tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87423678133042315232024-03-18T12:19:05.632+00:00Rob Donovan - AuthorUnrobing the Emperors and other matters of concern. An author's blog - begun in January 2016 - revealing political deception in the UK - paving the way to The Road to Corbyn (2016, Matador) and Dying to Know - Running through a Pandemic (2022, Matador). Also updates on my work in progress: 'Mine to Die', an unusual work of local history with global ethical importance.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384235181109204383noreply@blogger.comBlogger454125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-58439401737128566062024-03-16T08:43:00.000+00:002024-03-16T08:43:33.423+00:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - DAVID OLUSOGA (2020) 'BLACK AND BRITISH - A SHORT, ESSENTIAL HISTORY'<p> <span> David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian and broadcaster whose professorship is at the University of Manchester. In 2019 he was awarded the OBE for services to history and community integration. </span></p><p><span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">In this book of over 200 pages, David Olusoga has achieved what he set out to do: he has written for a readership of children the history of Black people in Britain. The version for adults had already been published to acclaim; now there is a text for younger readers - and any adult such as myself who has not read the earlier work can get so much from reading this book with its short, straightforward sentences and unearthed details. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPzA7-CInof2ZkYoPMpAS3QreWmXgs-xypdhzrkRrpg9rqgV8B97ryHsAEUIOKc783l0zeuDhl7VB7-HUd10NN2ACr6OqnfOQauvW4RiyGRyGkzuinbeypCyhQ3q5yb8iT6NHipd2TA4XyFqwFQ8YlmooEVtZDMkpzzk-GOZmFWkzMlC7yhFt5AW-2EM/s275/David%20Olusoga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPzA7-CInof2ZkYoPMpAS3QreWmXgs-xypdhzrkRrpg9rqgV8B97ryHsAEUIOKc783l0zeuDhl7VB7-HUd10NN2ACr6OqnfOQauvW4RiyGRyGkzuinbeypCyhQ3q5yb8iT6NHipd2TA4XyFqwFQ8YlmooEVtZDMkpzzk-GOZmFWkzMlC7yhFt5AW-2EM/w400-h266/David%20Olusoga.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professor David Olusoga - New York Times photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p>I will shape this blogpost around ten points that I discovered for the first time in reading <b>Black and <span></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><b>British</b>. <p></p><p>I didn't know that:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>When Queen Victoria was on the throne in the middle of the 19th century, there were 1.8 million African-Americans who worked growing cotton in the United States.</li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFtHnzpDbXTnFwBZPIP8U4vXZ3vklFLQwX8CVwseeaXU9lYbV3uoioNCDJgMWZm0Z22WteRzZL28j_c7CyFm7QEFimBtHG7qR8LshI2r2juQVPyEXaQd3PDKjfSKkDg0HibOha7morthb9oVjjX8fqDPFbEXXXH26U13fAHIgrESNQij0xZU9JwEe7C0/s240/Cotton%20plantations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="240" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFtHnzpDbXTnFwBZPIP8U4vXZ3vklFLQwX8CVwseeaXU9lYbV3uoioNCDJgMWZm0Z22WteRzZL28j_c7CyFm7QEFimBtHG7qR8LshI2r2juQVPyEXaQd3PDKjfSKkDg0HibOha7morthb9oVjjX8fqDPFbEXXXH26U13fAHIgrESNQij0xZU9JwEe7C0/w400-h288/Cotton%20plantations.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cotton plantation - Wikipedia image</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The first recorded group of Africans living in Britain were soldiers in the Roman army defending Hadrian's Wall. They were Aurelian Moors who came from north Africa. We know this because of a discovery in 1934 of Latin words carved in stone in a village in Cumbria.</li><li>Archaeologists in this century have studied over 200 Roman skulls found in York and found that more than one in ten of them had features similar to people with African ancestors. Roman Britain was much more diverse than we used to think. </li><li>The earliest Black person in Britain whose face and name we know is John Blanke, a royal trumpeter at the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G2Sg-4siq_Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="G2Sg-4siq_Q"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were four African sailors on Drake's circumnavigation of the world in 1577.</li><li>I knew that the British had established a colony in Jamestown in Virginia in north America in 1607 and that a colony had also been established on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean in 1627 - tobacco was grown for sale back in England; I didn't grasp that by the second half of the 17th century there were more enslaved Africans than Europeans living on Barbados and that in 1661 the Barbados Slave Code was enforced which split society into two - the enslaved Black people and white free people. Different people; different rules. It was around this time that the people from Britain and Europe began to think of themselves as part of a group called 'white'. The landowners in the West Indies hoped that if poor Europeans saw themselves as white like their rulers, they would be more likely to support the rulers if the black slaves rebelled. </li><li>The Royal African Company set up by Charles II in 1672 enslaved more people than any other British company in history. I did already know that 1 in 5 of the slaves on board the ships that transported them from Africa to north America or the Caribbean didn't survive the journey in such appalling conditions. In all, over three million people were enslaved by British companies between around 1640 and 1807. </li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03usJXNtYood9zQ2fXeGUFSsCJSrbqdQOx5N6kJn0fJp0wIA4nK02wghgbUl8LK11Wvgwl1_arOGTtC5RfGMlNtSWOfCb-hUMxYCpPWPISwRrwlQ5MiJq_tEBi13p0bgCqjMQ6L0vA9fZtJpPKD0yJPNX_KnYDdQ5jOGwsebN8JoajQkecnrlU5H0yfQ/s277/Royal%20African%20Company.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="277" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03usJXNtYood9zQ2fXeGUFSsCJSrbqdQOx5N6kJn0fJp0wIA4nK02wghgbUl8LK11Wvgwl1_arOGTtC5RfGMlNtSWOfCb-hUMxYCpPWPISwRrwlQ5MiJq_tEBi13p0bgCqjMQ6L0vA9fZtJpPKD0yJPNX_KnYDdQ5jOGwsebN8JoajQkecnrlU5H0yfQ/w400-h263/Royal%20African%20Company.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The British Royal Family have much to make amends for</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>By the 1770s there were half a million people living as slaves in British colonies in North America.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>During the 18th century, half of all the Africans carried across the Atlantic into slavery were transported by British ships.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0FyxhWs_admlsKFp6pN2QnIVbvYMo-gTxNKXi1jq80eL6OLnaj8zHT3Ez-VNcxAWcnwY1WEO5Lii2ba-DnfovHUss2tHQN5fevdauWbYKtou89-hr10nhQAxpSiixNZvL9n3QclK99wMtB6Rss6bS5kp_ftAwVrMD1l27mvWhcVPcEDfW67rTgPsXHA/s480/Atlantic%20slave%20Trade%20-%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0FyxhWs_admlsKFp6pN2QnIVbvYMo-gTxNKXi1jq80eL6OLnaj8zHT3Ez-VNcxAWcnwY1WEO5Lii2ba-DnfovHUss2tHQN5fevdauWbYKtou89-hr10nhQAxpSiixNZvL9n3QclK99wMtB6Rss6bS5kp_ftAwVrMD1l27mvWhcVPcEDfW67rTgPsXHA/w640-h480/Atlantic%20slave%20Trade%20-%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In 1823 a new generation of abolitionists began the struggle to end slavery itself, the slave trade having been outlawed in 1808. Many of them wanted slavery to be ended immediately, not gradually, and many of their leaders were women. One of the most important was Elizabeth Heyrick, a Quaker schoolteacher from Leicester who in 1824 wrote a pamphlet entitled <i>Immediate, not Gradual Abolition. <br /></i></li></ul><div><i><br /></i></div>There's my list of ten new discoveries - and I haven't even reached the chapters on Victorians, The First World War, the Second World War, the Twentieth Century, and Conclusion. I will leave you to make your own journeys of discovery - although I should point out that there are details that show the endemic racism that pervades our recent history. All this we need to understand and then resolve how we individually respond. That is the Quaker message of Jonathan Doering and Nim Njuguna (2023) in <b>Enlarging the Tent</b>, a book with worksheets that is also available for borrowing in our Marazion Meeting House library. My parents were stained by the racism of the cultures in which they grew up. They found it awkward to know quite what to say when they saw this photo of their son with his first year form in the secondary school where he taught for seven years between 1977 and 1984:<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizss-K9E3bYhuwx6k-ZweLN4Q1L2rI1TRJDDSZMBpDZVcMrWVIP5My4MEYeUW92zQg6w_JGLE1YiUcLGWXy67MWgG9sR8R5e2_NAT2J2KYCZmEjwOBnA_J_iiwCiJZ_IWhIWGECevhA6EwDTD3ZbapV2M82gS6LXmDpJNkBA8zvt0AmR8wr5MKPtNoup0/s1734/Aylestone%201978%20-%201X1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1734" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizss-K9E3bYhuwx6k-ZweLN4Q1L2rI1TRJDDSZMBpDZVcMrWVIP5My4MEYeUW92zQg6w_JGLE1YiUcLGWXy67MWgG9sR8R5e2_NAT2J2KYCZmEjwOBnA_J_iiwCiJZ_IWhIWGECevhA6EwDTD3ZbapV2M82gS6LXmDpJNkBA8zvt0AmR8wr5MKPtNoup0/w400-h263/Aylestone%201978%20-%201X1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twenty-one members of 1X1 with their form teacher, Mr. Donovan, in the summer of 1978 in the grounds of Aylestone High School, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent - the two pupils on the extreme right of the back row are not part of the form; they just came on board for the photo-shot; one of them is making a gesture to convey her feelings. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p> <br /> <p></p><p><span><br /></span></p><p><span> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-88372455205031862132024-03-03T12:43:00.001+00:002024-03-03T16:33:39.555+00:00MY LATEST BOOK: 'MINE TO DIE' HAS A DAY OUT IN TRURO<p> I'm writing this blogpost on Sunday morning, 3rd March, in my study looking out on the scaffolding that appeared on Friday. Yesterday, Roofing Legacy took the roof off our home as part of a masterplan to stop the leakage of water through the ceilings of my study and the landing when the heavy rains come and the wind is blowing in a certain direction. Hopefully, no more need for buckets now. Today, they are due to put the roof back on with new tiles.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDPYflntahUUYnBW06Ex_qJTc4QjJcXxCoWh3Lh-4fHy5XBvJGm9Kl0I3g6xJm7NhLA_TE4-AGtpR7ov5L9awi2F8nWNhU3W2AMEzKasydWx-bx0U68zCPr-yMXTyhXnvIXTFyjXbaI9WDkqAdSYOqdqAj3vMOWoVcbSihvG9OvZko90QjopqAq2vm9I/s4608/DSCN2775.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDPYflntahUUYnBW06Ex_qJTc4QjJcXxCoWh3Lh-4fHy5XBvJGm9Kl0I3g6xJm7NhLA_TE4-AGtpR7ov5L9awi2F8nWNhU3W2AMEzKasydWx-bx0U68zCPr-yMXTyhXnvIXTFyjXbaI9WDkqAdSYOqdqAj3vMOWoVcbSihvG9OvZko90QjopqAq2vm9I/w400-h300/DSCN2775.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scaffolding for the roofers </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>All this roofing kerfuffle has delayed the production of this blog. My day out in Truro was last Tuesday, 27th February, and when I got home I knew I wanted to write about the day. My personal copies of <b>Mine to Die </b>arrived on Wednesday and the book has been very much in my thoughts. The week before, I had visited the only bookshop left in St Ives to see if they were interested in stocking my latest work whose official publication date is 28 May 2024. I showed the two women on the front desk the flyer of the front and back covers (image below) and was thrilled when one of them exclaimed: 'How extraordinary! I was looking at that image only a couple of hours ago'. She had already ordered a copy after seeing details on <span></span></p><a name='more'></a>a trade website earlier that morning. And they seemed enthusiastic about the book. <p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb6UyPYn4ky6RRlbzddpzLQfpRTnEHQ71GljB4lrPnsXF_oVyKqVnPlj1NmQw9StaQb-E3OrvOPN9VDPrnEGda33HBuD3Apv1rlvQ3nrPF6qC3GeQmFXdzi6F4I_k3IgfqvT1nVAzEjM1QGPeO2_hGW_Ym1q0Z6IGaNU-VdHFMxJ75r6LgvHjdc65yi4/s3507/Mine%20to%20Die%20-%20Covers%20-%20A.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="3507" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb6UyPYn4ky6RRlbzddpzLQfpRTnEHQ71GljB4lrPnsXF_oVyKqVnPlj1NmQw9StaQb-E3OrvOPN9VDPrnEGda33HBuD3Apv1rlvQ3nrPF6qC3GeQmFXdzi6F4I_k3IgfqvT1nVAzEjM1QGPeO2_hGW_Ym1q0Z6IGaNU-VdHFMxJ75r6LgvHjdc65yi4/w640-h452/Mine%20to%20Die%20-%20Covers%20-%20A.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front and back covers for Mine to Die</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Serendipity indeed. On Monday this past week, I dropped in to The Edge of the World bookshop in Penzance, the only bookshop left there apart from W.H. Smith's, and they ordered copies too. Tin mining and history by a local author make for good sales, hopefully. </p><p>Louise and I are still living in the aftermath of the pandemic and the isolationism that became our way of life. I avoid crowds; I shun cities. But the car was due for its MOT and annual service in the Fiat garage in Treliske last Tuesday, a couple of miles outside Truro, and I have in the past enjoyed walking to the city centre and back as I wait for the service to be completed. This year, I had a specific destination to reach in Truro - Waterstone's bookshop. They have always been supportive when my books have been published and now was no exception. Phill, the young man at the reception desk, was very helpful and even referenced the fact that there were copies of my previous book: <b>Dying to Know</b> on the shelves within their Cornwall section.</p><p>I said: 'Can you show me?' and Phill took me over to that section and then suggested I sign all the copies there. I think there were nine. I knew that income from sales had dried up so I readily agreed to sign the lot. I hope the strategy works. I am presented as the author of <b>Dying to Know</b> on the front cover of <b>Mine to Die</b>. Maybe the interest in the new book will stimulate a resurgence of interest in my personal take on the pandemic that contains a historical analysis of why matters went so terribly wrong.<b> </b></p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJK33lKNV3JJx1gj6aBwRPKyHA3Oyfj2KMEMxSKpy22_gxy_OHUoQE0MqHDE7cvRCh7Rt-BGqux85SUfwGAqTy3RSVmVzPrH_IGRHi607cdi-pxDZROnyux6xXIOtun-6ZEcVOdxNLHzwzvQN_O4iaBqFK-F-pWaR66bp5k-y_dsymWgMTU27lUQvIbRI/s800/Watersones%20Truro.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJK33lKNV3JJx1gj6aBwRPKyHA3Oyfj2KMEMxSKpy22_gxy_OHUoQE0MqHDE7cvRCh7Rt-BGqux85SUfwGAqTy3RSVmVzPrH_IGRHi607cdi-pxDZROnyux6xXIOtun-6ZEcVOdxNLHzwzvQN_O4iaBqFK-F-pWaR66bp5k-y_dsymWgMTU27lUQvIbRI/w400-h400/Watersones%20Truro.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterstones, Truro</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p>I took a break from the writing of this blogpost and in that time I got the news that the roof will be put back tomorrow not today. Quite right. The workers need time off. Pity about the weather and the forecast of rain, though! </p><p>I am circulating this blogpost around the forty or so people in my network. If any of you are interested in buying a copy of any of my Matador books, they are available from that publisher, or from me directly for a signed copy using my website or just email me, or from any bookshop. I avoid Amazon myself, if I can (I only get around £2.50 for each copy sold by them and their warehouse system is not good news for their workers). It would be much to my advantage if you referenced any of my Matador publications in conversation with friends and family, encouraging others to support a writer whose only ambition is to be read more widely. </p><p>If and when you have read <b>Mine to Die</b>, I would really appreciate it if you would leave a review on the Matador and Waterstones website. There are nine good reviews of Dying to Know on the Matador website and three on the Waterstones webpage. It all helps. </p><p>Thank you all for any part you can play in this exciting adventure which isn't just about me; those young Cornish miners and their families from the 19th and 20th centuries with their tales of bravery, strength, and suffering are the core of my story. </p><p> <b> </b></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-89617890789786961762024-02-21T16:52:00.011+00:002024-02-21T16:57:19.697+00:00WHAT PRICE SECURITY? WHERE ARE THE THREATS COMING FROM?<p> OpenDemocracy provides some useful detail, asks the right questions - and comes up with the obvious answer:</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kf_R0rl-NFKLyeL5fAAS9u4X2n4QyPCf8XDvfgY4NsMHvB2vhGZauJ2VBu1jRuYjwoz-MP6dEOnAykJiPNnqRd1Tpm1l4l9s8FKapSrPy0RRf0-2DvtRePJe_7rhJYtLlpdbPmgc4eIaIORLUXgbYhVwyedOqMCHBXI1aRy3T7oIFR5pxiQrFpEEuH8/s4000/Climate_Change_Collage_DRM_Free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2624" data-original-width="4000" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kf_R0rl-NFKLyeL5fAAS9u4X2n4QyPCf8XDvfgY4NsMHvB2vhGZauJ2VBu1jRuYjwoz-MP6dEOnAykJiPNnqRd1Tpm1l4l9s8FKapSrPy0RRf0-2DvtRePJe_7rhJYtLlpdbPmgc4eIaIORLUXgbYhVwyedOqMCHBXI1aRy3T7oIFR5pxiQrFpEEuH8/w400-h263/Climate_Change_Collage_DRM_Free.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><u>GLOBAL WARMING </u></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div align="center">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO1wWfGF7TGB-2FOMasHxbqLXQoeO9ivfdDwLdNjcB5Ce7aAWrVUpTARR2BZjv6Rd72aIXR3SSslpQeJa0h5-2FZgQqtTsn-2BRzOcHAQG5dvx5Mx4hETxaRoZ-2FSI1YMu7ij8fAlJPOhzo62p7hifwZRGFf5gaqCMcAH3RZP9TwVGDbDEu6GBauwrCIt7QXctxIlF2D1COKkUNzQsbhFEjLrDGYGLVtgaoutEfwVjJI-2FUxn-2BZQnrBU-2Fp-2BxPEF3k-2BbLghtauc2kAvEHZHaadC-2BGv-2BkoK8ZNUdpEKCRuEq6crb1x5Al0DVqrL_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AY9j3wC2EzvukR-2F7PFAPPl7MBTtHo5-2FlUXyGzV3uwo6T50fGYgfTz1KBygRcvq2aBVrxGx9zKzcgjxJZ46xJAsNrJYtM-2FAwUSW2FkACvXd1-2FpLkuSPwXaI6k7Ljz0GAka8-2B8he3NUGeQkhLtB-2FbdBVAjRPLxLZHmGBl2bbYw4H29NmPwyotLUs87-2BG9x-2BpAJRA-3D-3D"><img alt="openDemocracy logo" border="0" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/company/YjCYwm/images/5af956e6-de4a-4bd8-ad13-75864d18db74.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; display: block; font-size: 13px; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" title="openDemocracy logo" width="564" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eI8ZaGuNKgf5BgdEZ0HDJeCKVq2artdd6g2hbpRUG07j0fn8xVzQwRsbo89ccoP-2Bl3DwbNiaE5a-2FAHrYdckRNCsov2a-2FhjEoottJIoJ5qPpu4HEalrMorldXjas9FBr8nduzIp5l5OxOMLCNHTTmDYpuW6JHNA0to0xvGdAeRwBghsg58HIsJ8CL59-2FjtadMXoqQMZCN3jv5jwZ-2BSstR64JNR7IjSzuR904-2FegQgcYeQUL7aBlq9M26A-2FQ-2BcCxu7eINqWL3myJZgsN9yJbf8xMWiZPLO0fpnfzQOW-2FIGU-2F6DoMki7-2FzxpHM-2FiVi7oEcBNEbr4CT2Q9dFZx1c6U5e23dekCWF3Uw-2Bsrk7bGbEJrjBTpHgarGxib9VbOlwty1ttcZLFNj87bw9fIk3i8UamHq2bCS_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AbmM-2F8-2B2-2FMv1kx0AcFGC2c52uNZV-2FZqrYgylkbbEfhkFDHYgIHV1h4E2lQuqESi7NPmBz2hAV97-2FA5F80waVupttTHuMoZFWM2kfhluApHIGo7qev7qu2MAfG0YcfCcU4-2BfYpSjXzAIQ7FY1YDq8XuMaaEC2D7P-2BAkOLYvj7vc55zRNXgbHN1jH-2BT0aW6xyEKw-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: 6.75pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6.75pt;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 21pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eI8ZaGuNKgf5BgdEZ0HDJeCKVq2artdd6g2hbpRUG07j0fn8xVzQwRsbo89ccoP-2Bl3DwbNiaE5a-2FAHrYdckRNCsov2a-2FhjEoottJIoJ5qPpu4HEalrMorldXjas9FBr8nduzIp5l5OxOMLCNHTTmDYpuW6JHNA0to0xvGdAeRwBghsg58HIsJ8CL59-2FjtadMXoqQMZCN3jv5jwZ-2BSstR64JNR7IjSzuR904-2FegQgcYeQUL7aBlq9M26A-2FQ-2BcCxu7eINqWL3myJZgsN9yJbf8xMWiZPLO0fpnfzQOW-2FIGU-2F6DoMki7-2FzxpHM-2FiVi7oEcBNEbr4CT2Q9dFZx1c6U5e23dekCWF3Uw-2Bsrk7bGbEJrjBTpHgarGxib9VbOlwty1ttcZLFNj87bw9fIk3i8UamHq2bCS_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AbmM-2F8-2B2-2FMv1kx0AcFGC2c52uNZV-2FZqrYgylkbbEfhkFDHYgIHV1h4E2lQuqESi7NPmBz2hAV97-2FA5F80waVupttTHuMoZFWM2kfhluApHIGo7qev7qu2MAfG0YcfCcU4-2BfYpSjXzAIQ7FY1YDq8XuMaaEC2D7P-2BAkOLYvj7vc55zRNXgbHN1jH-2BT0aW6xyEKw-3D-3D"><span style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Expanding the UK military won’t tackle the biggest
threat to security</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by <b>Paul Rogers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eI8ZaGuNKgf5BgdEZ0HDJeCKVq2artdd6g2hbpRUG07j0fn8xVzQwRsbo89ccoP-2Bl3DwbNiaE5a-2FAHrYdckRNCsov2a-2FhjEoottJIoJ5qPpu4HEalrMorldXjas9FBr8nduzIp5l5OxOMLCNHTTmDYpuW6JHNA0to0xvGdAeRwBghsg58HIsJ8CL59-2FjtadMXoqQMZCN3jv5jwZ-2BSstR64JNR7IjSzuR904-2FegQgcYeQUL7aBlq9M26A-2FQ-2BcCxu7eINqWL3myJZgsN9yJbf8xMWiZPLO0fpnfzQOW-2FIGU-2F6DoMki7-2FzxpHM-2FiVi7oEcBNEbr4CT2Q9dFZx1c6U5e23dekCWF3Uw-2Bsrk7bGbEJrjBTpHgarGxib9VbOlwty1ttcZLFNj87bw9fIk3i8UamHqKbR8_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AenNTKp3LFnzQyteh4wsM237i8xZGulum2-2BqxOWPWJmCAni4ljfHxKr-2BwEG3udIj2-2BEAELhnei7yPtgomO7lTv8Pv2kyFXcRZ8OTUGdCwKDpwN5lBn2BSdtgob8KBg7dhB23j5OEfyH5F4hBAukkmYXKbYgCieuL-2B20opYlyRwz-2F4y1pgwTdnha9yilXf9FX7g-3D-3D"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://cdn2.opendemocracy.net/media/images/GettyImages-1856941214.max-1520x1008.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-radius: 30px; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; display: block; height: auto; line-height: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 7.5pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p data-block-key="fhtmu" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">We are reaching a period of near-global
militarisation. Military spending worldwide<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO8RXNCgNf9utN8GOlcQWBmP0ifJ61Y4EidJtrX0IgCwprSEoI-2B7bWQao7EzhW7GsNXbIL20ji7Vs6cbyeOhxCEJ5v4J-2FzSNEepVjkB7M9wjmHn3xal2yCbF0PYslhUEG4x1HUnkKoxHHHgkhwEPMRb4M4YD5dhJZjUFFGZj8gUOw46QWWLb0oeTBteUgL4FHwPG6LIo301oAINBqeNf-2BV1JVFtkb2tdI13mZZPqqlzipk9Lbk50Ra7VVmPRTzqRQlUlu-2FWHtbdURl8QSDzK9t1jZBpBmks-2FYFho3YJL-2BmBmFRa0vISyBkDN9vCCU1Ij26vj4JTm0eDE9IHIVRXW9QmwN7BqDg7r0gvbZosRXZqfSQ2m6jCQmwaxXcSWMupP77Q9uJ3qhNTZtm4rzujkfcV4-3DVlAn_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AbBhZjpFRSFSAj5zt4CdxyqpmBLMCowyQjuORxVflXTUXWG-2Fb-2F6qrZYQ71PMIwdyzTFO5zHIvy4HzwybRumFWW-2FoJl8hh-2B4OcTSekh-2BEG-2FZeDLgqfNHRXgV20iVAgyKplk-2F0g-2BU1FTMbwj4-2BgNZGPZ-2F-2B1sOrEXHMGX0UKXctgdnWCEp3CIKgha8RO-2Bg5iNejGA-3D-3D"><span style="mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">soared</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by 9% to a record
high of $2.2tn last year and is likely to grow further in
2024, aided by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eLhTY6JdCpj7sfpjNdBSY3-2Feii82USGZHB4sTxxnmk8jcqSH15kwdEdIQnmrFmAQ0ByuQCaZhbNn8RIg5pS1ZKI2IdC2iSNHAmJlyUCmvA5AdY1XPQoIytfDMEffKOrDDjkeksl2VUUhaH68oTbvPoci9ntmg6ycUGV9ke5n1xRPPfAKBG5R4Q-2BNkGUGtqfvWzuv6JO0bTLS9hv6wXAaBml2aeNHoe7HX3iOEjDMUnkF-2Fn8uye8ihKIMfT93We29YhhbDze5410o0XXdfrzjRO1bpmEhbflObNIt-2F1tm-2BSaYq7oepc2gJm6OxhNywnC8-2Fw-3DHXkx_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1ASozuTamUMfcLobPL7r85DypSc0Fm-2FnzJMUZ9NoyloKIiTbwme4WDO-2Fs8Jr0Yv4eCvPCTdDEZZY4R8BI13oOcgnOBlSNhzuj2uAMacEiocDAwA9QBWK6FzK1S1GV6qzKmzfU7Vth7UNaqauXiW2qSmDP4CSVLkmVpsW8TUicARFUfp5QtLo52RJXKE-2FqqR4S0Q-3D-3D"><span style="mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Russia’s
war in Ukraine</span></a>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eLhTY6JdCpj7sfpjNdBSY3-2FPdXK2uxQc9an7egiTzYnBDwgpJoQ6EX6LT-2BohEWvT3FfSIuPaVOrCFSVyCId0ZVHJqJoOVbKzg8aRqtw9p6qFlOUx6zUoZ8Jk63TuSGSJxd2sws-2FxKIzpWtP80BPnQezdyuSKGTucF8s75HIO2O-2Fx9-2F39PiUPSZAi649cFJpOBE2ccx7-2BgPPe3709PHHPZjH0QL3YnrZCx-2BWefRiFceIGKZFzN0WaKNMFQaj17DqC-2F97i-2FFdxrhhIDmV7t88PvDAUcJo0Y3Xgay723AaQ4T9hOOx7ud0RtL3wXoLJeBvlLiHd94rZATcx1KPtXQAsH1Yw0d1_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AYtQqOHJxY5N3G99rvQX7Ibx68EIA65HmCGrOgLdXwYXg8Ou8JBzdEJB8PX3ZVv-2FjrTggRMLPYvARrBDK2o6c-2B34X-2BUA8-2F-2BEl03vWSLTd8D-2ByltA4KiNrVuLRvVL74BuwwdPkH6Wl-2Fqd5QUO8KhlQA1s-2FZAoGDgve-2BYPFUUCkF1kHYR0uY1-2FQBiATHd3j6podA-3D-3D"><span style="mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Israel’s
assault on Gaza</span></a>.</span></b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="dp7hl" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Against this backdrop, Rob Bauer, the chair
of the NATO military committee and an admiral in the Dutch
Navy,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO0Vwzhx-2FX306-2Brms73EBlbN9hqIHTrketCeVVRmIOtq48CKnmJ35ipG06aqvOvTYhl4EJ52wETQafpwYDncXWxSu1I4rhIGjq5SMVpTjgzj7iM2o-2FkeG-2BkbJZ9knJ5PtMKLpCYUUJ9HmcIlpGBFI-2FHxGv5gK-2BsdRsZ-2Fzk9xfurPzbPXwCrrgWQ8JkYla8-2BG-2B3NJwHfhSMomQBqIJUBM7SNhMPvdqY3RSPv4IBBBYrZ-2BW7rv2-2B4gJnTKaGxJ-2BhcUiaYYdHuh7xD8QpnnYRq9pYwnZJjPC6ZgyBh3KBJYCQyQEYd1UxIauzpYVA5rdEcytl6aS1BXEHX2DPCnvLrrPgRvY1sTKoE14G6IMeVwX3-2FhZCb4yggzFhZwq8emtqSvQOA-3D-3DBLik_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AQS6BRxlJiv1VuwZIw0cVEUBzbO9Sz5d9f2znTa4vmtIvNXkOoY8WRjryojS1w5ltmoY8ZJrSsHkhp2ZGc1vp3aKfqLemdA-2F5BerERAd4JX8ZSh0gM9agJ-2BQneeBRmcMmc9LhzV9zekXbuZH-2BICLmpMimhNJ9YihyVLthJ2bSz2O8MbHNmmrVy04Df3eHM3RPQ-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">last month said</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>that countries
must increase their capacity to produce weapons and
consider plans for mobilisation, increasing the size of
reserve forces and even conscription.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="6neb1" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">This spending and messaging mean the world’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eIwaTXVvSDMTBz1vf-2F68NloXtKpY8zfBkq-2FrWnWHzXb88TbJct-2FcYidxgNSuynF93-2B-2FkKc9ycrocENMBcHLIwPxUwXvJrigiRAN3RvbUan24QLI0wL0Z8IbyRff25uvg7NYLt3nUZ98taB0kWLqKIzKI96xqckL2h5kXwkIFvVJ9gzLOlwBebg-2B2JJS8T4UjgGgsZndPfDIJ4haQxFWu4L9iVt9CVGmwS2fQAkqrRv1jFHhKVkPD3JFqWGMUGAVXAU-2FYO9nE7mR7t9bFSlqaWeAyWnAFLyd1HHsRfpmdyCzZvb-2FdSTH37yO0-2FzP7pKjGEk-3DeBfT_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1ATsaeA4OVF9VtvddrFaFUqyZKgUP-2Fc7-2BbWkRl2iu9ngBYP7jA1R6WaB5-2FOroaa-2F2lQ2dAmt6ohnpMj9SbwBZ71ilZB-2B1gddHWpYGbvwf-2B9y2UJ4OvlEamz1P-2FKh1v8IPS0surXy8Lg-2BUEcPIJDpSJ-2B-2F-2Fo3veKkUaIBmr6uQvNUe-2FWXBklssFjMt3iIyL97uOfQ-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">military-industrial complexes</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>are looking
forward to boom times in the coming years – and senior
British politicians and military are as keen as any to help
bring it on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="49ndb" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Defence secretary<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eLhTY6JdCpj7sfpjNdBSY3-2FxPd-2Fi9Y-2B3QZAtuv4bdAAg7QcJ2a4pOytTeDg6zjXLtWu-2ByKiN9T5mQJh11nbViIPwwEHWTvqRep3Uwd9J41uKeTXNt-2F2uQSfsviY6m6BSW4t-2FsH4gFqOVod54RKIZzPkfFjF-2BnwKuNM4klMRcbezOAaoD8h11oW9DK9c7DaLeoeuxTjf8hle67XpHD9xpXXFpEpQLr91HUDrRAquMvJl1eDAniaX4UrXMBnBn1WHnBTTQQyD-2F783Iw1fRRWoIOxJ1KFEjL-2FuF7ovIi1cxi92HgMz-2FAaeaPGdaX7-2FJ9hPhO8-3DF6GZ_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AfzU-2Fv3dtfXzI0qhvvrFGgb4Xlp6TyfJgbFa-2BqpXo-2BRqUHvumA0mBjgZML3epoDwLyVOi4hfE4PRcrUEW74lEOVs5VW0r1F8JLDcDnnf3ZIJey-2BfpvUo-2Bp-2F-2BTvLfsTCQPqClSitsBHi2Ln3W1to5pVuvcuzhAVpxXdDc2gtJGZZ2hsSP6uC7KvtzYln7UBQuGA-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">Grant Shapps</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>last month<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO4hqI46OPjON2TFINSqV3MbX-2BsVcRVS-2BvUyr9EJAdTNG0UAJa54YFIxaR96lOtHdOYuLv7hE80u4NXN7-2B1H6sQO0j-2FlCYrj71WCSB0zqmW65hG1AiccWKNjimdRSqZzjCE2uvvlThDg5w-2B9-2BmTjK-2FcbaJQIUOGOaZzhO30FxkgtLZhF74-2FOQoK4fSP-2BW9E6vDWoGDE24Cllzh0831aRjvrBbvAEVzDwok5azrMlb6EdszWorX1qkwwYu2ehNUk8Pbhb3xwmtNqCMS3075JS79UF9G3dfcceXR2x-2B-2BwjIYV4JEkCZyOo7cYKkoshrb38kbuVzhqejC2FvrZCYYqMoBtZuny-2BCIL-2FOL4XcXCDOz47SOeopJh6l4vxyD0-2FlHGX3poupOxps5DKDPPDttnkA0DY-3D29zL_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AWbeRq3n3OAPQeH9RamrFJejQQRoH9-2FCOFXLb8Dl87ZM7d2zeaWYiPrJE7S8f-2BeOTZ-2Bt5G2cZNZLXHIttRtDiMJ8Q-2Frt-2FV-2Fx2gvFfF3ETWA0LBqMy5VHH9f1NdQdQfGXMi-2BY4Hg2YMbiI0V6Hc26VER0cktNf3ps0KQo6lF-2B5CS1qwaYMLRg6AEh3vxm-2FSxBrw-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">warned</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>that we are moving
from “a post-war to a pre-war world” and must respond
accordingly, while the head of the British Army, General
Patrick Sanders,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO8RXNCgNf9utN8GOlcQWBmM9SVYpfB-2BBpnyYKPJcUV18OrzR4nlW5KKlBf3NKr27z8ZgccPAiVaKIudGVqu-2FoXHLYgpK4GlEeSuOJDfEH44lNZnVtGe5OjFM5XWSdrVkqLh9O7q9U00pFTeJqyMs2Nn1xwhRpqUnJqb8wT98WaXg00D4xcRL1SXZF0JlPlLUsWejU5WQf8W9S5JwLuZEt2E0qrVPnv73m53bAR4kSO-2B5CO0h-2B0nnDQ-2Bdjqv8GyooMBuHCzkzNhIc4rwLidJxpdVfI5A5yagbyY3lw9U1xEtlRATwDaXz49cyiHsrrGdCw-2BztNXlTzleD8KMNGrk3QzuHLEaw14lMWTtmaDsry-2Fzol7t4uNC-2B2DnkUITTEXa3UeDn27-2Bw-2BMc-2BNA7hpFgg9AuIcDPDHGWiKmoi-2FvQqMNxSmmrKpQ28a2gy13kCme7bKw-3D-3D_Cj6_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AVmoNrXXWdPQcjaiU9EUTdHshvZDcyrxF7VZ-2BjzutgrsqhM-2BbycT-2BGxmYrV2LMIK64fCK-2FKdl3LWhyAUQy5XtbU685HWRDtfvVMvDFWhLm-2BWsi0veN0opmvvkFXNZsboqiSZ4k3VLO-2F9CyJkVU2aYBXFBjQ932IURQO0jTar7-2F1tssNsPp4-2BVg0dYBngj60yTQ-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">said</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the UK should take
“preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war
footing”, such a change being <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>“not merely desirable but
essential”.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 6.75pt 13.5pt;">
<h3 align="center" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 9pt; text-align: center;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trending now</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); color: white; line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 15pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJjH0sNPJ3gu6iLWelAQesXLDQlbhV1kUni2a702NbTKeWKwKdRkWfkNwqRcxr4UKZvBH13Cu7GRore0AuqjxvkxxyuZuw18CMToW-2F7uZwEsrtw6kINwbWJ99i-2B9pF5uRuLf5pGG9ybKpp3sKi4bWr-2Fn6C-2BgPTG8ykdwWAeo5VqMxfNIvNkHrywpI-2FJuFzMoXsOuTxCvERffhop0jaYazKBPnrfvlktHqbvaIkH3vUqRmwuiGfa9Os06B9rKXp9Wd0hicMuYgoSaY0wLR07uRubNH-2BXIN6vhp2siqAKs2BJF9RY60W-2BSoJBGzV29b-2BtpzF1PH1wp4oeav8p-2BNEUx678GQ362e9uZNS1gvuEnvYbliZzeRjIW6gIS36numR-2Bp-2FhbYg-2FP-2FatX392ENYZMD6g8ZRdY_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AWlCf4ff8w8zML-2Bk3G3a6-2BNAW5H-2Bn0SXF4UWaDMrtdfKWKbiwHtgXHLEdD0VJRlr-2BeBgktegpUgnvafaBSMiRV36VnjEVbXSffWkT5Nyt1YthLGgxcUimv4tH5qFnBpD6uIJuxlwhYm4By67zMW1mQtuPk2k6UcUXNoPxVOyXnGzEtOnG4Gn-2FJ9kzH7ZNTm62w-3D-3D"><u><span style="color: white;">The return of the US right’s
satanic panic is more worrying than it sounds</span></u></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); color: white; line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 15pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKOxZdct8jdxKQg6VQdiuP-2BjzpprRmoz-2B4etdQaguSsypSNHEBABYnFVY8z1gooXnkBoq2U6SCHAgz4AVobmXHfM54Tv-2B2mSQ8GIiNc7AfIpCY-2BwUnckPniwqexh6DDa1MT1byphyB9SMPDbvfgRmxEp-2FMBbK-2FuvJL0sXdh8iSyS7oyyhPjn0vbs9Qj6gNXAHnLhiGrw2YG7SCihqXO3YHAzYymYkJyBXvBkd9NiaJEw8K4IeiLxzyCirzEus008qytBzSrb30UeOaEQJlnSmvgZO2H6u-2BG6CkfXB7vdlGkzX9xLsj-2F3nRG7zLuAe-2FHAtTV2xptZQAfO8eFdjiZr7Q-2FUyOV_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AY4IG7QLWVU4j2LsDrvPeuHAW5yUxPLenkzICaV6h1Sg-2B9XFIR67Ok5lVZbF-2FHAZqEHMAsADKiNEMu31enIUrYd8ki5GxN120aCbKfXMQ-2F-2FhQE5RyOHHdsCf-2F4IJuxspIfjQcdsudd-2FoNGukJcAzJhCgeFhoJWHCKh5k1zDoYs9NEXFNAJKyQENenDaHKUq3-2Fw-3D-3D"><u><span style="color: white;">‘Just horrific’: Work on the front
line of Britain’s poverty crisis</span></u></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); color: white; line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 15pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJrlYCm87GtCNzAWPFmO8dTcWccWimtu1iT3v2C44WCafJRYpxBn95EUydwFf4SAkeCwj2CN-2BtLk4FOMi0ToF2PYpPOS7vfKd5Q7zyWQdrgBtix6f5-2BUVinEGohcLUXzZ3DzbHvmhldhFnI5iNarduaOaErpuckpbvAx1UjXo7tQpnFk6aIF9cwz0xyKO-2FwycD1S3fsy6met29dwwcr9rOXGl6aDUVXxsf6T4xRTJBA5Wk-2FdTXBMec-2FgGz5i-2Fd-2FxiJskL9vT-2FcnzG9V5V8bDwPSa19I-2BLgVD0yWb2k9h0UlQhj87vCjD2SbIFxzWhIwJDq5wQI6Ksoho81xlXbHIVB7CGPKiRKrvotDvNTD8gGtqQ-3D-3DEO-g_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AR7V7bdC-2BuwiqVrM8v0AoR7qbza7C-2BXlM-2FVvq7BjleBdk9lRjah69pKWXKUM8BqRYldmyCPdQn8kQ23y842GEnIzRIOKl3eeCvb9EsAN9KfUdL2-2FrYRRSnJGBsLaVmytgb7un-2FU1bybsvnDj08ZRbzkY6Kfjv3LpB1egaI7wfGuJRftY5UlE0QvPwL9IVbb1Zg-3D-3D"><u><span style="color: white;">Tory planning reform may have cost
England 25,000 affordable homes</span></u></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</td>
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</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 6.75pt 13.5pt; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
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<td style="padding: 0cm;">
<p data-block-key="7urfu" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Successive British governments have long
bought into the idea that we have a significant, if not
quite great, military power. The reality is different,
though. The UK has been involved in four wars in the last
two decades – and has a track record that is little short
