Marking the 203rd anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre

  

 

The 16th of August, marks  the  anniversary of the infamous Peterloo Massacre, one of the most significant atrocities carried out by the British authorities against their own people and one of the  bloodiest episodes and most dismal in British history. The massacre by official accounts is believed to have involved 18 deaths and injuries to as many as 700 protesters, including  many women who paid the price for exercising their democratic rights to freedom of assembly.Though the actual death toll was likely much higher.

Peterloo involved the assembly at St Peter’s Field in  post- Napoleonic Manchester (since renamed St Peters Square.)  a crowd of  60,000 to 89,000 peaceful working class pro-democracy (none of them were armed) and anti poverty protestors  had gathered, many in their Sunday best, proud and defiant  amid growing poverty and unemployment, mainly from the Corn Laws that artificially inflated bread prices, demanding the right to vote at a time when only  3% were on the electoral register.Manchester , despite its vast population, hadn't a single MP. Trade Unions were already widespread but illegal and were frequently suppressed violently.  

The first few decades of the 19th century, enshrined in public imagination as the elegant age of the Regency, were a time of severe political repression in England. The Tory government, led by Lord Liverpool, feared that the kind of revolutionary activity recently witnessed in France would break out in England – probably in Manchester, where social conditions were so desperate – and chose decided to stamp out all dissent and free speech.

The government was at war with France, which saw Wellington triumph over Napoleon’s forces at Waterloo in 1815.But as Paul Foot once wrote, the British government was also waging war against its own people.

The key speaker at St Peter’s Field was a famed orator by the name of Henry Hunt, the platform consisted of a simple cart, and the space was filled with banners emblazoned with messages calling for - Reform, universal suffrage,and equal representation. Many of the banners poles were topped with the red cap of liberty- a powerful symbol at the time.However, local magistrates peering out a window from a building near the field panicked at the size of the crowd, and proceeded without any notice to read the Riot Act, ordering the assembled listeners to disperse. It would almost certainly have been the case that only a very few would have heard the magistrates. The official 'guardians of the peace' then promptly directed the local Yeomanry to arrest the speakers. The Yeomanry could be described as a kind of paramilitary force with no training in crowd control and little in the way of proper discipline similar to the riot police that ran amok at the Battle of Orgreave during the miners strike of the 1980's. On horseback they charged into the crowd, and pierced the air with cutlasses and clubs. Many in the crowd believed the troops had drunk heavily in the lead up to the assault. In the melee, 600 Hussars who had initially been held in reserve, were ordered to attack unarmed civilians, with brutal consequences.They sliced indiscriminately at men, women and children as they tried to get to the speakers platform. Within minutes, people were sabred, trampled and crushed. Screams reverberated across the square. The Manchester Guardian described how " the women seemed to be the special objects of the rage of these bastard soldiers," 

The massacre was named ‘Peterloo’ in ironic comparison to the battle of Waterloo, that took place four years earlier.The victims included a two year old boy, William Fides, who was ridden oer by the cavalry after he was knocked from his mothers arms, and an an old Waterloo veteran , John Less, who was slashed to death by the cavalry's sabres.

After the massacre, it was the victims, and not the aggressors who were treated as criminals, and feared discrimination by their employers. And no doubt many of those injured died as a result of their injuries some weeks or even months later. In those days of primitive medical care and lack of welfare provision, a serious injury was often a death sentence, and for a wage earner to be incapacitated  equalled the threat of starvation for a family. At this time many handloom weavers and spinners were already living in a state of semi starvation.

The government of Lord Liverpool, backed up the public officials and the actions of the troops and was adamantly unwilling to apologize for the appalling violence. Henry Hunt, Samuel Bamford and other radical leaders were arrested for treason. This capital offence  was later commuted to a lesser one, and they served prison sentences of several years.

The event would  also usher in a series of draconian laws that further restricted the liberties of the population.It would lead to the suppression of public expression of opinion, debate , gathering and dissent.The populace did not decline into apathy, however. A large public outcry ensued, and an effort was made by various reformers to document the truth of what had occurred in the center of Manchester on that fateful day. Peterloo led directly to the formation of one of Britain’s leading progressive newspapers, the Manchester Guardian (now the more watered down Guardian). The aftermath of the event would in itself unleash a wave of public anger and protests, which eventually was to lead to the Great Reform Act of 1832, which led to limited suffrage and to today's parliamentary democracy. Many historians now acknowledge Peterloo  as hugely influential in ordinary people winning the vote and credit it with giving rise to the Chartist movement, and  strength to other workers rights movements. We should never forget on whose shoulders we today stand, a reminder that what rights that we have today were hard one.

In Italy, in the aftermath of Peterloo, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley having heard of the horror, his outraged response was  to compose his powerful political  91-verse poem, The Mask of Anarchy. The word anarchy then meant something quite different to how we view it today, Shelley used it to describe the chaos of tyranny, in which no one but the very few who own and control society can plan their lives for themselves.

The poem was written in the ballad tradition. Ballads in the early 19th century were verse narratives, often set to popular tunes and typically sold on the streets as a cheap disposable form of literature. They often focussed on tragedies, love affairs or scandals. By adopting this style,Shelley could be seen  to be speaking with the voice of the common man. 

The Mask of Anarchy recounts a nightmare in which the three Lords of the Tory Cabinet parade in an awful possession, murdering and deceiving while Britain dissolves into anarchy. He rouses the people to free themselves from their oppressors, by supplying them, among other things, with a powerful definition of freedom.

He begins his poem with the powerful images of the unjust forms of authority of his time: God,  the King and Law, and he then imagines the stirrings of a radically new form of social action. The poem mentions several members of Lord Liverpool's's government by name: the Foreign Secretary, Castlereagh who appears as a mask worn by Murder, the Home Secretary,Lord Sidmouth., whose guise is taken by Hypocricy, and the Lord Chancellor,Lord Eldon whose ermine gown is worn by Fraud.The crowd at this gathering is met by armed soldiers, but the protestors do not raise an arm against their assailants:

Stand ye calm and resolute,
Like a forest close and mute,
With folded arms and looks which are
Weapons of unvanquished war,

And that slaughter to the Nation
Shall steam up like inspiration,
Eloquent, oracular;
A volcano heard afar.

Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you-
Ye are many - they are few."

That closing verse is perhaps one of the best known pieces of poetry in any movement of the oppressed all over the world such is it's resonance.Encouraging people to rise up and challenge the tyranny that they are facing every day of their lives, against the undeniable injustices.faced by the many at the hands of the few. The rallying language of the poem  has led to elements of it being recited by students at Tiananmen Square  and by protestors in Tahir Square during the revolution in Egypt in 2011.It would inspire the campaign slogan "We are many, they are few" used by anti Poll Tax demonstrators  in 1989-90, and also inspired the title of the 2014 documentary film We are Many, which focussed  on the worldwide anti-war protests of 2003, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also memorably used the final stanza.
Shelley’s friend and publisher, Leigh Hunt did not publish the poem until after Shelley’s death fearing that the opinions in it were too controversial and inflammatory. The Masque of Anarchy  has been described as “the greatest political poem ever written in English” by people such as Richard Holmes. It inspired Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience which in turn influenced the anarchist writings of Leo Tolstoy.Percy Bysshe Shelley believed that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”He would remain a serious advocate for serious reform for the rest of his life, and would come to serve as a prophetic voice and inspiration to those, like the Chartists who created significant movements for peaceful reform, alongside generations of activists to this present day. Many years later his powerful poem is as relevant in austerity gripped Britain as when it was first written and  reminds us that Poetry can serve to inspire and motivate people and change and influence ideas. It is one of the most powerful tools we have.

Full text of Shelley's Mask of Anarchy can be found here:-

http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/PShelley/anarchy.html 

An earlier post on Shelley can be found here :-

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

The terrible events  that happened on August 16th, 1819  were recently  dramatised by director Mike Leigh in his  historical drama Peterloo. In this gripping account he presents a devastating portrait of class and political corruption which develops our understanding of how the working poor in Britain have coped with oppression . It  is a necessary film for our times, .which should be shown up and down the country in schools so that our children  can learn more about this shameful piece of British history.

