Poppygate Time Again

Yes it’s that time of year again when poppygate rears its ugly head and poppygate fascists like poppyscotland attempt to impose upon us British war propaganda and the recruitment machine culminates in what once was remembrance Sunday.

Lets get something clear. The poppy and remembrance Sunday is nothing to do with remembering the dead of all wars and all sides. It is to do with glorifying British dead soldiers. At the time remembrance Sunday began, the remembrance they were meaning was remembering the dead of enemies of Ireland, as Ireland was at a state of war with Britain.  I have no problem with British remembering their war dead but I do have a problem with them inflicting it on the rest of us who for whatever reason may not want to take part in their ceremonies and morbid celebration of war. There is no day for remembering what they call collateral damage – innocent civilians – who have been affected by a war not of their doing and haven’t sought to play a part in it. Poppy Scotland is a registered charity that raises money for the soldiers of war and their families. They do not give any thought or even recognition that the main victims of war are not soldiers but innocent civilians. Who is speaking for them?

Another problem is that the national question has not yet been resolved in Ireland and until it has been then we should have nothing to do with remembrance days for Black and Tans or any other British soldier that has served in the last 800 years. I don’t care if they supported Celtic or if they supported Hibs, Hearts or Motherwell. Who they supported or even played for does not come into it. Personally, I remember my British relatives and all who died, from whatever nation, in the Great Wars my own  way and I will not have some pipsqueak Poppy Fascist telling me how to do it. I also remember my relatives and fellow Irish and Scots/Irish who died and sacrificed so much to win Ireland’s freedom which is still a Work in Progress. Although I support peaceful political means to meet that end, I can’t rule out supporting the killing of more British Soldiers if they ever again make war on my ethnic family again.  Ireland’s 26 county republic is not what our dead died for so I can’t support the spilling of more blood for that. Even if it was a 32 county Republic, it’s still far from what they envisaged if the 26 County one we have now is any example to go by. It is only a 32 county Democratic Socialist Republic that I would support even working towards never mind spilling blood for.

Another two things that have not been reconciled and remain an obstacle to Scots/Irish from taking part in any ritual to honour dead British Soldiers is;

1. The Ballymurphy Massacre, when the same British para regiment that committed the bloody Sunday atrocity, go unpunished or at the very least, the atrocity goes unrecognised by the British Government. Until put to bed in the form of recognition and an apology. Irishmen or Scots/Irish should NOT be forced to take part in any ritual honouring these murderers. Even if or when they do recognise the Ballymurphy Massacre, no Irishman woman or Scots/Irish man or woman can be forced to take part in the honouring of British soldiers. I don’t see Israel having a remembrance day for German Soldiers killed in the war and I wouldn’t expect them to. Same rules apply. It would be nice to see and it would be nice for us to mourn but not honour Britain’s war dead – relatives or not. I have relatives that have died in the British Army but I don’t feel compelled to honour them while the Ballymurphy Massacre sits there, unrecognised, like a stinking pile of steaming warm shite that I just can’t see past. Get it sorted out.

2. An Gorta Mór or the Great Hunger. Better known as the Irish Potato Famine. If one didn’t know better, one would think that Irishmen and woman are a different species from humans and can only live on potatoes alone. Well as an oft quoted man in history who was supposed to have lived around 2000 or so years ago was supposed to have said “Man can not live on bread alone” Well the same goes for potatoes. Irish people starved while the best quality foodstuffs left the ports of Ireland bound for Britain’s western ports and Europe’s more accessible ports. There was a potato blight in Scotland too. But it was not to have such a destructive force upon the highland Scots as it was to have on the Irish. 1 million people died during An Drochshaol and around the same emigrated. It’s actually hard to say for those assumed to have emigrated may well have died without reaching their destination on the coffin ships that resembled the slave ships. This was in the years from 1845-52. A very clever form of ethnic cleansing that even highland Scots were a victim of. Unless they took the soup. The phrase “Took the Soup” comes from the An Gorta Mór days when protestant churches offered plates of rare nourishment in the form of soup if those that took it would sit through the Sunday Service with the Protestant church. More evidence of ethnic cleansing on the fly. I’m proud to say that not many “took the soup” and to this day the phrase means to compromise your beliefs and self-respect to make life easier for yourself. That’s why it pains me when I see Scots/Irish and Irish taking part in anything to do with the poppy. To me they are “taking the Soup”

Today I read in the Metro that there was a FIFA ban on poppies being on the national football strips at international matches. I also read that the SFA said that they thought it would be far more fitting to simply wear it on the track suit as the national anthems were being played by the bands or over the tannoy. For once, Sepp Blatter was spot on. It’s shameful that even he can see the logic while our own bigots effect deep offence at the thought of ignoring outside influences and getting on with the game. He said that “Football must keep it’s neutrality”. If the SFA could compromise then why didn’t the SPL last season? Were they bullied by the Poppy Scotland Fascists into the ridiculous step to sew on poppies to ALL their clubs jerseys? Did they take the soup and sell the jerseys or did Celtic make it easier for them and offer up the jerseys for nowt? With the war criminal gone, (John Reid) will he have taken his politics with him (picking it up at the door where he said he would leave it) and will Celtic have any backbone that Reid, love or hate like I hate him, gave Celtic in their dealings with the SPL and the SFA . You see that’s how I know Reid was behind the poppygate scandal, the bastard sat back like Pontius Pilate and washed his hands of it by saying it was nothing to do with him, it was an SPL thing. So anyway, we avoid poppygate this year courtesy of the Scottish International with Cyprus.

So what if the Internationals weren’t on to save everyone the embarrassment of Poppygate? What should Celtic supporters do to express their opposition to the Poppy Fascists. I don’t presume to speak for Celtic supporters. In fact, shame on them, I am in the minority, I suspect. If only they would open their eyes a little. It’s the middle class prawn sandwich mob of the Celtic support I am addressing. Lets take it as a given that they are not blind and have grown the sense to be on board with me about Poppygate. I am also speaking to the working class and the middle class supporters that are already in agreement with me. I say their protest should be silent and dignified. In three weeks time, it will be near St Andrew’s Day. The Green Brigade and the Talfanzine have been at the forefront of anti-racism along with Celts Against Fascism. These are the kind of supporters who are a credit to the club. It’s these supporters who are the main if not the only reason I am a Celtic fan today. Together, and there is/was a lot of cross membership, they represented what I thought was good about the club. I did not choose to be a Celtic fan, Celtic ‘s fan base that was made up mostly of these types of people made me a natural Celtic supporter. How could I not support a club that had men like these among their ranks. Also the wider Celtic family chose me. They didn’t know it and they probably wish they hadn’t. They are truly the best supporters in the world and it is they who drew me to the club. Anyway, back to the question. What should we best do as Celtic supporters in the face of another Poppygate like the seasons that have gone before, after Mr Reid arrived with his politics left at the door. Celtic supporters should have a Saltire day on St Andrews day with, an anti Racism theme, when everyone brings in their Saltire and wave it instead of the usual flags. This will emphasise that we are a Scottish Club with Irish roots.

We should wait and see what Celtic PLC do for that year’s British recruitment drive but anticipate possible scenarios and have in place the proper response. If they take part in the British Army recruitment drive, then we should protest by leaving the stadium if they adorn the strip with the poppy and if we have foreknowledge of their intentions and they are as we fear, then we should simply not go in. Protest outside and then a few weeks later have a Saltire Anti-Racism Day to coincide with St Andrew’s day so that no one can throw the plastic paddy usual bullshit at us.

That would drive home the message that we are against wars of adventurism such as the 1st World war “to end all wars” supposedly, and for the “rights of small nations to be free”. What about that wee nation just to the west of you Britain you hypocritical bastards? Or Afghanistan for that matter? Wars such as the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan are all wars of imperialist adventurism and served no purpose other than to lead to slaughter, like lambs, working class Scottish youth. Did you know that Britain or America has been in a state of war with someone in every decade since the war to end wars. In fact they go further back. Ask yourself – can you find a decade in which the Americans or the British have NOT been in a state of war or “conflict” in say the last 1 no 2 no try 3 hundred years. Also these wars of imperialism are about greed, whether it’s the military industrial complex, or simply oil. But Afghanistan hasn’t got any oil I hear you say. No but it has the means to deliver oil to the west. Also it has a multi million pound narcotics industry that needs protecting. Why else are American and British troops protecting the poppy fields instead of burning them. Why are they not encouraging farmers to grow pomegranates which thrive in a climate such as Afghanistan. What the fuck is he on about Pomegranates for now, what are they gonna do for the Afghan economy? Well they are a lot cheaper to grow and harvest and stick on the supermarket shelf. You can stick in big letters on the minimal wrapping “Most definitely not grown in Zionist Israel so it’s OK to buy them!” Of course they are only an example of what can be grown. Fruit and Veg to rival the quality of Turkey’s and Persia’s can be grown there and they can demand high prices for them, for the fruit grown in Afghanistan will be of equal quality because of the climate. They have been protecting the drugs industry and the United Fruit Company interests in South America for decades. Now they are doing the same with heroin and Oil in Afghanistan.  The Nazi Germans in the war had to fall back on heroin substitute, methadone, in the 2nd world war. The Americans and British are making sure they do not need the substitute now that they have 90% of the world’s narcotics in their sphere of influence.  Ask yourself this – If they have control of 90% of the narcotics in the world, why then has the supply not dropped, but it has increased and cut down in potency and purity to make more profits? Who is profiting? Why are they allowed to profit if the British and Americans have control over it. They only answer is that junkies in America and Britain are paying for the war so the oil barons don’t have to. It’s the only conceivable answer. This whole thing keeps working class youths in America and Britain dependent on the Governments for their fix. They become apathetic and never question the motives of their respective governments. This is not some conspiraloon shite, the numbers don’t lie. If I’m wrong then I must be brought before the courts for libel. But they won’t do that because they wont stand up to scrutiny.

