It's the end of May
No tears for Theresa
Strong and stable she never was
Her deceit and neglect still resonates
our tears fall for her defencless prey
Windrush Brits deported, Grenfell victims
Disabled people systematically abused
Benefit claimants, the sick and marginalised
Four million children in poverty
Avoidable death victims of DWP
No tears fall now for her cowardly stance
Let's hope we see no more attempts to dance'
As her trade in Machiavelian deceit ends
Her nefarious flagitious poison still flowering
Among the seeds of pain she's sown
Her legacy will for long be known
May her departure precipitate
The induction of pragmatic change.
Isabella Ormston Ford born on May 23 1855. was a Quaker, Pacifist , Suffragist, Socialist,. Labor organizer. Speaker. Writer. Who was the youngest of eight children. Her parents, Robert and
Hannah, were Quakers and the young Isabella was brought up in a family
greatly concerned with women’s rights and humanitarian causes, an
upbringing which would affect her entire life’s work. Isabella became,
arguably, one of the most important women ever to write about women’s
rights, and women’s working conditions, bringing to the masses, through
her pamphlets, speeches and Union aions, the true plight of
working-class women, and the conditions they faced in the workplace.
The family home at Adel Grange near Leeds became a place where radicals could meet and discuss politics. As a young woman, Isabella Ford met prominent feminists such as Josephine Butler and Elizabeth Garret Anderson. In 1875 Isabella met Edward Carpenter, a former Anglican
priest who had began to question conventional ideas on politics and
sexuality.His book 'Towards Democracy is like a Bible to me. Carpenter introduced Ford to socialist ideas and in 1883 they
both joined the recently formed Fabian Society
an organisation which aimed to "reconstruct society in accordance with
the highest moral possibilities through political means".
In 1885 Isabella helped Emma Patterson, President of the Women's
Protective and Provident League, to form a Machinists' Society for
tailoresses in Leeds.
This was the start of a long campaign by Ford to improve the pay and
conditions of women working in the textile industry in Leeds. In 1889
she established the Leeds Tailoresses' Union and the following year she
was elected president of the organisation.
Isabella became, arguably, one of the most important
women ever to write about women’s rights, and women’s working
conditions, bringing to the masses, through her pamphlets, speeches and
Union actions, the true plight of working-class women, and the
conditions they faced in the workplace. She railed against the accepted convention which suggested that a woman
should in no way revolt, but instead should accept any injustice shown
to her. To be a woman and to complain was in some way almost
irreligious, a woman should accept her lot, no matter how bad.Isabella truly believed, however, ‘that a better day is dawning’, and
that the movements she was seeing in the burgeoning women’s trade union
movements.
In 1890 helped form the Leeds Women's Suffrage
Society with her sister Bessie and their sister-in-law, Helen Cordelia.
Three years later, Isabella was involved in forming a Leeds branch of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). The two organizations worked closely together .. By the early 1900s Isabella Ford
had developed a national reputation for her talents as a speaker and
organizer. Ford was also an important writer of books on the struggle
for equality. This included Women's Wages (1893), Industrial Women (1900) and Women and Socialism (1904).
In 1903 Isabella became a member of the national executive committee
of the ILP. She played an important role in persuading leaders of the
ILP to support women's suffrage. Isabella argued that the emancipation of
women and the emancipation of labour were strongly linked and that
"socialists should support the struggle of women, just as women should
support socialism." In 1904, she was the first woman to speak at a Labour Party Conference, when she supported the motion that women should be given the right to vote on the same terms as men.
Some suffragists disapproved of Isabella Ford's socialism but it
1907 it did not prevent her being elected to the executive committee of
the NUWSS ( National Union of Womens Suffrage Movement.) In 1912 she upset members of the Liberal Party when she persuaded the NUWSS to support Labour Party candidates in parliamentary elections.