This sobering but enthralling blast from the past, superbly shot by the director's regular cameraman Dick Pope, sees Leigh seamlessly move between the lives of disparate characters in the years after Waterloo: a family of weavers headed by Maxine Peake's matriarch: the Westminster government and gluttonous Prince Regent (an unrecognisable Tim McInnerny), fearful of losing his head to the forces of revolution; venomous Manchester magistrates determined to quash any radicalism; and moderate reformists and supporters from the local press, who invite tub-thumping speaker "Orator" Hunt (a terrific Rory Kinnear) to address the masses on that fateful day. Though the film is of considerable length, it's never plodding - Leigh leavens the mood with pointed humour and subtle mockery, whether it's in the pomposity and idiosyncrasies of the ruling classes, Vincent Franklin's apoplectic reverend magistrate or Hunt's smug, southern snobbishness. The climactic massacre is unheralded and low key, yet once the mayhem unfolds, it's easy to be reminded of recent crowd crises like Orgreave, the Poll Tax riots and Hillsborough. No doubt, Ken Loach would have been more strident with the material. To his credit, Leigh manages to take quirky slice-of-life drama to impressively epic heights and express a quieter indignation. But it's indignation, nonetheless. 

 

 

Peterloo  has  since become a rallying cry for the working class and radicals, a symbol of the vile nature of the ruling class. Thousands marched  through the streets of Manchester at the weekend and called for action in  a demonstration to commemorate the Peterloo Massacre, Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those who addressed  the crowd during speeches at St Peter's  Square.He received rousing cheers when he expressed solidarity with workers  fighting back against exploitative employers.

The gathering came amid a spiralling  cost of living crisis, with  energy bills  and fuel prices soaring  over the past year, and further sharp increases  expected to follow in October and next January. It also  took place against a backdrop of widespread industrial action  for workers across the country, as repeated  calls were made for a 'summer of solidarity.'

Following his appearance at the event  Mr Corbyn wrote on Twitter, "At todays  commemoration of the Peterloo Massacre  in Manchester we sent a strong message, We need an immediate wealth tax with our energy, water, rail and mail in public hands to bring down bills and help us build a fairer society of peace, justice and shared wealth"

 Repesentatives from  the RMT union which has been striking  over pay and conditions for its members this summer, were  in attendance at the event. Other unions including Unite, Unison and the Fire Brigades Union were also present. 

Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union president Ian Hudson said tht in the current Tory leadership contest, fewer people are voting  than had the right to participate in parliamentary elections at the time of Peterloo.

He said  that "people have the right to food, not to foodbanks" and called for the abolition  of reviled zero-hours contracts, which leave those on them with no guarantee of work or wages.

The lessons that we  draw from Peterloo remain as valid today as ever, that we do not forget  that our rights have been won by others and must be constantly defended. A time to pause and to consider this significant moment in history when our working class ancestors were  slaughtered whilst peacefully protesting for basic civil rights that we today, take for granted.We must continue to display our defiance. More than that, in today's society with the Conservatives  current  draconian  Policing Bill, it’s a reminder that Peterloo was about demanding basic democratic rights and that all these years later a Tory Government is still trying to restrict them and take them away from us and are continuing to attack peoples rights to free assembly and their continuing  assaults on the weak and vulnerable among us, it is a timely reminder of how governments are still not averse to attacking its own people and we should put Shelley's words into practice and rise like lions, because we are many and they are few.

 

                                 Print of the Peterloo Massacre published by Richard Carlisle
     

               

 

Beyond the Weight of the World

Life can feel good until you are randomly hit by a wave of sadness, I feel sadness at the passing of people I didn't know but who made my life brighter. And sadness too for people I didn't know whose awful and undeserved deaths made me question what world we're living in. No human should be bombed or drowned seeking safety.

I feel sadness too for those  dealing with the fallout of murderous  government policies that have led to the worst cost of living crisis in generations. People left with less and less because the rich are taking more and more. 

Ultimately we are all an intrinsic part of this universe. We are all interconnected, and even though each of us separate individuals.We should appreciate the slender threads that hold us together. Through compassion we can share the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of our emotional maturity. If we stop feeling for strangers we lose the energy to make the world better. People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason the world is in chaos, is things are being loved and people are being used.

There's  sorrow and pain in everyone's life, in this world full of darkness, but going over our sad thoughts and feelings, again and again can lead to further  depression and states of anxiety. But the history of depression is a history of our contemporary capitalist world ,and also, a history of violence, the violence that people of color, or LGBT people, or asylum seekers, experience on a daily basis, a violence both physical and psychic. 

.All of this to say that the current, social, political, economic, ecological  crisis is thus a mental health crisis as well. The perpetuum mobile of capitalism and its exhaustion of resources also pertains to mental resources. The economic and the psychological seem to have become indistinguishable from each other, as the double meaning of depression would also suggest. Naturally, we are not all in the same boat, or in the same bed. We are not all depressed (and those of us who are are experiencing it in the same way, or for the same reasons). We are not equally fucked (up). Some strata of society have access to futurity in ways that others do not, some bear the burden more than others, and  some simply die sooner than others .

What's important to remember there's power in overcoming sadness.  It's time we stop being ashamed of when we are sad - the faster we embrace our less good moments the sooner we can enjoy the good ones to come. I cry a lot as an expression of joy, sadness and passion. I cry sometimes  through frustration  or joy  after hearing  something musically moving or news of  people overcoming adversity.  Crying is part of my empathy.

It's ok to not be ok. you are certainly not to blame. There is no one size fits all solution, though sharing, communicating with the people you love and that love you back can  help. Your mental health matters, your mental  well-being matters, You matter, don't forget that,

There are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one that I heartedly embrace. A form of silent poetry in which you can participate wildly or gracefully, at your own free will.  Healthy eating, exercise, meditation, consuming positive content, and therapy are also all great ways to break out of the depressive thought cycle, medication even,.

Try to  remember that every now and then there's a ray of light that melts the loneliness in your heart and brings comfort, a future of possibilities, though the climate crisis quite literally annihilates this future as such. despite this never give up, no matter what.  Always believe in yourself and keep going, even when things don't go your way. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. Continue to be transformed; by the power of your minds, feelings and emotions.We can solidify and  support one another, and  weather the storms.

The coordinated dismantling of capitalism in every nation is also  becoming rather necessary to citizens around the world. After all capitalism  is basically modern day slavery. The literal chains and whips have been replaced by more insidious methods of subjugation. Feudalism didn't die, it's just been reimagined. The elites and privileged still rule and shape this world.

Human beings must look beyond this archaic system of exploitation which is currently leaving so many feeling depressed and hopeless.in realms of hardship. The capitalist mode of production creates a culture, which incentivizes the pursuit of hoarding money above all else. Success is measured by your wallet, rather than your overall happiness. As  result  this rat race coerces human beings into becoming cogs in our capitalist system, and as a result, alienates us from the joys of life. 

We must not be resigned to this system of coercion and control that  is ugly, banal and cruel, instead we must put our heads down, and put in the hard work it will take to change this system. Shed those feelings of alienation and depression, which have been ingrained in you by the modern-day capitalist system. Find renewed motivation in the struggle to create a better world for ourselves, and all those who will be born after us. We must reject the capitalist propaganda which assures us success in life is equivalent to how much wealth one accrues. We can find joy and purpose in fighting for a cause bigger than ourselves.

For as long as capitalism has existed, workers and unions have had to fight to protect their health from the conditions bred by a society blindly pursuing profit. In the workplaces, this has meant winning victories like the eight hour work day in the early 1900s.This struggle continues today, where we need to continually fight against the exploitative conditions that cause us to become mentally and physically unwell. Fighting against abusive managers, toxic work environments, long hours, lack of benefits and poverty wages are part of the fight for our own mental health.

In this moment in time amidst  the cost of living crisis we also need a Poll Tax level of solidarity to prevent a winter, not just of discontent, but one of a multitude of deaths and immense sadness from fuel/food poverty and  homelessness caused by a corrupt government. enabling blatant corporate daylight robbery.

For the time being it’s still possible to find beauty, find meaning, have fun with your friends, get inspired by music, art,, keep on singing out, even if this all happens in spite of the way that the economy is organized. Breathe in love and send sparkles of loving light to all living things and all the spaces between us, it is time to create a beautiful life on Earth for everyone to live together in happiness, harmony and peace. 

When we take care of each other, stand against  the forces of Capital, the future can be rebuilt in the name of a communist, shared, sustainable one, ingrained with its own authentic universalism. They say I'm a dreamer , but I'm not the only one.

