International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

Every year on June 26, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is marked. The day is observed to come in support of people who have been tortured or abused. The emphasis of the day is to understand that torture is not acceptable and is also a  despicable crime that is unjustified in any circumstance not even as a measure of last resort. All acts of torture  should be effectively prosecuted  to prevent such acts from occurring again. We should  continue to remember and condemn the degrading and destructive impact of torture, showing support for its victims worldwide.

The day was declared by the United Nations in 1997. The proposal of the day was made in Denmark which is also home to world-famous International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT).

The day June 26 was selected to mark this day for two reasons. One was that on June 26, 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed amid World War II, the first international instrument obliging UN members to respect and promote the human rights and the other reason was that on June 26 in 1897, the United Nations Convention against torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment came into force.
The first event was launched in 1998 and since then more than 100 organization in several countries over the world mark this event and celebrate the campaign. Various rehabilitation centers and human rights organisations around the world celebrate the UN's International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June every year. Events on this day give a chance to unite and raise voice against torture. Several organisations like the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and Amnesty International have played an active role in organising events around the world to promote and make people aware about this day. Various activities like photo exhibitions, distribution of posters and other material to boost people's awareness related to human torture etc. are organised.
According to Human Rights Law torture is defined as any act  by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person in which a public official is directly or indirectly involved for a specific reason. Torturers are seen as the ‘enemy of all mankind'. It is considered so barbaric and incompatible with civilised society that it cannot be tolerated.
Torture seeks to annihiliate the victim's personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being. Torture and ill-treatment are forbidden by both international law and law here in the UK. There are no circumstances whatsoever in which torture and ill-treatment can be justified, including in conflict, for counter-terrorism purposes or other threats of crime, or other religious or traditional justification.Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.The UN Convention Against Torture requires countries to take active steps to prevent torture and says “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever … may be invoked as a justification of torture”.In the UK, the Human Rights Act means we can raise the European Convention on Human rights (ECHR) in our courts. Article 3 ECHR says no one should ever be tortured or treated in an inhuman or degrading way, no matter what the situation. Torture means any act by which severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on someone for the purposes of obtaining information, for punishment or intimidation. Treatment or punishment is degrading if it humiliates and debases a person beyond accepted forms of punishment. 
Despite the absolute prohibition of torture under international law, torture persists in all regions of the world. Concerns about protecting national security and borders are increasing used to allow torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment. It's pervasive  consequences often go beyond the isolated act on an individual, and can be transmitted  through generations and lead to cycles of violence. Lets not forget the victims of torture who are routinely being held in immigration detention centres in breach of the government’s own rules.
Torture can ruin the mental health of a person and it requires a special kind of help at times. There have been rehab centers in support of victims to help them get over the traumatic experiences.The UN Voluntary Fund for victims of torture which is administrated by the UN Human Rights office in Geneva is a unique victim-focused mechanism that accepts funding for the assistance to victims of torture and their families.
The European Union reiterated its strongest opposition to any kind of acts of torture worldwide, in its  declaration, saying: “Through its external action, the EU and its Member States also engage with third countries in regular political and human rights dialogues and financially support civil society organisations in fighting torture.” Also in the last four years, the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights supported anti-torture projects worldwide worth €23 million, and an additional amount of €8 million is foreseen for 2019.

We are witnessing a global crisis on torture. Yet you only have to glance at the news to know that laws alone are not enough. Torture is thriving because rather than respecting the law, many governments are either actively using torture or turning a blind eye. According  to  Nils Melzer, UN's special rappoeteur on torture, Julian Assange  is showing all the symptoms associated with prolonged exposure to psychological torture. Torture is as alive as ever, with documented cases of torture techniques such as electroshock, waterboarding and rape. It is happening across the world, in dark prison cells, secret detention cells and in broad daylight. Most of those responsible never face justice.
On this important day let's  acknowledge the wrongs committed against torture victims over the years and reaffirm the self-worth of victims of torture as human beings and equal participants in civic life entitled to the full enjoyment of all rights. Stand in solidarity with the men and women who survived the horrendous acts of torture who are beacons of hope, who hae endured the unimaginable and are living testimonies of the resilience of the human spirit. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “On this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, I urge all States to end impunity for perpetrators and eradicate these reprehensible acts that defy our common humanity. ”https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2019-06-26/secretary-generals-message-international-day-support-of-victims-of-torture

Place of Poetry : I am Wales

Places of Poetry is a community arts project, centred on a newly designed digital map of England and Wales. Through the course of a four-month summer public campaign, writers from across the country were invited to write new poems of place, heritage and identity, and pin them to the map. Places of Poetry will help us reflect on our national and cultural identities, and celebrate  the diversity, heritage and personalities of place. the following was my contribution

I am Wales

I am here, under a cloud of dream
on sacred turf,  I wander
as the rain  patters down
the land of my mothers and ancestors
on the west coast mooching about at leisure
as seasons leap and flowers bloom
the stem of hiraith glowing
I drift with time and memory
as the days dark shadows 
creeps softly over day
surrounded by mountains and valleys
wild and elemental 
inhaling the whiff of two languages
where  each buoyant moment catches a nerve,
leaves me safe,  with strength within
poetry of my heart sings
from deep within my veins
forging and shaping
with dragons tongue
the shape of things to come

https://www.placesofpoetry.org.uk/poem/22076/?fbclid=IwAR01LfojJXtZGHAxYcYIqGqoH-q2K0HbSTQCyiDVzMW1Nd3z4O84NJf7CdU

