We are ALL connected.
The coronavirus is spreading across the world. It has reached pandemic proportions and we are facing.a global health crisis. It's a tough time for all of us.
From the United States to Italy, Iran to South Korea, the epidemic is getting worse. sending countries into economic meltdown as markets whipsaw and panic buying leading to food shortages. .
Governments have issued new rounds of travel bans. Institutions, schools and public places facing shutdown.
At the same time some politicians are using the crisis for political gain, but the virus itself, has no politics, does not discriminate and sees no borders.
Trustworthy health advice has never been more vital. It could be the difference between life and death.
It is important to remember that there is currently no specific treatment for coronavirus.
Antibiotics do not help, as they do not work against viruses;.
Please note, each infected person will start being infectious after 12 to 24 hrs, showing symptoms after 5 to 12 days. They will infect on average 2.6 other people
The public has a crucial role in containing the virus. and here are some basic things we can do to meet our fears and diminish our anxiety:
Ignore conspiracy theories and peddlers of misinformation, it's so easy to feel scared and alone at times like this, that's why we need to ground ourselves in our collective strength and grow strong by caring for each other.
Practice social distancing, work from home, people should avoid gathering in public places,and participate in gatherings virtually instead.
Stay at home as much as possible.
Cancel non essential appointments
Wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds.
Don’t touch your face.
Elbow bump, touch your heart, or gently bow instead of hugging or shaking hands.
Disinfect around you and buy what we need (just what we need).
Protect your immune system with plenty of fruits and vegetables and get caught up on sleep.
If you are sick and experiencing symptoms (coughing, fever, and shortness of breath, please stay home so that you do not get others sick.
Perhaps the most important message the coronavirus offers is that
the natural world is conspiring to save us from ourselves, to slow our materialistic greed and reign in our aggressive, self-centered, short-term, and xenophobic tendencies.”
It feels strange and hard to refrain from social engagements when we
are feeling anxious and the need to connect. But right now the best way
we can support each other is by keeping each other healthy.
Think about
how we can support each other and our neighbors
while not being together in person.
Reach out to one another by phone,
email, text message, facebook etc.
While many of us are decreasing our
physical contact, we need one another more right now, not less.
Be kind to those who are working, who are doing the jobs that care for life.
Notice them, thank
them, help calm their anxieties.
Keep in mind that during times of
crisis, those who are most vulnerable, the poor, the elderly, women and children .
Making sure older neighbours have enough food, shops are doing home deliveries, community organisation are checking in with people they know are struggling.
Please do not panic, Spread the love.
We will get through this together.
Here is a link to the latest information on the Novel Coronavirus from Public Health Wales
Filthy Torys telling us to wash our hands with soap
Words of advice from those that offer no bloody hope,
Daily releasing immorality and stains so impure
With toxic, rotten, cruel, conscious ideology,
Sordid,vicious, ill-inclined, carrying the stench of evil
Creating division, iniquity, infecting the land,
Places where no one is left with room to dream
Voices are denied, discounted, so easily excused ,
Where music has been stilled, no joy to be found
As people search for crumbs, some healing air,
Trapped and controlled by usurpers who rule by stealth
Who could not give a fuck about the nations health,
Wherever they roam or walk just give offence
The simple fact is we can't trust the Conservatives,
As they continue to destroy essential services
Abandon care for many people in need,
Led by a bumbling narcissistic circus clown
How can we trust them on coronovirus,
Whose double standards put us all in jeapordy
Continuing to release unfurling tragedy.
Celebrated on March 8 every year, International Women's Day is a day dedicated to honoring the achievements of women throughout
history and all across the globe, and is typically a day for women from
all different backgrounds and cultures to band together to fight for
gender parity and women's rights.
This year, International Women's Day occurs on a Sunday and will be celebrated with the special 2020 theme, #EachforEqual, celebrating "Generation Equality” and the continued fight for equal rights for women.
“We don’t have an equal world at the moment and women are angry and
concerned about the future,” said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka in a statement.
“It's an impatience that runs deep, and it has been brewing for
years…..Though we are radically impatient, we are not giving up and we
are hopeful.”
International Women’s Day is a time for reflection of how far women
have come, advocacy for what is still needed, and action to continue
breaking down barriers. With over a century of history, IWD is a growing
movement centered around unity and strength.
International Women’s Day has a rich history dating back 108 years, at the beginning of the 20th Century women across Europe and America
were finding their voice. That wanted and demanded decent jobs, better
pay, and the right to vote or hold public offices, for their
emancipation. It was out of this air of dissatisfaction that
International Women's Day was born.
At the beginning of the 20th Century women across Europe and America were finding their voice. That wanted and demanded decent jobs, better pay, and the right to vote or hold public offices, for their emancipation. It was out of this air of dissatisfaction that International Women's Day was born.
In 1909, the United States labour movement and the push for women’s
suffrage were both gaining steam. Russian refugee, labor organiser, and
journalist Theresa Malkiel
served on the women’s committee of the Socialist Party of America.