of disastrous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="2ii4g" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The war in Afghanistan, where the UK was a
close ally of the United States, began in 2001 and lasted
two decades – killing an estimated 70,000 Afghan and
Pakistani civilians, according to Brown University and The
Watson Institute’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHOz-2FP-2BSvWmOycHWcPLLeWnv6MdSLvA1tTH3PWlxu1PlvUG6xjRgDWlbLX3-2F8p-2FHDLCJoEoxGOmvPSiS2W5fRDEqSm7yyCpvBpICzY6XDv08TiW4tVV67XbvFvVBUjBu4hm1uw-2FS-2FrkzfTBsoXQXfIbX4mmNPF6C0SkolhRNok4pf9PIj7qFUP7NiMyWs4IC2Zv-2BVOxtxLfGwLJSkH1sWypxMEHGiobaVw8ak4dcHtwcpAjr5HhpOsESqel0rr0otMmgenWBAOUbostYoHKvc3SOhHK45Gts-2FXeDnWTneuBUdCPwFivPyHfKG-2Bi2PD5SXVL-2BHd7HfZk199-2FSGHAKr0IYqlgYHbaV2UbpFFeEcJwptQah9D_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AZ4Dr6hvTzwzrNFt9xXPoiTgHWfazoda5kULyIkXNUdjDCgIOh-2FEI-2Btxm2-2FpqsG7KUDf4e6yBJ-2BcwxAXnfV5lFTpGfmk2wcKqSolEnWwAM-2B7ehom3uSrfoID8oYhDs8XWwZtrpycQWWUSM26GY466GmGgmKhd-2BsuI8o49BFiXjDSvd5fqp3heCDn98HlQgyIaQ-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">Costs of War</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>project. The
Taliban is now in control, with the human rights position
being grim, especially for women and girls.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="chmub" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Yet that war is hardly mentioned in
discussions on UK military policy, with the endeavours of
Russian president Vladimir Putin serving as a useful
distraction. This is also true of the 2003-2011 Iraq war –
another conflict where the UK was Washington’s closest
supporter and that went on for many years despite
expectations that it would be over in months.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="d9r9s" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The death toll for that war is unclear,
though the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHOz-2FP-2BSvWmOycHWcPLLeWnv6MdSLvA1tTH3PWlxu1PlvUG6xjRgDWlbLX3-2F8p-2FHDLCADttaYlvatxxkHH-2BjSO-2FKS4JmWevfvoN3-2FsBAG-2BmGJQ4UcO-2BaAUjv-2B6LUmH8kEQSeaogEGwBFtqDSODe6VzUSpIqb7GQWYJNLmFnxM02CwrZdO9Jf15vI8EtiWJCdBXTednCTwipXxfoHwL7aMxXjnto7iVldChfYPGSJ10trw-2Bw9QzaHxXg2nvx1hlaNlM9rgpqops7uy84Lxzaf4oXQiUabbNke8IvMu-2Bglta1Sab9-2BiSj4klywWewObi8YecsFHTK0ffnHMVo01k9dStTBsf6XTUf2PwXPHY2v3YCWB9vwKJ_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1ARrEkyQIeDhI-2FxY0CVWUmtIVzq0rHcs3ReW9IlazzlyhMXrSdqqf-2Fc1g2unNg9GPBt7BVJMsH7Tpc4-2FCyxKDLHwoGcbwMYdzoK3pAbcutvfQ8lwGgl4zaFYyhmyU6tsfxLEKIfe-2FCUN8Kt8JdN-2F0YciuYL-2F2TuS14b96tuNrtLJf0xDdN0Pg4bnqQxerQs7oYQ-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">Costs of War project states</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>that we know that
between 280,00 and 315,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed
by direct war-related violence since the US invasion –
although it says the real figure is likely to be much
higher due to deaths not being recorded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="dkf4p" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Then came the disastrous intervention, along
with the French, in Libya in 2011, which left the country
wrecked and bitterly divided conduit for paramilitaries and
armaments transiting south to the multiple zones of
instability across the Sahel and on to eastern Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="656f8" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, the UK was closely involved in the
four-year air war against ISIS in northern Iraq and Syria
after the group staged its astonishing come-back in 2014,
controlling large areas of both countries and even
threatening to take Iraq’s capital, Baghdad. Some
commentators argued that this war was successful, but<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO4dDBDZPno5jLbSXz9Ove4YTggGgw0VJEwQLcQldjWhk2zLtsuVL-2FZFnGkoH4UT-2Fls2V4v2eCbYqEp7wtl0gQj6OGUympgguQwGDahxL2pKP4y9WdWpsi1phamuaCsteJSEnsl7fiIwUU9wjeagATxyUMUkvk5pcJvH8cceysXbXd6GM9HL1kbPuzInIg5weOj5ZsIDPGZyUuiITxEUK27wx9RDHSP3DeQOZTcy97M3eEf9NvwqCC4rIs2H9aFBfpmGmAU74wKEe-2B3QA05ofeWHxlqHa2pAoJ8QOTpmhoSa-2BR8hEdSRNWoHGvpZoLwkDZmusPRL5L-2BzpXULbJA30iyb1QJ6vrEdXLziI6GANCPqSHV89SWUSJAePzmii-2FIQVm4yAjfS1x2m8XD-2FqZ9luDlKeRtCWLGfkAQNob-2BXmSJWPyHOX_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AfPoaRs1-2BzyNY7RoEOwA7Ci93GhprH63pe0Nc-2BfgndKFTorjjSmd4cle9iztv-2BHslrRFiGb3VREXZJ2Gp0Qxt-2BeCGcen7MzbV788AslQJ6eVK4q7HMHR76LwK5Jh5lSJJyb5UPsqQvRR-2Ff3CaPwICU4mCVMIQkUMb13AtPZ3ZC-2FV2-2FQq0aocluxExoJx17Pm-2Fw-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">ISIS is still</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>waging a resilient
insurgency throughout central and north-eastern Syria and
is active – as are al-Qaida and other Islamist paramilitary
movements – across northern and eastern Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="2cm3t" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">And now, the UK is supporting Israel’s
increasingly controversial war on Gaza – which the Gazan
health ministry reports has killed more than 28,000 people,
many of them children, since October – and the US’s air war
against the Houthis in Yemen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="f8h21" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Another problem for those calling for an
expansion of the British military is its current state. is
the state of the British military – which has made a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO541OmWZyb-2B5vqdvp3GtYWsk9SyESnBpBvqGIvZavGOZNniPZGwNn6QQ-2B4BXewqXqrd1vZyDfcsPsPW9VFL-2F656wftV9JIb-2Bs8QJ-2F7mflD7l0sQNpHBrhEL98-2BKUEHvQXLAy7aPM5ZTAVrSAxfei2zi51Dyij58CpcILu-2BIjkYQ6ybh5RWxTAuV-2B7CvofqxCcPX6JBks6cs7pidyi7wApePp5v8hb5OmrvbFrBMNeRVVAU0HvPBpL5qT4R6oNzXw7doMGU0eZfzoL5Cd8-2B0A6WlcuXYz7E9M-2BtxOsNL1os5DpZjAaSeWOO-2FuqrFEwolTU56DIFa8FkSOxY8lpJjTLek-3DPPLO_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AR-2BN9Erw-2FuTfIZlrDbPyR2eBDTTO4Ns-2F2zs01bkRnoGErrFk685eRHWQ-2BScwrbAnC-2BZzZ2iQBLLoLkAKvC957OWlgNbG-2FjY5yi7-2BaacAGsKkVMWnQAmk5x70b0R0LaJdYw67cHZo8ounWYBwiisjFC-2F9ZlN7DOz498sitfcCgRYo51h8hqE11OnAOyfMoUJRkA-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">vain and costly attempt to be a
global power</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in
recent years but faced multiple problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="er1f0" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Two huge aircraft carriers, which are the
Royal Navy’s largest ever warships and cost more than £3bn
each, entered active service in 2017 and 2019 and their
maintenance cost a reported £39m in 2020 alone. Both have
been plagued with faults and in any case, there are not
sufficient frigates, destroyers, support ships or crew for
even one of them to be deployed globally except for short
tours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="b7v33" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Meanwhile, the Trident replacement is beset
by delays and cost overruns and is taking more than £200bn
out of the military budget.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="dkdgl" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">But perhaps the biggest argument against
spending more money on expanding the British military is
that doing so would be entirely irrelevant to the security
problems ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="7h5uh" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Accelerating<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eLhTY6JdCpj7sfpjNdBSY3-2FJIJETNccfCp64PbYiMCMcjZ5wLIpe0ZXAAlRm7K6eYJdzOqEfuge-2FdjXiUr4C-2FiKO-2Fh6k8dZc-2Bt-2F8D28J0jo7aRfi-2Bz-2FNzKGLySuEqGgu7EMSXpbrPJat7cBLg9fROeptkSXb610JoUNl5IPq-2FxmRxvVu-2BPlWiMvqBPzeWLVkRB3mxSMvYsVQqPnCJ87-2BDklMU9Sx-2FjKXX5aHIqJEIr4ooZKW8E2LDlPzr5rQyFRbrNRd76vz3XmrHnLmjvZUyX6R5vAUxExUeU41PFUn3NjjCuZO8W7V38eqQ4g6UmmmD4-3DaaBg_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AV7S8k2aoNwOW0EY1ZXVN7aX0QNR5bjGxbzGVOwz1WkR5WveOtnz-2BTd7weFcg2LSUqfE-2FoWF6Ku-2FHjTA7S7ZK7j9xSlXosKO-2FC0qmsU2Kf4Hg2evC3FAjDhMhgWpCJE2fqfrlv0h4arwQMrhfpOWUL6ZdsnAZ0hTKbpbZrzGFjYC2O-2FcQxU3K3xYW1gMnDmE7Q-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">climate breakdown</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>is by far the
greatest challenge facing the UK, along with every other
country in the world – although you wouldn’t know it from
all the debates over defence budgets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p data-block-key="4dpok" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The indications are now coming thick and
fast. In the past week Chile has been trying to recover
from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO2MgSqJZEelBiamM8Ey15lmFDO3KFD-2FD5wXZ2CWoCFHamvT1d2hU7gTKvq6ewngG1NGWvT2wCf-2BoN-2BoEf5lA02jOUqIGAiFYqqqn4SXpU-2F758Bb1BQUtZuRV5Yj2IFeskXU5uyJKoNMDlI4JU0co4GnbgZkMQn511xXBT72EZKydomEgTbFyZrkBtaR64BWHTp2sRv117MB3I-2B1yTJqFEhYlgXnhObfzBWX18OQEQtMuGHqSOYj7ezCTW3Q3wcf6pfo-2BYu79h9GWqOk0S95wLRETdGHD4yBUV-2FJYYHFPH62K6q0UmCQGbpkrxx-2BV-2Fiwltl-2Bj0yFp0daaxqb30zO-2BCoQ-3DDfHt_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AYqA2XDB97ZRL7AQ-2FgyQ3UrEoO36cgrSNVJ8vWakcWsdtdcgsnnxzWfWmXd-2Bz-2Bd4oU6DVWJQC0vlDaWek8u0EvnGtZYYcayAuhNK4ifS-2FG5y66yroQcSn9JRTy2mlCR5R5LpAdshB4TgSa0q9NVy-2FB76HJ4RiwydbSbXXCLIZSfvOs5btSRPlgwnlpTfcExmdg-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">wildfires around Valparaiso</a>,
a city in the country’s south, which have killed 131
people. Countries<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO8RXNCgNf9utN8GOlcQWBmOIqktz5BFSumIxuYyDh9wk6GPJ4p8yv0oGPH3IyWe5AJY1HpP5hUw3o6-2BOvoArBQ2rNvvn06VnV1ZiWCtILz2rppQI-2BahAaGC8054WyaCNd6ga4Qgmue6Jv1aRBdn3x36TXqUqJfLK7EHPkWRf-2BkieE8WwluOMWMqU0c3SIoR-2B46PtjAPaS0JrgKmA1QjAQ4uR23j6vtP0BI6zIuLYOw3FPYJl02RJCqI1fhYVB-2BpfrXXrA9q6Q9DEEjXGTWRz9sFZ7Qsh9K7DfVqV9y7YhmfEglZmvNN31PVpB9rSRriWNlCjmtgkSboru4cvSJUCdVRKL5SViMMMR66aLfhYascrrm2g7pDjVd1kmNW1eNwdFnHHfnaLuuNyrb93fr4aKOg-3DHOkN_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AXfE7x5q-2B-2Fg8wbAY6JrrqGogs-2F4avrXDsQ6B-2BQRxqaywZ6B-2F7kJIQMtPTVtiqH3dIoCuCyANLHL-2FFILqD6zwjjl5uVkUobjuXhoXsetAssFFLkYeNkNPKN6DkZpulakEHDZgwrtPh9w3QrcCkZoLMZEwHdexj0WdVp08YVvpRD9Z5vKR7hNSEmwR68vlvoT2cQ-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">right across South America</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>have faced similar
blazes in what has been an exceptionally hot summer for
many in the southern hemisphere, with last month the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO-2FdCuRnBRBQv7rTsdT0-2FjUi7md3BmuS8CCWXUNDw-2FjW5vMHhgRx576nwwZdveHQg-2FJH7-2B94TaRV90HP5XB3Nr3jSv3yxkEvTM37Snnxfjb7YI3o42hZi8Q5sTuaIPaAlzxbMWp6JGFv6oKTtQu6hTJQjpvdrIRBFzHQML3PZ4rBg6TJoLW8h5nb2wVS38FTaa7nvHjZRtKOTdi0dnzU8DZUl0KqIVQKGpC72UFaWlAKsWUG46Po-2FYhhLmBd1P7IjvkhKEgi71SBoOo9DVTMzfHyb1Xji-2BX-2BwA3aXXvwwfAO61l8U6m-2B2xF1SnCRqcT4QGXA-2FBQEzgeDFCrdjaN4MuEXAiJQxL0Mr3JBahlT7ugJBh0TP_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AZaIQ5Pn0du8qJFQW7gpfQoSNYhGnkvsxPRFM-2FvSNg4GvpjYKiAFGtZcT-2FsVCBankaevdqihwMSNWIKNwlMOUaCFTc5V-2B1MSEpNoJy7ToOEviTlvjaNM8e4yHjTre7NO3EM-2FhrIGciEubhUg4xKzeE-2Bxy-2F4sHZTnUV-2Fvxci88ThUqY8lmc4g-2BwXf2S1Ity6xPg-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">hottest ever recorded</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="49nk9" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Even more worrying are the changes to the
North Atlantic currents that are key to regulating the
global climate, which<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO8RXNCgNf9utN8GOlcQWBmMRFCnFs4FNSvt7nWVlcv964i-2Bwi6btGhM1sIr-2BHvVvqkZzeAtuDI5abd826v7fZnCvBBlYwedV8tXWHMCrHk8pdvn92PBkBqEuCPeu1B3XrLUORPP2wVjgFkONgpOIKZcMwRrq4amEafu2AMPNaMLQ2VijoeVZAVf8E2PZG-2BMaiLCzJnNAQ9-2BhqyXadg9NBi9poYwzB-2BSUq-2Bhen61tUxiq8TWLU5AOAikNaoiyJJH3UQpgdykoozidTfPtoxqDUHjILaYeaoPlHnjO0-2F9xwAo-2FU-2BOQ1eHvQqGvTA-2BxmxDdubEaLOgQn-2FW1SOaVG7eS-2FYXjLMNvUUlDUnlPuqEI1sTTMuARbC0BoODLZ3YmfAGv358TAbdy5H16-2B3XMzIcq0QrQHA7QVTFGlREuzc-2FCDyRmrYdR_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1Aehi61wFvHV7Quaza4Dl3nC5H-2FnMRcRP9Jt0JOUfxUsEkmKQQPeBJBDjgmAwFnB3lRUTBUWeuz0vUp8kz2qvKyGOs3lwgRsPID8PPbPY2VwE1asl4FS3QfWf0EfP8gPu-2FBq9eWnn8WVJAhnT7N3N1WdRnjuLQOkH6EtIBp-2Fk82cTRqHgtqhIM73bHQicCNY5Qg-3D-3D" style="font-weight: inherit;">a recent study found</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>are being sped up
by Greenland’s glaciers and Arctic ice sheets melting
faster than predicted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="2v67e" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">This will have “devastating” effects, the
paper’s lead author said, including sea levels rising by a
metre in some regions, including many coastal cities, the
southern hemisphere becoming hotter still, and the Amazon’s
wet and dry seasons being reversed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="bg4p5" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Militaries will be increasingly used to
protect borders, with the climate-related mass
displacements likely to be viewed by many as a security
threat. But all the warships in the world won’t stop
desperate people trying to move to safer lands, and closing
the castle gates isn’t much use if conditions within the
castles become unliveable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="fq8va" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Somewhere, somehow, we have to engage in a
fundamental rethinking of what security means for us as
individuals, communities and, indeed, the whole world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<h3 align="center" style="margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 9pt; text-align: center;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #0162b7; font-size: 15pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Share
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<h1 align="center" style="border: none; line-height: 1.2pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; margin: 7.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #283F72 2.25pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; padding: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #0162b7; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most-clicked
stories</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 30pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 7.5pt 0cm 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
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<p style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">📈</span></b><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> Here are the most clicked links from our
last newsletter:</span></b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKcpTIfERbK7a2qKdYjnU38ftgz-2FhBV1DiVjmcw0NNDjveTQAuj5OR4hfpJ0DO4ja9exRwkC-2B8oI7pJ2OXXueVCA34p-2B6f5uWdHide-2Bb4W21x-2F-2Fdxpu-2BIPVZMIeNQm7zLKVvW6Z-2FO3jlI1LB1u50etnQzwsQ-2FyR6-2FnembNLqaWeOnQrx7rNNHdA7baHjMGxKCoRnwirPT-2BVTfhMwM-2FG6Z07imLIlnNqJC-2BYFQ6gYK38iOgO685MOkt2sY8Qw2zmDQwn7cd-2FmrrJlhT16kVlvihKYhv0yEzBs7qDhqdHF6tYWSmbCA0hmlZ3jNFz7gO3sBhfaIRXj-2BEySH8ExpJWvTQY43yLumWxwjSxpRfsWs-2F-2BNb4oq6xBYIzUJ7-2F4hWpNWno-3DyXni_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AYhjLpfUNpuHV4XBtDDGncaII475hUka3ztLloNr0ejdd7Faj61pvSVH4doD4-2BuTz4Zfo7lfXv1RUjbw2GEon4-2FiNPzHs2hQ1WKuoxKimuJuw7zzxtnDchXSD4f3xeeEg-2BEnp9sw8bdfdSJZODP6R9lJDr88JpuKKeH-2BF3Yrj-2Fty2e3pyWzD2-2BPPTERNV2QRXg-3D-3D">Men’s
Catholic order gave secret millions to ‘deceptive’
anti-abortion centres</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKn0HfIcotpg3U7VXRSdgTyHt8OZPYIsC8H1U2V8ufdoMmbPjhlRv-2FgPI-2BEMifg02rmDFi9Dzj7lGsrmLRr7Uvbk7wi4pqHLYOER-2Fb3yeSNuA0Gr5VfYH30jgh40trudsk0SlN38n8Bvg18TxN-2B5F2JJgl1yCro8fTLY3LnRRL-2BzU8ihC-2FY7q8KNnmfKlWRp8fn0sxaddtiDJBf0fGI1l5I-2B04qgW-2FA0IUG-2BekkJTiRdOmNnLBD4eNecCof5N9Dku-2BfOLCEv1XrDg0K7Xo3OdnDCaY3jMMLqe9qAl39-2FBGFDyRxjY-2B8aa4AjNmC2bG9PQcJt2pa9TRMw2HNSUCwE32XAV22Vrikyt6oyaHWS9ZmyIh3n1TkwqL-2FoqVf8i-2B7U-2BrKvD8qaygu58FymIg15NWzmL_T_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AaooP9wq5J9YQQ3lvc38Ox4f3XTextGt3Xk57w35OG94wwXHfJey-2BT6NJ4A5wUXOjhh9DBabPnqQhpAeqqFCSIY2OPgOQ4SSlMmfQk6cT4GZ3n5wPAiZ2G3x7anBhv-2FoVleqF1Da-2BTQ6wrvp3COS970dlwzjk-2F72-2BY1sCo8-2BApWn9-2BGO9RFQbOkcdc3-2Fr4v2pA-3D-3D">UK
accused of being ‘complicit’ in Gaza deaths after
giving Elbit new contract</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJjH0sNPJ3gu6iLWelAQesXs-2B1-2BZT9b7KvrVE0I0rZastqkFrVH5Uq6BFytvAzf1L-2FxRKB2R2eDtFN3FeRjpzkUEE5QwJKNyaUbeFoc-2BSyKPsDe68kYZAty2PaA56qJD7bWcB56Z47MupL8wz9fE0eEpJd86RTzlsXANYe3uFmqv2E7TxY61OJN0E8R-2FEKxuX38iNvfsXKsPkH-2FcqXa9Wn2VJYd4NBpDye-2B73tGQxXO2E-2FhTlroFDwPBQw3uv-2Bq0P1S8iDJivmcavuD0tSgvsZYIYmwYZ6CYbM0O9uni6HxsNpaCg-2FTEFp4mL4J2RY4-2BBsnjwOyCJ4FojY23Y-2BCoaviPEX6cCntppOamkdokths8i-2BVGS4TvfZy2sDBOq14z40-3DIwYy_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AbOTFYda9SYfHOVQSgDJpTCYnrfiVZ0B4kQnxm73GhAYuZb16D6DTc-2Fh9DMqR-2Bgz6k7d8oIj7tYAIwi-2FLb9k48GSoR9nTMfNh9lLT4z3I-2BTnEX-2FmIOhuAxHw-2Be4OXumJ7a1iFq5ZLoA183lxgTGkMVHmKew6zfu0Oazlfh1HzohMyKJEtOZXCPGKRH0Z8psLzQ-3D-3D">Non-profit
behind ‘He Gets Us’ Super Bowl ads is main funder for
US hate group</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm;">
<div style="border-bottom: solid #283F72 2.25pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm;">
<h1 align="center" style="border: none; line-height: 1.2pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; margin: 7.5pt 0cm 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #283F72 2.25pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; padding: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #0162b7; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Get to
know us better</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 30pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<td style="padding: 6.75pt 13.5pt;">
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">This is
the <strong><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">daily
email</span></strong> from openDemocracy – one complete
story each weekday sent directly to your inbox. If this has
been forwarded to you, hello! </span><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">👋</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> You can <a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKxY2CmRq5kIT0GOyNrILaCIt48FImGJpebsq3RNp90VBbdIBIMEuAxJNlvL3o-2BTl0eEIGVnLbL5TDXYYpGHJD7u5CspPlNjvMzO1ee7IV7x1Om4NSPMOoRhiIE27gSLxQrxkWxdkZEdQFofCb80rT4KBlmDbaeowgZFVVBRYlSbGzWxbWFyTCSRnQfshZMjt0yw1wCqhOi-2BW-2FQeO5spawA24-2BtiPuqUfXN4jOXLlBV2hlq2teVIjkUYIIG-2FUPnXsdSh82UmIisDWuTClBW9lSTtbxpMgqgizM-2FBt67i5iNxjzjkFiza46IgE9bi9xb2jNmOZa8eOPDD3isN-2B41exK5c1I8_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AaSv6mZxNB3Lgmy3J3Lt9o31a7H2yaDBtWRaGLrtHJtXjxJcPOVxdXbVvCTweMvWi-2BR1oiaXPC4g9lDikxVpBqw-2B8CnKwPOWkoO-2FV0hrq3ID5bPVPm2mGOtbbM9Gz8txiNpuQsfbgODxHh5-2Fs5IX1wC0TiANjLKItcbnWwc-2B0U-2BJ6oGkmRj1nrE4flPU8zACnQ-3D-3D">sign
up here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">If
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyumvGWAlEtXbDjwd0sH7-2B4i-2FNiCx-2BNYex6efgzzM3wFt5JoejNKDdM2sRQ1-2B01SyvNBuF5oxWpAdSn8m2lD1MHE3fOaYciWlrchZ6zH9Ca9-2FvgAVo6HriD779cv7X2y1g4p2eptNsePt9fhwz-2FZhjcKXMPhHBQXuH-2FxdZFiXDBQuYFxYf6AVyI2oZMEZLCnJ30StxtMbg-2FLW8X1xj4xbbMkHUZWR0KEfwZVzgUYNipYA2eeiW7N-2B2NMyGwsEvMt6ItWMaZi2e3QYkePSSqlbHOG70xyk4ZNWKlw9EvNieETC-2F3Edeum52NCQ4pUvzSJlOfk-0TZ_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AYrHm5GW3K9W5zR3kSoTCDDQeTCe8oFiRpCUgTtq5nh-2FHCUxZKoKpPdKvV-2F2byeEhP8aG-2F0D3-2FSErUZPAG49eXGtI-2Fm8g2WlMeda7VlF6mePbc3bTPBWPR8lkH4KHFkF0qHyRtJ9r3Vd0JvfLLqIs6MofUfZMjV8-2F0d-2Fhal-2BTF15snisASHCwUqssWdVUfcZmQ-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); text-align: center;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyumvGWAlEtXbDjwd0sH7-2B4i-2FNiCx-2BNYex6efgzzM3wFt5JoejNKDdM2sRQ1-2B01SyvNBuF5oxWpAdSn8m2lD1MHE3fOaYciWlrchZ6zH9Ca9-2FvgAVo6HriD779cv7X2y1g4p2eptNsePt9fhwz-2FZhjcKXMPhHBQXuH-2FxdZFiXDBQuYFxYf6AVyI2oZMEZLCnJ30StxtMbg-2FLW8X1xj4xbbMkHUZWR0KEfwZVzgUYNipYA2eeiW7N-2B2NMyGwsEvMt6ItWMaZi2e3QYkePSSqlbHOG70xyk4ZNWKlw9EvNieETC-2F3Edeum52NCQ4pUvzSJlOfk-0TZ_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AYrHm5GW3K9W5zR3kSoTCDDQeTCe8oFiRpCUgTtq5nh-2FHCUxZKoKpPdKvV-2F2byeEhP8aG-2F0D3-2FSErUZPAG49eXGtI-2Fm8g2WlMeda7VlF6mePbc3bTPBWPR8lkH4KHFkF0qHyRtJ9r3Vd0JvfLLqIs6MofUfZMjV8-2F0d-2Fhal-2BTF15snisASHCwUqssWdVUfcZmQ-3D-3D"><span style="color: white; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">50:50 Newsletter</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0.75pt; width: 50%;" vertical-align="top" width="50%">
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;" vertical-align="top">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyum0ejzp7cDchtxYD44CyAGUb909gEAHqHBZvWN5E4lE1krD1Rk0ljJy-2F4NgOi-2BglfJpaOI4i4ulK0zY-2BbLkvBVRzwI83drlPWcVwzoDoBOiEZZxiZdfPi1-2FgtHAd8jzhW1NM5KmHcEySVMG5sBlAuCVOr-2Bh2OV2dkk05UA1wXLIPE6XYMbxuDGg4PymS82DeLhtnUPdy0UGbkYCp725LQaC2dQlKvvE63Y-2Bl2uM9ukKgTSjMP8eLEoqKoCJcWwsCsPCYclURL8DfldVR2c353bfuPo6AxUBKVJFXXTVKGHpUea3LBqaPDtloj35jo7cfYw6gZ1BlpMnbXZzNi-2B56r9hnFZtZPNpQCY-2Fobzx36V04w-3Djm6x_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AW2p0VzSicTogg9WXqVnGCgpcel9XIM0dP5yTVmL6d9drfCnFfEceHs4RN-2B-2Fo-2BsUWx4EZMbeQECFYQQCW7KwnGqinUGGJg658XgrftEgYY3bdRV0Wo1a5yn36hGEPJEEbYgMGjbDy0VlfsN-2FNltq021uGLLP7XYa-2BBYhuDiKX-2B3YIfIYdgGHLTAowR6L-2BajUaA-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); text-align: center;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyum0ejzp7cDchtxYD44CyAGUb909gEAHqHBZvWN5E4lE1krD1Rk0ljJy-2F4NgOi-2BglfJpaOI4i4ulK0zY-2BbLkvBVRzwI83drlPWcVwzoDoBOiEZZxiZdfPi1-2FgtHAd8jzhW1NM5KmHcEySVMG5sBlAuCVOr-2Bh2OV2dkk05UA1wXLIPE6XYMbxuDGg4PymS82DeLhtnUPdy0UGbkYCp725LQaC2dQlKvvE63Y-2Bl2uM9ukKgTSjMP8eLEoqKoCJcWwsCsPCYclURL8DfldVR2c353bfuPo6AxUBKVJFXXTVKGHpUea3LBqaPDtloj35jo7cfYw6gZ1BlpMnbXZzNi-2B56r9hnFZtZPNpQCY-2Fobzx36V04w-3Djm6x_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AW2p0VzSicTogg9WXqVnGCgpcel9XIM0dP5yTVmL6d9drfCnFfEceHs4RN-2B-2Fo-2BsUWx4EZMbeQECFYQQCW7KwnGqinUGGJg658XgrftEgYY3bdRV0Wo1a5yn36hGEPJEEbYgMGjbDy0VlfsN-2FNltq021uGLLP7XYa-2BBYhuDiKX-2B3YIfIYdgGHLTAowR6L-2BajUaA-3D-3D"><span style="color: white; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Beyond Trafficking and
Slavery</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.5pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-spacing: 0px; padding: 0cm;">
<div align="center">
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<td style="padding: 0cm; width: 450pt;" valign="top" width="600">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1038" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/company/YjCYwm/images/1a5ad93e-9240-48a8-89c1-ad55c1b7deed.jpeg" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; display: block; font-size: 13px; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" width="600" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
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<td style="background: rgb(40, 63, 114); padding: 15pt;">
<h4 style="margin-bottom: 6.75pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6.75pt;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy almost any book in the
world</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt;">openDemocracy
has teamed up with online retailer <a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHOwl7EaFVKUBjgg9SfKkvZIMd54CPwmG5FFG8-2BWRtlN6WinAt2tPn62K-2FiQWPj1umjaIhpzyCWHUjJ0oxW07qHLW8ufCfXoFlqbkuPWK1pkBI1RUD-2B9DkEVDDy1jInxouq2996Ypk0l7yTz7O6mp42isLYuoK7xg57zyjXhghzrYhTswLD0dcVYljkQyYwWe6pRgkg5ilLbHQJC-2BD4SpaUkJbrcmval9K1p0LL4RN8baokKwu1C2QReGzMPelexeQy5udGr4SHVCUQgJKu4TtrowFglDhXjjjqde4ShUpw3L1usu-2FOJ3M8wKGy3JtTRSLZg-3D-3D8sWf_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AVriqovQ8U8DrABIYRDoQfxNhwncd2agHKfadSZWOgFQHpx3B9-2FoskYefDQfudFq6H2-2F0A7isEYBGoK23L3Xr94FFUZO5RD28FbgaZYiOswmczWZTo6PRKj-2BP2WtaH75ce486TduuVywP7yLedR9z6lZSjy-2F453zB6s4cG4Y0V-2BLeI2N1ncjq2-2Fc8aPf8hzD0g-3D-3D"><span style="color: white;">bookshop.org</span></a> to give our
supporters access to hundreds of thousands of titles,
including free downloads that we've published ourselves.</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> When
you shop through our bookshop you:</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support independent bookshops, not
huge chain stores.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support the work of openDemocracy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support the authors.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</td>
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</tbody></table>
</td>
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</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td role="presentation" style="border-radius: 5px; cursor: auto; padding: 0cm;">
<div align="center">
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: white; border-radius: 5px; padding: 11.25pt;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJ-2BYcyJcWIfkLxp52Vw6WVV2MA6BsloT4-2Frl-2B0aQDIjb4U6Q5PS6U34VmATzJXOn2dGRSQViwgLOszBXH-2B3Gq-2FKi2psb5pQUAzvjoS-2BXKJCqYXrr3-2Fq9zkNuqBZrjqeZeuhFA6ruLOi9hEbW7UOsRswpciXlXxBy9lNayJYr6p-2F3D0cs1Hn-2FKuIdEu2xWD7ekNE4yt9nXRcVUsaSl-2Fxv-2B4Z8Pavds3VWKU7mVbrARd4hkVD1ifGO-2BwzLrD9hzmOElFpQeUPK0Xdz4z7QgjZTYgJmDi-2BSUszdcLeux7RIF9vOA-3D-3DTq_u_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AaxUJiP4nPjK1-2Bb9Uc5GiS4KjqTRqIuZEI5-2FkXrusXejR9FIT90HdpgbUt3CdPK-2F56FOZjUZjokyVPTU6iwpJOPS9Bc84OHJ4PKLWs52NeoGjjOMk1A2zozPpOxhjR4Yjgy2PGckFVjqEqQX4sBhKV8nBW5TAgA3mhFwAHtdgwOsIQt-2FD3dJHM6v4nTQ09iWlg-3D-3D" style="border-radius: 5px;" target="_blank"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #283f72; font-size: 12pt;">Find books now </span></b></a></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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</tbody></table>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); padding: 6.75pt;" valign="top">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO34dGG2F56iInoevP1cwQMJobwv6AZkMqo4xvpL4LAg25nevd-2BjGQ2YumIBLgZOW8e91-2F-2BHFkOdCDOx02duRpLEZ8Nk6dBf7iJIGvIYw0w7dfba8uUYldaU-2Byybj3Tt7cshoX1sZdAD2-2Bm1d6ADIAf-2BCSausFv2uasz4hLnhV5r8-2FkUrQ-2BUxV6-2FY13lW7UaM-2BOafJ1xXX03O85SwsoHpVKu1Sp9vKQGx5VaooGHz0stnglAFqPTF-2FQFJ4jsKW2gr6u4P0cucAIYulRVo8gMy8lhmOkMWwkDWpYm8qDbRfLLwdYkWYpiQIXcahsyicSCBCg-3D-3DTC3I_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1AeBwoHSGm4GECi3geNpr743DNXffdR00v4BgEmLDCXj2LaqMB7FeD39M922D0U2UmTCDqL7UaNv1zf8zyidxCBlXBejCJsthqeX5tq-2B3ssCOGtYQxEIUCwcs-2FR4-2FM-2FATQi70BrA54emghdQwhjLuUuWwMhZ-2BMII90idOEPaMFEpRjzavFN6DTT1CLG-2F3J3c8iQ-3D-3D" target="_blank"><img alt="Button Text" border="0" id="_x0000_i1039" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/assets/email/buttons/subtleinverse/facebook_96.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 32px;" width="32" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 7.5pt 0cm 0cm;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO1ZEAj7k-2FDr-2Bp6ITFd1bVqqgEuR6cPyvZnhacL-2F6-2F88N-2BE8YUw6XqK2f0tlKFbfJWOtfi-2BHgDO1thwdcz2kQSE5cJh6fgKVf2ur7v7JKsjWweOApzmxYrDptRGysiy7-2BC1sM3qd4DKv-2BHOi2s-2BHhKsT3PqdE9W5LZviqneW1Yy-2BTf94InATh46hx4nPwNLHzUsKLr3li2v1XSbs83cqGWFytKDgSqT2MXrr4-2F-2FSIlKyP5TI3fxoaGFkHiobr2I9wlBuLrSn40-2FU4647qHwxgjRrCT2PCk9c5MDOjxjwlUrRptEV-2Fu6b-2FTeXpX-2FXfBN1HVw-3D-3D8DYA_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CSWBI-2BIeq8bpdnxR7lh-2FJzEdHpoSuRi63pkSQDebC3j23XYKMjk6eNLhUkYqEE5Jv0hZF4xxf0fV-2FToyXrQt-2BA6AGazdB5uFKCQ29IiMHk7l-2FBd5vpxm4dmv7v9LeW5Dj98EPdiJAN6U3HiZ0oqVI78yJeqJU-2B5n81Me6xUwMnT80afIssSc-2FLs063tCfgh1ASTrWjSLtgsBso2zCTgN7uwoUK8MiQ6Br-2BaQ-2BvlWrKZ5iihbwd585G29XA-2FE3HLuMSE8KQLCYjm0bg-2BOep646fDD5Iqw4qNZtMlC0Z-2B5HSgyuWcm4XvpPWy-2FpfFpQmP-2Bg3OK6Us6Q5a5LlzcxKSXjJHR0AVVqIY4OMYCwwyHdDkK38-2F9TQqyXBlWaIOXPNRNxw-3D-3D" target="_blank"><img alt="Custom" border="0" id="_x0000_i1040" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/assets/email/buttons/subtleinverse/twitter_96.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 32px;" width="32" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 7.5pt 0cm 0cm;">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1046" src="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/open?upn=7RGEyXPw6qO-2Bq479YFLl-2BqFsEzpOjNtzkJ761-2BnnfkguOGx0YAaVg2uwAuaT16hHg-2BkUq0XXRwlp1YWw1DYOaXq14CuoUzbmejbmLoZmR6WzmKvrbksDGIbBwYrsALgt0dmeY-2FNoJzYEufuzr0SEY2UQjjzA3qBSJRzMTfacLNJ-2FbEcOCayZFbhzDyFdUcwPY5M-2F1ZvswGpt27ZqvpxPoEJZmqDyjRdpCiyxDP7N84AR-2BSQZaK75Lb1aN5w-2BsTRAysCXuEN4MG5Atkp69Ap9pPbZLgMPc-2Fu3av5JJicAHD3ZZocExZB6IcY6GMX6XcL3N2ynLs0NHrctGm0uwLmzKtu7flIPTQQgmf-2BWLmvhID2PYbmX7RnYNsclHSIU3hXYAYG6LA4UhoTVCrwerhb-2B6XhaLfHZx25yzSE8UrHVxHzqiSNRkGDDh-2F89S3sd5A5HnNROheYxNZPq-2FL-2Fjn-2BwgKA-3D-3D" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; height: 1px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; padding: 0in; width: 1px;" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-3923964358070163832024-02-15T09:13:00.003+00:002024-02-15T09:14:02.251+00:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - JULIAN OF NORWICH - Part Two<p> I am publishing this second post on Julian of Norwich <b>Revelations of Divine Love </b>a day after the first post in order to give more detail about the contents of this extraordinary work. I find it breathtaking to record that this medieval book of Christian mysticism containing 87 chapters of devotions is the earliest surviving example of a book in the English language known to have been written by a woman. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOnqiHBkiG4PedIFQPVc_Ra0dABeJ-2xpvMvLkakMwK5Jutp9CohbSQJ5kfN3oqnwt1iTwDQd_ckRscyb5KyZ_7TBQ8CsknCG-EShF9hMZ2s9BKP58CMjmW1LPlE8EJL7L8ntPNzxXDdUmw6L9VB-XMokWjqbkIorV-pBSZ_drQSUngzTNlg2708UpM4/s211/Julian%20of%20Norwich%20-%20early%20edition.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="118" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOnqiHBkiG4PedIFQPVc_Ra0dABeJ-2xpvMvLkakMwK5Jutp9CohbSQJ5kfN3oqnwt1iTwDQd_ckRscyb5KyZ_7TBQ8CsknCG-EShF9hMZ2s9BKP58CMjmW1LPlE8EJL7L8ntPNzxXDdUmw6L9VB-XMokWjqbkIorV-pBSZ_drQSUngzTNlg2708UpM4/w224-h400/Julian%20of%20Norwich%20-%20early%20edition.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MDCLXX = 1670. This is the year of the first publication of the book. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Julian's book is centred on the sixteen mystical visions or "shewings" she received in 1373 when she was thirty years old. She had become seriously ill, probably from a form of plague, and was not expected to survive. The visions appeared to her for several hours in one night, with a final revelation occurring the following night. Later, fully recovered, she wrote in her vernacular language, Middle English, an account of each vision, producing a manuscript now referred to as the <i>Short Text</i>. She then developed her ideas for decades whilst living as an anchoress in a cell attached to St Julian's Church in Norwich and completed an extended version of her writings, now known as the <i>Long Text</i>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Her work remained very largely unread for the best part of three centuries. The first publication of the <span></span></p><a name='more'></a>book was a translation of the <i>Long Text </i>by an English monk in 1670. Little notice was taken of this book for over a century and a half. Then three versions of this translation were published in the 19th century, paving the way for many further publications in the 20th century and since. There is a measure of serendipity in the survival of Julian's writings. <p></p><p><br /></p><p>The sixteen revelations are:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Julian sees "red blood trickling down from under the Crown of Thorns" on a crucifix. She grasps that the Holy Trinity is meant when Jesus appears <b>[Mother Julian is always orthodox in her theological framework, even if there are elements in her mysticism that move her sharply away form the Pauline notion of Original Sin. I find it interesting that George Fox makes no reference to Original Sin in his teaching; neither does he make much use of the orthodoxy of the Trinity.]</b> Jesus shows Julian "a little thing, the size of a hazelnut" as a sign of his love: "And I was answered in my understanding: 'It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it, and so everything has its beginning by the love of God'. In this little thing I saw three properties; the first is that God made it; the second is that God loves it; and the third is that God keeps it."</li><li>Julian sees a part of the Passion of Jesus upon his face.</li><li>Julian observes God and understands that he is present in all things, and does everything. </li><li>Julian sees Jesus's blood covering him as it flows from his wounds - and she writes that her sins are better washed away with his blood than with water.</li><li>The devil is defeated by the death of Jesus on the cross. </li><li>God, reigning in his house in heaven, understands Julian's service and suffering. </li><li>Alternating experiences of joy and sorrow are revealed to Julian. </li><li>Julian contemplates the death and decay of Jesus and is shown "the essence of natural love and pain".