The Conservative Party is Your Enemy

Whoever leads them, the British Conservative party is diametrically opposed  to the good of the British public and deliberately acts against their interests. Their motives driven by authoriarianism designed to disenfranchise all, unless  you are not a millionaire, the Conservative Party is not your friend, they are enemies of the people. Inhabited by people with no feeling at all. How on earth are they governing this land,  they have no credible mandate to do so, and remain for me  a thoroughly nasty bunch of  people, with policies designed to wreck our lives, destroying Britain as they carve it into pieces.
Aided and abetted by their friends in the Daily Mail, the Telegraph and the Scum newspapers. Rags that keep on pumping out the same disingeous and divisive rubbish. Plus the BBC misleading people with their parroting of Tory narratives and soundbites. We should not forget the Tory's ruthless , toxic and unjust policies. Their constant assaults on the NHS, people on welfare, the disadvantged, the poor, which include poorly paid workers. As a direct result of their policies we have got the growth of foodbanks, rising homelessness, dodgy benefit assessmentsts, the trebling of uniersity tuition fees, a boom in xero hours contracts, while anti-democratically forcing fracking on people who have clearly stated they don't want it, while at the same time passng new laws to ensure the wealthy stay wealthy, taking the side of big business while eradicating workers rights and continuing their attacks on young people, single parents, maintaining a hostile environment to refugees, slashing education and social security budgets, perescuting the poor for beng poor while  at same time they give their friends the millionaires tax breaks and award themselves pay rises. The list goes on and on, they are toxic and out of control. 
The Conservatives with their feelings of self entitlement believe they are born to rule. Unconcerned by any principles except their maintenance of power, they U-turn  on positions at a drop of a hat, betray promises and even sacrifice their own in order to maintain control.The interests they serve are not yours or mine, but those of the bankers, financiers, fossil fuel magnates and the elite. As they continue to inflict hardship on the vulnerable with  their ideological cruelty and want to transfer wealth upwards towards the rich,  they continue to fuck up the country, presiding over economic incompetance and unrelenting social catastrophe, leading  Britain to international isolation and the United Kingdom itself to breaking apart.
They simply do not care about this country's direction or the plight of the people, only with staying in charge. Just because they are now in power, this does not mean that they should be given a green light to do as they wish. They are a real threat and a constant danger to our well being, and we all deserve so much better. We have to get rid of them by any means necessary, becauuse the devil comes in many shapes and sizes, and I believe it is truly at home in the Conservative party, a demonic party that should not be given an inch and must be opposed with every opportunity, and until people wake up and start opening  their eyes to their policies of division, things will only get worse under their rule. A General election is needed now, time to give them the boot, for some much needed fairness and human decency. For the many not the few. 

Ten years of teifidancer

Greetings from Aberteifi, West Wales I've just realised  that this blog has been going now for over ten years, having started it on the 14th of June 2009 with this  post https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2009/06/iolo-morgannwgthat-will-do-trick-bit-of.html
When I first created teifidancer, it was just a creative experiment,an act of therapy, never did I actually believe it would last this long. It's been a journey, and become part of who I am,  where I've been able to  release my passions, politically, poetically and philosophically that reflect my myriad of interests. Trying to challenge mainstream narrative and consensus opinion, in the hope that by sharing my perspective and outlook with my words, can at least  enable some to think differently about the world that we live in, with critque at times, that can act as a catalyst to effect change, both in attitude and in action.
It has not come without it's challenges, many highs and lows, the loss of loved ones, storms a plenty. it's certainly never been plain sailing, but hope a long the way I have somehow managed to inspire, and that some people have enjoyed at least some of the content  I have shared.
The last ten years have seen a quick rise of populist political narratives and parties throughout the world, the worrying rise of the far right, whose ideas I hope will continue to challenge, and share posts about  the Palestinians, the Kurds and other oppressed peoples struggles, who I will try to keep advocating for, as well as ongoing human rights abuses  worldwide, the cause of international solidarity and issues closer to home, the challenges we face with the current rotten Tory Government, radical change in the political landscape still much needed, will still put forward my independent personal perspective alongside cultural and historical thoughts on art, music and culture, biographical sketches of people that have influenced and inspired my own thought, whilst from time to time offering to the world some of my own poetical endeavours and impulses.
I know I should keep some of my secrets private, but I hate capitalism, war and bereavement, there are some horrific times ahead, forces of hate, intolerance on bigotry on the rise, god knows what will happen next  with the Torys  still on their high horses, I feel it's going to get a lot worse before anything gets better, I will at least keep following the deep caves of love and paths laden with hope. I wish  to thank all those who have offered encouragement a long the way, it has meant a lot,cheers,alas some no longer here, especially dear Jane ( who I met ten years ago today)and Ken who are still fondly remembered, and to Cheryl, Terence and other friends, the Cellar Bards https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/333544513348067/and https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/ my humble gratitude also goes out to those that  have actually chosen to actually follow this blog.
This post is my 2357th, so to end, here  are some links to 50 of my most popular posts according to my statistics, all of which have been visited  well over a thousand times,  hope their still of interest and that this blog will survive for a while to come. Thanks, heddwch / peace, happy solstice,  no borders are necessary. another world is possible, I will try and keep dancing.