Envisioning a more active role for women within the movement, she
declared February 23, 1909 “National Woman’s Day.” New York socialists celebrated with a meeting of about 2,000 people in Manhattan. “The very first observation of our national Woman’s Day,” recalled activist Meta L,Stern
three years later, “proved so successful that Woman’s Day became
generally accepted as an annual Socialist holiday.” Along with May Day,
she explained, the day stood “for new hopes and new ideals; the
abolition of wage slavery and sex slavery; the coming of a freer, better
and happier manhood and womanhood.”In 1910 at the Second International, a world wide socialist congress, German Socialist Clara Zetkin https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/07/happy-birthday-clara-zetkin-571857.html proclaimed International Women's day to commemorate the US demonstrators ( garment workers who had marched and picketed demanding improved working conditions and a 8 hour day) whose ranks were broken up by the police, and honour working women the world over. Originally
called National Woman’s Day, the monumental annual celebration spread
across the world (officially celebrated in 1911), but it was Russia who unknowingly set the March 8 trend andhelped spark a revolution. When tens
of thousands of women converged in Petrograd, Russia to mark the
holiday—as well as demand an end to World War I and protest food
shortages—the demonstrations turned into a massive strike. Within hours, 100,000 workers, including men, walked out on their jobs to join the demonstrators. The movement grew to as many as 150,000 striking workers within a few
days. Eventually, even the Russian army joined the marchers,
withdrawing their support from the Tsar Nicholas. It was the beginning
of the Russian Revolution. After World War II, the holiday picked up steam, and lost many of its
associations with socialism and radical politics. As the women’s
liberation movement swept around the world in the 1970s, the United
Nations designated 1975 International Women's Year and celebrated the holiday for the first time. Two years later in 1977, designated March 8 International Women’s Day, and, in 1996, began to adopt an annual
theme for every year. The first theme was "Celebrating the past,
Planning for the Future." This year’s theme #EachforEqual is meant to be a shared goal throughout 2020.
"We
can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden
perceptions, improve situations, and celebrate women's achievements,"
states the organization's site. "Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. Let's all be #EachforEqual."
The
IWD 2020 campaign theme draws on the notion of "collective
individualism," which refers to the idea that every individual is a part
of a whole, and that an individual's actions, behaviors, and mindsets
can all have an impact on larger society. IWD is a national holiday
in 27 countries like Russia, Afghanistan, and Laos; in some countries,
like Nepal and China, it’s a national holiday for women only.
IWD is a day to celebrate the social, political and other acheivements of women. A day to recognise the oppression that still flourishes, caused by both capitalism and patriarchy. An unfortunate and undeniable reality for the majority of women today.The fight for womens rights might looks a little different today, but our sisters are still facing discrimination and injustices across the globe. In recent times, issues of women's political influence and economic equality have been joined by broader struggles against, racism, war, violence, environmental destruction, and other forms of oppression for peace and social justice and is now often spread into a whole week of activities. Time to celebrate the gains women have made and to keep on calling for the changes that are still very much needed. Women are still not equally represented in business or politics, girls facing sexual objectification from an early age, girls told to shrink themselves make themselves smaller. Women still forced to flee domestic abuse, others facing honour killing, a practice that allows family members to murder women for dishonouring their families, by refusing arranged marriages, removing their faith or for simply dressing in ways considered inappropriate. I also note that the basic needs of most Palestinian women are daily being violated by Israels's ongoing occupation and siege. The siege in Gaza a contributing factor in one fifth of maternal deaths in Gaza. Yet contrary to Orientalist misrepresentation, women have been at the heart of liberation struggles in the Middle East and North Africa. At the moment in the region of Turkey and Kurdistan women are being politicised in a long struggle against theocratic totalitarianism, inspiring us in their fight for emancipation and freedom. So today as I observe International Womens Day, I stand up for all women still trapped by injustices, still suffering from abuse, at the end of the day I believe the women's struggle is a struggle for the freedom of all people, recuperating the fair value of people over things. I recognise the practice and theory of mutual support that women have laid, that are the foundations of social change that we must keep building. Women who recognised the tactical necessity of standing and working together, lest they be destroyed individually, women who put to shame the ridiculous notion of a 'women's place. Their struggle is ours too. I acknowledge all those who have been persecuted, jailed, tortured, simply for being a woman. Especially those who are among the most vulnerable in this present moment of time - the refugees. Let us also celebrate the powerful women who've fought dictatorship, risked their lives to fight climate change and led mass movements for justice across the world, we cannot let their contributions go unnoticed today and every day. Solidarity with the women of 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. Despite strides made by the international women’s rights movement –
and union campaigns for women’s rights – over many years, protests will
be staged across the world today against injustice, abuse,
discrimination, violence and harassment targeted at women and girls.,calling for
gender equality, an end to gender-based violence and occupational
segregation, If you do one thing this international Women's Day, can you please push the following petition that will help drive real change to make our society safer and better for girls and women, everyday of the year. Change.org/OurStreetsNowIWD
Heddwch/Peace. Solidarity forever
" Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps, the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress, towards equality, development and peace." - Gen Secretary of the UN - Koffi Annan oh and as Emma Goldman pointed out :- " The most violent element in society is ignorance."
Here is a link to the Socialist Roots of International Women's Day
Muna Abdulahi is a Spoken Word Poet based in Minneapolis MN.
