I’m a great believer in protesting, and abhor people who can sit and moan about the world in internet forums but never actually get out and do something about it, even if that ‘something’is simply adding their name to a petition or writing to their MP. If I see something I feel is unjust, I want to do something about it. If I’m angry enough I will help to draw attention to the issue by going on marches and rallies (and I’ll also sign that petition, attend meetings, help with organisation, whatever it takes).

In the 80s I would go along with my mum to various anti-nuclear protests and actions. They were always peaceful, non-violent protests. But we did cause inconvenience to the police, the MoD and the government and gave journalists something to focus on, using civil disobedience. It might not sound very revolutionary or exciting, but lying down in a main highway and linking arms with fellow protestors, playing dead when the police tried to pick you up, caused absolute chaos. They’d lost control of us.

Thatcher brought in laws around protests and made it illegal to congregate without a permit from the police and the local council. So now you have to plan it with the authorities for months, negotiate with them and abide by whatever rules they give you. They will tell you when you can march, which roads you may march down, what time you can hold a rally, and when it must all be over by so that normal life can resume. In other words they will allow you to protest, but don’t make a scene and don’t disrupt anything.

Which makes it all the more important to make a scene and disrupt things.

Take the anti-Iraq War demonstration… we all did what we were allowed to do, had a lovely day, and went home. The media was full of lovely images of hundreds of thousands of people making their way to Hyde Park that day. It was an incredible experience to be there. The idealogical side of me grew excited and thought that a government  couldn’t possibly ignore this many people. We all know how that turned out. A week later and the protest was forgotten and the government carried on with their plans. For the first time I truly realised what I had suspected all along – that no one was listening.

Yesterday I was in London for the TUC March for the Alternative. I was there to swell numbers and draw attention to what that alternative to the cuts is. Tax the rich. Make the bankers responsible. Look at http://robinhoodtax.org/ for the alternative. I marched for my colleagues jobs, that I, as their union rep, am trying to save. I marched for my own job too, frankly. I marched for our students who have lost their EMA, their travel passes, and will have to pay through the nse for university education our politicians took for granted (and for free). I marched for pension rights. I marched for our NHS, our youth centres, our libraries. We marched when and where we were told, and it was a brilliant day. News started to filter through about trouble in Picadilly… paint bombs and broken windows. Instantly, we knew hat the media would be focussing on. Not the thousands who marched peacefully, made their point and went home happy, but the minority of ‘mindless thugs’.

Are they mindless thugs though? As we walked back towards Euston through the same route as we’d passed on our way through, we saw paint strewn windows, a few smashed windows, and occupations. No violence though. Just angry people who are fed up and who want to draw attention to tax avoidance. The paint is soluble and will wash off. With the amount of tax these companies are saving, they can afford to replace a couple of windows.

The point is, the media will run with this now, and the question of tax avoidance will stay in the headlines. The protestors are clever and always one step ahead of the police, and they play the game well. I’m amazed at our students’ ability to plan and execute, then disperse and reform at another location to do it all again. They leave the authorities with no control, so they eventually use batons on our young people. And let’s get beyond the headlines – these are not violent people. But we saw ourselves the police lining up in riot gear before anything had happened, almost willing the trouble to begin. Even as a 40-odd year old parent, I had an odd compulsion to have a go when I was faced with lines of police intimidating me. And we’re paying for those polce with our taxes. I’d rather they were out there fighting real crime, rather than doing the government’s work for them by trying to suppress the freedom of speech.

You might not find me standing on top of Nelson’s column or occupying Top Shop, but I do think that buildings and ‘stuff’ is fair game in the bigger picture. The more chaos we can cause as protestors, the better.

Urban Foxes have been the new Hoodies for months now. It’s blatant for all to see – demonise an entire species by whatever means and bring back hunting with dogs for your rich chinless mates who have nothing better to do with their time than chase animals around and kill them for fun (let’s not kid ourselves that this is a sport anymore).

