Grenfell Tower Fire: One Year On

It really is hard to believe that it has already been a year since the Grenfell Tower fire which shocked the nation and devastated a community, when  72 people tragically lost their lives on 14 June, 2017, when flames engulfed the 23-storey building in the worst fire to hit Great Britain since the Second World War, no one deserved or were supposed to die like this.
The chaos and confusion that ensued in the following days added further injury and insult to the hundreds of people immediately impacted by the fire and the wider community. Their anger and frustration were matched by their incredible kindness and generosity, as the people of North Kensington came together in a way that had not been seen in this country for decades.It also saw the UK unite in solidarity with the victims  and their families, against  the reckless incompetence that ultimately led to the fire. The incompetence, coming from both the government and property developers, that included the failure to take seriously the many complaints made by Grenfell residents regarding the lack of fire safety, as well as the failure to replace the extremely combustible cladding with fire-resistant cladding, which would have prevented the fire spreading at such a rapid pace, which would have cost only £293,000 to install, resulted in human beings meeting their deaths in the most horrific of way.
The legacy of Grenfell is clear, and of course we must remember each and every soul that tragically perished in such a preventable disaster, The Guardian recently published a piece on the " Lives of Grenfell Tower " https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2018/may/14/lives-of-grenfell-tower-victims-fire  in which mini obituaries written by the friends and family of the victims, were published as tributes to those who lost their lives.We must also remember that Grenfell Tower - a social housing enclave nestled in  one of the most expensive neighboorhoods in the world was mainly occupied by immigrants,people of colour and low-income families, and that the tragedy clearly demonstrated that their lives mattered significantly less, than those of their white, wealthy counterparts.
Time is supposed to heal wounds, but for many Grenfell survivors and victims relatives, the anniversary is a reminder of just how little has been put right over the past year.Sadly not much has changed since the tragedy, Nobody responsible has yet to be charged or arrested, and the consequent investigation into the tragedy, has not urged the government to ban combustible cladding, despite calls from campaign groups, across the country to to do so. 300 tower blocks across the country are still covered in the same dangerous cladding used on Grenfell Tower and building and fire safety regulations are still not fit for purpose
The lack of response is simply a disgrace, but the campaigns of the victims families provide hope for a future with better oversight and more safety, and as the public inquiry continues there are still so many questions to be answered in the fight for justice.
Theresa May  has admitted her failure to meet Grenfell residents in the immediate aftermath of the disaster made it appear she "did not care". The Prime Minister said she will "always regret" failing to go to the tower on the day after the tragedy, saying that her actions were "not good enough" Writing in the Evening Standard May said: "The day after the disaster I made the first of a number of trips to the site, thanking the firefighters for their work and holding a short meeting with the team in charge of the response."What I did not do on that first visit was meet the residents and survivors who had escaped the blaze."But the residents of Grenfell Tower needed to know that those in power recognised and understood their despair. And I will always regret that by not meeting them that day, it seemed as though I didn't care. "That was never the case."
Many people though believe her apology is simply to little and far too late, and are asking that if she cares so much, why are survivors still waiting  to be rehoused in permanent accomodation? Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has admitted that 43 families are still living in hotels, one year on. Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, he said 203 households needed new homes in the aftermath of the tower block fire, saying that of these, 198 have accepted permanent or temporary accomodation and 134 have now moved in. But he added he was "very concerned" about the 23 households who are living in hotels one year after the event.
"My ministerial team has met with many of them and I've  personally written to all of them, to find out what barriers exist in each individual case and how we can overcome them, he told MPs.
He also reiterated the Governments commitment to ban the use of combustible materials on the external walls of high-rise tower blocks, subject to a consultation, that will be published next week.Adding that the Government has "made it clear" that it espects private building owners not to pass the costs of removing dangerous cladding on to leaseholders.
"The private sector must step up and I am not ruling anything out if they do not." he told MPs.
Responding to the Housing Secretary's statement, Labour's Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey said the "time for warm words is long past".
"Grenfell residents feel that they were failed before the fire, and many feel failed since," said Mr Healey. "They were promised permanent new homes within a year, but only 82 of the 209 households are in permanent new homes. On the wider Grenfell estate, only 39 of 127 are in permanent new homes."
Mr Healey also pressed the Housing Secretary on whether the Government set for all survivors to be permanently rehoused.
"Without a deadline, more words of regret will simply ring hollow to the still homeless residents of Grenfell Tower." he added.
Grenfell Tower now stands in Kensington as a relic, covered in scaffolding and white sheets like a bandage over broken bones. On it is a banner featuring the green Grenfell heart and the words "Grenfell forever in our hearts" emblazoned across the four highest floors.
Justice for Grenfell https://justice4grenfell.org/ is a community led organisation set up in the days following the fire, focused on obtaining justice for the bereaved families, survivors, evacuated residents and the wider local community. Where the authorities failed survivors, Justice for Grenfell stepped in, when the media and politicians went silent, Justice for Grenfell shouted louder.
On 14th June, alongside other activist groups,  Justice for Grenfell will mark 12 months since the tragedy with the 12th Grenfell Silent Walk https://www.facebook.com/events/174975633343497/.The walks are a monthly opportunity for the community to remember, mourn and pay tribute to those affected. On Saturday 16th June you can join them outside Downing Street at 12 pm to march for justice for Grenfell.
Today communities across the country will also fall silent for one minute at 12 pm to remember the victims and those affected by the inferno. In solidarity with the survivors and those whose lives were affected, residents, families, neighbours, emergency services, in what must still be an incredibly painful time.