Albert Einstein  (14/3/1879 18/4/1955 A human being is part of a whole, called by us'the Universe' - a part limited in time and space

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2012/12/albert-einstein-1431879-1841955-human.html

Thomas de Quincey and his phantasagoric dreams

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post.html

Andre Breton - (1896- 1966) - Surrealism and Painting

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2010/01/andre-breton-1896-1966-surreallism-and.html

MARK ROTHKO - The Romantics were prompted

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2009/12/mark-rothko-romantics-were-prompted.html

Brion Gysin (19/i1916 -13/7/86) - The Poets are supposed to liberate the words - not chain them in phrases

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/01/brion-gysin-1911916-13786-poets-are.html

No one is illegal , No borders are necessary

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/02/no-one-is-illegal-no-borders-are.html


John Keats (31/10/1795 -23/2/16) - The Nature of Love

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2011/02/john-keats-31101795-23218-nature-of.html

Cofiwch Dic Penderyn/ Remember Dic Penderyn 

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/06/cofiwch-dic-penderyn-remember-dic.html

KATHY ACKER (19/4/47- 30/11/97) - Unclassified Angel
https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2010/12/kathy-acker-19447-301197-unclassified.html

Destroy All Rational Thought : Celebrating the Century of William Burroughs Birth (5/12/14- 2/8/97 )

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/02/destroy-all-rational-thought.html

MAHMOUD DARWISH - The Poet of the Resistance (13/4/41- 9/8/08)

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2010/01/mahmoud-darwish-poet-of-resistance.html

NHS : You were warned

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2018/05/nhs-you-were-warned.html

Mary Harris Jones (1/5/1830 -30//1930) Mother Jones/ The Miners' Angel

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2012/11/mary-harris-jones-151830-30111930.html

The Night is Long Faced

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-night-is-long-faced.html

No to Margaret Thatcher Memorial Library and museum

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/02/no-to-margaret-thatcher-memorial.html

Let's not forget Tryweryn Cofiwch Dryweryn

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2019/04/lets-not-forget-tryweryn-cofiwch.html

IDRIS DAVIES (6/1/05 - 6/4/53) Poet of the People

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2010/02/idris-davies-poet-of-people.html

The Tonypandy Riots and why Winston Churchill's name is not revered in the hearts and minds of the Welsh people

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-tonypady-riots-and-why-winston.html

Dare to be a Daniel (for Tony Benn 3/4/25 - 14/3/14)

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/03/dare-to-be-daniel-for-tony-benn-3425.html

Austerity Bites

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/10/austerity-bites.html

PABLO NERUDA -July12,1904. September 23 1973) - Poet of Love

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2009/10/pablo-neruda-july-12-1904-september-23.html

The Politics of Cruelty

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-politics-of-cruelty.html

WELSH POET AS MEDICAL HISTORIAN - Glyn Penrhyn Jones

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2010/07/welsh-poet-as-medical-historian-glyn.html

Another world is possible . ( a Poem)

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/04/another-world-is-possible-poem.html

JOHN CLARE ( 13/7/1793 - 20/1/ 1864) - They called it madness

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2009/09/john-clare-they-called-it-madness.html

Albert Camus (7/11/13 -4/1/60) - The Smoking Philosopher

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2012/05/albert-camus-71113-4160-smoking.htmlt

Anna Campbell - Death of a freedom fighter

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2018/03/anna-campbell-death-of-freedom-
fighter.html

This is Syria

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/11/this-is-syria.htm

These 5 Billionaires own 80% of the UK media

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/10/these-5-billionaires-own-80-of-uk-media.html

Charlie Chaplin (b16/4.1889 -25/12/77) -Citizen of the Wotld

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2012/02/charlie-chaplin-b1641889-251277-
citizen.html

The Peterloo Massacre and Percy Bysshe Shelley's Mask of Anarchy

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-peterloo-massacre-and-percy-bysshe.html

Gillian Clarke (b.8/6/37) - Miracle on St David's Day

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/03/gillian-clarke-8637-miracle-on-st.html

Hungry for Freedom

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/02/hungry-for-freedom.html

Jack Kerouac (March 12, 1922 - October 21, 1969) - Joy Kicks Darkness

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2019/03/jack-kerouac-march-12-1922-october-21.html

Montgomery Bus Boycott

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2012/12/montgomery-bus-boycott.html

A Beautiful Resistance

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-beautiful-resistance.html

For Grenfell Tower: A Poem

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/06/for-grenfell-tower-poem.html

Luchia Sanchez Saornil (13/12/1895 -2/6/70) - The Song of Mujeres Libres

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/12/lucia-sanchez-saornil-13121895-2670.html

Time to end todays  modern slave trade

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/08/time-to-end-todays-modern-slave-trade.html

When the seige is broken , A Poem for Gaza

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/08/when-siege-is-broken-poem-for-gaza.html

Remembering  John Rety (8/12/30 - 3/2/10) - Anarchist, Poet and Artist

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/12/remembering-john-rety-81230-3210.html

Margaret Thatcher, her legacy, a personal view, a poem, and some tunes.

