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'WE CAN' is the first song by Efran Kaye & Poet, to become popular across the world.
We hope this new video inspires you.
Solidarity and action is not only possible --- it's the best way!!!
Paris hosts protest ------
against police violence
September 23rd, 3:16pm
(RT.ru)
A demonstration against police violence and
racism is taking place in Paris. This is
reported by TASS.
It is noted that the column of demonstrators is
moving from the Gare du Nord in the direction
of Place de la Bastille in the east of the city.
Representatives of trade unions, student movements,
and political parties are taking part in the protest
action. Participants of the march chant anti-
police slogans and express solidarity with
those who suffered from the actions of
the police.
Earlier, TF1 TV channel reported, that up to 6,000
people could be taking part in the demonstration
against police violence, to be held in Paris.
Nya Dagbladet: Anti-NATO
demonstration to be held in Stockholm
September 23rd, 2023
(source Nya Dagbladet
retold by InoTV)
In Stockholm on Saturday, a demonstration of opponents of
NATO will be held in protest against Sweden's entry into
the North Atlantic Alliance, reports Nya Dagbladet.
Participants of the demonstration will speak out in favour of
protecting the sovereignty of their country and condemn
the incitement of war.
The Swedish parliament voted to allow the Scandinavian
country to join the NATO military bloc - ending Sweden's
traditional neutrality, and its efforts to fight for peace
and nuclear disarmament. About it, on the page in social networks --- writes the organization Nej till NATO (No to NATO --- InoTV) which calls the decision deeply undemocratic.
In addition --- members of the organization are convinced
that membership in NATO will increase the likelihood of
deploying foreign military bases and nuclear weapons
on Swedish territory, plus --- the risk that Sweden
will be drawn into war, writes the Nya
Dagbladet publication.
The Nej till NATO movement plans to hold a demonstration in Stockholm - on Saturday. According to the organizers, similar marches will be held in other Swedish cities, against the entry of the Northern European kingdom, into NATO.
The organizers are convinced that the struggle against
Sweden's membership and NATO's military policy will
not be over - even if Sweden joins the military bloc.
On their social media page, they urge the Swedes - not
to agree to the transfer of most of the Swedish armed
forces... under the direct command of NATO.
"NATO claims the right - to wage war in all directions, in all
seas of the world, and in space.Sweden's defense should
be focused on defending the territory of our own country
& not on wars abroad, under the command of NATO and
in the interests of foreign powers," the organization said on its web page, Nya Dagbladet concludes.
Trade unions in Finlandwill hold
a series of actions against the
Cabinet of Ministers
September 21st, 3:53pm
(RT.ru)
The Central Union of Trade Unions of Finland SAK announced
a series of actions against the government and planned cuts.
This is reported by the public Broadcasting Corporation Yle.
"The Central Union of Trade Unions SAK announced a series
of actions against the government and planned cuts, as
well as reforms that will affect employees," the
report says.
It is noted that the first protest action
is scheduled for September the 26th.
Earlier, students of the University of Helsinki
held a demonstration in the main building
of the university --- against the
government's policy.
Protesters rally in Times Square
against Netanyahu in New York
September 20th, 11:36am
(PressTV)
Demonstrators staged rallies in Times Square in protest
against the Israeli cabinet’s extremist policies outside
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hotel, after he
arrived in New York to meet with world leaders.
Early on Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli activists and members
of the Jewish community in New York organized rallies as
they gathered outside Netanyahu’s hotel in Manhattan’s
Upper East Side, according to Israeli media reports.
Larger rallies also took place at noon in Times Square to
protest Netanyahu’s visit to the US for the 78th session
of the UN General Assembly and his meetings with
President Joe Biden and other world leaders.
“The fight against Bibi --- is one of the biggest fights for
democracy in the world,” said Lior Hadary, an Israeli
protester in New York, referring to Netanyahu by
his nickname.
“It’s similar to the fight against Donald Trump here…
I believe this is one frontier in the same battle, the
battle of democracy against populism,
against dictatorship.”
Protest organizers in New York --- have scheduled events
throughout the week and the rallies will continue until
Saturday, during Netanyahu’s meeting with Biden
and the premier’s speech at the UN.
The protests have been a fixed weekly event since January
when Netanyahu announced an overhaul scheme, which
seeks to rob the regime’s Supreme Court of the ability
to invalidate the decisions made by the politicians.
Proponents of the overhaul say it helps redistribute
the balance of power between the politicians and
the judiciary.
Its opponents, however, accuse Netanyahu of trying his hand
at a power grab. They say the premier, who is on trial in three
corruption cases for receiving bribes, fraud, and breach of
trust, is also attempting to use the scheme to quash
possible judgments against him.
Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet has already passed one of
the scheme’s bills through the Knesset, which stripped
the court of its power to strike down the cabinet’s
decisions or appointments on the basis of
being “unreasonable.”
Czechs Rally to Protest Against
Pro-Western Government
September 18th, 1:05pm
(teleSUR)
On Saturday, thousands of Czechs gathered at Prague's
Wenceslas Square, in the Czech capital, to protest
against the government.
Under the slogan "Czech Republic against the government,"
the rally was mainly against the inappropriate actions
of the government on inflation, tax changes and
pension adjustments.
There were also banners in the crowd that read "Down with
the U.S. minions" and "Down with NATO," according to the
Czech News Agency (CTK).
The rally was attended by over 100,000 people, according to
the organizer, the non-parliamentary Law Respect Expertise
(PRO) party. Some of the participants later marched through
the city from the Square to the headquarters of the Czech
Ministry of the Interior.
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said
he sees the demonstration as "a legitimate expression of
discontent, by some people, in difficult times," but that
he finds it incomprehensible and unacceptable to use
that discontent to incite hatred and fear.
A recent survey by the Centre for Public Opinion Research in
Prague showed that the majority of Czechs - are unhappy
about the country's economic situation.
Out of the 929 people surveyed between May 16 to July 24,
57 percent perceive the economic situation as bad, about
a quarter consider it "neither good nor bad," and
16 percent take it as good.
According to the Czech Statistical Office (CSU), the real gross
domestic product (GDP) of the Czech Republic... declined by
0.6 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year.
For the whole year, the Czech Finance Ministry predicted
in its August forecast that it could fall by 0.2 percent.
Consumer prices in the Czech Republic, meanwhile, increased
by 8.5 percent year-on-year in August, according to the CSU.
Although the inflation slowed for the seventh consecutive
month, it remained well above the tolerance band of
2 percent set by the Czech National Bank.
____________________________________________
European orgs ---outline a world day
opposing US blockade against Cuba
September 18th, 10:58am
(Prensa Latina)
Solidarity and cooperation organizations from Germany,
Spain, France, and Italy announced on Monday that
they are coordinating to launch a World Day
opposing the US Blockade against Cuba,
so as to increase pressure on this
aggressive US policy.
The Cuba Cooperation France Association (CubaCoop), the
Network of Solidarity with Cuba in Germany (Netzwerk
Cuba), the State Movement in Solidarity with Cuba
(MESC), and the Italy-Cuba Friendship Association
(ANAIC) outlined the proposal that will be
discussed at the Fête de L’Humanité
this weekend.
Convened by CubaCoop, they participated in the event in the
Paris region on Saturday in a European forum to generate
new initiatives which combine political support for Cuba
with economic accompaniment, recognizing that the
blockade is the main obstacle to the development
of Cuba, which has been subjected to more than
60 years of siege.
The four organizations supported holding an International
Tribunal in Brussels on November 16 and 17 to denounce
and condemn the economic, commercial, and financial
blockade imposed by the United States, its tightening,
and its extraterritorial nature.
They also discussed implementing a cooperation project with
Cuba, which boosted the work on the idea that Cuba needs
both political and economic solidarity in the face of the
stifling situation caused by Washington’s hostility.
CubaCoop First Vice President Miguel Quintero, Network Cuba
coordinator Angelika Becker, ANAIC President Marco Papacci,
and David Rodríguez on behalf of the MESC, agreed to
promote the joint work.
The European forum and other meetings held during the Fête
de L’Humanité allowed the organizations to discuss their
achievements and challenges - to strengthen support
for Cuba, its people, and its Revolution.
Tens of thousands --- demonstrate
for 36th week in protest against
Israel’s far-right cabinet
September 10th, 2:26am
(PressTV)
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have held huge rallies
across the occupied territories for the 36th straight week
in protest against Israeli far-right cabinet's extremist
policies, including the highly controversial judicial
overhaul scheme.
The protest rallies were held on Saturday ahead of a
key decision by the regime’s Supreme Court over a
legislation passed in the Knesset by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right
cabinet, which stripped the court of
some of its oversight powers.
In addition to the coastal city of Tel Aviv, where tens of
thousands took to the streets, similar rallies were
also held in dozens of other locations across the
occupied territories, including Haifa, Beer Sheba,
Modiin, Herzilya, the occupied city of al-Quds
and some other cities.
The Israeli police closed a number of main roads
in Tel Aviv after the demonstration started.
Some Israeli media reported that a number
of demonstrators raised Palestinian flags.
In addition to the weekly protests, several thousand
people also completed a three-day march in the
northern part of the occupied territories, in
protest at the so-called overhaul scheme.
"This is the 36th weeks in a row that we are demonstrating
against Netanyahu's attempts to make a coup…. This
demonstration is three days before the deliberations
in the Supreme Court to disable the law that they
passed…. We are gonna demonstrate on Monday
… in front [of] the Supreme Court [in al-Quds] in
our efforts to stop this horrible legislation,"
one protester was quoted by Reuters
as saying.
"I am demonstrating … to make sure that there is a
supremacy of the Supreme Court. Right now, we
have clowns and criminals [in the cabinet] …
and I wanna make sure that they go away,"
another demonstrator said.
Thousands-strong weekly rallies have been a fixture
since January, when the regime's hard-right
cabinet announced its plans to turn the
scheme into law.
Proponents of the plan say it helps redistribute the
balance of power between the politicians and the
judiciary. Its opponents, however, accuse
Netanyahu of trying his hand at a power
grab. They say the premier, who is on
trial on several counts of corruption
charges, is also attempting to use
the scheme to quash possible
judgments against him.
The far-right cabinet.. has already passed one of the
scheme’s bills through the Knesset, which removed
the court's power to strike down the cabinet’s
decisions or appointments on the basis of
being "unreasonable."
The regime’s Supreme Court, for the first time in its
history, is to convene its entire 15-judge bench on
Tuesday, September 12, to hear an appeal
against that bill.
Eyes on Elbit:Siege continues at
Leicester’s Israeli arms factory
by Sarah Wilkinson
September 6th, 2:56pm
(PressTV)
An update from the protest camp outside Leicester’s Israeli
arms factory, locally ‘unknown’ as U-TacS, makes for mixed
reading. The factory is owned by Elbit Systems, the Israeli
regime’s largest private arms industry, along with Thales,
an equally unscrupulous French weapons firm.
“This company is a terrorist arm of Israel,” said Yael Khan, an
Israeli activist protesting at the site. “Its sole existence is to
destroy Palestinian life, to massacre Palestinians, to murder
them, to exterminate them. That’s what Israel is doing with
the help of this company, Elbit, producing this death and
making its profits from Palestinian blood, and it’s doing
it from the very heart of Leicester.”
I think that sums the place up perfectly.
There’s nothing more to add.
One security guard, appalled by the activities of the company,
informed the protestors that he was quitting after ‘becoming
more enlightened’ about the site’s activities. He could see,
and no doubt hear, that local residents and committed
activists don’t want this hideous munitions factory
on their doorstep.
Aware of the power of social media, he didn’t want to be
associated with it, he said, and he certainly didn’t want
his face attached to it. Elbit’s wages, are blood-stained
- no person of integrity wants that on their conscience.
He isn’t the first employee to have up-sticks and left. During
an earlier court case, following direct action against
another Elbit factory, the security guard who was
on duty during the night of the incident was
required to give evidence.
He heard our defense cases; they were difficult to listen to.
He declared before leaving for home that he was no longer
going to work there — so many stories of the dead, he
said; so many killed, massacred; so many lives
ruined: he’d heard enough.... to last him a
lifetime of pain and guilt.
Recently, a local Leicester resident, ‘sick of being barked at
by guard dogs’ (clearly distressed from being caged up in
the back of shoddy vans owned by even shoddier ‘dog
handlers’) said he felt threatened in his own street.
“I live here,” he said, “but every time I walk passed this bloody
factory, I’m being treated like a criminal. The dogs snap at
me. It’s like I’m under suspicion for just going to the shops
to buy groceries. I have to walk past Elbit every day, and
I get spoken and sworn at by low-IQ security guards like
I’m public enemy number one. I used to think that the
activists being here were a nuisance,” he added,
“but now I’m totally on their side, and I can see
what they have to put up with. I hope they
shut this place down, and sooner ---
rather than later.”
Activists at the site are frequently harassed and bullied
by less-than-friendly guards who unlawfully leave their
‘place of work’ purely to threaten and verbally abuse
those camping opposite the gates.
Keeping vigil on a weapons factory comes with various risks
— false arrests, vehicles steering recklessly at activists,
tents invaded, full drink cans lobbed out of moving car
windows, and property, signs, banners and flags
regularly going missing in the night.
While most of these incidents are caught on camera ---
and often reported, the tardy and often over-zealous
Leicester police are only interested in protecting
Elbit. Weapons and the business of killing
come first, it seems.
The dogs, of which there are several, cooped up in cages,
are kept in vans in searing heat, starved until nightfall
“so they’re more vicious” according to one of the so
-called handlers. They whine and bark and
whimper much of the day, and most of
the night.
Some of the night guards, of which there are many, walk them
around the site — most of them don’t walk them at all, and
have been observed by the activists blatantly goading
them, and cruelly ignoring their distress. This goes
on every day — but you’d have to be at the camp
to know this.
At evening time, three, sometimes four, unenvironmental
spotlights --- are shone onto the protest site. It’s like
being on a football pitch during a late-night match.
Elbit invested in these outdoor security lights to assist their
surveillance cameras after the sun goes down. What they
do in reality is disrupt the predictable rhythm of day and
night. Scientific evidence suggests that over-the-top
artificial light at night has a negative and deadly
effect on many creatures, including birds,
mammals, insects, and plants.
Of course, warmongers, such as Elbit, or U-TacS, or whatever
they want to call themselves, are hardly going to worry
about Leicester’s wildlife, when their interests are
dedicated to killing and maiming
Palestinian people.
So, what can people do? Firstly, object to this monstrosity,
by letter, by petition, by complaint to local councilors,
community, religious and political groups.
Secondly, lobby your MP to vote against the anti-Boycott,
Divestment and Sanction UK law in the process of going
through parliament.
Thirdly, make a stand, because the
Palestinian people’s lives depend
on it, literally.
Elbit is using Britain’s leafy and prosperous Leicester
as a base to make its murderous drones — it’s a
stain of shame on the city.
Most importantly, visit the protest site in Meridian East, LE19
1TP, and see for yourselves: a company that doesn’t
produce weapons of mass destruction doesn’t need
barbed fencing, razor wire, steel gates, multiple
surveillance cameras, night vision lasers,
barriers, padlocks, spotlights, a private
direct line to the police, tens of dozens
of security guards... overlapping van-
loads of dog handlers - and a steady
supply of semi-starved vicious dogs.
Its crimes are hard to hide. You just
have to go and take a look.
Sarah Wilkinson is a UK-based activist. She has
been a supporter of Palestine for over 40 years,
and a vocal campaigner for Palestinian freedom
since the First Intifada.
(The views expressed in this article.... do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)
Organizations to march in
Guatemala in defense
of democracy
September 2nd, 9:22am
(Prensa Latina)
Social organizations, collectives and students will march
today in Guatemala in defense of democracy, against
corruption, in order to support the popular will
expressed at the polls and prevent a
coup d'état.
At 12:00, local time, they called for a march from the capital’s
sixth avenue and 18th street to the Central Plaza, after
denouncing those who refuse to accept the results of
the elections, as well as the call for unity around the
elected president, Bernardo Arévalo.
Journalists for Democracy, the Santa Hermandad de Nuestra
Señora de la Huelga de Dolores of the Universidad de San
Carlos, the Frente Ciudadano por la Democracia, Justicia
Ya, the political movement Codeca, among others, called
participants to be dressed in black, representing by this
“the death of corruption”.
We voted yesterday, today we march and defend our decision,
they pointed out in one of the messages released, and a
second text indicated “they can cut all the flowers but
they cannot stop the spring”, a phrase of the Chilean
poet Pablo Neruda.
Two hours later, the central park La Paz of Coban, capital city
of the Alta Verapaz department, will host a rally called United
for Democracy.
On Monday at 08:00 Santa Cruz del Quiché will gather
have taken part in the car rally to celebrate National
Flag Day.
A column of several dozen cars sporting the Russian tricolor
and flags of social organizations started from the Lenin
Komsomol Park in Donetsk to drive along the
thoroughfares of the DPR capital,
Makeyevka and Khartsyzsk.
National Flag Day is a state holiday in Russia, established by
presidential decree in 1994. The Donetsk People’s Republic
is marking the holiday for the first time this year, as a fully-
fledged region of the Russian Federation.
South Koreans Rally Against
Joint Military Drill with US
August 21st, 2:42pm (FNA)
A group of South Korean peace activists on Monday
held a rally against a joint military drill with the
US that kicked off earlier in the day.
The activists from the Solidarity for Peace and Reunification
of Korea (SPARK) gathered near the presidential office in
central Seoul, where the defense ministry is also
headquartered, to call for peace on the
Korean Peninsula, Xinhua news
agency reported.
The protesters shouted slogans of "Stop war exercise"
and lifted placards which said "Stop South Korea-US
war exercise" & "No to South Korea-Japan alliance".
The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between South
Korea and the US, a summertime joint military exercise
involving large-scale field maneuvers, is scheduled to
continue until August 31, according to South
Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The annually-held military drill this year will reportedly
involve about 30 field maneuvers, compared to 13
last year.
The SPARK said in a statement that the UFS exercise is a
war exercise, which can turn into a nuclear war at any
time, as it is the large-scale preemptive strike drill
involving nuclear and advanced conventional
forces from the two allies.
The civic group urged Seoul and Washington to immediately
stop and abolish the UFS exercise, which can intensify the
nuclear confrontation on the peninsula.
It added that the efforts for the trilateral military cooperation
among the US, Japan and South Korea should be stopped -
as it can escalate regional tensions.
Frankfurter Allgemeine:Germany
hosts rally for peace with Russia
(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
with the translation by InoTV)
August 20th, 2023
A motorcade under the slogan "Peace with Russia" passed
through the streets of the German city of Cologne, reports
the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. On their banners, the
protesters criticized the EU and the US for their position
in relation to the fighting in Ukraine.
Russian and Soviet flags fluttered on the cars. In parallel with
the rally, a festival of Ukrainian culture was held in the city.
Its organizers saw the actions of Moscow-supporting
motorists as a deliberate "provocation".
40 cars and motorcycles took part in the rally. Russian and Soviet flags were visible. German police --- in a reinforced structure monitored the event.
According to information received from law enforcement agencies, everything
went without incident.
At the same time, a festival of Ukrainian culture was held in
Cologne. Initially, it was assumed that the convoy will pass
by the place where the event will be held. But eventually it
turned out that the route would be different.
The publication notes that the woman who organized the rally,
has repeatedly arranged such actions. She was also recently
fined for approving Russia's military actions in Ukraine.
The city police said that they could not ban the "pro-Russian event".
"But within the framework of what is allowed by the right to hold meetings, we issued instructions prohibiting any approval of these hostilities - or challenging the statesovereignty of Ukraine," the law enforcement agencies explained.
The organizers of the festival of Ukrainian culture from the
association "Blue and Yellow Cross" saw the rally as a
deliberate "provocation". According to them, just the
sight of a Russian flag, could cause psychological
trauma to the participants of Ukrainian origin at
the festival.
++++++++++++or you can believe this++++++++++++
Cologne hosts rally -
in support of Russia
August 20th, 5:45pm
(RT.ru)
A car race in support of Russia was
held in Cologne, western Germany.
This is reported by RIA Novosti,
with reference to NTV channel.
