I follow the start of the rising tide, sit and wait for shifting frontiers, to reset empty agenda, to seek change, as people decide for whom to vote, if they take part in the process at all. The politicians' luck is running out, on a point of flickering departure, hopefully smiles will be seen again, on every turn of the corner, if hollow policies, can be exposed, we can all be left to our own devices. We have learnt how to stand still, how to run, how to leap, though we are closely watched, we have strength in numbers, to change the status quo, but beware of paths of complacency, the jackals are outside the door, waiting patiently still to devour us all.
On Saturday 11th April 1981, Brixton was set ablaze as hundreds of local youth fought with the Metropolitan Police. The country was in recession, unemployment amongst African Caribbean members of the community was high, and the quality of housing was poor. In the week preceding the Brixton Riots, Operation Swamp 81, saw over 1,000 people ( mainly from the young black community) being stopped and searched adding to the increased frustration of the local people. Tensions were high. What happened next was to become one of the most significant outbreaks of civil disorder in 20th Century London. Police continued operating their hated 'sus' laws, where in order to stop someone, police only needed suspicion. At the time the police were exempt from the Race Relations Act, and many people targeted were from the ethnic community, which led to accusations of racial prejudice. After arrests were made tensions rose again, igniting violence which spread across the streets. The streets of Brixton became a battle zone. After police arrived in full riot gear, people started gathering to throw makeshift petrol bombs and set light to police cars. By the time hostilities had ended, over 360 ppeople had been injured, 28 premises burned and another 177 damaged and looted. The police arrested 82 people. After the riots a police enquiry was held under Lord Scarman that held that policing in a civil society can only succeed with the consent of the community. But 4 years later the Police shot Mrs Cherry Grove, , causing again disturbances in the area. There have been many many miscarriages of justice since. 34 years later there are many lessons to be learned. Police racism continues, as does unemployment and poverty. Capitalist society still suffers from a sickness that breeds ,the big criminals of the land get rich and fat, get rewarded for their crimes (ie the bankers) whilst the poorer members of our communities are stigmatised, getting poorer, punished because of the greedy. Sadly conditions in Brixton are not vastly better than over 30 years ago. Unrest can easily be fermented, when conditions on the streets are ignored. Riots that have happened since, like those seen in Brixton do not happen without a reason.
Guns of Brixton -the Clash, with collage of Brixton riots.
I happen to think that Nigel Farage is a twit of the first order. Many of his supporters though idolise him, on social media they don't seem to like any criticism, let alone any satire, despite a whole host of mishaps and blunders. I have had people trying to have a 'pop' when I have tried to spoil their gilded view.
They claim that UKIP is a libertarian party, all I see is xenophopbia, authoritarianism and the whiff of racism. But his supporters, carry on gleefuly, dancing to his chorus, carry on being misinformed , claiming media bias, and misrepresentation, but their policies are dangerous and blinkered that seek out to divide communities,demonising people , whilst creating stigma too.With their chief political philosophy being that immigrants are to blame for everything. This Is why I will personally keep taking the piss, as above Nigel Farage gets Dr Seussed. We must keep challenging their brand of intolerance, keep on questioning their point of view.
When people excuse, dismiss or are silent, about racism and hatred they contribute to the acceptance of a more racist society. We should not forget the strong connection that exists between UKIP and extreme far right fascists.
Oh Nige was said to be a bit tired a couple of days ago, after he bonded with Joey Essex, over their secret love of fish, after boarding a boat in Grimbsy.
At the end of the day, the picture below captures my feeling entirely. after hanging around with Joey he was caught standing behind the most appropriate sign. Ah a picture can help paint a thousand words.
For all the gushing plaudits and tributes dedicated to Margaret Thatcher, upon her death, she still remains an extremely divisive figure. This is because many people are still living with the dire consequences of her actions. As election time approaches, her breath and twisted ideology still lingers among all the mainstream parties.
Many of us are still unable to forgive her for the devastation she wrought to our communities, the damage she caused to our industries, our whole way of life. She fought against the miners, not giving a hoot, or an inch of compromise, then put her sights on our welfare state, whilst leaving an entire generation to be thrown on the scrapheap.
Her whole twisted ideology was to try and tear up the post 1945 consensus and privatise our public services, sell of our nationalised industries, whilst smashing up Trade Union rights, embarking on a systematic path of of destruction. Carving up the land, shifting the balance of social economic wealth between the rich and poor, very much detrimental to the latter.
Being kind, she was just a sower of destruction, not an ounce of compassion within her, a creator of mass unemployment too, a fosterer of division with her cruel policies. A liar too, about Hillsborough, who also bombed retreating ships.