</li><li>Jesus declares his pleasure at having suffered for Julian and shows her the pleasure, the joy, and the delight of the Trinity. </li><li>Jesus is revealed to Julian as he gazes into his own wound.</li><li>Jesus shows Julian his mother Mary, now "high and noble and glorious".</li><li>Jesus show himself to Julian, and speaks words beyond her comprehension.</li><li>A long revelation, comprising thirteen chapters, that include Jesus informing Julian that "sin is befitting <b>[necessary]</b>" but despite this fact "all shall <b>[must] </b>be well, and all shall <b>[must] </b>be well, and all manner of things shall <b>[must] </b>be well". <b>[This is the expression that leapt out from the page when I first read it and it has guided me in my life ever since.] </b>Man's atonement matters more to God than Man's Fall. </li><li>Within this other long revelation of 22 chapters, it is made clear that God is always merciful if he receives prayers.</li><li>Jesus promises Julian that her suffering will stop and that she will go to heaven. She sees a body, from which a soul in the form of a child arises.</li><li>God reassures Julian that her revelations are authentic. </li></ol><br /><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xpuokISATqjwM3wZoV9MK1aqo03ISbFJGvr3ablHLJ3X2BwqbDdTaYg9L9ZnjU0or_pGowW23V8CmE4ndjmn97c874JnOPoLwTctcrTnC7OcvUNun9EWgaqc0Xng4E5DgSwEtIhOjj33vFy_tJjVxDPri7xGc-ivyLVTFndRG6qMhxfi4ZpzRw5fPOk/s290/Julian%20of%20Norwich%20-%20cell.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xpuokISATqjwM3wZoV9MK1aqo03ISbFJGvr3ablHLJ3X2BwqbDdTaYg9L9ZnjU0or_pGowW23V8CmE4ndjmn97c874JnOPoLwTctcrTnC7OcvUNun9EWgaqc0Xng4E5DgSwEtIhOjj33vFy_tJjVxDPri7xGc-ivyLVTFndRG6qMhxfi4ZpzRw5fPOk/w400-h240/Julian%20of%20Norwich%20-%20cell.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An imagination of the anchoress's cell </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>I find this book an extraordinary <i>tour de force</i>. I am not shaped by medieval orthodox Christian assumptions about the nature of the universe and its Creator and His Son, Jesus. Julian of Norwich was so defined. But my goodness, what a breath of fresh air flows from her words. God is, above all, Love. <p></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-82556622304527362572024-02-14T11:12:00.000+00:002024-02-14T11:12:27.369+00:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - JULIAN OF NORWICH (FROM 1373) 'REVELATIONS OF DIVINE LOVE' - Part 1<p> I ordered two copies of the Penguin Classics edition (1966) of Julian of Norwich's <b>Revelations of Divine Love </b>earlier this week in the light of the attention and interest at our Meeting House in Marazion. Referenced in vocal ministry this month, it is clear that Mother Julian's mystic insights have touched the lives of some Quakers in our community and there are others who want to know more. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwYuR17mWULCkazLIV-3elEZSalBXUcF2O-CtyfM2BqhwJyura_odUh5bzBV7CNnwEORZdBp9OWVmQ65rrIkAeUhTsEImspsrN6FJk-xYxK4fLPMPghuSeqajhGosNC07EV49H9Eo7OoESQy6N1A0iGeYRdVyLksg1ll5fC-hmWxQ2e5L-0klZp66hJ0/s280/Julian%20of%20Norwich.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwYuR17mWULCkazLIV-3elEZSalBXUcF2O-CtyfM2BqhwJyura_odUh5bzBV7CNnwEORZdBp9OWVmQ65rrIkAeUhTsEImspsrN6FJk-xYxK4fLPMPghuSeqajhGosNC07EV49H9Eo7OoESQy6N1A0iGeYRdVyLksg1ll5fC-hmWxQ2e5L-0klZp66hJ0/w257-h400/Julian%20of%20Norwich.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from David Holgate's modern statue of Julian of Norwich, depicted holding a copy of <i>Revelations of Divine Love</i>. It was added to the west front of Norwich Cathedral in 2000.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>My own copy of the <b>Revelations</b> has been with me for over forty years, even before I became a part-time post-graduate student at the University of East Anglia in Norwich between 1995 and 2003. The city of Norwich is dear both to my heart and Louise my wife who worked there as an Open University advisor; my doctoral thesis (2003) is titled: 'Drink in Victorian Norwich' and serves as a contribution to the history of the working-class and its connections with other social groups within Norwich; there would be occasions as I traversed the city as a researcher when I passed close by the site of Mother Julian's church to which her cell as an anchorite had been attached. Below is a piece written by Simon Knott in 2023 about this church. It tells you much about both St Julian church and Mother Julian - the video is a portal into her life if you imagine hard enough. In the second part of this blogpost I will expand more about her life and her spiritual insights as a mystic. </p><p><br /></p><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">St Julian Church, Norwich</span><p><span style="font-family: Arial;">This crisp little church sits on one of the alleys that ran from Ber Street to King Street below. Its neighbours are mostly new apartments and houses, but for centuries this was Conesford, an industrial quarter and a port, with the tenements, inns and brothels you might expect. In the late Middle Ages, much of East Anglia's stained glass and memorial brasses were made in these narrow lanes. In the 18th and 19th Centuries this was an area of factories and warehouses, tanneries and slaughterhouses, along with the crowded slums of the workers. These days, King Street, the main road that ran through Conesford, is being gentrified, but still the urban decay of centuries clings to some of the old buildings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;">St Julian's dedication is an interesting one.... he resolved to pay penance by establishing a riverside inn for travellers, and a hospital for the poor. So, he was an entirely appropriate choice of patron for the medieval priory established here in the medieval suburb of Conesford on the banks of the Wensum. It seems likely therefore that he was also the St Julian to whom this little church is dedicated.<br /><br />The Priory has long gone. But although this church is a small and rebuilt building, tucked away in what is still the anonymous and relatively run down inner city, St Julian is one of the <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">most famous of Norwich's churches because it is associated with the mystical visions of the Blessed Mother Julian of Norwich.... When s</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">he fell ill in the 1370s, probably in one of the outbreaks of plague which carried off perhaps half Norfolk's population between the late 1340s and the end of the century. In her deathbed delirium she claimed she received mystical visions or</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><em style="font-family: Arial;">showings</em><span style="font-family: Arial;">, which she termed</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><em style="font-family: Arial;">Revelations of Divine Love.</em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">On her unexpected recovery, she became an anchoress here, taking the name Julian, the dedication of the church.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;">An anchoress was a kind of female hermit, walled up in a room on the side of a church with a view of the altar. Meals would be passed to her, ablutions passed out, and she would offer advice to visitors, but her existence was largely a contemplative one. Her male equivalent was an anchorite. There is surviving evidence of anchorite or anchoress cells at half a dozen East Anglian churches, although of course there must have been many more. There was a fashion for anchorites and anchoresses in the late 14th Century, mainly as a result of the way in which the Black Death had concentrated our minds and made us all serious. Dame Julian devoted her time to prayer and contemplation of her visions, which she wrote down in English.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The manuscripts fell into obscurity after the Reformation, and it was really only in the 20th Century that the importance of her work in both literary and spiritual terms was recognised. The most striking thing about the <em>Revelations</em> is quite simply that, at a time when an obsession with death, doom and gloom would have been entirely reasonable, they are optimistic and uplifting, an affirmation of our relationship with God. They suggest that our ultimate destiny is intended by God to be beautiful and glorious, and that life is not a test which sends its failures to hell.<br /><br />Roger Clarke, a friend of this site, wrote to me to point out that as this has always been a rundown and poor part of Norwich, even in medieval days, <em>I have always felt that this adds to the specialness of the place. Mother Julian's Revelations are highly incarnational and stress the reality of Christ sharing in the messes and confusion of human existence - grace is very much earthed and earthy for her. What better place for the Revelations than a church in a run-down, slightly seedy, decayed, red-light district ? The holy is glimpsed, not in the purity of isolation, but in the ordinary - or, as Mother Julian, would call it "the homely".</em> The <em>Revelations</em> are at the forefront of medieval northern European spiritual writing. Although she has never been officially recognised as a saint, Dame Julian is often treated as one, and her patronal day of May 8th is included in the Ordo of both the Church of England and of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.<br /><br />During the 1942 Nazi German air raids on Norwich, St Julian was one of five city churches destroyed by the bombing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">St Julian was the only one of the five lost churches to be rebuilt, and this seems largely down to the fact that the foundations of what appeared to be Dame Julian's cell were uncovered in the rubble. The rebuilding in the 1950s was largely along its original plan, except that the presumed site of Mother Julian's cell was added as a transept, accessed through a massive Norman doorway brought here from the bombed out church of St Michael at Thorn up the road. The steeply pitched roof gives it an attractively rustic feel, and the Saxon windows exposed by the bombing have been left as features on the north side....</span></p><p align="center"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><em>Simon Knott, February 2023</em></span></p><p align="center"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="210" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6SwljcBgU88" style="text-align: left;" title="YouTube video player" width="373"></iframe></p></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-67936116324825117092024-01-18T12:04:00.002+00:002024-01-18T12:04:59.486+00:00SHARING A 'TAX JUSTICE UK' POST - TAXING THE RICHEST WOULD MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE- <div class="blog-header" style="background-color: white; border: none !important; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 860px;"><h2 class="blog-title" style="border: none !important; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><a class="blog-title-link blog-link" href="https://www.taxjustice.uk/blog/meetings-of-the-rich-and-powerful" style="font-size: 35px !important; text-decoration-line: none;">Meetings of the rich and powerful</a></h2><p class="blog-date" style="float: left; font-family: Montserrat !important; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;"><span class="date-text" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;">18/1/2024</span></p><p class="blog-comments" style="float: right; font-family: Montserrat !important; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 4px !important;"></p></div><div class="blog-separator" style="background-color: white; border: none; clear: both; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 2px; height: 2px; margin: 0px auto 30px; padding-top: 2px;"> </div><div class="blog-content" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.taxjustice.uk/uploads/1/0/0/3/100363766/edited/evangeline-shaw-y2xy8-3-9fc-unsplash.jpg?1705491571" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@evangelineshaw?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Evangeline Shaw</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/world-economic-forum-text-Y2xy8_3_9fc?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Unsplash</a></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="font-family: Montserrat !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br />This week some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential decision-makers are meeting in the Swiss Alps resort of Davos. <br /><br />This is for the annual World Economic Forum meeting, an exclusive Glastonbury festival for the rich and powerful.<br /><br />Over 100 billionaires are registered to attend the event, alongside more than 2,500 other attendees, including heads of states, senior politicians and business leaders.<br /><br />The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, and his opposite number, Shadow Chancellor Rachael Reeves will be in attendance.<br /><br />Given Hunt and Reeves’ trip to Davos, our friends at the JustMoney Movement are asking people to sign on to their open letter to them, calling for fairer taxes to tackle inequality. You can s<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">ign the open letter</span> <span style="color: #24678d;"><a href="https://justmoney.org.uk/inequality-is-not-inevitable/" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: 700;">Stark inequality</span><br /><br />The Davos meeting brings into sharp focus the astronomic inequality of wealth in the world. This week Oxfam <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/inequality-inc" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: 400;">released a report</span></a> that shows the five richest men have doubled their fortunes in the last 4 years, while almost 5 billion people are getting poorer.<br /><br />With such eye-watering collective wealth on show in Davos, it shines a light on just how much money could be raised for public spending if progressive taxes on wealth were introduced. <br /><br />Our Head of Advocacy and Policy, Rachael, spoke with Carole Walker on TimesRadio earlier this week. Check out the clip from the interview, and share it <a href="https://twitter.com/TaxJusticeUK/status/1747210864095043594" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: 400;">here</span></a>.<br /></div><div><div align="center" class="wcustomhtml" id="446041217670118971" style="overflow-y: hidden; width: 860px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 560px; width: 560px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1747210864095043594" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1747210864095043594&lang=en&maxWidth=560px&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taxjustice.uk%2Fblog%2Fmeetings-of-the-rich-and-powerful%3Flink_id%3D12%26can_id%3D82d73fe657001ebc595c12c691cb379f%26source%3Demail-this-can-be-our-year%26email_referrer%3Demail_2173134%26email_subject%3Dmeetings-of-the-rich-and-powerful&sessionId=f3c7e06ff6bb5ad4c14b172fb3c9feef556407cc&siteScreenName=taxjusticeuk&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 316px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 560px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="font-family: Montserrat !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Taking a stand</span><br /><br />We’re not the only ones making the case for fairer taxes. Our friends at Patriotic Millionaires UK are putting their collective influence to work to make the case for higher taxes on wealth. <br /><br />In fact, they’ve organised <a href="https://proudtopaymore.org/" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: 400;">a letter signed by more than 260</span></a> millionaires and billionaires imploring politicians to be brave and implement a tax on extreme wealth. A poll of high net-worth individuals in G20 countries <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/17/wealth-tax-super-rich-davos-abigail-disney-brian-cox-valerie-rockefeller?CMP=share_btn_tw" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: 400;">found that</span></a> nearly three quarters of millionaires support higher taxes on wealth.<br /><br />Actor Brian Cox, the star of TV show Succession, is supporting the letter and said: “We are living in a second Gilded Age, billionaires are wielding their extreme wealth to accumulate political power and influence, simultaneously undermining democracy and the global economy. It’s long past time to act.”<br /><br />While extreme wealth is on display in Davos, we are pushing ahead with our plans for the year to keep banging the drum for fair taxes to invest in Britain.</div></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-14892810711130773632024-01-15T10:31:00.012+00:002024-01-22T17:32:24.038+00:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - HUGH MCGREGOR ROSS (1991/2008) 'GEORGE FOX - A CHRISTIAN MYSTIC'What does it mean to be a 'Christian mystic'? This term is used by Hugh McGregor Ross in his book <b>George Fox - A Christian Mystic</b>, first published in 1991, the tercentenary of Fox's death. Ross's title page offers testimony from George Fox's step-sons and step-daughters, probably dated 1691, in which they say that their step-father was "deep in the divine mysteries of the kingdom of God". That would seem to qualify for being a Christian mystic. Ross offers a more formal definition which explains that a mystic is one who has had the experience that the divine Ultimate and the essence of the individual self are fundamentally one and the same. There are, however, obvious problems in finding the words to describe an ineffable experience. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEgoY6_Iv95ocHl0X_Q1qnbm5C6-OgT93jAbgy55klUWRRhpwKJIc9vMgWwhmYQtJXWv-qV7rGetX-s1QnJTuk5tbfjeDkaNd5-Ad5yztQ-n48uF0qmRf21JXe1HjUXCPA4kjjiwb7PN2_DAPd3PrHchzhWTKUnf7bkSFmhL_ARXja_sNBxZvpQbIrA0/s257/George%20Fox%20-%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="196" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEgoY6_Iv95ocHl0X_Q1qnbm5C6-OgT93jAbgy55klUWRRhpwKJIc9vMgWwhmYQtJXWv-qV7rGetX-s1QnJTuk5tbfjeDkaNd5-Ad5yztQ-n48uF0qmRf21JXe1HjUXCPA4kjjiwb7PN2_DAPd3PrHchzhWTKUnf7bkSFmhL_ARXja_sNBxZvpQbIrA0/w305-h400/George%20Fox%20-%201.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A painting of George Fox - this image has become iconic but it may not be an image of Fox, nor even of the period.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Hugh Ross (1917-2014) was a Quaker who could claim that he was a step-son of George Fox in the eighth generation. Ross also became one of the leading computer scientists of his generation yet found the time to study a range of historical documents relating to George Fox. He concluded that Fox had experienced a profound spiritual awakening in 1647, the climax of several years of mental struggle to find the truth. He also speculated that leaders in the Quaker movement which developed from this seminal event redacted the accounts of George Fox's great awakening to save him and themselves from the charges of blasphemy that soon began to hover over Fox and other Quakers. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWIkwpNpIjjEeVtrxWAatNaRP3Cv2a6hnaN648kGChdXFljrvSGztiRQ4oR5JCgNO-wtBLOm3O-tntXet6Y78cRjd6xIx1cLJrv7CONv1d6oREQHh-Ospe0fNsQBHHFz_g4S4hmI-Eex9UywA5bMbavC3FwCniR5mWtF0fJQ1RJpigUbiBTcUyq4HCN0/s293/220px-Hugh-McGregor-Ross%20-%20aged%2088.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWIkwpNpIjjEeVtrxWAatNaRP3Cv2a6hnaN648kGChdXFljrvSGztiRQ4oR5JCgNO-wtBLOm3O-tntXet6Y78cRjd6xIx1cLJrv7CONv1d6oREQHh-Ospe0fNsQBHHFz_g4S4hmI-Eex9UywA5bMbavC3FwCniR5mWtF0fJQ1RJpigUbiBTcUyq4HCN0/w300-h400/220px-Hugh-McGregor-Ross%20-%20aged%2088.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: #f8f9fa; font-size: 12.32px;">Hugh McGregor Ross, 88 years of age when the photo was taken in January 2006, with a copy of the 1987 Draft Proposal for </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_10646" style="background: none rgb(248, 249, 250); color: #3366cc; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.32px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" title="ISO/IEC 10646">ISO/IEC 10646</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>George Fox was born in 1624 and died in 1691, living through a century of revolution in which the world was turned upside down for so many. When he was eighteen years old the country was plunged into civil war; when he was twenty-five the king, Charles, was executed on the orders of Cromwell and the military leadership that now governed the country. The hierarchy of power in which the monarch declared he ruled as Head of State and Church by divine right, through the will of God Almighty, was now swept away. Some men and women, freed from the old order and established certainties, began to <span><a name='more'></a></span>think for themselves about matters of spiritual belief. George Fox was such a man.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fox had been born the son of a successful and relatively wealthy weaver in Drayton-in-the Clay, Leicestershire. His father was a church warden and George Fox had enough financial security and social standing to follow his own spiritual path when he became an adult, rather than continue his apprenticeship as a shoemaker. When his father died in the late 1650s, he left his son, George, a substantial legacy. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYpEYjafW26jCwZoE8JmKJwwTLa9Og2X-T9HY88RH1Ob9EybVdIp3Ek7kNjezzm_kOQWEfnynrfEiCNw3Rz2D-o7d_VLeX6GcNNMmXqMKGQk_gJD9SqLC1OOwXeod2FK2hT6hkKE6w9_kY1DcmBc0gn0PTeUSg5wdVRk5q9zC_QcCqLyk1XGpWg4-fAg/s225/George%20Fox%20-%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYpEYjafW26jCwZoE8JmKJwwTLa9Og2X-T9HY88RH1Ob9EybVdIp3Ek7kNjezzm_kOQWEfnynrfEiCNw3Rz2D-o7d_VLeX6GcNNMmXqMKGQk_gJD9SqLC1OOwXeod2FK2hT6hkKE6w9_kY1DcmBc0gn0PTeUSg5wdVRk5q9zC_QcCqLyk1XGpWg4-fAg/w400-h400/George%20Fox%20-%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another possible image of George Fox </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>Ross revisited the library of Quaker documents and with admirable scholarship presents his edited version of Fox's own account of this spiritual journey which began in July 1643 when Fox left his relations and 'broke off all familiarity or fellowship with young or old'. Aged nineteen, he set off on his pilgrimage to find the true Christian way, even as civil war began to erupt in the land. He found no comfort from any clergymen and castigated these 'professors' whom he was convinced 'did not possess what they professed'. They did not have wisdom or a true understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. But Fox soon found himself beset with what he termed 'the temptation of despair', as he moved from town to town. </div><div><br /></div><div>His relations still had some contact and wanted him to marry and settle down but he refused, claiming 'I am but a lad and must get wisdom'. Returning to Leicestershire, he 'was there about a year, in great sorrows and troubles and walked many nights by myself'. By the beginning of 1646, Fox had returned to Coventry and there his spiritual questioning took a new turn. He started to believe what had scarcely been thinkable before. In his words, if 'all Christians are believers, <b>both protestants and papists (my emphasis)</b>, then they were all born of God, and passed from death to life, and that none were true believers but such; and though others said they were believers, yet they were not.' As the civil war intensified, Fox was inspired to follow what he took to be an opening to the truth, revealed to him through the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ. True believers were not found by a label of Protestant or Papist, nor necessarily found by following the instructions of those ordained in ministries; in Fox's words: 'being bred at Oxford or Cambridge was not enough to fit and qualify men to be ministers of Christ'. Dissenting people too did not make the mark for Fox who became 'a stranger to all, relying wholly upon the lord Jesus Christ'.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjSPaQcOa1BSt5T17ta_o4OZjk69rgMv5XzVtzuidBrEBrXUeodXR8XsmLpEOEmbxdyK4E-xbpY8b5ls8bGLqMLTvFDnQ_7VzFrKYTLswnxktP4cnx7iWBmudQImNGJMUicGk0u4M_N9tPFb0H7kwGmzrch3BsMgXIwDbbMEyxnDTPvqegHyAAmwLAtQ/s300/George%20Fox%20-%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjSPaQcOa1BSt5T17ta_o4OZjk69rgMv5XzVtzuidBrEBrXUeodXR8XsmLpEOEmbxdyK4E-xbpY8b5ls8bGLqMLTvFDnQ_7VzFrKYTLswnxktP4cnx7iWBmudQImNGJMUicGk0u4M_N9tPFb0H7kwGmzrch3BsMgXIwDbbMEyxnDTPvqegHyAAmwLAtQ/w400-h224/George%20Fox%20-%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>George Fox had become convinced that 'there was an anointing within each man to teach him, and that the Lord would teach his people himself'. Such a subversive idea! There was now no need for ecclesiastical buildings - 'God did not dwell in temples', nor was there a need for priests or ministers - instead every body was open to God, the saviour, including, Fox insisted, women. Yet Fox was still a troubled man who turned continuously to the scriptures and Christ for answers to ease his struggles. At the start of 1647, he moved into Derbyshire and then into the 'Peak Country'. Here he met both friendly people and those who were less so; he 'fasted much' and 'walked abroad in solitary places many days, and often took my bible and went and sat in hollow trees and lonesome places till night came on, and frequently in the night walked mournfully about by myself'. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0-zl6WgHxqKGfHp8IB1POt4wrOIWU1spD-Cvq8LdGW1LqgMkElGLWbD4Xxa8M_rC_fYmOTS5RgsS9Q1_DiNNCud-xX0cdDAq2aAcUEGnugDts4K-Z33dXyzu0sJV1qeJAjTg9z91Ik_tI2gx4im_KB6a_RzLJWI4Cpund-6uyjab5_U7_Y0F-TICYjc/s247/George%20Fox%20-%204.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="247" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0-zl6WgHxqKGfHp8IB1POt4wrOIWU1spD-Cvq8LdGW1LqgMkElGLWbD4Xxa8M_rC_fYmOTS5RgsS9Q1_DiNNCud-xX0cdDAq2aAcUEGnugDts4K-Z33dXyzu0sJV1qeJAjTg9z91Ik_tI2gx4im_KB6a_RzLJWI4Cpund-6uyjab5_U7_Y0F-TICYjc/w400-h330/George%20Fox%20-%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Quaker tapestry</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Yet not all of Fox's time was troubled; there were moments of heavenly joy too, according to Fox's account. With a love for medical labels, some today might identify bipolarity disorder. During these periods when Fox experienced the love of God through Christ Jesus, the divine light appeared and gave him spiritual discernment. Hugh Ross identifies this point in George Fox's surviving writings as one where there has been critical editing and the likely removal of text that would have provided the grounds for a charge of blasphemy - an ordinary man could not have such transformative union with the divine. One passage that has survived, though, is this magnificent declaration of faith:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>'Great things did the Lord lead me into, and wonderful depths were opened unto me, beyond what can by words be declared. But as people come into subjection to the spirit of God, and grow up in the image and power of the almighty, they may receive the word of wisdom that opens all things, and come to know the hidden unity in the eternal being'.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It was in this state of perfection that George Fox now came to understand that 'every man <b>[and woman] </b>was enlightened by the divine light of Christ - and I saw it shine through all'. Next came what Fox took as his call to spread the word, 'to turn people to that inward light, spirit and grace, by which all might know their salvation, and their way to God - and all truth'. When 'the Lord sent him forth into the world', Fox believed he had been commanded by Christ never to doff his hat to anyone, high or low, rich or poor - and this subversive act infuriated 'the priests, magistrates, professors and people of all sorts - but especially the priests and professors... Oh! the blows, punchings, beatings and imprisonments that we underwent for not putting off our hats to men!'</div><div><br /></div><div>Hugh Ross notes that Fox had in his library some of the books of Jacob Boehme, the German mystic who died in the year Fox was born, 1624, and Ross includes a passage from Boehme's '<b>The Way to Christ'</b>: <b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>'When you stand still from the thinking of self; when both your intellect and will are quiet, and passive to the impressions of the eternal world and spirit; and when your soul is winged up, and above that which is temporal, the outward senses and the imagination -being locked up in holy abstraction - then the eternal hearing, seeing and speaking will be revealed to you... so God hears and "sees through you", being now the organ of his spirit... Blessed are you, therefore, if you stand still, and still the wheel of your imagination and senses. Forasmuch as hereby you may arrive at length to see all manner of divine sensations and heavenly communications'. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>When I read this reference to Boehme, I was reminded of the insights I gained recently from reading Richard Rohr's <b>Silent Compassion - Finding God in Contemplation </b>- (<a href="FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - RICHARD ROHR (2014/2022) 'SILENT COMPASSION - FINDING GOD IN CONTEMPLATION'">see my post by pressing this link</a>). Rohr identifies a 'perennial tradition' within the history of Christianity that emphasizes the need for contemplation as the way to bring the divine alive in one's inner being. Boehme is part of this tradition; so too is Fox; so too are we as we share our Meeting time together. We have an inkling of the truth in Fox's advice to learn silent waiting:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>'For none shall ever come to God who is upon the earth, but as they come to that of God in them - the light which Christ has enlightened them with... That which is of God in everyone, is that which brings them to wait upon, to serve God in every particular, which brings them to unity'. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>There is much more of George Fox's wisdom to be found in Hugh Ross's selection and editing of Fox's writings. This library post has been a taster. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgds_JDlxSScNMoT_VlbgpArhyphenhyphengByqNINNJC-NMFevEjrOYDzbzeSdf1E4GX4dJ9d6UT4UChSROtsARZl_PnsbK7qpNMdGtLKKpwm8OJUXxak582IjWldczAvwwjvUIwVPloXKtbplgyU7n9fR6Y7hw8xHfgCmkFq_bf6iCi3gtE4PmbhFEdMnjkxMQvic/s275/George%20Fox%20-%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="184" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgds_JDlxSScNMoT_VlbgpArhyphenhyphengByqNINNJC-NMFevEjrOYDzbzeSdf1E4GX4dJ9d6UT4UChSROtsARZl_PnsbK7qpNMdGtLKKpwm8OJUXxak582IjWldczAvwwjvUIwVPloXKtbplgyU7n9fR6Y7hw8xHfgCmkFq_bf6iCi3gtE4PmbhFEdMnjkxMQvic/w268-h400/George%20Fox%20-%205.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /> </div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-13348388056831630772023-12-29T17:59:00.006+00:002023-12-29T18:04:17.161+00:00LOVE AT CHRISTMAS<p> Over the last decade, the Christmas season in the Donovan home in St Ives on the Penwith peninsula has been celebrated in the evenings with the viewing of our special collection of film. We are celebrating the birth of the subversive carpenter-turned-preacher called Jesus - the Nazarene Jew whose message is God is Love and that the pursuit of money is the pathway to losing that Love. </p><p>Films are a capitalist invention. They are intended to make money. Yet they need to appeal and, even as the traumas of horrific world wars in the last century led to very many of the masses losing whatever faith they had, people still resonated with the messages of love and redemption that script writers conjured up for viewers, not least at Christmas.</p><p>Our Christmas film festival begins with the viewing over three evenings of the adaptation of John Masefield's story: '<b>The Box of Delights</b>', a BBC children's film first shown in six parts in 1984. Directed by Rennie Rye who was at Catz, Oxford reading English from 1967-1970 at the same time as I was failing to read as much History as I should have done, this is a delightful imagining of the triumph of good over evil. The Christmas church service becomes a reality despite all the wickedness that is conjured up to prevent it happening. Society is saved from the greed and ambition of people whose egos have gone awry. The goodness of children, helped by some wondrous magic, in the end wins the day.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI6n5AUflheb4SUtMwRZHAP65B16B2uaewN7s3TNlR3im55uGHkk2-RXy0lucyHOvflZq9RcMTG3cXzoduA2qS_jPE5Mv_m466Cgtv2DjqMPPpO-Z9dQ3dFW1jJf6ACqtZxrbuhqKAlZJS1xY2LyH1VFYLSdMadsJE6YhWlisX-pswamsrFC4pHOEGo0/s225/Box%20of%20delights.