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2012/01/margaret-thatcher-her-legacy-personal.html 

William Blake: Radical Visionary (28/11/ 1757 - 12/8/ 1827)

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/09/william-blake-radical-visionary.html

A Poem for Tony Blair

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-poem-for-tony-blair.html

Bobby Sands (9/3 54 -5/5/ 81) - The Rhythm Of Time, his spirit lives on

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/05/bobby-sands9354-5581-rhythm-of-time.html

A different kind of Love song

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-different-kind-of-love-song.html

7th October 1955, Allen Ginsberg's First Reading of "Howl"

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/10/7th-october-1955-allen-ginsbergs-first.html

Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 - July 8, 1822) - Revolutionary Romantic Poet

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/08/percy-bysshe-shelley-august-4-1792-july.html

I Am ( a poem to mark refugee week 15-21 June)

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-am-poem-to-mark-refugee-week-15-21.html

Gresford Coal Disaster

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/09/gresford-colliery-disaster.html

35th Anniversary of The Battle of Orgreave

 

Today I remember of one of the 20th Century's most brutal attacks by the state on its own citizens.The Battle of Orgreave,  which took place during the1984 Miners strike,which resulted in an all out military operation by Margeret Thatcher's Conservative cabinet. The miners' strike of 1984-85 was the longest lasting and most bitter industrial dispute of the second half of the 20th century in Britain. It had a huge impact on virtually every subsequent industrial and political development.
On June 18th  1984, 6 to 7,000  striking miners and their supporters gathered  to picket Orgreave  cokeworks  near Rotheram in South Yorkshire. The miners wanted to stop lorry loads of coke leaving for the steelworks. They thought that would help them win their strike, and help protect their pits and their jobs. The police were determined to hold them back. The number of officers was unprecedented. The use of dogs, horses and riot gear in an industrial dispute was almost unheard of. Some of the tactics were learned from the police in Northern Ireland and Hong Kong who had experience dealing with violent disorder.
During the subsequent court case a police manual was uncovered which set out the latest plans to deal with pickets and protests. Police vans and Range Rovers were fitted with armour so they could withstand the stones being thrown by some in the crowd. The miners suspected the whole operation was being run under government control.
Many believe Orgreave was the first example of what became known as “kettling” – the deliberate containment of protesters by large numbers of police officers. It marked a turning point in policing and in the strike. Police directed  pickets to an area of land which left them  hemmed in on three sides.Before this event the miners had been stoically out on strike for about 12 weeks, during which they had  been assaulted on picket lines, with individuals being handcuffed and beaten without  any cause or provocation.
At Orgreave  the miners after being herded together. were savagely attacked by Police cavalry  in full riot gear under the jurisdiction of Thatcher's Government attacking fleeing miners with long swaying batons as Miners ran for safety. It saw the police  going berserk under state orders, repeatedly  attacking  individuals  wherever they sought refuge,  as they fled into a nearby Wheatfield and into the community of Orgreave, where the police  carried on their pursuit through the streets. It resulted in scenes of ugliness, fear and menace, as  all concepts of Law and order that  the constabulary  were supposed to withhold were abandoned. The police frenzy at Orgreave was consciously designed to batter the NUM into submission.
Far from the liberal ideal of a politically neutral body serving the public the police were used at Orgreave to further the anti-socialist rampage which dominated Thatcher's 1980's. As Michael Mansfield QC wrote :"They wanted to teach the miners a lesson, a big lesson, such as they wouldn't come out in force again."

At the end  the day  95people were arrested, for no crime whatever, with over 39 strikers  being injured, many severely. Following Orgreave, the police  conducted a deliberate  and co-ordinated  attempt to frame arrested miners  for one of the most serious events  on the statute book - the offence of Riot. No police officer has ever been prosecuted or even disciplined for their role in the terrible events that occurred.
The  miners strike lasted until March 1985, during which it politicised a generation of people, sadly however at the end hundreds of mines closed afterwards and many miners faced redundancy. And dizzy with her own success, Thatcher began a policy of deindustrialisation of British industry and further impoverishment of working class and middle-class people.

The  miners  strike of 1984 was one of the longest and most brutal in British labour history. A heroic community fighting for jobs and survival was wholly denigrated and depicted as violent by the majority of the British media, at the time. Orgreave marked a turning point in the policing of public protest. It sent a message to the police that they could employ violence and lies with impunity. It was only a year after Orgreave that the so-called “Battle of the Beanfield” took place, with violent and unprovoked  attacks by the police on New Age travellers, followed by large-scale wrongful arrests. And more recently there have been examples of police “kettling” demonstrators in London for several hours – a kind of pre-emptive imprisonment. With the Government’s Trade Union Act aiming to further restrict picketing,  the right to protest in public is in serious danger.
In 2012, the  Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC), was formed to campaign for a public inquiry into the policing of events at Orgreave following the success of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and revelations about corruption in South Yorkshire Police. But in October 2016 the Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced that there would be no statutory inquiry or independent review.
In 1991, South Yorkshire police paid £425,000 in compensation to 39 miners who had sued for assault, false arrest and malicious prosecution, but the force still publicly denied any wrongdoing by any officer.In March the Right Rev Dr Peter Wilcox, the bishop of Sheffield, revealed that the Home Office had also declined to support his proposal for an independent panel to consider the Orgreave events.
In advance of the 35 year anniversary , he said: “Questions remain unanswered which are not going away. In the fullness of time, these questions must be addressed thoroughly and openly, so that wrongs can be put right and so that individuals and communities can move on from a deeply unhappy piece of history. I gladly repeat today my call for a formal, public and independent process of inquiry.”
Up to a thousand workers from both Yorkshire and across the country marched to the 35th Battle of Orgreave memorial rally on Saturday.They marched from Orgreave Lane in Sheffield across the bridge and past the farmland in which the state-orchestrated police attack on striking miners took place on on June 18th 1984.
Other victims of injustice marched with them: workers blacklisted in the construction industry, victims of the Grenfell fire disaster represented by the Fire Brigades Union and Shrewsbury 24 campaigners seeking justice over the imprisonment of striking building site workers in the 1970s were there.
Speaker after speaker at the rally expressed determination to continue the Orgreave campaign until truth and justice are achieved. Prior to speeches the Women’s Socialist Choir gave a rendition of their Orgreave song ‘Time for Truth, Time for Justice, Time for Peace,’ to warm applause.
A spokesperson for the Orgreave Justice Campaign then said: ‘Take note, we are not going away! We have been more active than ever in the last year and we had the biggest reception we have ever had at this year’s annual Durham Miners Gala.
‘We also had a guarantee from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that a Labour government would hold a workers inquiry into what happened at Orgreave in 1984.
‘So the international solidarity that was built up throughout that strike still prevails today. We’ve spoken at over 100 events and meetings – so don’t forget to keep asking us.
‘And now we know we’ll get an inquiry when we get a Labour government. Jeremy Corbyn told us: “The next Labour government will launch an independent inquiry – because there are so many questions that need to be answered”.
 Today I pay tribute to the miners who led the fight against the Thatcher government to defend jobs and trade unionism. After 35 years it is more important than ever to establish the truth about who was responsible for organising the police rampage on this day. Sadly for the 95 miners who were arrested, their families, comrades and others, injustice at Orgreave remains unresolved. Now is the time to keep demand an independent inquiry into the police brutality that happened on that day from home secretary Sajid Javid. Addressing the past is also a way of confronting the continuing abuses of the present.