While she shafted all and sundry she still managed to be friends with right wing dictators like Pinochet and P.W Botha. I can never forgive her.
She is still hated and always will be, despite her pulse stopping, her awful legacy lives on, in the toxicity that is Tony Blair who called her after her death, " a unique and towering figure" then their is the rotten tory party, still here today preaching the same stinking doctrine. The scars and pain she caused remain.
The witch might be dead, but the stench of Thatcherism still unfortunately, fills the air it is time I think, that we bury her awful legacy, once and for all,
The above film, old that it may be,still relevent, though looks at mans relationship, with the natural world, addresses us with issues that remain today, as urgent today, as they have always been.
At the end of the day, all are horizons can look much clearer, everything is true, everything is happening.
Patriarchy too, continues its' desire to conquer,and destroy, but out of of control, enslaves hungry thirst and thought. Everythings wrong, everythings right.
Don't let the world hold you down. keep releasing thought, seeds of survival, at the end of the day , don't just sit there, look for answers, solutions, when everything seems so wrong, keep on looking, keep searching for some possibility.
Michael Sowa, Eater Bunny, 1996
,
Ah Easter seems to come round quicker each year, that's a sign I guess. This morning I crawled out of bed, but so far, even though the day is buzzing, no sign of any easter bunny yet, but whats that towering above?
I guess this weekend, will be for some, a time to wind down, take some time of work, or business as usual, or eat, consume, eat consume, for many a time of celebration, David Cameron has been busy writing us his own Easter message, where he sets about his belief in the importance of Christianity absolutely clear, saying "It's the principle around which the Easter celebration is built. Easter is about remembering the importance of change, responsibility, and doing the right thing for the good of the children. And today, that message maters more than ever." http://www.premierchristianity.com/Topics/Society/Politics/David-Cameron-S-Easter-Message-to-Christians
Actions speak louder than words I guess, hey I'm no christian, but I don't think it is right for him to preach to us about values, when up to now what he represents seems to be devoid of it in any shape and flavour. He does not seem to mention social justice, or even mention the resurrection, which for some marks one of the greatest acts of disobedience in history, since once you've been executed by the state, your supposed to stay dead. So for many its about resistance and renewal, a powerful revolutionary faith, M'mmm don't worry am not about to have an announcement of a new direction in faith, I still follow no particular religious bent, well the flow of nature, and the power of words, but believe it is more than time now for the people of the world to rise too. It will be a case of the risen people not the risen lord.
Sadly though too, across this weekend, across the world, assault, torture, genocide and a range of other depravities will be committed in the name of a so called God.
So since its resurrection time, lets try to carrry on, with selfishness and passion, with a glint of rebellion in our eyes, and tomorrow hopefully paves a way for revolutionary, insurectionary acts, against the conformity and consensus that has been created.Anyway Happy Easter all, depending on who you are and what you believe in, remember that Easter has pagan roots too, named originally in honour of Eostore, the teutonic dawn goddess. Also known as the spring goddess of fertility. In ancient times our lands fertility was the key to its survival, heddwch/peace. We ll keep walking our different paths.Keep on keeping on. Find the joy that makes you, you.
Ah the public library will at least reopen on Tuesday.
Watch Victoria Prosser an audience member who spoke out during the leaders debate last night - fantastic, she allows me to keep faith - well said. If I voted she would get my vote. Speaking the truth is easy , shame politicians do not seem able to do it most of the time.
Ah, the race is on, Parliament has dissolved, as it sinks into an archaic cesspit of corruption . Oh it's going to be a fabulous 6 weeks, we will have to endure a lot of bluster and hot air, false promises, and bare faced lies between the ever so slightly different factions of the austerity partys'. It will resemble more of a pantomime than an actual election. It will be a a bit like tea verses coffee, or the drip, drip, drip of distraction. The choices are not really that much different, if it actually changed anything, they would probably make it illegal. We desperately however need genuine changes to help disabled, ill people, children who are hungry because the only food they eat is from bloody foodbanks. We need long term solutions that will help the homeless and the destitute. We need to shift the power back, remove the politics of blame from our lives. But saying that ,it should be noted that M.Ps will escape investigation into dubious expenses claims because authorities have destroyed all the evidence. At the end of the day they will again be allowed to pick from our pockets on a pretty frequent basis. But there is nothing like a good old vote to sort out the corruption, after all we're all in it together. It should also be remembered that every single government since Thatcher has caused this country of ours, economic damage, while allowing bankers to dictate their policies.Through their friends in the media I guess, they will be very successful at diverting attention from them and on to the poor. The conservatives if they succeed will carry on carving up the country, as I speak planning a further £12 bn in welfare cuts, will carry on their creeping privatisation of the N.H.S, the Labour Party sadly up to now have been rather lacklustre in their condemnation, will they save us money in scrapping trident, does not seem that they will, and despite some fine words, do not seem to offer us much of a radical alternative. Just the familiar pattern of gesture politics. Will a change of government actually change a thing. We keep getting caught in the same trap, thinking that if we put our faith in the power of the state, everything will turn out allright. At the end of the day we will still be screwed. The system was never broken, it was built this way. We need to keep struggling for a new order based on truth, social justice, equality, accountability, give power back to the people. I don't however hold my breathe that this will happen any day soon, unfortunately. Neither will the current constitutional framework rescue us from the darkness of capitalism. Whatever the end result, for many people across the land, I am sorry to say there will be no happy ending.