The organizers reported that thousands of
people, in 200 cars, took part in the rally.
Thousands of people take part
in rallies in support of the
rebels in Niger
August 20th, 12:36pm
(RT.ru)
Thousands of people are taking part in demonstrations
in the capital of Niger, Niamey, in support of the
national Council for the Defense of the
Fatherland (CNSP), created by
the rebels.
This is reported by RIA Novosti.
It is noted that the demonstrators
chant anti-French slogans.
Earlier it became known that negotiations between
representatives of the Economic Community of
West African Countries (ECOWAS) and the
rebels in Niger did not lead to results.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Tens of thousands of Israelis
protest at anti-government
rally in Tel Aviv
August 19th, 9:15pm
(RT.ru)
Tens of thousands of protesters have again turned out
for an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv because of the
judicial reform promoted by the government of
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This is reported by RIA Novosti.
It is noted that, according to Crowd Solutions, more than
100 thousand people gathered at the main protest on
Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv.
On August 12, it was reported that opponents of judicial
reform in Israel held a new series of mass protests
throughout the country.
A demonstration was held in Nigeria
against possible aggression
against Niger
August 12th, 8pm
(RT.ru)
A demonstration against possible military action against
Niger was held in the city of Kano in northern Nigeria.
This was reported by the local newspaper, Nation.
"Some Kano residents have spoken out against the alleged
use of force by the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) to resolve the crisis related to the
coup in Niger," the report said.
The protesters chanted anti-war slogans.
Earlier it became known that the military council formed by
the rebels ordered to bring all military personnel of Niger
to a state of combat readiness against the background
of a possible invasion of the country by
ECOWAS forces.
Residents of Niger staged a protest
near the French military base
August 12th, 7:04am
(Izvestia.ru)
The local population of Niamey, the capital of Niger, staged a
large-scale protest near the French military base. The rally
is dedicated to the disagreement of local residents with
the desire of a European power to interfere in the
internal affairs of an African state. This was
reported on August 12 by Izvestia
correspondent Ismail Moussa.
According to one of the demonstrators, the Nigerians are
in favour of the "National Council for the Defense of the
Fatherland" - the name of the authority established by
the rebels who overthrew the previous government.
The participant of the rally noted that France will have to
deal cruelly with the civilian population, if European
politicians decide to stage an intervention.
The population of Niger is against the so-called puppet
war imposed by the Economic Community of West
African Countries (ECOWAS) .
"We need American and French military bases to leave the
country, that's all. We are tired of them. We need Russia
and any other power that can help us," said one of
the demonstrators.
US Anti-War Activists Urge -
to Reject New McCarthyism
August 2:11pm (teleSUR)
On Monday, anti-war organizations across the US
issued an open letter -- to reject a trend that
targets China ---- and to call on people to reject what they call the
"new McCarthyism."
"From The New York Times to Fox News, there's a
resurgence of the Red Scare that once shattered
many lives & threatened movements for change and social justice," said the letter titled "McCarthyism is back: Together
we can stop it."
It warned the new "Red Scare" targets not only left-wing
groups --- but also "everyone who exercises their free
speech and democratic rights."
"We must firmly resist this racist, anti-communist witch hunt
and remain committed to building an international peace
movement," said the letter, whose initial signers include
13 organizations, such as Code Pink and ANSWER
Coalition, as well as dozens of famous
anti-war activists.
"Scientists, researchers, and service members of Chinese
descent, have been falsely accused of espionage and
unregistered foreign agency, often with cases later
collapsing due to insufficient evidence," said the
groups, referring to the now-defunct program
"China Initiative."
U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy became a tireless crusader
against Communism in the early 1950s -- a period that has
been commonly referred to as the "Red Scare." The term
"McCarthyism" was created --- to describe similar witch
hunts in recent US history.
"The new McCarthyism is targeting peace activists, critics of
U.S. foreign policy, and Chinese Americans," Code Pink said
and asked for public support to "avoid a McCarthy-era red
scare ---- targeting peace activists."
"In the face of adversity, we say NO! to xenophobic witch
hunts and YES to peace!" said ANSWER Coalition, a U.S.-
based protest umbrella group consisting of many anti-
war and civil rights organizations, in a social
media post.
During the former "Red Scare" and McCarthy periods,
scores of organizations and leaders were attacked
with factless accusations, reads the open letter.
"Today, prominent organizations and individuals, including
CODEPINK, The People's Forum, and Tricontinental
Institute have been targeted, with smears and
accusations, propagated by outlets like The New York Times."
They accused the media outlet of "painting a
sinister image of a secret network funding
the peace movement."
"However, there's nothing illegal or fringe, about opposing a
New Cold War or a 'major power conflict' with China, views
shared by hundreds of millions globally. Receiving
donations from U.S. citizens who share these
views is not illicit," said the groups.
They noted the "McCarthy-like attacks" initiated by those
media outlets posed a threat to free speech and the
right to dissent. "We must oppose this trend,"
they said.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There was a rally in New York
against funding and arming
Ukraine
August 7th, 10:09am
https://en.news-front.info/
A protest against Kiev’s financial support and
arms supplies to Ukraine was held in front of the UN headquarters in New York.
RIA Novosti informs about it.
It is specified that the action was attended by dozens
of people who held placards --- with calls to stop
arming Ukraine.
Earlier, French politician and head of the Patriots party
Florian Philippot, said that US citizens’ support for
financing Ukraine and sending it arms --- has
dropped significantly.
Berlin hosts rally against
arms supplies to Ukraine
August 5th, 4:29pm
(Izvestia.ru)
On the square at the Brandenburg Gate in the
centre of Berlin on August 5, a rally is being
held against the supply of weapons to Kiev.
Hundreds of citizens are taking part in
the action.
Protesters with placards demand to stop the
supply of weapons to Ukraine, and also
oppose US globalism.
Police are also patrolling the site, and traffic
on many central streets is blocked.
Earlier, on July 4, it became known that Germany
became the largest donor of weapons to Ukraine
in the first half of 2023. The authorities allowed
to supply weapons to Kiev ----- for €1.65 billion.
Germany announced ---- a new package of weapons to be
delivered to Ukraine in the amount of €2.7 billion in May.
As part of the tranche, Kiev should receive 20 Marder
armoured personnel carriers, 30 Leopard 1 tanks,
200 reconnaissance drones and much more.
However, at the moment, the German
authorities are delaying sending the
promised package of military aid,
the newspaper Die Welt wrote.
International Festivalof ArtsandCulturesto beginin Nicaragua
August 5th, 9:58am
(Prensa Latina)
The International Festival of Arts, Cultures and Gastronomy
of Our Peoples will be inaugurated in Nicaragua, with
the presence of guests from more than 40 countries
including representatives from "Abkhazia, Angola,
Bolivia, Cuba, Colombia, El Salvador, France,
Guatemala, Honduras, Iran and Japan.''
Also attending the two-day event at the Olof Palme
Convention Centre of this capital, Managua, in addition to the host country, will be Libya, Palestine, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Korea, China and Russia, Venezuela, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica and
Ecuador, among other guests.. from Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Organized by the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism
(Intur) and other institutions, the event has
among its objectives the promotion of
union between nations.
In the festival, which is held every year, the invited
countries exhibit the best of their gastronomy with
typical food --- while showing the public their
dances, songs and traditional costumes,
among other artistic manifestations.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Syrian province’s citizensprotest
overUS-allied separatist militia
August 3rd, 2:03pm
(Prensa Latina)
Residents from several localities in Syria's
northeastern province of Hasakeh have
protested -- against the US supported
so-called Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) on Thursday.
Local media reported that those protesters, most
from Al-Hol municipality’s villages, condemned
the illegal and criminal practices of the SDF
and US forces and demanded their
expulsion from the country.
They also blocked roads with burning tires and shouted
slogans rejecting the arbitrary detention and
recruitment of their youths --- and the
looting of their crops and property.
The irregular group dominates most of Syria's
al-Jazira region (which is rich in oi) --- and receives arms, money, and ''training'' from illegal US occupation forces.
Chilean Teachers ----
Begin 48-Hour Strike
August 2nd (teleSUR)
On Wednesday, the Chilean College of Teachers began a
48-hour strike to demand a response to the requests
submitted to the administration of President
Gabriel Boric.
The Chilean teachers presented an 8-point petition to the
Education Ministry. So far, however, the authorities
have not responded to these demands, said
Carlos Diaz, the president of the College
of Teachers.
Among their demands is the payment of late retirement
bonuses, the end of labour burdens, the creation of
better working conditions, and the solution to
student violence in schools.
Diaz explained that hundreds of professors will travel from
various regions of the country to Valparaíso, where the
headquarters of the Chilean Congress are located.
In this port city, teachers will hold a protest rally.
The Chilean teachers ask the Boric administration to resolve
the so-called "Historical Debt" as well. By this term, Chileans
refer to the salary loss suffered by thousands of teachers
during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990).
During this period, the administration of public schools
was transferred from the central government to the
municipalities. As a result of this decision,
professionals did not receive salary
readjustments for several years.
According to the College of Teachers, the Chilean
State owes some US$7 billion to 65,000 affected
teachers, the newspaper La Nacion reported.
If the Chilean authorities do not reach an agreement
with the education workers before August 17, the
teachers will discuss the start of an indefinite
national strike.
Hundreds of people held a rally
in Amsterdam - against supply
of weapons to Ukraine
July 30th, 4:59pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Hundreds of people took part in another march in
Amsterdam for peace and against arms supplies
to Ukraine. Photos and videos from the event --
were posted on participants' social networks
on July 30.
The organizers of the rally held a press conference,
during which, they criticized the actions of the
Dutch authorities, in providing military
support to the Kiev regime.
The protesters hold pacifist, white flags in their hands.
Some have Russian flags --- or the flags of former
Soviet republics.
Earlier, on July 9th, head of the Ministry of Defense of
Ukraine, Alexey Reznikov, said that the Netherlands
will transfer mine-resistant ships to Kiev, as
military assistance.
On July 8, it was reported that the Netherlands and
Ukraine had determined the start date for training
Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters.
In June, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said
that the Netherlands, along with Denmark, will start
training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, in
the summer.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial
support for Kiev -- amid Russia's special operation to
protect the Donbas, which was decided, after the
situation in the region worsened due to shelling
by the Ukrainian military.
Protest in Syria against
illegal U.S. occupation
by Javier Arana Villasusa
July 25th, 11:26am
(Prensa Latina)
The city of Al-Mayadeen in the eastern Syrian province of
Deir Ezzor witnessed a massive popular demonstration,
in rejection and condemnation of the illegal U.S.
military presence in this nation.
Participants in the protest raised banners and yelled to
denounce the occupier and its mercenary militias and
ratified the support to the National Army and the
resistance --- to expel the foreign troops.
No more America and its allies,Get out of Syria and We
support our army and the resistance, were some of
the phrases written on the banners.
The founder of the Coalition of Syrian and Arab Tribes and
Clans, Saleh Hussein Al-Dalli Al-Nuaimi ---- told reporters that this act is a civilized message to the whole world,
especially the UN, the Security Council, the Arab
League and all worthy people, that the Syrians
stick to peace - and demonstrate peacefully.
According to Al-Nuaimi, the tribes and clans will support
the army, through popular resistance, if the occupier
does not leave the Syrian lands - and does not
respond to international pressure.
Guatemalans Call'The
Flowers March' ----- to
Defend Democracy
July 23rd, 6:16pm
(teleSUR)
On Sunday, the Highlands Farmers Committee (CCDA), the
Palin Indigenous Mayor's Office, and students from the
University of San Carlos (USAC) called for a "march
of flowers" to defend democracy in Guatemala.
This happens at a time when the Prosecutor's Office is
carrying out persecutory actions - against the Seed
Movement party (Semilla), which might jeopardize
the holding of the presidential run-off scheduled
for August 20.
"Criminal structures do not want to relinquish power,"
Palin Mayor Alida Vicente said, explaining that the
"Flowers March" --- seeks to oppose the "dark
political landscape" that the Guatemalan
elites, are trying to consolidate.
"In our country, we need to see a new dawn
and a blossoming. We need to rebuild a
new nation," she said.
A tweet reads, "The feelings of the Guatemalans who participate in this march, which now enters 6th avenue Guatemala City's Zone One, where
more people are joining it. The march covers several blocks."
"Small mobilizations... are no longer enough. We need
a massive mobilization without partisan objectives
and with clear objectives in defense of the
common good."
Since 9:00 am on Sunday, the progressive social and
political organizations are marching from the
Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) to the
Constitutional Court (CC). Later they
will go to the Presidential House
and finally to the headquarters
of the Prosecutor's Office.
In the first round of the presidential elections held on June
25, Bernardo Arevalo, a Social Democratic politician
sponsored by the Seed Movement - came in second
place, after Sandra Torres, who participated with
the support of the National Unity of Hope.
Israeli Lawmakers Debate
Judicial Overhaul Bill
Amid Protests
July 23rd, 4:17pm
(teleSUR)
On Sunday, Israeli lawmakers began a marathon debate
on the first major bill of a contentious plan to overhaul
the judiciary, ahead of a final vote on Monday, as
massive crowds rally across the country to
protest against the plan.
The bill would cancel the Supreme Court's power to override
decisions by the ministers that it deems "unreasonable."
The two final rounds of votes at the Knesset, the Israeli
parliament, are slated for Monday after the bill passed
its first reading earlier in July.
On Sunday, protesters continued to flock to Jerusalem, where at least 83,000 have arrived on Saturday after a four-day march with Israeli flags.
Thousands of citizens have erected tents in a park near the Knesset.
Meanwhile, protesters gathered at the Western Wall in the
Old City -- one of the holiest sites for Jews. They chanted
and danced in circles before forming a human chain all
the way to the Knesset. Physicians marched from the
Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem, to the
Knesset, chanting slogans and holding posters.
The far-right coalition government's bill has triggered
widespread protests across Israel --- and many
workers and big companies have pledged to
go on strike if the bill proceeds.
Some 200 hi-tech companies and venture capital firms
announced they have either gone on a full strike or
would allow their employees to take a day off to attend the rallies.
About a dozen of the country's largest law firms also
announced that due to the "one-sided legislative
process and in light of the immense division
within the people and the tangible and
immediate threat to Israel's security
and economy," they decided to go
on a one-day strike and called on their employees - to join the protests in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was
in Sheba Hospital, recovering from an emergency
operation that inserted a pacemaker into his
chest. The procedure went off
without complications.
Netanyahu was expected to be discharged later on Sunday,
his office said in a statement, adding that planned official
trips to Türkiye and Cyprus... would be rescheduled.
Nationwide protests have been held for 29 weeks in a row
over the far-right government's divisive proposal to
overhaul the judiciary.
On Saturday, thousands of Israelis marched to Jerusalem
and took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities across
the country ahead of the parliamentary vote scheduled
for Monday.
“We remember Volyn”: Warsaw
held a march of remembrance
July 14th, 11:59am
https://en.news-front.info/
A memory march “We remember Volyn”,“No to Banderism”
was held in Warsaw. The action is timed, to the “tragic
anniversary of the 80th anniversary of the genocide
of Ukrainians in Volhynia & Eastern Little Poland”.
This was reported by the columnist of
“Mysl Polska” Lukasz Jastrzebski.
Nationalists, libertarians, peasants, Christian
Democrats and leftists took part in the march.
“Supporters of Grzegorz Braun’s Crown and the Polish Left
marched side by side. This shows that sometimes we can
speak with one voice on the issues most important to the
Polish people. It’s a pity it’s so rare,” the columnist writes.
Earlier, a picket was held in front of the Ukrainian Embassy
with banners “We remember Volyn”,“No to monuments to
the UPA in Poland”,“Duda is not my president”, and “This is not our war”.
“It was particularly loud in the Presidential Palace, where
people expressed their disapproval of Mr Duda’s policies.”
Many white and red flags were carried, some of them tied
with veils. Demonstrators shouted ‘Duda, Kaczynski to
the Ukrainian front’,‘We remember Volyn’,
‘No to Banderism’, ‘Here is Poland’,
‘Long live Poland’, & ‘No weapons
for Ukraine’,” Jastrzebski noted.
The author added that in his opinion, the rally should
have ended at the monument to “Poles killed by
Ukrainian chauvinists, but of course, there is
no such monument in the capital”.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
CGTN: Tokyo held demonstrations
against Japan's participation
in the NATO summit
July 12th, 2023
(CGTN source: presented
in translation by InoTV)
Tokyo residents held spontaneous demonstrations in protest
against the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio
Kishida, at the North Atlantic Alliance summit, which
is being held in Vilnius. According to the protesters,
NATO is a military alliance, and they are
categorically opposed to Japan's
participation in any military
conflicts, CGTN reports.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida joined the summit of
leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on
July 11. On the same day, spontaneous demonstrations
were held on the streets of Tokyo to protest against
this decision.
PROTESTER: ''What did Japan do, during World War II?
It established colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula
and launched a war of aggression against China.
In May, Kishida's government hosted the G7
summit, and now he is participating in the
NATO summit. They didn't do it to protect
their country. People all over the world,
are now opposed to the war, and we,
as Japanese citizens, should also
express our opposition!''
PROTESTER: ''It is a military alliance, and its member
countries have been involved in various wars. Prime
Minister Kishida's presence at the NATO summit
and the proposal to open a NATO liaison office
in Tokyo --- can be seen as steps aimed at
fueling military conflicts or preparing
new ones. We are absolutely
against it.''
PROTESTER: ''NATO is a transatlantic organization,
while Japan is located far away from the region
where conflicts are currently taking place.
Now, Japan wants to go a long way to
attend the NATO summit and even
open a NATO liaison office. What
for? They want to involve Asia
---- in the Ukrainian conflict.
We must not allow this to
happen! We must expose
their lies and unite more
people ------ to stop this
preparation for war.''
''Currently, we have an unstable work situation, and
it's even difficult for us to feed ourselves. However
--- the Japanese government does not hesitate to
increase defense spending ----- which means
preparing for war. Therefore, we must
express our opinion and take part
in the protests !''
Thousands rally inAustraliain
support of Indigenous reform
July 2nd, 4:19pm
(PressTV)
Thousands of people have held demonstrations across
Australia in support of a campaign to recognize the
country's Indigenous people in the constitution,
ahead of the referendum later this year.
The rallies held on Sunday were organized by the Yes23
campaign group, following a recent dip in support for
the constitutional change guaranteeing the rights
of Indigenous Australians.
The proposal that will be put up for referendum between
October and December this year, plans to establish an
advisory body - the Indigenous Voice to Parliament -
aiming to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people a direct say in the policies that affect them.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government supports
the change; however, the opposition parties have been
objecting to the proposal.
During the general elections campaign in May last year,
Albanese’s Labour party, had pledged to recognize an Indigenous voice in parliament
Wearing T-shirts with “vote yes” slogans, attendees in the
Sydney rally donned caps bearing “the uluru statement,”
referring to a key document that calls for an
Indigenous Voice.
Thousands of Australians have marched across the country,
rallying in support of indigenous people’s rights and
protesting against marking their country’s national
day on the date that British colonization of their
land started.
According to the statistics given by the Yes23 group to
Reuters the crowd in Sydney, was about 3,000 and
was expected to raise up to 25,000 people in total.
“These community events are opportunities for people to
come together and gain valuable information about the
importance of a successful referendum later this year,”
Yes23 campaign director, Dean Parkin, said in
a statement.
The “day of action” comes after support for the referendum
seemed to be declining in accordance with a poll
conducted last month, which showed 51%
“No” to the proposal - for the first time.
Meanwhile, the Yes23 group said the dip in polls
did not reflect the reality on the ground.
“You don’t necessarily see it on television. You don’t see it
in the newspapers, but there are conversations happening
around kitchen tables, in sporting clubs, & in workplaces
around the country. And that’s just going to grow.”
Rachel Perkins, co-chair of Australians for
Indigenous Constitutional Recognition,
told ABC television on Sunday.
Fred Pascoe, director of the Gulf Regional Economic
Aboriginal Trust while speaking to Al Jazeera said
that Indigenous people, who make up about 3.2%
of Australia’s population of almost 26 million
and who were not granted full voting rights
until the 1960s --- are not even mentioned
in the country’s constitution.