Isabella Ford, a life-long pacifist, was deeply concerned by the growing hostility between.Britain and Germany. the summer of 1914, Ford helped organise a peace rally in London. During the meeting at the
Kingway Hall held on the 4th of August they heard the news that Britain had declared war on
Germany.The women's movement was split over the issue of what role women should play during the First World War. She was however quite capable of making fighting speeches. At the annual
conference of the NUWSS in 1914 she spoke against any co-operation with
the government for war purposes “with a pugnacity of word and gesture
which took everyone’s breath away, and then, having had her say, stamped
off the platform and down the hall in almost ferocious style”. (New Leader, 25 July, 1924)
With the outbreak of war Isabella once again found herself working
closely with friends and comrades from the ILP in the peace movement. not forgotten As the war went on Isabella found herself more and more isolated and
in 1915 was forced to resign from the executive committee of the NUWSS. After the end of hostilities she continued her efforts to help the movements of peace, socialism and feminism.
In the years, 1919, 1920, 1921 and 1922 Ford was a
delegate to the Women's International League Congress. Isabella Ford was a woman who fought her entire life for the causes of socialism and feminism and peace who recognised the need of both women and men to realize their full potential as equal human beings
At the end of her days age and ill health curtailed her public activities and she
never recovered from the death of her sister Bessie in 1919 who had
given her so much practical and emotional support. In 1922 she moved
with her sister Emily to a small cottage, Adel Willows, and it was here
that she died in her sleep on 14 July 1924. She is buried in the Adel Friends Burial Ground, Leeds, England. Long may we remember her and her valuable contribution for the advancement of social justice and equality that remains an inspiration for us because she addressed such important issues that are still relevant to the modern era , particularly the relationships between peace, socialism and feminism.
I will leave you with her words :-
" Justice is to be the foundation on which we must build, not the kind of justice we have hitherto considered for us, and which many countries pride themselves is their watchword and standard, but a justice that demands freedom for all."
Brexit has recently got very messy. Especially for Nigel Farage, one of the leading advocates of the United Kingdom's wthdrawal from the European Union, was doused with a milkshake on Monday in Newcastle, England, by a man who said he was protesting Farage;s "bile and racism.The Northumbria Police said on Tuesday that Paul Crowther, 32 had been charged with common assault and criminal damage for throwing the banana and salted caramel shake from Five Guys on the Brext leader.
Farage's suit was left covered by the milky treat during a campaign stop ahead of tomorrow's European Parliament election..As Farage gets his suit cleaned for all those that are outraged about milkshakes being thrown on right wing politicians stirring up division, think of all the Muslim people who have been abused on the streets and try and remember where the outrage was for them.
Poor old Farage this jokey, man with a pint, this so called man of the people, who rails aganst the elites, denounces the establishment, then has to face a barrage of criticism on social media for his claims that he is
“skint”, despite many pointing out he lives in a £4m townhouse in Chelsea
and has been taking a £100,000 salary plus a €300-a-day living allowance, as an MEP for south-east England since
1999. And with further brazen hypocricy. said he would still take his annual £73,000 EU pension after Brexit. However much he attacks the so-called EU gravy train, is more than happy to cash in when it suits him.
It's worth noting that he is ranked 748 out of 751 for attendance and, following an investigation
by financial controllers at the parliament, will reportedly have to
repay about €95,000, with a fellow Ukip MEP, for alleged misuse of
public funds intended for staffing his office. And now the European Parliament's advisory committee will look at whether Mr Farage broke rules by accepting funding from Leae cmpaigneer Arron Banks.
Farage said he did not declare the £450,000 sum to the European
Parliament because he was about to leave politics and had been seeking a
new life in the US.The committee will examine the case before advising the European Parliament President Antonio Tajani.The committee can meet on 4 June.
MEPs
found to have acted improperly can be reprimanded, their parliamentary
allowance can be withheld or they can be banned from some activities.
The payments from Arron Banks to Nigel Farage were revealed by a Channel 4 News investigation.
Mr
Farage confirmed that he was not talking to Channel 4 News, describing
them as "political activists", and said he would not allow the
broadcaster to attend Brexit Party events.
The editor of Channel 4 News, Ben de Pear, said on Twitter he hoped "to resolve our access ban... ASAP".
Separately,
the Electoral Commission has defended visiting The Brexit Party's
offices to review the party's online fundraising activities.As party leader Farage then accused the watchdog of acting "in bad faith" and "interfering in the electoral process".But the watchdog said there had been "significant public concern" about the way the party raises funds.