In her work, she explores many themes of belonging and
identity, particularly in the context of migration and nationality.
As a
writer/poet, Muna pushes herself to tell the stories that are erased,
silenced, devalued, or buried, the stories that are difficult, the
stories that bring together communities, youth, and discussions.
In her poem Explaining Depression to a Refugee she delivers a powerful important message of the refugee experience, covering diaspora, depression and doctors, that gives voice to the voiceless.
Abdulahi expresses the
confusion her mother, a former Somalian refugee, displays as she is
unable to fathom her daughter being diagnosed with depression.
She
explains the stigmatisation the Somali culture places on mental health
as her “native tongue doesn’t speak of it to its existence.”
After a brutal war, one that caused many to see their loved ones
murdered before their eyes for simply belonging to the wrong clan.
Fearing for their lives, people fled on foot and paid smugglers for
entry to foreign lands.
Somali refugees are forced to
grapple with the cultural and economic battles common to many who are
forced to abandon their lives and seek refuge thousands of miles away
from home.
But in spite of that shared pain, in the Somali community, goes largely unaddressed
It's become a bit of a tradition to mark the occasion of St David's Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, which celebrates my nations patron saint, who died on this day back in 601. The day is marked by parades, concerts and the wearing of one or both of Wales’s national emblems, the daffodil and leek.
The
ancient tradition of eating and wearing leeks on St David’s Day
supposedly goes back to the 6th century. It is said that St David
told Welsh warriors to wear leeks in their helmets in battle
against the despised Saxons to
differentiate themselves from their enemies, and that the leeks won them victory. This is
pure legend of course, but soon the association between leeks and war was firmly
cemented in the Welsh mind. In the 14th century Welsh archers adopted
green and white for their uniform in honour of the leek. And to this day
the Royal Welch Fusiliers uphold the tradition of eating raw leeks on 1
March.
St David’s status as a modern national icon is a good example of how
easily myth can trump historical evidence (or rather the lack of it). He
lived and died fifteen hundred years ago, during a period of Welsh
history often referred to as ‘the Age of the Saints’. The fifth and
sixth centuries saw an intense bout of religious activity in Wales as
holy men like David preached the word of God, founded churches and, if
the monkish historians of the Middle Ages are to be believed, performed
all manner of miracles.
Yet we have very little reliable information about who David was,
what he did, or even when exactly he lived. It seems likely that his
fame stemmed from the establishment of a monastery in modern-day
Pembrokeshire in the late sixth century – a settlement which we know
today as the cathedral-city of St Davids. However the earliest direct
references to him are found in manuscripts dating from the eighth
century, almost 200 years after his death, so it is difficult to be sure
about much else.
Luckily the Welsh have never been inclined to let a lack of evidence
get in the way of a good story. While little is known about his life, much of the traditional tales about
St David are based on Buchedd Dewi (Life of David), which was written by the
scholar Rhigyfarch at the end of the 11th Century.
Rhygyfarch's life of Saint David is regarded by many scholars as suspect
because it contains many implausible events and because he had a stake
in enhancing Saint David's history so as to support the prestige of the
Welsh church and its independence from Canterbury, the center of the
English church (still Catholic at the time). According to David Hugh
Farmer in The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Rhygyfarch's history
of Saint David "should be treated as propaganda, which may, however,
contain some elements of true tradition." So most of what we know about Saint David is really legend; and none the less inspiring for it.
Saint David's existence at least does not seem to be in doubt; it is attested to in written records from earlier dates. He was born in the 6th century in or around South Cardigan and North
Pembrokeshire in what is now southwest Wales, the exact year of his birth is unknown, with estimates ranging from 462 to 515 AD. Born into local royalty,
his mother was Saint Non, daughter of a Celtic chieftain, a woman of great beauty and virtue.Saint David's father was a prince called Sant, son of the King of Cardigan But David wasn't the child of a love-filled marriage. He was concieved after his father either seduced or raped Non, who went on to become a
nun.
David's greatness was prophesied, both in
the Christian and pagan worlds. Merlin, the great mage at the court of
King Arthur, foretold his coming. St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland,
who at that time lived near St Davids, or Mynyw as it was then known, is
said to have wanted to found a monastery nearby, but was told by an
angel that the place was reserved for another who would appear in due
course. St Patrick’s disappointment was soothed by a vision which showed
him that his true vocation lay in Ireland.
St Davids father, was also warned by an angel that he would
find three treasures by the River Teifi in Cardiganshire, which should
be set aside for his son; a stag, a salmon and a swarm of bees. These
seemingly strange gifts each had a great significance. The stag, said to eat snakes, represents Christianity's conquering
Satan (the serpent); the fish represents Saint David's abstinence from
liquor; and the bees represent his wisdom and spirituality.
Even from his birth strange things have been said about David. It is said he was born in a wild thunderstorm, the birthing process was said to have been so intense and fraught that
his mothers fingers left marks as she grasped a rock. As David was born a bolt
of lightning from heaven is said to have struck the rock, splitting it
in two and at the moment of birth a spring of pure water gushed out of the ground. A blind old man who held David at the baptism. had his sight restored by applying this remarkable water to his eyes. This is one of the colourful stories about the childhood of Dewi Sant.