Hiroshima / Nagasaki : Never Again

 

 

 

On the 6th August 1945 the United States dropped  an atomic bomb called ' Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan which is estimated to have killed 100,000 to 180,000 people out of a population of 350,000. Then three days later, a second  atomic bomb  called "Fat Man" was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, killing between 50,000 and 100,000 people in an act of unspeakable violence. 

.Hiroshima and Nagasaki were largely civilian towns, meaning there wasn't a strong military reason to drop the atomic bombs over those particular cities. No one was excluded from the horrors of the atomic bomb, a "destroyer of worlds" burnt hotter than the sun. Some people were vaporised upon impact, while others suffered burns and radiation poisoning that would kill them days, weeks or even months later. Others were crushed by debris, burned by unimaginable heat or suffocated by the lack of oxygen. Many survivors suffered from leukemia and other cancers like thyroid and lung cancer at higher rates than those not exposed to the bombs. Mothers were more likely to  lose their children during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Children exposed to radiation were more likely to have learning disabilities and impaired growth.

Those that did manage to survive  would be traumatised for the rest of their lives. Hibakusha is a term widely used in Japan, that refers to the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it translates as 'explosion effected  Survivor of Light. These survivors speak of the deep, unabating grief they felt in the days, months and decades since the attack  They have described the shame of being a survivor , many were unable to marry, find jobs, or live any sort of normal life. They have said that many Hibakusha never speak of the day, instead choosing to suffer in silence. They told what it was like to be suddenly alone in middle age, to lose their parents, spouses, children, and livelihoods in a single instant. In memory of them, we should make sure that the  misery and devastation caused by nuclear weapons is never forgotten.
Even if Japan was not fully innocent, the people of Japan did not deserve to pay the price for their nations wrongdoing, and there was absolutely no moral justification in obliterating these two cities and killing its inhabitants in what was clearly a crime against humanity and murder on an epic scale. Hiroshima and Nagasaki held no strategic importance. Japan were an enemy on the brink of failure an members of the country's top leadership were involved in peace negotiations. Many believe that these two atrocities were a result of  geopolitical posturing at its most barbaric, announcing  in a catastrophic  display of military capability, of inhumane intention showing America's willingness to use doomsday weapons on civilian populations.The bombings serving as warnings and the fist act of the Cold War against its imperialist rival Russia. A message to the Russians of the power of destruction and technological military capability that the US had managed to develop.Three days later U.S president Harry Truman exulted ; "This is the greatest thing in history! " and gloated that " we are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely."
Then the photos began to emerge, haunting images of burned children with their skin hanging off, of bodies charred and there was Sadaki Sasaki and the 1,000 origami peace cranes she folded before her death at 12 from leukemia ten years after the bomb was dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima.The atom bombs dropped by the US on those Japanese cities served no military purpose, as the Japanese were already suing for peace. President Truman, who ordered the bombs to be dropped, lied to the American people when he said that the atom bombs had saved lives and there were few civilian deaths, The  two atomic bombs killed and maimed hundreds and thousands of people.and the effects are still being felt today. The bombs dropped were  of a indiscriminate and cruel character beyond comparison  with weapons and projectiles of the past. Despite all  this Truman never regretted his decision. .

Today as the world commemorates the lives that were lost and the unacceptable devastation caused to people and planet, we still have so much to learn from this picture of indescribable human suffering.

When American troops arrived in Nagasaki and stumbled upon one of the cameramen, from the legendary film company Nippon Eiga Sha, shooting amidst the rubble, they promptly arrested him and confiscated his film. The Americans would halt the entire production in fact. When they let it continue, they did so as producers, paying for the production and thus retaining the right to the film - and the right to keep it concealed for decades.

The atom bombs dropped by the US on those Japanese cities served no military purpose, as the Japanese were already suing for peace. President Truman, who ordered the bombs to be dropped, lied to the American people when he said that the atom bombs had saved lives and there were few civilian deaths, The  two atomic bombs killed and maimed hundreds and thousands of people.and the effects are still being felt today.

Seeing the barbarous effect of these weapons, did our political and military leaders decide to rid the world of them. Far from it.Today's nuclear weapons make the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs look like water pistols in  comparison, and there are enough of them to destroy not just cities but the whole world.

And who has most of these weapons of mass destruction? The only country to ever  use them - the United States.

American Nuclear Bombs are to be housed at RAF Lakenheath, The same issue as what ignited  the peace movement in the 1980's  that the Peace Camp at Greenham brought to everyones attention, CND are organising a demo at Lakenheath on 17th September. 77 years after they were used, it's time to finally bring an end to the era of nuclear weapons.The lingering humanitarian aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should remind us all of what is at stake and galvanise our action. More information here  https://cnduk.org/lakenheath/

Today as the world commemorates the lives that were lost and the unacceptable devastation caused to people and planet, we still have so much to learn from this picture of indescribable human suffering. As  we mourn the hundreds and thousands of lives lost at Hiroshima and Nagasaki now is the time for us to redouble our efforts to ensure that such an atrocity does not happen again and on this poignant anniversary, we must reaffirm our determination to campaign for a world without nuclear weapons, whilst remembering the resilience of ordinary people in the years after the war and the movements of ordinary people against war, who try to make this world more peaceful and harmonious place for us all.Hiroshima and Nagasaki  reminds us of our mission to end preventable and premature deaths by such senseless atrocities. 

Completely ridding the world of nuclear weapons is a humanitarian and moral imperative and it is the only way forward,Governments must be urged to pursue negotiations to prohibit the use of and completly eliminate nuclear weapons through a legally binding international agreement.

 Residents of Nagasaki have paid tribute to victims of the US atomic bombing 77 years ago, with the mayor warning Russia’s war on Ukraine showed that another nuclear attack is not just a worry but “a tangible and present crisis”.

Mayor Tomihisa Taue, in his speech on Tuesday at the Nagasaki Peace Park, said nuclear weapons can be used as long as they exist, and their elimination is the only way to save the future of humankind.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threat to use nuclear weapons came only a month after it and four other nuclear powers pledged in a statement that nuclear war should never be fought, Mr Taue said. 

 “This has shown the world that the use of nuclear weapons is not a groundless fear but a tangible and present crisis,” he said. The belief that nuclear weapons can be possessed not for actual use but for deterrence “is a fantasy, nothing more than a mere hope”, he added.  

As in Hiroshima, Russia and its ally Belarus were not invited to the memorial event in Nagasaki.

Participants, from more than  80 nations were present at the ceremony including diplomats from nuclear states, observed a moment of silence at 11.02am, the moment the bomb exploded above the southern Japanese city on August 9 1945.

Although Russia last week tried to roll back on Vladimir Putin’s warning, fears of a third atomic bombing have grown amid Russia’s threats of nuclear attack since its war on Ukraine began in February.

Russia last week shelled a Ukrainian city close to Europe’s largest nuclear plant. 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: “Even though we face a severe security environment, we must pursue the history of non-nuclear use and make Nagasaki the last place of nuclear attack.”

Japanese officials worry that the conflict may embolden China to be even more assertive in East Asia, and the government is pushing to step up its military capability and spending.

Japan renounces its own possession, production or hosting of nuclear weapons, but as a US ally Japan hosts 50,000 American troops and is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

However, Russia’s nuclear threat has prompted some hawkish lawmakers in the governing party to raise the possibility of nuclear sharing with the United States.

Mr Taue said discussions about nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation over the past decades have not been put into practice and trust in the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has become “tenuous”.

“We must recognise that ridding ourselves of nuclear weapons is the only realistic way of protecting the Earth and humankind’s future,” Mr Taue said.

He urged Japan’s government to exercise leadership in pursuing peace diplomacy that does not rely on nuclear deterrence.

“Nuclear weapons are not deterrence,” said Takashi Miyata, an 82-year-old survivor, or hibakusha. He said possible nuclear sharing is “the opposite of our wish”. 

Takashi Miyata, 

Air-raid sirens and scenes of bombed-out Ukraine reminded him of the “pika don” or the flash and explosion of the atomic bombing that Mr Miyata experienced at the age of 5. His uncle and aunt died in the bombing, and his father died of leukaemia five years later. Mr Miyata also developed cancer 10 years ago.