Farage for many is simply a vain, shallow hypocrite, serving his own self serving agenda, who as a divisive figure in the Brexit debate has often been accussed of 'peddling racist nonsense'. It's not only recently that he has developed a public relations problem. Let's take a look at his previous history.
In 1981, when Farage was appointed as a prefect at his school, an English teacher wrote to the headteacher asking him to reconsider his decision,
citing his fascist views. Another said that on a Combined Cadet Force
(CCF) camp organised by the college, Farage and others “marched through a
quiet Sussex village very late at night shouting Hitler-youth songs.” Of course his defenders will say this was either youthful antics or a
bogus claim from an unverifiable sources.
Skip forward to 2006 – when Farage became the leader of UKIP, the UK
Independence Party. The party is on the far right, and campaigned for
the UK to leave the EU. Policies included strict caps on immigration, a five-year ban on unskilled workers, and a five-year wait before migrants could claim benefits.
In 2013 Farage said he supports Muslim immigrants who “integrate” into society, but not those that are “coming here to take us over”. In a 2014 interview on LBC, Nige said he felt “uncomfortable” when he heard people speaking in other languages on London transport.That same year, he said the “basic principle” of Enoch Powell’s infamous anti-immigration “Rivers of Blood” speech was correct.
In 2014 Nigel also said he would be concerned if Romanian immigrants moved in next door to him.
The same year, he blamed immigrants for making him late
to an event where he was speaking. He said his lateness “has nothing to
do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in
which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of
open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it
used to be”.
Nigel defended a UKIP candidate who used a racist slur against Chinese people. Referring to the incident, he said: “If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you’re going for?”
In June 2016, Nigel unveiled an anti-immigrant poster that
suggested that immigration was at “Breaking Point”, as part of the leave
campaign. The poster was reported to the police on the grounds that it aimed to incite racial hatred. Comparisons were quickly made in the media to Nazi propaganda. Farage stood in front of a poster of desperate refugees, whose plight was and is entirely irrelevant to the Brexit cause, and exploited their misery for his own shallow gain.
When Britain left the EU in 2016, Nigel boasted that the campaign had been won “without a bullet being fired”. This was eight days after Labour MP Jo Cox was fatally shot.
In 2016 he was also accused of giving "legitimism to racism" by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Most Reverand Justin Welby said Farage was " accentuating fear for political gain", which he said was "absolutely inexcusable."
Farage also supports Trump's Muslim ban, and has had “absolutely no hesitation” in backing the gun-flashing, homophobic religious zealot and alt-right darling Roy Moore
in the US Senate special election in Alabama, endorsed Marine Le Pen
and the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, and defended Donald
Trump’s retweets of racist Britain First hate posts, arguing that “the
level of outrage from the liberal elite” in Britain was “out of all
proportion” – although he was surely aware that the MP Jo Cox had died
hearing the words “Britain First” from her killer’s mouth.
For several weeks now, Farage has been visiting every part of the
country, delivering a stump speech on Brexit that is a lie from start to
finish, and no politician has done anything to stop him, aided strangely by a fawning media, that seems to be doing his bidding. Baring in mnd that the Brexit Party was only launched last month, Farage has roared back into the
frontline of British politics, and despite his past history.and despite having no idea what the party stands for, with nothing contructive to offer beyond a call for the hardest Brexit possible, the Brexit Party looks set to
dominate the European Elections in the UK.The Conservatives and Labour are widely expected to be punished by both Remain and Leave voters.
All over Europe extremist political forces are on the march,
threatening the cohesion of our communities and undermining our values.
This campaign was an opportunity for Labour and the Tories to reject
the nihilism of the Brexit Party. It has no manifesto because it does
not want to create, only to destroy. Farage says it won't publish it's manifesto until after the EU elections. The party represents the politics of hate
and division. It is the ultimate manifestation of Project Fear. It has no programme to stop austerity, and while many are calling for a properly funded NHS and other services, in contrast Farage has previously raised that there should be an insurance based health system run by private companies.
The big
parties could have used their campaigning clout and their media heft to
hold Farage and his acolytes to account, to challenge their all too
often bigoted views and to scrutinise their funding.The sum total of the resistance he has thus far met is £5.25’s worth of salted caramel milkshake. The mind truly boggles!