Non named her son Dewidd, though local Dyfed pronunciation meant he
was commonly called Dewi. David is an Anglicised variation of the name
derived from the Latin Davidus.
Brought up by his mother in Henfeynyw near Aberaeron, David is said
to have been baptised at nearby Porthclais by St Elvis of Munster. It is
said that a blind monk, Movi, was cured after drops of water splashed
into his eyes as he held David.
David was educated at a monastery, usually taken to be Whitland in
Carmarthenshire, under St Paulinus of Wales. He is said to have cured
his tutor of blindness by making the sign of the cross. Seeing
David as blessed, Paulinus sent him off as a missionary to convert the
pagan people of Britain.Having chosen
life as a missionary monk, David travelled to France, Ireland, and the
Middle East to learn and to proselytize.He went from place to place helping the poor, and teaching men to live as he did. David is known for converting his countrymen to Christianity.
It is said that once when David was preaching at a large outdoor gathering, in Llanddewi Brefi people complained
they couldn’t hear or see him until a white dove landed on David’s shoulder, and as it did, the ground
on which he stood rose up to form a hill, making it possible for
everyone to see and hear him , both near and far off, where a church now stands. The dove became
his emblem often appearing in his portraits and on stained-glass windows depicting him. Doves are considered pure due to their typical role as a messenger or a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
There are many other stories about the man, no one can actually tell if any of them are actually true or not but create a nice tale to tell nevertheless. It is also said that he
once rose a youth from death, and milestones during his life were marked
by the appearance of springs of water.
In 550 AD, St David was named the Archbishop of Wales at the Synod of
Brefi church council and stayed in the settlement of Mynyw and set up a
large monastery. David was a bit of a disciplinarian and hard task masker, but the monks in this monastery obeyed him and lived a simple life, drinking water and
eating only herbs and bread. Dewi became known as Dewi Dyrfwr (David
the water drinker) as meat and beer were forbidden. Although the monks farmed the surrounding land, David insisted that
they did not use animals to carry their tools, they were to carry them.Also none of the monks were allowed any personal possessions and they spent
evenings praying, reading and writing.
Eventually became so unpopular with his monks for the life of austerity he made
them live, that they tried to poison him.David was informed
about this by St Scuthyn, who as legend says, presumably in the absence
of a ferry or a Ryanair flight, travelled from Ireland on the back of a
sea-monster for the purpose.
He frequently visited other places in South Wales, and churches were afterwards built in many of these villages in memory of him. A legend says that Dewi once went to Jerusalem with two companions, St Teilo https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/02/st-teilos-day-dydd-sadwrn-teilo.html?m=1 and St Padarn. The three left Wales together "with one mind, one joy, and one sorrow." When after a hard journey they arrived at Jerusalem they were received with joy and hospitality, and the Patriarch of Jerusalem gave Dewi, before he returned to Wakes, a remarkable bell which " shone with miracles," a staff, and a coat woven with gold.
Dewi's last recorded words appeared in a Sunday sermon. Rhygyfarch,
himself the son of a later Bishop of St David's, records the words as
"Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things
that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our
fathers have trod before us."
Dewi is said to have lived for over 100 years, some say, hold your breathe, to the age of 142 or 147 (his clean living ways, sure must have helped him) and died on Tuesday 1
March 589, in the week after his final sermon. He was buried in the
grounds of his monastery, which was said to have been "filled with
angels as Christ received his soul".
Mynyw is now known as St David’s, the UK’s smallest
city (,near the southwestern tip of Pembrokeshire.) in his honour. The
monastery has since become the
magnificent St David’s Cathedral and was a prestigious site of pilgrimage in the middle ages and is
still a site of immense interest to this day. It is said by some that
two pilgrimages to St Davids are equal to one pilgrimage to the Vatican
in Rome. His shrine became so famous that three English monarchs - William 1, Henry 11 and Edward 1 are said to have made pilgramages to it.
St David’s Day has been celebrated in Wales on 1st March since the 12th
Century when David was made a saint by Pope Callixtus II, at the height of the Welsh resistance to the Normans. You will find churches and chapels dedicated to him in south-west
England and Brittany, as well as Wales. His influence also reached
Ireland, where the Irish embrace his beliefs about caring for the
natural world.
The nickname ‘Taffy’ for a Welshman links back to St David as the
original and ultimate Welshman – the term dates to the 17th century and
derives from ‘Dafydd’, the Welsh for David.William Shakespeare name-dropped St David in Henry V. When
Fluellen’s English colleague, Pistol, insults the humble leek on St
David’s Day, Fluellen insists he eat the national emblem as punishment:
“If you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek” (Act V, Scene I).
Whatever the true story of Dewi Sant is , there is no doubt that
he was indeed a figure of much historical and spiritual
significance that still carries with him much importance to the people
of Wales today, a cheerful and celebratory day as my country comes together in honour of their patron saint to celebrate Welsh history, culture, and identity with pride.
In 2000 the National Assembly for Wales voted unanimously to make St
David’s Day on the 1st March a bank holiday., but the idea was
rejected by Westminster, surprise, surprise. Nevertheless, St David’s position as the patron
saint of Wales has only grown stronger since then, with parades and
concerts now a staple part of the festivities each year.