Many survivors of the bombings have lasting injuries and illnesses resulting from the explosions and radiation exposure and have faced discrimination in Japan.

As of March, 118,935 survivors are certified as eligible for government medical support, according to the health and welfare ministry. Their average age now exceeds 84.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organisations in one hundred countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nation nuclear weapon ban treaty. This landmark global agreement was adopted in New York on 7 July 2017.

More information below.

http://www.icanw.org/

Remembering Friedrich Engels. Lifelong revolutionary, friend and collaborator of Karl Marx. ( 28 November 1820 – 5 August 1895)

  

Friedrich Engels, Philosopher, Political economist, activist and Revolutionary Socialist, was born in Barmen, Rhenish Prussia, on the 28th November 1820. He was the oldest of the six children of Friedrich and Elisabeth Franziska Mauritia Engels. The senior Engels, a successful industrialist, was a Christian Pietist and religious fanatic. After attending elementary school at Barmen, young Friedrich entered the gymnasium in nearby Elberfeld at the age of 14, but he left it 3 years later. Although he became one of the most learned men of his time, he had no further formal schooling.

Under pressure from his tyrannical father, Friedrich was sent to the city of Bremen to be inducted into the family business by learning about the industry as a clerk to a firm of linen exporters.To assuage the deadly boredom, Engels wrote articles in newspapers that were critiques of the conditions of workers and the social costs of industrialisation. He had naturally not yet formulated any critique of capitalism per se, His ire was directed at the stultifying effects of Calvinism and the social costs of the Protestant work ethic with the misery it imposed on factory workers.
In 1841, bored with being deskbound in Bremen, Engels returned home to a life that he found equally tedious. To escape he, later that year, volunteered for one year’s service with the Royal Prussian Guards Artillery, based in the capital Berlin.

In Berlin, he came into contact with the radical  Young Hegelian movement who were inspired by the revolutionary essence of the  German idealist philosopher George Hegel, and attracted by his dialectical method which espoused constant development and change through contradiction. Engel's embraced these ideas.

They were bent on accelerating the process by criticizing all that they considered irrational, outmoded, and repressive. As their first assault was directed against the foundations of Christianity they helped convert an agnostic Engels into a militant aetheest, a relatively easy task since by this time Engels’s revolutionary convictions made him ready to strike out in almost any direction.

Engels said of the Young Hegelians that some, including himself, ‘contended for the insufficiency of political change and declared their opinion to be that a social revolution based upon common property, was the only state of mankind agreeing with their abstract principles.’

After some free-lance journalism, part of it under the pseudonym of F. Oswald, in November 1842 Engels moved to Manchester, England, to help manage his father's cotton-factory in Manchester. Several months prior to Engels’ arrival, the Chartist movement reached its peak. With 70,000 members, it was the first mass political movement of the working class anywhere in the world. The Chartists collected 3.3 million signatures on a petition presented to the House of Commons calling for universal suffrage for all men over the age of 21 to end the political monopoly of the capitalist class. However the rest of their programme went even further. As Engels stated of the Chartists programme had been put in to practice it would have amount to the end of the entire British establishment. The rejection of the petition by the House of Commons triggered a series of strikes that were brutally suppressed. Engels supported the cause and became friends with the left-wing Chartist leader Julian Harney and wrote for his newspaper, the Northern Star. He also had contact with the followers of Robert Owen’s utopian socialism.

Manchester in the 1840s was a crucible of the industrial revolution and Engels found himself working and living in a community dominated by the cotton manufacturers.
Here he came face to face with unbridled capitalist exploitation and the degradation of the working class.
He wrote later: ‘A few days in my old man’s factory have sufficed to bring me face to face with its beastliness, which I had rather overlooked.’
Although forced to work alongside the bourgeoisie, he made a point of not socialising with them. He wrote: ‘I forsook the company and the dinner parties, the port wine and champagne of the middle classes, and devoted my leisure hours almost exclusively to the intercourse with plain working men.’
Aged just 24, Engels, guided by Mary Burns a radical young working class Irishwoman who became his lifelong companion, witnessed capitalist industrialisation more extensive, repressive and exploitative than any he had seen in Germany.
In his first major book, ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844’, Engels reports in excruciating detail the miseries of child labour, starvation wages and appalling working conditions, resulting in crippling injuries or deformities even among the youngest workers.
He called living conditions in English industrial towns ‘the highest and most unconcealed pinnacle of social misery existing in our day’.

Accompanied by Mary, he witnessed and heard from their own mouths the conditions endured by workers and their families.
Engels wrote: ‘It is utterly indifferent to the English bourgeois whether his working-men starve or not, if only he makes money. All the conditions of life are measured by money, and what brings no money is nonsense, unpractical, idealistic bosh.’
Engels observed the rapid rise of illegal trade unionism.
He wrote: ‘The incredible frequency of these strikes proves best of all to what extent the social war has broken out all over England.
‘No week passes, scarcely a day, indeed, when there is not a strike in some direction.’
Many liberals had bemoaned the wretched inhuman conditions of the working class but they saw it as a helpless class that deserved the ‘help’ of their liberal superiors.
But ‘Condition of the Working Class in England’ was much more than just an exposé of the inhumanity of capitalism.
Engels was the first to understand that this oppressed mass was not just an exploited working class but the only class that could liberate mankind from capitalism – capitalism for Engels had created in the working class its own ‘gravedigger’.
The book created an immediate sensation in German radical circles (it was at first only published in Germany). Karl Marx was particularly enthusiastic about it.

In 1844 Engels began contributing to a radical journal called Franco-German Annals that was being edited by Karl Marx in Paris. In the same year1844, Engels contributed an article, ‘Outline of a Critique of Political Economy’. In this, Engels laid the foundational principles for the critique of bourgeois political economy. Engels demonstrated that all important phenomena in the bourgeois economic system arise inevitably from the rules of private  ownership of the means of production and a society without poverty could only be a society without this private ownership. This immensely fascinated Marx. He came to the conclusion that through a critique of bourgeois political economy, another thinker had come, independently, to the same conclusion that he had come to with his critique of Hegelian philosophy. The pioneering work by Engels, ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England’, also greatly influenced Marx’s line of thinking on the beginnings of the industrial revolution that was taking place in England. During ten days of exchanges in August 1844, Marx’s admiration for Engels grew enormously. He admired Engels’ courage, dedication, single-mindedness and noted that both were in agreement on all theoretical questions of the day. Later that year Engels met Marx and the two men became close friends. A lifelong intellectual rapport and camararderie  was established between them. Finding they were of the same opinion about nearly everything, Marx and Engels decided to collaborate on their writing. It was a good partnership. Whereas Marx was at his best when dealing with difficult abstract concepts, Engels had the ability to write for a mass audience.

While working on their first article together, The Holy Family, the Prussian authorities put pressure on the French government to expel Karl Marx from the country. On 25th January 1845, Marx received an order deporting him from France. Marx and Engels decided to move to Belgium, a country that permitted greater freedom of expression than any other European state. Friedrich Engels helped to financially support Marx and his family. Engels gave Marx the royalties of his book, The Condition of the Working Class in England and arranged for other sympathizers to make donations. This enabled Marx to study and develop his economic and political theories.

In July 1845 Engels took Karl Marx to England. They spent most of the time consulting books in Manchester Library. Engels and Marx returned to Brussels and in January 1846 they set up a Communist Correspondence Committee. Engels returned to England in December 1847 where he attended a meeting of the Communist League's Central Committee in London. At the meeting it was decided that the aims of the organisation was "the overthrow of the bourgeoisie, the domination of the proletariat, the abolition of the old bourgeois society based on class antagonisms, and the establishment of a new society without classes and without private property".

Engels and Marx began writing a pamphlet together. Based on a first draft produced by Engels called the Principles of Communism, Marx finished the 12,000 word pamphlet in six weeks. Unlike most of Marx's work, it was an accessible account of communist ideology. Written for a mass audience, The Communist Manifesto summarised the forthcoming revolution and the nature of the communist society that would be established by the proletariat. The Communist Manifesto was published in February, t. The opening lines of the Manifesto - “a spectre is haunting Europe  highlight the revolutionary events taking place in Marx and Engels’ lifetime, which clearly had a profound impact on the thinking of the two men. It goes on to  declares proudly:

 ‘Of all the classes that stand face to face with the bourgeoisie today, the proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class. The other classes decay and finally disappear in the face of modern industry; the proletariat is its special and essential product.’
It goes on: ‘What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own gravediggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.’
The Manifesto concludes: ‘Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!’

