Taxes... purpose and benefits thereof.

We all recognise the security and comfort of a well-managed society.
Schools, roads, hospitals, law, justice, utilities...all levers that shape our lives.
For which we pay taxes, and expect that those administering the public purse will exert control and diligence over our monies.

Apparently, once again the militarists are unable to conduct themselves with dignity.


Once again, the name "blackwater" crops up, and the facts are testament to the need to return every single one of these miscreants to their miserable hovels and their mindless petty existences.

Our slick-tounged politicos tell us that our military is bringing democracy to the Afghan people, and that their prescence brings dignity to the women and children of Afghanistan.

With the constant bombing of civilians, and the drunken and licentious behaviour of the US/NATO forces, one can only conclude that one or two of our politicians are bare-faced liars .

How and when will this arrogant stupidity end?

Is it time to confront our own government and tell them, that enough is enough.....
How many of us would feel outrage if an angry Afghan citizen managed to kill several hundred of these drunken idiots... would we really feel any loss.
Supporting "our troops" is one thing, supporting a bunch of drunken shitheads is not something upon which I want my taxes spent.
Mindless and violent morons...Fuck `em all.

Not wholly good nor bad.

Rev Eli Jenkins' Prayer - Dylan Thomas (from Under Milk Wood)

Every morning when I wake,
Dear Lord, a little prayer I make,
O please do keep Thy lovely eye
On all poor creatures born to die

And every evening at sun-down
I ask a blessing on the town,
For whether we last the night or no
I'm sure is always touch-and-go.

We are not wholly bad or good
Who live our lives under Milk Wood,
And Thou, I know, wilt be the first
To see our best side, not our worst.

O let us see another day!
Bless us all this night, I pray,
And to the sun we all will bow
And say, good-bye - but just for now!*



Thoughts of grace for Ted Kennedy, here`s a little one from Wales, with a view of the Gower Peninsula.

Here`s a link to a petition, calling for the U.S to honour the late senator witha health care bill that he had been working upon, prior to his death.

I guess he was one of those guys who just kept going...Bless him.... and please sign for him. Thanks

Actually, (Sunday morning), after reading through the contents of the bill, maybe not.....the proposed structure really seems open to all kinds of interpretation and exploitation.
One can imagine too, that if it ever got passed, it would probably include provisions for the elites to continue abusing the underclasses.

Spanish civil war.

"No great idea in its beginning can ever be within the law. How can it be within the law? The law is stationary. The law is fixed. The law is a chariot wheel which binds us all regardless of conditions or place or time."

Emma Goldman.

There was a group of American civilian-soldiers, who, in the 1930`s when the rumblings of civil war exploded across Spain, set off to fight fascism.....They called themselves the

Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

Most perished, but their name lives on, in song and in the memories of all Spanish people, war is always a somewhat senseless activity, but I guess sometimes one has to fight.

The governments of America and Europe stood idly by as Franco, Mussolini and Hitler spread their vile politics across the continent, only Russia sent assistance, but tens of thousands of leftists and trade unionists travelled to Spain to fight against the military force of the Dictator Franco.
Franco and his forces won that war, and Spain was to endure over 30 years of restrictive fascism.

Their most celebrated encounter was the battle of Jarama, about which Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger sing......

At the going down of the sun.

Health of nations.

Meetings are taking place in the US, concerning the issue of privatised vs public health services...

Here`s a report from "Enigma", an activist, mother and nurse who is speaking out on behalf of those who have no medical insurance.

There are news reports coming from the US, with interviews from the right-wing opponents of the "National Health Service", and there are wild, unsubstantiated accusations of failings within the British system.
To which of course, one must point out that, "warts and all", at least we have a system that serves every single one of us according to our needs, and that the "burden" is one that we have pride in carrying.

We may not have so many missiles, but at least we got socialised medicine:). Actually, Wales hasn`t even got an air force, or a navy (apart from one or two small fisheries protection craft), we`ve a few hundred soldiers, presently under the "command" of the UK government, who in their quest to rule the planet, in the sixteenth century, after many fiery confrontations, finally took control of Wales through the "acts of union".

No debate concerning the National Health Service should omit the story of its` founding, the details of which encompass the coal mines of Britain, the writings of Marx, and the tale of a boy of 13, driven to work underground in the coal pit through poverty and a lack of schooling..

Aneurin Bevan was born in November 1897, of a typical Welsh family of the time, his father was a coal miner with 10 children to feed and educate, and Aneurin, (or "Nye", as he was called"), soon found himself underground, dust covered and hand- hewing coal for a wage that barely covered the cost of food and rent.




As the other miners talked with him, they realised he was "special", and between them, they sent him to be educated in the hope that he would lead them from their misery and squalor.



In a short time he became first a trade unionist and then a politician.

In 1925, his father lay dying of pneumoconiosis, the "miners` curse", Nye was there, holding him, sharing the last breaths and thoughts, and it is said that it was then he vowed that of all things he would do in his life,

the establishment of taxpayer-funded healthcare for every man, woman and child, would be his primary goal.

Not only a friend of the American Singer and activist Paul Robeson...

There`s more to the man from the hill...

In no small way, do I, and millions of others, owe life to this man, and I certainly couldn`t imagine Wales without our health service, "Free to all, in time of need, and at the point of delivery."

Bad luck or carelessness, but in my younger days, having had some surgery & stitching here and there, I`d be a fool not to believe in the policy of taxpayer-funded medicine.
As it happens, I`ve been fortunate for many years not to need a doctor, but don`t begrudge my taxes paying for the day when that need arises, or indeed, how could anyone fault a system that helps us all, the new-born, the sick, and the elderly without any distinctions of class or wealth.