This time of the year also serves to remind me that the miracle of spring is just around the corner, unlike David however I will be having a few pints of cwrw/ beer. The day might bring some rain to the land of my mothers, but don't let that stop you from putting on your leeks and daffodils and singing the praises of good old Dewi Sant. Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus i bawb /Happy Saint David’s Day to you all. Heddwch/ Peace
Links to a few earlier St David's Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Posts
Gillian Clarke - Miracle on St David's David's Day
(The following inspired by a friends prompt could one fit RAGBAG into a piece of writing to bring along to the February Session of the Cellar Bards )
Myriads of Consciousness
My divergent thoughts are akin to a rag bag
frequently refuelled at dawn,
in spare moments, on vaults of eternity
spinning words, from waves of optimism,
infusing a melange of fermenting emotions
as waters levels rise above the equilibrium,
on a hill remembering those that came before
on pathways of navigation, measuring time,
under the influence of drum beats symphony
flavoured by tobacco, grass and rum,
searching for reasons, visions once lost
finding gravity, in moment's of flight,
rediscovering the joyful solitude of one
magic in music, oceans of sounds,
the moon gliding through the night sky
dancing pulsating stars, casting their light,
the memory bank of inner imagination
avalanches of alchemical surrender,
unlocking the doors of perception
secrets once locked away, now shared,
lessons from history, the illusion of choice
insurrectionary choruses with non-passive voice ,
tibetan charms, the belief in reincarnation
beautiful goddesses, on a mission,
mind drifts, towards sinuous horizon
the petals outside calling, springtime returning,
on the threshold of the land of dreaming
beyond borders, tremulous echos resonate.
The DWP has admitted
shredding reports on around 50 people who killed themselves following
social security payments being withdrawn, promoting accusations of a
“cover-up.” by some families who lost loved ones.
Officials at the DWP claim they shredded reports into suicides linked
to benefit payments ,
made before 2015, being stopped, citing data
protection laws.
However the data watchdog has rubbished the claims, insisting that
there was no legal requirement to destroy the documents by a specific
date. They added that a “public interest” exemption could have been used.
One benefit recipient, Tim Salter, who had been left
partially-sighted following a previous suicide attempt and who was
experiencing mental health issues, was found ‘fit for work’ and his
welfare payments were severely cut, just nine months before his death in
2013.
The admission from the UK government department comes following a
Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by the BBC. It revealed that
at least 49 internal reviews carried out by 2015 had been shredded.
The harsh changes to the welfare system, introduced by the then-Work
and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith between 2010 and 2016, were
widely criticized following concerns they were linked to suicides among
claimants.
Stephen
Timms, chairman of the Commons work and pensions committee, threatened
ministers with an inquiry if he does not receive clarity on what
improvements can be made.
Mr Timms said he was "sympathetic" to those who feared an internal
cover-up, and speculated that the department was attempting to keep
"hush-hush" any links between the deaths and decisions to stop benefits
or deem the claimants fit to work.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the DWP should be looking to learn from past mistakes rather than disposing of evidence.
"I think families should be entitled to see these reports," said the Labour MP.
"The law does not specify five years or six years, and I think this kind of information should be held for longer.
"In
any case, there's no reason why they should be destroyed. They should
be kept and progress on implementing improvements monitored."
Mr Timms said one of the early things his committee will look at when
it meets for the first time in this parliament is to agree on a letter
calling for "clarification and improvements" from welfare ministers.
If the response is not deemed satisfactory an inquiry will be considered, he confirmed.
He told the BBC: "I think all of this raises very troubling questions for the department.
"For
a long time they refused to address them at all. Now they're starting
to address them but in a very secretive and unsatisfactory way.
"I think for a long time they were very reluctant to accept that what they were doing had contributed to these deaths at all.
"I
think they are now being forced to own up to the fact. That is
happening, but they're doing it very reluctantly and very slowly and
trying to keep the thing as hush-hush as possible, and it's not good
enough."
The news comes after Labour’s Debbie Abrahams fought back tears in the Commons
on Monday as she read out more than 20 names of people who died after
experiencing difficulties with the benefits system.
The
MP said some died after “taking (his/her) own life after being found
fit for work” or through illness after losing their benefits.
Leading a Commons debate on the death of people on social security
benefits since 2014, Ms Abrahams told MPs: “These are people’s family
members and we are failing them, we’re absolutely failing them. We
mustn’t let this continue.”
She added: “This isn’t an exhaustive list but it shames us all, it shames the Government in terms of the inaction.
“I’ve raised this so many times over the last five years and there’s been no change whatsoever.”
Ms Abrahams accused the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of
failing to have the right systems in place to learn from deaths linked
to benefit issues, asking: “Do you not feel ashamed?” She also said:
“It’s a scandal. These are British citizens who are dying as a result of
policies implemented by this Government. “Everybody should be taking
note.”
Ms Abrahams said she has asked for a full independent inquiry and
wants a response by the end of the week, noting: “This is too serious to
be ignored.”