Refugee Week 2019 (17 – 23 June )

Refugee Week takes place every year across the world in the week around World Refugee Day on the 20 June. In the UK, Refugee Week is a nationwide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and encourages a better understanding between communities.
The main focus of World Refugee Week is to educate people about refugees, what brought them here and the challenges they’ve faced. By hearing their stories, we can appreciate who they are and think about how we can work together to make our communities safer and more welcoming for them.
Refugee Week started in 1998 as a direct reaction to hostility in the media and society in general towards refugees and asylum seekers, to try and look  beyond the stereotypical ‘refugee’ label and work  to counter this negative climate, defending the importance of sanctuary and the benefits it can bring to both refugees and host communities. An established part of the UK’s cultural calendar, Refugee Week is now one of the leading national initiatives working to counter this negative climate, defending the importance of sanctuary and the benefits it can bring to both refugees and host communities.
People escaping war and persecution have been welcomed by communities in the UK for hundreds of years, and their stories and contributions are all around us. From the Jewish refugees of the 1930s to people fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s, Kosovans in the 1990s to those arriving today; they are part of who we all are.
The theme  of Refugee Week 2019, is ' You, me and those who came before' an invitation to explore the lives of refugees who exhibit such adaptability, resilience and determination in rebuilding their lives in the UK, and who play (and will go on to play) an important role in shaping our future society,  and those who have welcomed them, throughout the generations and to celebrate the positive contributions refugees make to our society and show support for families forced to flee.
The aims of Refugee Week are:
1. To encourage a diverse range of events to be held throughout the UK, which facilitate positive encounters between refugees and the general public in order to encourage greater understanding and overcome hostility.
2.To showcase the talent and expertise that refugees bring with them to the UK.
To explore new and creative ways of addressing the relevant issues and reach beyond the refugee sector.
3.To provide information which educates and raises awareness of the reality of refugee experiences
The ultimate aim is to create better understanding between different communities and to encourage successful integration, enabling refugees to live in safety and continue making a valuable contribution.
Many refugees and asylum seekers face severe difficulties once they arrive in the UK. Unable to work or support themselves, many struggle for basics such as food and shelter. Some of the key issues they encounter are the possibility of detention, living in destitution and contending with negative stereotypes.Most of those who are granted asylum are given leave to remain for only five years, making it difficult for them to make decisions about their future, including finding work and making definite plans for their life in the UK while it remains unsafe for them to return to the country they escaped from. As fellow humans we have a responsibility to respond to their specific needs in times of crisis. Many of these asylum seekers come to us as a last resort, having exhausted all alternatives, with nowhere else to turn. We should also remember  all those suffering abuse in detention centres and those facing repatriation despite the dangers that they face.
Refugee Week is an umbrella festival, with events held by a wide range of arts, voluntary, faith and refugee community organisations, schools, student groups and more. Past events have included arts festivals, exhibitions, film screenings, theatre and dance performances, concerts, football tournaments and public talks, as well as creative and educational activities in schools.
Through Refugee Week  the aim is  to provide an important opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees to be seen, listened to and valued. We must continue to offer our love , solidarity, tolerance, warm welcome and friendship  to refugees who daily have to struggle, many of whom left feeling traumatised and marginalised. Refugees are ordinary people to whom extraordinary and often very horrible things have happened. Refugee Week is an opportunity to celebrate that.

https://refugeeweek.org.uk

Puma says its devoted to universal equality whilst supportng apartheid !!