Upon closer examination, the Brexit Party who are running seems to be providing a
good hiding place for more insidious political beliefs, particularly
when it comes to the rights and equal treatment of women and minority
groups.Here's everything about the Brexit Party Candidates they eather you wouldn't know. https://medium.com/@SJHolloway/this-is-everything-i-discovered-about-all-of-the-brexit-party-mep-candidates-2a59f8f850c5
Stand Up to Racism co-founder Weyman Bennet recently said "The City
trader Nigel Farage, formerly of UKip, has always sown division in this
country by looking to blame other communities for problems of austerity
and privatisation.
"He has nothing to offer but racism and bigotry. We should unite to
oppose Nigel Farages vision whether we are leave or remain. Unity for us
should be the key."
Farage and his rightwing backers know only too well that winning a sweep of MEP seats will be interpeted as a mandate for the Brexiters, as they set about implementing the most extreme political ideology seen in this country. We must say no to his grim vision,a place where he and his rich friends and right wing backers with hidden agendas will be able to amass ever greater fortunes, as they relax rules, regulations for their own dubious purposes. As Farage sets about re-shaping our world with Mr Trump, it ccrtainly won't be a good idea to be a member of a minority faith or weak or old or foreign.
It's also striking . to those who care to look , just how much his agenda is about class interest, this former city trader. He also opposes extended maternity leave, raising the minimum wage and reducing the retirement age, anything that inconveniences his noveau rich confederates. If he had his way,many of his own supporters would be working harder, longer, for less money, with less protection. That indeed is the reality of his Brexit dream.
Don't be fooled in handing your vote to Farage and his,Brexit party, that is continuing to try and sell people an idea of Brext that doesn't exist, never has and never will.If you choose to vote tomorrow, do it wisely, vote progressive and not for the far right, and if in doubt vote tactically.We have no guarantee that the Lib Dems or CHUK will work with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (which Labour is a part of) and other left-wing blocs to effectively fight the incoming bands of right-wing extremists.
There are a variety of left and progressive options to choose from in
the European election, but a vote for the Liberal Democrats, as in
domestic elections, is essentially a vote for the Tories
Tactical voting requires considerable thought and a one sized fit all approach is not going to work.. Here's a handy list though.
The following new satirical tune from Captain Ska arrives rather timely, best enjoyed with a nice cold milkshake.
Captain Ska - Nigel Farage is a Racist
[Chorus]
Nigel Farage is a racist
Don't be fooled by the laughing face
Nigel Farage is a racist
A vote for Nigel is a vote for hate
[Verse 1]
He's rather picky 'bout who's living next door
Homegrown neighbours he likes more
Hatred he's been whipping up
With racist posters full of lies
Remember where this went before?
[Chorus]
Nigel Farage is a racist
Don't be fooled by the laughing face
Nigel Farage is a racist
A vote for Nigel is a vote for hate
[Verse 2]
Have you ever wondered why he's on so much TV?
Ratings go up with a pub bore
Normalised intolerance
Supported by the BBC
Not what our licence fee was for!
Oh no!
All together now!
Here we go!
[Chorus]
Nigel Farage is a racist
Don't be fooled by the laughing face
Nigel Farage is a racist
A vote for Nigel is a vote for hate
A vote for Nigel is a vote for hate
A vote for Nigel is a vote for hate
Have you even wondered why you're seeing an ad online? In your social
media feed, in apps, or while browsing the internet? What you see is
determined in large part by your data. The exploitation of data
dominates the news these days - and the use of advertising in politics
is front and centre to this exploitation. Advertisers are able to buy
access to very personal information about you and then infer even more
about you. They are able to use this information to target ads at you
with heightened precision, and to send you unique messages that are
specially created to appeal to you and people like you. There are many
actors in the business of amassing our data and using it to segment and
profile us based on our behaviour - data brokers, ad tech, and platforms
we use.
It's not only brands and advertisers selling cat t-shirts who are
targeting you, political parties, political campaigns and those that
work for them tap into and further exploit our data - and it's
happening in the dark. Privacy International believes that you should be
told and understand how your data is being used by companies and by
political actors, and that there must be limits - your data should not
be used against you.