A poem by the great Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish, to mark the 39th anniversary of Palestinian Land Day, which is marked by Palestinians by protesting and planting olive trees near the so called buffer zones of Gaza. Today commemorates the day when Israeli forces carried out a lethal and brutal military attack on unarmed Palestinians in 1976, who were peacefully protesting against Israeli apartheids land grab policies.
To our Land
To our land,
and it is the one near the word of god,
a ceiling of clouds
To our land,
and it is the one far from the adjectives of nouns,
the map of absence
To our land,
and it is the one tiny as a sesame seed,
a heavenly horizon ... and a hidden chasm
To our land
and it is the one poor as a grouses wings
holy books . . . and an identity wound
To our land,
and it is the one surrounded with torn hills,
the ambush of a new past
To our land, and it is a prize of war,
the freedom to die from longing and burning
and our land, in its bloodied night
is jewel that glimmers for the far upon the far
and illuminates whats outside it . . .
As for us , inside,
we suffocate more !
Today we say goodbye ,to Mike, legendary local keyboard maestro, jazz aficionado, potter of great delicacy. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
Safe travelling.
Today would have been the birthday of one of my favourite beat Poets Gregory Corso,11 years after his death I still remember him, here's two poems by the great man, I thought I'd share.
I Held A Shelley Manuscript
My hands did numb to beauty
as they reached into Death and tightened!
O sovereign was my touch
upon the tan-ink's fragile page!
Quickly, my eyes move quickly,
sought for smell for dust for lace
for dry hair!
I would have taken the page
breathing in the crime!
For no evidence have I wrung from dreams-
yet what triumph is there in private credence?
Often, in some steep ancestral book,
when I find myself entangled with leopard-apples
and torched-skin mushrooms,
my cypressean skein outreaches the recorded age
and I, as though tipping a pitcher of milk,
pour secrecy upon the dying page.
Tranformation and Escape
1
I reached heaven and it was syrupy.
It was oppressively sweet.
Croaking substances stuck to my kness.
Of all substances St.Michael was stickiest.
I grabbed him and pasted him on my head.
I found God a gigantic fly paper.
I stayed out of his way.
I waled where everything smelled of burnt chocolate.
Meanwhile St.Michael was busy with his sword
hacking away at my hair.
I found Dante standing naked in a blob of honey.
Bears were liocking his thighs.
I snatched St Michael's sword
and quartered myself in a great circular adhesive.
My torso fell upon an elastic equilibrium.
As though shot from a sting
my torso whizzed at God fly paper.
My legs sank into some unimaginable sog.
My head, though weighed with the weight of St.Michael,
did not fall.
Fine strands of multi-coloured gum
suspended it there.
My spirit stooped by my snared torso.
I pulled! I yanked! Rolled it left to right!
It bruised! It softened! It ould not free!
The struggle of an Eternity!
An eternity of pulls! of yanks!
Went back to my head,
St. Micael had sucked dry my brainpan!
Skull!
My skull!
Only skull in heaven!
Went to my legs.
St Peter was polishing his sandals with my knees!
I pounced upon him!
Pummelled his face in sugar in hioney in marmalade!
Under each arm I fled with my legs!
The police of heaven were in hot pursuit!
I hid within the sop of St Francis
Gasping in the confectionary of his gentility
I wept, caressing my intimidated legs.
2
They caught me.
They took my legs away.
They sentenced me in the firmanent of an ass.
The prison of an Eternity!
An Eternity of labor! of hee-haws!
Burdened with the soiled railment of saints
I schemed escape,
Lugging ampulae its daily fill
I schemed escape.
I schemed climbing impossible mountains.
I schemed under the Virgin's whip,
I schemed the sound of celestial joy.
I schemed to the sound of earth,
the wail of infants,
the groans of men,
the thud of coffins.
I schemed escape.
God was busy switching the spheres from hand to hand.
