THIS IS A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST WARNING - YOU ARE AT RISK

I have been a member of CND since at least 2013 when I found I could once again afford the membership dues. Before that, my membership had fluctuated with my fortunes ever since 1965 when I first became a unilateralist. Manufacturing nuclear weaponry may make a lot of money for a few and provide jobs for a few among the many - but it is an obscene business which becomes even more ghastly when you find yourself a citizen of a state that is committed to their use as a deterrent. The policy of deterrence has worked, they say - to which the answer is that we have got away by the skin of our teeth from an only too imaginable nuclear holocaust in the aftermath of the atomic bomb explosions at Hiroshima and Nagaski in 1945. No policy should ever be sustained on a wing and a prayer when the fate of humanity is at stake. 

Nagasaki nuclear bomb explosion - 9 August 1945 

Occasionally, a retired member of the top brass in the military surfaces to reveal his conversion to sanity. He - interesting that the top brass are male - announces that nuclear weaponry and its threatened use is immoral and stupid. But the world scarcely notices and our policies that have been developed around nuclear arms remain largely unchanged. There has been some reduction in the number of warheads but we still have enough to send humanity into oblivion. 

Part of the devastation of Nagasaki after the bomb exploded

And of course we - the Brits - don't even control this weaponry. Do some research and you will discover that we are a puppet of the government in the United States in matters nuclear. That is the elephant in the room that our governments since 1945 have never wanted the people of this country to identify. This post, written by me in 2017 - press here - tells you more about this US control over the UK but google the subject for more evidence of our puppet-state status. Take care, though, to steer your way through the

GEORGE MONBIOT IS OUR 21ST CENTURY PROPHET - JEFF BEZOS' EXIT INTO SPACE IS TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE

 Double Down News is creating the future of journalism. That is their own proud claim. It needs to be true because the future of our civilization and its liberal values - the way of life I and others treasure - depends on the kind of messages that Double Down News communicates reaching more and more people. 

George Monbiot is a regular contributor to their news service and he is one of my 21st century prophets. The Israelites needed their prophets. Their words of warning and admonition filled their holy scriptures. They are still worth reading. We need our prophets. We need the likes of the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg (2003- ) and the London born British political and environmental activist George Monbiot (1963- ). They are our messengers of doom, if we do not act together to thwart the powerful and wealthy few who will not mend their ways.

Greta Thunberg speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2021

George Monbiot - the way of the prophet has never been easy

Below are ten minutes of George Monbiot on Capitalism in Space. 

They may help you get an even sharper focus on the meaning of life. That after all is the job of

NO CHANGE IN THE MISGOVERNMENT OF THE UK - A LOOK BACK AT 2020 FROM THE DAY AFTER FREEDOM DAY

 This blogpost gives you two perspectives on the pandemic in the UK in 2020:

• the view from the inside of No.10, courtesy of Dominic Cummings who was the PM's special advisor until November last year
• the view from concerned journalists expressed in newspaper articles from June to September and collected by me at the time. 

I reread these newspaper cuttings last Tuesday, 20 July 2021, the same day as Dominic Cummings' BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg in which she seemed determined to undermine his credibility - and failed. The dirt he is dishing on Johnson is designed to take the focus away from Cummings' own culpability in the herd immunity project - but the words and actions he ascribes to Boris Johnson seem only too probable.

They were in it together - Cummings is in the know - the dirt he dishes is really true.

First, the dirt from Cummings on Johnson in that BBC interview (my thanks to Koser Saeed of Spotlight News for this summary):

• Johnson was not taking the threat from the coronavirus seriously until late March when he ordered the first lockdown. He had expected business to continue as normal, cabinet ministers were still meeting face to face, and Johnson still expected to see the Queen in person each week.
• Plan A for 'handling' the COVID outbreak was to pursue a herd immunity agenda. Johnson did not want the country to go into the first lockdown and he said so repeatedly at various meetings. 
•  Then, after the first wave had passed and Johnson returned to work - having recovered from COVID himself - he seemed at first convinced that it had been a good idea to lockdown. But it did

DEADWOOD IN THE LABOUR PARTY - A MEDLEY OF REASONS FOR THE EXIT OF SOCIALISTS SUCH AS MYSELF

I had no sooner published my blogpost this morning in praise of Dawn Butler, using Skwawkbox material, when another SKWAWKBOX post arrived. On reading it, I decided to share its rich but disturbing fruits. Here, for you to digest, is the historical trail of the Labour plot to usurp the socialist challenge of Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters: 

 