The French Revolution had given rise to a plethora of socialist movements. But these were generally of a utopian character, seeing socialism as simply a ‘great idea’ that had to be struggled for by ‘great men’. 

In contrast to this idealism, Marx and Engels sought to establish a materialist basis for the movement of the working class; hence their own description of their ideas as ‘scientific socialism’. 

They explained that socialism is not an a historical blueprint for society, but a system of socio-economic relations. This system, in turn, requires certain material conditions - the development of large-scale industry and monopolies; a strong working class; the interconnectivity of the world market - in order to arise and flourish. Most importantly, Marx and Engels identified the agents for this revolutionary change: the organised working class - the “gravediggers” of capitalism. This radical potential of the working class could be seen in the enormous movements shaking Europe at the time: from the Chartists in Britain, to the revolutions that swept across the continent in 1848

Three days after the manifesto was published, a revolutionary uprising in France overthrew the monarchy. The revolution spread to Germany in March and rapidly expanded across Europe. The feudal rulers of the German states were forced to abdicate in droves or accept parliaments and constitutions. In May, the National Assembly began meeting in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, where it was to draft a constitution for a united Germany.

The founders of Marxism were not mere observers to such events.Marx and Engels did not hesitate for a moment to participate in the revolution. Drawing on the tradition of the Rheinische Zeitung, which was banned in 1843, Marx and Engels founded the Neue Rheinische Zeitung (NRZ) in Cologne.The men hoped to use the newspaper to encourage the revolutionary atmosphere that they had witnessed in Paris. Three hundred and one editions of the paper appeared between June 1, 1848 and May 19, 1849, and the publication reached a circulation of 6,000, a considerable number at the time. The newspaper saw itself as the left wing of the democratic camp and its task as pushing forward the bourgeois revolution, which, as the Communist Manifesto had declared, “will be but the prelude of an immediately following proletarian revolution.”

Engels helped form an organisation called the Rhineland Democrats. On 25th September, 1848, several of the leaders of the group were arrested. Engels managed to escape but was forced to leave the country. Karl Marx continued to publish the New Rhenish Gazette until he was expelled in May, 1849. Engels and Marx then moved to London.

In November 1850, unable to make a living as a writer in London and anxious to help support the penniless Marx, Engels returned to his father’s business in Manchester. All the time, the two men kept an almost  daily correspondence, exchanging ideas and opinions and collaborating in developing the theory of scientific socialism. Friedrich Engels sent postal orders or £1 or £5 notes, cut in half and sent in separate envelopes. In this way the Marx family was able to survive.
At the same time, they took a leading role in the struggle of workers in Britain and across the world.
In 1864, Marx and Engels founded the International Working Men’s Association retrospectively known as the First International,.which, in accordance with their idea of uniting workers of all countries, was to have a tremendous significance in the development of the international working class movement.

The International was a rich tapestry of working class organisations and left-wing groups, containing utopian socialists, communists, and anarchists. But despite the ideological confusion within the IWA, Marx and Engels saw the International’s creation as an enormous step forward for the working class. After all, as they would later comment in respect to their criticisms of the Gotha Programme, the political document adopted by the nascent Social Democratic Party of Germany: "Every step of real movement is more important than a dozen programmes." 

Nevertheless, Marx and Engels made it their goal to bring ideological clarity to the International, putting the movement on a firm theoretical foundation. This is why both Marx and Engels dedicated so much of their time and energy to corresponding with other leading political figures and - most importantly - producing vital works of Marxist theory.

This process of political clarification did not come without fierce battles and struggles, however - most notably with Bakunin and the anarchists.

Following the defeat of the Paris Commune in 1871, Marx and Engels wound up the First International to focus their attentions elsewhere. But their efforts were not in vain. Rather, this aborted attempt to create an international revolutionary organisation, in retrospect, can be seen as the prelude to the creation of mass working class parties that were founded on the basis of Marxist ideas.

In September 1870 Engels moved to London, settling near the home of Marx, whom he saw daily. A generous friend and gay host, the fun-loving Engels spent the remaining 25 years of his life in London, enjoying good food, good wine, and good company. He also worked hard, doing the things he loved: writing, maintaining contact and a voluminous correspondence with radicals everywhere. 

After Marx’s death, Engels continued alone as the counsellor and leader of the European socialist movement, which had become a mass force. His advice was eagerly sought after, and he drew on his vast knowledge and experience in his old age.

Like Marx, Engels knew many foreign languages, he could converse freely in English, French, Italian, and could read Spanish and almost all Slavic and Scandanavian languages. He and Marx conducted a massive correspondence on a host of questions. Incredibly, this covers 13 volumes of the Collected Works, amounting to 3,957 letters. These reveal the fascinating close bond between them and their joint work.

Marx died before he could put the final touches to his vast work on political economy. Using the drafts left by Marx, Engels put his own research aside and took on the colossal task of completing Marx’s work, editing and publishing volumes two and three of Capital. Only he could decipher Marx’s unintelligible handwriting.

Engels continued to write prefaces to the ‘Communist Manifesto’ and other newer editions of their works on the basis of contemporary developments enriching the international working class struggles and urging its forward movement.

On Aug. 14, 1889, the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, the Second International was founded in Paris at Engels’ initiative. Around 300 parties and organisations from 20 countries were represented. Engels was in particularly close contact with the leaders of the German Social Democracy, who regularly sought his advice. He attended the Third Congress of the International in Zurich. In the closing session, he addressed the delegates first in English, then in French, then in German.

After Marx’s death (1883), Engels served as the foremost authority on Marx and Marxism. Aside from occasional writings on a variety of subjects and introductions to new editions of Marx’s works, Engels  other two late publications were the books Der Ursprung der Familie, des Privateigenthums und des Staats (1884; The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State) and Ludwig Feuerbach und der Ausgang der klassischen deutschen Philosophie (1888; Ludwig Feuerbach and the Outcome of Classical German Philosophy). All the while he corresponded extensively with German social democrats and followers everywhere, so as to perpetuate the image of Marx and to foster some degree of conformity among the “faithful.”

Engels died of cancer in London on Aug. 5, 1895 a revolutionary communist to the very core. His ashes were cast into the sea off Beachy Head in Eastbourne. 

Upon  hearing of the death of Friedrich Engels 1895, Vladimir Lenin wrote:“The name and life of Engels should be known to every worker...Above all, he taught the working class to know itself and be conscious of itself, substituting science for dreams...”

“Let us always honour the memory of Frederick Engels - a great fighter and teacher of the proletariat!”

In the history books, Engels is often recorded as simply being Marx’s philanthropic benefactor. It is true that Engels’ financial contributions (obtained from his bourgeois family’s textile industry wealth) were essential in allowing Marx to dedicate his time to writing. But, as a result, Engels’ own important political contributions to the ideas of Marxism are often overlooked.

In truth, Engels was himself a theoretical giant.  Engels’ masterful command of language, his ability to present complex material in an understandable way, his encyclopedic knowledge, and his humour, which shone through even in connection with the most serious topics, make the reading of his works a pleasure to this day. He not only had a profound knowledge of economics and history, but also a burning interest in philosophy, science, literature, and even military tactics.Without him, Marx's work would have been impossible and would not have been preserved. Marxism was originally an Engels-Marx-ism Whoever speaks of socialism today must not forget Engels for the vital contribution that he made to developing the ideas of Marxism, for which we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.

I will acknowledge we should not forget those that twisted communism into tyranny's that Marx and Engel's  could not have anticipated. In none of his writings did Engel's  condone, mass murder, torture or show trials.

It is fashionable in some academic circles to try and emphasise political differences between Marx and Engels. However the voluminous correspondence between the two lifelong friends shows the inseparability of their bond. Their multiple co-written titles, meanwhile, provides further evidence of their close political connection.

During his lifetime, Engels experienced, in a milder form, the same attacks and veneration that fell upon Marx. An urbane individual with the demeanour of an English gentleman, Engels customarily was a witty associate with a great zest for living. He had a code of honour that responded quickly to an insult, even to the point of violence. As the hatchetman of the “partnership,” he could be most offensive and ruthless, so much so that in 1848 various friends attempted unsuccessfully to persuade Marx to disavow him.