Victims of the fire

300 prominent global figures accuse Israel of committing ‘war crimes’

Israel's forcible transfer of thousands of Palestinians has been denounced as a war crime by over 300 elected officials, legal scholars, academics artists, faith leaders and activists from around the world.
The universal show of solidarity to the Palestinians was published in an open letter which voiced strong opposition to Israel's plans to forcibly  transfer thousands of Palestinians living in farming shepherding communities in the West Bank.
Signatories include 80 members of parliament, many of whom are from the EU and UK parliaments.
Other notable signatories include ten Israel Prize  laureates, film director.Ken Loach, artists Al Weiwi, author Alice Walker, academic Noam Chomsky and several musicians. Dozens of Rabbis have also signed the letter denouncing Israel for what many would describe as ethnic cleansing.
Forcible transfer - by direct physical force or by creating a coercive environment that makes residents leave their homes - is a war crime the letter states.
Mentioning, in particular, residents facing expulsion from three areas, the Jordan valley, the South Hebron Hills and East Jerusalem, the letter says that Israel " aims to establish facts on the ground that would achieve exclusive de-facto Israel control in those area and eventually facilitate formal annextation"
"Israel's plans "the letter point out, range from freezing Palestinian development, through minimising Palestinian foothold in major parts of the West Bank, to the destruction  and transfer of entire communities " The plans, they add are being implemented through "coercive measures" which are listed as not being allowed to build new private or public buildings, denied access to water grids or to pave access roads, demolitions, threats and confiscation of essential equipment.
After denouncing Israel for committing "war crimes" the letter says "all people responsible for ir - including Israel prime minister and the minister of defence - bear personal responsibility.".
They also accuse Israel's high court of "rubber stamping" the criminal policies of the Israeli government. "All it does is also implicate Israel's High Court Justices in what is nothing short of a war crime, no matter how much legal formalism is enlisted in an effort to exercise the inexcusable." the letter concludes.
BDS until justice is done.

Source https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180612-300-prominent-global-figures-accuse-israel-of-committing-war-crimes/
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https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files/2018-06/20180611_khan_al_ahmar_petition.pdf

Open letter which voiced strong opposition to Israel's plans to forcibly transfer thousands of Palestinians living in farming communities in the occupied West Banlk

Noam Chomsky - Best Speech In 2018

Here Noam Chomsky who has dedicated his life to tackling very serious word issues, talks about  the major threats to the human race and other important issues of today. Though he talks eloquently, the stakes at moment are very high, words matter, but we as people must act.

Anthony Bourdain , Renegade Chef Who Reported From the World’s Tables, Is Dead at 61 .

