McDonalds has come under fire after metal 'anti-homeless spikes' were installed outside one of its Leeds branches. Simply inhumane and shows a complete disregard for homeless people who struggle every day.
Homelessness is one of the worst injustices within our society, having a place to live should be a right not a privilege. These spikes show a complete disregard and lack of respect for homeless people.
McDonalds claim they were there to tackle anti-social behaviour, not target the homeless, saying they welcome all customers through their doors.
Well they have since been hit by a 70,000 strong petition still growing. By the way I would not reccommened you eating their food, it is definitely not good for your health. As disgusting to taste too, like their actions.
Sadly another truthsayer has gone, Eduardo Galeona, poet laureatte of the anti-globalisation movement, a Uruguayan writer, poet, anti-capitalist of much depth. A committed socialist, whose historical works condemned European and US colonialist exploitation of Latin America over 5 centuries, which made him a revered figure among leftists. He died aged 74 after a battle with lung cancer.
Weaving tapestries of society obscured by historians, his books ( he was a productive writer of over 30 books) presented alternative histories that gave equal weight to the suffering of the downtrodden, as to the grand achievements of better known historical figures.
He was forced to flee from Uruguay to neighboring Argentina in 1973, after he was briefly imprisoned bt recently installed military dictatorship, which banned his book Open Veins. He was blacklisted by death squads in Argentina following a military coup and fled to Spain.
"We have a memory cut in pieces" he once told Democracy Now. "And I write trying to recover our real memory, the memory of humankind, what I call the human rainbow, which is much more colourful and beautiful than the other one, the other rainbow. But the human rainbow has been mutilated by machismo, racism, militarism, and a lot of other isms,who have been terribly killing our greatness, our possible greatness, our possible beauty."
The following is one of his fine poems. R.I.P
The right to dream of a better world ( El derecha a sonar)
The right to dream is a poem written and read by Eduardo Galeona.
In 1948, and again in 1976, the United Nations proclaimed long lists of human rights, but most of the worlds people still enjoy only the rights to see, hear and remain silent.
Suppose we excercise the never proclaimed right to dream? Lets set our sights above the abominations of today, to divine another possible world
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.