The time had come.
I cracked my jaws.
Broke my legs.
Sagged belly-flat on plow
on pitchfork
on scythe.
My spirit leaked from the wounds.
A whole spiri pooled.
I rose from the carcass of my torment.
I stood in the brink of heaven.
And I swear that Great Territory did quake
when I fell free.
Nigel Farage, tosses of allegations of racism, again and again, like it was a bad joke, having lost a fourth candidate, he releases again , his sickly smile and again ignores the ugly truth.
It is completely unacceptable, however he likes to see it, his most enthusiastic supporter is the Leader of the Neo-Nazi Organisation; Britain First, who goes by the name of Paul Golding.
A far right racist, that detests ordinary people, the working class, anybody that was not born here, who wants to see a right wing government elected that will hurt and damage people, mainly the disadvantaged and the poor.
His organisation are a vile paramilitary styled far right nationalist group, who have been responsible for vigilante actions against mosques, Golding himself a thug who has been convicted of harrassment, his band of nazis responsible for stirring up racial hatred, whose origins lie in the extreme wings of the Ulster Loyalism.
Beneath their publicity stunts and the hoodwinking of many on facebook and other forms of social media, the ugly face of fascism lurks.
The similarity with UKIP is strong, an organisation full of racists and extremists, here lies a dark murky world. Britain First are often seen as the self-appointed defence force of UKIP. They like UKIP are endlessly saying their views are misinterpreted, under threat of censorship, however they have a policy of purging their pages of any critical contact and banning dissenting voices from ever coming back.
Combined with a history of intimidation, behold, these new footsoldiers of Farage's fascist state. It is a simple case of UKIP at the ballot box and Britain First on the streets. They are simply peas of the same pod. However much Mr Farage likes to present his organisation, and tries to distance himself from their support and association, their ideological opinions are markedly similar, both trading in the language of hatred, fear and division.
People like these have no place on our society, as they seek to harm others, they must be stopped in their tracks, you can try at the ballot box, but better still on the streets.
No Pasaran/ They shall not pass.
As I grow older I percieve
Life has its tail in its mouth
and other poets other painters
are no longer any kind of competition
Its the sky that's the challenge
the sky that still needs deciphering
even as astronomers strain to hear it
with their huge electric ears
the sky that whispers to us constantly
the final secrets of the universe
the sky that breathes in and out
as if it were the inside of a mouth
of the cosmos
the sky that is the land's edge also
and the sea's edge also
the sky with its many voices and no god
the sky that engulfs a sea of sound
and echoes it back to us
as in a wave against a seawall
Whole poems whole dictionaries
rolled up in a thunderclap
And every sunset an action painting
and every cloud a book of shadows
through which wildly fly
the vowels of birds about to cry
And the sky is clear to the fisherman
even if overcast
He sees it for what it is :
a mirror of the sea
about to fall on him
in his wood boat on the dark horizon
We have to think of him as the poet
forever face to face with old reality
where no birds fly before a storm
And he knows what's coming down
before the dawn
and he's his own best lookout
listening for the sound of the universe
and singing out his sightings
of the land of the living.
SPIRIT OF THE CRUSADES
Stoney Wales
with its slate-grey roofs
in slate-grey Cardiff
and its greystone houses on greystone terraces
and its great high statue of
"The Spirit of the Crusades"
in the Wales National Museum
portraying a medieval knight
in grey metal armor and helmet
with visor down
on a great grey steed
with four grey foot soldiers
in close march abouthim
(two at the head of the horse
two behind)
wearing World War One helmets
and carrying World War One rifles
with fixed bayonets
And the Crusades are over
but they are still marching
over the grey sea-locked land
in a dead march
straight through the twentieth century
In tribute to recently departed Daevid Allen of Soft Machine and Gong, and friend of William Burroughs, UK and video artist Cynack created a psychedelic realisation of "Occupy", the video covers 13.8 billion years of capitalism.
Visual artist Anna Teresa Fernandez, powerfully repaints the Mexican/US border, highlighting not just the ugliness of the fence, but the ugliness of the policies and attitudes that helped to build and create this montrosity in the first place. She confronted the fence by putting on her black dress and painting the sky blue. Unfortunately this ugly wall is still here, as are others like the ones to be seen in Palestine and the West Bank.This border stretches for 1.969 miles, a symbol of oppression, a dividing line between cultures, a physical expression of the contempt for the poor, legislators have. It does not seem to solve problems but adds to the tension and racism and discrimination, but does not hinder peoples need for survival. Despite it, many still have a furious desire to cross it, with migrants not only facing dangers posed by an unforgiving desert, but also abuse at the hands of US Border guards, risking all, dehydration, starvation and exhaustion, and ultimately for hundreds every year death, trying to succeed. It should be noted that up to 60% of illegal US-Mexican Border crossings, actually succeed. I personally believe it is time to make all borders disappear. Link to artists webpage :- http://anateresafernandez.com/
This morning, woke a little earlier than usual, managed to see sun being obscured, by moon and drifting cloud, the air was cold, all seemed quiet, time seemed to move slow. Gradually, lady moon, moved her shadow, cockerel's wailed, flight of birds, took their daily path, to be seen again, swooping down , releasing song. Out of dim light, some kind of order returned, the mighty sun smiled, shone down,with the light of day, as springs' waking senses, came out to play.