Anthony Bourdain, the gifted chef, storyteller and writer who took TV' viewers around the world to explore culture, cuisine and the human condition for nearly two decades, has died. He was 61.
CNN confirmed his death on Friday and said the cause of his death was suicide.
Bourdain had been working  in France on an upcoming episode of his award winning CNN series, "Parts Unknown."
Born on June 25, 1957, in New York City, the son of a Colombia music executive and a New York staff editor, his love affair with food began during a family vacation to France, when he tried his first oyster on a fisherman's boat. Years later Bourdain dropped out of Vassan College and enrolled in the Culnirary Institure of America, graduating in 1978. In the following decades, he would run a number of popular kitchens in New York City.
In his twenties, Bourdain became addicted to drugs. " I was a complete a-hole. Selfish, larcerious, druggy, loud, stupid, insensitive and someone you would not want to have known. I would have robbed your medicine cabinet had I been invited into your house," he said during a conversation in 2013. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/197ji0/i_am_anthony_bourdain_ask_me_anything/?sort=confidence Calling himself a very unusual case," Bourdain added, "Most people who kick heroin and cocaine have to give up on everything. Maybe cause my experience was so awful in the end, I've never been tempted to relapse," Bourdain also suffered financial hardships for most of his life. He told Wealth Simple in 2017 https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-us/magazine/money-diary-anthony-bourdain "I don't want to sound like I'm bragging about this, but the sad fact is, until 44 years of age, I never had any savings account," !I'd always been under the gun. I'd always owed money. I'd always been selfish and completely irresponsible," Weed " was a major expense," he added, costing him a few hundred dollars a week. Looking back, the fact that I'd been smoking weed since I was 14 might have had something to do with my relative lack of ambition,"
Bourdain gained notoriety in 1999 after published a New Yorker article, "Don't Eat Before Reading This." It  became a best-selling book in 2000 Kitchen Confidential :Adventures in the Culnirary Underbelly, leading to shows on Food Network, Travel Channel and eventually CNN.Adventurous and outspoken this led to  him gaining a legion of fans and admirers through his numerous books and essays as well as his many television appearances.
The celebrated author and chef was married twice in his lifetime, first to Nancy Putkoski. then to Ottavia  Busia, who he had a daughter with in 2007. Bourdain is survived by his girlfriend, the Italian actor Asia Argento ,
Recently he had emerged as a leading male voice in support of the 'Me Too movement in the wake of rape and abuse allegations against the film producer Harvey Weinstein, notably in support of his girlfriend.
For anyone who watched his show, Parts Unknown, what was clear that as well as travelling the world sampling cuisine, most importantly he actually spoke to citizens of each country, about culture, their innovations and their lives,  bringing a unique perspective on the food and political climates of Laos, Africa, the occupied Gaza Strip, and other distant cultures that are rarely depicted on major television networks. After tweeting a photo of dead children  on a Gaza beach in 2014 an receiving a flood of "ugly racist shit and accusations" in response Bourdain wrote "The willingness of people not to see what is plainly apparent, right there, enormous and frankly hideous. Unfortunately, we live in a world where its nearly impossible to even describe reality much less deal with it, It's utterly heartbreaking." When he visited Palestine a few years ago he did something unprecedented for American TV viewers, he portrayed Palestinians as human beings, https://www.972mag.com/celebrity-chef-humanizes-palestinians-on-trip-to-the-holy-land/
He tried to highlight marginalised voices and called the powerful to account for their hypocrisy. He was capable of highlighting peoples struggles, their triumphs, and in places like Iran, discussed their oppression, especially the journalists who were jailed for speaking out and the minority classes who struggled to survive. He would speak to people like President Obama  and unknown residents of faw away countries who are trying to just get by day by day, in an equal manner. He made the world smaller, He dived in, hungry to experience. His wasn't the Orientalist gaze. He saw humanity (and food) everywhere, and connected with it.His show was part history lesson, part cooking show, part comedy, and part political commentary. He was brash, hilarious, a fearless renegade, who did not suffer fools, reaching out to the voiceless, reasons why he is bound to be missed by millions across the globe.
I don't know what was going through Anthony Bourdain's mind when he took his own life, but I've experienced depression, beyond sadness, a numbness, a sense that all value in the world was being quashed, feelings of utter hopelessness and despair.
If you or anyone you know are struggling, please seek help. Do not ignore the warning signs. Make yourself a safe person. Do not be afraid to ask if someone you love is thinking of suicide. Everyone struggling matters. You matter. Everybody hurts. To get help call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in your country.
Rest in peace - Anthony Bourdain