Jeremy Corbyn in Cornwall at Heartlands on the campaign trail in 2017

Astonishing thread pulls together five years of Labour right sabotage and war to destroy Corbyn and the left

bySKWAWKBOX (SW)24/07/2021

Leave a Commenton Astonishing thread pulls together five years of Labour right sabotage and war to destroy Corbyn and the left

Superb summary thread by @iwaslabour distills betrayal by so-called ‘moderates’ on full display

An astonishing Twitter thread by a former Labour member has distilled five years of sabotage and betrayal by the laughably-termed ‘moderate’ wing of the party to ensure that a left-wing Corbyn government was prevented despite the widespread popularity of both the former Labour leader and his policies – and their war on the whole left since they succeeded.

The Labour right preferred to sentence the whole country to hard right government – with horrific consequences for the poor and vulnerable and their children along with those killed during the pandemic – than see a left leader succeed and confirm their political bankruptcy:

DEADWOOD IN THE COMMONS - DAWN BUTLER SPEAKS TRUTH TO POWER

 Explore my blogposts over nearly two years and you will see I have been consistently nailing this man who masquerades as prime minister for what he is - a liar and a rogue who is now responsible for the unnecessary deaths of around 150,000 British citizens. Engels called such behaviour 'social murder'. 

Last year, the Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer, failed to rise to the occasion. He declined to call out the prime minister; he colluded in the policies that amounted to the pursuit of herd immunity without a vaccine. Eventually, Starmer's voice became critical but by then who was listening? And the critique was weak. 

This week, a Labour MP, Dawn Butler, called out the prime minister for what he is - a liar - but this you are not allowed to do in the House of Commons. She had to withdraw from the chamber for the day. Not a peep of support followed from her leader, Keir Starmer.

Dawn Butler speaking truth to power in the House of Commons last Thursday

But today, SKWAWKBOX revealed that Labour party members will receive a begging email from HQ in which the praise for Dawn Butler and the condemnation of Boris Johnson flows in full fashion. SKWAWKBOX holds the Labour Party in contempt for such hypocrisy. So do I. As you know from my

TIME FOR A NEW POLITICAL PARTY - THE SOCIALIST PARTY

It was Bastille Day - July 14 - last Wednesday when I cancelled my monthly direct debit to the Labour Party and filled in the online form that asked me why I was taking this action. I like the association with that revolutionary day in 1789 but I must admit it was accidental. My movement to the point of departure had been gathering pace for months as I realized there was there now little to no chance of a leadership challenge to the new leader, Keir Starmer, who has emerged as a New Labour man through and through. Louise had resigned from the Labour Party months ago. Here's a link to my website, if you are interested in the story of my last period as a Labour Party member - press here.

I had filled in the Labour Party online form with these words:

'I am a socialist - this is no longer my party.'

The automatic response read: 'Be in touch shortly'.

Yesterday, the next automatic response appeared: 'Did you make a mistake?', followed by lots of stuff about what the party stood for.    

A clip from BBC News - what were you thinking, Sir Keir?

Over the last two days, I have been following the Daily Mirror story that I provide below. It confirms my sense that people such as me are toxic in this New Labour Party, determined to reshape itself after the shock of five socialist years with Jeremy Corbyn as the elected leader:

Keir Starmer set to expel 1,000 far left Labour members in four ‘poisonous’ groups

EXCLUSIVE Labour Against The Witchhunt and Socialist Appeal are among the groups to be proscribed by the party's ruling body as the leader bids to stamp out "toxic extremism"

"Keir Starmer is preparing to purge far left Labour members part of "poisonous" campaign groups in a bold confrontation with operators loyal to Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour 's ruling National Executive Committee will be asked to proscribe four "toxic" organisations which promote communism, claim anti-Semitism allegations are overblown and demand whips restore Mr Corbyn as a Labour MP.

Those to be banned include Resist and Labour Against the Witchhunt, which claim anti-Semitism allegations were politically motivated, and Labour In Exile, which expressly welcomes expelled or suspended members.

The openly communist Socialist Appeal will also become a forbidden group.

The Mirror understands anyone found to be a member of any group will be automatic expelled from the Labour Party.

The plans on the agenda at the NEC meeting on Tuesday are expected to pass and more than 1,000 members could be "auto-excluded" as a result.

One Labour source said: "Under Corbyn those from the far left fringes with poisonous beliefs and warped world-views were welcomed into the party. Keir is right to stamp out anti-Semitism and toxic extremism and get the party back into the decent mainstream of Labour values.

The move sets the stage for factional warfare at the Labour Party conference in Brighton as Mr Starmer (sic) attempts to stamp his authority on the party."