That’s what these wars are all about. Oil and drugs, the most expensive minerals outside silver and gold which they have bought up anyway to inflate the prices.

Did you know the South African Government during apartheid, I don’t know about now, held back the diamond stock simply to impress the rarity and so could inflate the prices of Diamonds. Other gemstones are far more rare than diamonds. Diamonds were only given the appearance of rarity to  increase their prices. OPEC does it with oil and the Americans don’t like it one bit because they had no control over it. Now they have control over more than 45% of the world’s oil. They are trying to get, with this pipeline through Afghanistan, control over the supply of 75% of the world’s oil. They do that by offering working class kids in America and Britain a way out of the drugs cycle. Join the Army, be cool, see the world and shag loads of woman, or men or camels, whatever takes your fancy. You can even rape them if you want. We’ll just turn a Nelson’s. Just go out there and shoot loads of people. It’s the American way and Winston would want it that way.

What they don’t tell them is that they will stand a good chance of losing some limbs due to IED ambushes, for Afghanistan is great country for ambushing invading troops. Just ask the Russians. But every year a few months after armed forces day when the British soldier is held up as a super hero who chose to defend his country against the invading hordes of Islam. The Glorification of that shite is given a further nudge by Armistice Day and in between, our television sets are covered with Armed Forces promotional adverts that, clearly hide the truth from the simple 16-17 year old working class kids. Fight for your country and be a hero. It’s no better than the Islamist videos exhorting young Muslims to become martyrs for Allah. They will be repaid in paradise. I’d like to see their faces when there is no paradise but only death for one who takes an innocent life in any name. Same goes for British soldiers, I’ve looked down the business end of the British Rifle being held by a British soldier many times from the age of 8. I can not and will not support any movement that encourages that kind of behaviour from British soldiers. I don’t care if most of them are all right, and my mates sister is getting married to one. I can only wish them a horrible day until they come home and get their heads fixed. I’d be grateful if they didn’t beat their wives went they got drunk or pished on their bed sit fellow ‘s shoes in the middle of the night because they are incontinent. Oh and leave out the war stories ‘cos they bore the tights off me. “I lost friends in Crossmaglen”, ” Well that was fucking careless”.

I’m sorry, I’m making light of a very serious problem that doesn’t get spoke about in the armed Forces Day to Armistice Day recruitment drive by the armed forces.  Post – Traumatic – Stress – Syndrome. They don’t tell you about this in their glossy magazines in the recruitment office waiting room. They don’t mention it in the adverts. They don’t really have anyone telling them they might become bed-wetters by the time the Army’s finished with them. And that’s ones’ that haven’t seen any combat yet! Don’t be fooled either by the myth that soldiers aren’t taken care of by the Government. They get a nice pension, excellent job prospects on Civvy street for what employer is not going to give an ex squaddie a chance. Problem is though that they will invariably fuck it up and leave the misguided employer with egg on his face for employing a man who has been broken down and turned into a human being, bordering on sociopathic. He or she may not be as far gone as that but serious mental health issues are almost definitely a by-product of what the British army has done to the person. It just not possible for someone to go into the Army and come out as a normal rational human being. Most cases are walking time bombs. This not from some anecdotal evidence or some uni research. This is just my own personal experience of dealing with and interacting with ex-squaddies. They are just not right in the head. Simple.

It is not for us to clean up the MOD’s mess. Nor should it be left for a war-chest masquerading as a charity. The poppy fascists should not be foisting upon anyone to give in to this farce. The MOD should get the money from the drugs and Oil barons it’s fighting it’s dirty wars of adventurism for to contribute to trying to fix their mistakes they have made with our fellow working class citizens. Another thing… Working class recruits almost never enter the army at officer level but the upper class almost always do. I often wondered why a Scottish Regiment was nearly always led by an English accented officer. That’s the reason. Class, Class, Class. The noblest class, the working class will get shat upon from a great height in the armed forces and never seem to know it. In fact they seem happy to be shat on. It beggars belief. In a normal society this would not be put up with by anyone, never mind someone who is risking his very life to appease the Army Hierarchy.

Not in my fucking name. Simple as that. If you want to go on a National Lampoons Holiday don’t insult my intelligence by pretending you are doing it to protect me in any way. You are only upholding and reinforcing the Status Quo which is not what I want and I’ll have no part in it. The Status Quo being the class system in Britain that hasn’t gone away. Yes the lines between working class and middle class have become blurred. But they are still there and they are discernible. You are middle class when you work as a civil servant such as a police officer, soldier or anyone in the criminal justice system. You are middle class when you work for most employment department jobs in the DWP and the Job Centre. You can still hold a position in that field and be working class if you apply your efforts to helping the client get back to work or not hinder their return to work by issuing sanctions for silly mistakes that only serve to keep a person’s morale down and thus hinder their return to work. You are middle class if you are a boss of someone whether it be middle management or even a lowly foreman. Basically if you hold the power to withhold someone’s income and if you do the business owners’ bidding and not represent the worker’s interests. You are middle class if you own a business and employ someone. You are working class if you depend upon someone for your income, if your liberty or livelihood is at the whim of another. I hope that clears that up for you. Whether you own your own home has no bearing on your class as it once did. Maggie Thatcher tried to give people the illusion of being middle class by selling off the council house stock and giving working class people affordable housing to own. She just gave them a mortgage and then put them on the dole to have their homes taken away from them. Well done Maggie. We’re still picking up after you ya fucking cow.

So anyway, to summarise.  If you are a soldier, you are no longer working class Jim from Wishaw. You are an upholder of the British class system and deserve everything you get. We’ll pick you up again once they have finished with you and try and fix you. But I hear soldiers bragging about where they’ve been and sunbathing on beaches around the world. Don’t tell me you need me to support you more by supporting the Poppy Fascists. I’ll remember all our dead, combatant or not on November the 1st all souls day. I’ll remember our republican dead at Easter. I’ll remember all soldiers, including Brits, on a non-British day foisted upon us by PoppyScotland Fascists. I’ll remember them on May 5th when a man gave up his life for his fellow-man, no greater love has this, than to give up your life for your fellow-man.

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Got my Camera Back!!! Yeeaaaah!!!

I got my camera back today for very little effort, proving that time waits for some people and that patience is a virtue. There are times when strike while the Iron is hot has been my way of doing things. But age, reason and a very sore leg have taught me how to be a more patient man, but one with a plan. So so we can improve the old adage by simply adding three words at the end to read, “time waits for no man without a plan.”

First picture taken after I got it back. Pity about the subject. All good things come to those who wait. Justice always prevails (Well nearly) when the government are not involved. Altogether, I’m actually up on the deal because of other W.I.P. which when wrapped up made me up on the thing. Not by much mind you but enough to give me a satisfied feeling and a big smug smile on my face.

All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait.

Beidh ár lá linn! lá amháin Mo Chairde, lá amháin

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Frankie the Wankie Showed up at My Door Last Night

I speak of Frankie whose surname mustn’t be mentioned for now. – the guy that stole my Camera and who’s Brother Robbed my 75-year-old Alziemers victim with very poor mobility and other health problems. The good cop in their sick good cop bad cop game they play.

Anyway, he shows up at my front door late last night like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. But the daft cunt can’t even lie properly. I’d love to see them in a police barracks or cop shop. They would sing like canaries and I know it for a fact. I said “Fuck of man , you stole my camera fucksake!” He says “What camera” or “Did I fuck”. Something like that anyway. He then goes on to say, and I paraphrase, “That’s came fae Gayle and Kimberly talking on the phone ‘cos *bleep* tried to sell Kimberly the camera”. Bad liar Frankie. He goes on “I wisnae even in yer kitchen last night” I had told him it had been stole out of the kitchen when he was in and I was calling him back out while I was inspecting the damage to the Garden Shed Box. He took ages coming out and he complained that I had used his real name. Why are you worried about yer real name being used if you havnae done anything sunshine? Maybe he’s worried the polis will strike him off the payroll for being involved in criminality? And more pertinently *bleep* wasn’t in the kitchen or vicinity so how could he have stolen the camera? “Eh oh eh oh.” “Just fuck off and don’t let the gate hit yer arse on the way out.”

 

Beast’s Brother Steals Camera From Me

Last night the brother of the beast who attacked me in my home and tried to rob my 75-year-old Mother who has severe mobility problems, tried to break into my garden box last night. The neighbour interrupted him. But I noticed after that he stole my camera while I was inspecting the damage. For legal reasons I have not mentioned his brother’s name but I can mention his older brother’s first name which is Frankie.

This family is a blot on the Lanarkshire landscape and need liquidated. You are not your brother’s keeper and as he condemned his brother’s actions when he beasted my 75-year-old mum who is an Alzheimers victim on top of her mobility problems and her heart valve, I still spoke to him. “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer”. However I can’t possibly have any of them near me again. If it was up to me the two of them would be executed.