Morrissey :Big Mouth strikes again

Confession. I used to love Morrissey, in my teens, and up to recently I used to sport  cardigans untl the moths had them. Still have loads of Smiths singles, L.P's, and even some of his solo stuff.
I've always been aware he's been a rather contentious sod, that was his beauty I guess, one who was never shy of expressing his opinions ,from  his loathing of Margaret Thatcher, the Royal Family, his passionate devotion to animal rights, which marked him out as  him as an outsider, but recently  this expats opinions really have been getting beyond the pale.
His recent outbursts have seen him swapping Thatcher baiting for muslim baiting and can  be viewed at his his own blog  https://www.morrisseycentral.com/ where he tells us Hitler was left-wing. halal meat is certified by Isis,a process which he describes as "evil" and which should be banned. He  also calls for the outlawing of jewish kosher meat preparation. which he says is "very cruel."A message from the Nazi BNP and EDL in Britain to Marine Le Pen's Front National in France issues that have acted as dog whistles for their Nazi followers.
He has also recently  rounded on Sadiq Khan, the Asian Mayor of London, accusing him of being in charade of a "debased" city and claiming he "cannot talk properly" And that the black woman shadow home secretary, who has been the subject of outrageous racist abuse, that reached a peak during last years election campaign, is dismissed with a sneer that "even Tesco wouldn't employ Dianne Abbot, and  that  the acid attacks in London are and are ' are all non-white, and even tells us we should all vote for Britain,https://www.forbritain.uk/ a party founded by far right ex UKIP leadership candidate Anne Marie Waters, who Morrissey thinks believes in "British heritage" and "freedom of speech" and that she "wants everyone in the UK to live under the same law"- as if something like ' British heritage' is a fixed, inherent truth rather than totally nebulous and subjective concept, or that the UK's laws don't reflect the ideological prejudices of the ruling class, who design and enforce them. Even Nigel Farage, branded Morrissey's fave party as a bunch of Nazis and racists."
Now this master of melancholy, has caused outrage online again for voicing his support for Stephen Yaxley -Lennon, or Tommy Robinson, his nom de Nazi, https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-trouble-with-tommy-robinson.html who is currently in prison for seriously jeapordising a trial that should see child rapists and torturers rightfully punished, who through his actions put the victims at risk. Morrisey descibed the jailing of this right wing thug as "shocking" saying jailing him for breaking contempt laws by filming outside a court was an example of how Britain;s biggest political parties are against freedom of expression'
"It's very obvious that Labour or the Tories do not believe in free speech, " he said "I mean look at the shocking treatment of Tommy Robinson."
In the interest of free speech, it's worth noting that its simply tiresome that Morrissey continually uses the vaque notion of free thinking to voice support for individuals and parties deny the freedom and humanity of others, sich as For Britain's manifesto proposal for a ban on burqas. Morrissey has frequently denied that he is a racist, recently publishing an essay with the words " I despise racism" and I despise fascism. ".https://www.morrisseycentral.com/messagesfrommorrissey/i-ve-been-dreaming-of-a-time-when-the-english-are-sick-to-death-of-labour-and-tories.
Then again, anyone can say they're not something, its another thing for their actions to demonstrate this. Heaven knows I'm miserable now, the light has truly gone out, a voice I once  loved really seems to have gone full gammon. As one twitter user  remarked "It's so sad that someone with the talent and legacy of Morrissey can only reclain a desperate piece of monetry attantion by saying redundant, needlessly provocative things. He thinks he's the unshaken voice of the streets, but he hasn't lived on them for decades. " Now a mere mouthpiece for racism, I only only wish now his bigmouth would shut up.I was once the kind of fan who could remember an old Morrissey B-side, called "Get off the stage2, which evoked a singer who had outived his welome and turned into an embarrassment :"Oh, you silly man/ You silly old man/ You're making a fool of yourself' So get off the stage", I never thought the day would come that I wished Morrissey would heed his own advice. But sadly that day has come. Viva diversity, viva tolerance but goodbye to hate.

Murder most foul - No Israeli war criminal here, free Palestine.

"Murder most foul. But this most foul, strange and unnatural  Shakespeare Hamlet, act 1 , scene 5)
The Ghost Speaking to Hamlet says that murder is always horrible, but this killing was especially monstrous.
Between 30 March 2018 and 21 May 2018 - just over 7 weeks, 112 Palestinians were killed of whom 13 were under 18, and 12,190 injured. The injured included 7,618 struck. by live ammunition or rubber bullets, including 2,096 children and 1,029 women injured.
223 medics injured by either live fire or tear-gas suffocation, 37 ambulances partly damaged. and there have been 32 amputations.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Gaza_border_protests
At the same time at least 55 journalists covering ongoing protests on the Gaza Strip have been wounded by Israeli soldiers.https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-injures-55-journalists-covering-gaza-protests/1164511
The world cries out in outrage as the wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people. Not one Israeli has died.I would urge all concerned people to pray for Palestine, to support BDS and call for  their political leaders to confront this dreadful catastrophe in the name of peace and justice.At least due to political pressure Argentina have cancelled their world cup warm up game against Israel this coming  Saturday.
Today Wednesday 6 June, Benjamin Netanyahu  is meeting with Theresa May, how do  you greet the head of a government that occupies a people and deprives them of their basic rights, shoots them when they protest and calls the killing of a 21 year old medic "standard operating procedure " Our prime minister is welcoming the man who presides over Israel's occupation and its siege of Gaza,while her Government continues to arms his state.
We should be calling on her to instead impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law, ends its blockade and the occupation, and should give him the welcome he deserves, join the emergency protest  opposite No 10 Downing Street. No Israeli war criminal here, free Palestine.
Please  share circulate this notice, invite your friends.

https://twitter.com/PSCupdates

Battle of the Beanfield Anniversary - Lest we forget.