The constitution of Australia, which came into effect
in January 1901, does not recognize the country's
Indigenous population.
The opponents of the proposal on the other hand
have argued that the move lacks details and will
lead to division among Australians.
The group has been maintaining that the focus of
the government should be education, health,
safety, and domestic violence within these
Indigenous communities.
According to experts getting constitutional
change in Australia..... is difficult.
The government needs to secure a double majority
in the referendum, which equals 50% of the
votes, nationwide.
In the past, there have been 44 proposals for
constitutional change, in 19 referendums,
and only eight of these have passed.
It is important to mention that a 1967 referendum
on Indigenous rights saw a record “Yes” vote.
In the past 3 decades, over 400
Indigenous people, have died
in police custody.
Despite findings and recommendations from a
national inquiry in 1991, many have died
under suspicious circumstances, some
due to negligence or lack of medical
assistance. Surprisingly no one has
been convicted for these deaths.
Indigenous Australians have been struggling for
generations to get recognition. The population
has suffered since European colonization,
which had a devastating impact --- on
Aboriginal communities and cultures.
The native Australians were subjected to mass killings,
forced displacement, and separation from families and
their traditional lands ---- in the name of family
protection, integration, and civilization.
An action in support of a peaceful
settlement... of the conflict in
Ukraine:held in Amsterdam June 25th, 5:23pm (RT.ru)
A rally was held in Amsterdam, in support of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine and the cessation of Western arms supplies.
This is reported by RIA Novosti.
Participants of the action held a rally in the central Dam Square, and then marched through the city to a drum roll, with white flags - symbolizing peace.
Bulgaria protests against
being dragged into the
Ukrainian conflict
June 19th, 2:49pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Bulgarians, in 45 cities across the country, held a national
march for peace and the neutrality of the Bulgarian state.
Participants insisted that the country distance itself from
the conflict in Ukraine, stressing that no one has the
right to drag Bulgaria into someone else’s war.
The organisers of the rally stated that over the next
3 weeks they intend to collect all the needed
signatures for a referendum on “peace and
sovereignty”, aimed at blocking attempts
at outside pressure.
Throughout the day, children drew their idea of peace
and the marchers carried them like a banner.
The march stopped outside the Ministry of Defence and
demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Todor
Tagarev, who has said he is ready to provide
Ukraine with additional military aid from
the Bulgarian army reserves.
“Tagarev is a disgrace! Resignation, trial, prison!”
– people shouted. Chants of “NATO out”
were heard.
Children’s toy guns were dropped in front of the parliament
building, as a sign of protest against the militarist policies
pursued by the authorities.
Massive anti-government rally
calling for peace held inRome
June 18th, 10:12am
https://en.news-front.info/
The first mass anti-government demonstration was held in
Rome. The rally was organised by former prime minister
and leader of the opposition Five Star Movement
Giuseppe Conte. He called for the launch of
peace talks on Ukraine. This was reported
by TASS.
The publication claims that the march started at Republic
Square and ended at the Imperial Forums Avenue.
Organizers of the mass protest note that up to 20,000 people
took part in the rally. The leader of another opposition party,
the Democratic Party, Elly Shlein, joined the demonstration.
The two parties are known to remain deeply divided,
preventing them from forming electoral alliances.
“We represent the voices of the most disenfranchised. This
government has reneged on all its promises.We have no
intention of backing down and giving up on peace talks
– this is the only way out,” said Conte, the organiser of
the action.
Filmmaker and playwright and philosopher Moni Ovadia, from
a podium set up in the centre of Rome, accused NATO and
the United States of “systematic lies” that attempt to
“assert their world domination” and “unleash wars”.
He stressed, that this conflict had been prepared
for many years.
“This war has been prepared for many years, it started with
the expansion of NATO, which made a promise to Mikhail
Gorbachev not to expand. Europe is not an ally of NATO,
but in the service of the United States,” he said.
The protesters chanted the phrases “Italy”, “Conte”. People
carried the flags of the republic, the party, the regions from
which they specifically came to Rome, as well as flags
with “peace” inscribed on them.
The protesters brought placards on which were written:
“Minimum wage is decency, money for weapons
is dishonesty”.
The main reason for the “five-star” demonstration was
that the current government, in their opinion, does not
contribute to strengthening the labour market and
improving workers’ conditions and does not care
at all about the social security of its citizens.
Cuban FM welcomes meeting --- of
Cuban residents in Latin America
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
June 16th, 11:58am (GMT)
(Prensa Latina)
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez welcomed to hold
the Sixth Regional Meeting of Cuban Residents
in Latin America and the Caribbean, in
Venezuela, on Friday.
On his Twitter account, the foreign minister stressed that
the event aims to strengthen relations between the
Caribbean nation and its compatriots abroad.
Under the slogan “Building Bridges for Growth,” the
delegates will discuss for two days the actions
taken in the last two years in defense of Cuba,
its sovereignty, and the tightening of the US
siege in the current circumstances.
They will also reflect on Cuba’s presence in social and mass
media, the dissemination of its history, and cultural values.
Cuban residents in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua,
to Ukraine, were held in a number of Italian cities.
This is reported by TASS.
"We are planning a major protest action all over Italy,
including against the information policy of the
state TV and radio company RAI," said one of the participants in the action.
It is noted that the cities are collecting signatures --- for organizing a referendum on the supply of weapons to Ukraine. It is specified... that for its implementation, it is necessary.. to collect 500 thousand signatures.
Serbs held demonstrations
in Belgradeagainst West
supporting Kosovo
May 30th, 8:51pm
(RT.ru)
About 200 demonstrators held a protest in front of the
German Embassy in Belgrade against the support
provided to Kosovo. Participants of the rally
blocked the road and held demonstrations
in front of the other embassies of NATO
member countries. This is reported by RIA Novosti.
"They (Serbs in Kosovo) are no different from us, they,
like us, should be guaranteed all their rights," said
one of the rally organizers.
Passing by the Polish embassy, people chanted chants in
support of Russia and shouted the slogan: "Russians
and Serbs are brothers for centuries."
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the
NATO mission in the partially recognized Republic of
Kosovo (KFOR) did not protect the Kosovo Serbs,
despite these guarantees.
The Head of State expressed concern that
the situation in Kosovo may develop in a
very bad direction.
Protesters in Italy, Spain, Demand
Higher Wages, Halt to Ukraine Aid
May 27th, 12:02pm (FNA)
Hundreds of protesters in the capitals of Italy and Spain,
waged rallies to demand higher wages, as well as a halt
to the shipment of weapons to Ukraine.
While calling for peace in the Ukraine conflict, the Italian
protesters on Friday, further demanded from the ruling
right-wing government in Rome, a wage increase of
300 euros per month, as well as a minimum wage
of at least 10 euros per hour, presstv reported.
TV and Social media footage of the rally showed protesters
marching with flags, banners, and signs, such as "Work to
live, not live to work" and "Don't ask, Demand".
Similar rallies were also waged in other Italian cities,
disrupting local transportation, as well as schools,
according to local media outlets.
One of the participants in the rally blamed what she
described as --- the government’s “warmongering
policies”, for the country’s economic problems,
high inflation and persisting low wages.
“We are in a crisis that has no end since the austerity that
began in 2008. The value of wages has lost 30 percent
and Italy is the country that grows the least," said
National Coordinator of the USB Union, Paolo
Leonardi, as quoted in local press reports.
Italian protesters waged similar protest rallies last year,
demanding a halt to Rome’s weapons shipments to
Ukraine. Thousands of Italians also took part in
demonstrations across the country on the first
anniversary of the Ukraine conflict, slamming
Western sanctions against Russia and Italy’s
persisting military aid to Kiev.
This is while Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
has declared that Rome will stick with pro-Kiev policies
of the US-led NATO military alliance and will not
change its anti-Moscow position in the
Ukraine conflict.
A NATO member, Italy has been providing weapons
to Kiev since the conflict began in February 2022.
Meanwhile, consumer prices in Italy climbed by a whopping
8.1 percent in 2022, hitting a 37-year high, due to soaring
energy and food costs, linked primarily to the (sanctions
illegally imposed over the) Ukraine conflict.
Meanwhile, in Spain, hundreds of teachers and healthcare
professionals also joined forces on Friday with two rallies
in front of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of
Education in the capital, Madrid, demanding a
35-hour working week and better
working conditions.
The protesters carried signs reading, "Health and education,
no to privatization" and "More investment in education"
while chanting, "No, no, no, no, we don't want to pay
your debt, with health and education" as they
marched through the streets of Madrid.
Nearly 78,000 professionals of the Madrid Health Service
and 54,000 teachers were called to strike asking among
other things, to bring back the 35-hourworking week,
which was changed, over a decade ago.
According to local press reports, the strike was organized
two days prior to the country-wide municipal and regional
elections on May 28. It was called for, by several unions
and institutions such as the Trade Union Confederation
of Workers' Commissions (CC.OO.), General Union of
Workers (UGT), the Spanish Trade Union of Nursing
Professionals (SATSE), & CSIT Union Professional
in an attempt to improve working conditions for
both teachers and medical employees.
"That is our fundamental demand (the 35-hour week), to
reverse the cuts in this area, because the teachers in
Madrid are oversaturated in terms of their working
day, their timetables and their calendar, and they
also suffer the greatest overcrowding in the
classrooms," said Isabel Galvin, Spokes
person of the Confederation of the
Workers' Commissions.
Tens of thousands of Spanish health workers had rallied
earlier this year in the country's capital, Madrid,
decrying what they called the regional
government's destructive public
health policies.
The protesters warned that the government's
plans would "destroy" local healthcare.
Budget deficits, and quantative easing, to solve
them, plus sanctions over the Ukraine war,
has caused huge rises in energy and food
prices... leading to price inflation and a
higher cost of living across Europe -
which has resulted in protests and
strikes in many European cities.
Residents of Serbia came to the
largest rally in support of Vucic
May 26th, 7pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Belgrade is hosting the largest rally in support of Serbian
President Aleksandar Vucic and the government amid
the rise of protests. Supporters of the politician
gathered in the square in front of the
Parliament of the republic, on May
26th, the Blic portal reported.
The protesters also filled the central
streets of the Serbian capital.
The action was called "Serbia of Hope" - and was organized
by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNP). Vucic's supporters
started coming to the rally around 15: 20 local time (16:20 Moscow time). The rally started at 19: 15 (20:15 Moscow time).
In the hands of the crowd are flags of Serbia, banners
with inscriptions in support of Vucic's policies and
portraits of national leaders.
According to public figures, only about 10 thousand people
came from Kosovo and Metohija. Two groups of Kosovo
Serbs came to Belgrade on foot, covering more than
300 km in a few days.
Clashes broke out between special forces and Serbs in
northern Kosovo on Friday morning. Initially, law
enforcement officers --- surrounded the
administrative buildings of Kosovo.
As the police explained, they allegedly help newly elected
mayors to start working. Serbs came out to defend the
buildings, clashes broke out.
Tear gas was used against people, and beatings
were reported. At least 10 people were injured.
Vucic called on NATO to prevent violence against Serbs
in Kosovo. By his decree, he put the army on alert.
In 2008, Kosovo-Albanian structures in Pristina declared
independence from Serbia. According to the Serbian
Constitution, the territory of the unrecognized state
is an autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija
within the country. Dozens of countries, including
Russia, do not recognize the Republic of Kosovo.
Thousands of Belgian Union Members --
Stage Protest over Working Conditions
May 22nd, 5:44pm (FNA)
Almost 20,000 Belgian trade union members staged
a demonstration to protest against what they see
as increasingly bad working conditions and the erosion of their right to strike.
Action by transport workers paralysed subway and
other traffic in Brussels for most of the day,
Breaking News reported.
The trade unions have been angered by companies
that seek to impose new contracts on workers
that impact their social rights, affect their
working conditions and cut their pay.
They are specifically protesting against the decision
by the Delhaize supermarket chain to change the
store management set-up, directly cutting into
the income and rights of staff.
Police authorities estimated the crowds
walking through the capital at 18,000.
“We don’t want second-class employees. We want
respect and equal rights for all,” the socialist
ABVV union said, in a statement.
The unions are also protesting against management
measures to stifle strike action... through court
injunctions against the blocking of company
premises, among other issues.
“The defence of our social and trade union rights
is being made impossible,” the ABVV
statement said.
As well as public transport, the day of protest
affected services such as day care centres
and rubbish collection.
Vietnam pays tribute to
independence heroes
Jose Marti & Ho Chi Min
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
May 19th, 11:45am
(Prensa Latina)
Cuba's independence hero, José Martí and Vietnam's hero,
Ho Chi Minh were honoured in Hanoi on Friday, on the
occasion of the 128th anniversary of the former's
fall in combat and the latter's 133rd birthday.
During an act in front of the bust built in memory of the Cuban
Apostle in central Tao Dan park-garden in Hanoi, Nguyen
Viet Thao, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam-
Cuba Friendship Association, highlighted the
coincidence of thought and work of the
two leaders.
He also noted that on occasions such as this one, where a
tribute is paid, to the founder of the Cuban Revolutionary
Party, are used to reassure that Vietnam stands side by
side with the brotherly & internationalist Cuban people.
Representatives of the Union of Friendship Organizations in
Hanoi, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, members of Ho Chi Minh Communist
Youth Union, and students from the School of
Medicine and Pharmacy in Hanoi,
participated in the tribute to José Martí.
Tributes to Uncle Ho’s 133rd birthday are
taking place in several ways, nationwide.
A colloquium on Ho Chi Minh’s diplomatic thought, in
implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National
Congress of the CPV, was held in Hanoi, with the
objective of learning and following the
revolutionary leader’s thoughts,
morals, and style.
Czech Workers Go on Strike
Against Spending Cuts
May 15th (teleSUR)
Among the measures designed to trim the budget deficit
is an increase in VAT from 10 percent to 21 percent
on almost all items.
On Monday, the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade
Unions (CMKOS) declared a strike in rejection of the
severe budget cuts announced by right-wing Prime
Minister Petr Fiala's administration.
"This is a very serious situation for us. We are convinced
that every imaginable limit has been exceeded," said
Josef Stredula, the spokesperson of CKMOS, the
largest trade union centre.
On May the 11th, the Fiala administration announced a set
of austerity policies to reduce the current fiscal deficit --
which is the largest in the history of the Czech Republic.
Among these adjustment measures are the gradual increase
in the retirement age, the elimination of the zero rate of VAT,
the elimination of tax exemptions, and the increase in VAT
from 10 percent to 21 percent on almost all items.
"All these measures will lead to a clear deterioration in the
situation of families - with losses estimated at an average
of 4,000 euros per household per year," the labour leader
emphasized.
Currently, the current retirement age in the Czech Republic is
65 for men, while mothers can retire earlier - depending on
the number of children. PM Fiala wants to ''progressively''
raise the retirement age --- until it reaches 68 years.
Since the Parliament has a pro-government majority,
Fiala's public spending reduction package is
expected to be approved. It will enter
into force in January 2024.
During the strike, the workers will not completely stop
their activities but will limit themselves to doing the
bare minimum, thus causing a slowdown in
business activity. The last time a similar
situation occurred in this country
was ten years ago.
Christian Singer Honours Hezbollah
at 2013 Concert.(English Subtitles)
UK to outlaw boycotts
against Israel
May 11th, 9:38am (PressTV)
The British government has announced plans to ban
acts of boycott, effectively suppressing dissent
on Israel.
The announcement was made during the Queen’s
Tuesday speech, which Prince Charles delivered
at the State Opening of Parliament on her behalf.
He said the government will introduce “legislation
[that] will prevent public bodies engaging in
boycotts that undermine community
cohesion.”
The bill is widely believed to be a heavy blow to
supporters of Palestinian rights in Britain and
an attempt to silence the Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims
to pressure the Israeli regime to put an end
to its occupation of Palestine as well as its
atrocities against Palestinians.
Pro-Palestinian groups in Britain denounced the
proposed bill and said they would campaign
against it.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and
Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA) described the bill
as an attack on free speech.
“In the case of Palestine, boycotts, divestment and
sanctions (BDS) is a peaceful movement calling on
Israel to comply with international law and end its
illegal occupation of Palestine,” the FOA said in
a statement.
“FOA remains committed to protecting the right of
public bodies to make ethical choices through
BDS,” it added.
Since 2005, the BDS movement has sought to
sanction all Israeli-made products produced
on illegally occupied Palestinian land.
The movement’s success in causing economic
damage to Israel, has prompted pro-Israel
groups to brand the BDS... as an
“existential threat.”
If you want to mobilise against this pro-Zionist move, you can start by pressing the links below:
According to the Campaign against the extradition of
Assange, the Argentine intellectual sent a letter in
English to the United Kingdom Home Secretary,
Priti Patel, who has in her hands the Australian
journalist´s future since the London Supreme
Court overturned last April a previous verdict
against his transfer to US territory.
After recalling that the first instance judge opoosed
Assange´s extradition for fear that his precarious
mental health would induce him to commit
suicide in a US prison, Pérez Esquivel
warned Patel: that there could be
potentially fatal consequences
for the cyberactivist if the UK
decies to hand him over to
the US justice system.
The Us intends to try the journalist for publishing
in WekiLeaks secret files exposing war crimes
committed by its military in Iraq and
Afghanistan --- and thousands of
compromising documents for
US diplomacy.
If tried and found guilty by a US court, Assange, who
has been held in a British maximun security prison
since his arrest at the Ecuadorian embassy, in
London in April 2019, could be sentenced to
175 years in prison on the 17 charges
against him.
The Argetine intellectual, winner of te Nobel Prize
in 1980, considered, however, that Whashington´s
request is illegal and abusive, so he urged the
Minister of the Interior to defend the rule of law --- and reject the extradition.
GET THE REAL (peace) NEWS - from TeleSUR english
If supporting peace and stopping yet another rape of a resource-rich country isn't for you, because YOU read the Guardian - remember Libya, Iraq, etc...
Same game - lies, economic sanctions, demonisation --- then the call for a coup - to save the poor people!
Mainstream Media's Go-To Syria Monitor
Revealed to Be Funded by UK Gov't -- Nobody Bats an Eyelid
The mainstream media, which has been uncritically citing the pro-opposition SOHR for years, has failed to report it has come to be known - the outfit has taken money from the Foreign Office (Sources - Media Lens/Russia Insider) Wednesday June 6th, 2018
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, journalist Peter Hitchens commented last month on the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR):
'Talking of war, and Syria, many of you may have noticed frequent references in the media to a body called the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights", often quoted as if it's an impartial source of information about that complicated conflict, in which the British government clearly takes sides. The "Observatory" says on its website that it is "not associated or linked to any political body."
'To which I reply: Is Boris Johnson's Foreign Office not a political body? Because the FO just confirmed to me that "the UK funded a project worth £194,769.60 to provide the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights with communications equipment and cameras." That's quite a lot, isn't it? I love the precision of that 60p. Your taxes, impartially, at work.'
This figure was confirmed in communication with the Foreign Office by independent political journalist Ian Sinclair. (Email to Media Lens, May 17, 2018)
In 2011, Reuters reported that Rami Abdulrahman is 'the fast-talking director of arguably Syria's most high-profile human rights group', SOHR:
'When he isn't fielding calls from international media, Abdulrahman is a few minutes down the road at his clothes shop, which he runs with his wife.'
Given the tinpot nature of the organisation, SOHR's influence is astonishing:
'Cited by virtually every major news outlet since an uprising against the iron rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March, the observatory has been a key source of news on the events in Syria.'
Described by Reuters as an 'opposition group', SOHR is openly pro-regime change:
'After three short spells in prison in Syria for pro-democracy activism, Abdulrahman came to Britain in 2000 fearing a longer, fourth jail term.
'"I came to Britain the day Hafez al-Assad died, and I'll return when Bashar al-Assad goes".'
In December 2011, Stratfor, an influential research institute formed of former US security officials, cautioned:
'Most of the [Syrian] opposition's more serious claims have turned out to be grossly exaggerated or simply untrue ... revealing more about the opposition's weaknesses than the level of instability inside the Syrian regime.'