 So much for the Daily Mirror story - what follows is a more local Cornish story set in the near-by constituency of Truro and Falmouth. SKWAWKBOX takes up the tale:

Labour’s all-out war on members’ democratic rights

Labour has launched yet another assault on local member democracy – and at a national scale – in its all-out war on its members.

This time, the tip of the iceberg has emerged in the Truro and Falmouth constituency, with

MONDAY 19 JULY 2021 WILL GO DOWN IN THE HISTORY BOOKS AS THE DAY THAT OPENED THE GATES TO CATASTROPHE

Louise, my wife, noticed in the online site, Common Dreams, this latest follow-up to the meeting of the 1,200 scientists this week which confirmed the idiocy of allowing the lifting of all restrictions this coming Monday. I present it to you below. Its author is Kenny Stancil and the piece is dated Friday, 16 July 2021.

A few thoughts from me, first. This misgovernment in the UK have always said they have been following the science. They have claimed their actions are always shaped by data, not dates. They have been lying - and relying on the blind trust of people in their leaders during a war-time situation. There has been no effective opposition from other politicians nor from the mainstream media - the lies of Johnson and his cronies have not been called out in any systematic way. The truth is out there; there are journalists writing angry and insightful articles that reveal the horror - but there is as yet no public rage that the social murder of more than 150,000 British citizens has happened and those responsible are getting off scot free and seem all set for another round of mayhem.  

 

The man who should be facing charges of administrative malfeasance, at the very least 

'Danger to the World': 1,200+ Scientists Denounce Boris Johnson's Plan to End UK Covid Restrictions

"Mass infection is not an option," experts said of the Tory government's "dangerous and unethical" reopening plan.

More than 1,200 scientists from around the world have condemned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to lift nearly all Covid restrictions in the United Kingdom on Monday, with some of the experts holding an emergency summit on Friday to warn that prematurely ending public health precautions in the country would lead to a surge in infections that could enable vaccine-resistant variants to develop and spread rapidly around the world.

"I believe that the strategy of herd immunity is actually murderous." 
—William Hasteltine, Access Health International

During Friday's summit, epidemiologists and physicians compared Johnson's decision to proceed with

COLLUSION BETWEEN THE SO-CALLED EXPERTS AND THOSE MISGOVERNING US

 The SKWAWKBOX has been indispensable during this pandemic. Here is the latest bulletin: 

The editor-in-chief of the Lancet, Richard Horton, accuses the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, of ‘wilfully misrepresenting scientific opinion’ on the lifting of safety measures 

Professor Chris Whitty - colluding with those who misgovern us

Richard Horton’s remarkable accusation highlights the degree to which expert opinion is against the Tories’ headlong rush toward unvaccinated and unattainable ‘herd immunity’

The Editor-in-Chief of world-renowned medical journal The Lancet has gone on video to accuse government Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty of ‘wilfully misrepresenting scientific opinion across the country‘ to justify Sajid Javid’s stubborn determination to remove measures to restrict the spread of COVID – even though Javid has admitted that his move will lead to 100,000 infections a day or more and even though many of those now worst hit are our children. The UK’s ‘R rate’ is now around 1.5 and rising, meaning exponential growth in infections.

Richard Horton told a Zoom meeting that much scientific opinion is in fact ‘profoundly’ against Javid’s actions:

A group of more than 1200 scientists have signed a statement – to which Horton refers in his comments – accusing the Tories of:

'recklessly exposing millions to the acute and long-term impacts of mass infection'.

Javid appears to think that Boris Johnson was talking sense and not insanity last year when he spoke of ‘taking it on the chin’ and simply allowing the virus to spread unchecked, in

'FREEDOM DAY' ON JULY 19? - IN YOUR DREAMS - IT'S A RECIPE FOR MORE COVID-19 DISASTER

Spotlight is a worthwhile online paper. There are 4.1 K members in the Spotlight community - out of little acorns, mighty oak trees grow. Here is a piece published yesterday:

122 Scientists speak out against govt plan to end all lockdown

122 scientists from the UK and around the world held a summit today. They also published a letter in the Lancet about the UK government’s plan to end all lockdown restrictions on the 19^th July.

The gambler - our lives and health are being staked - my thanks to the brilliant cartoonist.

