of cannabis without a home office licence, anywhere in the UK is prohibitive. I personally believe the law to be an arse, surely now is the time for change. The war on drugs costly, stupid and counter-productive. Up to £900 million could be raised annually through the taxation of the regulated cannabis market, which demonstrates a potential revenue that at the very least deserves further investigation, it could be such a good thing as our economy because it certainly needs all the help it needs. This combined with much evidence in the safety and efficiency of cannabis for medical relief, that helps people enormously suffering from Alzheimers, cancer, chronic pain, Chrones disease and multiple sclerosis. We should rage against its continual suppression, the criminalisation of people, simply because of their use of it. The country is awash with booze that personally has not served me too well, at least with the use of cannabis I have been at least able to feel some benefits, especially in relation to ongoing depression issues. It would be a step in the right direction because at the moment so many creative people stuck in prison for no reason, apart from being caught in possession of an innocent herb, at the at the end of the day our current drug policies have made things even more bad, since more dangerous drugs are available on the market than weed unregulated that makes a mockery of our current drug laws. I would add that I personally believe that cannabis has the capability to heal the world, which makes it an incredible commodity. Many people still using it for pleasure, as part of an essential lifestyle decision, prohibition has not curbed its use one iota , in fact I would argue that in a sense it has made it more popular which makes it more appealing in the sense of a 'forbidden fruit' especially to youth. Legalise, regulate it and tax it now , let society as a whole profit from its use instead of criminal gangs. The benefits of marijuana as effective treatment alternatives are plain to see, not only to individuals but to society as a whole. It would ultimately would contribute to reduced crime and the protection of our civil liberties. It is so necessary and the only way forward , I hope that Mr Howard Marks as he moves skywards would agree with my words. Who the hell are the legislators who can tell me or you what I or you can or cannot do with our own minds and bodies.
Sad to hear that Howard Marks - A.K.A Mr Nice - has passed away of inoperable cancer at the age of 70. The father of four was born in Kenfig Hill, Wales in 1945 and went on to study at Oxford University at Balliol college where he took nuclear physics, and later got post graduate qualifications in philosopy he was also a fluent Welsh speaker and practicing Bhuddist. As a drug smuggler he found infamy however, asnd was sentenced to 25 years inprisonment , realeased on parole in 1995 for good behaviour. In his 1996 autobiography Mr Nice he wrote with humour and unashamed bravado about his life and the sheer scale of his daily deeds and escapades involving a whole host of characters ranging from the C.I.A. M.I.6. the P.L..O. the I.R.A to the mafia. Mr Nice was one of 43 aliases he used which struck a chord in the public imagination.
A man I was fortunate to meet, at a speaking tour and remember rushing up to him at Hay -on - wye one year in order for him to sign some king size rizlas of mine, and amiable friendly bloke I could not hope to have encountered. Mischeivious twiknling eyes and warm handshake On his release he became a notable campaigner for the legislation of cannabis and toured a comedy show, a man regarded as a true modern day folk hero, counter cultural icon and loveable rogue. A life spent indulging in all things good, friendship, laughter music and of course drugs. A man of very few regrets he will be remembered with fondness. He certainly lived quite a life. Reflecting on his crimes he said " Smuggling cannabis was a wonderful way of living - perpetual culture shock, absurd amounts of money, and the comforing knowledge of getting so many people stoned." Still passionate about the issue he stood for Parliament on four seperate occassions on the single issue of the legislation of cannabis. He had completed eight cycles of chemotherapy and had initially responded well, but alas his condition finally succumbed. He died surrounded by loving family members at his Bridgend home in the early hours of Sunday. One of his last acts was to set up the Mr Nice foundation, to ensure causes dear to him continue to get support. It is still outrageous that after his death the innocent little drug that is cannabis is still illegal, and that the war on drugs is still not succeeding. Let us hope that in the coming years, legislation is finally achieved, that it becomes controlled and sanitised . Howard Marks, Mr Nice, R.I.P keep on rolling deep. Hashes to ashes. Stoned immaculate. Do not go gentle into that good night.