How do you demonise a species? The same way you demonise teenaged single mothers, teenagers in hooded tops, an entire city, Eastern Europeans, any foreigners, for that matter, Muslims… twist any, and I mean ANY story, or even a non-story, into a story that blames that species or section of society so that it fits neatly into your little political agenda at that time.

First, foxes are eating our babies. Then they chew our shoes and kill cute fluffy kittens (they can redress the balance on felines at a later date when that fits their other agendas). Next they nibble our ears while we’re in bed. They hang around on corners sniffing glue and looking menacing. Is there no end to the madness that these fierce, out of control, wild animals will go to?

Hold the front page, because they’ve just sunk to a whole new low in Inveresk. Luckily for humanity, David McCann, that intrepid reporter with a nose for a great scandal with a human interest angle, was on the scene straight away to investigate and report…

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Fox-bites-off-man39s-nose.6600939.jp

Give Mr McCann a medal! I’m glad this stand-up journalist was there. I can breathe a sigh of relief that the world is safe in his hands.

Fox bites off man’s nose and fingers in cemetery!!!!!

SHIT!!! They’re EATING us now!

It’s in the news, therefore it must be true.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I have the energy left to go through yet another made-up story and point out the blatantly obvious. You can read it for yourself. There’s no evidence at all of any fox attack. A man got drunk, blacked out and woke up with some injuries. People are talking, and saying blah blah blah whatever. Two police cars turned up. TWO! No one who worked there had heard anything at all about this horrific incident. That’ll be the news blackout and the lockdown, which they also didn’t hear about.

Thank goodness for our intrepid reporter though. He knows a fake fox attack story when he sees one. And he doesn’t let a few pesky facts (or lack of) get in the way. He also neatly ties up the story with a ribbon – “Earlier this year a fox attacked twin baby girls while they slept in their cot at home in London. At the time, John Bryant, a pest control consultant who specialises in foxes, said such attacks were not typical fox behaviour.”

Well, thank you David McCann. Can I call you Dave? I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this job, Dave, but really, you need to go back to media school or whatever, because your article’s crap! Complete and utter bollocks, if you don’t mind me saying so. I’d be ashamed to put my name to such a pile of steaming turd.

I would love to think that no one would believe any of this crap, but noooooooo. There’s a prize idiot who uses the name of “proclaimer,”. Yes, that’s “proclaimer,” with a comma added. If it was anyone with half a brain I’d like to imagine they added the comma for amusing effect. Unfortunately this is just an idiot who can barely use a keyboard. You can sense his fat, sausage fingers, mashing away at the lap top as he replies to the story, his mouth open and his eyes dead – nothing going on behind those eyes. Nothing to see here. Move along!

Kate Gab-a-way,   What is it with this woman?

She thinks she is the most stunning thing to walk this planet,   How wrong can one person get it?

Her cow like voice  (listen when she says ‘aahhhhhh’)  is so infuriating,  she drives me mental!!

Get this woman off our screen, 

the program’s bad anyway,  but was better without her!

We are constantly told that immigrants are given houses they don’t need to pay for, free gas, electricity, even free food. Non whites are apparently to blame for most crime, especially violent crime and if caught are given a slap on the wrist and let off.

The Wail would have us believe that Christianity will shortly be banned in this country, Christmas already has been and mosques are taking over our cities.

Of course, if you actually read the articles properly and question what is written, the truth is very different. So what is the Daily Wail’s agenda? Why do they print misleading stories? What do they hope to achieve? Perhaps, more importantly, should they be allowed to get away with it?

I’ve seen this mentioned a few times again recently and had a quick ponder on its usage.

What is political correctness?

Well, it seems to be a general mode of thought or action that addresses discrimination or inequalities regarding others. Race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc., are areas where political correctness is used to weed out discrimination and language use that is seen to be offensive.

e.g. words like “nigger” or “faggot” are deemed unacceptable with political correctness because their usage is intended to cause offence.

I think most people would agree that PC used in this way is a good thing. (more…)