In observation, senses got rekindled, some form of connection, revealed again, in this borderless world, the blossom of futures constantly changing presence, now, the earth still feels eerie, in the library, my mind drifting, flying outward, homeward bound. ( afterthought; imagine an eclipse, that never ends, the people of Syria and Palestine whose light is always seemingly deemed.)
On March 18th 1834, six farm labourers in Tolpuddle, Dorset England were found guilty of taking an illegal oath and forming a union, the friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers in a backdrop of harsh working conditions.They met at a now world famous Sycamore in Dorset to sign their oath. Under this tree in 1834, exploited by their
employers – paid just 9 shillings a week and living in dreadful poverty –
formed the first trades union in Britain to bargain for better pay and
working conditions under the leadership of George Loveless.This tree is still growing strong.
The landowners, led by James Frampton and supported by the government,
were desperate to put a stop to the union and to control increasing
outbreaks of dissent. The Tolpuddle Six were arrested, sent to
Dorchester for Trial, charged under the 1797 Mutiny Act. They were
convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society
of Agricultural Labourers, sentenced to seven years and transported to
Botany Bay, simply because they had made a stand against the poor treatment they received from their employees. Support for the Tolpuddle Martyrs was enormous, a massive demonstration marched through London and over 8,000 people signed a petition protesting their sentence.
The protest campaign proved to be a success with the Tolpuddle martyrs returning home in triumph. Their story is about how ordinary working people combined together to defend their lives. The idea of solidarity as a basic human right is now an international demand. The act of solidarity works.
They are commemorated every year at the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival every July, I have been planning to make a pilgrimage for years. Here is a link http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/
We need dissent and incendiary action in this land, now more than ever, to help shape it into a better place.
A short documentary that examines the absence of Gaza and the Palestinians from the Israeli mainstream
media and 2015 elections.
What kind of information are Israelis getting from their press?
What king of information is missing?
And how does this effect the reality on the ground?
It has become traditional to remember today Rachel Corrie, a 23 year old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death on this day by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, while undertaking non violent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.
She was a member of the International Solidarity Movement. An organisation that exists to help with non-violent protests against the Israeli occupation. It seeks to pressure the Israelis and the Israel Defence force into ending its occupation of Palestinian land, using a number of non-violent tactics, such as violating Israeli curfews imposed on Palestinian areas, removing roadblocks and blocking military tanks and bulldozers.
Rachel Corrie went to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in January 2003 and was horrified at the destruction she found. She saw daily homes being destroyed and people being detained on a daily basis. She recorded all she saw in letters and emails that she sent home to her family. She once wrote " the sheer kindness of the people here, coupled with the overwhelming evidence of the willful destruction of their lives,makes it seem unreal to me."
Sadly this reality combined with her courage cost her, her life. She was run over twice by a Caterpiller Bulldozer and killed. Her memory lives on, and because of her actions, she helps inspire many people around the globe, who search for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people. Her memory kept alive by her deeds and her words that she left behind.
Here is a link to the Rachel Corrie foundation set up to remember her
( if you give hope a chance, it may win .) " reality and dreaming are different things. dreaming is beautiful because dreams are nearly always the predecessors of what is to come, but the most sublime is to make life beautiful, to mould life beautifully." - Nosrotos, Anarchist Daily, Spain, March 1937) Dealing with daily battles, gives us at the end of the day some kind of hope, we can build new pages, a society where all people are equal and free, our dreams do not need revision, they can reinvent, bring a new logic of existence, where chains and bondage are broken, can overthrow constraints, forge a new order, lands full of promise, wild ambition, shifting sands. Where reality is always negotiable, today I caught a glimpse of sunshine in the rain, life can be bittersweet, but allows us all to live the dream, my mind is like a garden, overgrown but free. Be careful to avoid alienation try and find sustenance , beware of the weight of consensus prohibitions , follow kindred spirits rather than governments that can lead you isolated or powerless. Keep on dreaming, keep on believing, keep spreading kindness, your own inner wildness.