Today, June 15, groups in more than 20 countries have been joining the #BoycottPuma International Day of Action. Palestinian sports teams called for a boycott of the German athletic wear manufacturer Puma, over its support for Israel’s illegal land grabs and its decision to become the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA) which includes six teams in settlements built on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank also allowng  IFA to provide equipment, including the kits, for all of Israel’s national football teams. In doing so they replaced Adidas, which had been the sponsor for the preceding 10 years until it ended its relationship with the IFA amid a similar campaign. 
After a petition that has been  signed by over 16,000 human rights supporters from across the world who said that the German brand’s deal with the IFA made in complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people,  the company responded  with the astonishing  claim  of their “devotion to universal equality.” whilst  at same time profiting from oppression.
This month marks 52 years of Israel’s brutal military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Puma is helping to whitewash Israel’s apartheid walls, military checkpoints, segregated Israeli-only roads and ever expanding illegal Israeli settlements that force Palestinian families  off their land and prevent Palestinian athletes from practicing sports.
The IAF has 6 teams playing in illegal Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land. Israeli bombing in Gaza makes sport a dangerous pastime for Palestinians. This bombing has killed Palestinian national footballers and destroyed Palestinian football stadiums in Gaza. Palestinian footballers have seen ther carees destroyed by Israeli oppression, such as Mahmoud Sarsak. Other footballers have been deliberately shot in the legs at Israeli checkpoints, ending their careers.Palestinians have as much right as the Israeli’s to play sport without fear of serious injury and death.
Activists from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have  today helped to organize protests at 30 locations across the UK with slogans such as “Give Puma the boot” and “#BoycottPuma”.
Palestinians like many peoples and communities across the world, are struggling to attain the fundamental right of equality. Puma should make a sincere effort to support that right rather than exploit it to deflect criticism as it profits from Israel’s apartheid regime. Let's to keep up the pressure as it continues to be involved in violations of international law and human rights.Please sign the pledge to boycott Puma. Companies like Puma cannot claim to support universal equality whilst being the main sponsor of the IFA, which operates on stolen Palestinian land with total impunity," said  James Tuite, campaigns officer at Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Metamorphosis (For Ken)

I trust the depths of the nights
more than any single politician
even when tangled up in darkness
heart battered like the surface of the moon
among searching scattering conditions
one can often find much clearer ways
running the gauntlet of stars and stones
towards days of respite, certainty and care
from out of the black holes, the universe rings
in the morning we can run through woods
and the plum crammed orchards
our tears and our love  making prisms of hope
under sunflowers meta morphing
rhythms of the pulse awakening
busy like the blow flies
waiting for sunbeams
to warm flutterring wings
moments to sap the bleakness.

Boris Johnson not a clown, but an intolerant dangerous individual.

 

Boris Johnson is the frontrunner in the Conservative Party leadership contest at the moment, but a trail of controversies have followed him. He has a very spotty record and in the past he has been called a "bigot" and "ignorant" by his critics. The former foreign secretary refuses to apologise however for writing that a Muslim woman wearing the veil resembles “a bank robber” and that it is “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes”. He is now under investigation by his own party, which has received dozens of complaints.
 He has also criticised the police for spending money on historic cases of child sex abuse in comments deemed “disgusting, ignorant” He’s historically used racist language too. In 2002, Johnson wrote in the Telegraph: “It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-wearing picaninnies.” The word “picaninnies” is a racist term used to describe black children.
In the same column he also talked about then prime minister Tony Blair, and wrote: "They say he is shortly off to the Congo. No doubt the AK47s will fall silent, and the pangas will stop their hacking of human flesh, and their tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief touch down his big white British taxpayer-funded bird." Johnson later apologised for these comments.
While he was editor of The Spectator he was criticised for allowing a number of articles deemed racist by some, to make it on to the website, including one article about racial eugenics that said “orientals” had “larger brains and higher IQ scores” while “blacks are at the other pole.”Andrew Cooper, a Conservative peer and former No 10 director of strategy, tweeted recently that “the rottenness of Boris Johnson goes deeper even than his casual racism & his equally casual courting of fascism”. Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, has demanded an apology for his “gratuitously offensive” remarks. Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, has said he will leave the Conservative party if Johnson becomes its leader.
In less than two minutes on 9 June, Owen Jones did more than the entire media has done in months to expose Boris Johnson. Speaking to Sky News, Jones left no stone unturned when combating the Conservative leadership front-runner:
Jones said:
"One of the… big faults at the moment, in this whole debate, is the lack of scrutiny of Boris Johnson… Why aren’t we asking – does he still think that gay people should be called ‘bum boys’? Does he still think that equal marriage should be compared to… three men marrying a dog? Does he still believe that black people should be called piccaninnies with watermelon smiles? Does he still think that it’s acceptable to compare Muslim women to bank robbers and to letterboxes?
Why should we trust somebody who was sacked twice for dishonesty, once by his newspaper and once by a Conservative leader? Is somebody who once conspired with a criminal friend to beat up a journalist fit for high office? Is somebody who wrote one column supporting Remain and another column supporting Leave, is that somebody who is driven by anything else other than his own career?"
The commentator continued, criticising the corporate media’s failings:
"But we are not having this discussion because all too often… and I speak as somebody who has worked in the British media now for the best part of a decade, Boris Johnson is treated as a bit of a circus… a bit of a laugh, but he is somebody who has peddled racism, he’s serially dishonest, he’s a charlatan. But we’re not having that conversation because again – and it’s worth emphasising this – if you are from a posh background you can more or less get away with anything in this country."
Jones pulled no punches in his critique of Johnson. The corporate media, meanwhile, appears to be treating the man vying to be prime minister as a bit of a joke. This is a rank dereliction of duty.
Johnson's manifesto is to cut taxes for the higher paid and leave the EU without a deal.Two of the most divisive ideas in our society at moment and would simply hit the poorest and most vulnerable amongst us.
Few British politicians evoke such dismay in Europe as Mr Johnson, a man whom many see as the mastermind of Brexit. He told two infamous lies while campaigning for Brexit, the first of which was so braen, he had it emblaoned acrss the side of a bus Johnson toured up and down the nation on this bus covered in lies and claimed that the NHS would be  £350 million better off if voters chose Brexit.https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/23/boris-johnson-will-find-fate-next-week-brexit-bus-lies-9666621/ Now he faces  a private prosecution to hold him to account for his  criminal lying.https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1130972/brexit-news-court-case-battle-bus-NHS-boris-johnson. As if lying about the NHS was ot heinious enough, Johnson perpetuated the racist myth that the Turkish people were foaming at the mouth to comee to the UK by their tens of millions, scaremongering and stoking up fears about "shared boders". 
What we are witnessing is a man who until very recently held one of the great offices of state claiming a jester’s privilege. When he writes or speaks, he does so as an MP and privy counsellor well known for his ambition to become prime minister in the near future. He borrows the  language of King Lear, to play the Fool but for many he is not a bumbling, affable, ruffle haired clown, but a calculating, ruthless, reckless, intolerant, utterly contemptible opportunist, and serial liar.
A product of Eton and Oxford and a member of the notoriously elitist and thuggish Bullingdon Club to boot  and furthermore a very greedy individual who seems more interested in feathering his own nest than furthering the national interest. While Mayor of London he continued to draw a retainer for writing a column for the Daily Telegraph worth £250,000 a year. He compared this amount to chicken feed and justified it on the grounds that his Mayoral salary was too little even though in reality it was way above the national average. In reaction to the backlash at such a flagrant act of brazen greed his media team persuaded him to donate a portion of his Telegraph earnings to charity. Johnson pledged to do this and then never did. Also, towards the end of his tenure as Mayor of London when he was re-elected to the House of Commons he continued to claim both his Mayoral salary/expenses and an MPs salary and expenses too.
After the Grenfell Tower tragedy, footage emerged of him as Mayor telling a politician who challenged the wisdom of his fire serice cuts to "get stuffed"
Johnson  also supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and refused to block UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, saying there is no clear evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen. In September 2016, he was accused of blocking the UN inquiry into Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
He made a joke about "dead bodies" in Libya, insulted people in Myanmar by reciting an "inappropriate" colonialist poem, and wrongly called  imprisoned Brtish-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe, a journalist, leading to her jail sentence being prolonged.
Do we really want a dangerous individual like this  as our future Prime Minister. Heaven' forbid it, it would be catastrophic.Johnson or otherwise, the Conservatives have no mandate to simply impose another prime minister on the country. Quite simply I personally  think all the current contenders are as bad as one another but none as rotten as Johnson.We need a general election now.