Reports from SOHR and other opposition groups, 'like those from the regime, should be viewed with skepticism', Stratfor argued: 'the opposition understands that it needs external support, specifically financial support, if it is to be a more robust movement than it is now. To that end, it has every reason to present the facts on the ground in a way that makes the case for foreign backing.'
The Los Angeles Times described SOHR as 'a pro-opposition watchdog'. And yet, as Reuters reported, Abdulrahman... claims neutrality:
'"I'm between two fires. But it shows I'm being neutral if both sides complain," he said, insisting he accepts no funding and runs the observatory on a voluntary basis.'
Two years later, the New York Times described a modified funding model:
'Money from two dress shops covers his minimal needs for reporting on the conflict, along with small subsidies from the European Union and one European country, that he declines to identify.'
Thanks to Hitchens, we now know the country in question is Britain --- and the funding in 2012 was £194,769.60.
In 2013, we compared the reflexive respect afforded SOHR with the earlier casual rejection of reports on the death toll in Iraq published in 2004 and 2006 by the Lancet, the world's leading medical journal:
'Figures supplied by SOHR, an organisation openly biased in favour of the Syrian "rebels" and Western intervention, is presented as sober fact by... the world's leading news agencies. No concerns here about methodology, sample sizes, "main street bias" and other alleged concerns thrown at the Lancet studies by critics.'
In 2004, one of the Lancet co-authors, Gilbert Burnham of the prestigious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told us:
'Our data have been back and forth between many reviewers at the Lancet and here in the school (chair of Biostatistics Dept), so we have the scientific strength to say what we have said with great certainty. I doubt any Lancet paper has gotten as much close inspection in recent years as this one has!' (Dr. Gilbert Burnham, email to Media Lens, October 30, 2004)
Despite this, the Lancet reports were subjected to ceaseless attacks from the US and UK governments, and dismissal by corporate journalists. David Aaronovitch wrote in The Times:
'And Harold Pinter invents a statistic. "At least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles before the Iraqi insurgency began." This is probably some mangling of a controversial estimate of Iraqi civilian fatalities published in The Lancet in 2004 and based, it was claimed, on standard epidemiological methods.' (Aaronovitch, 'The great war of words,' The Times, March 18, 2006)
An op-ed in the Washington Times commented in December 2004:
'Or how about the constantly cited figure of 100,000 Iraqis killed by Americans since the war began, a statistic that is thrown about with total and irresponsible abandon by opponents of the war.' (Helle Dale, 'Biased coverage in Iraq,' Washington Times, December 1, 2004)
As we described at the time, the 'mainstream' hosted all manner of confused and baseless criticisms of this kind.
By contrast, a recent BBC article noted of the Syrian war:
'Over seven years of war, more than 400,000 people have been killed or reported missing, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.'
No-one, it seems, would dream of challenging such a high figure supplied by a clothes shop owner supporting regime change in Syria from Coventry. Nobody challenges the SOHR's methodology, or complains of statistics being thrown about with irresponsible abandon.
Why? Because the 2004 and 2006 Lancet reports seriously undermined the US-UK case for conquering Iraq, whereas a high Syria death toll is used to damn the Assad government and to make the case for Western 'intervention'.
In a 2015 interview with RT, Abdulrahman was asked how he could trust the hundreds of 'activists' supplying information from Syria. Claiming that 'I know all of the activists working for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights', Abdulrahman said that he had last visited Syria in 2000. He added: 'But I know some of the Observatory activists through common friends.'
Innumerable 'mainstream' reports of atrocities blamed on Syrian government and Russian forces have used SOHR as a key source. One of the highest profile claims concerned an alleged massacre of 108 people, including 49 children, in Houla, Syria on May 27, 2012. The claim dominated the Independent on Sunday's front cover, which read:
'SYRIA: THE WORLD LOOKS THE OTHER WAY. WILL YOU?'
The text beneath read:
'There is, of course, supposed to be a ceasefire, which the brutal Assad regime simply ignores. And the international community? It just averts its gaze. Will you do the same? Or will the sickening fate of these innocent children make you very, very angry?'
As so often, SOHR loomed large in these accusations.
The BBC reported:
'The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 90 people had died in the 24 hours since midday on Friday.'
The Guardian described how SOHR was condemning Western 'silence':
'The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued an unusually harsh statement in the wake of the deaths --- accusing Arab nations and the international community of being "partners" in the killing --- "because of their silence about the massacres that the Syrian regime has committed".'
But the picture was not quite so clear cut. Two weeks later, the BBC reported the head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, Major General Robert Mood, as saying of Houla:
'the circumstances that led to these tragic killings are still unclear'. Mood commented significantly:
'Whatever I learned on the ground in Syria... is that I should not jump to conclusions.'
On June 27, a UN Commission of Inquiry said that in apportioning blame, it 'could not rule out any of these possibilities': a local militia, possibly operating together with, or with the acquiescence of, government security forces; anti-government forces seeking to escalate the conflict; or foreign groups with unknown affiliation. In August of the same year, UN investigators released a further report, which stated that they had 'a reasonable basis to believe that the perpetrators... were aligned to the Government'. (Our emphasis)
SOHR is omnipresent in the great Syrian atrocity claims that have gripped our media for years. On April 14th, Donald Trump bombed Syria, in response to an alleged Syrian government chemical weapons attack on Douma one week earlier. Reuters reported:
'Heavy air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held town of Douma killed 27 people including five children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.'
On April 7, 2017, Trump launched a missile assault on Syria just 72 hours after an alleged chemical weapons attack on Khan Sheikhoun. Reuters reported:
'The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack killed at least 58 people and was believed to have been carried out by Syrian government jets. It caused many people to choke and some to foam at the mouth.
'Director Rami Abdulrahman told Reuters, the assessment that Syrian government warplanes were to blame, was based on several factors such as the type of aircraft, including Sukhoi 22 jets, that carried out the raid.'
In August 2013, Barack Obama came close to launching a massive attack on Syria in response to an alleged Syrian government chemical weapons attack on Ghouta. The BBC reported:
'The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK- based group that gets its information from a network of activists across Syria, later said it had confirmed at least 502 deaths.'
The Los Angeles Times reported:
'The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, generally regarded as one of the most reliable sources of information on casualty figures in Syria, says ithas confirmed 502 deaths, including 80 children and 137 women.'
Last February, the BBC reported:
'The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said at least 250 people had been killed in [Syrian government and Russian] air strikes and artillery fire, since then.
'It said it was the highest 48-hour death toll since a 2013 chemical attack on the besieged enclave.'
The power of these claims lies in the fact that Western journalists have been unable to report from 'rebel'-held areas in Syria. Veteran Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn, made the point:
'All wars always produce phony atrocity stories – along with real atrocities. But in the Syrian case, fabricated news and one-sided reporting have taken over the news agenda to a degree probably not seen since World War One... The real reason that reporting of the Syrian conflict has been so inadequate is that Western news organisations have almost entirely outsourced their coverage, to the rebel side.'
'Rebel' claims relayed by SOHR and others have been uncontested, because they originated from 'areas controlled by people so dangerous, no foreign journalist dare set foot among them'.
Many atrocity claims relayed by SOHR and others have been sourced from the White Helmets group in Syria.
Former Guardian journalist Jonathan Cook comments:
'In the western corporate media narrative, the White Helmets are a group of dedicated and selfless rescue workers. They are supposedly the humanitarians on whose behalf a western intervention in Syria would have been justified – before, that is, Syrian leader Bashar Assad queered their pitch - by inviting in Russia.
'However, there are problems with the White Helmets. They operate only in rebel – read: mainly al-Qaeda and ISIS-held – areas of Syria, and plenty of evidence shows that they are funded by the UK & US to advance both countries' far-from-humanitarian policy objectives in Syria.'
In 2016, political analyst Max Blumenthal wrote:
'The White Helmets were founded in collaboration with USAID's Office of Transitional Initiatives — the wing that has promoted regime change around the world — and have been provided with $23 million in funding from the department.'
Liberal corporate journalists and politicians have been impressed by the fact that SOHR and White Helmets claims have been supported by ostensibly forensic analysis supplied by the Bellingcat website, which publishes 'citizen journalist' investigations. As we noted in a recent alert, Bellingcat is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which is funded by the US government and is 'a notorious vehicle for US soft power'.
We could link to thousands of corporate media articles citing SOHR as a source. As in the above examples, the vast majority of these claims are directed at the same targets – the Syrian government and its Russian ally. To monitor the BBC website in 2013, for example, was to witness what appeared to be a relentless propaganda campaign promoting (yet one more) Western 'humanitarian intervention'.
This would seem to be an extraordinary scandal, not just for the BBC, not just for British corporate media and democracy, but for media & democracy globally.
And yet, our media database search finds exactly one national UK newspaper article containing the terms 'Peter Hitchens' and 'Syrian Observatory'. That, of course, was the original May 13 piece in the Mail on Sunday in which Hitchens reported the UK government's £194,769.60 funding of SOHR.
His report has been ignored.
______________________________________________
US support of violent neo-Nazis in Ukraine: and how NGOs Pretend to be on "the Left" Watch this video before you attend any of the events.
CARDIFF Every day of the week Free Food available for the vulnerable and homeless. See below for details. Pass this on to anyone who might find it helpful: ....................................
FREE FOOD AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO THE HOMELESS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR Here's a list of where free food is available for homeless and vulnerable within Cardiff. Please feel free to comment on any incorrect information, add details or point out any omissions. Thank you.
EVERY DAY 8.30 till 7.30pm - The Huggard Centre - Provides free soup (home-made) and bread to anyone who calls in 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Huggard offers free meals on many days of the week (including weekends) which are cooked by volunteers and served late afternoon. Huggard also provides home cooked meals and hot/cold drinks at greatly subsidised (a typical meal is £1.50) prices and ‘give-aways’ on a (first come first served) regular basis through food stuffs nearing their sell-by-date. If a homeless person has no income we may be able to provide free food vouchers. A visit to our centre and a chat to our kitchen staff will keep you in touch with what’s on offer. The morning breakfast run - provided by The Wallich, 7.30am – Central Station, car park behind Burger King, 8am – Top (where it meets Queens Street) of St. Johns Street, the Hayes, 8.30am – Museum steps. 8pm till 9pm - Paradise Run behind M & S.
WEEKLY
MONDAYS 10am till 12noon - Conway Road Methodist church in Canton. 6.30pm till 8pm - Salvation Army, Purple Bus opposite Museum. 5.30pm till 7.30 pm - The Tavs Centre, Tavistock Road, Roath. 11pm till 12 Midnight - Private run by Hamish, who drives around.
TUESDAYS 6.30pm till 8pm - Salvation Army, Purple Bus opposite Museum. 9pm till 10pm - Private run by Coffee4Craig, Museum steps.
WEDNESDAYS 6.30pm till 8pm - Salvation Army, Purple Bus opposite Museum. 11pm - Private run by Margaret Ashford, Cyncoed Methodist Church, who drives around.
THURSDAYS 11am - Calvary Baptist Church, Cowbridge Rd East. 6.30pm till 8.30pm - Salvation Army, Purple Bus opposite Museum. 12 Midnight - Private run by Andy Webb, who drives around.
FRIDAY 11am - Brunch - The Tavs Centre, Tavistock Road, Roath. 12 Noon till 3.30pm - Food not Bombs, Vegan food outside Central Market. 6.30 till 8.30pm - Salvation Army, Purple Bus opposite Museum.
SATURDAY 12 Noon - Rainbow of Hope, Broadway, off Newport Road. 12 Noon - St Peters Youth Hall, Bedford St, off City Road. 3pm - Amerpreet Singh Khalsa, Langer Seva society, the Queen Street end of Newport Road, outside Greggs and Coffee#1. Any leftovers are then taken around those who sleep rough on the streets, but are reluctant to give up their spots. 6.30pm - The City Temple, Cowbridge Rd East.
SUNDAYS 3pm till 4pm - The City Tabernacle on the Hayes. 5.30pm till 7pm - The Tavs Centre, Tavistock Road, Roath. 6.30pm till 8.30pm – Salvation Army, Purple Bus opposite Museum.
SPECIFIC DAYS 11am - 1st, 3rd and 4th Saturday of every month, The Saturday service, ‘Christian worship with a hot meal’, Dewi Sant, St Andrews Crescent.
12 till 2.00pm, meal served at 12:30pm – 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month, Quaker House, Charles Street
10.00am till 3.00pm, Mon to Friday - The Real Junk Food Project, Embassy Cafe, Cathays Youth & Community Centre – Pay what you can afford.
Cuadrilla have no social licence to frack here or anywhere in Lancashire. We need to let them know this!
Doyle Vic posts: Cheeky publicly funded profiteers cuadrilla are bypassing environmental laws - make sure the environment agency know that tax payers and citizens will not allow such filthy shabbiness - https://act.foe.co.uk/act/stop-cuadrilla-breaking-rules- fracking?utm_campaign=dbc6b7e756-LM1702026& utm_medium=email&utm_source=Friends+of+the +Earth+Communications&utm_term=0_383af65c 6b-dbc6b7e756-21725873 Stop Cuadrilla from breaking the rules on fracking
Faslane peace camp always welcomes visitors... you can come, any day. We are located at Shandon near Helensburgh the postcode is G84 8HL Jump on the 316 bus to Coulport ...hope to see you soon.
Everywhere It's Our NHS There's a lot of anger about the chaos in the NHS. A great letter in the Peterborough Telegraph comes up with a very practical solution. Shall we have a referendum? SIGN UP bit.ly/2kWyuW8
LONDON forward planning and action to take in... http://www.makewarshistory.co.uk/?p=3688 Keep up to date with CAAT’s campaigns – Sign up to our email bulletin and follow latest developments on Twitter.
Beit Sahour - Palestine! Hosted by To Be There and Singer cafe CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION. SEE YOU IN PALESTINE! www.tobe-there.com info@tobe-there.com
Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance Community An alliance of people spied on by Britain's political secret police.
Follow us on Twitter @copscampaign
**DID YOU WITNESS AN ARREST OR POLICE VIOLENCE AT THE STOP THE ARMS FAIR PROTESTS?** WE NEED YOUR WITNESS STATEMENTS!
The sooner you can send in an account and any photos/video of arrests to Green and Black Cross (GBC), the better. Key information to include for a witness statement is:
- When, where, who - What else was happening on site? E.g. was the road closed bypolice, were other people/actions blocking the road? - Any photos or videos of arrests or immediately before/after
You can find a witness statement template and some advice on drafting statements on the GBC website here: https://greenandblackcross.org/guides/witness/
Please send all materials togbclegal@riseup.net.
gwlad !
Land Ownership in Britain is one of the most unequal in the world. 0.3% of the population owns 69% of the land. More than a third is still owned by the aristocracy whose ancestors seized it during the Norman Conquest. During the enclosures our ancestors were violently thrown off the land and much of our current common land is being privatised. This affects us all, making our lives unaffordable and limiting our choices. As a contribution to the week of action for land rights called by the Land Justice Network we organised a peaceful stroll in the countryside around Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Remember that access to the land in the UK has been won by mass trespass in the past and this peaceful and symbolically powerful tool can work for us again. #RisingUp
Learn more about the issue here: https://youtu.be/WlIxCDK94ds
Our demands for change centre around:
1 – Distributed Ownership and Control 2– Long Term Stewardship, Not Short Term Profit 3 –Increases in Land Value should be Given to Society 4 – Proactive Community-centred Planning 5 – Transparency
For more details: https://www.landjustice.uk/our-common-ground-statement/
1932 and 1992 – Kinder Scout Trespass UK
Workers in cities and towns were not allowed access to walk on land around their homes and areas of natural beauty nearby. The land was privately held and often used as hunting grounds for the wealthy. In 1932 over 400 people from Manchester and Sheffield participated in a mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District. They notified the local press and as a result were met & had scuffles with game keepers & then the police; five men were subsequently jailed. The movement that was kick started by this action led to the creation of our National Parks after World War II. The 60th anniversary of this event in 1992 was celebrated with another mass trespass. This started a new movement that lead to the 'Right To Roam' Countryside and Rights of Way Act of 2000. This act gave a new right of access to most areas of open country in England and Wales.
JOIN THE VALLEY's PEACE MOVEMENT NOW!
The news most see is massaged by an elite which feeds off death & destruction (the BBC's Deputy Head, for example, is the ex head of BAE, the UK's near monopoly arms exporting company).
We need a strong committed Peace Movement in Wales, which is not afraid to challenge the Guardian-reading middle-class "leaders" --- who keep backing the elite's wars in the name of a fake "humanitarianism".
Please contact us here(01443) 732705 and we can hold a meeting to found a valleys led Peace Movement, that walks the walk.
In the meantime, paste this link into your browser if you'd like to see the pictures the BBC and UK's boss media did not want you to see -- it explodes the lies of an "evil Syrian regime" -- by showing Aleppo people after Syria's army liberated them.
Since 2011, the Syrian armed forces have been fighting terrorists. It's time for the world to recognize them all, as our brothers in arms against terrorism. Time to stand withSyria and not against it.
Unreliability, spinelessness of the western 'left' by: Andre Vltchek
It is tough to fight any real war. And it takes true guts, discipline & determination to win it. For years and decades, the so-called 'left' in the West has been moderately critical of North American (and sometimes even of European) imperialism and neo- colonialism. But whenever an individual or country rose up and began openly challenging the Empire, most of the Western left-wing intellectuals simply closed their eyes, and refused to offer their full, unconditional support to those putting their lives (and often even the existence of their countries) on the line.
I will never forget all those derogatory punches directed at Hugo Chavez, punches coming from members of the 'anti-Communist left', after he dared to insult George W. Bush at the United Nations in 2006, calling him a "devil" and choking, theatrically, from the sulfur that was still 'hanging in the air' after the US President's appearance at the General Assembly.
I will not be dropping names here, but readers would be surprised if they knew how many of those iconic leaders of the US left described Chavez and his speech as --- 'impolite', 'counter-productive', and even 'insulting'.
Western Imperialism killed tens of millions
Tens of millions of people have died because of Western imperialism, after WWII. Under the horrid leadership of George W Bush, Afghanistan and Iraq have been reduced to ruins... But one has to remain 'polite', 'objective' and cool headed?
Well, that is not how real revolutions have been ignited. This is not how the successful anti- colonialist wars are fought. When the real battle begins, 'politeness' is actually mostly unacceptable, simply because the oppressed masses are endlessly pissed off, and they want their feelings to be registered and expressed by the leaders.
Even the search for 'objectivity' is often out of place, when still fragile revolutions have to face the entire monumental hostile propaganda of the regime - of the Empire.
But the question is: do most of the Western leftists really support revolutions and anti-colonialist struggles of the oppressed world?
I believe they don't. And this is clearly visible from reading most of the so-called alternative media in both North America and Europe.
Whoever stands up, whoever leads his nation into battle against the Western global dictatorship, is almost immediately defined as a demagogue. He or she is most likely christened 'undemocratic', and not just by the mass and 'liberal' media, but also on the pages of the so-called 'alternative' and 'progressive' Western press. Not all, but some, and frankly: most of it!
Chavez actually received very little support from Western 'left-wing' intellectuals. And now when Venezuela is bleeding, the 'Bolivarian Republic' can only count on a handful of revolutionary Latin American nations, as well as on China, Iran and Russia; definitely not on the robust, organized and militant solidarity from Western countries.
Cuba received even less support than Venezuela. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, no attempt was actually made by Western leftists to bail the heroic nation out. It was China, in the end, which ran to its rescue and saved Cuban socialism.
(When I wrote about it, I got hundreds of Western leftists at my throat, and in the end it took Fidel to confirm, in his 'Reflections', what I was saying, to get them off my back). Then, when the Obama administration began making dangerous advances on Havana, almost everyone in the West began screwing those cynical grimaces: 'you see; now everything will collapse! They will buy Cuba!'
They didn't. I travelled to the beloved green island, and it was so clear from the first moment there, that the 'revolution is not for sale'. But you will not read it often in the Western 'progressive' media. * It is of course not just Latin America that is 'disliked' by the progressives in the West. Actually, Latin America is still at least getting some nominal support there.