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI6n5AUflheb4SUtMwRZHAP65B16B2uaewN7s3TNlR3im55uGHkk2-RXy0lucyHOvflZq9RcMTG3cXzoduA2qS_jPE5Mv_m466Cgtv2DjqMPPpO-Z9dQ3dFW1jJf6ACqtZxrbuhqKAlZJS1xY2LyH1VFYLSdMadsJE6YhWlisX-pswamsrFC4pHOEGo0/w400-h400/Box%20of%20delights.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas magic for children and adults - the whole family!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>The screen writers for Christmas film have no time for the excesses of capitalism, even if they are not consciously shaped by a Marxist insight. The love of money is, of course, the root of all evil. Film maybe part of the market society but it is also a vehicle for criticizing the direction that people within <span></span></p><a name='more'></a>that society have taken - and enabling redemption and a return to a saner way that brings more contentment. <p></p><p>Our next film is <b>The Holly and the Ivy</b>, directed by George More O'Ferrall and released in 1952. Ralph Richardson plays the widowed country parson whose three children return to the snow-clad Norfolk parsonage for Christmas to confront buried family business. One daughter returns from London where she works as a fashion journalist; one of her secrets is that she is on the edge of becoming an alcoholic. She hates the falsity of her London scene; for her society has taken the wrong direction. A decade and a half before the sixties reaction against concealment and hypocrisy burst into play and shaped my life, this film covers so many of the issues that surface when the truth-telling starts. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPzm5Vr_4Snf19CPwOUxIVAFgHOgIm-1U0aACg83QNSTdR1v6yS_OAPKD9htzaVuYFwjheEkqPJY5nV1-ot1n-xgX-jWWC2NIdRSqyOaqq5E4x0Emo3-i_E-W9tVh6EOqRBFHe5WDJvhJ8NWfd-kww3mz9iF2FAgWKLIpCTlE_5SwVoAVhFe6CJGx_rA/s268/Holly%20and%20the%20Ivy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="188" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPzm5Vr_4Snf19CPwOUxIVAFgHOgIm-1U0aACg83QNSTdR1v6yS_OAPKD9htzaVuYFwjheEkqPJY5nV1-ot1n-xgX-jWWC2NIdRSqyOaqq5E4x0Emo3-i_E-W9tVh6EOqRBFHe5WDJvhJ8NWfd-kww3mz9iF2FAgWKLIpCTlE_5SwVoAVhFe6CJGx_rA/w281-h400/Holly%20and%20the%20Ivy.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A remarkable film!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Then comes<b> The Bishop's Wife. </b>Directed by Henry Koster and released in 1947, it stars Cary Grant as the angel Dudley and David Niven as Henry, the bishop. Loretta Young is the bishop's wife. Bishop Henry is determined to build a magnificent new cathedral in his US city and is now in danger of losing his way. He is valuing money and ambition more than ordinary people or even his wife. Dudley is the answer to his prayers at Christmas - and more than a match for Mrs. Hamilton, the wealthy parishioner who will provide the funds for the creation of the cathedral provided it is built as a memorial to her late husband. Mrs. Hamilton comes to see the Light and her money is donated to the needy poor. The bishop finds other funds from the sale of a newly discovered and exceptionally rare Roman coin - and rekindles his loving relationship with his wife. Dudley has worked his festive magic. The acting, the direction, and the script are a joy. The love of money and the excesses of capitalism take another hit. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnceODZGjKwMZqZr15tYtbImtwKm42Lw3cD7Q7-9cEH8db1d4dS4Kxabj2JZuAFzdpilU7eEZNM4AB7mpIg1gvSJOlGYESnosnTCfKRPd7NF3p885eo_BE3oZyc8qXxCnDQoR7cruvzwoSrMcqsZTNlh82nnbORuAthbPS_INyZ8W0sZPoUt-Mp7GQSk/s279/Bishop's%20wife.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="279" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnceODZGjKwMZqZr15tYtbImtwKm42Lw3cD7Q7-9cEH8db1d4dS4Kxabj2JZuAFzdpilU7eEZNM4AB7mpIg1gvSJOlGYESnosnTCfKRPd7NF3p885eo_BE3oZyc8qXxCnDQoR7cruvzwoSrMcqsZTNlh82nnbORuAthbPS_INyZ8W0sZPoUt-Mp7GQSk/w400-h259/Bishop's%20wife.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cary Grant and Loretta Young - the angel and the bishop's wife - by the Christmas tree that has been decorated with angelic magic by Dudley.</td></tr></tbody></table> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><p>And so to <b>You Can't Take It with You</b>, directed by the inimitable Frank Capra and striking gold in 1938. It cost around $1.6 million dollars to create and made $2.1 million dollars in the USA and $5.3 million dollars around the world. Last year, I devoted a blogpost to this magnificent movie. </p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">From 1934, Capra started using his films to convey messages to the public who were now flocking to the movie theatres. Some call it Capra-corn; others, more kindly, a Capra-esque quality. We are firmly in the latter camp. Here is Capra, explaining his intention:</span></p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b>'My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.'</b> </p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">You have to be cocksure in an American way to pull off that kind of role as a Christian prophet in a movie-director's chair with a spell-bound cinema audience running into the tens of millions. Capra's films now became as much about themes as about people. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvEDa20SS99t6oAP2S_i2sZCgYMi9-tzWaOm5wBmnlno4g4sjaKApS_hv0do1sRF7JIFaYWb12QTvSmO57dN-5lmD1ilN3_F9TdJaci1fuOtcfkAw-J3BqK8qPSlc0-kff9G3bPgesp2EF4cw1nH7xMuSDWRAs9cuOp9rESg4_6V5zH7Pe8ZQ8FOh/s246/Capra%20-%201.jpg" style="color: #20124d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="205" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvEDa20SS99t6oAP2S_i2sZCgYMi9-tzWaOm5wBmnlno4g4sjaKApS_hv0do1sRF7JIFaYWb12QTvSmO57dN-5lmD1ilN3_F9TdJaci1fuOtcfkAw-J3BqK8qPSlc0-kff9G3bPgesp2EF4cw1nH7xMuSDWRAs9cuOp9rESg4_6V5zH7Pe8ZQ8FOh/w333-h400/Capra%20-%201.jpg" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;">Capra - the Director Extraordinaire</td></tr></tbody></table><br style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><b style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></b><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">As for the themes that were now emerging in his work, the film writer, Richard Griffith, describes it thus:</p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b>'A messianic innocent ... pits himself against the forces of entrenched greed. His inexperience defeats him strategically, but his gallant integrity in the face of temptation calls for the goodwill of the "little people", and through their combined protest, he triumphs'.</b></p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">That's a basic Capra theme and each movie has its own take on that theme. His films resonate with a message that human nature, deep down, is basically good. We need to believe in the value of unselfishness. Redemption for those who stray from the path of goodness is always possible. <b>You Can't Take It With You </b>is<b> </b>a frantic unbelievable frolic which is still able to bring to life and explore deep discords in the American way of life. The most successful and selfish banker in town, Anthony P. Kirby, played by Edward Arnold, is the epitome of the capitalist fat cat - yet he is a father too who has feelings of tenderness towards his son. Kirby, senior, is granted an epiphany moment by Capra and Riskin, the scriptwriter. He abandons his plans to buy up the block of houses in which Grandpa and family live. Kirby, junior, is able to marry the love of his life, Grandpa's grand-daughter - and everything ends happily with all the cast sitting around the family table, sharing a meal. A good, wholesome ending. </p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Yes, that's the Capra-corn - but what insights spill out on the way! The viewing public have their feel-good ending but they also have those minutes en route which confront them with the iniquities of unregulated capitalism, if they choose to listen. Riskin was a left-of-centre kind of guy; Capra, however, was a conservative Republican who was opposed to Roosevelt's New Deal, no government intervention for him - but that did not prevent him from giving a voice to those who could see something was rotten in the system. Yet Capra was convinced by the American myth - that good would always prevail; the corruption would be rooted out by the good guys and through them American individualism would triumph. </p><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1GAvmH5JBlWwucgVpbj1ac_whJm2vpGxCnV1PFj3xPYwo67We2zUDEseBCcy6_aWWu3dMaZYWibzvMCO1K0zFOeguIGqvs8sbMpXDk0tgj9YoZlTIw3uM3WZgF1xhPUSEYIgbeJCnPUa3ZzJhKyprBx3J9cClHKu5kBoXBXEW9CkMXm265v-GVC5/s960/Capra%20-7.webp" style="color: #20124d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1GAvmH5JBlWwucgVpbj1ac_whJm2vpGxCnV1PFj3xPYwo67We2zUDEseBCcy6_aWWu3dMaZYWibzvMCO1K0zFOeguIGqvs8sbMpXDk0tgj9YoZlTIw3uM3WZgF1xhPUSEYIgbeJCnPUa3ZzJhKyprBx3J9cClHKu5kBoXBXEW9CkMXm265v-GVC5/w400-h300/Capra%20-7.webp" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;">One of the final frames from <b>You Can't take It With You </b>- Grandpa is saying grace as the banking family and his own family of American individual eccentrics share that communal meal - Capra returned to the Catholic church in his later years after being what he called a 'Christmas Catholic' in his early adulthood.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b>A TASTE OF OUR CHRISTMAS VIEWING - AND I HAVEN'T BEGUN TO MENTION AT LEAST SIX OTHER MASTERPIECES, MAJOR AND MINOR! </b></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-84885783848317828452023-11-23T17:01:00.016+00:002023-11-23T17:07:53.344+00:00'SOCIAL MURDER' IS A TERM USED BY FRIEDRICH ENGELS IN THE NINETEETH CENTURY - READ ABOUT SOCIAL MURDER IN THE UK TODAY<p> I received this openDemocracy newsletter on Thursday 23 November, this week - and I felt it needed sharing. The more people who know, the better. Knowledge is power - and may lead to accountability.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGF5U8_zulu99S71eubaEDHloO7Iqc-1Z8kQrRRdRHuvh8zys7nLIHy_5g2-0Bc_OCvbqJVjO_O4PRa9gGK8o0j-q2n-TiD9WOBmy-l7oZDruHQuM3u8s0oz_GU3K1YYJch6CDb6mBuUDT-ipKmLupTRMM7TX879kaPe0cRJ5z96CRlJd3VuyOo6Vu7XQ/s330/Friedrich_Engels_portrait_(cropped).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGF5U8_zulu99S71eubaEDHloO7Iqc-1Z8kQrRRdRHuvh8zys7nLIHy_5g2-0Bc_OCvbqJVjO_O4PRa9gGK8o0j-q2n-TiD9WOBmy-l7oZDruHQuM3u8s0oz_GU3K1YYJch6CDb6mBuUDT-ipKmLupTRMM7TX879kaPe0cRJ5z96CRlJd3VuyOo6Vu7XQ/w266-h400/Friedrich_Engels_portrait_(cropped).jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) - Photograph by William Hall, 1879</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><div align="center">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJgyW3dbLQ10Qpp7obP7QZyuPhGYNglWUM5bP6zeIUxFj9jbYyE-2Be2RlH7HdZdR7Sc61ku5nWyA1KYn4KR9DHXj-2FWspNGKZOJE7spSLyMCPaJDG9sM-2BeIXEccG1kN-2BHxJ9RUc6mAvuBkHtxLsrVoaIS-2F-2BWsLsUvXGv92UFd0Z7gj-2BDJ-2BY4K1Zuyq9qrWDQQajXr0Cn4HblO75vE60y8J8uJ6BpTzT0soHGMQDaa89BLQwZzTddXVcZIQc8uWNaViBg6SxzNfFvmiiqqPeCrnr9xiawp7b7ov1tVAZbq-2BG9kc3ctqPNGVoVIBQzSBvIuamABxyC8W9TR7DTW34uaenGV55Scv9vBb6TGE9K1HMJxoA-3D-3DgrdC_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzKiyjazCXKkXYSmTNnCc1CdnhEisPLtSomHOqQotV9f1wOE-2BBI6aGnZl3Tx-2BHKVtQ89J8seYS0-2FF-2BexolQM8aBfZ8LC9GhOuJq7ch7HCXJMaHVBB5HYS56OukYGixFEu65jDzed72vN2G7BUn0NjjNOBVd7dc5825eKeNEAJiYoolRL2HQfrY-2BKTwXAq9Ez5OQ-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: 6.75pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6.75pt;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 21pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJgyW3dbLQ10Qpp7obP7QZyuPhGYNglWUM5bP6zeIUxFj9jbYyE-2Be2RlH7HdZdR7Sc61ku5nWyA1KYn4KR9DHXj-2FWspNGKZOJE7spSLyMCPaJDG9sM-2BeIXEccG1kN-2BHxJ9RUc6mAvuBkHtxLsrVoaIS-2F-2BWsLsUvXGv92UFd0Z7gj-2BDJ-2BY4K1Zuyq9qrWDQQajXr0Cn4HblO75vE60y8J8uJ6BpTzT0soHGMQDaa89BLQwZzTddXVcZIQc8uWNaViBg6SxzNfFvmiiqqPeCrnr9xiawp7b7ov1tVAZbq-2BG9kc3ctqPNGVoVIBQzSBvIuamABxyC8W9TR7DTW34uaenGV55Scv9vBb6TGE9K1HMJxoA-3D-3DgrdC_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzKiyjazCXKkXYSmTNnCc1CdnhEisPLtSomHOqQotV9f1wOE-2BBI6aGnZl3Tx-2BHKVtQ89J8seYS0-2FF-2BexolQM8aBfZ8LC9GhOuJq7ch7HCXJMaHVBB5HYS56OukYGixFEu65jDzed72vN2G7BUn0NjjNOBVd7dc5825eKeNEAJiYoolRL2HQfrY-2BKTwXAq9Ez5OQ-3D-3D"><span style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">How the DWP fought to withhold evidence its policies
kill disabled people</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></h4>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by <strong><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">China
Mills</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJgyW3dbLQ10Qpp7obP7QZyuPhGYNglWUM5bP6zeIUxFj9jbYyE-2Be2RlH7HdZdR7Sc61ku5nWyA1KYn4KR9DHXj-2FWspNGKZOJE7spSLyMCPaJDG9sM-2BeIXEccG1kN-2BHxJ9RUc6mAvuBkHtxLsrVoaIS-2F-2BWsLsUvXGv92UFd0Z7gj-2BDJ-2BY4K1Zuyq9qrWDQQajXr0Cn4HblO75vE60y8J8uJ6BpTzT0soHGMQDaa89BLQwZzTddXVcZIQc8uWNaViBg6SxzNfFvmiiqqPeCrnr9xiawp7b7ov1tVAZbq-2BG9kc3ctqPNGVoVIBQzSBvIuamABxyC8W9TR7DTW34uaenGV55Scv9vBb6TGE9K1HMJxoA-3D-3D8LpU_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzET4csg76eHeaCjsFsWrym-2FdcnZedFtnX88QndDH0GIPclKJXf9DM5O7AHHQeki3x3-2FbN4mu36ccYfa5WUvafdp0IRR6JYxtnFiLexgkKI7fJziyJkKxPceQxKN1SQc0Oo-2FQz5Vbw3Q69lGxcI8cct4c2I8Jm61w6NKVAPd9cMjF88BuKizT7BGxJEdgjcFJcA-3D-3D"><img alt="The Deaths by Welfare project charts the long battle for reports that link DWP disability benefit policies to claimants' deaths | Gail Orenstein/NurPhoto via Getty Images" border="0" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://cdn2.opendemocracy.net/media/images/GettyImages-599548580.max-760x504.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-radius: 30px; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p data-block-key="byqcx" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The welfare system has taken another hit today
via a ‘<a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eI8i2dxLBqAh3awXOrlD8OVUFvnHtBHWw4XHOAC8tx1IONeP4NmG3-2FxiIa5PAiV-2BFzpX-2BIRZy6gnqR97Yn96rGUeJySvV6dFalujN5iRef9id1eCN1UG-2BRoUnYRSFVi6Y2dLSrW7DKrLxocQJJlq2pF4MP7EcFRgkqwPemiubEYj7Q1cc23t-2Fwkwh8KMRT4kLVDL-2FgeL4NYflCNMSC-2BbnBqeORpIaF-2BhzJ180KoqG-2FKHf5QNPBI4djgjr35O5h7Yg-2BIidoJZ7-2F823ciY6BCv0iq49QbCakLp3m0uBmH6d3oMz4jxMbunsmc9pvHB1RlPA4WVz91kSGPQLjbNS0Dl5TtEtDyrFVoj-2FlupabKg1HxBJC76Di1pRemcP3VyTPJpaLM5JHz4rMYkAMCMfz2E7FVAnKnxVrY7PSnU2O9QZ8JMw-3D-3DRdrg_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzI4bQ1Q-2BpTd7KYWxlIE2OyaRAPJPzpEKneaTGmgvp6IXD-2BoT06dl-2B1LwzwglyGN-2Fxbzu45d3advfJg-2Fh-2FYTTa5kN9QEFuK5k8sAC7wAoDKvziaYIYc5dqjXh-2BV0OkvgxtX9cD2iorIxxQfFoPIorVcL0FkCXYoTUQlkd9qrrGSvyzbqsYuKC7JDl584tqv5zwg-3D-3D"><span style="mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">benefits
crackdown</span></a>’ in Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement.
Since the ‘welfare reform’ of 2007, disabled people have been
on the receiving end of these dehumanising and punishing
policies that make people out as ‘undeserving’, prioritise
work over people, and make life unlivable.</span></b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p data-block-key="almp1" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><ul><li><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">But we now have evidence the Department for
Work and Pensions (DPW) knows its policies kill people. It
has been repeatedly warned of this fact and has even
confirmed it in its own research.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">It took years of campaigning by disabled
people to uncover this evidence, which largely comes in the
form of DWP reviews into deaths of claimants. </span>Now it has been brought together as part of
the <a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO87PZDe9F2FSgshT4F1kHQHTx8cLqSoTtKtzsceySfIG3OgLatcH50PQLijhxUqE-2BwSiPvdah-2BHTw00o06Zi0d0Fa-2F06B0vnXl1L3p4cnmpLlsTS98Gl8-2FM1SrqK0T2VPJQ5U-2B5HwFM7iJyU2b4bi-2BLMZyzJb5FpG69RN86Jen1df-2Ffh2Eibu7s4BHMIAySbJc0XuKgUIibam3Rl8FSFrwrKKMRauW37IZSBZbsENOxnA2di4t1j2aosxV1ASJeISa7lKztd-2BPrJyjTscocSDdicVYwBfd1VCwP8W54sLSnZZY8RqnUpkTzhwRTVwYi5IKSnKFv5G7RCzzFZqA-2FsMJk-3D52-V_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzJ6kyv-2Bst6vUzIUFdPOLH7J5kb95U4ElRwyyzGQRe2djX8-2FRPOHFOtM5sNbuz9nrdslIKUUq7LC-2FXmd-2BMYBkciZLGignyR2AtXud-2FpX2ctoULqUXs6jUR1Wmze5Nwi6nUoFNolwuelCrYiPYET5-2FSNTJozFd3OqGubQ6mfYW0XsH0FvkDIs6-2FGAUWWKnI5LQfQ-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">Deaths
by Welfare project</a> <span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">at Healing Justice London. Since 2021,
journalist John Pring and I have been creating a </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO-2BXamPsCqfW2EHGmoPQLx-2B39Uio8WgelskMZYoV8KCfNBSEhf5hgneRicGzte7z9gRRgdS1ae0Ggd4v8BGDzw9n6eLWNRxwp9jbnjZ0UXlwxtEbuoQ8DEafHV-2F8lUv-2FAND40HndM4OzSUGQViEBO-2BjSodyv-2Fwp-2F07QKnFz4W5suWFXRk7Y9P9mkBF-2FLiJlclhQ9x7PuaqeFQl5xGWJulKBY-2B-2FHOcwgA-2FWA23kO6Ti-2FUUttmNQSX2m9fTYS0zzNwWnu4g3OFX423AQ5idtoucoQIFci3ZZ40EGmSAXae5mVTKO5YM_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzKmsDE6y32ymSNTqzP1hX1sYPvzNeEP44Yv3espnK-2FCohX8QnFcunzOVdGVQYyGDa2Vw5UYV91x07eZEaelaCxeHIZG2wt8yYl4PZcuDT7GTi3Zq5wp25nQMSPVtTvWqxOmmTrSr-2FH2naeT2yaftHwGE0CSoWM-2Bke8SaxpDdBita9OLdGvSqYAA2y0En1aWHDg-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">timeline</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">
– co-produced with disabled people – showing the links
between welfare policy and disabled people’s deaths.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">It also shows that not only is there often a delay between the introduction of a policy and the brutal impact it has on people's lives, but that delay tactics are central to DWP's weaponization of time as a strategy to avoid accountability.</span></li></ul><br /><br /><br /><br />Back to me here - as I reread what I have now read several times and create this post, I can scarcely believe this report. Do you have a similar problem? How extraordinary <span><a name='more'></a></span>and insidious is our national decline.<br /><br /><br /><p></p>
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<p data-block-key="a37l8" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><ul><li><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">To make matters worse, most families of those
who have died do not even know if a review has been carried
out into their loved one’s death because the DWP has always
argued this is private information – an argument found by an
Information Rights Tribunal to be an error in law – and can’t
be shared, not even with families.</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p data-block-key="2261t" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUg5gr3GQte-L6a92NS_VLYfBXxBXDGJp-DnmZINILO_60GQy1kmMK9gtPZJUUMaAL8VpIkzY8I7DUIn98BYYDSSbXtRYtM3FHp8XwESBt8XSJtBPVg_5OSFrcSPjWyJMNg76nyF2Zw_G1oW9IZ6F2SAQEcdNqnQqNN2bDYuuN-Gd7cGiSrP0ih3Lzs0/s466/Age-of-Austerity-cartoon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="466" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUg5gr3GQte-L6a92NS_VLYfBXxBXDGJp-DnmZINILO_60GQy1kmMK9gtPZJUUMaAL8VpIkzY8I7DUIn98BYYDSSbXtRYtM3FHp8XwESBt8XSJtBPVg_5OSFrcSPjWyJMNg76nyF2Zw_G1oW9IZ6F2SAQEcdNqnQqNN2bDYuuN-Gd7cGiSrP0ih3Lzs0/w400-h311/Age-of-Austerity-cartoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neoliberalism - a wretched and mistaken economics that believes in reducing public expenditure and freeing market forces so that wealth can trickle down to the masses - led to the Age of Austerity - 2010-2023, and still the forecast for the future. Unless.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p data-block-key="2261t" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><ul><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The first family to see an IPR (Internal Process Review) was Philippa
Day’s. Philippa, known as Pip, took her own life in 2019
after her disability benefits were stopped. </span>Before she died, she told her sister that she
knew the assessment system was going to kill her:<a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO1I9q5-2FexMLXsrGVTS6VsJnmJBegO8qWFqOWp5H5vhXHP8-2BBI-2B3U-2B2c47ynmv5C0XrNK4buoy9Y-2FI9hhcbKuthndEkNUE7uhBpGF-2Fe1WPuNUp-2FtfQY3hS6HmVMTU9pNgSR3n4JFyupotsJf1sD-2FzfeMbI4ajegaduFYLXhoPe5xGnKoPcp0cfb7IkVrGSELCrQfCY-2FQZqbAKlJSsdDQ50bvHcdm7niVxbAMdDlmKDEPo2e4Ay86ynB7OzybF14GL7qMHRVzmd0fB1JUL5tj-2BWptlEsrl4dIM43N0MC0zbXrT-2BUkx2cMaRdvQbo2K1Xt18mozs-2Fy6FzcAayiy2-2F8ZK8-2F5ZQ6NuQ2-2F81v9Z4-2Fykp7rxpxvocUpIrW87WOqrVwfhMHx2LTxOWl3Vb6Bonz-2FkbXQ3JYyw8x1M3OIY4iq0SkGuSik_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzMkrziEWw9PDJwheSMIkSfh8AGB0k8AiD8lfg3E4rUPtr7gWKFZj0x8GL3G9627ZJCHYIpLZWDhzhjExoCukQGQK-2BJNBfanFD2Vf-2BKuBxqDHy6OB-2BPkIrw1WfNWbIMArIizkdRjgbWIlO72JGVL3osnEoE4EpfH71NcRvHP2Xh-2FsBhXerim1D4qwW4Ki0b6fdw-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">
“She felt that they were pressuring her to kill herself, she
felt that she didn’t matter because she was disabled”</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">In January 2021, the</span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO-2B9HuAPWx13HMqsyJpAC6uh-2BAMc3jkhehfTut-2B13d-2FPFV1bs9ESHH6mldR4ZNzFjoCF-2FXhG5MYcW2BTNVX8tpDbZc0LmgSob8dARiY1poQ9bsl70xSD7cid-2BSeb4eCf7iv6C95xWVpWFxpC6BDcULjnvLg7BjrP-2FbIQQj-2BScYjHSjClzdviQ8higclkfZaFsOS-2FSjbyNR-2FJyoqBZV1EEdagoarZhlI2wEjgHRD96fhguEJbXKfFd3EWQT94TTjaGIklKkiCMje6Cxl-2BM4TpIS88nd2HVQp4QWpMVPPrLZHqxB5vGFz0qgCrR2lNAzOWJZvlOb5mlamf9AIfY59U0fKQE5M0JPUBpsebEpuwIwPCONGoM_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzPsToASss4Yt4ZgOFVV-2BevLHUghpoxCezSkZSp6j6G1rBGfBH7efGNbFIl814FzbuMVq3D9IrHHMgQDqgKOrJGQzSe2rvPSs1sHWEPaWBzk6S-2FRnU3G5ai-2BlnVBmAte5bc8ioB7rqUaEjg1yNuQesngIoF9SEFdW5vW1Vm5sFyPDX48mGen93mY8fHxdg17sMQ-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">
coroner</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> at the inquest into Philippa’s death found 28
separate “problems” with the administration of the Personal
Independent Payment (PIP) system contributed to her death –
concluding these were not individual errors by DWP and its
private sector contractor Capita but </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO1I9q5-2FexMLXsrGVTS6VsJlBU7NMrv-2FEJuiy-2BkOJhTEaoKxBFC-2FRll6DZmGSHXRzEE3aMT3AMC8qENxSfuke3WbFE-2F86uFPGxp5XawlTxo7wUpcCdnAd94JQVXfurXCt4HmP3GOkfYEwzEesWSrr-2BoZluabOr1C8GdNupYuwFA-2Bk5WT-2BpE9pOqxkY-2BOYR2f3VepSeHdPz-2BCzhk2LN98tbFoVAGt1HPgTl-2B3J8hrTzor8krYlrrq8sEMebydO72r0qCXp-2Be8ie2E1byv5hx0rD5k7etL6zgtoDvxymIsg0kcCvkrPiPQbOS8W-2F2ZmeijE0Z4KhD7BQqYVRhEYW7YVD9UyL1fay0l1nfxKKDRuG8ccZxx9nSGoYVRmbat2rfk4Gxyx-2BJfzM3-2FpAI-2FKEwg4IlYkWnYGTqbyvt3B7aIWjwZXL4f68xqGdr5sTTG-2F2-2BMo98KxuXFq7seUVJs0M6B24CY-3DnT2H_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzCsSk1zqm2VvuVqbmxd9nhezfuApjZ5UZHO-2B6TXAZGT-2FNwgVuSkVu-2FHTaIRU607g5M-2BDRfCHgb-2ByeNE1PH8JKqT-2FWBI6LdhpaTYjgZF6dLe44SLFf9keHZhGxXyMM1pMJamWMX0nwFQrU-2BP7oStkYozlebMCyAV5ZTPA-2BwFiPq7MzuZMBCJpcU81HI2F2SNWnw-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">systemic
flaws</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Pip’s sister Imogen told us, in an interview
for the </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO87PZDe9F2FSgshT4F1kHQE-2FWUClprxHoEbFJ4M3E46EGPqeFhR8O7-2F4K-2BWbuTadwcWSeq-2FlYHKzJ1zXrmo06UXWqPlIr-2F0M4B90E-2B9vWNUGa8Tcn-2B5bDGaLXlSnsyJn4KeZXDITUsSw0U7rq4knt5z-2Ftafnz2GXaWRLlN6CCU7wnxkpdMe9-2Fyuxn-2FoPtoCUGY-2FmVVWJc1nOWqsc5-2FxT-2FhMrQh1P1GqNlpH3Tefqho4lshR9cexXzGy-2B9xS2HG9fdCSBsNq-2B8ZIHRn3A5nreo3Suon68zFk4fxTLPIzmZlpFNWjrYXZpOPUCv68Gf6uy0xQm4MRVzC4wc5eHQanSe4coa4PL7FmYM6Sb2oIh4AE-2FzRSY_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzG6H2vhKZsveI28BHlZGJeCYKPgiTH1MICyCnqyZtbm5IUfEqZziAc4oe2krh3jSmPSMjI4wqUIYC5XtATaIeEtWYhPLd5oFUTWqLg6bmP4WZRzGbJ1XXoWtGaLzv4rqm2t7j1LmWeFenNbSsXdqLu1VyH0FYi0ukoa5GfRZahdHaxQTT-2FVen5IMW2F6kiYNrg-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">Deaths
by Welfare podcast</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">, that seeing the IPR “silenced my
night-time questions, right before I was going to sleep… It
made it incredibly clear that we as a family had done
everything that we could have done, and that it was a
governmental system that had let her down”. </span>“I really feel for families that still don't
have answers,” she said.</li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">And Pip is not alone. It would later come to
light, after a sustained (and continuing) Freedom of
Information battle, that between 2014 and 2022, the DWP
carried out approximately 220 of these reviews – formerly
called peer reviews, now internal process reviews (IPRs). </span>After finally obtaining redacted versions of
some of these, we found evidence of persistent and systemic
issues across welfare policy, and evidence that welfare
policy is life-threatening. The reviews also contained
hundreds of recommendations, which the DWP has admitted
having no system for tracking.</li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">What makes DWP reviews into what it calls the
‘death of a customer’ important is that they are (supposedly)
tools through which the DWP investigates the harms of its own
policies. And yet, they are designed and carried out in a way
that systemically hides any state accountability. And delays
in releasing the reviews is another way the department can
avoid being held accountable.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">What we have discovered has been learnt
slowly, largely through a mixture of FOIs, parliamentary
questions, queries to the DWP press office and documents
released through court cases or inquests. Many of the FOIs
have been submitted by </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO1I9q5-2FexMLXsrGVTS6VsJnyMwEwd0TAAIKp7yvkK42gVRy-2FiTa77acVPhKncyQ6FHzIOCKj421a9C2wNmLtKekkQ8vWyo7wd0-2BNPB7-2BC3uJ0DEVQ2PojCkL060jSyIJmwflPe8eea4D5YuG-2B-2FTyo2ggLzE3qr7s-2B6FmVjzEAHl4xXtyp4HtZ5SnOmSpDyVzBI-2Bpw6Vw8qRYSSgjSWp6-2FBmjWiz9TggBJZDopr0p0njzIsepiknd-2B7Cm2pVEWWK2dLo1hY5YPufF9YdjRKd29C33t8uen-2FdI4F7Q-2FKLpkp6f1B-2Fs88U983KCJK-2B4sxt2-2Fw-3D-3D1n3U_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzAa8WbqwoUqFH48ZVkm-2BEaWD2NdXIbFqgApv-2FupOCIlu5tg-2FtUZ6P2mkbWyS5erd1Dxo30KBPIcyvcijr-2BIRgzQR9SPGwUJnnuZG7K8Gma-2Bz7eL-2FvQ8qQYMq-2Bzd3antUHDXzDmmQKZxXETcBLSzDuXknjjzjQqPvjJo8RGhjYPw-2BNN-2BvYn1SIKpzTbsXM2jpag-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">Disability
News Service</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> over the last nine years. </span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">This battle has revealed that policy is seen
to be outside the scope of such reviews and that findings are
</span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO0Wl9BGWd5pmWQIdHBT4YxkRg85ilW0k93k9gdE46S3U10-2F-2FN7HZ4wffJq8C1K0Z71fJjs75TgFufoQF9cP0ZsohNRQoCOynlxFfq5j6gFyGW1Y4L-2FWwlOLJ303MkO-2BYEygLY-2Ff0Vfx-2FK9CSLRvlx9Gr-2FVnPdkZUMak9CC4SWcPt0a5JeYjR7wqCa5Oj6Umx916wVq9bgF7O2VhWsTaFQZLrZVTb89DRrvbAziuR4B-2BdrY84O5bFB87tLAe-2FlK-2Bef-2BMmv1fXBBiEnJdrwaaxq4kytGONcBr7nH0blRGremNt9Ubr2qH11dfktbmHNoOPBxwYGl435hwUKivQAT-2By7WM-3DnmQs_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzKsEfLJFPj-2FoVZhymJe-2Bi8eIiIURKn013oVYKUTi5P6rPmAjO4GVdvzR-2FcDt1xmr3L-2F-2BkOv-2FJ060nT92ygk9ZEbWiShwsGsa1RFkrDHaxtKycsJFwtWC0w8WBE-2FMKUiC1s1TS-2FZHYux2SvC3KY1-2FS4xE4Qn98bB-2Fv0R-2FZCj9nZRsUk21OrjAmrICRH0UjV-2FIzQ-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">‘not
be shared outside of the department’</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">An </span><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO-2FICtxUX85MLx9b9hJFAUFGBw7L50IQpDnrF9vTiFz1uAL3vyFx8Bn7kImo3kwOAdOgxbxhhlbqKTQ-2FFj-2Fp2wjhA8X6PVWjsyMMq6Q00GfSG9BatwbFlfx2o2aCbVqG-2BthV28AkdN1mZbhCqLwyFpc2-2BkEogsiyiz-2F-2Brw0CMkdR0iWlBC15jjDcSTiGmboIa2cucYbvQEHyDtXwqFahxKo5qAUGGEtsCzm9-2BI36kHP4wpswkkM3OdzsYJuhb6HPnManKvVLoW20ivKfODi7O8Wd-2BTOIGvTO2a7Gb3XaV9e4Qy3Qa-2BSI3YNryYsvR4HGWFlz94oZ42F0Gx4vD6DIm-2Fc4U3ZHCWzhDmsdBPZ5YVZoLo90jj1p2BYGb-2Byby1DYaj9GZJzq50orNTH18zdY2GRMoA9w2fq-2B1mjtlXMtTHIImY2o2_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzKRBwgCCr-2By2Vz03qHXmspRUo-2Fxx9ehvCy12aymSGU6F-2BTQlVwd7DNxbu79WfV94WG9ajL99hssuJKRrkvQCFDl0GRl9hC18LvRxLKyhcBeAnXlzymLIdWnKf7TJNkXV66salFQr8CdbfCvLrW06k9krAvSt0sXY4IYKkdQ9lvsvcq-2Bl2Ys9eBzhNM9R67zpww-3D-3D" style="font-size: 12pt;">investigation</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">
by the National Audit Office (NAO) on the information the DWP
holds on benefit claimants who ended their lives by suicide,
found the DWP does not identify patterns between people’s
deaths, meaning that “systemic issues which might be brought
to light through these reviews could be missed”. </span>The NAO also found access to the reports is
restricted to the team handling them and the recommendations
are not tracked or monitored, meaning the DWP “does not know
whether the suggested improvements are implemented”.</li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">These recommendations include repeated
warnings that policies to assess people for out-of-work
disability benefits were putting the lives of “vulnerable”
claimants (likely to be mostly people with mental health
conditions or learning difficulties) at risk.</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Yes, the DWP’s own investigations were
identifying policies as potentially life-threatening. The
IPRs also showed a recurring pattern of staff failure to
follow DWP’s suicide guidance, which was introduced in 2009. </span>Tactics used to delay the release of
information include claims by the DWP that the time required
to collect data, due to lack of centralised record-keeping,
was too costly and not in the public interest. This was used under Thérèse Coffey to block
requests about how many inquests relating to benefits
claimants who died by suicide her department had submitted
evidence to, as well as requests to find out how many
inquests had ruled DWP policies were partly responsible for
the deceased person’s state of mind. In both of these cases,
the information wasn’t shared due to “disproportionate cost”.</li><li><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">These reviews should be publicly available by
default, and the DWP should be held publicly accountable to
making the changes required. </span>Yet it may be that the IPR process is by
design unable to apprehend government accountability in
people’s deaths. IPR findings and recommendations come from
within the system that kills people, and therefore may never
be enough for full accountability or justice. While some
ascribe people’s deaths to flaws in a system that needs
reform, others see them as endemic to a system that needs
dismantling and creating anew, with disabled people, and the
analysis developed through lived experience, at the core.</li></ul><p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 6.75pt 13.5pt; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;"><tbody>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); text-align: center;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyumqCzZDKacPW6UuWlsDA-2FcZnNmMTXnkCLajhBrhDXPMkS2nys2a82vd2mWvsDk0csL-2F0f097chXKGT6rcqjZ8h8WmyqnE-2FGa94pE9LS2bK6mSCAQZpdVMEzBXLCFhTU6yqIe7HWWKDbVlrf1Ht-2B8o7Cf2T4-2Bb7SR4oqKd-2FgZK7vOEoHo1CA-2F9pzq3ycMFlJf-2FeXgY6sDN0nV3b626hH3OiCjar8DiCM2aL6PmMvY31fFu9YJ-2BXGY32Fsx4WBkbs5hvGquud3FoFsrxCxPMxLefZlEzmrf-2F-2FOZUZsm3QprrKTtgysPHaXmJ-2FBYyr2UYD2w5PJUAZ4xsW1DB6ndoKWo7nw-3D-3DcipG_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzEUsQqxJp2bRokdLPHmhGnxobLNsDBUd0H6fmXG8Oq-2BdD5FYUjVtBxKL-2BzoRatSZkEk91scZkA5H3xKRtDR-2B3MfjNd8CRJYbF-2FaPXLiAuVmnFXuqp2RE0pb-2FjvigBwyjk9jf2kbM879NmJkrBgI2dz8wDDhlVrGu9pVtZIXAje1vRu6v40ilSoBrARaZd9W7Mg-3D-3D"><span style="color: white; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Weekly Newsletter</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></b></p>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); text-align: center;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eIh2ghVwPDsbVerKY1gY11PlE3LSmnDcBONqsYQLlSbO8-2Bl8JKQSt7mSTxsuEKFJP7gNrJDicDGmYaUhxa4e3SmcT-2BMDwjPso7hZsn-2F0tcD-2Fli1KUI21eSkJPDto6emO7bLKl8Nk1uMkwpC3VPPRaDqBRBiiyZNAewfdfs9cDU-2FxnxoojG88TYn-2B1RGvMI-2FEQVVv7odpJsGWMnG65NcqfagJf2wH-2BHhNlGcRg9JX2EGtx-2F1Y-2FU8xpVqYS-2BmdBUDq6dzMBa4vN8y6av-2FoucXwHGJysIIqk5-2F4nT2WQHPC6NhGgVhkFOR8B7fM-2FkU7wrehxE-3DYvQ3_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzH24AVJd605CnwnIh7jDyDNwTkJQk3Io6HgazqUPpEAsGG9EtiMac207f8ghaYXXAA-2B18QGFoZFcKHgddKpo9AufS1fIL7xWvmHTq7fMLWoOFXeHZoRwT8HD9JkSWqD4XLfzuvf-2Bri3yL9-2FzKaFB0N-2B-2F8gfi2sr2K0F8LDt99je5HoQtBL9Oc9pUNN9-2BYL8TkA-3D-3D"><span style="color: white; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">oDR Weekly</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></b></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;" vertical-align="top">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyum0ejzp7cDchtxYD44CyAGUb909gEAHqHBZvWN5E4lE1krD1Rk0ljJy-2F4NgOi-2BglfJpaOI4i4ulK0zY-2BbLkvBVR-2BkYWk9r2AO5RhvCFC2wZRJZpFWDPPT2Dy6a9jhdKo2qpnX-2Fde7yvTGqZkUM72RaOiE2MeALuiCEyjxgx8EWcEu4Jyrjw32nwf8Nttpb-2Fwi9p9pTk-2BlXIPTFnJrg4KwqDdqj5b4V0JKETXfwos-2Fk6n4d7NPhs-2FB7RaWNrOTArYALS5c8q-2BLrU0MMqikI6XqKHclflmEkvU-2Fo4TX4rvIdH-2BY0q2-2BusjU3vnHKSC0jwioU7hCUvmjv661sar4Aoldsl8d6KuxVwUpAzBKXzl9IguE-3Db-hk_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzH05LcstcxZ4Brb0YaJnA7xhwxrYtRSiGBLJjK9OkjL6XXphhEjAzpbVqjKofaWChSrd5JA2YB4xalw-2FgV7ITKxLT8CMBn6FO-2B8vqsVZ8C-2BwLKny-2BNDRZJf6ojfJFIqBxlLm2CaPUf56ThVAZFJgr8ZiRkyZXaERNruV992nC7s8efGW69R1exuGZsHYEBlYPQ-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); text-align: center;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyum0ejzp7cDchtxYD44CyAGUb909gEAHqHBZvWN5E4lE1krD1Rk0ljJy-2F4NgOi-2BglfJpaOI4i4ulK0zY-2BbLkvBVR-2BkYWk9r2AO5RhvCFC2wZRJZpFWDPPT2Dy6a9jhdKo2qpnX-2Fde7yvTGqZkUM72RaOiE2MeALuiCEyjxgx8EWcEu4Jyrjw32nwf8Nttpb-2Fwi9p9pTk-2BlXIPTFnJrg4KwqDdqj5b4V0JKETXfwos-2Fk6n4d7NPhs-2FB7RaWNrOTArYALS5c8q-2BLrU0MMqikI6XqKHclflmEkvU-2Fo4TX4rvIdH-2BY0q2-2BusjU3vnHKSC0jwioU7hCUvmjv661sar4Aoldsl8d6KuxVwUpAzBKXzl9IguE-3Db-hk_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzH05LcstcxZ4Brb0YaJnA7xhwxrYtRSiGBLJjK9OkjL6XXphhEjAzpbVqjKofaWChSrd5JA2YB4xalw-2FgV7ITKxLT8CMBn6FO-2B8vqsVZ8C-2BwLKny-2BNDRZJf6ojfJFIqBxlLm2CaPUf56ThVAZFJgr8ZiRkyZXaERNruV992nC7s8efGW69R1exuGZsHYEBlYPQ-3D-3D"><span style="color: white; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Beyond Trafficking and