Proving to be a funny month so far, Terry Pratchett yesterday, and local legendary keyboard player Mike Vaughan - Jones yesterday, and friends dear friend the lawrence the day before and today I awake to find that another inspiration of mine had gone travelling again too. Daevid Allen the wizard of Oz himself, had been aware of approaching plans for destinations anew for a bit, so had already prepared a little. Anyway thank you Daevid, now allow me to release this poem You Can't Kill The Spirit A long time ago, wandering on another planet, a mystical magic poet, came down to visit us, with some epiphany some floating anarchy, threads of absurdity messages of freedom, seeds of dadaist imagination to plant, to help us unravel, the world's long slumber. Would travel off into the future but would always return, with messages of love and devotion releasing senses of wonder, that giggled through life and beyond glimmering along the mazes of purpose, conjurer, delivered memories of joy allowed laughter to rain down, as om shantis sigh glides with moonlights kiss, among glissando slides crackling,towards faithful wish. Revelations and enlightenment reveal revolutions, every day now, revolving around our skins our beauty stands against governments, all over the world, different cultures shout, float, seek alternatives, choose not to kill the earth, cast layers of protection over sky. And transitory psychonauts create illusions, for you and I, to share, improvisational rhythmic.musical explosions, that lift us, higher. We will continue to refuse their orders break through their cordons, we will snakedance over their forcefields run wild and free, fuelling truth, vision wide and full of intent satoris invisible tempo soars on high, as the day beats, on and on and om you can't kill the spirit.
Sad to hear that one of our countries most lucid thinkers has passed away. Sir Terry Pratchett. Loved by both children and adults alike, he was the author of over 70 wonderful books, that overflew with life, humor, adventure and memorable characters. I was fortunate to see him a few years back at Hay-On-Wye, his beautiful presence loomed large. A humanist of the first order, who was the patron of the British humanist Association, who spoke of the possibilities of science and reason with joy and intelligence. After the onselt of Alzheimers was diagnosed he carried on with great optimism and bravery. Spending the last period of his tremendous life helping to raise awareness of dementia and the desperate need for more reearch, at the same he continued to work towards a fairer society. He apparently died peacefully in his sleep. Sir Terry Pratchett R.I.P. " Don't think of it as dying, said Death, just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush." " No one is actually dead until the ripples in the world die away." " The pen is mightier than the sword, if the sword is very sharp." " It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true, it's called living." - Terry Pratchett At the end of the day real magic never dies.
As Jack Kerouac once said " I spent my entire youth writing slowly with revision and endless reshaping speculation and deleting and got so I was writing one sentence a day, the sentence had no feeling, Goddam it, feeling is what I like in art, not craftiness and the hiding of freedom." Long has Jack Kerouac permeated my world, he has taught me a lot. This Beat icon, poet, writer and creator of spontaneous Bop prosity. He has helped shape me into the idealist I have become today. The eternal beatnik would have turned 93 today, his spirit lives today in my head and the road travels on and on. His words like a gateway drug, that helped me search for horizons, ways to be free, leading me to discover the works of his friends, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gary Snyder, Herbert Huncke etc etc . He was flawed but deep, far from perfect, " Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road "- Jack Kerouac; on the road . Thank you Jack, "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are made to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirious of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous Roman Candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle you see the blue center - light pop and everything goes ahh..." - JK
Jack Kerouac - Jazz and prose
Jack Kerouac- American Hiaku-
Old Angel Moonlight (Friday afternoon in the universe)
In response to graffiti artist Banksy's Make this the year you discover a New destination Gaza tourist video, a video from the Guardian, that shows what real life is like there and their dreams beyond the border. Here lies the world's biggest open air prison. The people daily occupied, no one allowed to enter or too leave. People forced to live among ruins, and devastated squalid condititions. Surrounded by apartheid walls, their plight daily insufferable, but despite the destruction all around, the Palestinian peoples resistance and resiliance remains strong. Come and share with the youth of Gaza as they invite us to come and share their lives ( what's left of them) their food ( if your ok with a lean diet) and their culture and subculture ( things that an't be destroyed) so come run with them, better still stand with them, show them your solidarity. Boycott Israel.
Just found out recently that in Eastern Germany in a town once called Karl Marx Staad, a bank called Spakasse Chemnitz ran an online poll letting customers vote for image to put on their credit cards. They chose Karl Marx. There was an old joke in Russia that everything that we were told about by communism was a lie, but nowadays everything they tell us about capitalism is true. I wonder what the annual rate for the Karl Marx mastercard would be. Everything you have. It confims old Karl Marx's own adage that the capitalists would sell the very rope that would be used to hang himself.