Western Left despises China and Russia
China and Russia, two powerful nations, which are now standing openly against Western imperialism, are despised by virtually all 'liberals' and by most of the Western 'left'. In those circles, there is total ignorance about the Chinese type of democracy, about its ancient culture, and about it's complex but extremely successful form of Communism (or 'socialism with Chinese characteristics').
Like parrots, the Western leftists repeat 'liberal' propaganda that 'China is being capitalist', or that it is being ruled by 'state capitalism'. The internationalism of Chinese foreign policy is constantly played down, even mocked.
The hostility of the Western 'left' towards China has disgusted many Chinese leaders and intellectuals. I only realized the extent of this revulsion, when I spoke last year at the First World Cultural Forum in Beijing, and mingled with the thinkers at the China Academy of Social Sciences, the right (intellectual) arm of the government and the Party.
China can count on its allies in Russia, Latin America, Africa and elsewhere, but definitely not in the West.
It is pointless to even mention Russia or South Africa.
Russia, 'the victim' during the horrid Yeltsin years was 'embraced' by the Western left. Russia the warrior, Russia the adversary to Western imperialism, is, once again, loathed.
It appears that the 'progressives' in the United States and Europe really prefer 'victims'. They can, somehow, feel pity and even write a few lines about the 'suffering of defenseless women and children' in the countries that the West is plundering and raping. That does not extend to all countries that are being brutalized, but at least to some...
What they don't like at all, are strong men and women that have decided to fight: to defend their rights, to face the Empire.
And now...Syria and DPRK
The Syrian government is hated. The N. Korean government is despised. The President of the Philippines is judged by Western liberal media measures: as a vulgar freak who is killing thousands of 'innocent' drug pushers and consumers (definitely not as a possibly new Sukarno, who is willing to send the entire West to hell).
Whatever the Western 'left' thinks about North Korea and its government (and in fact, I think, it cannot really think very much, as it is fully ignorant about it), the main reason why the DPRK is hated so much by the West regime, is because it, together with Cuba, basically liberated Africa. It fought for the freedom of Angola and Namibia, it flew Egyptian MIGs at Israel, it struggled in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) -- as well as in many other countries, and it sent aid, teachers and doctors to that continent: devastated by the Western colonialist barbarity.
Much good it received in return! At best, indifference, at worse, total spite! * Some say that the Western 'left' doesn't want to take power, anymore. It lost all of its important battles. It became toothless, impotent, and angry about the world and itself.
When in January 2016 I spoke at the Italian Parliament (ending up insulting the West for its global plunder, hypocrisy), I mingled a lot with the 5 Star Movement, which had actually invited me to Rome. I spent time with its radical left wing. There are some great people there, but overall, it soon became clear that this, potentially, biggest political movement in the country, is actually horrified of coming to power! It does not really want to govern.
But then, why call those weak bizarre selfish Western entities - the 'left wing'? Why confuse terms, and by that, why discredit those true revolutionaries, those true fighters, who are risking, sacrificing their lives, right now, all over the world? * Wars are all extremely ugly. I have covered many of them, and I know.. But some of them, those that are fought for the survival of humanity, or for survival of particular countries, are inevitable. One either fights, or the whole Planet ends up colonized and oppressed, in shackles.
If one decides to fight, then there has to be discipline and single-mindedness; total determination. Or the battle is lost from the very beginning!
When the freedom and survival of one's motherland is at stake, things get very serious, 'dead-serious'. Battle is not a discussion club. It is not some chat.
If we, as 'leftists', have already once decided that imperialism and colonialism (or 'neo-colonialism') are the greatest evils destroying our humanity, then we have to show discipline and join ranks, and support those who are at the frontline.
Otherwise we will become an irrelevant laughingstock, and history will and should, judge us harshly! * Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. His latest books are: "Exposing Lies Of The Empire" and "Fighting Against Western Imperialism". Discussion with Noam Chomsky: On Western Terrorism. Point of No Return is his critically acclaimed political novel. Oceania - a book on Western imperialism in the South Pacific. His provocative book about Indonesia: "Indonesia - The Archipelago of Fear". Andre is making films for teleSUR and Press TV. After living for many years in Latin America and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and works in East Asia and the Middle East. He can be reached through his website or his Twitter.
Dear friends, HP is the technology behind Israel's regime of occupation and segregation. With our week of action we showed them that no matter where they operate across the world, we will be there to say that profiting from apartheid and human rights abuses is not acceptable.
Why are people all over the world taking action against HP?
HP (Hewlett Packard) plays a key role in the occupation and violation of Palestinian rights. HP profits from oppression, by providing the Israeli naval forces the technology to enforce the siege of Gaza. HP also enables Israel's mass detention and imprisonment of Palestinians, through biometric ID systems that segregate Palestinians from Jewish Israelis, and much more.
Israel harvesting slain Palestinians' organs: Palestine’s UN envoy
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations says the Tel Aviv regime is harvesting the organs of Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied territories.
Riyad Mansour says in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, that the bodies of those Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, are being “returned with missing corneas and other organs --- further confirming past reports about organ harvesting by the occupying power.”
“A medical examination conducted on bodies of Palestinians returned after they were killed by the occupying power, found that they were missing organs,” Mansour wrote in the letter.
The Palestinian envoy further protests Israel’s “persistent aggression against the Palestinian people” over the past month and the regime’s “insistence on the use of violent force and oppressive measures.”
The issue of organ theft by Israel was first exposed in a report published by Sweden’s most popular daily, Aftonbladet, in 2009.
The New York Times also said, in an August 2014 report that transplant brokers in Israel have pocketed enormous sums of money.
Based on the Times analysis of major organ trafficking cases since 2000, Israelis have played a ‘disproportionate role’ in organ trafficking.
The Palestinians Mansour was referring to were killed in the occupied territories, where tensions have dramatically risen in recent weeks.
The Israeli regime’s imposition of new restrictions in August on the entry of Palestinian worshipers to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) has become a lightning rod for the surge in confrontations.
According to the latest figures by the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 74 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of October. At least 11 Israelis have also been killed during that period.
The bodies of Palestinian victims, are most often held in Israeli custody for long periods of time, before they're returned to relatives.
William Spring, a human rights activist from London, says that this revelation will “deal a terrible blow” to Israel, and particularly among its US supporters.
Referring to the supporters of Israel in the US, as “Christian-Zionists,” the commentator says that, despite all their enthusiasm for the Israeli regime, they are against such measures as: experiments on fetuses, abortion, or harvesting organs.
“I can see a great defection and a great falling away of Christian-Zionists, who've supported Israel - up until now,” he says.
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Corporations Are Running The World by Aisha Dodwell
Of the 100 wealthiest economic entities in the world, 69 are now corporations and only 31 are countries. This is up from 63 to 37 a year ago. At this rate, within a generation we will be living in a world entirely dominated by giant corporations.
As multinationals increasingly dominate areas traditionally considered the primary domain of the state --- we should be afraid. While they privatise everything from education & health to border controls and prisons, they stash their profits away in secret offshore accounts.
And while they have unrivalled access to decision makers they avoid democratic processes by setting up secret courts enabling them to bypass all judicial systems applicable to people.
Meanwhile their raison d’etre of perpetual growth in a finite world is causing environmental destruction and driving climate change.
From Sports Direct’s slave-like working conditions to BP’s oil spill devastating people’s homes, stories of corporations violating rights are all too often seen in our daily papers.
Yet the power of corporations is so great within our society, that they have undermined the idea that there is any other way to run things. We're all too familiar with hearing about the threat of “losing corporate investment” or companies “taking their business somewhere else” as if the government’s number one task is to attract corporate investment.
It is this corporate agenda that permeates the governing institutions of the global economy -- like the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund - whose policies and operations have given more importance to the “rights” of big business than the rights and needs of people and the environment.
The problem of unrestrained corporate power is massive, and it requires a massive solution. That is why Global Justice Now has launched a petition to the UK government --- demanding that it backs the new UN initiative for a legally binding global treaty on transnational corporations and human rights.
This UN treaty is the result of campaigning by countries from across the Global South --- for international laws to regulate the activities of transnational corporations. In June 2014 they successfully got a resolution passed in the UN Human Rights Council, establishing the need for such a treaty.
A working group of member states has been set up to take the treaty forward, chaired by Ecuador, they have met once already in 2015, and have the next meeting scheduled for October 2016, to discuss the scope and content of the treaty.
Meanwhile, civil society groups from across the world have come together and formed the Treaty Alliance movement --- which aims to make sure the treaty comes into being with truly meaningful content.
Although it may sound like a boring technical process, this treaty is something we should be excited about because it provides a huge opportunity in the fight to restrain corporate power. It has massive potential to withdraw the privileges that corporations have gained over recent decades --- and force them to comply with international human rights law, international labour law, and environmental standards.
It would oblige governments to take the power of corporations seriously, and hold them to account for the power they wield.
This would standardise how different governments relate to multinationals --- which means that rather than allowing them to play countries off against one another in a race to the bottom, it would force minimum standards.
But the UK government, well known for its cosy relationship with corporations, has so far refused to take part in this UN treaty. And the UK are not alone: most other EU countries are also opposed to the treaty.
We need to make sure our government does not pass up this rare opportunity: to provide genuine protection for the victims of human rights abuses committed by multinational corporations & place binding obligations on all governments, to hold their corporations to account for their impact(s) on people and the planet.
That’s why groups across the continent are joining forces to make sure their leaders participate in the Geneva talks this October.
The petition urges governments across Europe to participate in the Geneva talks --- and will be delivered to national & EU leaders on October 12.
Of course, the battle against corporate power has many fronts and the UN treaty is only one part of it. At the same time, we need to continue to develop alternative ways to produce and distribute the goods and services we need.
We need to undermine the notion that only massive corporations can make the economy and society “work.”
Food sovereignty and energy democracy are just two examples of how it is possible to build an economy without corporations.
But as long as corporations do play a role in our economy, we need to find ways to control their activity and prevent abuses.
This is why we need to fight for this UN treaty.
The alternative is that we continue to rush towards the dystopian vision of unchallenged corporate power. We cannot allow this to happen. We must fight back.
Aisha Dodwell is campaigns and policy officer at Global Justice Now.
New email leaks show Jack Straw was very grateful for Brexit -- for the most vile reason.
The Canary - New email leaks reveal that Straw, the Foreign Secretary in Blair’s government, was very grateful for Brexit. Not because it gave the UK public a say in the direction of their country, but because it created a distraction from the publication of the Chilcot Report !
Brexit’s “silver lining”, according to Blair’s co-architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, was that it buried the Chilcot Report, alongside the millions who died as a result of the war.
Straw tells Powell: ‘We’ve got to spin this right’
According to the leaks, on 4th July (2 days before publication of the Chilcot Report), Straw emailed former US Secretary of State Powell, his accomplice in the Iraq invasion.
He wanted to discuss an ''appropriate response'' to the upcoming release of the inquiry.
Straw had drafted a statement which he thought Powell “should see”, as it referenced him. After welcoming Powell’s feedback on the statement, Straw turned his attention to the current political climate in the UK, and the effect it might have on the reception of the Chilcot Report:
"Meanwhile, as you will have seen, British politics is in the most extraordinary phase I’ve ever known. The only silver lining of the Brexit vote is that it will reduce medium term attention on Chilcot – though it will not stop the day of publication being uncomfortable."
For Straw, who had campaigned for the ‘Remain’ camp in the EU referendum, there was a bright side to Brexit. He believed that it would take the heat off the report into his government’s actions in Iraq.
Was Straw right? Did the report on Blair’s invasion fall flat?
6 July, the day the Chilcot Report was published, there was wall-to-wall coverage. The Guardian alone published over 40 articles that day. But by 8th July, that number had shrunk to 11. And within one week, the coverage had whittled down to almost nothing.
The BBC also published dozens of news articles on the report the day it was released. But its top-listed “Editor’s choice” section on the Chilcot Report, points its readers to very little coverage after that date.
Of course, there was an avalanche of other news to cover: the Brexit fallout; the Labour coup; the Conservative Party’s own leadership battle after David Cameron resigned. But it does appear that -- after an initial flurry of reporting on the Chilcot findings, interest in it quickly dispersed.
Phew, we made it!
Straw and Powell communicated again about a month later, musing on their countries’ reaction to the report. On 3rd August, Powell emailed the previous Foreign Secretary to tell him the Chilcot Report “didn’t amount to anything over here”. He explained that, in the US, Blair “was mentioned a lot for a short period of time”, but all was quiet on the western front now.
Straw responded:
"Yes, the Chilcot story has faded altogether here too. It was unpleasant on the day but almost all the focus was on Tony [Blair]. But even for him it seems to have gone."
He added:
"There is some stuff about some relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq trying to get a legal action against Tony on its feet buy [sic] it’s hard to see how that could work."
Families of British soldiers killed in Iraq have launched an appeal to fund a prosecution of Tony Blair & other state officials “who might have acted unlawfully, or in excess of their powers”. If they succeed, which Straw obviously doubts, Blair’s defence will be paid for by the taxpayer, despite the former PM being a millionaire.
Scorched on our souls
Straw’s relief that the “unpleasant” attention surrounding the Iraq War report had “faded” reveals an unsettling attitude towards one of the UK’s most disastrous decisions.
The invasion of Iraq was an absolute catastrophe. Countless lives were lost, an entire region was thrown into chaos, terrorism blossomed, and the UK's reputation around the world, was ruined.
But seemingly, all Straw can focus on is saving his own skin.
UK citizens, and all those around the world affected by the decisions made here in the UK, deserve better architects than this.
The fact that we are all now acutely aware of that -- is the only true ‘silver lining’ of this disgusting episode in UK history.
Get Involved, please:
– Donate to the crowdfunding appeal seeking to hold those responsible for the war to account.
https://www.crowdjustice.co.uk/case/chilcot/
(they've now raised about £170,000)
– Take action with the Stop the War Coalition against the militarisation of our world.
Plaid Cymru's Adam Price has started a petition aimed at securing a House of Commons debate on the motion that Tony Blair acted in contempt of Parliament when taking Britain to war in Iraq.
The petition reads:
“The Chilcot Report has presented a range of evidence that demonstrates that Parliament and the country were misled by Tony Blair in the run up to the war in Iraq.
"Parliament should now agree a process by which it can hold the former Prime Minister to account.”
To get this Parliamentary debate considered, needs 100,000 signatures by Jan. 20th, 2017.
To sign the petition, please go here:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/159996
Here's John McDonnell, in a speech congratulating DPAC and explaining how solidarity can defeat these cuts.
What's disability got to do with peace? Try being disabled, or a woman, or elderly, or of a different race, or gay, or vulnerable, in a land where "dog eats dog" !!!
Protestors block Westminster Bridge over government disability cuts
A group from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) blocked Westminster bridge for several hours last Wednesday, in protest against government cuts to disability benefits.
Protesters held large banners reading “No more deaths from benefit cuts.” The protest was met with a heavy police presence, which eventually broke it up and at least 2 people were arrested.
DPAC said over 150 people, many in wheelchairs, attended the protest -- to call for better financial support. The protest also drew attention to the treatment of disabled athletes at the Paralympics’ games in Rio.
On its website, DPAC claimed, in 2015, that the UK became the first country in the world to be investigated by the United Nations for grave, systematic violations of disabled people’s rights.
"This is a direct result of the disproportionate impact of austerity on disabled people, and the ideological attacks, waged by the Tory government, which have seen disabled people and the poorest members of society hit by cut after cut after cut.”
Another DPAC official said the protest was part of a week of action to highlight changes to the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) to help people aged 16 to 64 cope with extra costs, as well as the significant cuts of up to £30 a week for some, who claim the Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
"It's the opening of the Paralympics tonight & we're celebrating all the athletes, but the cuts that they're bringing through, mean that other peoples' lives, are going dramatically backwards," Ellen Clifford said, at the event.
There are almost half a million sick and disabled people receiving the ESA benefit; these people are likely to be unemployed for longer than other jobseekers - who are not struggling with disabilities or health difficulties.
Last year, the United Nations held an inquiry into whether the UK government welfare cuts led to rights abuses and the death of over 2,000 disabled Britons.
This came after the Department of Work and Pensions, revealed that 2,380 people have died within six weeks of being declared "fit to work" by the government between 2011 and 2014.
For more information see:
www.dpac.uk.net.
For access needs please contact
mail@dpac.uk.net
or07505144371 (text only)
Donations:
All donations however small to help are extremely valuable. To donate you can go via the paypal button on the DPAC website...
http://dpac.uk.net/2
or to make a direct transfer contact:
mail@dpac.uk.net
SUPPORT THE WORLD PEACE COUNCIL (& request the dissolution of NATO.)
The secretariat of the World Peace Council, chaired by Brazilian activist Socorro Gomes, met in Brussels, to assess the latest events in the world, recent challenges in the struggle for peace, and to assess the NATO summit.
The meeting also addressed the question of US bases around the world, and especially their recent installation on Colombian territory.
Socorro Gomes states, "we must examine the latest events in the world, the new targets of US policy in Afghanistan, Pakistan and recently, in Yemen."
"Peace today is threatened more than at the end of the Cold War, because imperialism is following its plans with a new concept of NATO, which contends that the military pact is essential to the defense of Europe. It has militarized the European continent and now seeks to achieve greater unity between the US and EU," says Socorro.
According to the Brazilian activist, NATO is an instrument of US imperialism, as the US holds the key command & several important positions in the hierarchy of the military pact.
NATO was created in 1949 as a military instrument to respond to the threat of the Soviet Union.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its allies in Europe, NATO no longer has an excuse to stay in existence. "NATO is a weapon of war used to harm people and nations. Its policy is to remain as an armed wing in favor of looting the natural wealth of the countries attacked, to ensure American hegemony," says Socorro.
"The organization's summit.. further discusses its role as "world policeman," adds Socorro. "The World Peace Council, besides discussing broad issues for world peace, proposes the dismantling of the North Atlantic military pact, something that is essential for peace".
Read below the "Appeal against NATO and the realization of their summit in Portugal," made by the World Peace Council (WPC) and its counterpart organization in Portugal:
The World Peace Council (WPC) & the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC), welcome peace-loving people around the world and the peace movements that fight & continue to denounce imperialist wars, illegal occupations and social injustice, and urge them to continue, & to strengthen their efforts & common struggles against imperialism and its apparatus, especially NATO, the greatest war machine in the world.
The WPC denounces before the people of the world the crimes committed by NATO, and continues to commit against humanity under the guise of protecting "human rights" & fighting "terrorism," according to their own interpretation.
Since its founding in 1949, NATO has been an offensive organization. After 1991, with its new military doctrine, it became the "sheriff" of imperialist interests in the world.
It was often linked to bloody & dictatorial regimes, reactionary forces and military juntas. It actively participated in the dismemberment of Yugoslavia in the barbaric bombing of Serbia for 78 days, in the overthrow of governments by "orange revolutions" and in the Afghan occupation.
NATO is continuing its plans for a "Greater Middle East," broadening its scope of action through the "Partnership for Peace" and "special co-operation" in Asia and Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa & the "European Army."
All governments of the member countries share responsibilities in NATO, regardless of the leading role of the US administration.
Any different approaches on some issues hardly reflect points of view and rivalries of their own, but they always lead to a joint aggressive confrontation set against the people.
We condemn the policy of the European Union, which coincides with NATO and the Lisbon Treaty, which goes hand in hand in political & military aspects. The military spending of EU missions abroad between 2002 and 2009, increased from 30 million to 300 million euros.
The people and the peace loving forces around the world will not accept NATO and its role of "sheriff" of the world.
They reject any attempt to incorporate NATO into the UN system. They demand the dissolution of this offensive war machine. Even the false pretext of the Warsaw Treaty no longer exists today.
The World Peace Council & its members & friends will host dozens of countries in various national and international initiatives against NATO and its new strategic concept.
We will organize, jointly with the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC), initiatives and conferences in Portugal, and mass action before and during the days of the NATO summit.
Under the motto:
DISSOLVE NATO, Enemy of the People. Peace!!!
WPC calls on all organizations in member countries of NATO and around the world, to support this, stressing the following aspects: NATO has been an aggressive and reactionary force since its founding in 1949. The Warsaw Treaty was created and then dissolved, earlier.
NATO has its hands stained with the blood of many people from over 60 years & can't constitute "a force for peace" in the UN framework.