Today I remember a man who dedicated his life to the revolutionary struggle  of the proletariat to free itself from the chains of capitalism and usher in a new era of history. Without doubt his  towering revolutionary spirit lives on in the Marxist tendency, which  continually defends his legacy, and the struggle for world socialism and many  after his birth Britain is still, sadly a country that murders it's poor, if we really want to remember him we should continue to fight against poverty and the conditions that creates it. And as long as capitalism exists, his teachings will remain relevant.

Whoever wins the Tory leadership campaign, ordinary people lose.

The political vacuum left by Boris Johnson and the lack of clear candidates on who should replace him as Prime Minister has led to a contest where the Conservative Parliamentary Party has whittled down a long list of potential contenders to two. Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor and Liz Truss, the acting Foreign Secretary. After an initial feeling of happiness after the news of Johnson;s resignation my fear is that his replacement could be just as bad.

So far they have both tried to adopt the style and themes of Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady whose sweeping right-wing policies remain popular among Conservative voters. Her target audience is the roughly 160,000 members of the Conservative Party who will choose the next leader. For these voters, many of whom are older and  very right-wing, Thatcher remains a revered figure, second only to Winston Churchill in the pantheon of Tory grandees. The contest has revealed the  sad reality that such a few amount of people could decide our next Prime minister,making a mockery of what our  democracy is supposed to stand for. 

Truss has undergone a complete political reinvention to become the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative party and UK Prime Minister., the former Remain supporter is now a Brexiter with the zeal of a convert.after the vote went the other way She is also a political survivor as the longest continuously serving member of the cabinet, having worked under three prime ministers. She’s also gone from yelling slogans as a child against Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s Conservative government and leading Oxford University’s Liberal Democrat society to become the darling of the Tory Party right.  “My parents were left-wing activists, and I’ve been on a political journey ever since,” Truss said in an ITV debate of Tory leadership.

Her politics are now  Reaganite in flavour, with a foreign policy world view in which Britain stands alongside America against Russia and China, unsupported by its wimpish European neighbours. References to the cold war and “freedom” pepper her comments on international affairs.

Truss ,has appealed to the right wing of her party  through her so called libertarianism, trumpeting the value of free markets, backing low taxation and repeatedly railing against the “nanny state” interfering in the lives of ordinary Britons. Her politics are Reaganite in flavour, with a foreign policy world view in which Britain stands alongside America against Russia and China, unsupported by its wimpish European neighbours.References to the cold war and “freedom” pepper her comments on international affairs.

Truss's campaign has been boosted by her proposals on tax which amount to reversing the hike in national insurance contributions for all taxpayers and cancelling a planned increase in corporation tax, all paid for, it would seem, by re-profiling repayments on Covid related debt.

She’s won admirers among ardent Brexiteers by challenging the EU over the Brexit deal struck by Johnson’s own government, introducing a bill overriding the bulk of its provisions on Northern Ireland and is believed to show a willingness to break parts of the Good Friday Agreement in order to rectify issues with the protocol, a move that could risk a resuming of violence,

Even while protesting loyalty to Johnson, the foreign secretary has done little to disguise her ambitions to claim the top job, schmoozing with colleagues in social events known as “fizz with Liz” and running a carefully-curated instagram feed that rivaled the social media operation run by Sunak’s team.

 Sunak’s foreign policy beliefs are less pronounced. He rose to high office on a sharp trajectory. Barely three years ago, he was a junior minister discussing edicts to local councils about boycotts of Israel. Unlike Truss, Sunak was an early and firm supporter of Brexit – a fact that ought to be his strongest appeal to Conservative members. But his reputation as a tax-raising chancellor has dented his popularity among the electorate.

Whilst Sunak’s ethno-religious background is significantly different than previous contenders for PM, Sunak’s educational and class background is very much similar. In his youth, Sunak attended Winchester boarding school, one of the highest performing fee-paying schools in Britain and subsequently attended Oxford University where he read Politics Philosophy and Economics. Sunak’s privileged background has in large part fuelled a public perception of Sunak as an elitist.

Sunak’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $887 million and in  the context of corruption and a regime built on one law for the rich and one for the poor, Sunak has been damaged by his wife’s “non-dom” status, and a recently surfaced video where Sunak in his youth claims to have no working-class friends has cemented Sunak’s privileged and out-of-touch image.

In connection to Sunak’s vast wealth has been a recent scandal pertaining to media the revelations that Sunak’s wife, the daughter of an Indian, billionaire and business magnate, Narayana Murthy, who despite living in the UK has a non-domiciled tax status in the UK, meaning her tax contributions are vastly lower.

Let's not forget  they both were not only first-hand witnesses but also active participants in all the errors and failings of the Johnson government from which they are now so keen to distance themselves whilst continuing to praise the author. They both claim to have known better all along, and have both had months to think about the policies they were going to present as part of their campaigns in order to sound coherent and credible.

Yes  they have plenty of promises, but no commitment  to delivering policies that are desperately needed to cope with the current cost of living crisis and the rising poverty we are facing. With either of them in charge the current crisis  will only get worse.What is singularly absent in the plans of both aspirants is a proposal to help struggling households.

6.3 million households are currently in fuel poverty, by the time one of these candidates takes residence in Downing Street, fuel bills will be set to rise to a whopping 8.5 million ny thee end of the year, The Bank of England  have hiked interest rates again  from 1.25% ti 1.75% , the  biggest rise  in 27 years as it battles to curb rising prices of energy, food and other commodities.The continuing war in Ukraine is unlikely to offer respite to volatile markets or reduce fuel costs for motorists and households.In this unremittingly grim story, the story of struggling Britain in 2022.

Both Sunak and Truss appear to have little to say except pander to the demands of their rank and file for tax cuts now. Both of course at the same time further capitalist economic policies which are proving incapable of stopping Britain and the global economy entering recession,  feverishly offering more cash to the rich, ­without being drawn into much detail about how the poor will foot the bill. Sunak said he wants to slash taxes by 20 percent by the end of the decade. He is promising to cut income tax to 16p, which would put some £6 billion less into the public purse. It’s a move targeted at ­buttering up the rich. But it will come as little comfort as cost of living crisis continues to bite and a cold winter looms over millions of people.

With more Tory misrule, unless we get rid of them,we will forever be poisoned and imprisoned by their policies, that are infected with fear, nationalism and hate, delivering more austerity and dollops of neoliberalism, while lacing us with propoganda their party's preferred pill to medicate and keep the nation in a docile state.

In recent months, the most controversial policy utilized by the government has been Priti Patel's inhumane Rwanda policy,  revealing the Conservatives politics of cruelty that will see asylum seekers being deported to the country in a draconian effort to end the boat crossings of refugees fleeing crisis and danger, a right guarantee under international law.

The policy has been endorsed by both candidates publicly however, Truss has discussed the importance of expanding the policy to deter immigrants. She has proposed the possibility of expanding deportations to Turkey, which already holds the largest refugee population in the world.

The existing Rwanda policy is already controversial within the public sphere, since not only does it send vulnerable asylum seekers to a country with recent human rights abuses, but the scheme is expected to cost the public taxpayer millions and millions without any clear certainty that the policy will curb the flow of migrants across the channel as only a small minority of asylum seekers will face deportation.

As energy prices soar sky high. and we are barely able to survive I  predict  them continuing to destroy our society, whoever wins, they are committed to austerity, racism and accelerating climate chaos. Both want to undermine workers’ rights and make it harder to protest.

If the Tories retain their grip on power I can only foresee this nasty party, getting nastier and nastier, that will effect the lives of so many ordinary people. A future of  no hope,only despair that will see them  not letting us retire until we are 75. Strikes made illegal,  trade unions being banned.  Scottish and Welsh assemblies dissolved. Judges to become purely political appointments. Chain gangs to replace community service. Workhouses for the feckless, undeserving poor. Refugees offered to countries as cheap Labour.The return of  capital  and corporal punishment. People forced to sing the National anthem after films and the the return of the bloody  Black and white minstrels, as they tighten their authoritarian ad regressive grip.

But a real alternative can be built to all this , and we can at least be energised by the strike of the RMT workers which has huge support among the public. There will also be industrial action of workers in BT. Postal workers and nurses will be balloted for strike action. There is a real  need for coordinated action on the cost of living crisis and a mass movement that can ensure it is not just Johnson that is removed from power, but the Tories as a whole. .