1984 at 70

 

George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 was published on 8 June by the socialist  publisher  Victor Gollanz. The book arrived at the birth of the cold war between the Soviet and American blocs, soon after Winston Churchill fixed the phrase ‘the Iron Curtain’ in the language and as a ‘Red Scare’ gripped American society. Orwell’s novel remained one of the most significant and contested cultural products of that era of ideological struggle between capitalism and communism, its influence surviving long beyond the actual year 1984. Translations and many different radio, film and television adaptations across the post-war decades testify to its continuing significance. The novel has since inspired movies, television shows, plays, a ballet, an opera, a David Bowie album, imitations, parodies, sequels.
This month  as it turns 70 years old, this seminal work with its themes of totalitarianism, repressive regimentation of the population, perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and propaganda  are now more relevant than ever in the age we currently live. Orwell's predictions were so spot on that is almost acts an instruction  manual for would be tyrants and many of the themes contained in  this amazing book are compelling and contemporary, foreshadowing the state of our world today, containing remarkable foresight and vision given that it was first published in 1949. Orwell began writing the novel in 1944, and wrote the bulk of it while residing on the Scottish island Jura  in the Inner Hebrides while battling tuberculosis during 1947-1948. Orwell  was recently widowed, his wife having died during a surgical procedure. He was left with his young son, and he was seriously ill with tuberculosis. There was not a known cure for TB in 1947, and physicians typically prescribed fresh air and rest. Orwell was given streptomycin, which was an experimental drug in the US, and after treatment, his TB symptoms disappeared. He raced to finish his novel, and upon publication it became an instant success. Orwell died shortly after of a brain haemorrhage in 1950 at age 46.
1984 has been in publication ever since, and has been translated into multiple languages, and is often heralded as one of the best novels of the 20th century. Still resonating in the times we live today, still worryingly reliable. Commenting on 1984, Orwell wrote, “I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive.”
 In the week of Donald Trump’s inauguration,  after the president’s adviser Kellyanne Conway used the phrase 'alternative facts,' the novel returned to the best-seller lists. A theatrical adaptation was rushed to Broadway. The vocabulary of Newspeak went viral. An authoritarian president who stood the term fake news on its head, who once said, “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” has given 1984 a whole new life.
Censorship  sadly is  still the norm in this world, and is so extreme that individuals can become "unnpersons" and  removed from society  because their ideas are considered  too dangerous by the establishment. Take for example the likes of Julian Assange and other activists and independent journalists who are punished for continuing to speak out about government corruption. All over the world where tyrannies rule 1984 is banned.
The novel is set in 1984 in Great Britain, known as Airstrip One.The world has suffered through a global atomic war, and there are 3 superpowers called Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. The standard of living is relatively low.The media is run by the government, which is known as Big Brother and the written word is perpetually changed to suit what the government requires. People  are controlled into what to think, how to act and how to live .It uses telescreens, fearmongering, media control and corruption to control the masses.
One of the Party pillars in 1984 is endless war on a global scale. The war, however, is a fabrication accepted and treated as fact. For, unreal as it is, it is not meaningless. World powers become enemies and allies interchangeably simply to keep the masses in perpetual fear, perpetual industry, and perpetual order. War provides outlet for unwanted emotions such as hate, patriotism, and discontent, keeping the structure of society intact and productive without raising the standard of living. The state of perpetual war described by Orwell is also reflected in the wars  that have raged since 1945, across the globe from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen etc etc.
Winston Smith the main protagonist is  an editor employed by the government and is one of many citizens responsible for rewriting history. In 1984, government surveillance is constant and at the forefront. The state knows every move its citizens make, including their habits, whom they talk to, and what they are doing at any given time. Big Brother is watching and running the show. The people are sheep who are herded and controlled. Winston Smith embarks on a clandestine love affair with Julia, a party member, and joins The Brotherhood, an illegal organisation dedicated to the overthrow of Big Brother. He is caught,and taken to Room 101, alongside everyone else who offended had been taken and subjected to torture and brainwashed . He along with everyone ends up loving Big Brother.