I think that’s all I can write at the moment and stay within the Law.

After the case, no matter the result, I will tell all that happened so the world will be able to know that his brother is a beast who robs 75-year-old Alziemers victims who have severe mobility problems and a multitude of other health problems. Basically the vulnerable. In short they are bullies.

What comes around, goes around.

 

My view on John Wilson’s acquittal.

I’m not against the Not Proven Verdict despite the bad press it has had through the ages. That is only because the media manipulates what verdicts are newsworthy so we only here about the really bad ones. The “get out” option for the jury so they don’t have to decide. But on this occasion there was no decision to make. He is guilty. He’s on telly assaulting him. The jury can opt to remove the racist element. But they didn’t want to because they wanted John Wilson to get off with it. To them he’s a hero because they were an Anti-Irish jury. I challenge any of them to prove me wrong. As for Brother Wilson, he admitted the crime. But he said he didn’t swear or call Lennon a “Fenian”. That leaves the question, what did he say? “Hello Mr Lennon would you mind terribly if I attacked you?” Did big nasty Neil refuse to sign his dick with his autograph? Or worse still, did a hearts security man lie under oath in court and say he heard one of his own call Lennon a “Fenian Bastard”. Very unlikely. The following is nearer the truth.

Hearts Racist Attacks Irish Neil Lennon

This just shows that Scotland is racist to the core. The 80% so-called Protestant population in Scotland has shown that it is still Anti-Irish racist, not just institutionalised at an establishment level, but from the grass-roots all the way up. A horrible septic boil that needs lanced, lanced desperately. Because after the attacks on Celtic supporters and Neil Lennon and his family last season, it shows Scotland up as anti-Irish as it always has been. If nothing gets done then Scotland can stay British as far as I’m concerned and I’m off to anywhere but this racist hole. That will no doubt please the east coast Anti-Irish Racists but this country will be on a slippery slope to times worse than the Thatcher years. You will have nothing. Nothing but Gerry “Irish Tosh” McNee and Celtic Football and Athletic Club and possibly Hibs will be your only saving grace. Yet you, most of you, are hell-bent on driving them out. Shame on you Edinburgh, you have finally put paid to the myth that Anti-Irish Racism is a west coast problem.

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The Battle of The Bogside August 12 – 14th 1969

I found this video of a BBC Documentary when I was putting the video of the Ballymurphy Time for Truth march together. As my viddler account  got deleted, probably due to lack of attention from myself, all the links I had put up to the video had become obsolete. I have since found out, after opening another free account with viddler, that they only hold videos on their servers for 30 days. Now I don’t know if it means they are completely deleted or whether they stay on until some other files that users saved on the server are then written over your video files. Much like your hard drive doesn’t completely delete a file until it’s written over again unless you use software that completely wipes the files from your hard drive. Whatever the case it means I’ll have to keep going back and uploading the videos each month until I can find a more permanent solution. Youtube is out because you have to chop the video into 10 minute clips.

In fact, it very well may have been a youtube up-loader that I have to thank for this video because there are parts of the video that seem to lose a bit of sound and have distorted vision for a second, suggesting that I may have put the video together again after it had been chopped. Now I don’t remember where I got it for sure. I forgot I had it until this week. I thought all my videos lost when I had to re-install windows. I’ve only got the entire avi file so if I downloaded it from youtube there would be flv files of it lying around but there isn’t. Wherever I got it from, sincere apologies for forgetting about you, and if you know who you are then thanks.

There are many points in history where you can point to and say that is where this all started from. Then you can debate it till the cows come home but in the end, there are mostly more than one defining moment that leads us all to where we are. It’s almost always impossible to pinpoint an actual event in history that has been solely responsible for the following forty years of history. To me it is a mixture of actual events and the spirit of the time that pushes and pulls us all to the state of affairs that follow. History has a nasty habit of repeating itself too on account of the human race being slow learners. Genocide continues to occur, whether it’s called ethnic cleansing, or a war on terror, despite the warnings that fascism gave us in the early part of this century or the inquisitions of the early part of the 2nd millennium. This video re-affirms for me the belief I have always felt that the main cause in starting what became known as the “troubles” was fear and ignorance. All of the protagonists had a fear of the other due to ignorance. That allowed for things to develop the way they did. But ultimately, the unionist fears were that they would lose their status and that Catholics were just ready to reap bloody revenge from them at the first opportunity. The catholic and indigenous community feared that the unionist community was going to finish them off. The rhetoric from Ian Paisley and his Ulster Constitution Defence Committee was inflammatory and they had open links with Gusty Spence’s newly re-created UVF. They were set up three years before. Any observer would be forgiven for thinking the catholic and indigenous community were on the verge of being driven out of the orange statelet by any and all means necessary. For them, the fear was very, very real and tangible. For the unionist community the fears had already been shown up as based on false information and so now were irrational.

They initially had the unionist working class protestants believe that the IRA were planning an uprising in the run up to the 50th Anniversary of the Easter 1916 rising. They even had some conservative Catholics fearful of it. The fact that the IRA were nothing much more than a recreational club who studied politics and were heavily influenced by Marxism and who were positively against any kind of sectarianism or racism whatsoever, was lost on them. That fact only served to worry the already duped conservative Catholics more so. They had no arms to speak of and those that were hidden after the border campaign (1956-62), couldn’t be found because those that hid them had ether died since or had simply forgotten where they had stashed them. Any that could be found were in such a state of disrepair due to corrosion and neglect that they were useless. In total, they could only muster 3 hand guns and a Lee Enfield rifle. Besides, they didn’t want to get involved with a sectarian conflict so much that, they were reluctant to even involve themselves in defending catholic areas and communities during and after with the rioting that blew up all over the six counties in support of the bogsiders. This in turn led to graffiti appearing in catholic areas that read “IRA = I RAN AWAY”. In Belfast, loyalists burned out Bombay Street and 7 people were killed in rioting that had erupted there, to take the pressure off the bogsiders by dragging the RUC and the B-specials’ full attention away to stretch their resources.

This was all in response to a year of violence perpetrated by loyalists against the Civil Rights movement. It’s stressed that the Civil Rights Movement were campaigning for civil rights for all the six county citizens and not just  the Catholics. Evidenced by the presence in the movement of moderate protestants, such as Ivan Cooper the SDLP MP for Derry, as well as Catholics and non Christians. For the whole of 1968, the movement had been subject to harassment by the authorities, violent attacks from loyalists backed up by the B-specials and regular RUC, culminating in the attack at Burntollet Bridge (see google video), near the end of a civil rights march from Belfast to Derry that set out from Belfast on the 1st January 1969. If the catholic community or any independent observer were in any doubt about the legitimacy of the civil rights movement and the nefarious intentions of the Unionist community’s leaders and loyalists, then those doubts evaporated then.

So here’s the video of the Battle of the Bogside…

If the embedded video is missing, please contact me either through the comments or other means and, I will be able to fix it. Thanks.

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Ballymurphy Massacre March for Truth – Coatbridge 16th July 2011

It was a miserable morning when I got up and dragged myself out of bed as usual to let the carer in for my mum to get washed and dressed. With it being a Saturday, the carer comes in a little later to allow my mum a wee bit of an extra lie in. Not much mind you, but enough to worry me that I might be rushed to get to the march assembly point for 11:30 assembly and 12:00 march beginning. But she came about 10:30 and I was already waiting and had tea and breakfast organised along with my mum’s medication. This gave me enough time to leave at 10:45 to meet up with friends and comrades at Bellshill cross around 11:10, allowing us just enough time to make it to Coatbridge for assembly. The rain was lashing down one minute and then the next the sun would be splitting the trees, only to start lashing it down again. We didn’t even get the solacement of a rainbow.

When we got near the assembly point on Coats Street, you would hardly think there was a march going to take place at all, much less an Irish Republican one, and arguably now, the main Cairde na hÉireann march on the Scots/Irish Republican Calendar. With the truth having come out now about Bloody Sunday, our focus of attention has shifted to the Ballymurphy Massacre and that has manifested itself in the attendance for this march expected to far outstrip any other. It’s an issue that still, 40 years on, remains unresolved with no closure for the families. The very same regiment mainly responsible for Bloody Sunday, 1st Parachute Regiment of the British Army, are also indicted by the Republican Movement and all fair-minded independent commentators and correspondents of the “troubles”  and peace process in Ireland over the last 46 years. So it’s particularly relevant from a British and International perspective, that this crime against humanity be recorded as such. So as I said, this march has now become the main Scots/Irish Republican march on the calendar but there was hardly any police presence at all. If we didn’t know better, we would think that the march subject to cancellation without us being told. But we did know better and it turned out that the weather, as you will see, had driven the march followers to stay in shelter from the elements until nearer the start of the march. That didn’t explain the lack of Strathclyde’s finest on every street corner and every 25 yards along the streets approaching the assembly point. It was almost surreal going to a Scots/Irish Republican march without being stopped and searched at least twice during the 5 minutes walk to the assembly point and hardly seeing any police presence there at all. All became clear at the end when informed by Jim Slaven that the police had reduced their numbers for policing the march by half and it was clear that the police were adopting a light touch to policing the marchers and followers. It appeared that we were to have our own stewards be allowed to keep order who, unfairly in my opinion, come in for some stick by some of the march participants. No one likes being pushed around by any form of authority, especially Republicans and those of us of the younger generation, but I’d rather be pushed around by one of our own than one of the filth.