Nichelle Nichols, 'Star Trek' Icon. Trailblazer and activist, dead at 89

It is with great sadness I write that legendary  American actress, singer, and dancer Nichelle Nichols ( born Grace Dell Nichols) best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhuraa (Uhuraa was taken from the Swahili for "freedom")  an officer of African descent  in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels. has passed away on July 30  at age 89, her family announced in a statement. "Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away" her son Kyle shared on the actress' official website. He added, "Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration. Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all." 

 A family spokesman said the actress died in Silver City, New Mexico, where she was living with her son. 

Her groundbreaking performances in Star Trek, which was light years ahead of its time  corresponded with the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and helped set the first standard for diversity and inclusion in mainstream screen entertainment. Not only was it a rarity to see a black woman  on primetime TV, it was even rarer to see a black woman cast in such a high powered role.  She was portrayed displaying a command of a non-menial job, communications officer on the USS Enterprise  almost unheard of on television, which Black women were often shown as maids and nannies. 

Nichol's impact was immediate and undeniable, making her an icon and hero to countless viewers across the globe.

The original “Star Trek” premiered on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966. The legendary sci-fi TV series promised to seek out new life and new civilisations which it did in abundance.  As far as exploring new planets, it entered  virgin territory as far as casting went. The Star Trek franchise (it later became a cartoon and a series of films) devised by Gene Roddenberry, reflected it's creator's optimism, with different nationalities, races and species happily co-existing. Its multicultural, multiracial cast was Gene's message to viewers that in the far-off future, the 23rd century. human diversity would be fully accepted. 

Nichelle went on to make  American television history with the first scripted interracial lip to lip  kiss with Star Trek's Captain Kirk, William Shatner, in the 1968 episode "Plato's Stepchildren." representing another way in which the series, as well as its fictional crew, boldly went where none had gone before.

 

 

Nichols, radiating professionalism and 1960s mod-style sex appeal from her chair on the Enterprise’s bridge, opened a channel to Hollywood for stars like Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, and Pam Grier. She was an integral part of one of the most influential shows of the 1960s that impacted the imagination of space exploration and opened doors for future equality and inclusion for women.

The death of this Star Trek legend opened the floodgates of mourners who remembered her not only for her cosmic contribution to the entertainment industry as one of the first Black women featured in a major TV series, but also for the warmth and generosity of her soul.

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Nichelle," wrote Shatner on Twitter, who starred alongside Nichols in the original TV series. "She was a beautiful woman & played an admirable character that did so much for redefining social issues both here in the US & throughout the world."

Shatner said he "will certainly miss her" and sent his "love and condolences to her family."

" I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise," her co-star George Takei wrote on Twitter. "For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend."

 Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, praised Nichols for pathing the way for female actresses.

Sharing a photo of Nichols in her Lt Uhura role to Twitter, Mulgrew wrote: “Nichelle Nichols was The First.

 “She was a trailblazer who navigated a very challenging trail with grit, grace, and a gorgeous fire we are not likely to see again. May she Rest In Peace.”

While actress Jeri Ryan, who played Borg drone Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager, said: “RIP to a true legend. Her legacy will live forever” in her tribute.

And U.S. President Joe Biden said Nichols "redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women."

"Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who show us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society," he said in a statement.

Nichelle Nichols (b.Grace Dell Nichols), the daughter of a chemist and a homemaker, was born in Robbins, Illinois. on Dec. 28, 1932, and grew up in nearby Chicago.

After studying classical ballet and Afro-Cuban dance, she made her professional debut at 14 at the College Inn, a high society Chicago supper club. Her performance, in a tribute to the pioneering Black dancer Katherine Dunham, reputedly impressed bandleader Duke Ellington, who was in the audience. A few years later, newly re christened Nichelle, she briefly appeared in his traveling show as a dancer and singer.

At 18, she married Foster Johnson, a tap dancer 15 years her senior. They had a son before divorcing. As a single mother, Nichols continued working the grind of the nightclub circuit.

In the late 1950s, she moved to Los Angeles and entered a cultural milieu that included Pearl Bailey, Sidney Poitier and Sammy Davis Jr., with whom she had what she described as a “short, stormy, exciting” affair. She landed an uncredited role in director Otto Preminger’s film version of “Porgy and Bess” (1959) and assisted her then-boyfriend, actor and director Frank Silvera, in his theatrical stagings.

In 1963, she won a guest role on “The Lieutenant,” an NBC military drama created by Roddenberry. She began an affair with Roddenberry, who was married, but broke things off when she discovered he was also seriously involved with actress Majel Barrett. “I could not be the other woman to the other woman,” she wrote in  her 1994, autobiography, "Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories," which became a best seller. (Roddenberry later married Barrett, who played a nurse on “Star Trek.”)

Nichols’s second marriage, to songwriter and arranger Duke Mondy, ended in divorce.Nichols on Dec. 28, 1932, in Robbins, Illinois, started her career as a dancer and singer, and she wanted to be the first Black ballerina when she was younger. She originally danced  during performances by Duke Ellington and his band, and got her break when Ellington asked her to sing one night when the lead performer became sick. 

Once in Hollywood, she made her film debut in 1959’s "Porgy and Bess," dancing with Sammy Davis Jr. the first of a string of film and TV roles that led up to "Star Trek."

She was widely praised for breaking down barriers in an era when Black women were rarely seen in prominent TV roles. Nichols also used her celebrity to shed light on the civil rights struggle in the '60s. Early in the series, Nichols considered quitting her role as Lt. Uhura having been offered work on Broadway. But a chance encounter with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made her reconsider. In a 2011 NPR interview, Nichols said that the late civil rights leader kept her from leaving the show. Telling her it was the only show he would allow his children to watch. Nichols explained that at a fundraiser for the NAACP, King urged her to remain on the show rather than leaving for Broadway.  “When we see you, we see ourselves. And we see ourselves as intelligent, and beautiful and proud,” she recalled King telling her. The following Monday she rescinded her resignation to show creator Gene Roddenberry.  

In 2016, she spoke to ABC Audio about how she lent her star status to NASA decades later to encourage diversity in its ranks of real-life space travelers;

"NASA recruited me, hired me to recruit women and minorities for the space shuttle program. And until that time there were no people of color even considered," she explained, adding with a laugh, "And after that, we were all over the place!"  "I interviewed quite a few young women that were interested in that and who navigated a very challenging trail with grit, grace, and a gorgeous fire we are not likely to see again. didn't think they had a chance. And one interview with me and they knew they did."  

In just four months, Nichols was credited with bringing in more than 8,000 applications, of which more than 1,600 were women and more than 1,000 were people of color. 

Her many film roles ranged from 1974's Isaac Hayes Blaxploitation movie "Truck Turner" to 2005’s Ice Cube comedy "Are We There Yet?"

For many years, she performed a one-woman show honoring Black entertainers such as Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt and Leontyne Price. She also was credited as co-author of two science-fiction novels featuring a heroine named Saturna.

Nichols did not appear in director J.J. Abrams’s “Star Trek” film reboot that included actress Zoe Saldana as Uhura. But she gamely continued to promote the franchise and spoke with candor about her part in a role that eclipsed all her others.

“If you’ve got to be typecast,” Nichols told the UPI news service, “at least it’s someone with dignity.”

On TV, Nichols had voice roles in the animated series "Futurama," "The Simpsons," "Spider-Man" and "Gargoyles." Nichols also appeared in the daytime drama "The Young and the Restless" and NBCs "Heroes." playing the great aunt of a young boy with mystical powers.

 In 2016 she  received a lifetime achievement award from the Saturn Awards in 2016, which honor sci-fi entertainment.

Nichols was a regular at “Star Trek” conventions and events into her 80s,, and she was beloved by fans everywhere for her warm , caring presence and devotion to Trek's ideals. Howevr her schedule became limited starting in 2018 when her son announced that she was suffering from  advanced dementia.

Nichols was placed under a court conservatorship in the control of her son Johnson, who said her mental decline made her unable to manage her affairs or make public appearances.

Some, including Nichols’ managers and her friend, film producer and actor Angelique Fawcett, objected to the conservatorship and sought more access to Nichols and to records of Johnson’s financial and other moves on her behalf. Her name was at times invoked at courthouse rallies that sought the freeing of Britney Spears from her own conservatorship.