The Battle of the Beanfield took place over several hours, ago today on the afternoon  Saturday 1 June 1985, when Wiltshire police prevented a vehicle convoy of several hundred New Age Travelers, known as the ' Peace Convoy'  from setting off from Savernake Forest in Wiltshire towards the twelfth Stonehenge Free Festival and setting up a free gathering and celebration of the summer solstice that had been taking place since 1974.
They were stopped by a  militarised police roadblock, following  which 1,300 police descended upon them and  British and brutally attacked  people that resulted in innocent unarmed people, women and children being violently beaten up in their own homes, after years of gathering  in the same place of celebration, by the combined  forces of the state, who armed with shields and batons ran savagely amok.

 The  marginalised and dispossessed  of this land  were brutally  targeted by a police forces  under the auspices of  Margaret Thatcher's right wing, repressive  Conservative Government,  as they suppressed a peoples thirst for freedom,  with  quasi military force that systematically carried out serious abuses of their power with such unrelenting  frenzied brutality following similar attacks that year on the miners. 

On their way to a festival in the North the previous year travellers had encountered officers from the Met returning from the pit villages. As they drove passed them police held up signs with ‘YOU’RE NEXT’ emblazoned across them.

A  truly  horrible time, like today, when people who live on societies  edges are attacked simply for being different.

Women and their babies were left showered with glass after the police had smashed up their vehicles. It would subsequently  leave over 116 travelers  hospitalised. and 420  of their number arrested ( the few that were arrested were never ever prosecuted) after their homes were systematically looted, smashed and burnt  with their possessions  being stole.
Innocent people  who were beaten and bloodied because they simply refused to conform or bow down to a rotten system, and had decided to try and live by their own set of alternative values. Who  simply wanted to gather under the stones to celebrate their lives, sing and dance.. The overall cost of this operation was a staggering £5 miillion. The media of the time played their part too, with footage of the most extreme police violence being subsequently lost, and the subsequent demonising of the traveller lifestyle. 

The travellers unexpected saviour at the time was the Earl of Cardigan, who at the times self-described  himself as "card-carrying Conservative" but  became an invaluable witness to the travellers' tales of police brutality, vandalism and unfair arrest. An interesting note - the Telegraph called the Earl of Cardigan a 'class traitor' for testifying about the violence he witnessed.

A dark day for British justice and civil liberties and freedom, marking a turning point after the injustices of  Wapping, and the miners strike in this supression of our civil liberties that we should never forget.the largest mass arrest in British history.

 In a spiteful coordination, social services were on hand to take the children of the travellers into care. The last child was returned to their family in the early 2000s  It is important  to  remember that  there has never been a proper inquiry into the brutality - physical and systemic - used. and  years later people still  suffering the consequences ,and bearing the scars of this dark passage in history.

The stones remain, but we should continue to mourn  to  remember and mourn  the pain, and values of human decency that was lost on this day.
Footage of this day which you can see in following film should still make us all, shudder - it's the sight of power off the leash, police arrogant enough to know that they can beat up defenceless people in front of TV cameras without having to worry because they know their political masters had given  them them the green light to do what they like, a dark day reminding us  how British justice and civil liberties and freedom is eroded, that we  should never forget. Years later people still  suffering the consequences , and bearing the scars of this dark passage in history. 

The Battle of  the  beanfield remains  a  watermark event in radical history and in the fight for the commons. An indicator of what was to come, with increased surveillance and suppression of all dissenting voices, the battle of the beanfield will never be forgotten and the police  can never be forgiven  for  the  actions they  committed  on this  dreadful  day. 

Operation Solstice -- Documentary

  