A comrade told me that there was a counter demonstration by Loyalist/Fascists but I honestly never seen or heard them. They cannot be seen or heard on any of the videos or pics I took. My comrade tells me that there were only about a dozen of them there and I’ve no reason to disbelieve his figures. I hope they all got home safely and were not attacked by Republicans on the hunt for stragglers. Just like the loyalists did to two, at least, people I know of at the hungers strike commemorative march in Glasgow this year. Luckily the scumbags had the brains to not have weapons on them on that occasion as they would undoubtedly have been searched by the police so they probably decided it was safer to leave their blades at home. The upshot was that around 8-9 Loyalists were unable to inflict much damage of note to two Republican stragglers who had become separated from the march. Let this be a lesson. If you are going to straggle, be ready and split into two groups, close to each other. When one comes under attack, the old trick of bringing in reinforcements close by, and take the bastards by surprise and kick 7 shades of shite out of them. Or wear good running shoes.

Anyway, the march went off peacefully as usual, but on this occasion, there were no complaints about the policing of the march and there were no negatives to report – apart from the weather – but it cleared up after the march began.

We mustn’t forget the reason for this march, the Ballymurphy Massacre when over the period of 3 days, a concerted effort to “shock and stun the civilian population“ with orders from the top, in line with the new internment laws allowing that innocent people be arrested and detained without charge indefinitely, resulted in the murder of 11 innocent people. These included a Parish Priest and a 45-year-old Mother of 8. 1st Para were let loose and encouraged to do this with impunity. This gave them the green light to go ahead and commit the more widely known atrocity known as Bloody Sunday. Had these animals been brought to account for their actions in Ballymurphy, they very well may not have had the green light to commit the atrocity in Derry 5 months later. That’s why this march is of such importance. After 40 years the families are still awaiting justice for their families. Their were 9 representatives of the victim’s families at the march and their presence is greatly appreciated to raise awareness of this crime against humanity. Included in the delegation was the daughter of Joan Connolly (50) Irene Connolly, and she gave a speech at the end of the march it was very emotional for her and it is quite hard to make her out. I’ve tried to boost the sound so she is heard and understood clearly but she gave an excellent and humble but spirited speech. It’s important that the families’ message gets out, everywhere across the Celtic Isles.

Recently trouble has flared after the met police force shot dead a youth in circumstances as yet not confirmed. The riots that have ensued since that death, on Thursday, although  not entirely due to the death itself but to the poor treatment of working class families, whatever race, by this Government. The disorder has left England in a state of shock since the killing of Mark Duggan (29) in Tottenham. This sort of thing happened in the six counties regularly and it just goes to show how restrained the republican movement has been over the years. We were just expected to put up with it, but they don’t put up  with it in England do they?

Enjoy the Video of the march.

Footnote: I forgot to mention that the two republican stragglers I know who were set upon by a gang of Loyalist/Fascists, were helped by protestant clergy or elders, who gave them money to get a taxi to Buchanan Street bus station safely. That is what Christianity is supposed to be about. So all you ignorant orange bastards take note.  The faith you are supposedly marching for every year to celebrate the right to practice, flies in the face of everything the Orange institution stands for. Thanks to the protestant church members for helping my friend out in their time of need.  Be assured that my two friends do not bear anyone ill will on account of their faith. In fact, they are both of different faiths themselves.

 

The Place to Go for All Your Ink Refills and Cartridges

I don’t endorse company products and in fact, I steer well clear of it. But on this occasion, I feel compelled to tell you about a company that specialises in Ink Refills and Cartridges. Based in the UK they are 247Ink and in the years that I have used them, I have nothing but good things to say about them. Their after sales service is excellent, second to none that I have come across in fact. I done a lot of digging around before finding them and by the grace of good fortune I found these people. Their prices haven’t been beaten by anyone I’ve seen on the web. Their delivery is prompt and free inside the UK. Outside the UK, it is a measly £4:99 and for 48Hr delivery within the UK it is also a mere £4:99.

Their range of inks and cartridges and refills, together with their deals for buying double sets of cartridges, like colour and black together is phenomenal in my humble opinion. Along with their after sales care makes them the place to go for Ink for your printer. Yes, it maybe generic ink cartridges but it matters not a jot in terms of quality. I really can’t commend them high enough to do them justice.

I’ve received no payment from them, nor would I except any, for endorsing them. I endorse them because I think people should benefit from trying them out if they haven’t already.

You’ll find them here. – 247 Ink

 

So Justice Takes Another Tumble

Justice did not prevail and the league title did not find it’s way home to Paradise. As Lennon said though “This is not the end, this is only the beginning”.  Next year I really believe we will add the league to the Scottish Cup. We’ve never been too good at bothering much with the League Cup and I reckon that is anybody’s up for grabs. You never know though, the treble would really get it right round them. That would be good.

Despite the disappointment of being cheated out of the treble this year, I and many other, Celtic fans will be walking around with satisfied looks on our mugs. Finishing the season on a high by winning the Cup returned a bit of pride to Celtic fans. Absolutely no disrespect to Motherwell, they came and had a go and made a good account of themselves. They will have a good season next year but I’d like to know where all the Motherwell fans appeared from? They struggle to get 2000 at fir park and yet managed to get nearly 10 times that at Hampden. Another thing, these new ‘Well fans will have to find their voices if they hope to give their team any encouragement. I only heard them sing three songs the entire match despite that wee short guy they have for a manager dancing around trying to encourage them to get behind the team. I can’t blame them though.  I was talking to one Motherwell fan who was there right up at the back of the Motherwell end and he said he actually felt the stadium bouncing when the Celtic fans where “doing the huddle”… He said even he felt intimidated by the sheer volume and atmosphere coming at them from the Celtic end. It wasn’t a threat of violence or anything remotely like that but simply the atmosphere created by the Celtic supporters. I want to see that next season more and more against all the teams in the SPL. No team in the SPL deserves any less respect. They are all capable of beating us on their day and it is up to us, as Celtic supporters, to make sure that clubs no longer relish the chance to come and have a go at Celtic Park or even at their own grounds. Opposition fans and players alike have to  be overawed when they play Celtic, not just because of the Celtic team, but because of the atmosphere created by Celtic supporters. I remember when it was intimidating and almost always worth at least a goal start. Or the clichéd 12th man.

So next season, let’s get behind the team. If Celtic want to besmirch the team’s top with a pro war political symbol again, let them. Just walk out in protest or if attending an away fixture, simply don’t go in and watch the game on the telly in the pub. Do it quietly and with dignity and then around 2-3 weeks later, near St Andrews day, have a Saltire day, where we bring in our Saltires and wave them around like Nicola Sturgeon on heat. (Sorry Nicola, sexist comment and uncalled for, but we have had to endure Anti-Irish racism from since before the plantations.

You see the Huns are right when they say that immigration from Ireland, especially the North, didn’t start and end with An Gorta Mor or the Great hunger. It started with the Plantations started by James the 6th of Scotland when the two crowns joined under his Kingship. Some Scots King he turned out. Traitorous bastard relinquished his right to the throne as soon as he moved his court to London. He renounced his nationality, his religion and his self-respect. Sorry, I digress.

In Glasgow, around this time there was actually more Anti Catholic organisations than there were Catholics. That’s why in 1745 during the Jacobite rising the Jacobite rebels or rather the rightful Scots Army under the rightful king, got no truck in Glasgow. Prince Charlie was too catholic for their liking. Maybe they were right but replacing the Roman pope with a London pope was no answer but they done it. Except for the Presbyterians who went along with it just for pragmatic reasons. Of Course when taxation of the entire population through church tithes by the London pope or established church, no matter what church you did or did not belong to, this caused a bit of a schism in the church in Scotland and kicked of a revolution in Ireland led by the great protestant United Irishmen in the North of Ireland. They had three main aims, a kind of quickly drawn up manifesto;

1. That the weight of English influence in the Government of this country is so great as to require a cordial union among all the people of Ireland, to maintain that balance which is essential to the preservation of our liberties and the extension of our commerce
2. That the sole constitutional mode by which this influence can be opposed is by a complete and radical reform of the people in Parliament
3. That no reform is just which does not include Irishmen of every religious persuasion.

These three aspirations are as true to Republicanism today as they have always been since the fathers of republicanism at that first meeting, who became known as the United Irishmen, drew them up. The men that were at that first Republican meeting were all protestant, two were Anglican and the rest were Presbyterian. They were Wolfe Tone, Thomas Russell, (who were the two Anglicans) William Sinclair, Henry Joy McCracken, Samuel Neilson, Henry Haslett, Gilbert McIlveen, William Simms, Robert Simms, Thomas McCabe and Thomas Pearce. These brave men supported the Catholic Committee and Lobbied for Catholic emancipation and to repeal the Penal laws. But most of all, what really united them with Catholic and Dissenter were the tithe laws. Their Ultimate aim as is the aim of modern republicanism is to secularise the state and replace Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter with the name Irishmen. To separate religion from politics. The Brits saw this and sought to mint a coin of sectarianism to divide Protestant from Catholic and Dissenter from them both. This was in fact a racially motivated ploy. To bring in Scots and give them the best land and in doping so, kick the indigenous catholic and non protestant off the best farmland that were found in the northern Counties.  They had tried with the Elizabethan Pale but they could not go further than Dublin county itself with impunity. Divide and Conquer was the order of the day and has continued without much break ever since. There were valiant attempts  at organising the workers on a class based union but they suffered defeat because of the racist policies of the British government. Scots Protestants were  given control which they freely accepted. Why wouldn’t they? Self interest is a good enough persuader. The Irony was that the protestant movement was an attractive one until it became infected with bigotry. The idea of democracy and freedom of worship as one pleased, directly with God however one pleased was appealing to socialists. The Irony is that if they had not been driven by greed and a lust for power, they may have converted many Catholics freely to their ideas.  But their brutality in land-grabbing from the indigenous Irish and denying their own Celtic heritage put paid to any assimilation and working class unity there might have been.