Slavery</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyumvGWAlEtXbDjwd0sH7-2B4i-2FNiCx-2BNYex6efgzzM3wFt5K2vPUQX3GbGIa-2FSSfa8kTNnpE2-2BIrJwAh1C7-2F5tVRVXiRgpI89aifpSBs-2Bvz4igYJHWJYEB6AsTViuRmmIXGo8onzUa69c2vWNWssJbQDdOSMnnya7w1Yet-2Bvk7ymr6oI9j9YTCuJs-2BI3lUVpAjyg8Ptv0haYkGdDbOf1NfAGCVgm9J-2FkBPXEb74EAqSy3RDPPnsYHywh3vyNNn3F7PNmufjUqeIntcqKpK7qbl2k5XCAThIDl4ieUEVhVGrHsTMOscd8jVKURRwOpI8QbHdU-2F_hFX_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzGRvx-2BXl7cMmgdVZHJ2lAWj9hrsDJd5uLmDqTxVVFUWcsqCEbu-2BvHqCyE1sc8jWLdn757-2BGB9vokGLWvPtwlh3X8xJ4CsAiup2xkUvj-2BI3PRnuDkevMTUrk9NycPNgDWLtjpBNZ-2BbEhJM6QwvDrTTn4tqUhq7HWyTcinlKq-2FxxSGiYkW-2F2m6CApeWRBGr-2F6U0A-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;" vertical-align="top">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyumK9oRumxdY16aXK9jq5UAqbA1xRBFQe9CeCzWDI5Af5htRZBYIFJ0sBW3pUlnAj13t0nW0n1fseEroeWdiSXeRP8e358Wv-2F6lDjlGOLR6G8T6m0nTTFJ-2FgjmJn4o-2FJ1-2Fw58fXEnUChnx-2BaDJfSelcmy7bFv7dtzucwacwRsaE7cYXlxZcznQitWBnJn4boQr7CumcwIoNa-2Fgxhi86jK-2BdH-2BoDqZBBKugdJVcjuX2qtf2iGCcrY4altICkeRdQGsm3OKc9exfuXwjVQ76-2F0FHSy0jQ-2BmTuJ3-2FeX00GcbtIfVnb1uCkFJcOYMMmUjKkY97iWSNnrUkzJYXcz8P-2FfwP7aA-3D-3DC3XK_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzLB-2B-2BtEFlPZFgx8orNhU46iRHDmT0D7JICj6p38JNUnXAaBR8QpeumyqNcTWb8VP5fGGOehB5w0rSCoVzhNcmZHVJDwv2k5CxKa8CLHWp-2FrXzFv9BbDknzZZ3sJrL0-2BAkHSxHkw7E7v1meTZl-2Fi-2Bnm07PIEQlmTAHbbeRsrUnqrnu-2Fi1cJb2PKelmaohWBWIUg-3D-3D"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(1, 98, 183); text-align: center;"><b><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eKMg-2F4GgFoTlvaJOddmxyumK9oRumxdY16aXK9jq5UAqbA1xRBFQe9CeCzWDI5Af5htRZBYIFJ0sBW3pUlnAj13t0nW0n1fseEroeWdiSXeRP8e358Wv-2F6lDjlGOLR6G8T6m0nTTFJ-2FgjmJn4o-2FJ1-2Fw58fXEnUChnx-2BaDJfSelcmy7bFv7dtzucwacwRsaE7cYXlxZcznQitWBnJn4boQr7CumcwIoNa-2Fgxhi86jK-2BdH-2BoDqZBBKugdJVcjuX2qtf2iGCcrY4altICkeRdQGsm3OKc9exfuXwjVQ76-2F0FHSy0jQ-2BmTuJ3-2FeX00GcbtIfVnb1uCkFJcOYMMmUjKkY97iWSNnrUkzJYXcz8P-2FfwP7aA-3D-3DC3XK_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzLB-2B-2BtEFlPZFgx8orNhU46iRHDmT0D7JICj6p38JNUnXAaBR8QpeumyqNcTWb8VP5fGGOehB5w0rSCoVzhNcmZHVJDwv2k5CxKa8CLHWp-2FrXzFv9BbDknzZZ3sJrL0-2BAkHSxHkw7E7v1meTZl-2Fi-2Bnm07PIEQlmTAHbbeRsrUnqrnu-2Fi1cJb2PKelmaohWBWIUg-3D-3D"><span style="color: white; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Health Unspun</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.5pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
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<div align="center">
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<td style="padding: 0cm; width: 450pt;" valign="top" width="600">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/company/YjCYwm/images/1a5ad93e-9240-48a8-89c1-ad55c1b7deed.jpeg" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; display: block; font-size: 13px; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" width="600" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">
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<h4 style="margin-bottom: 6.75pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6.75pt;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy almost any book in the world</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt;">openDemocracy
has teamed up with online retailer <a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHOwl7EaFVKUBjgg9SfKkvZIMd54CPwmG5FFG8-2BWRtlN6WinAt2tPn62K-2FiQWPj1umjbQIuwKOMCoI7BQosaZ4KXLlrzI0WEdGUAN-2Fj4ETSCUp4JuF0yTTUxvtMzcQCP07rOY1jV5yncpto5crmQORkFZ6CSTHshi7EWGs8XVewsDkB2ELXrGQopPWELDS0WD4pgIjTKw3cX9aoztXakwPlNdg-2F9mASNoHTJFO0yRJzudHU06jqD45XTm6vSNH5OJT5fWmkU5FIp7u5agvLNkoW4VCSOC2MrmkJZdGGCzm-2BwwGFYhtCK7qX5Hp7aQCYa2JWQ-3D-3DpAAm_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzN6rek6xr0krMejFDpBegr1jz1ktlznbU4bCjItzttVF0dXnkSBG-2B01tqfgJ-2FN7zGHSl-2FQs6k7EI-2FdIJwzK3RbEkVb0gUvioDJX9IHOgVawIFvxAAIbJp1USVxFkYnkzWeZO8K72NlZ7jSinZ1637atZPBy3w-2FRWvTBOTH3sK1ZNNHIJ8NseurnbYpO1E-2B0prQ-3D-3D"><span style="color: white;">bookshop.org</span></a> to give our
supporters access to hundreds of thousands of titles,
including free downloads that we've published ourselves.</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> When
you shop through our bookshop you:</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support independent bookshops, not
huge chain stores.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support the work of openDemocracy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support the authors.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<td style="background: white; border-radius: 5px; padding: 11.25pt;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO7SXc2ZmzTnBI8nAdQDF0eJ-2BYcyJcWIfkLxp52Vw6WVV2MA6BsloT4-2Frl-2B0aQDIjb5igHBGkojD4nYh82Ij4rkYCbctzSNl7Szw8KmRsBzWak-2FoTa1r2VosGDbkoe-2FbopwUBmRBywoLiF69CIlNnEgx4UuQZ0J-2BVoxXWAUqLujmpRk-2F7Cp3G5WkeF0FApp1GYeFlFkXE-2F7rg04QnIJTzmw6WileUxYrVF-2BQM6SlydJMVwnKjEDHa7K482LVuUhdhk7-2BM6T1BmBY5Jx5u17xgfmfqDpBovmKgA82l1zh9H-2Bi2bknNVmchQDTHzlIvHu8Rog-3D-3DqdoC_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzKly0EDIWhlaqncCFP-2BgNmRYCHUSD0qsRa48AMoCaRa8mRcr-2BNDv6YRAIyE0h-2BSJjya6Jjc-2FyAqYTkr18cgu2vGZa5qnvJQrMQ2QNo35jtoM72bxm-2FKzq5VEbRexSM4t9e-2FTs1xfgHZVq0nT9DXnJxQzxKPy2Ml6dXWW-2BcijT82lIWOONUjySRHb8L2xq6SluQ-3D-3D" style="border-radius: 5px;" target="_blank"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #283f72; font-size: 12pt;">Find books now </span></b></a></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="display: none; font-size: 1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: rgb(40, 63, 114); padding: 6.75pt;" valign="top">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO34dGG2F56iInoevP1cwQMJobwv6AZkMqo4xvpL4LAg25nevd-2BjGQ2YumIBLgZOW8ZQEQZRTEy0uSu-2FDDOZF6ruRXD2EAm84ucLIBTUP9dFLmi-2BjUJH661MtwbkTD-2F1RN1wA4ZVaBpnE2hqxEHDkUJklGy-2BzH9DPZqEtwdqSJz97mwShEDWMR8ab1U0oepEv7ymudOgAm4O8L1AWxXbodnL6Y1VoxkIT9HlT-2FSTwt4bYRJeLUGwwMwNRiD0UuHIBtqTzRjHzIiHy7V2ZIXq70XxusFf4DxOAOoy3LxQnQQ5p2pUPKD19ZgwZoJcmYHr92A-3D-3DYdpN_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzAYQgAeUSlyBjPwUufOolBJVN8HARFthGq1nOqi5h45Vp8qJDPzisnc59w0pGBLTygABDEReZ4oiA5XK-2FKCYRNOHx79Rf0bAIIvhFKynWlANrrwX5GWUJ-2BxHwAgWqQW-2Fot56vxiFHvPBVoEGFe4b7WsLOp1ODrGyYEbI69hQhxD5uVtNRVWV6OTj0un6oHKk3Q-3D-3D" target="_blank"><img alt="Button Text" border="0" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/assets/email/buttons/subtleinverse/facebook_96.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 32px;" width="32" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm 7.5pt 0cm 0cm;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://u17190620.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=7Stj9hNdPT62oCnrXshHO1ZEAj7k-2FDr-2Bp6ITFd1bVqqgEuR6cPyvZnhacL-2F6-2F88NMVWXApUt5Urr8VNGswjiEUEpjtbPhd5dX0Ob1hKl2a3Ig921O0M9SwsQy1zTsl4tB81JZay875v6AYBt7W-2B1Orqra2AM7GvE-2FOS-2F9EspzVzz99VK4n4ipWNGPXJcx6YEv4X6end6nC-2FQw4P9kZ24-2BjjmPAzBRB03GN27B5T-2FnVvYP7GAHVsJ9q7lWktG1dm9ocGXrZjH6rpQULJQUNff6u67KaeCqrOke-2B2Fdo3D2GgYUzt7zZYBBjANzzhB2Lbf-2FDC5lX1a41EXhNoK0nIsnA-3D-3DsJMO_zEdMaWIEFv8GLoALn-2F5xM-2F7jGbIrKDGR2Ppd2SkqkwHrSHyO-2FU2uQKZmIBhCXRsJSS8yyBZ9wAKBcfOoN021CcvEfNljL3EKq1DTnRwtMK2WxKjo8rbyq-2Fx1IMuA6HWlAhzh1GJZKn9bKO0kxZjtakJHf8HDUo9YbIXkNTXIAlcC8I-2BZZbAUbPkVRsWFtw55wFM9jhEA5bOcQc51imgQBs-2FhWgMWdINtvRr-2FeGiikIdNwz8YlgqbWcbRCf-2BeC0sODH4qOvK6-2Fv9CMRugD6dQzFlZGGoOZzvfbeBEDKVW4EgcS72KU-2FkzwtE2QwTU8Pm-2BL2YtaZ8hCKT-2Bb8t-2BKLXuG6yXFkOMdb43A3pCTlR6vXLehpmvODqqWTvh6fTakJCN70wYbkRFNxw1UMXwWhFfPZyh9NAzFkM8IGunYIz0Y-2FSn8eAJKBbECjz3ZKBeEsNm7BumoiU0aKCOGpi08uDntw-3D-3D" target="_blank"><img alt="Custom" border="0" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/assets/email/buttons/subtleinverse/twitter_96.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0in; border-left-width: 0in; border-right-width: 0in; border-top-width: 0in; border-width: 0in; height: auto; line-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 32px;" width="32" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="padding: 0cm 7.5pt 0cm 0cm;">
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</div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-26712867294036158242023-11-21T16:48:00.000+00:002023-11-21T16:48:04.218+00:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - RICHARD ROHR (2014/2022) 'SILENT COMPASSION - FINDING GOD IN CONTEMPLATION'<p> Geoff Watson of the Marazion Quaker Meeting House pressed Richard Rohr's book - 'silent compassion - finding God in contemplation' into my hand recently and said that he was donating this work to the library and I should read it. He was right to recommend it. First published in the USA in 2014 and now in the UK in 2022, it is a wonderful read for all but perhaps profoundly so for Quakers. Richard Rohr, OFM, is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founding Director of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has authored numerous books, including six published here by SPCK. 'silent compassion' (sic) is very much a Quaker book; Rohr's wisdom is George Fox's and all those since who have found the Spirit in community silence.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1RUpQcp6ZEP0xdQ3Zr1qPVw1q_iCpXckCWCYzBIlDICPPRriG-_re7ThUnhKUhFMYLtBrzHzqBEKCoZWN-YeMCV15urzNaHmUcfxmqfsXlXlHUDbGrBoUD2oSP_YZJz38QB8pofAJPzN6ZTi5XAq8oWIvcXCDhh-3cmrNTJn7JbCzlaLkBu9OuqWj04/s800/Richard%20Rohr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1RUpQcp6ZEP0xdQ3Zr1qPVw1q_iCpXckCWCYzBIlDICPPRriG-_re7ThUnhKUhFMYLtBrzHzqBEKCoZWN-YeMCV15urzNaHmUcfxmqfsXlXlHUDbGrBoUD2oSP_YZJz38QB8pofAJPzN6ZTi5XAq8oWIvcXCDhh-3cmrNTJn7JbCzlaLkBu9OuqWj04/w300-h400/Richard%20Rohr.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Father Richard Rohr</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It is a short book, 78 pages in length and divided into five chapters:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Finding God in the Depths of Silence</li><li>Sacred Silence, Pathway to Compassion </li><li>The True Self is Compassion, Love Itself</li><li>Looking Out in Prayer with Contemplative Eyes</li><li>The Path to Non-Dual Thinking </li></ol><div>One message I have taken from the book is that we need to use fewer words and take care not to over-think; we come closer to the essence of life and ourselves through meditative silence. My usual format of bullet-points will therefore serve well to give you a precis of the wisdom of Richard Rohr.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> In his introduction, Father Richard outlines his belief in the Trinity whist stressing the oneness of the Divine. He cites the wisdom of the Christian mystic Lady Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) three times: </li><li>"By myself I am nothing at all, but in general, I AM in the oneing of love. For it is in this oneing that the life of all people exists." </li><li>"The love of God creates in us such a oneing that when it is truly seen, no person can separate themselves from another person." </li><li>"In the sight of God all humans are oned, and one person is all people and all people are in one person." </li><li>For Richard Rohr, this is the perennial tradition, the ultimate truth about the Divine that has always been part of the Revelation shaping the Christian faith - and the faith of other religions too. </li><li>Father Richard is well aware of what he calls the "deterioration of culture" all around us - for him, consumerism has some very unhealthy features. What we need is a vital counterweight: we need to learn the value of silence, to experience inner silence as "the essence of simple and stripped down", to see silence as "a living presence of itself, which is... primal, and then to see all other things - now experienced deeply - inside of that container."</li><li>Rohr offers this telling polarity: "The soul does not use words. It surrounds words with space, and that is what I mean by silence. The ego, on the other hand, uses words to get what it wants." </li><li>"Silence is a kind of wholeness... It can absorb paradoxes and contradictions. Maybe that is why we do not like silence. There is nothing to argue about in true inner silence... It comes down to this: the ego loves something it can take sides on... this common tendency is dualistic thinking - and true interior silence really does not allow you to take sides." </li><li>Someone who lives in a capitalist culture like we do, where everything is about competing and comparing and winning, may well find silence counter-intuitive.</li><li>Non-dual thinking is precisely contemplation.</li><li>We are now at the end of centuries of endless Christian argumentation which the world no longer listens to anymore. When we lose the contemplative mind, or non-dual consciousness, we invariably create disturbed and disturbing people who may turn to violence. Our school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says Father Richard, is trying to reintroduce the West to what we call the Perennial Tradition, the underground stream we all share. </li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Richard Rohr presents a compelling case that sacred silence is the pathway to compassion, to sacred love. This was the way of George Fox. It is the Christian Way, as expressed in 1 John 4: 16: "God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them." </div><div><br /></div><div>All this leads to Father Richard's conclusion that the true self is compassion, in another word love itself. The 'true self' is an expression of Thomas Merton (1915-1968), the American Catholic Trappist monk, who did so much to awaken the Catholic Church to the importance of peace and the universality of the <span><a name='more'></a></span>Divine. Buddhist understanding, for Merton, was vital to a true Catholic faith. Rohr, from his Trinitarian position says: 'The True Self must be awakened and chosen... just as the Holy Spirit is totally given and given equally to all; but it must be received, too'. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdzT018JDZajWdMIchHzrylSxykADXIqORoEVMSU2SMdRAbf6Rmu5uk7Qs5hwNxI7Hq5OnLWj3HnAgjv0XCUllKD8rjOB4fom75_HQbiTQmf4CEgd3jCneIUkLoh3BVmB6xntg85xDqPAA0NCP5VBhlgHHGKSAMvs4lBotTn7ZLPau2g67yn6VymaUxQ/s420/Lax%20-%205.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="420" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdzT018JDZajWdMIchHzrylSxykADXIqORoEVMSU2SMdRAbf6Rmu5uk7Qs5hwNxI7Hq5OnLWj3HnAgjv0XCUllKD8rjOB4fom75_HQbiTQmf4CEgd3jCneIUkLoh3BVmB6xntg85xDqPAA0NCP5VBhlgHHGKSAMvs4lBotTn7ZLPau2g67yn6VymaUxQ/w400-h269/Lax%20-%205.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Merton is the man in the middle; Robert Lax, Merton's life-time friend with similar beliefs, is the man in the white shirt. Louise and I became aware of the presence of Robert Lax on the holy island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea when we first became summer visitors in 1988 - see this blogpost of mine that celebrates Lax and his increasingly minimalist poetry - <a href="https://robdonovan.blogspot.com/2020/06/robert-lax-1915-2000-extraordinary.html">press here</a>. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div>In his section concerned with looking out in prayer with contemplative eyes, Richard Rohr addresses the matter of mysticism. Mystical encounters are for everyone - you don't need to have practised meditation for decades. They are an intuitive grasp of the whole and by the whole. They are an intimation of God - for God is another word for the heart of everything. </div><div><br /></div><div>I love Rohr's judgement that mystics can love their enemies, the foreigner, the outsider because they don't make the distinctions that low-level religions do. Such low-level religion is "more tribal, a social construct to hold an individual group together." Father Richard insists that he means no disrespect but he points out that if the experience of God is dependent on formal sacramental ministry from ordained clergy, then 99.9 per cent of creation has no chance of knowing or loving God. Furthermore, if the clergy themselves have not made the necessary spiritual journey, how can they possibly guide you? </div><div><br /></div><div>You don't find happiness by seeking happiness because that leaves you too self-centred. Ego-consciousness is still steering the ship. Deep contentment is something you drop into - true happiness is much more in the realm of gift and surprise, like an alighting dove or a tongue of fire, which is why these metaphors abound in the Bible in descriptions of the Holy Spirit. </div><div><br /></div><div>We need to develop an alternative consciousness which means letting go of what our social worlds have conditioned us to do: to solve problems, to fix things, to rearrange matters. Another mind is always already there waiting. And alternative behaviour also helps create the alternative mind. "We do not think ourselves into a a new way of living, but we live ourselves into new ways of thinking". That's one of the core principles at the Living School of Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. </div><div><br /></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkHkYtu1PD2gNjv8nqyZFpJ7RngGOrG-hg4x7-gEWSPue1lUYboqBMsMuBJF-ZKQEjOmzv4Flamicbhtrl3GNM56W9M4IlUG4foBOFL5X6ec-cStd6MYb92pk7Abw9zRZoUo5cmzfI7nhmWjwDfAgbjlleSd6ykUgs7PWANnpSpJ1JZW0UKkipnYiU1Q/s750/Lax%20-%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="730" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkHkYtu1PD2gNjv8nqyZFpJ7RngGOrG-hg4x7-gEWSPue1lUYboqBMsMuBJF-ZKQEjOmzv4Flamicbhtrl3GNM56W9M4IlUG4foBOFL5X6ec-cStd6MYb92pk7Abw9zRZoUo5cmzfI7nhmWjwDfAgbjlleSd6ykUgs7PWANnpSpJ1JZW0UKkipnYiU1Q/w389-h400/Lax%20-%202.jpg" width="389" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lax wrote his poetry in an ever-more minimalist style - stripping down the words to find the essence.<br /><br /><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table>My wife, Louise, remembers seeing Robert Lax, walking along the water-front at Skala, the harbour port of Patmos, at the end of the nineteen-eighties. Her own textile art journey has entered a minimalist phase. Here is her tribute to Johnny Cash, the Man in Black, who wore the black for the poor and beaten down: <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqg9jbPX1eKIpid_ER74JYNeX4tHp4KQFJIOT_11zve0zx_u7lnpjG7SlFrCQTcycuTy9ZPz9yBIu3UgXKv72v7Gahs7Hm_PAHnOBZI5nafkbgbl6JlBGAdHtclMSFj00Ze2ddgj6pG9QNBPcFnweYq4aqzh9UeuDgKY_Xen1s4wjNoJD9hR9aIdrHjuQ/s3478/DSCN2660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3305" data-original-width="3478" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqg9jbPX1eKIpid_ER74JYNeX4tHp4KQFJIOT_11zve0zx_u7lnpjG7SlFrCQTcycuTy9ZPz9yBIu3UgXKv72v7Gahs7Hm_PAHnOBZI5nafkbgbl6JlBGAdHtclMSFj00Ze2ddgj6pG9QNBPcFnweYq4aqzh9UeuDgKY_Xen1s4wjNoJD9hR9aIdrHjuQ/w400-h380/DSCN2660.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Minimalism - a tribute to Johnny Cash, the Man in Black</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKZewcieAsJhh5pVxgJapCjRNIL6HZycpLW-MTLWTRc82r4PGcD6ZkOpdgUAbcgVsKMwWwd6Bc_MwXzqTiTtCU7mESJl8NoiALvdrgwyaMM1JKqfq43irS7ilHUt9jVvsZbQo0-TTvdm2oRZCT6l_okdhTvAHqiF9pNiVNqLCMh0aC29qfE1NFUaY9Vo/s3026/Grey%20Minimalism%20-%20The%20power%20of%20potential.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3026" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKZewcieAsJhh5pVxgJapCjRNIL6HZycpLW-MTLWTRc82r4PGcD6ZkOpdgUAbcgVsKMwWwd6Bc_MwXzqTiTtCU7mESJl8NoiALvdrgwyaMM1JKqfq43irS7ilHUt9jVvsZbQo0-TTvdm2oRZCT6l_okdhTvAHqiF9pNiVNqLCMh0aC29qfE1NFUaY9Vo/w400-h400/Grey%20Minimalism%20-%20The%20power%20of%20potential.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Minimalism - the Power of Potential</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Geoff Watson who introduced the wisdom of Richard Rohr to me also shared this prayer-poem which is based on a 16th century Frankfurt prayer:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Lord, today, teach me to listen.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Lord, teach me the silence of humility,</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">the silence of wisdom, </span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">the silence of love, </span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">the silence that speaks without words, </span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">the silence of faith.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Saviour, teach me to silence my heart</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">that I may listen to the gentle movement</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">of the Holy Spirit within me </span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">and come to know and live from the depths</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">which are God today and always.</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-50948021773944119942023-11-03T10:56:00.001+00:002023-11-03T13:50:44.129+00:00DYING TO KNOW - AND NOW SOME OF THE TRUTH IS COMING OUT<p> The 'i' newspaper report (31/10/23) on proceedings at the public inquiry into COVID in the UK last Monday, 30 October 2023, noted that the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, accused Boris Johnson of being unable to lead, "changing strategic direction every day" in the weeks running up to the first lockdown. Martin Reynolds, Johnson's principal private secretary at the time admitted that the government was "grossly deficient" in the weeks leading up to the pandemic hitting the UK. By 21 February the Italian government had at last ordered parts of Lombardy into lockdown, fearing that the rising death toll would lead to the collapse of the health system in Italy. Yet Johnson received not a single note on Covid between 14 and 24 February when he was staying at Chequers, his country residence <b>(see below for an alternative timeline). </b>Imran Shafti, another private secretary to Johnson, said that the prime minister did not believe Covid was a "big deal" during February; it was not until Monday 23 March that he took the country into its first lockdown. Imran Shafti thought it was Johnson who had said to Sunak, the chancellor at the time, "We're killing the patient to tackle the tumour - why are we destroying the economy for people who will die anyway soon?".</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJS95VatrPASDRuPwFm4iSYBbEqrPu5ICKTY_2kPw9heWI-Yf3gh7O6FZwHUb8s8uPNafIq0L6dOAua2wENIaM7Zp7IvZxaCRs6xb4sXi4sTA3TUnzlQA5wxcbrRIYUUKdwnx66TeoklCfWmm4x0Jg-npP60CO4FT4fJOm67B6UMI8W61XhyphenhyphenXna6iEkbk/s3303/DTK%20-%20Covers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2418" data-original-width="3303" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJS95VatrPASDRuPwFm4iSYBbEqrPu5ICKTY_2kPw9heWI-Yf3gh7O6FZwHUb8s8uPNafIq0L6dOAua2wENIaM7Zp7IvZxaCRs6xb4sXi4sTA3TUnzlQA5wxcbrRIYUUKdwnx66TeoklCfWmm4x0Jg-npP60CO4FT4fJOm67B6UMI8W61XhyphenhyphenXna6iEkbk/w640-h469/DTK%20-%20Covers.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Written 2020-2021; published 2022</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>The 'i' report (1/11/23) on proceedings the previous day, last Tuesday, highlighted the revelation that diary entries made by Sir Patrick Vallance, then the Government's chief scientific advisor, in August 2020 before the second lockdown was eventually enacted, showed that Johnson was "obsessed with older people accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and so keeping the economy going". </p><p><br /></p><p>The 'i' newspaper (1/11/23) also provided a quote from Brenda Doherty of <b>Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK. </b>She said: "<b>Mr Johnson clearly didn't see people like my mum as human beings, and thousands of others died unnecessarily after the same mistakes were repeated.</b>" </p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Around 230,000 British citizens have died during this period of the pandemic, 2020-2023 - most of them between 2020 and 2021. The UK has one of the highest per capita death rates from Covid-19 in the world. The political and medical and scientific establishment colluded under the crazed leadership of a narcissistic neoliberal Tory who believed that the pursuit of profit took precedence over the health and even the lives of the citizens of his country. That's my judgement as delivered <span></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><b>in my book 'Dying to Know - Running Through A Pandemic' which was written in 2020 and 2021, and then published in February 2022. </b><p></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>The 'i' newspaper (2/11/23) carried an opinion piece by Ian Dunt based on the testimony of Helen MacNamara, former deputy Cabinet secretary, at the hearing the day before. She had walked into the prime minister's study on 13 March and said: "<b>I have come through here to tell you that I think we are absolutely f**ked. I think this country is heading for a disaster. I think we are going to kill thousands of people</b>". She explained that "Mr Johnson was very confident the UK would sail through". He spent much of the time "laughing at the Italians", despite that country providing an early test-case for what was about to hit Britain. There was no checking of national preparedness. It was "completely and utterly absent". Ian Dunt concluded that her account bore witness to a country whose "governance structures were corroded and weak - and which was then lumped with a catastrophically inappropriate prime minister at the worst possible moment. When he was in power, Johnson liked to claim that he got "the big calls right". Nothing could be further from the truth". <b> </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Absolutely. Engels had a term for such actions and inactions by state leaders that left citizens dead. He called it "social murder". </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqN-_P7MoUND1tothtXgF6DM94hdK_7jRiIdC3HNRkv3LLAFEst9smpa7yYv3NuwasPWQMPapa1TIVH1nR9OE6xFozogbVzBzAJq304qWOfm3lPPp3s9lfAQBU-ivkOahmUiZGmZfXD2Us5cK1WgUgOsEdnigd-cVYTJpRjtCYbZ6Bxm0FTejZCsrCVs/s225/Johnson%20-%20Dutch%20cartoon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqN-_P7MoUND1tothtXgF6DM94hdK_7jRiIdC3HNRkv3LLAFEst9smpa7yYv3NuwasPWQMPapa1TIVH1nR9OE6xFozogbVzBzAJq304qWOfm3lPPp3s9lfAQBU-ivkOahmUiZGmZfXD2Us5cK1WgUgOsEdnigd-cVYTJpRjtCYbZ6Bxm0FTejZCsrCVs/w400-h400/Johnson%20-%20Dutch%20cartoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brilliant Dutch cartoon which has my deepest admiration</td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>My niece, Deb Jones, left a review of my book <b>'Dying to Know' </b>in which she wrote that it was "<b>Poetic, beautiful and shimmering with rage</b>".<b> </b>Others have been complimentary too. The point I want to emphasize here is my anger. Here are some extracts from my book <b>DTK</b>:</p><p><b>'Yet the prime minister, that same day (Monday 3 February), gave a celebratory speech at Greenwich, to mark the UK's departure from Europe in which he talked about "a risk that new diseases such as Coronavirus will trigger a panic.... at that moment humanity needs some government somewhere that is willing at least to make the case powerfully for freedom of exchange".... the UK under his leadership, he promised, will be that country.'</b></p><p><b>'A week later, on Monday, 10 February, the UK Health secretary, Matt Hancock declared the virus a "serious and imminent threat to public health". The World Health Organization (WHO) named the virus: COVID-19. From Saturday, 15 February until Sunday, 1 March, Boris Johnson was on holiday at Chevening in Kent with his partner, Carrie Symonds. Reports emerged that he had asked for briefing notes to be kept short. If it were not highly inappropriate in these pandemic times to spit, that is exactly what I would do as each day in this murderous chronology emerges from my magic bole.'</b></p><p><b>'On Tuesday, 18 February, Public Health England... reported to SAGE that they only had the capacity to cope with five COVID-19 cases a week... The routine testing and tracing of contacts was therefore stopped... This action to stop "test and trace" was the key reason why the UK had, by the end of May, the highest death rate in Europe.' </b></p><p><b>'On Tuesday, 3 March, Boris Johnson made a television appearance in which he said that he had been at a hospital the day before and shaken hands with everyone, including coronavirus patients. Some members of SAGE, we know, were horrified. "Absolutely bonkers!", was one response.</b></p><p><b>'On Wednesday, 11 March, WHO declared a global pandemic. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his first budget speech in which he proudly referenced the UK's "world-leading response to the coronavirus epidemic".</b></p><p><b>'The next day, Thursday 12 March, the Government's Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance told <i>Sky News: </i>'We think this virus is likely to become a seasonal virus. Communities will become immune to it and that's going to be an important part of controlling this longer term. About sixty per cent is the sort of figure you need to get herd immunity". <i> </i>But there is no scientific consensus on what percentage of the population would need to be infected to achieve herd immunity. Estimates vary from sixty per cent to ninety-five per cent. And there is no scientific certainty about how long any acquired immunity would last anyway. Beware a knight of the realm peddling mumbo jumbo as the Chief Scientific Advisor.'</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Enough! There are more revelations to be discovered in my book. I am left with a sense of anger not only about the death-toll but also the political and media silence about all this mis-governance during those months of social murder. It says so much about the rottenness in the state of Britain that voices and understandings such as mine have been so few and remain largely unheard and unreported. Around seventy-five copies of my book have been sold and I have gifted another thirty-five to friends. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you haven't read my book and its revelations yet, what better time to do so than now when the official inquiry has its hearings. Will it all be a white-wash as my book suggests? I expect so - I don't see the likes of Johnson and Cummings facing trial for administrative malfeasance. Signed copies are available from me at <a href="mailto:robdonovan65@gmail.com">robdonovan65@gmail.com</a>, postage free, for a tenner by bank transfer. My publisher, Matador/Troubador, can also provide copies - <a href="https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/autobiography/dying-to-know">see this link here</a>. Please don't go down the Amazon path. And Christmas is getting closer which means stocking-filler time!</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-50946193690201929982023-11-01T12:13:00.001+00:002023-11-01T12:13:36.636+00:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - PALDEN JENKINS (2012) 'PICTURES OF PALESTINE - A HUMANITARIAN BLOGGING FROM BETHLEHEM'<p> I had never heard of Palden Jenkins before meeting Juliet. She is the young woman making a spiritual journey, walking from London to the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall and then returning back to London. Juliet gifted the Marazion Quakers the copy of '<b>Pictures of Palestine</b>' which the author, Palden Jenkins, had given her a few days earlier when Juliet met him at the centre which is his home here in Penwith, last month.