Earlier, the former shadow work and pensions secretary said: “Over
three-quarters of claimants who appeal their assessment decision telling
them that they are fit for work have the decision overturned. “And
that’s because these are poorly people.”
She went on: “Peer-reviewed research published by the Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health estimated that between 2010 and 2013
work capability assessment was independently associated with an
additional 590 suicides, 280,000 cases of self-reported mental health
problems and 725,000 additional anti-depressant scripts. “These assessments are not only not fit for purposes, they are actually doing harm.”
Ms Abrahams, before reading out the list, also referred in detail to
three cases – including 57-year-old Errol Graham who died in 2018
weighing just 4.5 stone, eight months after his Employment and Support
Allowance was stopped after he missed a work capability assessment.
She said: “His daughter-in-law Alison has been scathing telling me of
the anger she and husband Lee feel. “She said that what was
particularly shocking was how the QC acting on behalf of the Government
during the inquest tried to intimidate not just the family but others as
well, shouting at the police officer who found Errol’s body about what
else he’d seen.
“In particular what offended them deeply was that … the police
officer was asked had they found takeaway menus or any takeaway
cartons. “It was quite clear at that inquest the DWP, … and the
Government, was far from listening and trying to learn from this but
they were seeking to blame, which is absolutely unforgivable.”
Ms Abrahams also highlighted the cases of Jodey Whiting, who took her
own life after her disability benefits were stopped, and Liverpool
resident Stephen Smith – with MPs hearing his “emaciated” body was “more
reminiscent of someone from a concentration camp rather than 21st
century Britain”.
The Commons heard he died of multiple organ failure after being found fit for work.
The individual cases are listed here exactly as they were described in the
Commons by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams. Changes to phrasing have been made
by Hansard which produces a written record of the Commons.
Errol Graham died weighing just five stone in 2018 after his ESA was stopped Jodey Whiting took her own life in 2017, three days after last ESA payment Stephen Smith died of multiple organ failure after being found fit for work Jimmy Ballentine took his own life in 2018 after being found fit for work Amy Nice took her own life in 2018 after being found fit for work Kevin Dooley took his own life in 2018 after losing ESA Brian Bailey died in July 2018, taking his own life after being found fit for work Elaine Morrall died in November 2017, taking her own life Daniella Obeng died in December 2017, again taking her own life Brian Sycamore died in September 2017, taking his own life after leaving a note blaming the DWP after failing his work capability assessment Mark Scholfield who died in July 2017, was a terminal cancer patient who did not receive any UC before he died in spite of his illness Chris Gold
who died in October 2017, was found fit for work following a stroke and
was facing foreclosure when he died because he could not work Lawrence Bond collapsed and died in the street in January 2017 after being found fit for work Julia Kelly died in 2015, taking her own life after losing ESA for a third time Ben McDonald took his own life in March 2015 after being found fit for work Chris Smith who died in 2015, had cancer and was found fit for work despite a terminal diagnosis Michael Connolly took his own life on his birthday in May 2014 after losing his ESA David Clapson could not afford to power his fridge to store his insulin and died as a result in July 2014 George from Chesterfield
died of a heart attack in May 2014, eight months after being found fit
for work despite having had three previous heart attacks Robert Barlow died of cancer in April 2014 after losing his ESA David Barr died in September 2014, taking hiThere is a mass of anecdotal evidence out there that indicate vulnerable
people are being put under intense economic and psychological pressure
by the actions of the DWP and their 'Job-Centre' foot soldiers.s own life after losing ESA Trevor Drakard took his own life in 2014 Shaun Pilkington died in January 2014 Terry McGarvey died in February 2014
DWP minister Mr Tomlinson said failings would be looked at by a Serious Case Panel.
But
despite inquiries by outlets such as the Disability News
Service, the DWP has repeatedly refused to release details of how this
panel will work.
There is a mass of anecdotal evidence out there that indicate deeply vulnerable
people are being put under intense economic and psychological pressure
by the actions of the DWP and their 'Job-Centre' foot soldiers, .that sees individuals, who are desperately in need of support, not punishment, being tipped over the edge, often after benefits were withdrawn, leaving them stressed and penniless.
In what should be a national scandal, real lives have been lost because people could not see a future
beyond the mess of their welfare payments. Every one of their deaths could and should have been avoided. While we must grieve for those
lives, the starkest examples of the
psychological fall-out of austerity, we should not forget. so many more who are suffering day-in,
day-out. It’s yet more evidence that the welfare benefits system is unfit for
purpose.
Shamefully, instead of taking all this into consideration, the Tory government’s punitive approach, (alongside that of the DWP) is not likely to cease any day soon. They will continue to fail the most vulnerable among us, withdrawing support from those
who so need it most, leaving people out of pocket and unable to afford
the basic essentials and putting many lives further at risk. We have a long time to go to claim we live in a compassionate society when we allow people to endure this systematic cruelty.
Hundreds of people including Roger Waters, co-founder of the Pink Floyd
rock group, designer Vivienne Westwood, and former Greek finance minister Yannis Varoufakis. marched through central
London on Saturday demanding that jailed Wikileaks founder Julian
Assange be released.
Fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood wore a neon green paper halo with the word "angel" written in black marker. Assange was "the angel of democracy," she explained.