So there we have it. Ignore the sectarian red herring and see it for what it is. Racism.

 

Helicopter Sunday

With Celtic trailing the Huns by a massive 1 point on the last day of the league. Huns are counting their chickens before they come home to roost. And come to roost I assure you they will. After the abuse, threats, attempted attacks and letter bombs that Neil Lennon has had to endure in the run in to this league, it would only be justice that Celtic lift the title. And the title they will lift, I assure you. However, if in the unlikely event that justice does not prevail and the title doesn’t come to Paradise, then Rangers must be stripped of the title. The silence from the Orange Lodge, the Huns, even the Church of Scotland has been deafening. The mealy-mouthed response from the SFA has been inadequate to say the least.

The pressure that has been foisted on Neil and Celtic as a whole must have had a harmful effect on them, however capable they are at dealing with such abuse. Anti Irish abuse has been a fact of life for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and beyond Irish has not been sectarian. I have written about this before. I’m not called a tattie munching bogwog because I’m a catholic. I’m not catholic. I just happen to be 2nd generation Irish. Neil Lennon is 1st generation Irish and it is because of our genes that we suffer abuse. Not because we’re catholic. It is not sectarianism. It is racism and as simple and disgusting as that. If it was sectarianism then they would abuse most of their own players. Davis is Irish but racially or genetically he is Scottish. Or he has renounced his Irishness in favour of Britishness. That doesn’t make him a traitor as the inbred arseholes accused Aiden McGeady of when he chose to express his identity by playing for Ireland. Oh and let’s be clear, he plays for Ireland. Steven Davis and Neil Lennon played international football for a plastic state that exists only in the minds of morons.

So hear it now and have me on record. We shall overcome. We will win the league today. We deserve it and we will win it. When the Huns have deserved to win the title I have gone on record in this very blog that they deserved it.

 

Decent Football Supporters Support Neil Lennon

I have lost count of the times the great unwashed have given rise to decent footy supporters supporting Celtic players and managers. Now even fellow supporters have become the victim of the great unwashed. Nothing new there right enough. I’ve lost count of the times when people have been attacked and even murdered in this institutionalised and establishment racist land of ours. Namely Alba – Scotland to the great unwashed.

Now they have sent pipe bombs to Neil Lennon, Trish Godman, and Paul McBride. Paul could wipe the floor with Donald Finley and I bet these Neanderthals would do good to enlist the services of Paul when and if they ever get brought before a court. There’s no doubt that they are Scottish and have had instructions on how to make the pipe bombs. They couldn’t even construct them properly as they were described by Strathclyde’s finest as “crude devices”. If the devices were sent from the six counties, although they wouldn’t have done any harm, they were just meant to be frighteners in an attempt to intimidate the recipients, they would not have been described as crude. They were described as “viable” so the instructions on how to assemble them have most likely come from Loyalist Paramilitaries.

Obviously the Celtic fans have shown that they are an exceptional band of family. Special mention must go to the Green Brigade as it is them that organise these shows of support. It’s a pity that the Celtic board don’t appreciate them for what they are. The Press too have to take their share of the blame over this. The Daily Express ran a story with absolutely no evidence to back it up. They told us that the Real IRA were using Celtic games as cover to recruit members in Scotland. Absolute bollox. The IRA of any hue would never undertake such an operation. They simply can’t trust British based members to keep their mouth shut. To be fair, they will recruit members for the 32CSM and the Contos have had a branch for some time in Glasgow. But there is no way they would involve them in military operations. On top of the that the Express put a picture of the Green Brigade banner being held by Celtic fans in a football ground in an obvious attempt to link the Green Brigade with the story. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the Daily Express has evidence for their story then let them show it. It is no coincidence that the pipe bomb attempt came only a matter of just over a week after the Express ran the story. So the Daily Express has colluded with criminals in attempt to harm decent Celtic personnel and prominent fans. They should hang themselves in shame and issue a public apology. We won’t hold our breath. But the rag, editor and reporter have opened themselves up to similar attacks.

Personally, I hope the attack hits its targets.

 

Scotland’s Shame Just Keep On Surpassing Themselves

As you will see from the following video, Scotland’s Shame have once again tarnished the image of their club. Having said that, when you tarnish something so much and for so long, surely there must come a time when Rangers name can no longer be blackened any more. I mean is their reputation a sort of dark grey or is it blacker than a black hole. If it’s the latter as I believe, then they can only improve their reputation as it’s impossible to blacken it any more. But can they improve their reputation after all that tarnished history?

The Irrelevant Ian Paisley once called for republicans to were sack-cloths and ashes and parade up and down the Six Counties, no doubt by a route agreed by the parades commission. At the same time he made these comments, republicans were actually busying themselves dancing through hoops for the Brits, the Dupes, the Stoopes, the Contos the 32CSM, and various other people with a mouth or a blog and anti GFA republicans. So he would have Sinn Féin do the sackcloth and ashes act whilst dancing through all these hoops. At the end of the day no matter what hoops we danced through for the bigoted bastards, we were still Croppies and we were to know our place, lying down to the unionist threats. That’s another matter though but it is an example of the hoops we have to dance through to appease these bigots on both sides of the water.

More at home, Celtic have danced through hoops to get themselves separated from the so-called sectarianism that exists in Scottish Football. Let me make it clear again. It is not sectarianism that is the problem and it never has been. It is racism pure and simple. I’m not called a Fenian bastard, taig, bogwog, bogtrotter, tattie muncher or any number of derogative names supposedly for my religion but they are missing by miles for I have none. My crime is to born into an Irish Catholic family. It doesn’t matter if I’m 1st, 2nd which I am as it happens, 3rd, 4th or 5th generation Irish. It’s that I express my Scots Irish Identity through supporting Glasgow Celtic or indeed Hibs, supporting my home team but not joining in the singing of Orange songs, not keeping my head down but instead being comfortable with my identity which is both Irish and Scottish and being proud of both. If I express that in any way then I’m a plastic paddy according to the likes of James Traynor, Gerry McNee and a whole host of media commentators who should really think before they open the ignorant gobs or write their hateful bile. Why should they have the right to demand of me a reason for being proud of my Irish heritage? Should I not have a far more pertinent right to ask why they are so upset and obsessed by it.

Now to the video that’s got me going. It shows Rangers “Supporters” making fun of the death of Tommy Burns with a disgusting chant that will reverberate around the football grounds of Scotland wherever Celtic play. I hope I’m wrong and it’s just the racist scum from Follow Follow and the RST that get themselves into a habit of singing the chant. But may I remind Motherwell supporters that Celtic offered their hospitality and not just the club, but the fans, when Phil O’Donnell tragically died close to Tommy Burns’ death. Celtic Supporters joined in with Motherwell fans chanting Phil O’Donnell’s name. We never expected the Motherwell fans to chant Tommy Burns’ name. Why the hell should they? They were their to honour Uncle Phil. But remember, there was no segregation and only light banter between the supporters. I travelled into the game as is my usual want on the 267 from Motherwell to the Gallowgate and there were Motherwell supporters on the bus as well as Celtic and their was a sense of solidarity with our shared loss. This leads me to my point.

http://ww1.rtp.pt/noticias/?t=Adeptos-do-Glasgow-Rangers-em-Portugal-para-enfrentar-Sporting.rtp&headline=20&visual=9&article=419326&tm=27 in all it’s full screen glory I’m afraid

If Motherwell supporters especially, as well as the rest of the Supporters of all the other league teams, do not condemn the behaviour of the Rangers fans in this video, then they can all go and stick their different sides of the same coin, minted in Britain, up their fucking arses. They could fit bagfuls of the fucking things up there with their piles from sitting on that fence for so long. Or at least the real Motherwell fans can. The ones that don’t have the bus fare to Ibrox are known and they don’t care so are a lost cause.

If anyone says to me to my face that Celtic and Rangers are just as bad as each other, I shall patiently explain the racist nature of the Anti Irish abuse that Irish immigrants have had to endure from the establishment in Scotland that goes beyond institutionalised racism. I shall explain to him or her that the reason Rangers have enjoyed any success at all is because the establishment needed a team to beat these bogwogs or Scottish Protestantism would be made to look like fools in their OWN country. After Celtic won every competition they entered in 1967, including the European Cup. The need for a team to beat these uneducated Fenian bastards intensified and the pressure on Rangers to do just that became almost pitiful. Rangers had already been given the task to beat this mob. They were the establishment team in Scotland. They represented the protestant work ethic while that lot from the Gorbals and Garngad were the infidels and worse, soldiers of the Anti Christ. After explaining this and the more subtle racist attacks on the Irish community and those of Irish genes, the person still refuses to accept the facts, then I can only assume he’s a hun or closet hun. If he still tries to say that Celtic and Rangers are as bad as each other, then I can’t be held responsible for my actions.