 
Some good links here for more on this  tragic story

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/henge-85.html

http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/

http://libcom.org/history/1985-battle-beanfield

The Levellers - Battle of the Beanfield

Hawkwind - Ghost Dance

Inner Terrestials - Free the land

Stand up for Asylum - Ahmad's Story

Another story of heartbreak and despair. Ahmad, his wife, his elderly parents and younger brother spent three years moving from one neighbourhood in Syria to another in search of safety.Ahmad also spent a year in jail. where he was repeatedly tortured by the Syrian regime. In, 2016, Ahmad arrived in the UK, where he has an older brother. He had hoped to find a chance to rebuild his life in safety and ways to support his family who he left penniless in Turkey. What he found was long months of uncertainty, fear and desperation.
People are forced to flee their homes for many different  reasons ranging from war and violence, to natural disasters and climate change and deserve a duty of care, yet the UK governments treatment of asylum seekers and refugees is institutionally incapable of showing any humanitarian outlook and is simply not fit for purpose when it comes to dealing with these issues, and falls seriously below the standards of a civilised society.This system still denies sanctuary to those who genuinely need it and ought to be entitled to.
The asylum system should mean safety and a new life for people like Ahmad. It needs to change. Join us at #StandUpForAsylum Please email your MP today. to ask them to ask the Home Office to urgently reform the system. Immigration detention is the system whereby the government can detain individuals, supposedly for the purpose of removing them from the UK. We are alone in Europe in being able to detain people without a time limit, with thousands of people detained, not knowing whether they will be held for a few days, a few months, or a few years. If  you would like to change this you can sign up here.
https://act.refugee-action.org.uk/page/24355/action/1

Wat Tyler and the Peasant's Revolt of 1381

In 1381, some 35 years after the Black Death had swept through Europe decimating over one third of the population, there was a shortage of people left to work the land. Recognising the power of ‘supply and demand’, the remaining peasants began to re-evaluate their worth and subsequently demanded higher wages and better working conditions.
The Peasants' Revolt the first great popular protest in English history started in Essex on 30 May 1381, when a tax collector tried, for the third time in four years, to levy a poll tax, to try and raise money for Richard 11's war against France,arrived at the village of Fobbing to find out why no tax had been collected but locals attacked the tax collectors as they came to collect this hated tax, and were thrown out, as were soldiers sent soon afterwards.This led to the phrase 'fobbed off'. This crippling tax meant that everyone over the age of 15 had to pay one shilling. Perhaps not a great deal of money to a Lord or a Bishop, but a significant amount to the average farm labourer! And if they could not pay in cash, they could pay in kind, such as seeds, tools etc. All of which could be vital to the survival of a farmer and his family for the coming year.

The uprisings spread rapidly, gaining much support, soon both Essex and Kent were in revolt, partly because of  effective organisation by the rebel leaders who had a clear set of political demands.Wat Tyler was elected as leader and with other leaders in tow, such as John Ball and Jack Straw, and on 2nd of June 1381  the rebels  began their march to London. attacking towns and villages as they went. They specifically targeted the homes of the nobility. and even attacked fortification like Rochester Castle, Maidstone, where they released all the prisoners  held inside and  then  on 10th June  at Canterbury.with  Tyler at the head of 4000 rebels breaking into  the cathedral, and demanding that the Arch-Bishop Simon Sudbery, who was a leading member of the government, be deposed. During the run-up to the revolt John Ball and other renegade English priests had preached radical religious thinking that had gone hand in hand with the social revolution that had sparked the current revolt. They preached social equality and that men did not need the help of a rich priest in order to find God and that the church was greedy and corrupt. With Canterbury under rebel control they continued their march on London, their ranks now swelled as every day more men flocked to their banner. On the road to London any symbol of what they saw as state oppression was smashed or burnt and any tax collector or landlord that they happened to come across was dragged aside and killed.  

The peasants were not just protesting against the government. Since the Black Death poor people had become increasingly angry that they were still serfs, usually farming the land and serving their king. Whipped up by the preaching of radical priest John Ball, they were demanding that all men should be free and equal; for less harsh laws; and a fairer distribution of wealth.The term “Peasants” Revolt is somewhat misleading as many of the men who were to take up arms that summer were far from what we would today think of as peasants. Many were from the yeoman classes, skilled men and village leaders. Their fight wasn’t against misery, hunger or poverty, instead it was a call for liberty, justice and an end to the feudal system that still kept many free born Englishmen as mere slaves to the lords of the manor. It was a moral crusaded for emancipation and for what they believed to be right

On Thursday, 13 June, the rebels gained entrance into the city, streaming through Aldgate . They burned John of Gaunt's London palace, the Savoy, along with Fleet Prison and the Hospital of St. John. On June 14th, with no close military support at hand that could stand in the way of the rebel army, King Richard, who was only fourteen, rode to Mile End to hear the rebels' demands, which included provisions for free labor contracts (doubtless a reference to the Statute of Laborers) and the right to rent land at fourpence an acre. Richard promised them justice,and made vast concessions including the abolition of serfdom, market monopolies and feudal service with the result that many Essex commons returned home; but other peasants broke into the Tower and executed, among others, Archbishop Sudbury and Robert Hales, Royal Treasurer and Prior of the Hospital of St. John's, who provided something like a flashpoint for the mob's fury.

The following day the King again met with the rebels, this time at Smithfields, and Wat Tyler bravely rode out from the rebel ranks armed only with a dagger to present their final demands. He demanded that all Englishmen should as treated as equals and that all aristocratic titles and privileges were to be abolished and only the king was to retain a superior title. Wat proclaimed:-

“There should be equality among all people save only the king. There should be no serfdom and all men should be free and of one condition.” 