The
case was injected with a dose of intrigue last week when the defence
claimed US President Donald Trump had promised to pardon Assange if he
denied Russia leaked emails of his 2016 election rival's campaign.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian GRU military
intelligence agencies hacked the servers of the Democratic National
Committee (DNC) in the runup to the November vote.
WikiLeaks then
published the stolen emails. Assange has previously said that he
received them from through his website's anonymous file sharing system
and had no idea who obtained them first.
The DNC hack plays no role in the US case against Assange and Trump denied promising a pardon but the court said last week that the evidence was admissable.
Waving placards declaring “Journalism is not a crime” and “The truth
will set you free,” the protesters marched to Parliament Square, where
speakers included Assange’s father, John Shipton.
Assange, 48, spent seven years holed up in Ecuador's London Embassy before being dragged out in April. Shipton has said his son’s health suffered during in that time and may not survive the prosecution.and
fears that sending his son to the United States would be akin to a death
sentence.
He said: “I look over the crowd and see many familiar faces in the crowd and the press supporting Julian and I thank you.
“I bring to you his affection, his nobility of purpose and his
strength of character after nine years. I don’t really understand why
Julian is in jail here.”
He described the imprisonment of the Wikileaks founder as “arbitrary detention.”
The US aims to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, accusing
him of scheming with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to
hack a password for a classified government computer. WikiLeaks subsequently published thousands of classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange faces 18 charges from the US, including conspiracy to hack into government computers.
The hearing, scheduled for today, will consider only whether the
charges are political in nature — not Assange’s guilt or innocence, If the court finds the charges are political, his extradition would not be permitted under the UK-US extradition treaty.If found guilty he could face a 175-year prison sentence.
A hero to many because he has
exposed abuses of power, yet Assange is cast by critics as a dangerous
enemy of the state who has undermined Western security. He says the
extradition is politically motivated by those embarrassed by his
revelations. Assange argues he acted as a journalist and is therefore entitled to
First Amendment protection. He also maintains the documents exposed
wrongdoing and protected many people.
Civil liberties groups and journalism organizations, including
Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, have urged the U.S.
to drop the charges, saying they set a chilling precedent for freedom
of the press. Amnesty International issued the following statement about the Assange
“The US government’s unrelenting pursuit of Julian Assange for having
published disclosed documents that included possible war crimes
committed by the US military is nothing short of a full-scale assault on
the right to freedom of expression.”
Assange is currently incarcerated in London’s high-security Belmarsh
Prison, having previously spent seven years inside the Embassy of
Ecuador. He holed up in the South American country’s U.K. diplomatic mission
in 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden to face questioning over rape and
sexual assault allegations. That case has since been dropped.Assange was evicted from the embassy in April 2019 and arrested by British police for jumping bail seven years earlier.
Ahead of the protests,
76-year-old singer-songwriter Roger Waters accused “the powers that be” of
trying to “kill” Assange ahead of his extradition hearing. Speaking on Friday, Waters dismissed the charges against Assange as “nonsense” and claimed he faced a “kangaroo court”.
“He has committed no
crime, he published something, he’s a journalist, he did what
journalists are supposed to do. There was no threat to national
security,” Waters said.
“It looks as if
the powers that be have every intention of submitting to the demands of
the United States government to have him extradited to the US so they
can lock him up until he is dead.”
In addition to speaking at the protest rally, Waters put out a video supporting Assange, and suggested Assange should not be held for a “minor bail infringement”.
Asked
who he believed was behind Assange’s imprisonment, he said: “The ruling
class, the powers that be… the corporate world, the rich people, the
people who run everything, the people who tell (prime minister) Boris
Johnson and (US President) Donald Trump what to do. Those people.
“I’m not suggesting there are men in hoods and secret societies but we all see what’s happening.”
Speaking
to the press near Battersea Power Station in south London, Waters posed
for photographs next to a version of the inflatable pig balloon that
featured on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals.
Waters
previously called for the release of Assange during a rally outside the
Home Office in central London in September, when he played his former
band’s hit track Wish You Were Here from a makeshift stage. https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2019/09/pink-floyds-roger-waters-to-perform.html
Assange's lawyer, Éric Dupond-Moretti, said on Friday that he intended to ask French President Emmanuel Macron for political asylum in France.
Assange lived in France for three years and has a child living there, France rejected a previous asylum request in 2015.
The extradition hearings at Woolwich Crown Court will be held in
two parts, with the second section not starting until May to allow both
sides more time to gather evidence.
Earlier today, Mr
Assange spoke initially to confirm his name and date of birth to the
hearing.
Mr Assange nodded towards the press benches before taking his seat.
The court's public gallery was full with supporters of Mr Assange,
including his father John Shipton. who a day before claimed his son had been "harassed" by a prison cell
search.
After a visit to the prison on Sunday, Mr Shipton criticised the
"plague of malice" which he said "emanates from the Crown Prosecution
Service" towards Assange. Mr Shipton urged that his son be allowed bail, telling reporters:
"For the life of me I can’t understand why Julian Assange is in jail
having committed no crime, with family here that he can come and live
with."
Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis said Assange was in a "very dark
place" due to spending more than 20 hours a day in solitary confinement.