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Celtic at Fir Park

I watched the Celtic game last night at Fir Park and I am obviously not amused. Celtic were all over Motherwell but still managed to concede two goals that most people in the ground missed. The 1st came when most of the supporters were just settling down to watch the match. The 2nd came in the 2nd half when most people were just on their way back from the pie shop, in the bog or just settling down from their half time rituals.

Celtic will go and play Rangers and beat them but why the fucking hell can we not beat Motherwell. Is it because they so want to beat us like Rangers want to beat us and raise their game so. Though I’d say the best defender for Motherwell last night was Mr Norris. He broke down every Celtic attack with some unusual interpretations of the rules of the game. Though I’m not being fair to the best player on the park by a country mile, Randolph in the Motherwell goal. Maybe Celtic’s woeful finishing, not helped by the confidence being stuffed out of them by Mr Norris, might have made him look better than he actually was.

Celtic should have been 3 up at half time but for balls bouncing around the Motherwell penalty box like a pinball machine, finishing with the inevitable free kick for Motherwell. Motherwell put a great deal of effort into that game and did probably deserve to keep a point at Fir Park but there is no way anyone who knows anything about Football will say that simply trying to win means you deserve to win. You have to have more shots on goal, possession, territorial advantage and a better fucking team. Celtic had that in bucket-loads last night. Our only fault was once again being bullied off the ball. I don’t care what the ref does about it. If they try to boss you off the ball, do the fucking same back and then boss the ref if he wants to say anything about it. It’s about time we started standing up for ourselves on and off the park.

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Wiki-leaks – Operation Payback

It’s been a while to get me to write anything as I’ve been kept busy doing things offline. What has got me on the keyboard has been the recent shenanigans being conducted by the enemies of Democracy in the US State Dept. You see? I told you. The US is one step away from becoming a fascist state if it has in fact not already achieved that aim. Those who aim to make it a fascist state are the same people who stay in government posts no matter if it is the Democrat Wing or the Republican Wing of the American government that is in the White House. The neocon movement is still pushing America with only minor blips of a slowdown towards total fascism. This latest attack on democracy is just another symptom of that Ideology. The continuing pressure on companies to withdraw their services to Wiki-leaks in a futile bid to shut them up has backfired on those companies who thought that they just had to appease the new millennium fascists and they would be safe. No. They are not that yet powerful because this new breed of fascism is a creeping one. It is one that will try to sneak up on us by using our fears, by creating fears, creating bogey men and telling us all that they will protect them if we only do what they say. If we give up our liberties bit by bit, it will be OK because they will give us protection. The Homeland Security etc etc. They hope, and for the most part, in the US and middle England at least, they are dead on, that we will not even notice our civil liberties being eroded.

It’s actually a two-pronged attack. First you have the overt threats to our liberties that are successfully challenged, but while we backslap ourselves for defeating each overt attack on our freedom, they are manipulating us into a false sense of security. This allows the real erosion of our democracy and civil liberties to go un-noticed. I was amazed at how many people bought the Iraqi WMD bullshit. I think even Colin Powel was amazed, as he sat at the UN and fed those lies to the world, that the idiots were swallowing it all. The Iraqi guy at the UN burst out laughing at the so-called translation of two Iraqi officers having a conversation that was intercepted. The translation was that much of a joke along with the fake photos that the Iraqi’s did not believe the world would be so stupid to take that all in and belive any of the bullshit Powel was spurting out. I don’t think he even did. Did Saddam overestimate the inteligence of the average westerner. Didn’t he know that America is quite happy to keep it’s literacy levels at below 50% so that they can control them? I think he didn’t. I think he believed that common sense would prevail. Maybe the world didn’t buy Powell’s Jackanory, the US blackmailed, bribed, threatened and bullied to get their own way and yet still they did not get the legal authority to go to war with Iraq. No one did. This meant that every single soldier sent to Iraq to fight and who failed to refuse, was guilty of a war crime. Remember, ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law. And just obeying illegal orders is also no excuse. So the real weapon that the nu fascist movement is using is information. Yes of course propaganda has always been a part of politics both in peacetime and war. But this is different. This is the suppression of information that does not comply with the nu fascist ideology and the unchallenged propaganda that is so much more subtle than it has ever been. It has to be stopped and so far it is only Wiki-leaks and anonymous that are doing anything about it.

More power to them. The internet is everyone’s and it must stay that way. More on this later.

 

Ombudsman pulls report into 1971 bar bomb

The six counties ombudsman has temporarily pulled his report on the 1971 bombing of McGurks bar because he feels that he has not given the relatives a fair hearing. this is to be welcomed. Hopefully now he will give some consideration to the fact that the police did not fully investigate the bombing as it was their own agents and state assets that carried out the bombing with the full knowledge and approval of the crown forces.

Had the RUC investigated the bombing properly, then they would have discovered that it was in fact their own members (most of the b specials were members of the Orange Lodge,  the UVF and the UPV but it was by no means just the b specials, senior RUC members were also senior members of the UVF) and members of the occupying army who colluded to aid the UVF to carry out the bombing. It was too easy to blame the IRA, as the UVF intended, for they had carried out bombings for years, with the full knowledge of Ian Paisley and his UPV, for that purpose and to destabilise the Stormont Government. The UPV and the UVF had a large percentage of cross membership. It is infeasible that Paisley was not aware of these actions. By 1969, the IRA had not yet carried out an operation, much less a bombing since the border campaign had ended. They didn’t even have any arms to speak of.

So for the RUC to dismiss the McGurk bombing as an IRA bomb that went off by accident is nothing short of a blatant cover up perpetuated by the very people who were complicit in the crime.

 

Boycott Israeli Goods

In the years of Apartheid in South Africa it became common practice to boycott South African goods, sport and basically anything that came from South Africa. Those companies that broke the boycott were picketed until it became financially non-viable to stock South African goods. Sports teams, most notably the Springbok rugby team, were heavily obstructed from playing anywhere outside SA. Direct action among other tactics to stop matches going ahead were employed. The worst that happened was that the match might manage to go ahead but with huge media coverage of the protests that at the very least helped to highlight the issue. The best that might happen would be some volatile and violent encounters with those charged with the job of protecting the renegade events. In my opinion, more could have been done, such as using explosives or incendiary devices to flatten the proposed venue before the event could even start. Always hit them in the pocket, that’s where it hurts these people most. Apartheid in South Africa could have been brought to an end much sooner had more militant action been used to enforce the boycott. That’s why boycotts do work and direct action against those that might try to break the boycott is not only acceptable, it is necessary to make it work. It should be noted that if Apartheid was in some way acceptable, then boycotts would never have worked no matter how militant the the tactics used to uphold the boycott were. Take for example the embargo the US has employed against Cuba. They have failed in their aim to cripple Cuba for over five decades. Tactics have included invasion, CIA assassination and support for Anti Cuban terrorism as well as blackmailing other nations into backing the embargo. Still Cuba survives and the US are now realising the futility of their petulant embargo. That’s because of the fundamental right of Cuba to assert themselves among the nations of the world.

With this in mind, it’s a good idea for anyone who has worked out that the illegal and anti-humanitarian Israeli occupation of Palestine is immoral and must be opposed by any means and at every opportunity possible not to discount any actions. No action can be off-limits. We must make sure it’s not profitable for companies in our countries or wherever we are to stock Israeli goods. Wherever their sports teams play throughout the world, they must be, if not stopped, made most unwelcome. Remember, almost every citizen of Israel is at the very least a reservist soldier for the IDF. I find that throwing eggs and flour is not quite effective. Petrol bombs are far more effective. Guns and mortar bombs should not be dismissed. All options must be given careful consideration.

Some people may think that I am advocating violence against boycott breakers and indeed sports players and other performers. Well that’s not the case. I am merely saying what I believe is the only effective way to make the boycott work. Now the boycott started it’s humble beginnings in Ireland…

I quote from Wikipedia because it’s correct:

The word boycott entered the English language during the Irish “Land War” and is derived from the name of Captain Charles Boycott, the estate agent of an absentee landlord, the Earl Erne, who lived in Lough Mask House, in County Mayo, Ireland, who was subject to social ostracism organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. In September of that year, protesting tenants demanded from Boycott a substantial reduction in their rents. He not only refused, but also evicted them from the land. Charles Stewart Parnell, in a speech in Ennis proposed that, rather than resorting to violence, everyone in the locality should refuse to deal with Boycott. Despite the short-term economic hardship to those undertaking this action, Boycott soon found himself isolated — his workers stopped work in the fields and stables, as well as in his house. Local businessmen stopped trading with him, and the local postman refused to deliver mail.

The concerted action taken against him meant that Boycott was unable to hire anyone to harvest the crops in his charge. Eventually 50 Orangemen from Cavan and Monaghan volunteered to harvest his crops. They were escorted to and from Claremorris by one thousand policemen and soldiers—this despite the fact that Boycott’s complete social ostracism meant that he was actually in no danger of being harmed ^{[Well there's no proof of that to be honest]}. Moreover, this protection ended up costing far more than the harvest was worth. After the harvest, the “boycott” was successfully continued. Within weeks Boycott’s name was everywhere. It was used by The Times in November 1880 as a term for organized isolation. According to an account in the book “The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland” by Michael Davitt, the term was coined by Fr. John O’Malley of County Mayo to “signify ostracism applied to a landlord or agent like Boycott”. The Times first reported on November 20, 1880: “The people of New Pallas have resolved to ‘boycott’ them and refused to supply them with food or drink.” The Daily News wrote on December 13, 1880: “Already the stoutest-hearted are yielding on every side to the dread of being ‘Boycotted’.” By January of the following year, the word was being used figuratively: “Dame Nature arose…. She ‘Boycotted’ London from Kew to Mile End” (The Spectator, January 22, 1881).