Credit is the new Opiate of the masses.
When you seize the means of production from the bourgeoisie, use the Karl Marx mastercard.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. For everything else here's the Karl Marx mastercard.
The only card for internationale travel. A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of cash bank and low low interest rates. Das Kapital £10, Red Flag £30 prices risings as we rise up against our oppressors. All property is purchasable. Take the dialectic out of your materialism with a Karl Marx mastercard. Have your proletariat revolution now, pay for it later.
Yes humor could be the death of me, but not as dangerous as capitalism, that out of control will carry on chaining us down, and unregulated is already killing millions. With the global economy in protracted crisis , and workers around the world, burdened by joblessness, debt and stagnant income.
Yes Capitalism and the system that props it up like back when Karl Marx wrote his original words, is still inherently unjust and self desctructive, impoverishing the masses as the worlds wealth is concentrated in the hands of a greedy few. Time to through the cards that they use to curtail us away, and occupy the banks.
Anyway here's an old poem of mine
Solidarity means, that together, we must stand, fighting hand in hand for a more dignified world. Remember on International Women's Day just the act of writing or speaking in public for some is a political act. We should all be aware of these conditions, bearing witness, denouncing injustice and patriarchy that can be reasons for division. Today we remember all those women who have stood up and fought back, for their rights, for equality, for justice, for dignity, for freedom. We remember your strength and remember too that we are all much stronger in struggle when we are united. As I write it should be noted that there is still too much gender inequality, discrimination and injustice globally. We must continue to carry the voices of all who are silenced. Happy International Womens Day Solidarity with women of Selma, Ferguson, Kobane, Mexico, Afganistan, Gaza, women of the world, to my sisters nearer home and to all the comrades who are still fiercely opting to break every chain solidarity forever. Heddwch/Peace.
Tomorrow marks International Womens Day, I have chosen to mark the occasion with this from the poet Janet Dube from her collection Lifeline which was published by Gomer in 2000. Janet Dube was born in Fulham, London and now lives in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. She studied at St David's University College , Lampeter, and has worked as a teacher and playworker. She was active in feminism and the anti-war movement.
Iam the atom
tiny, invisible, powerless,
Yet from my body
came the word, for I
am the seed of all that is;
for I was in the beginning
and without me was not
anything made that was made;
and I am the sand,
yet more than the sand;
and I am the stars,
yet more than the stars;
and I am the hungry;
yet more than the hungry;
and I am the rich,
yet more than the rich;
and I the healing water
and I the cleansing earth
and I the seed of all that is
am divided against myself;
tiny, invisible powerless
I am divided,
and I am you.
We've got food banks swastika armbands, hate in abundance governments, leaving us angry. It's the sign of the times, it's the time of our lives. We've got corporations causing unecessary death carving up the world with austerity and stealth, as days drift by, rivers of sadness grow souls get deep, but still manage to flow. It's the sign of the times, it's the time of our lives. We've got polticians demonising the poor masters of destruction, seeking war, who cry blue murder if a person hungry gets caught,shoplifting as a means of survival. It's the sign of the times, it's the time of our lives. we've got famine in the third world dirty water and contamination hurled, refugees being criminalised, simply for trying to flee for their lives.
It's the sign of the times, it's the time of our lives. We've got apartheid walls, we've got wars of attrition we've got people being daily denied, cleared from their lands, words and memories stolen no opportunity to grow, hope daily scattered. It's the sign of the times it's the time of our lives.
As big brother gets bigger, participation is left small with seeds of destruction, a life of suffering and exploitation, the world at tipping point, on a downward spiral, we have to reach out find some means of survival. It's the sign of the times, it's the time of our lives. And we've got smart phones and social media viruses that arrive daily with hidden intent, webs of confusion, threads of division branches ragged, but still enough to cling too,
It's the sign of the times, it's the time of our lives. tomorrow delivers a special offer admission price is free dreamers will come overthrow the world, take the pain away,and try and start again,. Because it's the time of our lives, it's the time of our lives.