He demanded that all church property should be confiscated and divided out among the people save for a small amount to provide the clergy with “sufficient sustenance” Finally he demanded for his people “We will be free forever, our heirs and our lands." 

At some point according to an eyewitness (on the King’s side), Tyler behaves disrespectfully towards young King Richard, he shook the Kings hand roughly and after calling for water, he rinsed his mouth "in a very rude and disgusting fashion”. Wat Tyler, alone and far ahead of the ranks of the rebel army was set upon by the Kings men and beheaded and his head set upon a pole..
On seeing the death of their leader the rebel ranks joined battle formation and began to string their bows until the King rode out in front of them declaring “I will be your Captain” He called for further negotiations and re-affirmed the concessions he had previously made the rebels. Leaderless and with their aims apparently achieved the rebel army gradually faded away.
With the rebels dispersed the King acted swiftly. He immediately rescinded every concession he had made and he sent Royal troops out into the country where the remains of the rebellion was mercilessly  crushed. One chronicler tells us that over 500 leaders of the rebellion were sent to the gallows, including John Ball and Jack Straw who were hanged, drawn and quartered. On a later tour of Essex the King would sneer at his English subjects,:-

“Rustics you were and rustics you are still. You will remain in bondage, not as before, but incomparably harsher”

Both Wat Tyler and his rebellion were dead but his name lived on to become a watchword and a rallying cry during public demonstrations and rebellions that his actions inspired throughout the later medieval period and up to this present day.
Wat Tyler and his kinsmen were brave and courageous men who refused to be intimidated by a political elite who wished to dominate them and refused to have their ideals curbed by the social constraints of the day. A cry for social justice and freedom that has since been planted in every single country that draws its culture and tradition from those very same Anglo-Saxon people. Wat Tyler epitomised something that we very often forget about the English and that is their tradition for radical thought and action – in short people just like Wat Tyler and John Ball who were prepared to think the unthinkable no matter what the consequences.

Although the Revolt was defeated, its demands – less harsh laws, money for the poor, freedom and equality, all became part of our democracy in the long term.

The Peasants' Revolt was a popular uprising. In its demands for rights and equality, it was similar to the Chartists of the 19th century, the Diggers and the levellers at the time of the English Civil War, then the sufragettes, and the modern Trade Union Movement and the campaign against Margaret Thatcher's dreaded Poll tax in the 1980's and the protests it provoked that led to her downfall, an echo of the poll tax from centuries before, opposition to which had contributed to the Peasant's Revolt.It is  remembered by all those who stand for freedom and justice and stand against oppression, still inspiring people to fight for change.

Just like all those centuries ago the rich and todays rulers, the corporate and financial so-called elite are still taking what they want from the people, getting their ever more outrageous ‘rewards’ by appropriating from the people who do the work, the wealth that they produce. Anger in the air still palpable, as ordinary people again hold the political class in contempt.

Wat Tyler - Robert  Southey ( 1774 - 1843)

“WHEN Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman?”
Wretched is the infant’s lot,
Born within the straw-roof’d cot;
Be he generous, wise, or brave,
He must only be a slave.
Long, long labor, little rest,
Still to toil, to be oppress’d;
Drain’d by taxes of his store,
Punish’d next for being poor:
This is the poor wretch’s lot,
Born within the straw-roof’d cot.
While the peasant works,—to sleep,
What the peasant sows,—to reap,
On the couch of ease to lie,
Rioting in revelry;
Be he villain, be he fool,
Still to hold despotic rule,
Trampling on his slaves with scorn!
This is to be nobly born.
“When Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman?”