In the run up to an election, concern at such attempts to influence and
manipulate our views are heightened. This is why PI are working to
challenge such practices.
There are steps you can take to minimise the ads you see online and
questions you can be asking of those that profit from your data. '
Some say data-driven technologies are an inevitable feature of modern political
campaigning, that are a welcome addition to politics as
normal and a necessary and modern approach to democratic processes;
while others say that they are corrosive and diminish trust in already flawed
political systems.
With our increased awareness of data
violations and the understanding of data to violate privacy, take for instance the misuse of data recently by Cambridge Analytica and other
companies associated with the firm that may have altered the outcome of both
the U.S. presidential election and the U.K.'s Brexit referendum.
Chris Wylie, the former director of research at Cambridge Analytica,
which has been accused of illegally collecting online data of up to 50
million Facebook users, said that his work allowed Donald Trump's
presidential campaign to garner unprecedented insight into voters'
habits ahead of the 2016 vote.
He added that a Canadian business with ties to Cambridge
Analytica's parent company, SCL Group, also provided analysis for the
Vote Leave campaign ahead of the 2016 Brexit referendum. This research,
Wylie said, likely breached the U.K.'s strict campaign financing laws
and may have helped to sway the final Brexit outcome.
People are
increasingly aware of how data algorithms are used based on our online
behaviors, from Amazon recommendations to targeted ads that follow us
from site to site. Transparency, permission and maintaining
privacy—for safety and to avoid manipulation--have all been major topics
of whistle-blowers and social discourse.
Regulators
and those with the remit to ensure that elections remain fair
and free however did not listen to Edward Snowden’s warnings in 2013
about the
danger that the misuse of personal data has on the fundamental rights
and freedoms of the individual, and on democratic processes, that helps hinder free and fair elections. At at end of day we should all be on our guard about how we seek to protect our personal data and privacy as the misuse of our data in political
campaigning continue to grow.
PI
believes that you should be told how your data is being used by
companies and by political actors, and that there must be limits - your
data should
not be used against you.
Malcolm X originally Malcolm Little (and later also known as El-Hajj Malik
el-Shabazz) was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on 19 May 1925 who went on to become one of the most influential advocates of self-defence for Black people as well as one of the harshest critics of America's institutional racism. The fourth of eight children
of outspoken Baptist ministe the Reverend Earl Little and his wife, Louise. Soon after Malcolm's birth the Littles
moved to the outskirts of East Lansing, Michigan.
When Malcolm was six, his father died,
presumably murdered by the Black Legion, a violent racist group similar to the Ku Klux
Klan, and the Little home life became more and more difficult. Louise was eventually
placed in the state mental hospital, and her children were declared wards of the state. In
1941 Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his half sister, Ella. He became caught up in
the nightlife of Boston and, later, New York. After a few years in the underworld of
Harlem, selling drugs and working for call-girl services, Malcolm began a burglary ring in
Boston. In 1946, at the age of twenty-one, he was arrested for armed robbery and sent to
prison.
During his six years in Charlestown Prison, Concord Reformatory, and Norfolk Prison,
Malcolm underwent a spiritual and intellectual transformation.It was during this period that Malcolm’s brother alerted him to the teachings of the Nation
of Islam (NOI) and encouraged Malcolm to convert to the Muslim faith.
Intrigued by the NOI, Malcolm began studying the work of Elijah Muhammad who
preached about systemic oppression and fought for a world separate from one
inhabited by White people.
By the time Malcolm X was released from prison he was a devout follower and soon after meeting Muhammad and agreeing to work for NOL,changed his name to Malcolm X, the X representing the unknown name
of his African ancestors and their culture that had been lost during slavery. As
well as
the “x” that many slaves received as a brand on their upper arm .
Malcolm X was soon appointed as a minister and national
spokesperson for
Nation of Islam. He was also charged with establishing new mosques
around the country. He returned to Boston and became the Minister of
the NOI’s Temple # 11. He was also selected to lead the NOI’s mosque #7
on Lennox
Avenue in Harlem and is credited with other establishments in Detroit,
Michigan and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His public speaking and media
appearances also contributed to increased awareness and interest in the
Nation of Islam. His commanding stage presence, quick wit, and
erudition, combined with the authenticity of his experience as a street hustler, made
Malcolm a remarkable orator and a dynamic leader. In fact, Malcolm X is largely credited with building the Nation of Islam from a tiny sect to a
significant force in urban black America, increasing
the NOI membership from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.