Clearly as the name came from this episode, then a boycott is considered a last option before ultimately resorting to a more direct and militant approach, if it were to fail. As I understand it, those that did deal with the thoroughly despicable Earl Erne and his overseer, Captain Boycott extended the Boycott to those that dealt with them. No one broke the Boycott and it was a success.

In the case of Israel, we are not dealing with one or two individuals, we are dealing with a very powerful country operating beyond it’s means. They are able to do this because of financial and other more sinister aid being given by mainly the US but backed by many western states that have been engaged in a war against democracy for the last 50 years. (In fact, Israel was so supported that they were able to defy the boycott of South Africa by giving it nuclear and other military help.) It’s no surprise that they [US] generally only give aid to non democratic states in the Middle East (Iraq before GWI, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Pre 9/11 Afghanistan,  Jordan and Pakistan as long as they stay allies. Forget the rhetoric that comes from some of these states. They have been bought. The US have been shovelling aid to ultra right-wing regimes in South America and they have funded right-wing military coups since before the United States were united and certain right-wing governments in Africa, but only if they were good old-fashioned dictatorships. A clear example of their war on democracy is their embargo against Cuba. Their hatred of democracy went so far as accepting Cuban criminals as refugees and giving gangsters and criminals shelter from justice just so they could use them as a publicity stunt to show how evil democratic Socialism is.

In the face of this onslaught on human rights, however indirectly, it’s not by any means extreme to suggest that direct militant activism is a justifiable response to it. That must start by boycotting Israeli produce, especially that which they produce in illegal Zionist settlements. It must also be backed up with the boycotting of any countries that seek to break the boycott. If that includes your own country, as a duty, who must boycott your own countries goods.

An idea of what to boycott will be found here. This must only be considered a starting point. If you see Israeli goods being sold in your local shops and supermarkets, then a letter telling them of their actions amounting to being an accomplice to crimes against humanity, is the first step with as much signatories as possible. If that fails then phase one of direct action must be put into place. That is picketing and publicising the issue. If that fails then you have to decide the best course of action for phase three. It will be different for each occasion but will most likely need to involve militant direct action aimed at making it impractical, economically, to continue to aid rogue states in their crimes against humanity.

End Apartheid

 

Ken O’Keefe – Irish Palestinian of the Freedom Flotilla

Ken O’Keefe was a US marine who renounced his US citizenship in favour of more deserving nations of his citizenship. As his story unfolds, it becomes clear that could and, in my opinion should, have killed three Isreali Commandos. It is my belief the killing  of any Zionist supporter of Israel, whether they support them through arms, money or words, should be killed. They will never understand the nature of what they are doing. There is no possibility in negotiating with them. I am utterly convinced of the sheer futility of gaining human rights for Palestine and the Gaza strip through dialogue. I’m afraid the last resort is the only one available. Israel must be disarmed of nuclear weapons and conscription must be stopped. They are an aggressive nation. They must have no standing Army. They must dissolve their regime and allow Palestinians and their descendants to their homeland. Then, with full franchise, they must have fair elections and whomsoever wins that election shall run the country. That is the single state solution. The only one that can possibly work.

In his own words:

I have for many years understood that we, people of conscience, are the true holders of power in this world. Frustratingly however we have largely relinquished that power and failed to reach our full potential.  Our potential to create a better world, a just world.  Nonetheless I have conspired with others of like mind to reveal and exercise our true power.  In 2002 I initiated the TJP Human Shield Action to Iraq because I knew that the invasion of Iraq had been planned well in advance, that it was part of a ‘Global Spectrum Dominance’ agenda as laid out by the Project For A New American Century.

I knew that protests had no chance of stopping the invasion, and that largely these protests were just a way of making us feel better about the coming mass murder; by being able to say I protested against it.  With that understanding I argued that the only viable way to stop the invasion was to conduct a mass migration to Iraq.  A migration in which people from around the world, especially western citizens, would position themselves at sites in Iraq that are supposed to be protected by international law, but which are routinely bombed when it is only Iraqi, Palestinian, generally non-white, western lives who will be killed.  I felt 10,000 such people could stop the invasion, or at the very least, expose the invasion for what it was from the start, an act of international aggression, a war crime and a crime against humanity.

When our two double-decker buses travelled from London to Baghdad through Turkey, it was ever clear that the people of Turkey also could sense the power of this act, and they were the biggest participants in it.  In the end we did not get the numbers required to stop the war, with at least one million Iraqi’s dead as a result, but I remain convinced that it was within our power to prevent the invasion.  A massive opportunity lost as far as I am concerned.

In 2007 I joined the Free Gaza Movement with its plan to challenge the blockade of Gaza by travelling to Gaza by sea.  From the moment I heard of the plan I knew it could succeed and ultimately I served as a captain on the first attempt.  The Israeli government said throughout our preparation that we were no better than pirates and they would treat us as such.  They made clear we would not reach Gaza.  And still I knew we could succeed.  And we did.  Two boats with 46 passengers from various countries managed to sail into Gaza on August 23, 2010; this was the first time this had been done in 41 years.  The truth is the blockade of Gaza is far more than three years old, and yet we, a small group of conscientious people defied the Israeli machine and celebrated with tens of thousands of Gazans when we arrived that day.  We proved that it could be done.  We proved that an intelligent plan, with skilled manipulation of the media, could render the full might of the Israeli Navy useless.  And I knew then that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

So participating in the Freedom Flotilla is like a family reunion to me.  It is my long lost family whose conscience is their guide, who have shed the fear, who act with humanity.  But I was especially proud to join IHH and the Turkish elements of the flotilla.  I deeply admire the strength and character of the Turkish people, despite your history having stains of injustice, like every nation, you are today from citizen to Prime Minister among the leaders in the cause of humanity and justice.

I remember being asked during the TJP Human Shield Action to Iraq if I was a pacifist, I responded with a quote from Gandhi by saying I am not a passive anything.  To the contrary I believe in action, and I also believe in self-defence, 100%, without reservation.  I would be incapable of standing by while a tyrant murders my family, and the attack on the Mavi Marmara was like an attack on my Palestinian family.  I am proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with those who refused to let a rogue Israeli military exert their will without a fight.  And yes, we fought.

When I was asked, in the event of an Israeli attack on the Mavi Mamara, would I use the camera, or would I defend the ship?  I enthusiastically committed to defence of the ship.  Although I am also a huge supporter of non-violence, in fact I believe non-violence must always be the first option.  Nonetheless I joined the defence of the Mavi Mamara understanding that violence could be used against us and that we may very well be compelled to use violence in self-defence.

I said this straight to Israeli agents, probably of Mossad or Shin Bet, and I say it again now, on the morning of the attack I was directly involved in the disarming of two Israeli Commandos.  This was a forcible, non-negotiable, separation of weapons from commandos who had already murdered two brothers that I had seen that day.  One brother with a bullet entering dead center in his forehead, in what appeared to be an execution.  I knew the commandos were murdering when I removed a 9mm pistol from one of them.  I had that gun in my hands and as an ex-US Marine with training in the use of guns it was completely within my power to use that gun on the commando who may have been the murderer of one of my brothers.  But that is not what I, nor any other defender of the ship did.  I took that weapon away, removed the bullets, proper lead bullets, separated them from the weapon and hid the gun.  I did this in the hopes that we would repel the attack and submit this weapon as evidence in a criminal trial against Israeli authorities for mass murder.

I also helped to physically separate one commando from his assault rifle, which another brother apparently threw into the sea.  I and hundreds of others know the truth that makes a mockery of the brave and moral Israeli military.  We had in our full possession, three completely disarmed and helpless commandos.  These boys were at our mercy, they were out of reach of their fellow murderers, inside the ship and surrounded by 100 or more men.  I looked into the eyes of all three of these boys and I can tell you they had the fear of God in them.  They looked at us as if we were them, and I have no doubt they did not believe there was any way they would survive that day.  They looked like frightened children in the face of an abusive father.

But they did not face an enemy as ruthless as they.  Instead the woman provided basic first aid, and ultimately they were released, battered and bruised for sure, but alive.  Able to live another day.  Able to feel the sun over head and the embrace of loved ones.  Unlike those they murdered.  Despite mourning the loss of our brothers, feeling rage towards these boys, we let them go.   The Israeli prostitutes of propaganda can spew all of their disgusting bile all they wish, the commandos are the murderers, we are the defenders, and yet we fought.  We fought not just for our lives, not just for our cargo, not just for the people of Palestine, we fought in the name of justice and humanity.  We were right to do so, in every way.

While in Israeli custody I, along with everyone else was subjected to endless abuse and flagrant acts of disrespect.  Women and elderly were physically and mentally assaulted.  Access to food and water and toilets was denied.  Dogs were used against us, we ourselves were treated like dogs.  We were exposed to direct sun in stress positions while hand cuffed to the point of losing circulation of blood in our hands.  We were lied to incessantly, in fact I am awed at the routineness and comfort in their ability to lie, it is remarkable really.  We were abused in just about every way imaginable and I myself was beaten and choked to the point of blacking out… and I was beaten again while in my cell.