The trouble with Tommy Robinson

The inability of Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley Lennon, to shy away from trouble has surfaced once more during another incident that happened outside court precints that he was supposed to be avoiding. This time, the alleged free speech campaigner, that's free speech for him, but not for Muslims,  in which  he demonises an entire religion time and time again, visited a court in Leeds, where he fell foul of the law again, for allegedly breaching the peace outside a court during an ongoing grooming trial.The far right extremist  had showed men entering Leeds Crown Court  in a livestream on Facebook, where he claimed to be " reporting" on the case.
After more than an hour of broadcasting, footage showed police officers approaching to arrest him for alleged breach of the peace and incitement."Can you get me a solicitor?" he pleaded with his supporters at the time, "This is ridiculous, I haven't said a word... I've done nothing.
But Robinson was already under a suspended sentence for committing contempt of court  regarding a gang rape case heard in Canterbury last year. The judge handed him  three months imprisonment in May last year suspending it for 18 months on the proviso he did not commit further offences.
Regarding the recent incident, Robinson spoke of his freedom of speech, but the judge told Robinson, it is about justice and ensuring  that a trial can be carried out jutly and fairly, it's about being innocent  until proven guilty, Judge Norton, said " There are notices all over the court buildings making it clear that filming or taking photographs is an offence and may be a contempr of court."
Judge Norton went on "This is not about freedom of speech or the freedom of the press. This is not about legitimate journalism or political correctness. It's about justice and ensuring that a trial can be carried out justly and fairly, and ensuring a jury is not in anyway inhibited in carrying out its important function.It appears that Robinson was given a thirteen month sentence for contempt of court and taken to Hull prison.
This saw scenes in Whitehall in central London yesterday, where several hundred of his supporters held a short rally and protest, Some sat in the road, among them, UKIP,For Britain members and fascists from the National Front and Britain First. They had earlier heard from one organiser who insultingly read out Pastor Niemoller's. "First they came..." poem, written about the Nazis rise to power in the 1930's. The fascists there mocked the poem being read out. Another speaker, thought to be from UKIP said Robinson was the new "Nelson Mandela" for goodness sake
The fact remains that Robinson's racism and trouble making activities has long been evident from his days in the BNP to his founding of the the English Defence League (EDL) in 2009, at its height under his leadership the  EDL ventured from town to to town across the UK,leaving a trail of destruction and division in its wake. In 2012, it was revealed that policing costs for its demonstrations had risen to over 310m during four years, with violence being commonplace. He then went to  to work with the Quilliam Foundation,he also established Pegida UK an anti-Islam organisation, named after the ultra right German group Pegida. Robinson had  previously broadcast his activities on Twitter as well as on Facebook, but was permanently banned from the platform earlier this year.
He also has a long list of criminal convictions for violence and has been arrested many times during demonstrations and at fights between football fans, and imprisoned for entering the U.S, illegally in 2012, as well as being jailed for mortgage fraud in 2014.
In June 2015, he met with other far-right activists , including Anne Marie Waters of Sharia Watch UK, Alan Avling, a former funder of the English Defence League and Jim Dowson, formerly leader of Britain First. The group planned to host an exhibition of Mohammed cartoon exhibitions in September that year, and according to Dowson, they hoped to spark a civil war.
He later. became a correspondent for Canadian right wing website Rebel Media and his posts and emails were said to have radicalised the Finsbury attacker Darren Osborne, rather than take stock and toning down his hysteria, Robinson  has doubled up and played the victim. The far right have nothing . if not a serious persecution complex, and this gives them something to unite around, to them Tommy Robinson  is seen as their hero, their poster boy, who they see as a defender of the truth, a warrior for justice. Robinson meanwhile is currently cavorting with the racist and extreme ethno-nationalist Generation Identity movement whose leaders have been prevented from entering the UK, Robinson promotes and shares their videos frequently. A number of ex-National Action neo Nazis have recently been identified as new members of this group. There is clearly a porous boundary between new far right groups like this one and other neo-Nazi and extreme right groups.
A 2017 report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue entitled The Fringe Insurgency, explains that far-right groups around the world are increasingly collaborating to achieve common goals, such as keeping refugees out of Europe, removing hate speech laws and getting far-right politicians to power. This is despite often stark differences in their publicly stated ideologies and public image.The report states that although different groups' communications are tailored to different audiences and highlights topics ranging from white nationalist activism to freedom of speech protection, this has worked to increase the profile of all groups feeding off each other as they seek to drum up intolerance, fuel grievances, foster division, using social media as their critical tool. 
Robinson is trying to reinvent himself as a journalist, which he is not in anyway, who thinks this will give him immunity in his never ending quest to spread hate and lies. Under the pretext of freedom of speech , what he does is spread racism, islamphobia and foster division, many consider him a mere attention seeker, but he is a dangerous  provocateur, rabble rouser who uses every opportunity to spread his  inflammotary  anti-muslim  messages, while offering no competent solutions to the  issues he raises. His freedom of speech is not free if it oppresses others.He essentially spreads  hate as he calls Islam evil, blaming a whole religion for most wrongs in society. A child growing up hearing that another religion is wrong, hearing another religion follows a hateful doctrine , hearing that they support a religion which preaches unspeakable acts, will likely to grow up to hate that religion too.
The dangers of Tommy Robinsons  hardcore politics, being propagated on.a wide scale, by his friends on the internet, and allied with racist street movements must not be underestimated. Robinson is every bit as worthy of our contempt as the Islamist fundamentalists he claims to oppose, and needs to be treated as such.