Trish Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences / Medical Sciences division at the University of Cambridge, opened proceedings with her statement that the government are pursuing a “dangerous and unethical experiment”. She explains that Covid transmission is

'MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES' - ALTERING THE FABRIC OF BRITAIN WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING

'May you live in interesting times' is supposed to be an ancient Chinese curse - but it seems that is not the case. Here is the Wikipedia wisdom on the matter which seems to me pretty convincing. It's a Chamberlain rather than a Chinese curse:

May you live in interesting times

"May you live in interesting times" is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in "uninteresting times" of peace and tranquility than in "interesting" ones, which are usually times of trouble.

Despite being so common in English as to be known as the "Chinese curse", the saying is apocryphal, and no actual Chinese source has ever been produced. The most likely connection to Chinese culture may be

THE MADNESS OF THIS MISGOVERNMENT - THE SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL DATA BITE BACK

 Where to begin? The man who masquerades as the prime minister in this misgovernment announced yesterday that Freedom Day will indeed be Monday 19 July 2021. All government mandatory restrictions will be lifted - we will start to learn to live with COVID-19, just as we have learned to live with the flu virus in its different mutations which account for between 10-20,000 deaths each winter. 

HOWEVER, COVID-19 IS A CORONAVIRUS NOT A FLU VIRUS. 

WE ARE BEING LED INTO A NEW WORLD WHERE THE THREAT OF THE COLLAPSE OF THE NHS HOSPITAL SYSTEM IS VERY REAL.

THE PURSUIT OF PROFIT FOR THE FEW IS ONCE AGAIN TRUMPING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS AND THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE.

AND THE ECONOMY WILL CONTINUE TO BE DAMAGED BY THESE BUFFOONS IN POWER - SINCE 2010 WHEN THE NEOLIBERAL TORIES FIRST TOOK CHARGE THE BRITISH ECONOMY HAS BEEN FLATLINING - GROWTH HAS BEEN OVERALL STAGNANT.

COVID-19 is not to be underestimated - a ZERO-COVID strategy is the only way for the peoples of this planet - nearly 8 billion of us - to overcome this threat.

As Professor Stephen Reicher of the University of St Andrews said on Channel 4 news last night, 'I hope I am wrong - I really do - but I fear we will regret this decision to continue with lifting restrictions as planned ... We are in a third wave and the rate of infection is increasing, as are hospital admissions. The

CRIME OF THE CENTURY - EXXON EXPOSED

 Back in 1974, Supertramp played a gig at Slough college and I was there. I remember standing in the loo and being mistaken for a member of the Drug Squad. It must have been the look of the teacher that rang the alarm bells for those who feared discovery. 

I loved the sound of Supertramp. I still do. They went on to achieve international supergroup status and the key partnership was between working-class Rick Davies (vocals and keyboard) and private school-educated Roger Hodgson (bass guitar, vocals and keyboards). It was Hodgson who introduced the Wurlitzer electric piano sound that helps make their music so distinctive. Supertramp still survive as a touring group but Davies' role is now more advisory and Hodgson left in 1983 to follow his own path. 

Here are the lyrics of the title track from their September 1974 album release: Crime of the Century - an album that helped me through a tricky year. Hodgson and Davies are the lyricists.  

    Now they're planning the crime of the century

    Well, what will it be?

    Read all about their schemes and adventuring

    Yes, it's well worth a fee

    So roll up and see

    How they rape the universe

    How they've gone from bad to worse  

    Who are these men of lust, greed and glory?

    rip off the masks and let's see

    But that's not right, oh no, what's the story?

    But there's you and there's me

    That can't be.

Released in September 1974

Who indeed are they - these men of lust and greed? Where do all their antics leave you and me? 

THE JOY OF DISCOVERING AN AUTHOR I HAD NOT HEARD OF BEFORE - MARGARET KENNEDY (1896-1967)

 I cannot fully recall exactly how the discovery happened. There I was, in mid-Google about a month ago, and I saw that a book which told a tale of a buried seaside hotel in Cornwall had recently been republished. It was called 'The Feast' and set in 1947.  Written by Margaret Kennedy, it had been published in 1950. The cover carried the accolades of the Guardian: 'Magic' and the Observer: 'The miniature charm of a Baby Austin'. It also quoted Anita Brookner who claimed the author was 'not only a romantic but an anarchist' and Elizabeth Bowen whose judgement was: 'Exquisite comedy ... Tense, touching, human, dire and funny'. Within a week, a copy from Waterstone's online service was safely in my hands.

Margaret Moore Kennedy

Yesterday I completed my reading of this clever and extraordinary tale. I am very impressed and would like to share my discovery. 

My ignorance about Margaret Kennedy may be shared by some of you. Writers move in and out of fashion and perhaps female authors may have been more vulnerable to disappearing from the literary