The public
nature of his work, however, led the FBI and national government to pay very
close attention to Malcolm X. At certain points the NOI organizations
Malcolm X was involved in were infiltrated by the FBI and the group’s
communications and activities were heavily monitored.
In 1963 there was increasing jealousy in the Nation of Islam over Malcolm's increasing celebrity, and
Malcolm's discovery of violations of the Muslim's strict moral code by the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm had learned that his mentor, was indulging in secret relationships with as many as six women within the NOL, some of which produced children. The teachings of NOL specified celibacy until marriage. Elijah was not married to any of them. He asked Malcom to help cover up the affairs and the evidence of children, he obeyed and kept quiet.
Nevertheless, Malcolm cold not look past Elijahs deception and in March 1964 terminated his relationship with the NOL. Once out from the strict
teachings of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm drifted from the primarily spiritual philosophy
of the Nation to a more political black nationalism.On April 12, 1964, one month after splitting with the NOI, Malcolm X
gave his "Ballot or the Bullet" speech at King Solomon Baptist Church in
Detroit (he'd given the address nine days earlier in Cleveland, but the
Detroit version is regarded by some scholars as definitive).
It was the fullest declaration of his black nationalist philosophy.
Mainstream black ministers in Detroit tried to block Malcolm X from
using the church, saying "separatist ideas can do nothing but set back
the colored man's cause." But the church hall had already been rented
out for the event.
"The Ballot or the Bullet" became one of Malcolm X's most
recognizable phrases, and the speech was one of his greatest orations.
Two thousand people – including some of his opponents -- turned out to
hear him speak in Detroit.. President Lyndon Johnson was running for
reelection in 1964, and Malcolm X declared it "the year of the ballot or
the bullet." He outlined a new, global sensibility in the fight for
racial justice: "We intend to expand [the freedom struggle] from the
level of civil rights to the level of human rights."
In the spring of 1964, when Malcolm X gave his "Ballot or the Bullet"
speech, he was regarded by a majority of white Americans as a menacing
character. Malcolm X never directly called for violent revolution, but
he warned that African Americans would use "any means necessary" –
especially armed self defense – once they realized just how pervasive
and hopelessly entrenched white racism had become.
Malcolm was now free of the NOI's ban on members participating in
the mainstream civil rights movement. He encouraged black militants to
get involved in voter registration drives and other forms of community
organizing to redefine and expand the movement.
The day after his Detroit speech, Malcolm X embarked on an overseas tour
that included a life-changing pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of
Mecca. Known as the Hajj, the pilgrimage must be carried out at least
once in a lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
The racial diversity he experienced in the Middle East, especially among
Muslims, led him to discard his strict notions of black separatism for a
wider, more inclusive movement against white supremacy and colonialism and, tentatively, to a more
internationalist philosophy--Pan-Africanism.He founded his own religious organization, the Muslim
Mosque, Inc. converted to Sunni Islam, and was a devout Muslim until the day he died.
Malcolm X visited Gaza for two days in September 1964. He was hosted by the Palestinian poet Harun Hamid Rashid. They visited refugees in Khan Yunus, as he had a strong desire to learn about the Palestinian cause
Malcolm X returned to the United States with a new energy and
vision for his work. He began to not only direct his work towards African
Americans but to people of all races and ethnicities. He preached about
human rights, freedom, action, and community building. If was also at this time that Malcolm and Martin Luther King,Jr began to move closer to each other, Their unity if given the opportunity to fully develop, could have led to a deeper unity of the African American community and the strengening of the all-sided fight for peace freedom and justice.
While re-establishing
himself, however, the old tensions with the Nation of Islam were still
festering and rumors began that Malcolm X had been targeted for
assassination. Attempts were made on his life and threats were made against
his wife, Betty, and four daughters. In February of 1965 his family home was
firebombed, and while everyone made it out alive, no one was ever charged
with the crime.
It was only one week later, on February 21, 1965, in
Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom when three men rushed Malcolm X on stage during
a speaking engagement and shot him 15 times at close range. He was
pronounced dead upon arrival at New York’s Columbia aged only 39.