Despite US dominance, aggression is carried out in conjunction with other imperialist powers, which does not change the character of NATO.
NATO is directly linked to the EU & vice versa, since a large number of EU countries are also NATO members, as well as through the militaristic tendencies and obligations contained in the "Lisbon Treaty."
All governments of NATO member states are responsible for their actions; they support NATO's imperialistic plans.
The NATO war against Yugoslavia in 1999, was a milestone for a new dogma during the summit in Washington in 1999. It then became clear that the EU isn't a "democratic counterweight" to the US.
NATO acts as a global policeman with employees on all continents, executing its plan for a "Greater Middle East" and it actively intervened in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and elsewhere.
We fully support & endorse the campaign in Portugal "Peace yes, NATO no" which brings together dozens of social movements and organizations.
We call upon all peace-loving organizations to join with their voices and forces.
You can find the World Peace Council at:
http://www.wpc-in.org/
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NATO READY TO CRUSH EUROPEAN DISSENT
(Is THIS why our so-called "Peace Movement" in the UK refuses to oppose NATO's aggression?)
On May 16th, the leader of the political party Zmiana (“Change”), Mateusz Piskorski, in Poland, issued a prescient warning on his blog that NATO’s newly deployed Very High Readiness Joint Task Force is going to “pacify” protests and opposition groups according to the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 4 on the pretext of fighting a “Russian hybrid war.”
Piskorski warned that NATO’s repressive plans, admitted by the Multinational Corps Northeast’s General Krol himself, would ultimately render any forms of protest in the country, whether on the streets or on the internet, subject to suppression, by order of US-NATO advisors.
Two days later, on May 18th, armed agents of the Internal Security Agency raided Zmiana’s office and its activists’ homes, & arrested & imprisoned Piskorski as a media campaign hurled the ridiculous charge that he was a “Russian, Chinese, and/or Iraqi spy.”
In a telling and foreboding instance, officers even confiscated ordinary Polish flags from Zmiana activists, a move which in Poland's history, has usually accompanied a war on Polish soil.
With no official charges brought against him, Poland’s main anti-NATO figure who in 2015 declared that “a Poland without NATO is a Poland without wars”, to this day, remains in isolation in prison, from where he has stressed in 2 urgent letters, that Poland is being converted into a launch pad and target for WWIII.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
French people gather signatures - Petition to get France out of NATO
Headline:
At Warsaw they got set for war. Let's get out of NATO!
"The last NATO summit in Warsaw, was just one more provocation against Russia.
With this appeal, the signatories mean to say "STOP" to this nuclear escalation ---- before something un-do-able gets done."
Text:
The hour is grave. A new missile crisis is brewing against Russia, a mirror image of the 1962 missile crisis when the Soviet Union deployed missiles in Cuba, at the very portals of the United States. The situation has gone upside down: then, NATO was struggling against the Warsaw Pact; this time, it met in Warsaw!
Therefore, we the undersigned, find that we are faced with a provocative policy of encirclement:
1. continuous expansion of NATO to Russia's borders, despite the guarantees given by the West to Gorbachev, in 1989, that this would not happen;
2. deployment of the Aegis missile defense shield in Romania, Poland, Turkey, and Spain. Featuring MK41 launch systems, these weapons can be used for defense missions (anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, anti-ship), but also for attack missions against ground targets;
3. deployment in the Baltic countries, Poland, and Romania, by rotation, of four regiments of a thousand men each, with permanent military equipment;
4. constitution of a "northern" front against Russia, bringing together NATO members (Denmark, Iceland and Norway) --- or its Partnership for Peace (Sweden & Finland).
To end this menace we demand:
That it announce its decision to leave the organization, which no longer has any raison d’être.
We call on France to create the conditions for a return to a peaceful order in the world based on "win-win" cooperation proposed by the BRICS, which Europe and the US have an interest in joining.
Let us mobilize today, all those means that we committed in the twentieth century, for war, to peace through mutual development!
Talking To the Common People (in the end... kick out the NGOs)
Still believe we are the Free good, loving, honest West?
Watch Australia and Canada's leaders joining the war on Iraq.
Did one copy the other, or were they sent the same CIA speech?
Either way, it's a scream!
THIS IS YOUR WARNING !!!
If you want to avoid all life disintegrating and your children and grandchildren slowly... sliding... into a World War
take action now - join a Peace movement.
Replace the ego-centric individuals now pretending they are good people because they pose at truly opposing the militarists and venal political class.
Then act- now, today - or this week!
Join a peace movement near you - and if you're looking to find a saintly person there, with hardly any faults...
it'll have to be you!
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THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NO LONGER EXISTS
And an orchestrated war with Russia has all of us marked for extinction
by Paul Craig Roberts
The Democratic Party that once was concerned with workers’ rights, the elderly, civil rights, and the constitutional protections of America liberty no longer exists. As the completed Democrat's presidential primaries & Democrat presidential convention have clearly demonstrated, the US now has two Republican parties in service to the One Percent.
The organized Democrats - the Democrat National Committee - show themselves as even more venal and corrupt than the Republicans. Leaked emails document that the Democrat National Committee conspired with the Hillary campaign to steal the nomination from Bernie Sanders. It is clear that Sanders was THE choice of Democrat Party voters for president, but the nomination was stolen from him by vote fraud and dirty tricks.
The DNC and the media whores have tried to discredit the incriminating emails by alleging that the leaked emails resulted from a plot by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on behalf of “Putin’s American agent,” Donald Trump. “A vote for Trump is a vote for Putin,” as the presstitute scum put it.
This diversionary tactic has not worked. Not even Americans are stupid enough to fall for it.
Consequently, the corrupt “leader” of the DNC had to resign, and was unable to deliver her speech at the nominating convention, for fear of being booed off the stage.
Sanders’ supporters have abandoned Hillary & the fake “Democrat Party.”
Organized Republicans - the Republican National Committee–and zionist neoconservatives wanted to block Donald Trump from the nomination, just as the DNC blocked Sanders, but could not. The neoconservatives are organizing for Hillary as she is their warmonger & Trump says he is not, but as the Presidential contest is really a contest between the two Republican parties about which gets to be the whore for the 1 Percent, the RNC, impressed with Hillary’s lack of voter support, seems to be sticking with Trump. Better to be a well-paid whore, than to be out in the cold.
Donald Trump is the American people’s choice, because he opposes the offshoring of American jobs–a corporate practice that has enriched the 1% at the expense of the American middle class.
Donald Trump is the American people’s choice, because he opposes the fabricated, gratuitous conflict with Russia. Even Americans understand that taking war to a major nuclear power will not end well.
Donald Trump is the American people’s choice because he realizes that NATO–an organization whose purpose disappeared 25 years ago when the Soviet Union collapsed as a result of a coup against Gorbachev, by extreme elements of the Soviet Communist Party–now serves as a vehicle and cover for Washington’s aggressions, which are war crimes under the international statutes which Washington created. Washington’s wars benefit some of the One Percent at the expense of both the 99 Percent and millions of innocent people, in many countries.
What will happen now is the presstitutes will demonize Donald Trump ---- even more than they have demonized Vladimir Putin. These Scum presstitutes will do everything they can do, to make supporting Trump into an act of treason against America.
Now the presstitutes have learned they can tell the most blatant lies–Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, Iranian nukes, Assad’s use of chemical weapons, Russian invasions–without being held accountable, they know that they can lie about Trump.
And they will. To the hilt.
But the presstitutes have lost credibility. A person has to be an imbecile to believe a word that they say.
“Progressives” will wander off the track. They will be turned off by Trump’s stand on immigration, which is where the American people stand. “Progressives” will be worried about whether the ‘fascist” Trump will persecute transgender & homosexual people or revoke the right of women to abort the unborn. To “progressives” this will seem all important, as Washington and its NATO vassals hurl the world into nuclear war.
Neither can any intelligence be expected from the defunct American left-wing. The American left-wing supports the official story of 9/11, the excuse for the last 15 years of illegal wars and the American Police State. To find the American left-wing totally allied with the official explanation of what is in reality a false flag event, committed so neoconservatives would have their new Pearl Harbor -- in order to invade the Middle East, is demonstrable proof that the American left-wing is irrelevant.
The American left interprets 9/11 and subsequent false flag events as oppressed people hitting back at their oppressors. The emotional satisfaction of this takes the impotent American left-wing out not only of action but out of relevance in commentary. The American left-wing has become an asset of the enemy–the neoconservatives who control policy in Washington.
So, where do we stand? The answer is that we are closer to nuclear annihilation than ever before. I know of what I speak. I held the highest security clearances. I was a member of a secret committee that enabled President Reagan to end the Cold War.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is doing everything he can possibly do to avoid a nuclear war that the crazed American neoconservatives are bringing to humanity. For his efforts on behalf of planet Earth he is demonized 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year after year. For simply stating facts, I'm described by the presstitutes as “an apologist for Putin.”
The endless lies about Russia have convinced the Russian media, that Washington is mobilizing its NATO vassals for an attack on Russia.
If you aren’t scared, you are stupid beyond belief. The message is clear: the West has declared war on Russia, but is trying to keep Russia off guard by denying it.
Russian news shows the dismissive way the Russian media was treated at a recent NATO conference in Poland. Non-entity delegates of the non-entity countries of Latvia, which the West ruthlessly looted, plus Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, & Ukraine delegates, refused to speak to the Russian media or used interviews to echo the US’s false accusations against Russia.
These imbeciles insulting Russia are represent- atives of countries that Russia could destroy in a few minutes. If these idiots think Washington can save them, they're as stupid as the Polish colonels who thought the British guarantee in March 1939 meant anything --- and could save Poland from the rash action of sticking Poland’s fingers in Hitler’s eye. This Polish stupidity provoked by the stupid British set off World War II with the British and French declaration of war against Germany, thus consigning Poland to Soviet rule for a half century. Some guarantee! The imbecile Chamberlain -- who wanted peace -- started WWII, with Britain’s worthless “guarantee.”
Does it make you feel safe that the arrogant warmongering imbeciles in Washington have convinced a nuclear power the equal of the United States that America is going to attack?
Moreover, Russia is a nuclear power allied with another nuclear power, China, which has had enough of the US’s imbecilic provocations.
Are you willing for “your” government to lead your future into nuclear war, with two nuclear powers?
Here we Americans went into the presidential election and the overpowering fact of our time– that Washington is threatening humanity with nuclear war–wasn't a subject for discussion!
What is the matter with us Americans? Are we stupid beyond all belief? We sit, thinking that issues of no importance are the most important issues of our time while “our” insane government provokes nuclear war. Have any people in history failed their obligation to this extent? If so, who?
My case rests. There is no countervailing evidence against the fact that unadulterated evil rules the West ----- and is driving the world to extinction. Western democracy is a total failure. Democracy could not prevent the crazed warmonger Hillary from presidential nomination, despite the opposition of the American people.
How long can Russia, & China, wait before they conclude that they have to pre-empt the coming attack from Washington? Does anyone, even stupid Americans, think that once Russia and China are convinced that they are targets for attack, that they will just sit there and await the attack?
Do people as guilty of dereliction of duty as Western people are, have any right to survive?
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, & Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West, How America Was Lost, and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order.
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What was the 'Cuban missile crisis'... really all about?
The US spun it then and spins it now as "Russian aggression beaten by the US". Yet Russians say the US put missiles in Turkey, so they put theirs in Cuba.
Russia removed their missiles from Cuba -- on the condition that the US took their Pershing nuke missiles out from Turkey.
There are now fifty US nuclear warheads in Turkey -- but Russia is the aggressor?
Again???
FIRST IRAQ --- NOW SYRIA
If you think - like Blair - that launching wars in pursuit of 'Democracy and Human Rights' is "a good thing" - then you will believe the latest lies and support the current US/UK bombing of civilians and infrastructure in Syria...
as the liberals who dominate Wales' peace movement do.. apparently.... Damascus denounces US-led ‘massacre’ in Syria ---- and calls on UN to intervene
Syria has called on the United Nations to take immediate action against the so-called US-led coalition: to stop it conducting more airstrikes in the country, after the US/UK coalition’s latest airborne assault claimed the lives of over 40 civilians.
In two separate letters sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council President Koro Bessho,, the Syrian Foreign Ministry strongly denounced the coalitions new “atrocities committed against civilians” and called to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The letters were written after US-led warplanes launched airstrikes on Ghandour town, which is over 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) away from the violence-ridden city of Manbij, in Syria’s strategic northern province of Aleppo.
At least “45 civilians were brutally killed and 50 others were injured” --- in the deadly airstrikes.
The development came, after at least 15 people were killed/injured in US-led airstrikes against al-Nawajah village east of Manbij, on July 23rd, a few days after another deadly US-led raid left 120 civilians dead, near Manbij.
On July 22nd, the military coalition also killed at least 20 civilians in Manbij and claimed the lives of at least 30 more, including 11 children, in the same city, on June the 9th, in aerial attacks purportedly conducted against the Daesh positions in the area.
Syria's Foreign Ministry also censures the endless support of France, the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar for so- called “moderate opposition” groups: - calling it overt support for terrorists who are wreaking havoc across the world --- and, specifically, in Syria.
The letters also say that any anti-terror campaign in Syria is doomed to fail --- unless done in cooperation with Syria's government --- and in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.
The ministry cites the remarkable similarity between the “massacres” perpetrated by the US-led coalition - and terrorist groups operating in Syria, saying both sides are trying to exacerbate the situation over the country... since the Syrian army’s recent victories in Aleppo city.
It also calls on "the UN Security Council to enforce its anti-terrorism resolutions against those states backing terrorism.”
The letters state in conclusion:Syria will not give up its fight against terrorism and pursuing a political solution to the crisis "without foreign interference."
The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes.... on what are said to be Daesh terrorists in Syria since September 2014 --- without authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. They have repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians.
The so-called Coalition has also been largely incapable of fulfilling its declared aim ----- of destroying Daesh.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy, since March 2011. UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, now estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria --- citing its "inability" to verify the figures that it receives... from various sources.
WALES PEACE MOVEMENT?
Activists urged protest rallies over the deadly US-led airstrikes in Syria --- for Sunday, July 24th. NO-ONE showed up in Wales at all ! __________________________
Working-class socialists Needed! Once I had the unfortunate experience to visit Cardiff as the illegal Iraq war broke, and the "peace" activists there spent an hour... just bitching at each other - in front of a young lady from Iraq who'd travelled all over the UK, asking for help.
I caught her smiling, as I chewed them out for their lack of sincerity and their childish egos - although their only response was... "Well! If you're going to be unpleasant..."
It seems that MOMENTUM is needed within the peace movement in Wales...
Phone NOW to complain about so-called organisers' inactivity!
Blairites' illegal war --- in Syria!
The Syrian government has written to the United Nations, asking the world body to condemn the US / UK airstrikes which are carried out without authorization from Damascus, or a UN mandate.
The US-led coalition has been backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish & Arab forces, to capture Manbij since last May.
The Syrian government has criticized the unauthorized aerial campaign, saying it has damaged Syria's infrastructure instead of making a dent in the terrorists' capabilities.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PATRIARCHS YAZIGI, LAHAM, APHREM II APPEAL TO THE WORLD TO LIFT THE ANTI-SYRIAN SANCTIONS
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch & All East, John X Yazigi, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Gregorios III Laham, and Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch & All East, Mar Ignatius Aphrem II, issued an appeal on Tuesday, calling on the world and relevant states, to lift the siege and sanctions imposed on the Syrian people.
In the appeal, the Patriarchs say, if the goals for imposing sanctions are political ones, the sanctions affect the Syrian people, & mainly the impoverished and the working class in a drastic manner, particularly in their daily lives and ability to buy food and receive medical services.
The appeal notes that, although Syria's people remain steadfast in the face of this ordeal, the social condition is deteriorating and poverty and suffering are increasing, which is what prompted the Damascus-based Patriarchs to issue this humanitarian appeal, given that they are in touch with the suffering of the Syrians.
The Patriarchs call for the taking of unusual steps and brave, wise, and responsible decisions -- that take into account humanitarianism, human rights, and international accords, and lift the economic sanctions imposed on Syria --- adding that this would restore unity among Syrians and curb the exploitation of the Syrians’ ordeal, by sides that have no good intentions for Syria --- in addition to helping clerical establishments perform their humanitarian work.
The Patriarchs stress the appeal is in line with the desire of several states and humanitarian organizations who want to help Syria's people, & they hope the international community will react to this appeal & end the sanctions that constitute another aspect of the crisis, and which seek to pressure individuals, establishments, and companies -- thereby pressuring the entire Syrian population.
They point out that the lack of new investments, blocking of international flights to Syria, cutting exports to it, and blacklisting some of its firms, isolate Syria from the international community, as does closing most Western embassies in it, and they add that stopping bank transactions with Syria further exasperates the economic conditions and threatens the Syrian people's livelihood and dignity.
Please start a support group --- contact your local and national representatives - os gwelwch yn dda!
With 640,000 members - and growing - Labour was the largest left-wing party in Europe.
With the overwhelming majority joining to say #CorbynStays, the #ChickenCoup was not called off.
join.peoplesmomentum.com
YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE A LABOUR PARTY MEMBER? - so join the Anti-Austerity Movement!
‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guide to Reselection and Democratic Accountability by Eric Sim
Unlike local councillors and those who sit on internal party committees, Labour MPs are not expected to renew their party mandate through regular candidate reselections. However, there is one means by which MPs are held democratically accountable to the party: the trigger mechanism.
The process.
Step 1: At some point in the run up to a general election the national executive committee (NEC) sets a timetable for re-selections. The NEC also sets the guidelines for this process, within the very broad parameters set out in the Labour rule book.
Step 2: If the sitting MP wishes to re-stand for election the ‘trigger ballot’ process begins. This is organised by a nominated officer of the constituency Labour party (CLP), normally the secretary, and overseen by the regional office (appointed staff members).
Step 3: All the constituency’s branches and its affiliates (trade unions, socialist societies, co- operative organisations) are entitled to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to re-selecting the sitting MP.
Branches will meet in person to vote. Affiliates will decide their own process for deciding this matter.
Step 4: Each branch and affiliate is counted equally, irrespective of the number of members. If a majority of branches/affiliates vote ‘No’ then a full selection procedure takes place. The sitting MP has the right to appeal this decision to the NEC.
Step 5: In the event of a ‘No’ vote a selection procedure takes place. The sitting MP is eligible to stand in this selection and is guaranteed a space on the final shortlist.
The obstacles(and their solutions).
The process above is not simple, and any campaign to open a selection procedure in a constituency will face a series of obstacles.
Obstacle 1: The NEC has the right to set the guidelines for the trigger procedure. An NEC that is sympathetic to the need for greater accountability could set guidelines that empower party members. An NEC which is keen to minimise the risk of challenges to sitting MPs, could set guidelines that make this difficult: for instance, a short timeframe close to the general election.
Solution: Be sure to elect to the NEC supporters of member-led party democracy.
Obstacle 2: Each constituency will have the trigger procedure managed by a CLP officer. Like the above point concerning the NEC, the person overseeing this process will have some discretion over how it is done. If this person is not sympathetic to reselections, it will be possible for them to make it difficult to call one.
Solution: Make sure CLP committees and officers are supporters of member-led party democracy.
Obstacle 3a: Branches are weighted equally, regardless of membership, so it is possible for a majority of members to support reselection but for a majority of branches to vote against it (the opposite is, of course, also possible).
Solution: Work hard to build an active membership across all branches. This will support the goal of reselection but more importantly will develop our party into an activist force that can transform society.
Obstacle 3b: Trade unions and other affiliates decide their own processes for the trigger ballot, and this might be decided nationally not locally.
Solution: Be active in your affiliate and trade union branches and submit motions for greater accountability for Labour MPs to their national decision-making bodies (conference or executive normally).
Obstacle 4: A deselected MP can appeal to the NEC.
Solution: Appeals to the NEC should only be on the grounds that proper procedures weren't carried out. It is important to elect NEC members who comply with this ruling, and do not use this power to their factional advantage.
Obstacle 5: The MP defects and stands against the official Labour candidate. Even where they have no hope of winning, this could split the Labour vote and allow another party to win the seat.