 It’s almost impossible to talk about propaganda, surveillance, authoritarian politics, or perversions of truth without dropping a reference to 1984. Today across the world there are a lock-up concentration camp style jails where unconvicted, ostensibly innocent individuals are held and openly abused. Electronic surveillance in 2019 is a common and accepted government practice: cell phone listening, cameras on corners and traffic lights, and electronic toll payment system tracking are all everyday occurrences. By using our credit cards, shopping rewards cards, and even our driver's licenses, data are collected on all of us and sold and used daily, each of us daily profiled. Orwell’s book was supposed to be a warning, not a guidebook on how to create a surveillance state. It really is remarkable how the many tools that were used to suppress in 1984  are now part of our everyday lives.
Newspeak is the fictional language spoken in 1984. It is a controlled and abbreviated version of English.  Also  known as “doublespeak!”. As George himself said " Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.. "  Politicians continue to  use language to deceive and manipulate, through concealment or misrepresentation of the truth, desperately and deliberately using euphemistic or ambiguous language as they have been doing ad infinitum. One of the objectives of Newspeak is also to decrease self-expression. With the  popularity of texting, it would be fair to say that there are similarities. And today we are so busy Facebooking, tweeting, etc,  the following line  from one of the characters that works for Big Brother.  “The people will not revolt. They will not look up from their screens long enough to notice what’s happening.” is  still amazingly uncanny. Orwell may not have had a crystal ball, but  he did have was an understanding of the human condition and its weakness. And today it’s almost impossible to talk about propaganda, surveillance, authoritarian politics, or perversions of truth without dropping a reference to 1984.
Orwell began writing the novel in 1944, and wrote the bulk of it while residing on the Scottish island Jura while battling tuberculosis during 1947-1948. Orwell  was recently widowed, his wife having died during a surgical procedure. He was left with his young son, and he was seriously ill with tuberculosis. There was not a known cure for TB in 1947, and physicians typically prescribed fresh air and rest. Orwell was given streptomycin, which was an experimental drug in the US, and after treatment, his TB symptoms disappeared. He raced to finish his novel, and upon publication it became an instant success. Orwell died shortly after of a brain haemorrhage in 1950 at age 46.
1984 has been in publication ever since, has been translated into multiple languages, and is often heralded as one of the best novels of the 20th century. Still resonating in the times we live today, still worryingly reliable. Commenting on 1984, Orwell wrote, “I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive.”
 In the week of Donald Trump’s inauguration,  after the president’s adviser Kellyanne Conway used the phrase 'alternative facts,' the novel returned to the best-seller lists. A theatrical adaptation was rushed to Broadway. The vocabulary of Newspeak went viral. An authoritarian president who stood the term fake news on its head, who once said, “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” has given 1984 a whole new life.
 In some cases, what is happening in the world today is more draconian and invasive than anything Orwell conceived. The corruption of language described in 1984 is widespread in the media today, with "Newspeak" terms such as democratic, socialist, fascist, war criminal, freedom fighter, racist and many other expressions being used in a deliberately deceptive, propagandistic way to whip up mass hysteria or simply to ensure that people can never achieve even an approximation of the truth.
We are today all living in a massive prison and George Orwell predicted it. The ability of Big Brother government to observe our every activity is increasing week by week and soon each and every car journey we make, every financial transaction we undertake, everywhere we go will be fed into a computer and if there is a slight variance from what they decide is the norm then we will be taken in and questioned. Give the wrong answers and you could well end up in room like 101, or Belmarsh Jail, Guantanamo Bay etc. We should continue to be on guard, raise alarms, be objective, keep questioning and hold our individual Governments to account.
 As  free speech today is still under attack and the Trump administration preparess new charges against Julian Assange for exposing US war crimes and the French government is prosecuting journalists for reporting on France’s support for the Saudi war in Yemen, and Chelsea Manning remains locked-up for refusing to inform on Assange, 1984 can still serve as a handbook for our difficult times. Citizens today should support bona fide civil liberties groups and actively oppose government measures restricting basic freedoms. Freedom of speech is a basic civil liberty and people should fight to retain it. They should defy group pressure, think for themselves and speak out. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.We should continue to be on guard, raise alarms, be objective, keep questioning and hold our individual Governments to account.In 2003 a docudrama was released by the BBC, detailing the life and works of George Orwell. The documentary contains footage from his deathbed, and his final words are certainly chilling. You can here them in the following video. We can't say that we were never warned.

“We  are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing. It might be a thousand years. At present nothing is possible except to extend the area of sanity little by little. We cannot act collectively.
We can only spread our knowledge outwards from individual to individual, generation after generation. In the face of the Thought Police there is no other way.”    

- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty- Four