At the end of the day are we not all born equal, we are all meant to love one another, not judge. The truth is, love conquers all, we should not be so quick to pass judgement, on people based on the color of their skin, their age or their physical abilities. The above video, which I think is marvellous is part of the Love has no labels campaign which challenges us to open our eyes to our bias and prejudice and work to stop it in ourselves, our friends, our families, and our colleagues and captures the heart of this beautiful message. I am not perfect, far from it, but I am still learning to try, and love makes our world spin, it makes us strong too. Love is a human experience that can be shared for all, it sees no borders either, we should allow these feelings to be shared and grow, love after all passes over all the many perceived boundaries that we encounter. It gives me great hope that as I speak this video is now being shared by many people across the world, a virus, that is necessary in today's troubling times. We desperately need to embrace diversity and help end bias, and keep spreading the word. Find out more about this wonderful campaign here:- http://lovehasnolabels.com/
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the return to work of the striking miners of 1984/85 who had remained out in protest against the closure of the pits. A benefit compilation has been released featuring a stellar cast of some of the most influential left wing British musicians of the past 30 years. Superb! The album produced in association with Philosophy football features artists like Billy Bragg, Sleaford Mods, New Model Army, Chumbawumba, TV Smith, Attilla the Stockbroker and many more singing songs of resistance and protest, passionate, angry traditional and modern.
The Orgreave Truth and Justice cd, is available for £9.99 with all profits going to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign. You can order this essential collection by visiting the following link. It is only £9.99 with all profits going to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign.
http://www.philosophyfootball.com/view_item.php?pid=1200 The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign includes ex miners, Trade Unionists, and activists and others who are determined to get justice for miners who were victims of police and cover ups at Orgreave in June 1984. Orgreave was a massive injustice, where hundreds of police under the orders of Margaret Thatcher carrying riot shields, targeted unarmed miners with truncheons, inflicting serious injury. Miners were kicked and punched in a savage attack of police brutality. We should never forget the miners bitter heroic struggle, nor the fact that not one single police officer has been disciplined, let alone prosecuted, serving as a reminder of one of the biggest miscarriages of the 1980's. We remember too how Thatcher unleashed a class war destroing peoples ways of live, that paved the way of the political climate and mess we have today. Today many are still waiting for justice. Seeking it for all miners victimised by the police at Orgreave. We remember too how the power of the state is still used against its people.
Here is a link to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign
In work - out of work - these lot have it covered. Their one aim to take away your entitlements and leave you penniless.
Currently a controversial American company is taking over the contract to assess the fitness of benefit claimants to work, having replaced the French firm Atos, who quit the contract last March. They will be used by the government again to help cut benefits of sick and disabled people, who have already been disproportionately targeted. Two million people have had their benefits sanctioned since 2013, this is the Governments true agenda, hand in hand with companies like Maximus are hitting the poor the hardest. The Work Capability assessment has proved to be a very expensive disaster in both financial and human terms. A growing number of suicides have been directly linked to this stressful procedure, whilst medical staff and claimants themselves have warned of the desperate consequences for those left with no money at all by the system. People who cannot work, for various reasons should be supported, it is unnecessary to pay millions and millions of pounds to private companies like Atos and Maximus. Are our own G.Ps not to be trusted. Today disabled activist groups and supporters will across the country vigorously protest against these heartless work tests. It should also be noted that Maximus are also involved in helping to privatise the N.H.S, running the fit for work occupational health service designed to bully and harass. I personally am in a support group, my crime, I periodically suffer from depression and anxiety but it looks like Maximus has been given a green light to diminish people like me. Maximus like Atos before them alongside the Work Capability Assessments must be stopped in their tracks, they are profiteers of the sick and vulnerable and because of them combined with Tory policies people are suffering. People before profit should be the maxim. Maximus another ruthless company doing the governments dirty work.
Here are details of the call out by DPAC ; Disabled People against cuts
Please support them, after they have finished with us they will start on the rest.
From the pen of literary critic and most prolific Welsh language poets of our time. Happy St David's day/ Dydd Dewi hapus. At the end of the day we are all different, but fy iaith, still standing despite it all. All the best Heddwch/peace
Stand above the abyss, and shout into the cleft:
she's the thunder in the silence, the noise in the cold emptiness;
although fugitives grope for their splintered ropes on the cliff,
she's the one who prevents our fall into the great muteness.
She's the rain that refreshes the earth, the ruby's sheen,
the harvest breeze,rolling in the corn and the wheat;
the precious sapphire, the emerald in the grass that is green,
the restless rustling of barley, and bright gleam of light.
She protects from the mute edge, the fort that keeps enemies at bay,
and above the gaping abyss, she is our tether;
she keeps our dignity; our home against all disarray,
the knot that unites; she gathers her people together.
should the link shatter and break, what would be amiss?
Knot by knot the rope now opens above the abyss.
trans. the author Reprinted from ; A Book of Wales, an anthology; selected by Meic Stephens; JM Dent, 1987
On St David's day/ Dydd Gwyl Dewi a hopefully eye opening film about Wales's share of global inequalities/ Ffilm fydd gobeithio yn agorad llygad fewn i shar Cymru o anghydraddoldebau byd-eang
.jpg)
.jpg)