Mr Varoufakis called for the extradition to be stopped "in the
interests of 300 years of modernity, 300 years of trying to establish
human rights and civil liberties in the west and around the world".
Assange's lawyer, Éric Dupond-Moretti, tsaid on Friday that he intended to ask French President Emmanuel Macron for political asylum in France.Assange lived in France for three years and has a child living there. France rejected a previous asylum request in 2015.
More than 40 international legal experts have written to Prime
Minister Boris Johnson demanding the "rule of law be upheld", claiming
Mr Assange has not had proper access to his legal team.
The letter was handed in to 10 Downing Street on Saturday and also
urged the British legal community to act "urgently" to secure the
WikiLeak founder's release.
Former
Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, whom Assange was charged to
have conspired with, was sent back to jail last May for refusing a second time to comply with a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks and Assange. Many believe that Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange are both imprisoned and tortured for
revealing the ugly truth about wars, empire, torture and political corruption. Hopefully soon justice will prevail. Here is a link to Assange's Defence Opening Statement. https://dontextraditeassange.com/JA_Defence_Opening.pdf
Next
week, on February 24, a court in the U.K. will hold a hearing to
determine whether to grant Trump’s request to extradite WikiLeaks
founderJulian Assange to the United States for trial on 18 charges under the Espionage Act carrying
up to 175 years in prison.
Assange’s alleged crimes date back to 2010, when the organization he
founded, WikiLeaks, transmitted documents to media outlets including Le
Monde, The Guardian and The New York Times. The documents, which were
provided to WikiLeaks by whistleblower Chelsea
Manning, included 250,000 US diplomatic cables and US army reports
about military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
exposed cases of torture, abduction and disappearances. The publication of these documents by media outlets was clearly in the public interest, and not an act of espionage. If the legal persecution of Assange continues, investigative journalism
and press freedom will be the victims, since news organizations
regularly rely on and publish classified information to serve the public
interest. Since
his arrest Assange has been locked
up in Belmarsh Prison in London and UN special rapporteur Nils Melzer
reported that he has been deliberately exposed to inhuman and degrading
treatment that could be described as psychological torture. Former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray has said “he has all
the symptoms of a torture victim, in terms of disorientation &
difficulty in asserting their will & speaking coherently" Massimo Moratti of Amnesty International has publicly stated on their website that "Were Julian Assange to be extradicted or subjected to any other transfer to the USA, Britain would be in breach of its obligations under international law." Human Rights Watch published an article saying. "The only thing standing between an Assange prosecution and a major threat to global media freedom is Britain. It is urgent that it defend the principles at risk." Assange's arrest and possible extradition to face charges related to an alleged conspiracy with Chelsea Manning to publish documents that exposed corruption and criminality by numerous private businesses, tyrant, and countries worldwide is ultimately an attack on press freedom. The arrest sets a dangerous precedent that could extend to other media organizations. The NUJ has stated "US charges against Assange pose a huge threat, that could criminalise the critical work of investigative journalists and their ability to protect their sources." Assange is now in grave danger. The Trump administration is pressing for
his extradition to the US, where he will be indicted on fabricated
charges and face a heavy jail term or even the death penalty. Assange’s
only “crime” has been to expose to the world the war crimes and
diplomatic intrigues of US imperialism. Rather than being extradited to the U.S to be tried and imprisoned, he should be released
and allowed to return to his home to Australia. With renewed attacks on civil liberties by Boris Johnson and the Conservative Government looking increasingly likely, this fight is part of the same fight to ensure we are not silenced over Palestine and that anti-trade union laws do not become any stricter. Stopping the extradition of Assange is a fight for us all. The risk of an unfair trial is very real given the targeted public campaign against Assange undertaken by US officials at the highest levels. This has severely undermined his right to be presumed innocent. Join in calling on the UK government to respect the principles of freedom of expression and the defence of journalism, and to respect Assange's human rights. If we no longer know what out governments are doing and the criteria they are following if crimes are no longer being investigated, then it represents a grave danger to societal integrity. Please sign the following urgent petition to the UK government. Don't extradite Assange to the U,S. demanding that Assange is released and that he is ensured his safe passage home to Australia. https://www.codepink.org/assange?utm_campaign=assange_alert_feb20&utm_medium=email&utm_source=codepinkurging There is also a march from Australia House in London on 22 February. Find out more here. https://www.facebook.com/events/931609000567992/
( Dedicated to Caroline Flack and the proud people of Liverpool)
They are destroyers of rationality
They are the myopic voice of unreason,
They lie and smear the dead
They spread hatred and division,
They plague our towns with ignorance
They embrace the politics of misfortune,
They harass ordinary members of the public
They need to hear our condemnation,
They are a shit rag, not a newspaper
They are an insult to journalism,
They are hard right and xenophobic
They are homophobic bigoted scum,
They are poisonous muck rakers
They are cowards, an aberration,
They release nothing of any real value
They simply litter our streets with distortion,
They cause pain and too much sadness
They are shameless and can't be forgiven,
They are heartless, immoral bastards
They provoke outrage and much disgust,
They deserve to be put out of business
So please don't buy the bloody Sun.