Solution: This might be the biggest obstacle. And the only solution, is for the local party to be mobilised in support of the party’s decisions. If a defecting MP takes a large chunk of the local activists with them then that will hit the party’s organising capacity in a big way. But if an atmosphere of inclusivity and democracy is developed in the party then this will not be possible. This requires years of hard work in branches and constituencies across the country.
Should you deselect?
It is worth thinking long and hard about whether you want the sitting MP to be deselected (of course, you might argue that as a democratic principle, there should be a selection ballot either way). In addition to consideration of the MP’s politics, their attitude towards party democracy and their demographic identity (are they from an underrepresented group?), it is also worth considering the following:
How popular is the MP?
If the MP has a big ‘personal vote’ in the electorate then deselection might have a big effect on Labour’s vote share and hand the seat to a rival party. It might also encourage the deselected MP to defect and stand against the party.
How long have they been there?
There is lots of data to suggest that first-term MPs find it much easier to win re-election. Some suggest that this is because they are keen and work harder, but whatever it is, it’s an argument against deselecting a recently-elected MP.
How safe is the seat?
Deselecting a Labour MP in a Labour safe seat will likely end in the subsequent Labour candidate being elected. Deselecting a Labour MP in a marginal seat will likely end in the seat going to a rival party. This is more likely if the sitting MP has a personal vote, and more likely still if they then stand against the party.
Action plan.
If you decide to open a reselection procedure in your local party it is not enough to begin planning the week before. It requires years of work.
You need to:
Work to get pro-democracy candidates elected to the NEC. See here for more information about such candidates: http://grassrootslabour.net/
Win the argument for democratic accountability and reselection, in trade unions and affiliates. This means winning the argument in branches across the country, now, so that they can be fed up to the national level.
Develop local parties in every branch and constituency in the party that are a) committed to party member-led democracy and accountability, and b) able to campaign hard against not only other parties, but also against a defecting MP, even if some members follow said MP.
Again, this is hard work that needs to start right now: knocking on doors in our communities and winning arguments in our CLPs.
Where is the Peace Movement?
In prior articles I have argued that Putin has little choice but to launch nuclear strikes ----- should a war between Russia and NATO occur. That is so, precisely because Russia cannot win a protracted, conventional war of attrition. The anaconda would simply keep squeezing and squeezing with all its combined military and economic muscle, in the event of a WWII-style war.
The march toward a showdown between NATO and Russia -- due to conflicts in Syria and the Ukraine -- is therefore a march toward nuclear holocaust.
Atomic scientists have the Doomsday Clock set at 3 minutes until midnight. Where is the international peace movement?
We are on the verge of extinction, yet seem incapable of responding as an intelligent, organized collective, to stop this insanity.
Are we thinking that our leaders, and I mean all of them, are going to have an epiphany and suddenly put on the brakes and reverse course?
That is a fantasy. The end of the Cold War was supposed to produce a peace dividend & end any chance of future hostilities between the combatants. That never materialized. In fact, we are in a far more dangerous situation now than at any time in the past.
But the mass media is not reporting the truth of it now, and the population, east and west, is half asleep in blissful ignorance.
We are running out of time and the clock may strike midnight, and then we shall all wake up to witness our own demise. Yet too late, then, to demand peace...
The War Masters see this as an elaborate chess game --------- but it is no game for the rest of us.
When aggressors illegally invaded last time, the League of Nations refused to act with honour - leading us straight to World War 2.
I bet if we had been alive then, we'd have done SOMETHING, even if it was simply to write urgently to the League of Nations.
Please read the article below -- and then contact the UN Secretary General to demand a more principled stand....
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Yemen Echoes of 1930s Aggression and Descent into Barbarism
by Finian CUNNINGHAM
Both the Arab League and the United Nations have fully transformed themselves into the ill-fated League of Nations that more than 70 years ago disgraced itself into oblivion when it failed to condemn foreign aggressions that eventually led to the cataclysm of World War 2.
As delegates gathered in Egypt’s resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the Arab League last week-end, nearly half of its member states were at the same time openly engaged in an aerial blitz on one of the League’s weakest countries – Yemen.
Far from issuing any misgiving, or appeal for restraint, the League fully endorsed the on- slaught on Yemen and even went on to call for a new "unified military force" to repeat the action in other countries where a "security risk" is deemed. This is a cart blanche for further foreign military inter- ventions bypassing the United Nations Security Council. In other words, it is open season for lawless aggression.
With a population of only 24 million, and half of them living in poverty, Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab region. It is also a founding member of the Arab League, which was formed in 1945 at the end of World War 2.
Since last week, scores of Yemeni civilians, including children, have been killed in a massive bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia & co-ordinated by the United States.
The bombing coalition of 10 countries includes Egypt, North Sudan, Morocco and the Persian Gulf Arab states of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Over 200 fighter jets from those countries have been reported carrying out air strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as well as on the southern port city of Aden and its surrounding countryside.
Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab countries claim that the Houthi-led uprising in Yemen is being orchestrated by Iran. But the claims are far from substantiated and most likely trumped-up self-serving reasons -- providing justification for what is otherwise simply criminal aggression toward Yemen.
The Washington Post reported: "The Saudis and their allies think [sic] that the Shiite rebels are backed by Iran and that Tehran is trying to exert control over a country [regime] that has been an an ally of Riyadh and Washington."
The latter factual detail about the erstwhile Yemeni regime being an ally of Riyadh and Washington, is the real key to the latest Saudi-led offensive, not the speculative hearsay about Iran.
So, Yemen is being bombed and civilians are being massacred merely because the Saudis and their allies "think" that Iran is somehow involved. No proof, no legal case, just bombs away.
The Houthis are a Shia sect and reportedly keep friendly political, diplomatic relations with Shia Iran. But both categorically deny any military involvement.
Rather, the Houthis, (Ansarullah), appear to be the vanguard of popular rebellion against the ousted Yemeni regime, long-supported by Saudi Arabia and the US.
Last week, the deposed president Abdel Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the country to take refuge in Saudi Arabia.
Even if Iran was supporting the Houthis, it still does not legitimise an all-out bombing of Yemen -- led by a consortium of Arab monarchies armed and guided by the US.
In Sanaa over the past week family homes, shops and offices have been demolished during hundreds of sorties by warplanes as the Saudi-led coalition pounded the city on nightly raids. Yemen’s international airport was so badly hit it is no longer functioning, thus cutting off the country.
A naval blockade by Saudi, Egyptian and US warships has also severed Yemen’s access to the Red Sea to its west.
While in on the southern coast, in Aden, bodies of civilians were reportedly strewn on streets as hospitals filled up with the wounded, and as US warships patrolled the Gulf of Aden.
Against this background of slaughter, the Arab League endorsed the Saudi-led military attacks. Saudi King Salman told the summit that the bombing campaign would continue until Houthi rebels are defeated.
Meaning there is no end in sight to the onslaught. Indeed, it is now anticipated that the extensive aerial bombardment and naval siege is paving the way for a massive ground invasion of 150,000 Saudi troops that were mobilised last week along the north Yemeni border.
Attending the Arab League convocation, & royally received, was the discredited president of Yemen, Mansour Hadi.
He called on the Saudi military coalition to not relent in its strikes against his own country until the Houthi 'Iranian stooges' are crushed. The irony is, that Mansour Hadi is widely excoriated within Yemen, and not just by the Houthis, as a stooge of Saudi Arabia and Washington.
His steadfast refusal to deliver on popular demands for a democratic transition in Yemen over the past three years, led to the Houthis seizing the capital and government institutions, as 2014 ended.
The latest Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen - overseen by Washington - has been condemned by Iran, Russia & China.
But the United Nations has shown lamentable passivity in the face of this foreign aggression on Yemen. Speaking at the Arab League summit, UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon failed to make any condemnation of the aerial bombardment of that country.
"It is my fervent hope that at this Arab League summit leaders will lay down clear guidelines to peacefully resolve the crisis in Yemen," said Ban Ki-Moon, with a complacency bordering on cynicism.
He urged Arab members to engage in peace talks supposedly brokered by his special envoy, Jamal Benomar. This was said as Saudi Arabia and others were openly vowing to continue their blitzkrieg.
The naked aggression on Yemen, with the complicity of the US & European capitals, is perhaps the nadir for the Arab League and the United Nations.
The descent of these organisations into disgraceful irrelevance has been decades in the making. Their despicable transform- ation into tools of aggression, is now clear in the eyes of the world.
The UN and Arab League have remained silent while the US & its allies launched war after war on countries over the past 2 decades, most notably on Iraq during the 1990s and 2000s, which resulted in over one million dead, mainly civilians.
Worse, the UN and the Arab League stand accused of complicity by giving Washington a de facto green light - & on some occasions logistical support - to wage its wars across the Middle East.
In 2011, the Arab League expelled Libya & Syria, even though these countries were being subjected to US-NATO aggression, along with the collusion of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was murdered by NATO-aided and Gulf-financed extremists in 2011, denounced the Arab League, before his death, as "finished".
Syria, like Yemen, was a founding member of the Arab League, yet the government of President Bashar al Assad remains to this day, suspended from the 22-member organisation.
The Syrian government’s seat has been given over to the Western-backed Syrian National Council, which is comprised of non-entity exiles who have no popular mandate in Syria.
The League is thus nothing more than a self- serving talking shop, dominated by Saudi Arabia and the other oil-rich Gulf Arab kingdoms. As client regimes of Washington, that, in turn, makes the League a tool of the US: to give a thin cover for its imperial predations in the Middle East & N. Africa.
Ironically, one of the founding principles of the Arab League is to protect the 'sovereignty and independence' of its members.
Ominously, the lawlessness and outright aggression that has gripped international affairs – with the latest manifestation in the collective bombing of Yemen – is reminiscent of the 1930s.
That perilous period saw a series of inter- national aggressions carried out by fascist powers with impunity. The League of Nations – a forerunner of the UN – facilitated these aggressions through its shameful silence and connivance.
When Japan annexed large swathes of China’s Manchuria in 1931, the League of Nations, including the US, Britain and France, largely turned a blind eye.
As they did when fascist Italy bombed its way into Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935-36, Franco’s Spain subjugated Catalonia in 1938, and Hitler’s Nazi Germany annexed Austria & Czech Sudetenland, also in 1938.
The complete breakdown in any semblance of international law during the 1930s & the rise of state-sponsored gangsterism paved the way for the Second World War.
A similar process of degeneration is also well underway in the present day, led largely by the US and its coterie of allies among the NATO alliance -- plus oil-rich Arab dictatorships.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen are but some of the evil fruit from the poison that is coursing through international relations. And yet, ludicrously, Washington accuses Putin and Moscow of behaving like Hitler with a malign 20th Century atavism.
That a defenceless, impoverished country such as Yemen can be openly bombed by hundreds of US-supplied F-15 fighter jets – & for that criminality to be widely endorsed – is a sure sign that the world is once again sliding into the abyss of rampant criminality and the possibility of a more catastrophic all-out war.
Doyle Vic 25 January at 21:51
The worst form of fracking, which was previously licensed for exploration in South East Wales, has been banned.
Underground coal gasification will not go ahead in UK
______________________________________________
May's Bribe For Frack Site Locals by Peter Lazenby
The PM’s fracking free-for-all slush fund ‘will set neighbours against each other’ in a nightmare dash for gas.
Theresa May stands accused of offering “blatant bribes” to householders to accept fracking near their homes, using millions of pounds of public money.
The PM proposes offering “incentives” of £10,000 to £20,000 from the public purse to locals to allow shale gas fracking operations to be carried out by profiteering companies.
Ex-chancellor George Osborne had previously suggested handing 10% of taxes from fracking companies to communities blighted by fracking.
Ms May has gone further, by suggesting that the bribes be offered to individuals.
But Greenpeace chief scientist Doug Parr warns that “public opposition has soared and support for shale has tanked,” and “people’s concerns over climate change & their local environment cannot be silenced with a wad of cash.”
The proposals have also been condemned by Labour and the Green Party.
Anti-fracking campaigners in North Yorkshire - where one small area alone, Ryedale, is now threatened by 4,000 fracking wells - urges all communities to stay solid in their opposition to fracking.
The practice is banned in Scotland, France and Germany.
Frack Free Ryedale activist Sue Gough, who lives near a proposed fracking site:
“This is a cynical attempt by the Tories, to bribe local people to accept fracking by offering them hard cash.
“People need to know that by accepting this money they are selling their communities down the river and condemning them to industrialisation and ruination by the frackers, who have no respect for our environment, our livelihoods or health.”
The site will be operated by the company 'Third Energy'.
“If Third Energy is allowed to frack in Ryedale it will open up the floodgates to all the other companies who are waiting in the wings to move into North Yorkshire and will bring about the widespread industrialisation of the county — we need to continue to oppose the industry and persuade people to see through this blatant bribe,” she said.
Shadow energy and climate change secretary Barry Gardiner said: “An incentive to do the wrong thing is properly called a bribe and Theresa May is using this bribe to set neighbour against neighbour.
“It is not right for communities and it is not right for the country.”
Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato said: “By calling the EU referendum, Cameron showed the Tories’ talent for dividing communities. Prime Minister Theresa May is now taking this forward -- by offering individual payments, little more than bribes, to households in areas affected by fracking.”
Fracking works by pumping a toxic sludge into the ground under high pressure to smash layers of shale and release trapped gas.
Opponents say it threatens water supplies, health and the environment, at a time when the government should be lining up behind Britain’s fledgling renewables industry.
Doyle Vic in Wales writes:
Apply pressure --- maintain pressure we have a Welsh moratorium, for now.
The 10k deal is also designed to be the end of the NHS, as they will never treat the radiation & water toxicity victims fairly: this fracking is long term war on humanity.
Petition
implement a Law that would ban all hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for 20 years
fracking is still in the early stages of development compared with other mining methods, but seems to already be implicated in various environmental problems... a Law that would ban all hydraulic fracturing for a minimum of 20 years will give time to show the long term implications for the environment
Go here to sign this Petition:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/156191
‘Declaration of war’: North Yorkshire fracking approval sparks outrage
Anti-fracking campaigners are lambasting North Yorkshire council for unleashing an assault on citizens’ rights to fresh air and clean water, after the local authority approved the UK’s first fracking operation since 2011.
Doyle Vic posted in Llanwynno and Rhondda Cynon Taff oppose inland gas and oil drilling.. https://www.facebook.com/vic.doyle.9 Doyle Vic 4 July at 20:18 "While still concerned about the development of fracking in Northallerton, Yorkshire, I am proud to announce that on top of the "moratorium" in Wales, (which excludes test drilling) today 3 site licenses have been withdrawn":
Good News for Wrexham, Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf
The latest review of Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs) by the Oil ajnd Gas Authority has resulted in 3 licence areas in Wales being withdrawn; a further 5 have been given extended terms.
The withdrawn licences are:
PEDL 187 (IGas) – covering the site at Borras and Holt near Wrexham
PEDL 219 (Coastal Oil & Gas) – covering the sites at Dyffryn and Llantrithyd in the Vale of Glamorgan
PEDL 220 (Coastal Oil and Gas) – covering the site at Llantrisant in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Donal Whelan
ACTION ON ‘Yemen war crimes’:
BAE evicts shareholders from AGM over human rights criticisms
BAE Systems evicts a number of shareholders from its AGM on Wednesday who criticised the firm’s sale of deadly arms to Saudi Arabia that may have been used to commit war crimes against innocent Yemeni civilians.
Two shareholders-come-activists, who are affiliated with Campaign Against the Arms Trade, staged an intervention just after the arms giant’s chair, Roger Carr, took to the stage.
Just 5 minutes into his address, they stealthily walked to the front -- carrying placards -- and denounced BAE’s complicity in Saudi Arabia’s brutal military campaign against Yemen.
The posters, visible for all present to see, had the caption: “900 children killed in Yemen. Stop arming Saudi Arabia!”
'Blood money'
Hannah Brock, 30, dragged out of the AGM by security staff soon after the political act of protest, told RT the actions of herself & her fellow campaigner, were justified:
“BAE Systems is one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. The firm doesn’t just profit from war, it incentivizes it,” she said.
“The only time that BAE are legally obliged to face public scrutiny is at their AGM. It is our only chance to question the firm.”
Brock, who is a Right to Refuse to Kill program officer at global antimilitarist network, War Resisters’ International, went on to explain she felt compelled to draw attention to BAE’s complicity in grave violations of international law.
“It’s particularly vital BAE is challenged on Saudi Arabia’s horrendous human rights abuses --- as it continues to bombard Yemen, causing an enormous death toll,” she said.
The peace activist accuses the UK’s conservative government of protecting & supporting the arms giant. She calls on MPs to place an “outright embargo” on UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and to begin an inquiry into the UK’s role in facilitating possible Saudi war crimes against Yemeni civilians.
BAE’s AGM kicked off at 1100 BST at a conference centre in Farnborough, Hants.
Roughly 30 activists linked to CAAT bought shares in BAE to gain access to the annual affair.
They reportedly brought in a range of banners with quotes from people who'd experienced airstrikes in Yemen, which they displayed to other shareholders.
As the day progressed, more activists were reportedly removed from the venue.
'Serious breaches of international law'
The UK cross-party international development committee says on Wednesday that it seeks an independent international inquiry into the serious human rights breaches committed by 'all sides' in the Yemen conflict.
BAE's stake in Saudi arms market
Saudi Arabia is BAE's third biggest market, according to CAAT. Large-scale arms sales go back decades & include BAE’s Tornado & Typhoon combat planes now being used in Yemen.
BAE employees 5,300 staff in Saudi Arabia, to support the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) and the Royal Saudi Naval Force (RSNF).
A spokesperson for the arms giant initially declined to confirm or deny the activist incident had even occurred.
A second spokesperson for the firm later said: “There were a number of protesters removed from the meeting today. The AGM is the one time in the year that shareholders have the opportunity to hear from the board and ask questions about the business and we welcome all those who want to do that in a way that is courteous to other shareholders.”
BAE Systems CEO, Ian King, stated at the meeting, “In 2016 and beyond, we are well placed to continue to generate attractive returns for shareholders.”
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Mick Antoniw AM underlines the Welsh Government's strong position;
“The Welsh Assembly is overwhelmingly opposed to the Trade Union Bill as an uneasy and vindictive law that will undermine decades of partnership building between employers and trade unions in wales.”
“It is also a direct attack on the devolution settlement. The Welsh Government will over- turn any attempt to apply this ridiculous law to Wales”
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If we fight together - we win together!
"I’ve been a member of Unite Community for the last 2 and a half years. In that time we have had, in conjunction with Unite, & the unhesitating support of other unions, like PCS, who're hugeCommunity supporters of organisations like the Cardiff People’s Assembly ------ with many successes in campaigning against social injustice."
"We’ve had councils in South East Wales sign Unite’s pledge not to make use of Workfare labour, a massive achievement! And one readily agreed to by the councils, with one exception, who shall remain nameless, but they know who they are… and we’re not done with that particular meal yet."
"On a national scale, Victorian work practices Sports Direct staff have to endure, have been laid out by Unite Community, for all the world to see. It’s also shown the work force that we care deeply about what they have to do to earn a living, and we are not about to see their dignity or right’s stripped away.
It also sent a message in the clearest terms to the millionaire owner Mike Ashley. Last month share prices for the company dropped by over 50%, following an extraordinary meeting of share holders, who say they knew little about their draconian treatment of manufacturing and retail staff.
Ashley has been urged to make the company private again: we’ll be watching to see what he does and the way the workforce is treated - whatever the outcome now - as a lot of the factory staff joined Unite the Union. Score!"
"The sanctioning of social security claiments because they don’t meet ever changing criteria, is of great concern to us.
That’s an understatement; we’re outraged by the sanctioning of claimants under any circumstances. It’s immoral, wicked, evil, unprincipled, unscrupulous dishonorable, dishonest, unconscionable, iniquitous, corrupt, depraved, vile, villainous, foul, and just plain wrong!
We want action to stop this, like, yesterday."
"To starve families already facing hardship is criminal. Our Unite Community members find themselves at the sharp end of the austerity measures, along with the workers trapped in zero hour contracts and minimum wage jobs.