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eEK1zbToMh9a2nIA8B_m5U0YBD7LXjQAofAHZQsw2fnjKqfzHggokxwLOzyBqOvmbPXOhJjmFl0s4Otha7kb_MoYRSkEAv4SLuVIRnNkcakY6ssXwivnsZWUGbfRZt5n29q3fOU7XddzCOxVzTrerQaRo68mvLXGgxcYbbumDVw05umoxg1XZoTjl6Q/s225/Palestine%20-%201download%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eEK1zbToMh9a2nIA8B_m5U0YBD7LXjQAofAHZQsw2fnjKqfzHggokxwLOzyBqOvmbPXOhJjmFl0s4Otha7kb_MoYRSkEAv4SLuVIRnNkcakY6ssXwivnsZWUGbfRZt5n29q3fOU7XddzCOxVzTrerQaRo68mvLXGgxcYbbumDVw05umoxg1XZoTjl6Q/w400-h400/Palestine%20-%201download%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday 21 October saw up to 300,000 on the streets - (the British media and police acknowledged only 100,000). A week later, 500,000 were demonstrating (official figures said 250,000). We have a problem in this country - actually that's my litotes. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>It has been for me an absorbing and rewarding encounter, learning about Palestine - and about Palden Jenkins. He is about my age - mid seventies, born shortly after the end of World War Two - and we both were the beneficiaries of a secondary education in a grammar school and then a university. He describes himself as 'a Sixties veteran who never quite gave up'. I can identify with that. Thereafter, Palden's life-choices were different and led to the acquisition of a range of life-skills I do not have. He has learned the skills of a healer. He is also familiar with martial arts. He is a web-master and book-editor. He is a published authority on astrology. He is also the author of a scholarly book about the ancient landscape around the festival site at Glastonbury - and his next book which is due out very soon will be a study of the ancient Penwith landscape in Cornwall. And then, of course, there have been the years as a volunteer for humanitarian causes, not least his work which started in the 1990s at the Hope Flowers School on the edge of Bethlehem in Palestine. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16BJCN1TlGdZYcswoJVxZ3Ley7VxrL9-oK1lLl0KYmyIWTInA5Vj57bjkKmWOscR4J8N1AsTO20OZvFmF1REpKV5ZBPoet6A4dmNGFseo4Bsa16-1qaOPl4D0kzZKWVNd6FOPOMRa6jzUeHEbFwN5Oyl3R46qcrjoRhffcWMv3Ug9Aq-6EY2zyl5uYq0/s275/Jenkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16BJCN1TlGdZYcswoJVxZ3Ley7VxrL9-oK1lLl0KYmyIWTInA5Vj57bjkKmWOscR4J8N1AsTO20OZvFmF1REpKV5ZBPoet6A4dmNGFseo4Bsa16-1qaOPl4D0kzZKWVNd6FOPOMRa6jzUeHEbFwN5Oyl3R46qcrjoRhffcWMv3Ug9Aq-6EY2zyl5uYq0/w400-h266/Jenkins.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palden Jenkins</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>This review, as is becoming my way, takes the form of a series of bullet points that I hope will provide you with a full sense of the value of the book - and encourage you to borrow a copy from the library or buy your own. All our lives are being touched by the horrors of the mass slaughter of Jews and Palestinians in Israel and Gaza in this month of October - the picture of Palestine that Palden portrays <span></span></p><a name='more'></a>reveals so much that helps explain these appalling events. <p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> Palden Jenkins' Introduction references what he says is 'a big statement for our day': Edmund Burke's message, "For the triumph of evil, it is necessary only that good people do nothing". Absolutely.</li><li>He further explains: 'My own country, Britain, has for centuries played a major role in ramping up conflict worldwide and its forces fight in foreign lands today, so I feel a strange sense of personal responsibility to <i>do </i>something'. </li><li>Palden acknowledges that Israeli feelings of existential threat arise from deep-seated and justified feelings of vulnerability following the Jews' terrible history in Europe - but he argues that Israel acts against its own long-term best interests by 'pushing its case uncompromisingly, thus creating enemies... Its reliance on force, bombing, assassinations, land-grabs, ill-treatment and dehumanization of Arabs builds up new, avoidable problems, fostering new generations of opponents'.</li><li>The Hope Flowers School started as a kindergarten in 1984 and by 2004 had become an adult-oriented Centre for Education and Community Development. The centre does teacher-training, professional training for people working with the effects of conflict, empowerment courses for disadvantaged women and youth and micro-business training, helping people to get to a level where they can take charge of their own lives. </li><li>At intervals within the book, Palden feeds in the history of the Middle-East in general and Israel and Palestine in particular with Palestine's population split between Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. Much I knew already, but he provides a focused explanation for the how and why from which I learned much - he is a fine historian. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciszYrMREvK_Cxp-hletwIiGVZizn8a1QE9ZKTrc8zUdN9K0UKGwAAYHpm8aNJbgJYCM8Gzq0keroElukvp6j3jVCR972gGDYSl8HrvCyL_eupIF8B3MPhz36140xYOY0h-qV1Wl-6vmNK8E789szBQQ9CSqECnaN7MeSBoG_0PQqEP99IZZ1FERUMBI/s259/Palestine.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciszYrMREvK_Cxp-hletwIiGVZizn8a1QE9ZKTrc8zUdN9K0UKGwAAYHpm8aNJbgJYCM8Gzq0keroElukvp6j3jVCR972gGDYSl8HrvCyL_eupIF8B3MPhz36140xYOY0h-qV1Wl-6vmNK8E789szBQQ9CSqECnaN7MeSBoG_0PQqEP99IZZ1FERUMBI/w400-h300/Palestine.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A visual reminder of the Palestinian plight</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>He is also a vegetarian and tells this story of how he explained his diet to the meat-eating Palestinian cafe-owners one lunchtime: he said simply 'I believe humans treat animals just like Israelis treat Palestinians'. They got the message and straightaway served him falafel and treated him as a honoured guest.</li><li>Palden argues the case for 'transforming resistance'. 'Resistance' is more than hating and fighting Israelis. It's about strengthening Palestinian culture from within - 'a content, confident, united and motivated nation is difficult to subdue'. And Palestine is heading in that direction. Palden observes a number of times within the book that Palestinian society, despite all that it endures, is happier than Israeli society appears. Palestinians have responded to the Israeli refusal to allow them their own state and government by adapting in a way that has strengthened their family, clan and neighbourhood ties and community values. </li><li>Since the 1980s Israeli society has changed fundamentally, shifting rightwards. It avoids resolving key issues, 'united by sharing one enemy [the Muslim/Arab/Palestinian] and by a deep-seated cultural agreement to stick together as Jews... Israel must progress and prevail - this is the basis of Zionism. The end justifies the means'.</li><li>Yet Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 and Hamas in Gaza in 2009 broke the invincibility-magic of Israeli forces who failed to destroy them. All Israeli's opponents have to do is to remain firm and survive and so undermine Israel's sense of security and activate worldwide public disgust at the scale and violence of Israeli assaults. This is the story of David and Goliath in reverse, with the Palestinians as David and Israel as Goliath. </li><li>New Israeli settlements on the West Bank make the issue of land rights even more of a nightmare - and from the Israeli perspective this is helpful, obstructing any unravelling of the settlement project that restores land to Palestinians. From Palden's perspective, all people must have a fair deal, with equal access to and responsibility for the space and resource of the Earth. If we cannot learn to cooperate in the 21st century, all humanity will suffer, Israelis included. </li><li>However, there is 'an influential Israeli minority that wants Palestinians simply 'transferred' to Jordan, or anywhere, as long as they're gone... God's promise was the land from the sea to the river Jordan'. So 'Israeli Arabs become potential traitors, Gazans are seen as sub-human, and West Bankers as obstructing Jewish destiny'. [<b>[Palden wrote these words nearly a decade and a half ago; the events in this month of October 2023 show how much more influential this minority has become.] </b> </li><li>Palden writes that 'It is often said that Hamas wants to eliminate Israel, yet it is pragmatic and it really wants a return to the pre-1967 borders. Only once there has been protracted peace to calm tempers will it be able to convince its radical Islamic elements to agree to this... arguably Israel has maintained the Gaza siege since 2006 to keep extremism alive in Gaza, thus justifying its own tough strategy'. What is needed for peace to happen is 'calming'. Palden believes that the only way the deadlock will be broken is the arrival of new factors - the Arab Spring was a start; perhaps an unforeseen crisis that can be catalytic; if it is further conflict, anything can happen - Israel is unlikely to win outright because its military strength has its limits. 'The international community might at last be forced to help Palestine because the cost of not doing so would be higher.'</li><li>Palden identifies what he describes as 'a momentous error' that was made in 2006 by Israel and the West. They decided to have no truck with the new democratically-elected Hamas government in Gaza. Hamas was labelled a terrorist organisation. The West failed to see that Hamas was also a social reform party with a history of charitable and welfare work. They had a militia wing which had taken part in suicide bombings during the <i>intifada</i> uprisings but they had a leadership which was quite progressive, uncorrupt, and sought reform without the community breakdown and inequality and subservience to Israel they associated with the whole Western capitalist package. Hamas militants advocated eliminating Israel but the party's centre accepted its existence; instead it wanted a return to the pre-1967 territory of Palestine with a capital in East Jerusalem - nothing less. </li><li>Palden emphasizes that Palestine remains an occupied country. The Israelis like to do the deciding but it will be the Palestinians who will judge whether and when peace and justice have genuinely arrived. It may take another 25 years but the sacrifices that Palestinians will then have to make can hardly be any greater than those they have already made, so they might just be worth it. Palestinians need to force the issue - to make the most of changes in the geopolitical world that are inevitable as the climate crisis becomes ever more apparent. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div>I hope I have given you a taste of Palden Jenkins extraordinary book through these bullet-points. Wonderfully, he remains a man of hope - for people in general and Palestinians and Israelis in particular.</div> <br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVOrbymdC-TqwzrlUvdPLStEKW-Z9mAUVgXJoPT_Pat47IYZXMfanxFsYIzngFOtiyRPbr8LvlfohvzGfWyTE8lbTV8_CamCYBfvplBDm2wtZASiKg91KNDJi0M3aRrNCr8qSnVMajJ4sVxEd9urGInYLAq3Wrx2QyRc_4RR6vVQ7p6dQ7hVe7xhMZqI/s4608/NEC%20Quilt%20Exhibition%202015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVOrbymdC-TqwzrlUvdPLStEKW-Z9mAUVgXJoPT_Pat47IYZXMfanxFsYIzngFOtiyRPbr8LvlfohvzGfWyTE8lbTV8_CamCYBfvplBDm2wtZASiKg91KNDJi0M3aRrNCr8qSnVMajJ4sVxEd9urGInYLAq3Wrx2QyRc_4RR6vVQ7p6dQ7hVe7xhMZqI/w640-h480/NEC%20Quilt%20Exhibition%202015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louise Donovan's entry in the Birmingham NEC International Quilting Exhibition in 2015 - 'Gaza' - inspired by a photo of ruin and devastation in Gaza with one piece of red fabric trapped in the debris. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-20998034398855426952023-10-26T11:40:00.002+01:002023-10-26T11:41:26.738+01:00TAX JUSTICE IN THE UK - SHARING OUR COMMON WEALTH<p> There is something indecent about the way some people who have made a lot of money through the skills and labour of others seek to minimise how much tax they pay. Taxation is not an evil to be avoided. It is the most effective means a society has to ensure that all its citizens live a good enough life. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHP0ANQ5ro41d6saQBsoWzItfU4wAB14uvKR4DZJXyvApyzmxZJn-zuKT8kRIa2GRoFOKOnusvun2ixhLP-g3dEHItYsyvu33hPKG3Gq6sYM_yHnIXSWOtvbLzuol7_5ofXRLAKco2CHmPgROQVp6vk5QwMRL0ooulHQwdGES3DkfANL3JTced43AfDA/s275/Tax%20justice%20-%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHP0ANQ5ro41d6saQBsoWzItfU4wAB14uvKR4DZJXyvApyzmxZJn-zuKT8kRIa2GRoFOKOnusvun2ixhLP-g3dEHItYsyvu33hPKG3Gq6sYM_yHnIXSWOtvbLzuol7_5ofXRLAKco2CHmPgROQVp6vk5QwMRL0ooulHQwdGES3DkfANL3JTced43AfDA/w400-h266/Tax%20justice%20-%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My thanks to Just Money Movement and Church Action for Tax Justice </td></tr></tbody></table> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>for this photo. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><img id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://www.taxjustice.uk/uploads/1/0/0/3/100363766/tjuklogosmall_orig.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 20px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 310px; width: 100%;" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Dear Rob,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">The Conservative donors who own
the JCB digger company may be hit with a <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDL2pqlARv2wBshrgOqWkXMG_zXPFJSB53t3JCsQrZMmqIp-ovLgF6fjz7vytu4rr_89XtaB432c9CVyFK-MxOj91T7C_Kj2U5iE6R1Zv3E7FCS-0qdqVBCAJ7ndqa4mAJPSRq_YO2jWbAWdjygY0yVmDKwfuodNuErHE72sO2rDK8zOxO5tohcCnh2RtLZp6r9cIBC9ToF0PmK00mSyyyBwUEvZps_OISpTPl5HNg4DGIAkXJ8JqRrGOMHZ1WbYwd8dKGgOyN1XB1lygAptiVo-umFsOxxtFGjOlksjBHiIq5qTneQPyMMzxsXQ__oz_Ju9FRHrQQ5Zi9Gp7jR2LJjsmieS2Iwtk5_kD1Q6TSKK9BeYRObxgPp7O5UrFNnH5LD_Br1NjCvDn_O_55_goJwwDRzaLiwrRuCOcNnEmYL72/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h0/axCkf01cayKqEPsmB5AkNGE2A-dBPtaa399ax2a_w8s">£500
million tax bill</a> according to the Guardian.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">HMRC has been investigating
brothers Anthony and Mark Bamford’s extensive offshore business empire for
over three years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">The Bamfords are alleged to have
aggressively minimised the payment of UK taxes. HMRC may seek to recoup large
sums of lost tax if the allegations are proven correct.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">In September a Labour MP asked
the Conservative Party if they would <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDL2pqlARv2wBshrgOqWkXMG_zXPFJSB53t3JCsQrZMmqkhKAcHj-S5aNwZq1RR1fu5GV_G_gGfko4hSe4Y6Z5Fkn4ZLp1dK5GjdmWjVoEyZqOdTwFElybPzxtcb13gLMU_3G4s6NqwUIrHQvdZmatbDwntZxXLNu-nVhHTQulzIhdtcd3nBL7QBJc1CluiK7NkLpg0_p3Qxac864_Set6nv_Qx6V-OX8U1d63nxtkDPdDubyunogqu-rM-hC_RQEjLoFaQchPsN9c3uNQI-ukmSGcQKq1loQonXuMIFzWSXYNxbQf3DSKl8nfnZdVR5hj_MjkfxOBcoVgPWuijegzWzyS8QIhLq43xNpPPFjnKW_Tkfnn832zsGFfU_6bK89yw/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h1/Q_So-X9jzQlqYVHD9TFmeDrzhlaC6pnv5G5yWsDAR5o">return
£10 million</a> donated to them by JCB.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">JCB were also recently <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDL2pqlARv2wBshrgOqWkXMG_zXPFJSB53t3JCsQrZMmqIp-ovLgF6fjz7vytu4rr_89XtaB432c9CVyFK-MxOj91T7C_Kj2U5iE6R1Zv3E7FCS-0qdqVBCAJ7ndqa4mAJPSRq_YO2jWbAWdjygY0yVmDKwfuodNuErHE72sO2rDKtL57zs22P0NF5DPB6zkbLZkiWrmL-qhQt584Nqsdz0FZOtEk_fce0pxBQ663grN8WxtokyEiUZvrtNHTLv2ckfav3Nj0YyU4zKnEZqTmcmTLgt-q0qrSSgUEEWQDXcpwbM9T1GkeOzo-M2MXroJI4Dbp5JImcpr1439wGQNibJsyRXTScK8e0LNXwys-Np8L2DfCGdD1CHostKFR1H1tDSGVWbrpIro2SOpe8ZkgZnPdYT5G4xxGLL5JMchESnMi/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h2/Evx72sKPAJdp0w5CFJlITzhYgs-6lJPXkAI1Ao4uUqw">spotted
at the Labour Party</a> conference, exhibiting along with many <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">other
businesses on the conference floor. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">£42 billion in missing tax</span></strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">JCB is just one multinational
company operating in the UK. The obvious question is: to what extent might
other big companies be aggressively minimising their taxes?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">The responsibility for answering
this question lies with the UK’s tax authority, HMRC.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Yet the Revenue is woefully
under-resourced for the job at hand. Earlier this year MPs slammed the
government for <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDG-iq8UYV2RAJy2M6oKzQ8d-yFx63uC0LxeCBlgKRgP_kLW2SFRZDZU98LSaivG5kdDdB1eE-pXQ5dymwkAhldKt8Y6ON89HQHp3uIzXOvHxnIhxHKBHH1_hs7lgozXfAKXBFvxrfvvPz8XNL3RclYci5PXuLurlaaSq8yhSWltMl7vPQIpdOxSV06SH9FHobGiEEEEWugf0roupL5AVEBzjZmnERoRAqWdI518YQSbW13npuA5TGVSHgZothNf55Y719EU1A9RQqfDkgeaUG-pDdT3gsQCuwbO5a94o4fxdLgVOq3lojtHHVRDq6-eAzZo65UkDjwFkzEkkp1IwXl6Bq5K_lmod0PoldUgSGnhvguAue7s3zb2VrMsfcg3IsJyvScP6dabH3aIymmuhencwwdf-E3gypTnMEee6jCFg/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h3/WCc6-fe04vih0LAWYb8BDUdoTfpszLubFRhAHbLITw4">underfunding
the tax authority</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Members of Parliament’s Public
Accounts Committee said HMRC did not have enough staff to properly
investigate underpaid tax. And estimated that up to <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDL2pqlARv2wBshrgOqWkXMG_zXPFJSB53t3JCsQrZMmqncheEpF233XOJnUkQM5CLhujNel3jvj7TM7Qe2x5mjnzXwTUIi-JnkieJEPF4ghNll8mKfo1uDacwg4e4FJtTW9YzOXgtEIlM3U35kN2x7gT5FVRl4qCYfTcXH19DjbLy5zoM-edFRQmiVb4CgxW479Ky-_TPkpmS9U9Kb_yOSPLFjgpwnHk5cYurYDPsIhKcDLwQZoc2ZRfeTZxPvJ-k7bY_jDWyumfD4QbNzzsOJP1ohvxoUprZEKAUhRYvjGCHeJwk-HL24vP2-PiW6pk7zX2HU2WuxweqxBMT-e8wubPCPoaeegPn1-yC9wMHl0d3_hhW4u3dh59t-_g0hkOYvqHGGHQ-hBkUmFhz6yakOk/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h4/Y6UGxqJG_n7Hmk9qg7MMU5xCXS_20BK_WHZvOLM9HtM">£42
billion could be missing</a> in unpaid tax. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Parliament also said that for
every £1 invested in HMRC investigations, £18 was recovered in additional
tax.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Global tax avoiders</span></strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Aggressive tax avoidance extends
beyond the UK, of course – and may help explain how just 2,756 individuals
have amassed over £13 trillion of wealth between them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">These are the billionaires. And
they are paying on average between <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDL2pqlARv2wBshrgOqWkXMHZiGZpVcaUTlxZtPILyDuLoAe1IBWT6ukUwY69EjNOrn5bbnzA1GbvLinXqtSH-Ne7LoNMYYM_hUDjZIpDy_KnTF3i0nHiEy6UdCoZlflFaULyvShwFuGrCraDp30njNzDwycUYyCcQv8e3tGY4jr7yiFu_3pyh8TSFyt9tHCiqDgkzrFecN3iuTYWRaMuryT-bx_VyrTgcKXUuA8d64kSQ5BvUBJk_3A-6syhKMVH_ivp29LPN_QuuMjlzRZjuWJxWew4A9j-fhhFZ6tLZspeXheA-_Peh3Grp6HV3HH-LMiuk6ekbSq_4p_sFdfXLCRgjinmBKrTvZ-vFkmSvbuRuWbGJt9WX0NzFQ2hd9SU_AsgMyDwM1M9r-YQrgMTaF4/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h5/J99BaAe5T8KNRg7SScTdze8dCIHwlE_xZ6v9P1DO_DE">0
and 0.6% tax</a> on their wealth, a stark new report showed this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Using tax loopholes, shell
companies and profit shifting, the world’s three thousand richest individuals
have been operating on “the borders of legality”, the report from the EU Tax
Observatory argues. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">The Tax Observatory – which was
set up to steer EU tax policy – argues a 2% annual tax should be introduced
on billionaires’ wealth. They say it <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhilnegIJzXp6EiSq0t9RRSItTRX5f39UGkHlDZslq3SLq0dd6CwJs--lXDh8nWTWfCmZxkYb0gE28aqXpclsHaB0S6Vtn8cBwlfcoyg2V0EB5loMueKZoqNLmBIBAlncM9Iq6SvOvU_iSFdFgjoNm75x4BAZFVRvPNINGGSsGFflbedtDnbfERWy0MbKKObpkrhpFfYrxmFvaUJSneZxdEPA6B595q_W2prsbaAD1GeGuBHZVzK3fATb5-DONQj5jiCRo6T5k3or3z6s4h9c1rzEUPSbIR3aZFl4crnqJPsxcPmx-YgGeL80yjMdTAFqcCC-Q1iBbpLEIFdIpnTnMOE/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h6/n64OytjelQo76lQ2dfHodcoRy7kUC3ZmmRZyjRQ_Iw4">could
raise £250 billion annually</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">It’s encouraging to see a major
tax body back wealth taxes on the super rich. Our own research shows up to <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDPzRfsmSZuNA0Q99srBdjccpnOcpzyy2ZxdizaL3RPBfG7ENglJ51DXcT0bwhTYWm70LDaFFthHZOdekJYaJrZbXkMv7b2sTXgMZSCPx4CSs8DHYsJzrEqgI0zvb8T-W5foQyV2N2IEhhaElnUzP4dA5n82020Ms98kfPRyfrKwtIWx7rTeYJ-eK3-RDWdpGcSwkJUGz8JKLiBKTRNbbPxR_ktbvSZ66LV5PZKiUk1a4vnlo-SABTjxhotFCTd7DV73-3Ed2Gv6RQlQjCCBUzJtW57vAm3omvieitmHUNYxz6Ru6wufBqXGyRIzKcTdpjI5-wbP0tFrvL6uPrNC_2IeY2FWDL4mUs_Vk27dNWJ7g/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h7/yRC8FzvVnj1xmQOayY-mbRObYTTrnzQ7L6eXJORZiuQ">£50
billion a year</a> could be raised in the UK alone through higher taxes on
wealth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Beyond wealth taxes, loopholes
for billionaires and multinational companies must be closed – and our tax
authorities properly resourced to scrutinise them properly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Rebuilding our broken
society</span></strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">This is not simply a question of
fairness and transparency, but one of an unequal and broken society.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">3.8 million people in the UK are <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhl32fq66Yy9l7MxdCDkPd7T5mZynwWD4DaO94ffer4VL9Cd_0sFkYrNv-8N3EIusv08dM4_KyNEomqwbzNhxXxALAGrNwDpPS4N1a-z7dT-U0GIrMOpfpSnZv6Xs8v28i2JZxAhTb1RHciIL2goK3BQU_pNNldEf-KwJhb6oB2oWiaXiQjp5miByBGJ-lLOfNGJjyGjAmnHF8-FDKWCedkCyNQM2eWCdUtjy78R3IGCFhatQh9uAZ0u8Cxtp-AmCqjS1mTgWIu6PtKGLAMjhDDUDcSVywoCqdpk2BC2pMx_D_Y_WnKGg3L3OTEzMs6BZQg/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h8/D6XYj5E2jqLwsoKrnZ5Mm0CPkEvZdSmoMq49pEDgNKA">living
in destitution</a>. They can’t afford to meet their most basic needs for
shelter, food or energy. That’s the shocking finding of an investigation by
our friends at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">This is a disgrace. Our
politicians should hang their heads in shame. The safety net we all rely on
if we fall on hard times is totally failing nearly 1 in 10 people in the UK. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">But something can be done. There
is money available to <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhrdq8JTPxuUIMTvFCoMbBQerAMJ5NPBDKhVevnAxj7SJxGHQMXT0DCmU95n4vYAeaIBL_WHLpaEA22VSY6qSS59UKUzGZYBcQHPqbpyotg4cLjtSUoeQc60tq1n1IRhzcja-3zeo5B96xYhHuNzdprkbW6LNDoRBaa5zeKRF2OkFSE9R8c6ccr2qtySK27K3PxRN2_0JjtsleXvQe_WYzLKkPfVbS0_RsavqUYaU8IE81sxRgqdFGvtFdiHGY1p5NYb84NPFf8hcvBETu9H-Ro7hSrxNFiS8zhuyrCi1n_9FED4nHwp-FiBvPOiL_2y3F1kOGTA9fePpxl5bO7ANQOo/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h9/VQMoW8KKlQ6QAQzO6FL3z7teiVCKo_IxjZvNkEj2KxM">fix
these problems</a>, as I told Times Radio this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">We can renew our broken society,
taking more from the very very rich and repairing our NHS and public
services. Don’t let politicians tell you otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Thanks for reading, and
supporting our work,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Robert Palmer</span></strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Executive Director <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">Tax Justice UK<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://actionnetwork.org/s3_files/uploads/data/000/828/322/original/unnamed.png" style="max-width: 150px; width: 100%;" width="150" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;">P.S. Will you
help us build an unstoppable movement for fair tax? Support us and <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDPzRfsmSZuNA0Q99srBdjcdCkKQBO_p_MsD0UIunde3_1JPAL319JvzJEEnHPaqaD2BADnEkRIDAuEMn8rACg3aGtKEpQEUu3Ot_22Y-Uw6KLEe3Vv45qj_AGhC1MvKjmWG7eiNOb_l69DFT85r0EYw-hvMOvmhasdUZ6wtAtsYBq7JVHmfSSeWhcz3pFD1ReYtkh1epjUvZnabBvREhtSFvu5p8lyseSJeKT3pptcIjh8rkBsCAGIXw-a8CUPoEb6NDfa7Ln4wHrC33QTK-lWxxTr2u4X1FSZRmXN5ijQMN/40r/HE_RRBKAQROhFwglTWAzrA/h10/aLrGrAO-QBpcajK84YohfL2hewdmRbrhW36XF9-s27Q">make
a donation today</a>. Thank you if you already do.</span></i></strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-28287469764538540572023-10-20T09:07:00.000+01:002023-10-20T09:07:21.146+01:00OPEN BRITAIN - HOW CORRUPT IS THE BRITISH STATE?<p> I subscribe to posts from Open Britain. They provide worthwhile analyses of the state of Britain. Try this latest post for size - I find it's so good I want to share it with you:</p><p><br /></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7jDUkD2LwoUg5PNUVj2yLuPym8ECnEtvQaieX6E6DKJtLWMMgceCIMXn3sIn9qnRqFeSAa49ulcDHDygEPmZAjVmAqOceLSvLI_DLa3iQcnNrWb4wF_P4CGeDXx0f74GxA5FC8jvg-l2n6k1gYbNga9TKAPZDG2IFiG7gMT9Ti-MPSi1OV4WPeeJXpo/s1200/Corruption.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7jDUkD2LwoUg5PNUVj2yLuPym8ECnEtvQaieX6E6DKJtLWMMgceCIMXn3sIn9qnRqFeSAa49ulcDHDygEPmZAjVmAqOceLSvLI_DLa3iQcnNrWb4wF_P4CGeDXx0f74GxA5FC8jvg-l2n6k1gYbNga9TKAPZDG2IFiG7gMT9Ti-MPSi1OV4WPeeJXpo/w400-h300/Corruption.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My thanks to the Guardian newspaper for this telling image </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div align="center">
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<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dear Rob,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We're not the only ones
worried about the UK's flimsy safeguards against political corruption. </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lord
Evans, outgoing chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL), <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=5T-Y6lQYOLM_64Dw8pcjvxM7pKpcgrwL9tryprpIkv-ZWcscFMKtPnDD608fP9Q7SOdY08N65XFOdik8KD6CUCKUAb0bCm0zzmCJ2FWZNGI3DmY9s7b1QxsfY0kSLunGr6OEgAYflGmdNHqMiZ749uiJ7VtiXjgk99D8CI3eBxBQJOIXoxUyJfDniWhdykTQVfJtP28L6rk3KtnS858sAgT20m8VeuqdIhQf_w324KM&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=1"><span style="color: blue;">spoke out</span></a> yesterday about the UK's <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">"very weak"</span></strong> compliance
with ethical standards, urging for a complete <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">"overhaul" </span></strong>of the way
we regulate ministerial conduct. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Evans brought up the government's recent decision to <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">reject many of the CSPL's
recommendations </span></strong>on improving political transparency and
oversight. Even for the few meagre reforms that Sunak's government has
elected to adopt, Evans is concerned that recent governments have already
been <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">ignoring
the existing rules. </span></strong>The CSPL chair described it as a <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">"structural problem",</span></strong>
that there is no working compliance function "within government or
across public service". <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even Lord Evans himself is
understating the severity of the problem we have.</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
The outgoing chair has assured the public that he doesn't believe the UK is a
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">"deeply corrupt</span></strong>"
country, but that we risk becoming one if we fail to revamp our ethics
requirements and lobbying rules. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I'd urge Lord Evans to take
a step back and look at the actual state of British politics in 2023. </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Over
the last few years, we've witnessed absurd violations of almost every basic
ethical norm and standard in existence. So many scandals that, each taken
alone, should have raised major questions about our political system, have
failed to produce any meaningful new safeguards. <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">It keeps getting worse. </span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remember when David Cameron lobbied government ministers on
behalf of Greensill Capital, pocketing over <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=FECXgvVBAH18GBWRCy8D9eULR8jVNuzMIqF4hPkjI68YRf7l1Bw0Z5nTd--es_29Mw_2Ek1wJ3VFZfXuquKsSDOWCK5YIO8vd2XiaKEtrncnROtpwnASnX-05hqATUBvYOLWRclPz9Gu4K4mBWkPqw&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=2"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">£7 million?</span></strong></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remember when the UK government purchased <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=Jq6tnEgPBtQVPlzVUf4nWx4tk5Fgvno6N_NgGUaZfFCwK_m6EPm6zjlPowtu7a1wwuxY5EzLBUmr5I3Zc38Sek31MX7CBaDEJwVpv4N7XuE0dHx0UxpkaQqFMC0KIXTGK3HrpTp3FIf6xwZ_K_a9zJqFUpeETZI0XMEfA-Lr9Koyaz4T5RMZ60f9lfN1Wcv2RoYMymlFbq45bvc-BwRlexvYzoobeSvu7hWWBifvmHCEm8-KEFXmDHYjbLwnjCn8&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=3"><span style="color: blue;">£4 billion</span></a> </span></strong>of unusable PPE
equipment and Tory chums and donors made off with a fortune? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How about when it emerged that MPs earned over <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=FECXgvVBAH18GBWRCy8D9eULR8jVNuzMIqF4hPkjI6-mn5GMQl-k6Od9ORhGLNxqZJlrJXUDf-LLPLzZUSzyjrpvgOr_bBFlHCmjFp9LeHobiSLIZ7TtpKx26ePM6vpKqQKO_4rGNlUxldoBw_SguuVFyHTbVUbcmxiVgxadzwFlPodeR4CDxM_52RqkO9eLwkcd9L2QQmrtMaf4WgAr0Mz9sgtEqg8lOuSE1WUaUXDNRC1NF9lQzSGv1Jg5h_-NAkPqCgfBWuW2KRAJns_xBwAt0T_H1FgRyoLg5-VVLSZzTVXtknbrq71JthJ64DgKBC28uUP4vBrAdu1Nms8sAgGrv2yR1iX9Zh13992hMVKipjN56P1cUjGQ2pnev9mAZsa9I4XQ2uiP1hRbEyTJBLGTTOPFO3BrcLsW3y7tPauChgwpMXVrGMLmrcL_V6tyTZMVF-rbN5eY16SQfeJzxWW6B2Vvm2ALUOIIWekb3tQ&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=4"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">£10 million</span></strong></a>
from second jobs in the course of just one year? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or maybe the billionaire Prime Minister Rishi Sunak having financial
ties to tech giant Infosys, which was awarded <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=NREEtdEPliNfTTX_t9Tx5uei622gZRbQQb5rbMGQQEyfaaCAquopz_RLDh-4DzzatR-gG7EguBQ4jIyyu2YR2QrLcPA-Sg_2WcFi4jx2WaMA7a8ZCWgLMwc6zp7lGQHh&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=5"><span style="color: blue;">£172 million</span></a></span></strong> in public sector
contracts? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The list just goes on and
on and on. </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It's not even shocking
anymore. While it's always possible to be more corrupt, we've long
crossed beyond anything resembling decent public service. We'd say it meets
the criteria for <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">"deeply
corrupt". </span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nevertheless, Evans main point is well made, and it's never
been more crucial to call out our frail political safeguards. As Evans was
speaking, <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">Boris
Johnson was being</span></strong> <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">being
appointed an <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=eQ6ZiAY9e0lzBA4mM4wKsWVpM6-JJGX0kSDOSTiROJfTbhooJ4654x4CR0Wgowz3piorTzQKHVQobk2lc3_RofGT9sV8M6aQQfbQysMo0PJu9Ouv68WAoXOy052hGOneM8BUJDw4MiVQQdjK0b9yTSVeO226xVKc21lo5U6yHu9-bk_i8V0m9VDf7myMXCk_&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=6"><span style="color: blue;">adviser</span></a> to the "international democracy
union". </span></strong>We're up against forces that have utter
contempt for basic accountability and standards, and we need to champion any
voice that stands in the way of the country's burgeoning authoritarians. <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">We urgently need to restore sanity
and basic common sense to British politics. </span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our first four democracy goals (listed in our <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=VWzEI63dzPSFk2ZrGdc45uNWlcunbY1tOC4x3zXg4UK4Qp67DmUFwFdtnKB2-5sdKYWtiK2de9QGPpc2tHW4wGiiNXk6MRVoGfL4un7ZZ-0&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=7"><span style="color: blue;">UK Democracy Goals</span></a></span></strong> report)
call for a binding ministerial code, a stricter public appointments process,
a more powerful watchdog for MP's business interests, and much more
transparency around government lobbying. <strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif;">Even that's only the start. </span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let's make politicians work
for us again. </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let's take Westminster back from the
corporate lobbyists, the shady think-tanks, and the billionaire mega-donors.
Let's build a system where the people we elect have a public duty to uphold
rather than business interests to push. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We can get there, but we need a critical mass of support.