But the court consistently sided with Johnson, and over the objections of Fawcett allowed him to move Nichols to New Mexico, where she lived with him in her final years.

Nichols leaves behind a rich  legacy of breaking boundaries,racial barriers, fighting for civil rights, and inspiring many to dream and believe beyond their surroundings and humble beginnings. She is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson. She also leaves behind three living Star Trek cast members, William Shatner, George Takei, and Walter Koenig.

As she makes her final journey around the stars , my deepest condolences go out to her friends and family.  She will not be forgotten. Let's keep her memory alive by spreading the message of peace and equality amongst all people. 

The Murder of Frank H Little (1879 – August 1, 1917)

 

Today in Labour history, 1st August 1917, labour organiser and an executive board member of the radical Industrial Workers of the World, the Biracial  half-Cherokee  Frank Henry Little was in the middle of the night  dragged from his hotel room in Butte, Montana, by 6 masked men beaten, tied to the bumper of a car, dragged to the outskirts of town, beaten and tortured him some more before they hanged him from a railroad trestle. When his battered corpse was cut down a few hours later, the police found a note written in red crayon pinned to his underwear: “Others Take Notice. First and Last Warning.”

Frank Little apparently was born in Illinois in 1878, but moved to Missouri, then Ingalls, Oklahoma, the area around Yale, near Stillwater, as a child. His father was a doctor. He had two  brothers and two sisters. Both brothers attended college at Stillwater  

In 1900: Little had become a “hard rock” metal miner and an Arizona member of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM)  and in 1903: Little had been hired by WFM to organize the copper camps of the Clifton Morenci Metcalf area  The Western Federation of Miners was the main force launching the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).which  Little joined  in 1906.

The I.W.W. was founded in 1905 by Eugene V. Debs, William "Big Bill" Haywood, and others who believed that workers should be organized into a single industrial union because individual trade unions were likely to be pitted against each other during disputes with the employers. The I.W.W. was founded on the belief that the working class and the employing class have nothing in common and that the historic mission of the working class is to abolish capitalism and replace it with an economic system based upon human need rather than private profit, so that the benefits of the good life could be extended beyond the privileged few.

Little had only rolled into Montana’s copper mining hub two weeks before helping to organise a miner's strike against the Anaconda Copper Company.  A roving agitator he especially gained fame as a leader in the free speech fights at Missoula, Fresno, and Spokane, and went on to organize the lumberjacks, metal miners, oil field workers and harvest bindle stiffs all over the West and Southwestern states. If local authorities denied the IWWers the right to speak in public or to congregate under the protection of the Bill of Rights, the union people would go to jail rather than give up. In fact, using the tactic now known as nonviolent resistance, Little led them into jail over and over again. He was almost always the first one arrested and the last one freed. Free speech in America owes a great deal to Frank Little.

 Little Pioneered Non-Violent Struggle  long before  Gandhi or Martin Luther  King.In addition to innumerable jail sentences, Little also suffered mob violence at least twice before the final fatal episode. He was kidnapped by businessmen and knocked unconscious after being held for several days.

Y.ears later he was held again. With a rope around his neck for emphasis, Little was told to desist from labor organizing and to name any union men in the area. He did neither and was eventually rescued.

Little's  hatred of exploitation and oppression and of all those who profited by it in one way or another was irreconcilable. He was always for the revolt, for the struggle, for the fight. Wherever he went he “stirred up trouble” and organized the workers to rebel. Bosses, policemen, stoolpigeons, jailers, priests and preachers—these were the constant targets of his bitter tongue. He was a blood brother to all insurgents, “to every rebel and revolutionist the world over.”

Little was also known for his incendiary anti-war speeches that rankled many of the townspeople. America had entered the Great War just four months earlier, and Little’s convictions were controversial even amongst his peers. Although most IWW members, or Wobblies, were ideologically opposed to a war that was viewed as nothing more than yet another example of capitalist gain at the expense of the workers, few dared to be as boldly outspoken as Little. Even IWW founder “Big Bill” Haywood argued that the Wobblies should silence their views for the sake of the organisation’s progress. And so Frank Little found himself on the radical fringe of an already radical-fringe organisation. “Better to go out in a blaze of glory than to give in,” he would say. “Either we’re for this capitalist slaughterfest or we’re against it. I’m ready to face a firing squad rather than compromise!” 

 Little's speeches against the Anaconda Company, the draft and World War I were supported by many Butte miners but engendered fear among Company executives and others. Although the Company and local officials pushed for Little's arrest for "treasonable utterances," U.S. district attorney Burton K. Wheeler found insufficient evidence to indict.

But in its  determination to quash anti-war dissidents, the United States government singled out and targeted  the IWW – going so far as to spread rumours that the organisation was subsidised by Germany – and Frank Little’s murder was to have devastating consequences for the bourgeoning radical labour movement.  Little  would be a signal martyr to America’s nascent Red Scare.

 Frank Little’s last speech, for which he paid with his life, was directed against the capitalist war. In that speech he set up his own doctrines against those of the warmongers. His philosophy, compressed into a single sentence, was picked up and carried all over the country on the telegraph wires with the news of his assassination. “I stand for the solidarity of labor.”

Days after the lynching, Montana authorities declared martial law against anti-war opponents, associates of Little’s were arrested and accused of ‘espionage’, and both the miners’ strike and union were crushed. Beyond Montana, Little’s death was a harbinger of a string of blatantly undemocratic federal laws, specifically the Espionage and Sedition Acts which outlawed any form of dissent. Moreover, the government used the IWW’s association with anti-war opposition to initiate a subjugating campaign of repression against the labour movement, culminating in the 1920 Palmer Raids  which effectively destroyed the IWW’s momentum and power for the next thirty years. 

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer spearheaded efforts to round up anarchists, communists, and other political radicals and then deport them when possible. World War I and the 1917 Russian Revolution inflamed American fears of the spread of radicalism and immigration from Europe, contributing to the first “red scare” in the United States. As state and local governments purged radicals from public service and cracked down on left-wing labor organizing, Palmer undertook the most visible campaign against radical organizations, often immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Between November 1919 and January 1920, Palmer’s agents deported nearly 250 people, including notable anarchist Emma Goldman, and arrested nearly 10,000 people in seventy cities.

 Little's  killers were never brought to justice.

 Years later, writer Dashiell Hammett  would recall his early days as a Pinkerton detective agency operative and recount how a mine company representative offered him $5,000 to kill Little. Hammett says he quit the business that night.

An estimated 10,000 workers lined the route of Frank Little's funeral procession, which was followed by 3,500 more persons. in what was the largest funeral in Montana history.And in the aftermath would see federal troops bought in to quash labor unrest in Butte, and in the  month following Little's murder  the IWW's offices were raided and the organization and its members were hounded into near obscurity. There is no reasonable estimate of the number of unionists deported, jailed, blacklisted, or killed. Even Frank Little’s close relatives were afraid to talk about him. His personal effects, his writings, the death mask made from his face, and the movie made at his gigantic funeral are lost to history. The only remaining trace of the great Frank Little is his tombtone  in Mountain View Cemetery. Butte which is still well cared for by local activists. His grave marker reads : Slain By Capitalist Interests For Organizing And Inspiring His Fellow Men."

Even though Frank Little was executed on this day , his ideas will live on as long as people remember him.We must continue to stand on the shoulders of working class giants, and remember that an injury to one is an injury to all.

Travis Wilkinson's  2002 documentary film An Injury to One tells the story of Frank Little and his lynching in Butte, Montana.

 

 

Celestial Love

Blessed are the spheres

Where lovers play

When souls are pierced

And softened hearts glide

In rhythmic momentum

Thunderous bolts beat

As two silhouettes in the sky 

Pirouette their magic

Electrocised in union 

As dream bubbles awake

No force of gravity weighing down

Composure is cast adrift

Rousing pulsations charge 

Like stars sparkling

In body, in mind, cosmic time

lighting up the dark

Under painted rainbows

Energy orbits seas of tranquillity 

Emotions erupting  pulling together

Blissfully into ones, heart

Weaving love's essence

Flowers of passion  blooming

In the vastness of the galaxy 

Celestial bodies become one

Floating in deep space

Together in warm embrace.