What a legacy this government will leave. Ricketts - there’s one to be especially proud of. Dysentery is another. Scurvy another. Deaths caused by terminal despair at being cornered marginalised and cut out of society, pushed to the edge to spectate and not participate."
"They've left no working class stone unturned. They were cavalier with the economy first --- what are hundreds of thousand of jobs between banker friends or billion upon billions, between us the tax payers and the bankers? Need to save your business? Shed your work staff, they are expendable. Be lean and mean, cut corners, rob their pension funds. Keep wages so low, people can’t keep up their mortgage repayments.
Then it was our council & housing association homes, with the bedroom tax, driving many to a private renters market. How many Tory MP’s are private sector landlords? 128! That’s 39% of Conservative MP’s currently in the commons and includes George Osborne, & the PM David Cameron, who in 2009, wasn’t sure how many houses he owned. What a wanker!
The NHS is being made to look bad, starved of cash and managed so badly, it can’t help but fail, ready to be scooped up at a snip by the Conservative party’s rich friends, or any company with strings of law suits out- standing in other countries.
It will be like Royal Mail all over again… unless we stand up and say no. There are other horror’s awaiting us, Universal Credit being another fubar in the making. Now they are coming for the unions, again. The Trade Union Bill is a cancer that needs zapping with extreme prejudice."
"These are just some of the reasons I joined a union. Strength in numbers. For too long we have been divided, weakened & manipulated by the opinions printed in right wing rags I wouldn’t wipe my cat’s arse with, let alone mine, and a biased tv corporation WE own."
"Luckily we live in Wales and have devolution, so up yours Dave, you can take the trade union bill and, um, yeah."
Sue Leader
4th International Anti-Fascist Conference In Novorossia !
All progressive forces who fight against fascism, Nazism, capitalism and imperialism, to take part in the 4th International Anti-Fascist Conference in Novorossiya.
In recent years the world has witnessed once again the rise of fascism and fascist groups all over the world. Western states’ military attack on Libya, the arming of the pseudo-Islamic clerical fascist rebels in Syria, and the fascist takeover in Ukraine, were a series of events, which unleashed fascism all over the world.
NATO and EU imperialists use these fascist movements to impose their neo-liberal agenda over the peoples of sovereign nations. Growing economic pressure within the European Union is able to lead to the same events that happened already in Ukraine, Syria and Libya.
The attacks on these states were only the beginning. The greater goal, is to destroy and split up all remaining countries, which are not yet completely bowing to the neo- liberal agenda --- like Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.
The parallels between historical & contemporary fascism are undeniable. While the German Nazis disbanded trade unions on the 2nd of May 1933, Ukrainian nationalists burned the Trade Unions House of Odessa 81 years later on the same date, killing dozens of people in the flames.
However, there's been growing resistance against this global spread of fascism. The people of Eastern Ukraine, in the Donbass region took up arms to fight fascism in Ukraine. They founded the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and are able to defend them;- while in Syria, the Syrian Arab Army was able to inflict heavy casualties on the fascist groups trying to destroy the Syrian state.
But the global struggle against fascism & imperialism, does not end in these states, as fascism will also not stop there.
We have to organize and coordinate the international antifascist movement, in order to protect the world against these threats.
That is why we appeal to all progressive forces who fight against fascism, Nazism, capitalism & imperialism, to take part in the 4th International Anti-Fascist Conference, in Novorossiya.
**** The schedule for date, times & location will be announced on their web site ~
Please visit the site for updates and all other information as well as photos of past events .
‘Stop arming Israel!’ Campaign --- ahead of London arms fair
Anti-arms campaigners are set to once again disrupt one of the world’s largest arms fairs and highlight the UK’s role in arming repressive regimes around the globe.
One of the largest arms fairs in the world, it's expected to attract over 1,000 global arms firms and 30,000 attendees.
Campaigners say the DSEI arms fair provides a platform for Israeli & international arms firms, to profit from oppression and destruction.
Sarah Waldron of Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), condemns the UK government’s sale of arms to Israel.
“In one week one of the world’s biggest arms fairs will be taking place just across the road and the UK government has consistently facilitated weapon sales to the Israeli government, who will have a massive pavilion at this fair --- where their biggest arms companies will be displaying their battle- tested weapons,” she says to RT.
“The UK government has a very confused attitude to democracy and human rights. On the one hand, it talks of wanting to promote democracy in the Middle East and, on the other, it’s inviting the companies - and the governments - which are causing violence & conflict in these regions.”
Simon Morris of Occupy Democracy:
“The occupy method is to take a space & hold it. We hold it to either facilitate discussions or have a meeting point where people can come down & talk about the issues,” he says.
“Part of our list of demands, part of what we wish to change in the world, is a shift away from the huge amount of military spending and war, that causes misery and mayhem around the world,” he added...
“If our country had a more democratic system, like direct democracy, we would see a lot less conflict, a lot less spending on military hard- ware, and a lot more peace in the world.”
Hilary, a Pro-Palestine campaigner who has spent time in the Occupied Territories, says she is angry with the UK government:
“We don’t want Israeli arms companies here. We don’t want Britain to be selling arms to Israel, or components for weapons, and we don’t want to be buying arms and drones -- to fuel more conflicts in countries around the world,”she says.
Stop the Arms Fair is set to feature a mixture of creative activities and direct action all week ----- to raise awareness about the destructive impact of the global arms trade.
Activists will argue that the UK must redirect spending from arms to renewables, and from warfare, to welfare.
They will also highlight the link between the global arms trade and the global refugee crisis, and host a 'mass day of action', of opposition to the DSEI fair.
Freedom for Germany!
COMPACT has the “Courage to Truth” to state loud and clear: Germany is still an occupied country. We are a military protectorate and an economic colony of the United States. TTIP is the Versailles treaty of the 21st century. The new NS-dictatorship is NSA's dictatorship. Our mission: Freedom for Germany!
Edward Snowden proved with documents what many have previously only suspected: The US has built on every continent a colonial dictatorship. We're being spied on, overheard, monitored. The Empire's censors dominate our media. Google, Facebook and Apple control our secret thoughts. Virtual footprints that we leave behind are like traces of blood, which the NAS sleuths eagerly snoop after.
This campaign of Anglo-Saxon predator capitalists started a hundred years ago. With the founding of the Federal Reserve, by the most powerful private financial sharks, a paper money juggernaut arose that survives solely through constant destruction of material resources. Any country that refuses to hand over these goods voluntarily is covered with war.
Germany is an irreplaceable cornerstone in this strategy. From Ramstein air base, heavy US military equipment is sent off to supply the new eastern front & from Stuttgart, the killer drones' targets are programmed.
But the elite of “God's Own Country”, who want to rule the entire planet, also understand very clearly: We are the people of “Putin-understanders”. Even German business people, do not believe in the demonization of the Kremlin chief. If we get rid of the US occupation, Uncle Sam can 'close shop'. That is why they deny us our sovereignty, democracy and constitution.
Shall we tolerate this any longer? COMPACT says no to the dictatorship by NSA, CIA and US-Army & presented at the 4th Conference for Sovereignty strategies for peace and freedom in Germany, and all of Europe!
Translation by Jurij Kofner, COMPACT correspondent.
Oleksiy Zhuravko is a former Ukraine MP. He was ombudsman for the disabled in Ukraine, and started several foundations employing over 3,500 disabled people all across Ukraine.
He was kicked out of Ukraine last year for his politics - he did not agree with the Maidan overthrow.
Albeit a disabled man with no legs & only one arm, he is charged with terrorism in Ukraine --- for speaking out against the Ukrainian government killing & maiming its own citizens - and making countless more, disabled.
Good and horrible pictures.
First we see a young mother playing with her baby daughter, and then we see the mother and the daughter walking together towards the sun – a metaphor for moving together towards a bright future.
The last photo is beyond horrible: war has taken the lives of both the mother and her young child.
It's 8,494 km from Donetsk to Washington, DC. The distance between Lugansk & Brussels, is 2,880 km. The distance between Gorlovka & Berlin, is 2,059 km. It is easy to live in those wonderful cities so far from this war, and talk about how horrible the Donbass people are, without seeing the horror Kiev's government (with the support of the above capitals) inflicts on women & children on a daily basis.
Dear friends, I, a citizen of Ukraine, do not want to see horrible pictures like these ones. I do not want to hear the word “war”. I don’t want to see blood: & my biggest dream today, is for this war to end, as soon as possible.
I want see love and happiness. I want to hear children laughing. I want to see young mothers playing with their kids in parks - smiling parents and happy children. That's what I wish all of you.
I know that the vast majority of Ukrainians don’t want this war – we are a peaceful people. People with a long history of creating things, and not destroying them. So why do we let our government send young Ukrainian men to kill other Ukrainians in this civil war?
I know that people of the world, of the US & Europe are peaceful people, who hate war. However, I also know that most in the West are misled about this war & don’t see the pictures of innocents suffering at the hands of the Ukrainian army. A Ukrainian army and government that have unconditional support from the West.
Dear friends! War is a very profitable business. Vast riches can be made on human suffering (President Poroshenko, for example, made 7 times more money last year, than he had made the previous year). We can't wait until the people profiting from the deaths of Ukrainians get tired of this war --- they won’t.
They will never stop this war until people speak up - both Ukrainians at home, and people in the West - against their governments’ support of Kiev’s war.
When thousands of people have already died, staying quiet & doing nothing is unacceptable.
Ukrainians! People of the world! We want peace! But only together can we stop this war! Stop being quiet while thousands perish, and hundreds of thousands suffer! Stop quietly waiting for all of this to stop by itself. Speak up! Write to your politicians! Come out to protest! Demand an end to this war!
Only together can we make sure that a road to the future for other mothers and kids, is not tragically cut short --- like it was in these pictures!
Another Heart-breaking Catalog of Kiev War Crimes WESTERN Media Will Ignore
These War Crimes will be reported in the Chinese, Latin American, Asian, African, and, of course, Russian Media !
Russia's government publishes their second white book: an account of the continuing & unabated warcrimes being committed by the Ukraine army and by neo-nazi paramilitaries.
The first one -- published 10 months ago -- was roundly ignored by the west's media. Eventually they are going to have to address these charges.
The Russians insist that they will not let the matter drop, and will relent only when the guilty are brought to justice. The media's ignoring of war crimes is a crime in itself.
The article below appeared originally in Russia Today
Russia’s Major Crimes agency presents a major report on war crimes committed by Kiev military and volunteers in the south- eastern regions of Ukraine that seek self- determination, after the 2014 Kiev coup. The head of the Investigation Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, says in the Monday press release, that the main objective of the project is to attract the attention of the world community and international Human Rights Groups, and tell the truth about a “terrible fratricidal war, started by the nationalist regime of Ukraine.”
He adds that the Investigative Committee is looking into 54 criminal cases connected with the civil war in Ukraine --- and that the combined material fills 2,500 volumes, and includes the testimonies of over 100,000 witnesses.
The White Book of Crimes is based on evidence collected in cases where Ukrainian authorities, and volunteers, are suspected of using banned methods of warfare. The evidence includes the testimony of eyewitnesses and participants at these events, and photos and various material presented by international organizations.
The document also states that the agency continues to investigate suspected crimes committed on Ukrainian territory, and that a special department has been created for it within the Investigative Committee.
Bastrykin writes that the ultimate goal of the project is to ensure that all those involved in crimes, are justly punished.
In December 2014, the Russian Foreign Minister's plenipotentiary for Human Rights, Konstantin Dolgov, said that international organizations have confirmed the human rights violations by Kiev's troops in eastern Ukraine, that are detailed in the White Book.
Dolgov also noted then, that Russia expects rights activists to pressure the West and the Kiev authorities -- to prevent further crimes.
please let me know if there are any events - for the next 4 or 5 months or further ahead - you would like to see publicised in 'heddwch'.
They can be peace, social justice / human rights, anti-nuclear or anti-austerity events (talks / protests / marches) - if you are unsure, send it anyway.
Just to encourage you:
I need:
Date & Time Venue Short description or not - any particular details or requests.
Contact details: email and /or phone / mobile no. and if applicable - website.
If you are uncertain if I may already know, err on the side of doubt and re-send it me anyway! As an aside, John M., I do have the Newport Chris Barber gig already!
Many thanks, Looking forward to hearing from you, Jill
Jill Gough Ysgrifennyddes Genedlaethol National Secretary CND Cymru heddwch@cndcymru.org www.cndcymru.org www.facebook.com/cndcymru
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Michael Mariotte 23 June at 07:30
There are lots of petitions for lots of issues out there, we know. But we ask you to take just a moment to sign this one to support the campaign to build a nuclear-free, carbon-free future at December's COP21 climate summit in Paris.
Nuclear power is not a solution to the climate crisis-- in fact, its use is counterproductive and pre...
org2.salsalabs.com
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Jill Gough
Stop Hinkley Newsletter.
Download printable version here:
http://stophinkley.org/Newsletter/N-LJune2015.pdf
Jill Gough shared Jane Davies's post.
The building of 2 new reactors at Wylfa on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) would destroy most of this beauty (and maybe irradiate the rest).
Our values - to 'need' more electricity to create more junk and stuff for the population who are 'told' it is what they must have & what they 'need' - are up the spout.
This is a photo of cestyll gardens on the proposed new wylfa site.
It was started in the 1920's by violet vivian; & princess victoria, daughter of edward vii, designed part of the garden. Violet & her uncle's ashes are scattered in the gardens.
See welsh historic garden trusts bulletin 66 about it and read horizons glossy brochures, because they do tell you the whole scale of what they are going to do.
Footpaths gone, roads gone, wildlife - like chough, red squirrels - gone, terns... gone.
TheyWorkForYou
www.theyworkforyou.com
TheyWorkForYou is a website which makes it easy to keep track of your local MP's activities.
Bilingual Leaflets for Street Leafletting.
Available from CND Cymru:
Contact jon@thefreeflyer.com
GET INVOLVED --- ACT NOW
Keep arms companies out of the BBC
The Chair of BAE Systems, Roger Carr, has just been appointed as Vice-Chair of the BBC Trust. It's a position that comes with a lot of prestige, and puts him at the heart of the organisation.
Please add your name and demand that Roger Carr step down as Vice Chair of the BBC.
The BBC is supposed to be run in the public interest. Arms companies don't care about culture or broadcasting, they just care about gaining legitimacy as they line their pockets.
BAE Systems is Europe's biggest arms company and has armed dictatorships and human rights abusers across the world, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel. Its chair should not be paid £70,610 a year to 'represent license fee payers views'.
The BBC needs to cut its ties with Carr and the arms trade.
Jill Gough posted in South Wales Anti-Nuclear Alliance 8 January 04:13
Welsh Reviews Policy on Radioactive Waste - Say NO to Geological Disposal and New Build!
For the Attention of: RADIOACTIVITY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION WELSH GOVERNMENT This is a Response to ...
mariannewildart.wordpress.com
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Jill Gough posted inSouth Wales Anti-Nuclear Alliance 18 December 04:47
PLANS to begin reprocessing nuclear waste at Hinkley point, just 14 miles across the sea from Barry Island, pose "a direct threat" of increasing levels of radioactivity in Barry a marine consultant has warned.
When plans were approved for Britain's first new nuclear reactor in 18 years to be built at Hinkley Point, Somerset - which can be seen from Barry Island on a clear day - environmental groups reacted with concern. However, expert Tim Deere-Jones says that equally concerning are plans to reprocess nuclear waste from Hinkley's decommissioned reactors. The liquid waste would be discharged into the Bristol Channel delivering what Mr Deere-Jones calls "significant quantities of radioactivity" to Barry & south Wales.
Causes, 548 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94107 United States · Privacy Policy
World War II: The unknown war By Paul Craig Roberts
In my column, “The Lies Grow More Audacious,” I mentioned that Obama and the British prime minister, who Obama has as a lap dog, just as George Bush had Tony Blair as lap dog, had managed to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany at the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion without mentioning the Russians.
I pointed out the fact, well known to historians and educated people, that the Red Army defeated Nazi Germany long before the US was able to get geared up to participate in the war.
The Normandy invasion most certainly did not defeat Nazi Germany. What the Normandy invasion did was to prevent the Red Army from overrunning all Europe.
As I have reported in a number of columns, many, if not most, Americans have beliefs that are not fact-based, but instead are emotion-based. So I knew that at least one person would go berserk, and he did.
JD from Texas wrote to set me straight. No one but “our American boys” won that war. JD didn’t know that the Russians were even in the war. JD had the option of consulting an encyclopedia or a history book or going online and consulting Wikipedia prior to making a fool of himself. But he chose instead to unload on me. JD epitomizes US foreign policy: rush into every fight that you know nothing about and start new ones hand over fist that someone else will win.
It occurred to me that World War II was so long ago that few are alive who remember it, and by now even these few probably remember the propaganda version that they have heard at every Memorial Day and July 4th occasion since 1945.
Little wonder that neither Obama nor Cameron or their pitiful speech writers knew nothing about the war that they were commemorating.
Propaganda has always been with us. The difference is that in the 21st century Americans have nothing but propaganda. Nothing else at all. Just lies. Lies are the American experience. The actual world as it exists is foreign to most Americans.
In 1973 a British television documentary series was released that chronicled WW II. Of the 28 episodes, only 3 and part of a 4th acknowledge Russian participation in the war. From the British standpoint, victory was an Anglo- American victory.
This did not sit well with the Soviet government. The Soviets offered their film archives to the West. In 1978 a 20 part series of 48 minutes per episode was released in an American documentary television series narrated by Burt Lancaster.
The documentary was titled: “The Unknown War.” Certainly, it was a war unknown to most Americans, raised as they are on propaganda. The Unknown War was a revelation to Americans because it demonstrated beyond all doubt that Nazi Germany lost World War II on the Russian front.
Of the 20 episodes, “The Allies,” that is, the Anglo-Americans and free French, feature only in number 17. One out of twenty is about a correct proportion of the West’s participation in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
If you google The Unknown War you will find an entry on Wikipedia. The series might still be available on YouTube. It was taken off the air when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, a folly repeated by dumbshit Washington.
It was more important to Washington that Russia be demonized than any truths should be presented, so the truth revealed in The Unknown War was removed from US TV. Later the documentary reappeared on the History Chanel.
In my June 6 article, I said, following the consensus of historians, that Nazi Germany lost the war at Stalingrad. In this article: http://www.globalresearch.ca/70-years -ago-december-1941-turning-point-of- world-war-ii/28059 historian Dr. Jacques R. Pauwels says that Germany lost the war 14 months earlier at the Battle of Moscow in December 1941.
He makes a good case. Whether one agrees or not, the facts he presents are eye openers for the “exceptional, indispensable Americans” who believe nothing happens without them.
Normandy, June 1944, is 2.5 years after Germany lost the war in the Battle of Moscow. As historians have made clear, by June 1944 Germany had little left with which to fight. Whatever was left of the German military was on the Eastern Front.
At the 70th annual Normandy landing celebration in France, Obama informed his French vassal, President Hollande, that he, Obama, the ruler of the Exceptional Country, would not sit down to dinner with the Russian Putin.
Americans are too good to eat dinner with Russians. So Hollande had to have two dinners. One for Obama, and then one for Putin. As food is still good in France thanks to the banning of GMOs, probably Holland didn’t mind. I myself would have enjoyed being at both dinners for the food alone.
Like all news that's important, the dinner for Putin, and its meaning, escaped the attention of the American presstitute media, the world’s greatest collection of whores.
If memory serves, normally the Russians are left out of Normandy commemoration celebrations. If the war was won in the West, what did the Russians have to do with it? Nothing, of course. “Our boys” did it all, just as JD informed me. Russians? What Russians?
But this time France invited Putin to the Normandy celebration, and Putin was not too proud to come. Putin spoke with European politicians in the off moments, and these politicians saw a real person, unlike Obama, a total fake.
The superiority of Russian diplomacy over Washington’s is clear to all. Putin’s position is: “we are here for you, we can work things out.” Washington’s position is: “do as we say or we will bomb you into the Stone Age.”
Russia is accommodating to its client states. Washington is not. Putin says that he is willing to work things out with the billionaire corrupt Oligarch imposed on Ukraine by Washington, but Washington has forced the Bulgarians to stop work on the South Stream