Whatever you can contribute to help us out with goes a long way. Don't let
the news cycle or the bleak state of the UK get you down – we can fix this if
we all stand together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div align="center">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=YDzITEgJp2pH9y7Nkh1bREustuYaQLaIJs1WPrNsMUihcftqHUeK3T06wC4v4Jzh&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cspl_warning&n=9" style="bottom: 0; right: 0in;" target="_blank"><span style="color: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Support The Movement</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All the best, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Matt Gallagher</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Communications Officer <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Open Britain team<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
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</div><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHmYS_TcNdy4fmWx7yMRLe1v6EvGkskqJN7CM02wt_0Y4nEnLcNU3gVtzXuglnAGfMVZVUBVYRBEGMsFm6K6oEmW0HaCvTQAjFf7F0Vo2hjZYTR2HlXRoHxrqk1y4cWRCZz-sLAj4izKlLN86cPzHX87hAV4OgO_MgkDeITM0vLtlv7WcR1bqLvb-6k4/s290/Corruption%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHmYS_TcNdy4fmWx7yMRLe1v6EvGkskqJN7CM02wt_0Y4nEnLcNU3gVtzXuglnAGfMVZVUBVYRBEGMsFm6K6oEmW0HaCvTQAjFf7F0Vo2hjZYTR2HlXRoHxrqk1y4cWRCZz-sLAj4izKlLN86cPzHX87hAV4OgO_MgkDeITM0vLtlv7WcR1bqLvb-6k4/w400-h240/Corruption%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another fine cartoon from the Guardian newspaper - but remember: 'They are few; we are many'. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><b style="font-size: large;">MY VIEW: </b></p><p><b style="font-size: large;">WE ARE BEING MISGOVERNED BY A SMALL GROUP OF SELF-CENTRED WEALTHY POLITICIANS WHO DO NOT HAVE THE INTERESTS OF THE PUBLIC AT HEART - AND THE MANY ARE SUFFERING AS A RESULT.</b></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-26381055780247060332023-10-16T09:49:00.000+01:002023-10-16T09:49:52.178+01:00A TRIBUTE TO CHARLES WILFRID TREGENZA (1891-1974) - A REMARKABLE CORNISHMAN AND QUAKERIn my research for 'Mine to Die' (my latest book, due to be published in February 2024 - <a href="http://www.robdonovan-author.co.uk/Mine-To-Die.html">see this website link here</a>), I discovered the remarkable life story of Charles Wilfrid Tregenza (1891-1974). His father was a mayor of Penzance and a Wesleyan Methodist, a man of standing in the local community. The family lived in Boslandew House in Paul, near Mousehole. Wilfrid Tregenza (as he was known to all) was the eldest of four brothers, all educated at the Truro Wesleyan College and all became conscientious objectors during the Great War (1914-1918). <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I knew enough about this remarkable man for my research purposes but I did not realize until the early summer of this year when I read the inscription on the bench outside by the kitchen door (see the end of this blogpost) that he had been a worshipper at the very same Friends Meeting House that I was now attending. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Before Charles Wilfrid, aged 24, volunteered for battlefield ambulance work in 1915, he had enjoyed the glittering prizes that came his way as a fine athlete and a gifted scholar. By the time he was thirteen, he was winning swimming races; at eighteen, he was the school football captain and excelling in swimming, cricket, and athletics, as well as achieving outstanding public exam results. He became the first Cornish boy to win a scholarship to Cambridge where he read Mathematics at Downing College, gained a Cambridge blue and graduated with a double First in 1910. By 1914, he was mathematics master at King Edward's Grammar School, Chelmsford and a year later, mathematics master at Queen Mary's School, Basingstoke. To many observers the pathway to a headship must have seemed clear.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebgazYtmh3SjG9uVUIQYIeo3PCBzbb2I_bBd7aOCE-vZ254O8TUk8oY5iR18MrCW0BET5vuw4G0cf55sb3IyXlbV9laU0GiRLXdYHxcTonCcAeHbDea1gzAhf52QeQ6jfOXGu5pJn1Vc9eunky4WNEmEC5eo2h1CRWGwXIk-MDD7-Mp3kg8Eq2V4SmzI/s432/Tregenza%20Charles.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="294" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebgazYtmh3SjG9uVUIQYIeo3PCBzbb2I_bBd7aOCE-vZ254O8TUk8oY5iR18MrCW0BET5vuw4G0cf55sb3IyXlbV9laU0GiRLXdYHxcTonCcAeHbDea1gzAhf52QeQ6jfOXGu5pJn1Vc9eunky4WNEmEC5eo2h1CRWGwXIk-MDD7-Mp3kg8Eq2V4SmzI/w273-h400/Tregenza%20Charles.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Wilfrid Tregenza (1891-1974)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>However, in 1914 a war in Europe began that was soon termed the Great War and then, in time, the First World War. In August 1915, Charles Wilfrid Tregenza signed up as an orderly for the British Red Cross Society and was soon working with the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU). His Methodist Christian faith had led him to an active pacifist position. A year later, conscription was introduced by the British government and when he heard rumours that conscientious objectors (COs) were being shot for desertion, he and several other FAU men decided to return to England to challenge the principle of conscription. Back in Cornwall, the tribunal he faced did its best to get him to compromise and return to <span><a name='more'></a></span>the FAU but he refused - and by 1916 he was serving a hard labour prison sentence that saw him jailed at various times in Wormwood Scrubs, Wakefield, Dartmoor, and Dorchester. Whilst in Dartmoor, he was in a group of COs who found themselves being stoned by local villagers on an escorted visit to the local church one Sunday. The Bishop of Exeter had refused to allow the COs to use the prison chapel and one inmate describes them 'going up to the church for a service and being stoned on the way. The parson was standing on a flat tombstone. I won't say cheering them (the local villagers) on, but any rate encouraging them'. Every village in Cornwall was losing menfolk in the trenches and at sea. Pacifists were not popular. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8MhYtI8WkE9RZNSApZh4fHtRJADZPTdOaYV2CfEp5TeSkqUoNrsIs8R0CT_6CLIAzyDSo-AxIT1lkVe2YvgErrwhcZUojQeNjQMFzpVCzMXaHAxrCxjxJuJ4iSnjc7wvpG7LPypwNpFP-Eso1Gb-9yd5y1zxPtuuJfK-TmJeii5LWQngBGUu0c1wuU8/s2598/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition%20-%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1824" data-original-width="2598" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8MhYtI8WkE9RZNSApZh4fHtRJADZPTdOaYV2CfEp5TeSkqUoNrsIs8R0CT_6CLIAzyDSo-AxIT1lkVe2YvgErrwhcZUojQeNjQMFzpVCzMXaHAxrCxjxJuJ4iSnjc7wvpG7LPypwNpFP-Eso1Gb-9yd5y1zxPtuuJfK-TmJeii5LWQngBGUu0c1wuU8/w640-h450/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition%20-%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Wilfrid Tregenza - working with the FAU, but not yet a Quaker Friend, still a Methodist </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb21SluDpjGmqf7-Y9K0vLoqeE0vAafJHYTrnzwOH40Ni2aU1EvoKAC-ksufSz1p0-oq7kpNvDAg0ZnJ_CF7XFrJVwATYbIRrT_8eoFM6P83qYNNHubbQUVUmUk9G1KA3_iD5KXRWPdmNySsuSmWO1sUcWuGGukM0FgF9Rf2BtMoVBHFUnlhX8TBCaTQw/s3198/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition%20-%204.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3198" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb21SluDpjGmqf7-Y9K0vLoqeE0vAafJHYTrnzwOH40Ni2aU1EvoKAC-ksufSz1p0-oq7kpNvDAg0ZnJ_CF7XFrJVwATYbIRrT_8eoFM6P83qYNNHubbQUVUmUk9G1KA3_iD5KXRWPdmNySsuSmWO1sUcWuGGukM0FgF9Rf2BtMoVBHFUnlhX8TBCaTQw/w640-h452/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition%20-%204.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conscientious Objectors who had been jailed in Dartmoor Prison were instructed to serve their hard labour by digging 'the road that led to nowhere' on the moor. It still exists - and is known by that name. Charles Wilfrid Tregenza is not in this photograph. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Charles Wilfrid Tregenza was eventually released from Dorchester prison in April 1919 and soon afterwards joined the Religious Society of Friends. He married Mary at Jordans Meeting House in Buckinghamshire in 1920 and unlike many COs in teaching positions managed to reengage with his career, serving as mathematics master in schools in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire before taking up the headship of a secondary school in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, from 1930 to 1934. He was an active supporter of the League of Nations during these years as a maths teacher and then Head. In 1934, aged 43, he joined the elite group of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools in which he served until his retirement. His final triumph was to serve as the Chairman of the Butler Committee on Education whose Report led to the Butler Education Act in 1944, establishing the tripartite system of education - Grammar, Technical, and Secondary Modern schools - that has helped define my life and the lives of so many others. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOsmYuo_o1kKsX_I6_K_Tt2MRk7YxbVdqmIfv7Wgaeb7EKdOcQSrTYDDm4T3HUupyIwQb5sC8P0_z1vP_yZOzLXKVHQF4lD5lEoUx7vA1hTtPdlZP60l_GWPALeDr-uWXqlGnTsVI2IMh4BPehtWYeBNrMN6idwaoojknNzvLnU2FDkD3ZVJgHbBD3Yg/s1024/Butler+Act+1944.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOsmYuo_o1kKsX_I6_K_Tt2MRk7YxbVdqmIfv7Wgaeb7EKdOcQSrTYDDm4T3HUupyIwQb5sC8P0_z1vP_yZOzLXKVHQF4lD5lEoUx7vA1hTtPdlZP60l_GWPALeDr-uWXqlGnTsVI2IMh4BPehtWYeBNrMN6idwaoojknNzvLnU2FDkD3ZVJgHbBD3Yg/w640-h480/Butler+Act+1944.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Butler Education Act of 1944 laid the social foundations for the young even before the Second World War was over - this was a nation looking to the future with optimism and hope.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br />On retirement, Charles Wilfrid Tregenza was awarded a CBE. He returned to his native Cornwall, living first at St Just and later at Heamoor, near Penzance, in Holly Cottage in the village of Madron where he worked on the genealogy of the Tregenza family and created a collection of archival material. He was a founder member of the Penzance and District Christian Council and became very active in several Old Cornwall Societies as well as Marazion Friends Meeting. He died on the 10 April 1974 in Holly Cottage, Madron, Penzance. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There are still links to Charles Wilfrid Tregenza in the Marazion Friends community today. His great niece and goddaughter, Vivienne Tregenza Reid, is one of our attenders. She remembers Wilfrid as a kind and interested godfather, who was close to her grandfather, John. Both brothers lived in St Just in their retirement and Wilfrid was often at Tregeseal House with the family enjoying tea and cake while helping her growing interest in mathematics. He died when she was 13 in 1974. Wilfrid had been a graduate of Downing College, Cambridge and in subsequent generations was followed at Downing by both Dr. Nick Tregenza of Mousehole and by Vivienne's daughter, Lamona. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>One of our elders, Tony Fitt, remembers him vividly as a man of great presence and powerful faith who would always complete his hour of worship on his knees in prayer. And then we have the memorial bench I referred to at the beginning of this blogpost. As you look at the image below, imagine between six and a dozen Friends gathered around in and around this area outside the kitchen door in a communal gathering every Monday during the Open Doors event in the hot months of this summer. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlctZi2vRlKAaHOSjksU2_3xyZkv2wC1MOq0nima1cYaJmjBIJk1wQrFYPbNMGv87pI-l_toouGkigeK7wypjlNEpDuyTB4zzDb2qLPtyAVg0jB4XU8sgoOThe5FKYrwb-_M_wn9cU6Lq8vZWk_tbDIWcYKIztkWXcwaINHyMZFQ00zpTVWBctqjsxpg/s4608/Marazion%20Meeting%20House%20-%20Tregenza%20bench.bmp"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlctZi2vRlKAaHOSjksU2_3xyZkv2wC1MOq0nima1cYaJmjBIJk1wQrFYPbNMGv87pI-l_toouGkigeK7wypjlNEpDuyTB4zzDb2qLPtyAVg0jB4XU8sgoOThe5FKYrwb-_M_wn9cU6Lq8vZWk_tbDIWcYKIztkWXcwaINHyMZFQ00zpTVWBctqjsxpg/w640-h480/Marazion%20Meeting%20House%20-%20Tregenza%20bench.bmp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In 2014, there was an exhibition at the Marazion Meeting House centred on the First World War and the pacifist response, featuring Charles Wilfrid Tregenza and others. Well over five hundred people attended during the week. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQse43BGoR5gX_PRGHE2gYmzj2JBzJeTTqYvjUWu1zGsCuND9kd1YxaHRQGBer0C-5rUv-fbavOL93FHYvRRcMzWWFfQ6nNXZlmIU31C1HX4LpUujUfhJLJR5BrwnJU6j9188P7EmV4wPXWJDuiDFdRfnAbgeLVqZSkwOBcuSP0aGniN-TtYA8sriGyts/s3484/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition%20-%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3484" data-original-width="2416" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQse43BGoR5gX_PRGHE2gYmzj2JBzJeTTqYvjUWu1zGsCuND9kd1YxaHRQGBer0C-5rUv-fbavOL93FHYvRRcMzWWFfQ6nNXZlmIU31C1HX4LpUujUfhJLJR5BrwnJU6j9188P7EmV4wPXWJDuiDFdRfnAbgeLVqZSkwOBcuSP0aGniN-TtYA8sriGyts/w444-h640/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition%20-%207.jpg" width="444" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_lzQI3EW1xDxGb-dyxFA34dvyaTQRiKeRkUVEi5FSCHqfodlXXOXGP5hVGzvXIY8MUis1-ZdbNDody_gVI4istI1bDyeo0uG5yfiZbz9quFwMR4seO3gfmUkHZjR6eWbBo1QUpaTGPP0FGz9y_JZB9AcIMoAtQhMmES9erCjvDTmPuVPEryDpPsGzys/s2381/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2381" data-original-width="1760" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_lzQI3EW1xDxGb-dyxFA34dvyaTQRiKeRkUVEi5FSCHqfodlXXOXGP5hVGzvXIY8MUis1-ZdbNDody_gVI4istI1bDyeo0uG5yfiZbz9quFwMR4seO3gfmUkHZjR6eWbBo1QUpaTGPP0FGz9y_JZB9AcIMoAtQhMmES9erCjvDTmPuVPEryDpPsGzys/w474-h640/Marazion%20Pacifist%20Exhibition.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Centenary Exhibition in the Marazion Meeting House - 2014</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-42922852584519073792023-10-16T09:41:00.002+01:002023-10-16T09:41:40.718+01:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - CHRIS NINEHAM (2023) 'LIES, PROPAGANDA AND THE WEST'S WAR IN UKRAINE'<p> Chris Nineham's 30-page essay was published this autumn as a Stop the War pamphlet. Chris is a British political activist, author, and founder member and current vice chair of the <b>Stop the War Coalition</b>. Here is a bullet-pointed summary of his <b>Introduction: Selling War, </b>the <b>Six Steps</b> he presents as the way forward to peace, and his <b>Conclusion</b>.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2mR9egHDJliCPBgeHO958i5LpxTEaVrciIHbxfoNx8V2YZ2VHcoF5FmRABh1b_vEt_uPOYOvjCo2GFVo_-gHqjf8R6uVjxO4HgFOAYEn3nPHDFbJm-ajcqsP6xrnXXQcawkmRdARODilsRNMkjEaQ03xJ47PRx5B8Neun6nw_fUw2yKUYeAi2CgGRzg/s3893/Stop%20the%20War.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3893" data-original-width="2728" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2mR9egHDJliCPBgeHO958i5LpxTEaVrciIHbxfoNx8V2YZ2VHcoF5FmRABh1b_vEt_uPOYOvjCo2GFVo_-gHqjf8R6uVjxO4HgFOAYEn3nPHDFbJm-ajcqsP6xrnXXQcawkmRdARODilsRNMkjEaQ03xJ47PRx5B8Neun6nw_fUw2yKUYeAi2CgGRzg/w280-h400/Stop%20the%20War.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Nineham's Stop the War pamphlet - Autumn 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>Introduction: Selling War</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>'Truth is the first casualty of war' is a commonplace saying that captures the reality of war. If the wider population were to understand the sheer horror of war it would be much harder to keep them on board. Lloyd George, the British PM, said this to the editor of the Guardian newspaper at the height of the carnage of World War One: '<b>If people knew the truth, the war would stop tomorrow</b>'.</li><li>It is now widely accepted that the recent Western wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya were motivated by a desire to prop up Western influence in oil-rich and strategically important regions. But at the time, Western governments and media were saying that these wars were all about saving people from fanatics and dangerous dictators. Our troops were spreading democracy, human rights, and countering terrorism.</li><li>At present, the Western war effort in Ukraine is being presented as a fight for freedom, democracy and peace; the Russians are claiming that their actions are designed to thwart neo-Nazis who have seized power in Ukraine. Most of the global south is avoiding taking sides - but here in the West any criticism of the military involvement in the Ukrainian war is met with denunciation. There is a <span><a name='more'></a></span>suffocating establishment consensus - government, opposition, and media - in favour of a simplistic view that this is a war of good against evil. There is very little attention to the wider historical analysis that offers an explanation which features Russian fear of NATO aggression and promises broken by the West after the collapse of the Soviet Union. </li></ul><br /><div><b>Step 1: Make it About Human Rights </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There is a long and dishonourable history of going to war in the name of the rights of nations or peoples: Belgium in 1914, the South Vietnamese in the 1960s, Kuwait in 1991, Kosovo in 1999.</li><li>In the case of Ukraine, Biden, Johnson and Sunak have all claimed that they have the interests of Ukrainians at heart. It is true that the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was an act of aggression that has been rightly condemned by the antiwar movement - but the militaristic response from the West has only deepened the sufferings of Ukrainians.</li><li>In March this year Biden acknowledged that this was a war being fought for regime change - Putin 'cannot remain in power'. </li><li>Washington and Whitehall have blocked peace efforts. President Zelensky in the Spring of 2022 publicly announced that the war will end in negotiations. A month later, Johnson was in Ukraine to declare that Putin was a war criminal and no negotiations were possible. An African peace plan for Ukraine was rejected by the West. Yet talk of a total victory by either side is deranged. </li></ul><br /><b>Step 2: Prove the Enemy is Pure Evil</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin the evil madman has become a media staple - the latest in a long line of 'new Hitlers'. It is true that he is a ruthless and authoritarian leader who is desperate to regain some influence and territory in Eastern Europe - but Germany under Hitler had the second biggest economy on the planet and the largest army whereas Russia now is a declining regional power, with an economy ranked 11th in the world. In 2021, Russia spent around $66 billion on its military; Nato's European members spent more than four times as much and the United States military spend was eleven times higher. </li><li>As the United States became ever more aggressive in the late-20th century and now in the 21st century, Russia was expected to acquiesce to a new world order created and dominated by the USA. </li></ul><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTvgfB79qmZDM8nb6s85yYWUeESuPYiFwh8nWG_X4znzHBLDI7k04mMvF2FECmPUwKQRmJMFqTk6OeWRhbLl_R_3tPxbOmHuiccSGS-S5u2CYFPlVfGXwbrHABd2aT3bRjni5nzd9O1fZOsf8bKHONd0y_1iwLlzapRpnz_cssQYCQX3Oe2KjK_-mB1Q/s300/Putin%20as%20Hitler.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTvgfB79qmZDM8nb6s85yYWUeESuPYiFwh8nWG_X4znzHBLDI7k04mMvF2FECmPUwKQRmJMFqTk6OeWRhbLl_R_3tPxbOmHuiccSGS-S5u2CYFPlVfGXwbrHABd2aT3bRjni5nzd9O1fZOsf8bKHONd0y_1iwLlzapRpnz_cssQYCQX3Oe2KjK_-mB1Q/w640-h358/Putin%20as%20Hitler.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putin identified as a return of Adolf Hitler </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 3: Make it a 'War For Freedom'</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>'Freedom' is back, front and centre as the Western war aim in Ukraine, and, according to Biden, freedom is winning out. Is this true? To start with, NATO contains countries that are not freedom-loving liberal democracies. Hungary under Orban is no longer a 'full democracy'. Turkey is a deeply coercive state that jails regime critics including journalists. Moreover, NATOs recent interventions in Serbia, Afghanistan and Libya have done nothing to spread freedom. </li><li>Talk about freedom is used as a cover for the pursuit of Western foreign policy interests, the most important of which is weakening Russia and drawing more and more of Eastern Europe into the US orbit. </li><li>Zelensky is using the war to crack down on the left and smash independent Ukrainian unions. One month into the war, 11 parties, including the largest parliamentary opposition party, were closed down by state decree and their assets seized. In August last year, union rights for workers in small and medium-sized companies were removed - around 70 per cent of workers in Ukraine have been stripped of labour protections. </li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 4: Bury the Background</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>For supporters of the western war effort in Ukraine any attempt by critics to put the war into a historical context is seen as virtually treasonable. The Russian action was 'unprovoked'. This is the view of the British media and almost all politicians. Yet it is not true. Anyone with any knowledge knows that the Russian invasion kickstarted a new and dangerous phase of a war that was already being fought out on Ukrainian soil. Ukraine was riven by civil war after the Maidan protests of 2013/14 forcibly removed the government of Yanukovych who had tilted towards closer relations with Russia. The US was closely involved in installing a new government; the civil war intensified in the Donbass region in the east with Russian-supporting separatists fighting pro-government forces. </li><li>All this happened against the background of a historic shift eastwards by NATO that began soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. At the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008, a promise was made that both Ukraine and Georgia would have the chance to join NATO. Thirteen eastern European countries have joined in the last three decades. Yet, the American Secretary of State had promised Gorbachev three times in one meeting in 1990 that NATO would not move eastwards. </li><li>George Kennan, who orchestrated the American Cold War containment policies, has called the expansion of NATO a 'tragic mistake', adding, 'it is the beginning of a new Cold War. I think the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies'. </li><li>If we are to understand modern geopolitics, we cannot take what our leaders say at face value. We have to insist on our right to maintain an independent, critical attitude to both the causes and the consequences of the wars they want us to fight. </li></ul></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdNT_CCPlqYC1Nf3yUOVI31gyMQjagaLp2U4erxsbVMb52AKP2P2fKQlpdqT7yHVtBTisndNuUaG9wCu3kThGemXHoj6-VLR1yw2iusweEn-p7YKgw7LmFJDlKxSYBMUpL_gEVW_gEHLJ3ch3WptKNxjNTeR0XLjbhEdDboQj9HUWga2NvUb9F8V5aKw/s1024/Putin%20and%20NATO.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1024" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdNT_CCPlqYC1Nf3yUOVI31gyMQjagaLp2U4erxsbVMb52AKP2P2fKQlpdqT7yHVtBTisndNuUaG9wCu3kThGemXHoj6-VLR1yw2iusweEn-p7YKgw7LmFJDlKxSYBMUpL_gEVW_gEHLJ3ch3WptKNxjNTeR0XLjbhEdDboQj9HUWga2NvUb9F8V5aKw/w640-h404/Putin%20and%20NATO.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putin's actions are in part a response to NATO's expansion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Step 5: Demonise Dissenters</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Labour Party, the main party of opposition under its leader, Starmer, has demanded that eleven Labour MPs withdraw their names from Stop the War's anti-war statement. For the first time in the party's history there are now no Labour MPs prepared to publicly criticize Tory war policies. </li><li>Debate is being muzzled. A series of venues from Quaker meeting houses to trade union HQs and churches have been contacted and urged to pull peace meetings. </li></ul></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Step 6: Explain that Peace Means War</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Peace and security are the declared central aims of the West's operations in Ukraine. But behind this rhetoric, the truth is that the USA aims to defend its interests as a supposed unchallenged superpower against economic competitors - but the growing power of China and India and the presence of Russia as a nuclear power makes this impossible. </li><li>What has the West's response to the invasion of Ukraine done for peace? The great powers have publicly threatened to use nuclear weapons for the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It has accelerated the expansion of NATO with Finland joining and Sweden set to join. Germany is modernizing its armed forces at great expense. Peace has not been brought closer. </li></ul></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Conclusion</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We who oppose the war say that the quicker we get to negotiations, the more lives will be saved and the less damage will be done. For this we are pilloried and denounced, no doubt right up until the time negotiations begin. </li><li>It is clear the government is using the war to try to marginalize protest, to stir up nationalism, and to clear the way for what could be an even more terrifying confrontation with China. The stakes could hardly be higher. </li></ul><b>The Marazion Meeting House library copy has been gifted by its new librarian, me.</b></div> <p></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-55439263606040102902023-10-04T12:39:00.000+01:002023-10-04T12:39:35.321+01:00FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY - ROBERT LAWRENCE SMITH (1998) - 'A QUAKER BOOK OF WISDOM' <p>The first time I browsed in the small library in the Marazion Meeting Room was when my wife, Louise, and I were curating her textile art exhibition in early September this year. Serendipity pointed me to <b>A Quaker Book of Wisdom </b>- with the well-chosen title helping guide me. This book became my first borrowing from the library. In the last week of September, I read its 170 pages and began to look forward to writing this blog-post. By the beginning of October, I had been accepted as the new Librarian by our Marazion Quaker community, an event which makes the beginning of this blog-post series even more special for me. I hope when you read my reviews of the library books I read, you will be encouraged to borrow these books yourselves as Quakers, or purchase or borrow elsewhere.</p><p><br /></p><p>Robert Lawrence Smith (1924 - 2021) was a birthright Quaker, a direct descendent of the first generation of Quakers in America. He toyed with the idea of being a medical man but was always drawn to the humanities and had a long career as an educator, including the headship of Sidwell Friends School, America's largest Quaker day school, from 1965 to 1978 His book is a distillation of the Quaker wisdom that has guided him through the decades of his life up to his mid-70s. The subtitle is '<b>Life Lessons in Simplicity, Service, and Common Sense' </b>and the structure is indeed simple and effectively serves its purpose of providing insight into how Robert Lawrence Smith has found his inner peace and calm. There are ten chapters - S<b>ilence - Worship - Truth - Simplicity - Conscience - Non-violence - Service - Business - Education - Family</b> - with a Prologue titled '<b>Let Your Life Speak' </b>and an Epilogue summary of the book's messages which is called '<b>A Quaker Legacy: Ten Life Lessons'</b>. More on that Epilogue at the end of this blog-post. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkgHmdgUnH9ZZnJLk2ijOJx2awRHY7VVjrEIvL2dWaclEcMYI7PSEqKgAvFwGOKcNNw4dTWfnZx0ET15XzKp8A2nIN8vkOezp84YlFVyt-6RyH6wAEWmlrrSczLeRyMzqh9BlIOeUOEUQ2POPhAtjkAW8iKvf_ZJjVwFRLtq1i_GbmaBpwjG8EltH_Ds/s2818/Robert%20Lawrence%20Smith%20-%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2211" data-original-width="2818" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkgHmdgUnH9ZZnJLk2ijOJx2awRHY7VVjrEIvL2dWaclEcMYI7PSEqKgAvFwGOKcNNw4dTWfnZx0ET15XzKp8A2nIN8vkOezp84YlFVyt-6RyH6wAEWmlrrSczLeRyMzqh9BlIOeUOEUQ2POPhAtjkAW8iKvf_ZJjVwFRLtq1i_GbmaBpwjG8EltH_Ds/w400-h314/Robert%20Lawrence%20Smith%20-%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Lawrence Smith, the Headteacher from 1965 to 1978, playing chess with a student at Sidwell Quaker School (thanks to The Washington Post for this image).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>For your consideration here, bullet-pointed, are some of the thoughts of Robert Lawrence Smith:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>My Grandfather</b> (who wrote a monograph tracing three centuries of his Quaker family's life in America) <b>was echoing a central message of Quakerism resoundingly set forth by George Fox, the religion's seventeenth-century founder: "<i>Let your life speak</i>". </b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Quaker wisdom provides lasting sustenance...the compassionate Quaker message needs to be heard in today's complex, materialistic, often unjust, and discriminatory society. Every day brings new public debate over issues Quakers have always addressed: war and peace, social <span><a name='more'></a></span>justice, education, health care, poverty, business ethics, public service, the use of world resources. </b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Quakerism is a pragmatic faith that depends on inner experience, on habits of mind and feeling that come from living rather than from reading - as Quakers say: "The letter killeth, the Spirit giveth life". Yet what Quakers know also comes from familiarity, through written accounts, with the lives of those who came before us. </b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>For Quakers, wisdom begins in silence. Only then can we hear the voice of God that dwells within each of us. Only by listening in stillness for that voice and letting it guide our actions can we truly let our lives speak.</b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>I believe the answer lies in George Fox's sublimely optimistic vision of human nature. If there is that of God in every person, then truth is the best that there is in each of us - the part of us that is naturally drawn towards the good, towards God. If we listen for the truth - for the best that is within us - then our lives will begin to "speak" the truth. As George Fox said, "Truth comes from within. It is the basis for daily life, like the food we eat. The poet Walt Whitman astutely defined truth as "Whatever satisfies the soul".</b></li></ul><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSb1ys_OXd7qosgdy4it1KytYNYuSPMwpLWHyLmIDsINNml9CCfrawuRLovuvxesPCoiD0hyt_4EuhgFVBxjppmQZ6vAeCspkWhjmEUs6hXbl-AqJ-1C8V6bGkBhEFNTLr_s9GHRmPaEQXkkfaCmdoWDj6GdBvfmKbbRRlfP_XKme9WmBxcEhSe7MAcmk/s228/Quaker%20wisdom.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="157" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSb1ys_OXd7qosgdy4it1KytYNYuSPMwpLWHyLmIDsINNml9CCfrawuRLovuvxesPCoiD0hyt_4EuhgFVBxjppmQZ6vAeCspkWhjmEUs6hXbl-AqJ-1C8V6bGkBhEFNTLr_s9GHRmPaEQXkkfaCmdoWDj6GdBvfmKbbRRlfP_XKme9WmBxcEhSe7MAcmk/w275-h400/Quaker%20wisdom.webp" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Published in 1998 in the USA and Great Britain - the Marazion Meeting Library copy was gifted by Vernon Frost in February 2000 as the inscription inside the front cover shows. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>For Quakers, simplicity is truth's twin virtue: the two concepts are seamlessly intertwined. Without simplicity of spirit, we are not prepared to receive the truth. And if we fail to act in accordance with the truth, we cannot let our lives speak. </b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>By simplicity, Quakers mean a way of life that follows naturally from a way of worshipping. The early Quakers used the word 'plain' as in 'plain dress and 'plain speech'. Living simply is about giving yourself the freedom to pursue the indestructible impulse to do good in the world, to go towards the best. "What do I need?" is simplicity's fundamental question, a question that rubs up against our proclivity for acquiring things. Montaigne, the French philosopher and essayist, wrote: "The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to be able to live to the point". Simplicity helps us to live to the point, to clear the way to the best.</b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Nonviolence has always been the most paradoxical, counter-intuitive, and optimistic of Quaker ideals. Jesus taught his followers to extend love in place of the sword. George Fox exhorted his followers to "</b><b>take away the occasion of all wars". The challenge for Friends is to become the world's peacemakers. The more love we add to the world, the more loving and humane a place it will become. </b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>The concept of Quaker service starts with the belief that there is that of God in every person and that all people in the world are, therefore, members of one extended family of equals. The first generations of Quakers in America took up the challenge by working for the abolition of slavery, fair treatment of Native Americans, and humane conditions for prisoners and patients in mental hospitals. "As way opens" is a Quaker saying that stems directly from Meeting, from the experience of patiently seeking truth through group silence. It also pertains more broadly to discovering your own capabilities and your own individual path. Lucretia Mott, the tiny, fearless Quaker from Nantucket, made her life speak by working tirelessly for the abolition of slavery, for equal rights, and for higher education for women. Her challenge was this: "The Light is available yesterday, today and to eternity. What is thee doing about it?".</b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Quaker businesspeople understand that they are accountable to the individuals they employ, the customers they share, and their own conscience. Good ethics is good business.</b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Teaching continues to be one of the the hardest and most important jobs in the world. Despite new methodologies, there must always be reliance on the old virtues of skill, care, love, patience, and time. Parents are every child's first teachers, and any school, no matter how good, can only build on those first, most formative lessons. </b></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Love is the jewel that family life perfects over time, the heirloom that gets passed on to children and to future generations. </b></li></ul><div><br /></div><br /><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9DrNOiWtL9mT7KotjeIfIbPS-C1gDnsRzEEGQEYWQPESPSX1ts1dv9jMKYCqqBwF1DjGPh-u7nLhS4zwMIT9VMfDhK8sjtZ216i2l8RVWO_1j-qPV-4nukvZaioo9I3NL49YyN-x5S0bSEWGx6b03RZSmJl09teA2dV4d0842oiJwCwrqeBJQffCwqw/s225/Robert%20Lawrence%20Smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9DrNOiWtL9mT7KotjeIfIbPS-C1gDnsRzEEGQEYWQPESPSX1ts1dv9jMKYCqqBwF1DjGPh-u7nLhS4zwMIT9VMfDhK8sjtZ216i2l8RVWO_1j-qPV-4nukvZaioo9I3NL49YyN-x5S0bSEWGx6b03RZSmJl09teA2dV4d0842oiJwCwrqeBJQffCwqw/w400-h400/Robert%20Lawrence%20Smith.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sidwell Friends School image of Robert L. Smith, as used in their 2021 Obituary. <br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </b><br />There is much else in this remarkable book, not least the biographical detail, for you to discover. Here though, as promised, more in summary on the Epilogue - <b>A Life Legacy: Ten Life Lessons:</b><div><br /></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Seize the present.</b></li><li><b>Love yourself, whatever faults you have, and love the world, however bad it is.</b></li><li><b>Stop talking and listen to what you really know.</b></li><li><b>Play soccer! (or whatever team sport you love)</b></li><li><b>Accept the fact that our lives are only partly in our own hands.</b></li><li><b>Believe in the perfectibility of yourself and society.</b></li><li><b>Make your life visible in the world through your work.</b></li><li><b>Seek justice in the world, but not in your own life.</b></li><li><b>Look for the light of God in every person.</b></li><li><b>Let your life speak.</b></li></ol></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-69771185095771576512023-09-22T09:41:00.004+01:002023-09-22T09:43:33.233+01:00UNDERSTANDING RECENT HISTORY - WHY JEREMY CORBYN WAS DIFFERENT AND SEEN AS A THREAT<p> SKWAWKBOX, in the capable hands of Steve Walker, has a firm grasp of history and politics. I recommend the website. What follows below is a sound analysis of recent history:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="padding: 0cm;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="padding: 0cm; width: 30%;" width="30%"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 36pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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(SW) posted: " Activist analyses the discredited myth - or scam - that
the media and pro-Israel activists still roll out and links it to the
right's austerity scam In 2008, the Labour government bailed-out the
British banking system with tens of billions of poun" </span><span class="header-title"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a data-tracks-link-desc="header-post" href="https://skwawkbox.org"><b><span style="color: #101517;">SKWAWKBOX</span></b></a>
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<h1 style="-moz-osx-font-smoothing: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: default; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #2d3338; font-size: 30pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://public-api.wordpress.com/bar/?stat=groovemails-events&bin=wpcom_email_click&redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fskwawkbox.org%2F2023%2F09%2F21%2Fthere-was-no-antisemitism-crisis-when-corbyn-was-labour-leader-he-just-intended-real-change%2F&sr=0&signature=18a201de142a6509e0b1e4b15878c507&blog_id=36285326&user=145767144&_e=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&_z=z"><span style="color: #101517;">There was no ‘antisemitism crisis’ when Corbyn was
Labour leader – he just intended real change</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<p class="name" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">SKWAWKBOX
(SW)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="meta" style="margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #646970; font-size: 12pt;">Sep 21 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<h3 style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 36.0pt; margin: 36pt 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #2d3338; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Activist analyses
the discredited myth - or scam - that the media and pro-Israel activists
still roll out and links it to the right's austerity scam<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/corbyn-black.png"><span style="color: #0675c4; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><img border="0" class="wp-image-157435" data-attachment-id="157435" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-caption="" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="corbyn black" data-large-file="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/corbyn-black.png?w=750" data-medium-file="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/corbyn-black.png?w=300" data-orig-file="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/corbyn-black.png" data-orig-size="1200,726" data-permalink="https://skwawkbox.org/2020/11/19/labours-original-suspension-of-jeremy-corbyn-flouted-party-rules-too-according-to-ehrc-report-itself/corbyn-black/" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/corbyn-black-1024x620.png" style="-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in; max-width: 100%;" /></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">In 2008, the Labour government bailed-out the British
banking system with tens of billions of pounds of public money. In 2010,
the newly-elected Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government
distorted the concept of solidarity - the ludicrous ‘We are all in this
together’ - to convince the British public that massive cuts to welfare and
public services, referred to as ‘austerity’, were necessary to save the
country from economic collapse even though they would be damaging:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(246, 247, 247); margin: 0cm;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">'And it’s not possible to
make those cuts without cutting some things that are important. […] that is
the situation we are in as a country.'<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(246, 247, 247); margin: 0cm;"><cite style="color: currentcolor;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 9.5pt; font-style: normal;">Then-Tory PM David Cameron's austerity scam</span></cite><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">Similarly, the concept of antisemitism was distorted to
convince the British public that the removal of lifelong anti-racist Jeremy
Corbyn from his position as Leader of the Opposition, was necessary to save
the country from a social collapse. As Scottish-American Professor Mark
Blyth has pointed out, austerity was sold as the ‘pain after the party’ but
it is in fact ‘class <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>politics’ and ‘dangerous nonsense’. Austerity was
simply the continuation of a neoliberal political agenda of tax cuts and
privatisation that began in 1979 and has been embraced by all three main
political Parties in the UK.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">However, there was a chance to throw the ‘tax cuts for the
rich and privatisation of public services’ agenda into reverse when Jeremy
Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour party in 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">From 2015 to 2017 opposition to austerity was not confined
to a few academics, trade unionists and socialists. It was led by the
largest political Party in Europe. During this period the Labour party
rejected austerity and the 2017 Labour manifesto was a parliamentary
socialist challenge to the political consensus that had held sway since
1979. It was his opposition to this neoliberal political trajectory that
proved to be the root cause of his popularity with the public, and his
profound unpopularity with the political Establishment. The results of the
2017 general election proved opposition to austerity to be a popular
position and not the electoral liability that Corbyn’s critics had assumed
or claimed. Opposition to austerity captured the mood of the nation and
became synonymous with hope and change - and Corbyn's frankness about the
political nature of austerity exposed the lie and won the argument.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpYjRDGhAjc_M1Q9GDosfvltU8ixm3-HoHsPjTkrpdD_0sX4p9BYZz-efPdexzr-8pxt-YzucosGm2jN-w3zDmRY1rEQOt7jb7L3qUlqZhIfzDhvZ0miFZBpSITb2gyKNBWyUo9_Xry-z1jUiRpNBtHFE1qaQpc-GDzJzDfMSgk1dvwIN25_YciT8A2I/s960/Corbyn-FahrenheitBooksWindow.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpYjRDGhAjc_M1Q9GDosfvltU8ixm3-HoHsPjTkrpdD_0sX4p9BYZz-efPdexzr-8pxt-YzucosGm2jN-w3zDmRY1rEQOt7jb7L3qUlqZhIfzDhvZ0miFZBpSITb2gyKNBWyUo9_Xry-z1jUiRpNBtHFE1qaQpc-GDzJzDfMSgk1dvwIN25_YciT8A2I/w400-h225/Corbyn-FahrenheitBooksWindow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My book - The Road to Corbyn (2016) - takes pride of place in the display in the Fahrenheit bookshop in Middlesbrough in 2017. Those were heady days. Copies of this excellent history of the 2010-15 Conservative/Lib Dem Coalition government are available from me (see my website at <a href="http://www.robdonovan-author.co.uk.">www.robdonovan-author.co.uk.</a> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">Hopes and aspirations are often nothing more than rhetorical
techniques used by politicians as a substitute for real change. David
Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ idea ‘hoped' for a more compassionate philanthropic
society, but it was simply cover for the privatisation of public services.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">Hope is not a threat to neoliberalism, but the real change
promised by a Corbyn-led Labour government was something that posed a <em><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif">real</span></em> challenge to the
privilege of so-called 'elites'. Change meant the rich would have to pay
more taxes and that public services would remain public - and where needed
return to public ownership - which was a major impediment to the political
consensus of privatisation and tax cuts that had come to dominate the
political class.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">The right wing of the Labour party had no desire whatever to
lead the charge against austerity, particularly if it meant winning an
election based on those principles. Their figurehead Tony Blair said so in
as many words. So instead of seizing the opportunity to embrace and build
upon the success of 2017 and take on the rich and powerful, the right wing
of the Labour Party chose to do the opposite. They chose to invent an
‘antisemitism crisis’ in the Labour Party as a means to undermine the
challenge to austerity and return Labour to the invisible neoliberal tracks
of privatisation and tax cuts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">This was even admitted by some. The <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2019/04/29/labour-first-trainer-suspended-for-thornberry-gang-rape-beheading-tweets-referred-to-ultimate-disciplinary-body/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">now-disgraced Ian McKenzie</span></a>, at the time an
organiser for hard-right pressure group 'Labour First', gave away that it
was just the latest in a string of tactics used against Corbyn when he
tweeted to an ally in 2018 that the 'anti Semitism stuff' was 'cutting
through like the IRA/Iran stuff didn't'.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://i0.wp.com/pbs.twimg.com/media/DdyJ6BSUwAIYRuc.jpg?w=780&ssl=1" style="-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in; max-width: 100%;" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">The catastrophic Labour defeat in 2019 was the apotheosis of
this sabotage and was engineered by the right wing of the Labour party as a
means to seize control of the wreckage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">The next election will likely utilise ‘hope and change’ as
election slogans, but it will not be meaningful change, simply a change of
government. Meaningful change is only to be found in opposition to
austerity. Starmer has already <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2022/02/23/rayner-turns-on-students-would-not-abolish-tuition-fees/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">abandoned</span></a> the pledge to abolish tuition
fees and is <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2022/01/17/starmer-again-refuses-energy-nationalisation-after-campaigning-on-public-ownership-in-leader-contest/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">no longer committed</span></a>, as if he ever was
despite his promises, to the nationalisation of key industries like energy,
railways, water and post.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">Starmer’s Labour is also <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2022/08/12/starmer-accepts-cash-from-same-tory-donating-health-and-energy-investor-funding-streeting/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">committed to the ‘reform' of the NHS</span></a> -
meaning greater use of the private sector and privatisation by stealth. If
elected, Starmer's 'Labour' government will not tackle the fundamental
causes of poverty and deprivation (privatisation and tax cuts) and has no
intention or interest in doing so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">Instead it will continue the neoliberal political trajectory
that has been impoverishing people since 1979. The so-called ‘antisemitism
crisis’ in the Labour party was nothing more profound than a political
attack on a socialist Labour leader that was committed to actual change and
was overturning the neoliberal political consensus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="has-text-color" style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><strong><i><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #4c1818; font-size: 12pt;">SKWAWKBOX needs your help.