In all this what I saw more than anything else were cowards… and yet I also see my brothers.  Because no matter how vile and wrong the Israeli agents and government are, they are still my brothers and sisters and for now I only have pity for them.  Because they are relinquishing the most precious thing a human being has, their humanity.

In conclusion; I would like to challenge every endorser of Gandhi, every person who thinks they understand him, who acknowledges him as one of the great souls of our time (which is just about every western leader), I challenge you in the form of a question.  Please explain how we, the defenders of the Mavi Marmara, are not the modern example of Gandhi’s essence?  But first read the words of Gandhi himself.

I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence…. I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour. – Gandhi

And lastly I have one more challenge. I challenge any critic of merit, publicly, to debate me on a large stage over our actions that day.  I would especially love to debate with any Israeli leader who accuses us of wrongdoing, it would be my tremendous pleasure to face off with you.  All I saw in Israel was cowards with guns, so I am ripe to see you in a new context.  I want to debate with you on the largest stage possible.  Take that as an open challenge and let us see just how brave Israeli leaders are.

The original video of Ken’s interview had been removed from youtube so I found another more up to date interview with him…
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/piQz9XQkjLY

 

Election Message From The Rebel Rambler

This is the most important Westminster election since 1979. We do not want a repeat of that. For all that I despise the Labour party, Jack McConnell and Frank Roy in particular, we must not be fooled into voting the Tories by their scaremongering about a hung parliament. The more they argue against a hung parliament, the more I feel we need one. “A strong Government we need” they say. So they can attack countries who have the misfortune of having our oil beneath their sand? So they can take from the poor and give to the rich? So they continue Nu Labour’s policies but with more gusto and with more dire consequences? So they can expand Trident or worse, replace it with a more devastating and costly alternative. We don’t need the bloody things, a fool can see that.

But I don’t need to remind Scottish voters of what damage the Tories will do. It takes a lot to erase the memory of what that party done to Scotland and Ireland in the 80′s. People still remember Cromwell over 350 years later. They still remember The Butcher’s Apron that Marshal Wade and the Duke of Cumberland marched under as they butchered wounded Highlanders after the Battle of Culloden and then moved through the countryside murdering any Scot, young or old, who they believed had favoured the Jacobite cause.

Well apparently I do, The Unionists who think we should wrap ourselves in the Butcher’s Apron and be proud to be North Brits need reminding and those that follow and support them. Although I will be arguing that Scots vote SNP in the Westminster Election, I do so because I feel they offer the best opportunity to represent Scottish needs more than anyone else at this time.

Labour men tell us of the dangers of Nationalism. I know full well of the dangers. But Scottish Nationalism is not the same as British Nationalism, French Nationalism, German, American, Israeli or any other Nationalism that has its own nation. Nationalism without a nation is National Liberation. This article explains it better and has some great photos. Like Basque Nationalism, Corsican Nationalism and other Nationalist Freedom movements, Scottish Nationalism has a progressive socialist colour to it. I would like nothing better than a pan Celtic/British Isles Socialist Republic but it’s not going to happen. English people are different from us. They vote differently, they speak differently, they have a completely different culture to us. They have different needs and desires. Fair play to them and good luck to them. I have nothing against them and I don’t really believe they have anything against us. I am of course generalising here. But there is no way we are going to get social reform under a Westminster government, it is as simple as that. Devolution has shown that we can produce those social reforms through free care for the elderly, Free Prescriptions for all, though not yet implemented, it will be soon, we have at least reduced the cost of prescriptions and extended free prescriptions to those that need it most. This among many social improvements for Scots introduced by the current administration at Holyrood, despite being a minority government proves some very important points, mainly that we can run our own affairs far better than Westminster and that hung parliaments can work. Yes I feel it would have been better if the SNP had a clear majority but despite the fact they have had to compromise to get policies through, they have managed to do more for Scotland in less than one term than the Limp Dems and Labour managed in 13 years.

There is nothing to fear from Independence bur fear itself. Labour want you to be scared. They need your vote to stay in power. But what thanks will they give you? More Thatcherite policies, that’s what. Make no mistake, the Labour Party of 2010 bears no resemblance to the Party of Keir Hardie. The Labour party was a movement run from the grass-roots. Now it is run from the top down. Is there anyone out there that can deny that? They have become more  and  more like the Tories to such an extent that the Tories have no policies of their own, Labour has stolen them all. More importantly, they have stolen their Ideology and Identity.

The Tories are left to try to change their image to make them look more cuddly. More environment friendly. More palatable to middle England. That is where the battle ground is between these two chameleons. I beg the people of Scotland to let them battle it out. I beg those in  England to vote for the Lib Dems. Again it is only fear itself you have to be scared of.

As I have shown, the Labour Party members think nothing of brushing off their constituents with blatant lies. I found out Frank Roy, my own MWP (Member of Westminster Parliament) lying on record. I published the evidence in this very blog. I also noted that he would be proud to represent the Labour Party, rather than, I suppose than representing his constituents.

Lets not be naïve in Scotland either. Over the years since devolution we have become more savvy when it comes to tactical voting. I don’t believe for one minute that a vote for the SNP is a vote for Independence. It’s a vote for a better deal for Scotland in Westminster, that pit of snakes that needs another 20 SNP, Plaid Cymru, and Independents to shake those bastards up and force them to actually earn their wages.

Be Sensible, In Scotland Vote SNP, in England Vote Lib Dems. It will probably be the most important thing you do in your life. For generations to come, people will judge this generation for the choice we made this polling day. If we fail them like the “I’m all right Jack” mob did when they voted in that nasty bitch Thatcher, our kids will never forgive us. And rightly so.

 

Poppy-Gate (Belated)

Last November during the poppy silly season, a worker at Asda was made a scapegoat, harassed and even demanded that she be sacked by the mindless sheep that follow the Army recruitment campaign, that not only takes place in November, but all year round. I am glad to say that Asda did not succumb to the bully tactics employed by the faux outrage that the poppy gangsters display year in and year out.

Now all you reactionary fools have had your chance to vent your faux outrage at this non incident, perhaps Sarah Arrowsmith from Northamptonshire, Mike from Flint, Tony from Halifax, Sue from Bacup, Lancashire, Alec from York, Julie Seymour from long Buckby (to a lesser degree), Janine Barnes from Leigh, Jim from Glasgow, Paul from Ashton-under-Lyne, Tracy from County Durham, Ian Yarrow from Darlington, Julie Letten from Middlesbrough, Claire from Poole, and last but not least, the murderer, Warrant Officer Class 2 Mark Jones from Littleborough who so proudly served in the six counties, can apologise for jumping to premature conclusions. Maybe a handwritten letter to the employees in question apologizing for their disgusting comments. And maybe a letter of apology to the employee in question would not be out of order, even at this late stage.

Perhaps they will look at what they wrote and apply some of the comments to themselves. Lesson number 1096754839907 of living in Britain, don’t believe the shite you read in the Sun, or the Daily Mail for that matter and don’t act like sheep when you see people jump on the poppy bandwagon used cynically by this government to attract more fools to the slaughter in these neocolonialist wars of adventurism, these wars on democracy, these wars on innocent civilians, these wars to get our oil that somehow managed to get under the sands of foreign countries.

You’ve been named, hang you heads in shame. Well done ASDA for not bending to the will of reactionary idiots. I am now going to order my shopping online with you. I hope the customer in question has hay fever if she did indeed receive flowers. I should also hope that she be banned from ASDA. Let her live on poppies, Afghan ones at that.

I’m not surprised by the amount of people demanding the sacking of a worker in this country without any investigation or evidence of wrongdoing. I’m just disgusted. Fucking Idiots

 

Gagging law to protect Prince Charles

The Times On-line have finally picked up on what I’ve been going on about with regard to the FOI giving blanket protection to the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family who rule as the royal family in Britain and the Commonwealth. At last some one else has taken notice though they have lifted the story from The Republic Magazine. Frank Roy MP, representing Blu Labour in the constituency of Motherwell and Wishaw thinks that members of the royal household can lobby ministers for increases in the civil list, planning applications and any other whim that takes his fancy without our scrutiny. Now if he was lobbying ministers about personal matters like any other private person, then he would be entitled to privacy but when he is lobbying ministers on government policies, we must be able to scrutinise who he is lobbying, how much of our money is he investing in bribes, and what public interest policies is he exactly lobbying for.

To have a blanket ban on all FOI requests gives him far too much power and lack of accountability for an unelected person. Frank Roy thinks he deserves the same right to privacy as the rest of us. Well he then should be subject to the same kind of scrutiny as the rest of us. Especially as we are paying for it.

It really is a no brainer. A child can see the logic of the argument, which means that we would be better off with a child representing any other organisation in Motherwell and Wishaw than Frankie representing Blu Labour in our constituency.

Frank Roy, one time chanter of rebel songs and supporter of the republican movement has managed to make the long but almost overnight journey to rabid Royalist. This cad is not in it to represent anyone’s interests but his own and anyone in Motherwell and Wishaw who votes for him should think carefully about what they are voting for. Whatever you do, don’t vote for the red Tories, and don’t be fooled by the new colourful tree-hugging Tories. They are even more like fascists than the Thatcherites.