Something interesting in the State of Denmark.

National media tends to be conservative and cautious, lawsuits and court appearances being somewhat damaging to their reputations and balance sheets.

So, after no doubt, some consideration as to the legal and political ramifications of transmitting a refutation to the official version of 9/11, TV2 in Denmark went ahead and aired the above interview with Professor Niels Harrit, whose findings are giving a clearer picture of how the three towers collapsed into their own footprint.

It seems too that at last, the FBI whistleblower, Sibil Edmonds, is having her voice heard....
Here`s a link or two, firstly during the first "official inquiry". Interview with American radio station.

Secondly to Counterpunch, the online news source....January 2008....

Of course, none of these "facts" give the full picture of what is going on within the military industrial complex, the cost of which is beginning to exceed that of education, law and order, pensions, health, transport.....

It`s an old game, isn`t it? The militaries tell the politicians and the population that there are threats from a dangerous enemy, but fortunately, they have the troops and weapons to save the nation...and each year it costs just a few trillion dollars more.

Comical.

In global terms, the French are never far from centre stage, like the Brits and Germans, they no longer appear in need of ruling the world, but just the same, there`s still that sense of personal ambition that gave us Napoleon, Sartre, Piaf, the french resistance, champagne and ...french fries.

A French comedian is "raising steam", with a routine that sees a dark and twisted chuckle in the events of September 11.

In French with English subtitles.

By the way, M. Bigard is a chum of M. Sarkozy, who apparently was not amused with a prod at the "official version"....... which led to an open debate on national television, and a somewhat serious illumination of that days` atrocities.....

Here`s the programme, again, French with subtitles, but entertaining!



Similar discussions, with scientists and journalists are starting to emerge on other European television stations....How long? one wonders, before an unfettered discussion reaches American soil.

Western winds.

Wind here today near Pembroke...South by West, 20 knots, weather...cloudy, with occasional showers.



The politicians are taking a summer recess, and seem to have left us with swine-flu and the war on terrorism, an economy in hibernation, all overseen by experts appointed by commitees...


In recession-hit Spain, there`s an economic plan which is causing some problems.


Whilst in the Northern Europe, Denmark is leading the field in escaping the costs and consequences of non-renewable energy production, with around 20 percent of electricity coming from "windmills"...plus lesser amounts of hydro and solar... who knows, perhaps there is some sense in a maddened world.


When the wind is blowing, the lights are on.

Modern Moslem Women....Ms Nebahat Albayrak

For most societies, women are still not often encountered in the realms of government and power.


Muslim women in particular, are not exactly noted for being at the forefront of world-wide political reform, but in Holland, Ms Albyrak has taken the reins of justice and is certainly ploughing a new furrow.

Unlike the US and the UK, Holland is actually seeing a fall in crime, and thus a fall in prisoner numbers, so much so that they are closing down eight prisons, and laying off 1200 guards.... Everyone happy, except the right wingers!

Some might say that crime is low, because personal drug use is not prosecuted, and others say that it is due to prosperity and the inherent good character of the folks that live, mostly below the level of the sea.Whatever the reasons, Holland arrived at a point where their crime rate is actually decreasing....


They have approximately 1 prisoner per 1,000 population, the US has almost 1 per hundred, and the UK somewhere around 1 per 150.Factor in the trend towards privatisation in the US and the UK, and the smell of "prisons for profit" cuts across any valid argument of jail being a deterrent or even a cure for crime.


So, maybe our politicians should take lessons from those who have a proven record in crime reduction, rather than sounding off about the need to persecute and prosecute the less fortunate, they should defer to those who have not only successfully reduced crime, but have built a far more cohesive society.

9/11; getting the real picture.

Most people around the world already know that 9/11 was not what it seemed.

Two airplanes caused three towers to collapse, then came a call to war....a murderous idiocy... continuing with the laissez-faire acceptance of the attack by the current administration... a sort of "don`t ask-don`t tell".

In Denmark, Germany and other countries, discussions have been aired on the TV and radio.
In the US (and Britain), the official line is to keep chasing the Muslim "terrorists", especially those with large oil and gas reserves., although with trillions of dollars of debt, and a rapidly shrinking GDP, the chances of an imminent meltdown in US social order are increasing.

The Yanks may be fooling some of their own, and no doubt there are many around the world who accept the official line with blithe indifference.
There are other individuals who are taking steps toward exposing the true identities of the perpetrators of the attack.....

even Wikipedia is publishing the allegations...


Right after the attacks, in line with official procedures, the US government dispatched a professional photographer, Kurt Sonnenfeld. Attached to FEMA, he soon realised that what he was seeing pointed to evidence of dirty tricks.

When he voiced suspicions to his superiors, he was sidelined and threatened, and now lives in exile in Argentina.

(Quote)"And then it was very odd to me when I learned that FEMA and several other federal agencies had already moved into position at their command center at Pier 92 on September 10th, one day before the attacks......../the collapse of Building 7 was hardly mentioned by the mainstream media and suspiciously ignored by the 911 Commission...../(unquote)

Read on.....

Meanwhile the oil-thirsty establishment... harps on about the need for "freedom" in Iran, and Iraq,..... and Afghanistan.

Bringing together, under one roof.

There`s a couple of Americans, who linked up, in a combo, with some Africans, a few Europeans, one or two Latin Americans, some white guys, a lady from Israeli, some black people, some Indians, native Americans, and so many more.

It`s Friday, in brief, the video is about using harmony and music to fund projects that provide music to poor folk in Africa, and lets you into a world of global technology and constructive works.

If you feel moved, and it is a truly moving piece of music, then linking to you tube will find several more tracks, and contact information on the whole "craic."