In death, he became a seminal figure to an increasingly militant
generation of young African Americans, a beacon for activists in the
1960s Black Power and Black Arts movements, inspiring and informing many others in their fight for
social justice and equality.His legacy lives on because Malcolm X was one of the most dynamic, dramatic and influential figures
of the civil rights era. He was an apostle of black nationalism, self
respect, pride, empowerment and uncompromising resistance to white oppression. A polarizing figure who both energized and divided African
Americans, while frightening and alienating many whites. He was an
unrelenting truth-teller who declared that the mainstream civil rights
movement was naïve in hoping to secure freedom through integration and
nonviolence. The blazing heat of Malcolm X's rhetoric sometimes
overshadowed the complexity of his message, especially for those who
found him threatening in the first place.
His major literary achievement, TheAutobiography
of Malcolm X (1965), composed during the last two years of his life with the writer
Alex Haley, contains a montage of Malcolm's perspectives and only invites speculation as
to which direction Malcolm's philosophy would have taken. The Autobiography, published posthumously, stands as a major twentieth-century
African American literary work. Its orality, its political intentions and ramifications,
and its promise of unspoken truths about the African American experience all place it
firmly in African American autobiographical traditions. n 1998 Time named The Autobiography of MalcolmX one of the ten most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century
Malcolm X today carries tremendous weight as a cultural icon, most notably in the films
of Spike Lee. He has been used to symbolize an alternative, more militant vision of social
protest than Martin Luther King, Jr.'s nonviolence, and his name appears in rap and other
African American poetry as a symbol of black pride and for many people he remains an icon. I remember a revolutionary who fought and died for the liberation of Black people in the US and who understood that capitalism is intricately connected to racism and all other forms of oppression. An individual who was not afraid to challenge oppression, who was courageous enough to change his mind and admit his mistakes, but for may Malcolm X was no sell out, and for that reason his legacy lives on and on.
'If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.' - Malcolm X
Names and Location of the Top 100 People Killing the Planet, 2019 – by Jordan Engel
“The earth is not dying, it is being killed, and those who are killing it have names and addresses.” – Utah Phillips
The above map from artist Jordan Engel and the Decolonial Atlas
project powerfully shows the corporations bearing the largest responsibility for
the climate crisis. His map breaks down the top 100 individuals
contributing to environmental waste and climate change across the
planet.
The harm that's being done to the planet can be clearly pinpointed, to a very
specific list of companies destroying our planet and environment for profit. At least these companies have CEOs that can be
named and shamed, before they kill us all, with their irresponsible actions.
"Just 100 companies are responsible for more than 70% of the world’s
greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. The guys who run those companies –
and they are mostly guys – have gotten rich on the backs of
literally all life on Earth. Their business model relies on the
destruction of the only home humanity has ever known. Meanwhile, we
misdirect our outrage at our neighbors, friends, and family for using
plastic straws or not recycling. If there is anyone who deserves the
outrage of all 7.5 billion of us, it’s these 100 people right here.
Combined, they control the majority of the world’s mineral rights – the
“right” to exploit the remaining unextracted oil, gas, and coal. They
need to know that we won’t leave them alone until they agree to Keep It In The Ground. Not just their companies, but them. Now it’s personal. "
This one for for one of my dearest friends Kenny Sheehan,who passed earlier this week, my lovely boy, soul mate, surrogate dad, poet, painter, magus, beat, raconteur extrordinary, it would be a huge regret that after all this time he did not get a mention on this blog, from time to time he would have a look at my own poems, give me a thumbs up or thumbs down, my finest critic, so goodbye matey, behave yourself you old devil, say hello to all the others, tell Uncle Bill (William Burroughs) and Jane am not ready yet, you will will be missed greatly.
In light and freedom
weightless without a care
following Pans' cloven hoof
weaving among golden sunsets
scenes of painted sorcery
flickering among the stars
among the vicisstudes of breath
fondly will linger
under the influence
near magic tea rooms
rich in intoxication
your wild flame will ignite
in burning embers of time
in the blaze of night and day
the lightning lighting up the skies
you will forever brightly glow.