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<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span face=""Segoe UI",sans-serif" style="color: #101517; font-size: 12pt;">If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use,
you are welcome to do so – see <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2017/12/21/for-skwawkbox-rebloggers-please-read/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">here</span></a> for more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br />ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-20296419654240568522023-09-19T11:42:00.000+01:002023-09-19T11:42:46.668+01:00LOUISE DONOVAN - HER TEXTILE ART EXHIBITION AT THE MARAZION QUAKERS' MEETING HOUSE IN SEPTEMBER 2023 I admire Louise's talents as a textile artist. It is a joy to find that so many other people find her work stimulates thought and feeling.<div><br /></div><div>We are very grateful that Marazion Quakers suggested that Louise consider mounting an exhibition in the Meeting House when they learned that the Crypt Gallery was no longer available for the planned exhibition in November this year. Louise and I had been Quaker attenders by Zoom since January 2022, moving to attendance in person in January of this year. We have our Quaker identity and the Quaker community is so welcoming. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIN1mhEKMy7y9XUIiP24IWpsbkD-I5_cEURNboTHyLFc8m91v9bMXF3cOCCRO96g_gemoWfJJR3wCo2xxInaAxVWupJFPX0d0LSqkKGQ0W3AeI0CEmt5BccPJ_-Zh3LdHyJaywiqdulzpVhEu03BmWfjkR4nK1l0__qRymUHEj-rqjJnZDstN8G7A4MGQ/s4201/Louise%20-%20Sunday%2011%20April%202021%20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4201" data-original-width="3082" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIN1mhEKMy7y9XUIiP24IWpsbkD-I5_cEURNboTHyLFc8m91v9bMXF3cOCCRO96g_gemoWfJJR3wCo2xxInaAxVWupJFPX0d0LSqkKGQ0W3AeI0CEmt5BccPJ_-Zh3LdHyJaywiqdulzpVhEu03BmWfjkR4nK1l0__qRymUHEj-rqjJnZDstN8G7A4MGQ/w294-h400/Louise%20-%20Sunday%2011%20April%202021%20.JPG" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louise - April 2021 - our back-garden</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The sixteen pieces of textile art for the show were chosen in the Spring of this year. Five of the pieces had been exhibited before: '<b>Guantanamo</b>' (NEC, Birmingham (2014 Judges' Award winner), and St Ives (2018 and 2021); '<b>When I am an Old Woman</b>' (NEC, Birmingham (2019); '<b>Pyramids on Purple</b>' (St Ives, 2021); '<b>Light Through a Mondrian Prism</b>' (St Ives, 2021); and '<b>From Darkness into Light</b>' (St Ives, 2018).</div><div><br /></div><div>The remaining eleven pieces had all been completed between the ending of the 2021 Crypt Gallery, St Ives exhibition and the summer of this year - in around nineteen months. Together, the sixteen pieces created '<b>COLOUR ME PURPLE</b>', the November 2023 Marazion exhibition. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tfgAYzCmQUCLCvNQOngjmfumobDmH0L2zKsYd3O_d0Vue7zQG14KwD1d4If2D6ybDo929VG_6-CpCPr0uDNJG5npzvmcD1xHnZsG91TTYptpbdgrcMqv_TDcWVDzVt1VlNDe8sVkeOO3c53kbOalPgb32ydujxLCKuwVZGB3TRDykPQgi5C61zlVOUI/s3498/Marazion%20exhibition%20-%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3498" data-original-width="2400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tfgAYzCmQUCLCvNQOngjmfumobDmH0L2zKsYd3O_d0Vue7zQG14KwD1d4If2D6ybDo929VG_6-CpCPr0uDNJG5npzvmcD1xHnZsG91TTYptpbdgrcMqv_TDcWVDzVt1VlNDe8sVkeOO3c53kbOalPgb32ydujxLCKuwVZGB3TRDykPQgi5C61zlVOUI/w275-h400/Marazion%20exhibition%20-%202023.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see 'Pyramids on Purple' - and the Meeting House in the foreground - and St Michael's Mount in the bay - on this cover</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The catalogue that Louise and I created for this Marazion show is still available - each piece has its own page of Quaker-shaped commentary - please send an email with a donation to help us offset our printing <span><a name='more'></a></span>costs and we will send you a copy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, here's a link to a PDF for the catalogue: <a href="https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:eu:993426cb-fe2e-4573-96da-a84d4a9984c6">https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:eu:993426cb-fe2e-4573-96da-a84d4a9984c6 </a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We did take a number of photos during the week - here's a selection with a commentary: </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMxqRoMLtYyrQJwMI-2kbU7fdaKit1vFy9_89TNfUMiZmQZzuEUNpZQOVNBzchAqrKOGXXmRzNDzKbQiBTiP4uk2kSOm1kmkS9vkihd_8yKXrGMeYH05ECGUj90-_zrVd17wx-i4CXfgauQaLvsiVBA6LPR9eAo44jVta8AmKB7gSbbHkiJ_iI0hgN_oM/s4608/Marazion%20Exhibition%20-%203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMxqRoMLtYyrQJwMI-2kbU7fdaKit1vFy9_89TNfUMiZmQZzuEUNpZQOVNBzchAqrKOGXXmRzNDzKbQiBTiP4uk2kSOm1kmkS9vkihd_8yKXrGMeYH05ECGUj90-_zrVd17wx-i4CXfgauQaLvsiVBA6LPR9eAo44jVta8AmKB7gSbbHkiJ_iI0hgN_oM/w300-h400/Marazion%20Exhibition%20-%203.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Berris hanging the first of the sixteen pieces: '<b>When I Am An Old Woman</b>' </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This photo was taken on the afternoon of Sunday 3 September after morning Worship and features Mike Berris. Without Mike's know-how, the exhibition would never have been possible. He had the technical knowledge to ensure that all sixteen pieces were successfully hung in around three hours of labour as we looked on and helped as best we could. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>When Mike had completed the hanging, it was time for more photos:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTh-80E1ujYM73V1WiP9_1g7luxV3SyKbQReAhy3Y0DxJb53NI5kSIzCV15RtcssO9Ljm-G-oTTzTSB28POtBQUyTkenUB1vziINfXQdLoR7-olw6VwH65ywUAsLte19pJa9CI8ES5iozCkU4R8cFh8j3AE4QmTQVuk8bPI4_eKQrplSdd1VVwguhFZ8/s4608/DSCN2634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTh-80E1ujYM73V1WiP9_1g7luxV3SyKbQReAhy3Y0DxJb53NI5kSIzCV15RtcssO9Ljm-G-oTTzTSB28POtBQUyTkenUB1vziINfXQdLoR7-olw6VwH65ywUAsLte19pJa9CI8ES5iozCkU4R8cFh8j3AE4QmTQVuk8bPI4_eKQrplSdd1VVwguhFZ8/w400-h300/DSCN2634.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louise, the textile artist, pictured in the Marazion Meeting House, in front of her work </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Here, Louise is standing in front of the six pieces that were hung on the long wall opposite the window wall. During Worship, Louise and I sit on one of the the wooden benches that runs the length of this wall and look out towards the garden and beyond that to St Michael's Mount. </div><div><br /></div><div> .................................</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RaERiCDPCtlGKc8Fgdw4gCYO2AQBv6QdRTJc7FtLC12RC16rY-b_81v0ZjpE452BkJMlbAn7sFhf24YgakiO5cX3RcnsTL1yXB1fr3nHiYo7E7sweIYH9bGZFkmMTYnr_wU77UwqRhcGu91kzn8DgLGlhK5zEOFOtcIgMG_OWIPbIOcibHXCL1HgG0w/s4608/DSCN2639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RaERiCDPCtlGKc8Fgdw4gCYO2AQBv6QdRTJc7FtLC12RC16rY-b_81v0ZjpE452BkJMlbAn7sFhf24YgakiO5cX3RcnsTL1yXB1fr3nHiYo7E7sweIYH9bGZFkmMTYnr_wU77UwqRhcGu91kzn8DgLGlhK5zEOFOtcIgMG_OWIPbIOcibHXCL1HgG0w/w400-h300/DSCN2639.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the Quaker Meeting House that gives you more sense of its plain simplicity and the power of this <br />'<b>Colour Me Purple</b>' exhibition </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Here, Louise is taking a photo of the six pieces featured above. You get a sense of the impact of the exhibition in this simple Quaker building that was erected in 1688, only forty-one years after George Fox's epiphany realization that the Spirit lies in all of us and can be reached through worship together in contemplative silence. Quakers believe we don't need priests or hierarchical churches to find the Light. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> .....................................</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Getting a good image of the window wall was tricky because of the light that floods in. This image below is the best I could do:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqhugnvUyNGpDRJ8aryJHx96z6nRNenqffeNNz5WvJBarTMi5s67FzW2qf3B9o2Vk4S_EOfgSUI-ef-WB34A7NXKh5IC5nSn-0B3aWvrijVGNWksxs4Sij3DWUrFJ2aWZHZC6NALnFyghVq3ze5aIhAUU0ts6T93WxrRJrcuvekJezAYFBAvBqH5r1sw/s4608/DSCN2640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqhugnvUyNGpDRJ8aryJHx96z6nRNenqffeNNz5WvJBarTMi5s67FzW2qf3B9o2Vk4S_EOfgSUI-ef-WB34A7NXKh5IC5nSn-0B3aWvrijVGNWksxs4Sij3DWUrFJ2aWZHZC6NALnFyghVq3ze5aIhAUU0ts6T93WxrRJrcuvekJezAYFBAvBqH5r1sw/w400-h300/DSCN2640.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pieces of Louise's textile art on the window wall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The Meeting House opens its doors to anyone who cares to visit on Mondays between 11am and 3pm. Elaine Jordan is a Marazion resident who lives close by and often drops in. On the Saturday, our last day of exhibiting, she brought in this wonderful Victorian piece of patchwork, further worked on in the 1940s, that you see in the image below. We as a species are the makers of things - some creative, others destructive. Let's celebrate our capacity to make wonderful art - and achieve peace.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB5a5rDwv7rabc8uQEeN9ZyE4ovxLM3PeBBsEuc-GnEhSNrmfWSAK5bKdqPCPST40UCi-iaGktqTIKmxDSBfAM9zzlv7o2XEQ104W6nflSntOZGkbCjNBBVkv9eUA8lIWRx_ibvRGUPtYjbXRklhs1OdtTt_V376kpQJnFzeFl7qx3bCr9Aj9ktF_lg-k/s4608/Elaine's%20quilt%20-%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB5a5rDwv7rabc8uQEeN9ZyE4ovxLM3PeBBsEuc-GnEhSNrmfWSAK5bKdqPCPST40UCi-iaGktqTIKmxDSBfAM9zzlv7o2XEQ104W6nflSntOZGkbCjNBBVkv9eUA8lIWRx_ibvRGUPtYjbXRklhs1OdtTt_V376kpQJnFzeFl7qx3bCr9Aj9ktF_lg-k/w400-h300/Elaine's%20quilt%20-%201.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louise and Elaine sitting in front of the window wall, with the Meeting House library visible on the right - Elaine's patchwork piece, purchased from a Penzance antique shop some years ago, is draped over the benches that have been gathered together in a row down the centre of the room.<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>By way of conclusion to this blogpost, here are some of the reactions from those who viewed in person or who have seen the images in the catalogue or online:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Virtual viewers</u>:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>'Congratulations on assembling such a magnificent display of beautiful textile art!' </b></div><div>Howard Pue, Missouri, USA</div><div><b>'I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed looking at your quilts in the catalogue - they are beautiful! There's one that I particularly love (From Darkness into Light) that is truly a beautiful piece.'</b></div><div>Dianna Pue, Missouri, USA</div><div><b>'Congratulations on completing your triumphant exhibition, Louise! What a special gift you have to be able to inspire and uplift others. We do so wish we could have been there.'</b></div><div>Jessy Raber, Indiana, USA</div><div><b>'The titles, your inspiration and explanation about the stitch work really makes you have an even better look at each piece. 'A Quaker Christmas in 2022' and 'Guantanamo' become more beautiful and meaningful every time I see them.'</b></div><div>Ingrid Helmer, Dieden, The Netherlands</div><div> <b>'I really have to congratulate you on an incredible display of textiles with such imaginative shapes, juxtapositions and colours.'</b></div><div>Samuel Marsden, St Ives, Cornwall, England</div><div><b>'While I am sure that the vibrancy of the work comes out even more clearly in the exhibition itself, the catalogue illustrated beautifully the theme of light, together with the associated use of purple and lace - and of course the Jenny Joseph poem.' </b></div><div>John Reid, Nova Scotia, Canada</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Viewers in person</u>:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>'Wonderful work Louise, thanks for such a gift'</b></div><div>Tony and Jenny Fell, Hellidon, England</div><div><b>'Lovely quilts & a lovely calm atmosphere. Thank you.'</b></div><div>Diane Dench, Dartmoor, England</div><div><b>'Beautiful, intriguing work - so much to admire and to think about - the perfect space for your Light to shine. Thank you.'</b></div><div>Julia Bush, Bristol, England</div><div><b>'Twenty minutes of very good feeling. Thank you.'</b></div><div>Ron Watkins, Bull Creek, Western Australia</div><div><b>'The Meeting Room feels totally uplifted & adorned! Beautiful, beautiful work.'</b></div><div>Helena Pooley, Porthtowan, England </div><div><b>'Love the textile wall hangings. Love the stories behind them & and using art to let it speak about important events, feelings & crises.'</b></div><div>Mary Wigzell, England</div><div><b>'Found the Guantanamo piece very evocative. Thank you.'</b></div><div>Susan Barrett, British Columbia, Canada</div><div><b>'Lovely to see these.'</b></div><div>Mary Fletcher, St Ives, Cornwall, England</div><div><b>'Wonderful exhibition in such peaceful surroundings'. </b></div><div>Henry & Jane Kendal, Marlow, Bucks, England</div><div><b>'Inspirational pieces, beautiful work.'</b></div><div>Gaye Dopson, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Louise has already begun to have the first inklings of her new creative path - six new pieces are already being planned around the idea of minimalism. The next exhibition for Louise will hopefully be in 2025 - and she will be asking her Quaker community for permission to use the Marazion Meeting House again. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-70295884161177754182023-09-15T12:02:00.000+01:002023-09-15T12:02:35.062+01:00BYE-BYE META/FACEBOOK - AND WELCOME TO A NEW BLOGPOST<p>This post is by way of explanation why you will never see any more of my blogposts on Facebook aka Meta (and I will touch on other matters too, including my life as a runner which is the excuse for these two pictures and captions below).</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTRBBLBLoF75j9oS6lssMavOEyufpGLzBywaKdiuxybv8GDlbqMubaODkyKssmecSPhVJMq_MqzxRpi66xb0AALmC9N3t0TDyvvDBoXTJEa_cU0TzuBgkV2JhqEhW-OgqUbR3pQ9tfzV2wi4KyZO01inZUQCYBoYHhEEln9s78aeAgqApWln3xAACXeA/s960/Broome%2010K%202012%20C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTRBBLBLoF75j9oS6lssMavOEyufpGLzBywaKdiuxybv8GDlbqMubaODkyKssmecSPhVJMq_MqzxRpi66xb0AALmC9N3t0TDyvvDBoXTJEa_cU0TzuBgkV2JhqEhW-OgqUbR3pQ9tfzV2wi4KyZO01inZUQCYBoYHhEEln9s78aeAgqApWln3xAACXeA/w266-h400/Broome%2010K%202012%20C.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing a Broome (Suffolk) 10K in 2012 as a Bungay Black Dog - 61 minutes and 19 seconds - the <span><a name='more'></a></span>year before we moved to Cornwall<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHrRNlBGToUinuzOpfp4IPyY01-gDCKz1BYZK9U4EcJuwcLSXeXA6L-cr5shR0GrVD5EvfJOjnEUQAsfr8Z7lfYM5WB6tAZb6FFmSpIDWRyg_acCYunv4b_LEq2aa6h9p96GzAYuOZKDf2KZU7JjS3aEbFRkdrXtAiI-jwF1u5uciWtxCdcCZUSnkYis/s2033/Rob%20Donovan%20-%20virtual%20vitality%2010K%20-%20Saturday%2030%20April%20-%2079%20mins%2032%20secs%20(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2033" data-original-width="1942" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHrRNlBGToUinuzOpfp4IPyY01-gDCKz1BYZK9U4EcJuwcLSXeXA6L-cr5shR0GrVD5EvfJOjnEUQAsfr8Z7lfYM5WB6tAZb6FFmSpIDWRyg_acCYunv4b_LEq2aa6h9p96GzAYuOZKDf2KZU7JjS3aEbFRkdrXtAiI-jwF1u5uciWtxCdcCZUSnkYis/w383-h400/Rob%20Donovan%20-%20virtual%20vitality%2010K%20-%20Saturday%2030%20April%20-%2079%20mins%2032%20secs%20(5).JPG" width="383" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing a local circuit x 2 run (7 miles) in 2022 as part of a virtual Vitality London 10K - my time for the 10K distance (6.2 miles) was 79 minutes and 25 seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>A few months ago Facebook informed me that a complaint had been received about my page. There were no specific details. I should explain that I am signed up for Facebook and within it have two specific pages, one of which has been frozen by me for years for legal reasons and the other is a political page called '<i>Dying to Know and the Road to Justice'. </i>It used to carry the title: '<i>The Road to Corbyn' </i>and then in 2020 I renamed the page for obvious reasons. </p><p>I did try to respond to the Facebook notice but in the end gave up because life is too short. Then on 13 September my Facebook account was suspended and I was told I had 180 days in which to appeal, after which my account and its contents would be deleted. Hence my blogpost title: BYE-BYE META/FACEBOOK. I am happy to let Meta go. </p><p>In so far as I can make sense of this, my violation of Meta's codes may have been due to my identification of the page as 'not for business'. As far as I was concerned that was true - it was for political purposes. I had stopped using Facebook advertising to advance sales for <i>'Dying to Know', </i>my latest book, some time ago. I have accepted that sales have dried up. I am not a business man. I am not a Meta kind of customer. </p><p>Enough on that. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7i2Hu6jAvABGgwXUVvJYai3rrLcSegx-w0m8XTWWAcrmAM83MFZi5pVxWAKb6Wh9j7TxyvucUWe9b33TI1NUQfpKaNeP7IXbluQdL5pvB1yu4XtI5DUIOH4iJt1b8UNJlV6EjaY44kONnzPcYZGrxMvb3nPwg8yhTFlqYkBnkc2atuGqf7AZ0IP_kM8/s810/Rob%20Donovan%20-%207%20July%202022%20-%20Penzance%20Lit%20Fest%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="810" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7i2Hu6jAvABGgwXUVvJYai3rrLcSegx-w0m8XTWWAcrmAM83MFZi5pVxWAKb6Wh9j7TxyvucUWe9b33TI1NUQfpKaNeP7IXbluQdL5pvB1yu4XtI5DUIOH4iJt1b8UNJlV6EjaY44kONnzPcYZGrxMvb3nPwg8yhTFlqYkBnkc2atuGqf7AZ0IP_kM8/w400-h294/Rob%20Donovan%20-%207%20July%202022%20-%20Penzance%20Lit%20Fest%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Penzance Literary Festival in 2022, giving a talk about '<i>Dying to Know</i>' </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>I want to explain now that in future my blogposts will appear as they always do on <a href="http://robdonovan.blogspot.co.uk">robdonovan.blogspot.co.uk</a> - and I will also send out the blogpost as an email link to those of you who have signed up to follow my blogposts on Google and those I think may be interested. Steve McIntosh, my webmail wizard, ensures that all my blogposts reappear within my website at <a href="http://www.robdonovan-author.co.uk">www.robdonovan-author.co.uk</a>, either as a political post or as a personal interest post (accepting that there really is no difference). </p><p>Of course, I will be delighted if more copies of '<i>Dying to Know</i>' are sold. The easiest way now is to buy direct from me at a discount of around 20% - the book retails at £9.99 so let's say £8 per copy with free postage - just email me your order at <a href="mailto:robdonovan65@gmail.com">robdonovan65@gmail.com</a>. The book is many things - and it reads like a train, as they say in The Netherlands - but very importantly it offers an assessment of how and why the Covid pandemic hit the UK so hard. With the official Covid inquiry now proceeding, this focus could hardly be more relevant. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdCmguTvHvxED-KiayRagAKhfQEGELHHLa8uIEK-rFZVwjhjYaLAtHO8wBOnYzsFPLiTXKEvZ7XdsYzhx-7NAcqEHjlI2VdxufOtYLC1KQ3hgsihpNLvWUKUaT1HE4SNNNnI7NVFKi4IbcsVLvOEe_taVsldgbyi4SkrxMV6Csx_x7LncdvYCu43e-VA/s3303/DTK%20-%20Covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2418" data-original-width="3303" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdCmguTvHvxED-KiayRagAKhfQEGELHHLa8uIEK-rFZVwjhjYaLAtHO8wBOnYzsFPLiTXKEvZ7XdsYzhx-7NAcqEHjlI2VdxufOtYLC1KQ3hgsihpNLvWUKUaT1HE4SNNNnI7NVFKi4IbcsVLvOEe_taVsldgbyi4SkrxMV6Csx_x7LncdvYCu43e-VA/w640-h468/DTK%20-%20Covers.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extra large image!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>When I last looked on Amazon (which I only do as an author not a buyer), there were three reviews for '<i><b>DTK</b></i>'. One is from my niece who wrote, rather wonderfully, that the book was '<b>Poetic, beautiful and shimmering with rage'...DTK offers a message of hope for those striving to keep the faith in these unjust times.' </b>One is a straightforward account of the book; the other is more emotive: '<b>Rob Donovan is a self-proclaimed prophet. He is a man of many words, daring to say aloud the sort of things most of us hardly dare to think. He doesn't hide his contempt for Messrs. Johnson and Cummings and their handling of the first year of the pandemic. His detailed research exposes the failings that led to the U.K.'s appalling surplus death rate. The book is fascinating - at times terrifying - and never less than thought-provoking.' </b>This from Crimefictionfan. </p><p>That's the joy of being a writer: having your work read - and praised - by a total stranger. </p><p><br /></p><p>Another joy of being a writer is that the books keep on coming unless you are suffering a block. My next one is due to be published in February 2024 and is at the moment being type-set and copy-edited at Matador/Troubador, my publishers. My four readers - Ingrid in The Netherlands and Jessy, Doug, and Howard in the U.S.A. - have commented on my work as I researched and wrote the sections. Now I have my first review from someone in the U.K. who has read the final draft for the first time last week. He is Alan Carter, former Dean at the University of Bath Spa - and once a teacher who inspired me to take Art O-level and A-level a long time ago at Dartford Grammar School. Here are some of his responses:</p><p>'<b>Two things struck me throughout.....your ability to handle rigorous academic, resource-based research with a strong personal almost passionate take without compromising the integrity/objectivity of the documentary sources.....and then, impressively, the way in which the relationship between global and national events hit the everyday working lives of the Cornish miners and their families...This becomes a strong polemic against the artificial construct of unfettered capitalism where greed seems to win so consistently against actual needs and the dignity of work...Often painful... always illuminating. </b></p><p>Thank you, Alan, for these words and affirmation. I can't resist displaying some of the fruits of your teaching in these two images - oil paintings of mine from 1968 and 1971.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyMVdLXU_euE3w-mACFbTxHvenpPZDho_UwS_XkCQ0iITiezA1yFMVsv20xY49YdYppwa22kQJXWsMOqOztidMzaI1g9Mek7NI5Og1aH-MTbu76Q6vPQ4fdgN60GVwGE1U4kZIHW42IkAvsilMaOCC1wzg35wTyEJdmvd5FU9CQfzXkiRA24M3MgAqmQ/s4255/Rob%20-%20Oxford%20-1968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3236" data-original-width="4255" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyMVdLXU_euE3w-mACFbTxHvenpPZDho_UwS_XkCQ0iITiezA1yFMVsv20xY49YdYppwa22kQJXWsMOqOztidMzaI1g9Mek7NI5Og1aH-MTbu76Q6vPQ4fdgN60GVwGE1U4kZIHW42IkAvsilMaOCC1wzg35wTyEJdmvd5FU9CQfzXkiRA24M3MgAqmQ/w400-h304/Rob%20-%20Oxford%20-1968.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled - (Oxford,1968)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00yU-q-0URMAjLgEyCC5HgvO8PGHaMVZ-pODNIm1oUf9glnpVuq21gjcCH48qluywwF7S_8NIYJnSlZsQb5SzsAtSxX3VZKMSDO4plQH1-Ogcg_zXzvI9P63YQFd-TeRoYlcaASMUehS-bdBztnsngOP00x9SOhhn23AHWV5PsenoTh8tQU7qBJfst3Y/s4129/Rob%20-%20York%20-%201971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3110" data-original-width="4129" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00yU-q-0URMAjLgEyCC5HgvO8PGHaMVZ-pODNIm1oUf9glnpVuq21gjcCH48qluywwF7S_8NIYJnSlZsQb5SzsAtSxX3VZKMSDO4plQH1-Ogcg_zXzvI9P63YQFd-TeRoYlcaASMUehS-bdBztnsngOP00x9SOhhn23AHWV5PsenoTh8tQU7qBJfst3Y/w400-h301/Rob%20-%20York%20-%201971.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled - (York, 1971)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>And then some images from that A-Level course of four terms: </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaVkTeBEMSxCM9z6H5xfzw0hl7Sdf9NHmAo6xzEtWDFYk2DaDVqp6ilfNzup59P4sygf7236WH44-3tqGvMyP6rMw30nbgZCyB94Ho7B7nP4nrJQOi7x71VoOMWd7nUeVFC8DNOaM-oCTbwIyOCzafPbkPFiuyholv-NbJP3uq8khgdhCvrPNr-DiHU4/s4608/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3184" data-original-width="4608" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaVkTeBEMSxCM9z6H5xfzw0hl7Sdf9NHmAo6xzEtWDFYk2DaDVqp6ilfNzup59P4sygf7236WH44-3tqGvMyP6rMw30nbgZCyB94Ho7B7nP4nrJQOi7x71VoOMWd7nUeVFC8DNOaM-oCTbwIyOCzafPbkPFiuyholv-NbJP3uq8khgdhCvrPNr-DiHU4/w320-h221/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgWYhsLgx4N4PCIjtNvjfFl8bGC70PTMkJ6XRzdShCdCKOyHZ6K8tCpW7BaT2kwFOzNGYXN1x47wBDmDp0NuI4UdGTudYZuhWgppLiulZJDt0EKhHcHoiMJEn6YLBwdN9Gfs11g_J4EKF66pqejuQVDZHgGCj04WYB1w2HezsXVNwsQ3danpu9Y5I42A/s4608/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgWYhsLgx4N4PCIjtNvjfFl8bGC70PTMkJ6XRzdShCdCKOyHZ6K8tCpW7BaT2kwFOzNGYXN1x47wBDmDp0NuI4UdGTudYZuhWgppLiulZJDt0EKhHcHoiMJEn6YLBwdN9Gfs11g_J4EKF66pqejuQVDZHgGCj04WYB1w2HezsXVNwsQ3danpu9Y5I42A/s320/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%203.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41HIus4iLE3LthBnFa2GWutQp3MTsFiI5JYJI7KSs1z6u8PvWK87m2X6lg0QkNfH1ZNF-WMXAeMAAoVBNltkipWtv81zVzUG5PFVrS6553fR0mxniYmjPMG_79cuP3sW54UY_11mjqnV1iehnwCRyf-T-S8fITDgptPjYPatLMpRMnLQpAsMOfnaSid4/s4608/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41HIus4iLE3LthBnFa2GWutQp3MTsFiI5JYJI7KSs1z6u8PvWK87m2X6lg0QkNfH1ZNF-WMXAeMAAoVBNltkipWtv81zVzUG5PFVrS6553fR0mxniYmjPMG_79cuP3sW54UY_11mjqnV1iehnwCRyf-T-S8fITDgptPjYPatLMpRMnLQpAsMOfnaSid4/s320/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%202.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY0woy-iWZqnGJZJ6VNmIte83fBIZFdqB-DaZRZhbfnFSyS4PkBcrI6sZtz_yQSKK8DIE3SXkhIHcTq7wGfN7OU7hqP5oqhdM_gNKZpqW_vDD4IFabJYvMlvIqH0HEGHjMAV0lH4s2TKfOd96XBhv8deHk_reLYtA9nktxPiWHk9uXAdQcneC1ZJBtq0/s4608/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY0woy-iWZqnGJZJ6VNmIte83fBIZFdqB-DaZRZhbfnFSyS4PkBcrI6sZtz_yQSKK8DIE3SXkhIHcTq7wGfN7OU7hqP5oqhdM_gNKZpqW_vDD4IFabJYvMlvIqH0HEGHjMAV0lH4s2TKfOd96XBhv8deHk_reLYtA9nktxPiWHk9uXAdQcneC1ZJBtq0/s320/Rob%20Donovan%20-%201967%20-%204.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I will keep readers of my blogposts up-to-date on the progress to publication for <b>'Mine to Die' (MTD)</b> as February 2024 draws nearer. </p><p>Finally, back to the story of my running. Between September 16 and September 24, I will be completing a double circuit of my local running track, up and down the hill to Little Trevalgan, and so qualifying for my finisher's T-Shirt and medal from the virtual Vitality London 10K team. More on that in due course! </p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-63538529024528087292023-07-25T14:13:00.001+01:002023-07-25T14:13:54.127+01:00WELCOME TO 'TRANSFORM' - A NEW POLITICAL PARTY FOR THE LEFT<p> I got back from my run this morning just before lunchtime - and discovered that <span style="color: red;">Transform</span> had been launched<span style="color: red;">. Alleluia!</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAH3UH8NYBjw1dGKz6p0fNyB6N0Z66TNNjMAdWijY2KBY5EWZGGEKUGQmN20jJo-X9j8DcFGhnb6KcM4sg12QvRtNB21JfZwnd9qt-w5klQHMg9eIKhy1xF8-H6Mw7mdy_NCunJJ7KdDBo3p51Ti2u6sK6wJA5Oc7Q5EChSzKNctQ6EaFCC8ZHQZtjd8/s300/Starmer%20and%20Corbyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAH3UH8NYBjw1dGKz6p0fNyB6N0Z66TNNjMAdWijY2KBY5EWZGGEKUGQmN20jJo-X9j8DcFGhnb6KcM4sg12QvRtNB21JfZwnd9qt-w5klQHMg9eIKhy1xF8-H6Mw7mdy_NCunJJ7KdDBo3p51Ti2u6sK6wJA5Oc7Q5EChSzKNctQ6EaFCC8ZHQZtjd8/w400-h224/Starmer%20and%20Corbyn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Judas Touch</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></p><p>Here's how SKWAWKBOX ran the story:</p><p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img alt="Site logo image" height="32" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cropped-4-skwawkbox-full-size.jpg?w=256" style="-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; max-height: 32px; max-width: 100%;" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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(SW) posted: " With 'Labour' refusing to oppose Tory two-child benefit
cap, labour movement and campaigning activists have issued call for new
party of the left under 'Transform' banner to offer real choice - and
prevent far right filling political vacuum As Kei" </span><span class="header-title"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a data-tracks-link-desc="header-post" href="https://skwawkbox.org"><b><span style="color: #101517;">SKWAWKBOX</span></b></a>
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<h1 style="-moz-osx-font-smoothing: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: default; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #2d3338; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 30.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://public-api.wordpress.com/bar/?stat=groovemails-events&bin=wpcom_email_click&redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fskwawkbox.org%2F2023%2F07%2F25%2Flabour-movement-figures-call-for-new-party-after-starmer-benefit-cap-betrayal-transform%2F&sr=0&signature=43bdbaed501b9c21753590edb0086ba9&blog_id=36285326&user=145767144&_e=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&_z=z"><span style="color: #101517;">Labour movement figures call for new party after
Starmer benefit cap betrayal: Transform</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img border="0" class="profile-pic" height="48" id="_x0000_i1026" src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4ef87f5b9897b27d2895e4e16c9708dc07ef91b3426dd1a3eb55e58a7dade26a?s=96&d=identicon&r=G" style="-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-radius: 24px; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; height: 48px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; max-width: 100%; width: 48px;" width="48" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="name" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">SKWAWKBOX
(SW)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="meta" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #646970; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jul 25 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<h3 style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: #2d3338; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With 'Labour'
refusing to oppose Tory two-child benefit cap, labour movement and
campaigning activists have issued call for new party of the left under
'Transform' banner to offer real choice - and prevent far right filling
political vacuum<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/transform-logo.png"><span style="color: #0675c4; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><img border="0" class="wp-image-197215" data-attachment-id="197215" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-caption="" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="transform-logo" data-large-file="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/transform-logo.png?w=750" data-medium-file="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/transform-logo.png?w=300" data-orig-file="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/transform-logo.png" data-orig-size="1200,675" data-permalink="https://skwawkbox.org/2023/07/25/labour-movement-figures-call-for-new-party-after-starmer-benefit-cap-betrayal-transform/transform-logo/" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://skwawkbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/transform-logo-1024x576.png" style="-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As Keir Starmer continues his betrayal of ordinary people
with Labour <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2023/07/20/snps-flynn-shreds-spineless-starmer-after-sunak-thanks-him-for-agreeing-to-starve-children/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">refusing to oppose the Tory two-child benefit cap</span></a>,
labour movement activists have responded with a call for a new <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>party of the
left, <a href="https://transformpolitics.uk/"><span style="color: #0675c4;">Transform</span></a>.
The group, which includes the Breakthrough Party, PAL, Left Unity and
Liverpool Community Independents, has issued a video and statement to mark
the launch of Transform:<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNy_WEqIHqs"><span style="color: #0675c4; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1028" src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/LNy_WEqIHqs/0.jpg" style="-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 24px; max-width: 100%;" /></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><strong><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Why?</span></strong><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our country is in crisis,
yet Labour under Starmer is planning to follow the same brutal policies as
the Tories. A new politics is needed that provides real answers to climate
change, the cost of living explosion, the erosion of democracy and the
spread of war.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><strong><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who?</span></strong><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">People supporting the call
include former Labour MP <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Thelma
Walker</span></strong>; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Ian
Hodson</span></strong>, President of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’
Union (BFAWU); <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Solma
Ahmed</span></strong>, former Labour Women's Committee and Momentum NCG
member; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">India
Willoughby</span></strong>, broadcaster and journalist; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Derek Wall</span></strong>,
ecosocialist writer and former principal speaker of the Green Party; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Lucy Williams, Alan Gibbons and
Sam Gorst</span></strong>, Liverpool Community Independent councillors; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Seema Syeda</span></strong>,
anti-racist activist; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Maia
Thomas</span></strong>, Black Lives Matter activist; <strong><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Zoe Gardner</span></strong>,
refugee rights campaigner, <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftransformpolitics.us8.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Dd240d32a299d047e70112edd9%26id%3D817745db22%26e%3Dce38f597f9&data=05%7C01%7C%7Ca3d3be9d973c4edc1b2c08db8c621543%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638258125108397387%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=MgkT%2BZDcNXMbsFd4D44ePRzprDe2P7lXt5u9AH3x5Yc%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0675c4;">and many others</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Organisations from across
the left already involved include the Breakthrough Party, Left Unity, and
the People’s Alliance of the Left, with more groups set to join in the
coming weeks. Plans are already underway to build local Transform groups
and organise in-person events across the country, culminating with the
launch of the party later this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Former Labour MP Thelma Walker said:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We need to end the duopoly
in Westminster and offer people across the country a choice of a party that
will fight for social, economic and environmental justice. For many Labour
supporters, Starmer’s defence of the child benefit cap will be the last
straw.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bakers' union president Ian Hodson added:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The need for change and
for a party that people feel represents them is critical if we are to end
the greed crisis caused by politics owned by the richest in our society.
People matter, and politics must be done in the people's interests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lucy Williams, Alan Gibbons, Sam Gorst, the Liverpool
Community Independent councillors who stunned and hammered Labour in the
city's recent local elections, said:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our election to three
seats in Liverpool demonstrated that there is a space to the left of
Labour. We need a force in British society that stands unequivocally on the
side of working class communities and against all forms of bigotry and
prejudice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Left Unity's Doug Thorpe:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the absence of a left
alternative there is a real danger that far-right players will move to fill
the vacuum with reactionary answers. Left Unity believes there is an urgent
need for a new left party, and we support the Transform call and
principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Solma Ahmed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Staying and fighting for
Starmer’s party is no longer an option. We need an alternative that
challenges the political system. That’s why I’m excited to support
Transform: because it meets my ambitions for a better and more equal world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Breakthrough Party's Alex Mays:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F6F7F7; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It's time for the left to
come together to provide a real alternative: one that transforms our
politics, our society and our planet. We at the Breakthrough Party are
proud to put our name to this call. We can't wait for someone else to save
us, we have to do it ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="has-text-color" style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><strong><i><span style="color: #551c1c; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">SKWAWKBOX needs your help.
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<p style="margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #101517; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use,
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</tbody></table><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>I've been waiting and waiting - and now the new party has arrived. Before Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, I had been among the first members of Left Unity. I then joined the Labour Party once Jeremy was the leader, loved the vision and campaigned for JC in 2017 and 2019 - and then departed along with 200,000 others after Starmer had lied his way to the leadership in 2020. I trust the vision of Left Unity and the other socialists behind the launch of <span style="color: red;">Transform</span>.</b></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-42741078507908614212023-07-15T09:11:00.000+01:002023-07-15T09:11:57.672+01:00A STATE OF THE NATION REPORT BY 'OPEN BRITAIN' - PART 2 - IS THE LABOUR PARTY UNDER STARMER THE ANSWER? <p> Just under a week ago, I published a blogpost that shared the insights of an<b> Open Britain </b>newsletter that struck me as having insights that needed sharing. </p><p>Here is a link: <a href="https://robdonovan.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-state-of-nation-report-by-open.html">https://robdonovan.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-state-of-nation-report-by-open.html</a></p><p>Yesterday, this week's newsletter from <b>Open Britain </b>had a similar feeling of importance. Phrases such as '<b>We're drifting into a new British dark age - and it feels like there's little individuals can do about it' </b>and '<b>thirteen years of the Conservative's near-total failure to govern</b>' seem to me spot-on. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh54NdRRRKJBFtOdZb_Koy4HS03SrBaQOTS7KfCUZO3d0qp0QLcNprGFA4_tL70Sf134pp-zNA9FacFgDoztbTGUrptEzqG-7B1TtLW1F1DRQ0l-88PsCUXrI9BawjxiC45O2TMf9SfYN7AbHY1etfOSzYT_Yjo0Kxt0Kh8QlpjVT4UgoDbk1sZcZ6H9I/s301/UK%20-%20failing%20state.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="301" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh54NdRRRKJBFtOdZb_Koy4HS03SrBaQOTS7KfCUZO3d0qp0QLcNprGFA4_tL70Sf134pp-zNA9FacFgDoztbTGUrptEzqG-7B1TtLW1F1DRQ0l-88PsCUXrI9BawjxiC45O2TMf9SfYN7AbHY1etfOSzYT_Yjo0Kxt0Kh8QlpjVT4UgoDbk1sZcZ6H9I/w400-h223/UK%20-%20failing%20state.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to EDRi20 - European Defenders of Digital Rights for this image</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Most of the newsletter is taken up with an assessment of what the Labour Party under Starmer are offering - a pros and cons examination. It seems to me this study by <b>Open Britain </b>is helpful in highlighting a few promising ideas that Labour offered in May this year - although there is absolutely no guarantee that any will be acted on if and when Starmer is the prime-minister. It also nails the <span></span></p><a name='more'></a>concerns that are only too evident in the Labour Party's performance under Starmer's leadership.<p></p><p>Here is the newsletter:</p><p><br /></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Dear Rob,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even if you’re not glued to UK political news 24/7 like we are,
it’s clear that <strong>Britain
is in bad shape.</strong> From incomes to the NHS to housing to trust in
government, we’re reaping the consequences of failed leadership across a myriad
of policy areas. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Making matters worse, the government has barricaded itself off
from public opinion with anti-democratic legislation. We’re left to suffer the
state’s ineptitude and corruption with little democratic recourse – whether
that be protest, judicial review, or even voting without barriers. <strong>We’re drifting into a new British
dark age – and it feels like there’s little individuals can do about it. </strong><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After thirteen years of the Conservative’s near-total failure to
govern, it’s obvious that we need a fundamental change in leadership.
Unfortunately, our outdated FPTP voting system leaves us with a two-party tug
of war for political power. <strong>The
question that remains is: </strong><em><b><u>Can Labour – the only real alternative under FPTP –
gaze beyond the fatal limitations of the status quo?</u></b></em><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We have seen a few promising ideas floated
from Labour, particularly in the tentative national</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=w25EpI3Fj-kpdMz3XIIfQVaeFbDqpKOE_fjHZ-coxwDHC3w3ve4VAulr2roTraBI9NGfOe3LPmcIfiU-ppC1D-srzZi8DboQnl9WoLooPgCLva_PN91rkAPB3mqzlE-W&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=labour_survey&n=1"><strong><span style="color: blue;"> policy platform</span></strong></a><strong> floated in May. </strong>These
include: <o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Abolishing or reforming the House of Lords;<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=FECXgvVBAH18GBWRCy8D9eULR8jVNuzMIqF4hPkjI68ZsLFO1CUr2zlYqoHk1FT4rvhgZqyMv0cAA2njaiTBOJC8RSDK1suXjUFucwc-UiJJzznVHJpbgHqqLuxU7S0J0J81HnNrYQCZxmZ_JP29vIMtO8U5FqpUEKDTgok2t6ouhLfeGAk5KPgc6sw4t-92&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=labour_survey&n=2"><span style="color: blue;">Banning</span></a> ex-ministers from taking political
lobbying jobs, as well as potentially blocking MPs from holding most
second jobs; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Floating ideas about increasing the powers of devolved
governments; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cracking down on foreign money in politics; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The creation of a new independent integrity &
ethics commission <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reducing the voting age to 16. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are, however, still a number of
concerns we’ve heard voiced about Starmer’s Labour Party: </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Labour frontbench MPs accepting shady donations from
shell corporations, American private healthcare interests, gambling firms,
climate sceptic organisations, and evangelical christian groups; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A top-down selection process that has notably excluded
women, minorities, and the left-wing of the party – experts warn of a <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=eQ6ZiAY9e0lzBA4mM4wKscfuCocaDApS9EUG17Asgz8jjxbFGE4NQ3Sd7rEOnhScMlkcxHlRAV_hsk8r2dVvohEG4FG5W-r_bfFzibeKKDZQHrcX3rdbS6yXE5Cv_7Ox2RREiKO1_wEZuidefesMqOuE-mdfNwIeNK341sDsk5w&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=labour_survey&n=3"><span style="color: blue;">“stifling monoculture”</span></a> that undermines party
democracy; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A rejection of Proportional Representation by central
leadership, despite widespread support among members and trade
unions; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Concerning attacks on political pluralism, expelling
members like <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=FECXgvVBAH18GBWRCy8D9STfn5_obmJT_ymll8hPaHJo1Pbo2e6An1Dhc58KfXYXbzrdmb910Cgakq_ITCQG1jrItQ2ImOimLWvMeJzA9XeTGp2aZMBP9OCrFjlJ7WCz&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=labour_survey&n=4"><span style="color: blue;">Neal Lawson</span></a> for urging progressive
cross-party cooperation; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unwillingness to commit to reversing most of the Tories
anti-democratic policies, including the Policing Act, Public Order Act,
Judicial Review Act, or the Elections Act; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Starmer having a similar stance on climate protestors
to Suella Braverman; <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Constant U-turns – 14 policy walk-backs in three years
according to <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=ByhkdA7RrYhHtdiUMWUYvBhd9A1At4bEztbSOjqrwMYccByqvokOdhFkr0KD3PUHnIM_ObznlMYIP8WhdWE1rkc0Bq_EX3LTJkKR_G1ND4yBERRm-5lgX6f5OrtatFjmo94T4JAXdAVymv_JURTmHwN6H8m_Gz6ot1NQXs4XoA6rgfQU0DxMTUpPaZH7LyrnYpVgPt1BPAWLbMcxRpHvfUp8zHVEJiqWwMbOO5-4CDUBwiXr8EYku_n4yr676XsbOZHbRN6GEVzlfDqQ8MGXCG0F3zwhI2yGT9imw26Tgy8IJm_YM6lmuTiWvaY7yA-uR2KQZHAMTIrVQlBwLGyMlw&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=labour_survey&n=5"><em><span style="color: blue;">Politico</span></em></a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s not an easy calculation to make. </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
seems that there is appetite in the UK for serious change, but it remains
unclear whether Starmer’s Labour is the appropriate vehicle for it. Given a
lack of real political options, we find ourselves at a strange
crossroads. <strong>We
also can't forget that there will be a temptation for Labour (if they win the
next GE) to simply focus on the short term economic crisis – ignoring larger
scale democracy issues. </strong><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We're keen to know what you think about
the future of British politics. </span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In your view, where
does the hope lie? Can campaigners and organisers like Open Britain make the
case to Starmer that we need serious reform before it's too late – or will
Labour opt to neglect constitutional issues and set themselves up for failure
down the line? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fill out our survey and let us know: <o:p></o:p></span></p><div align="center">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: #DE3894; border-collapse: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid white .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 200px;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=VWzEI63dzPSFk2ZrGdc45ocrxu4vUlQtS0dh6ZEvIX7OHznmQNsxSZ4YIqV5vfaq&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=labour_survey&n=6" style="bottom: 0; right: 0in;" target="_blank"><span style="color: white; text-decoration-line: none;">SURVEY: IS LABOUR THE WAY FORWARD?</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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</div><p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All the best,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Open Britain team"</span></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbdSQ_rMrlU" width="320" youtube-src-id="vbdSQ_rMrlU"></iframe></div><br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Read the 'Concerns about Labour' section again - and you can perhaps see why Steve Walker of Skwawkbox is so appalled by what has happened to the Labour Party once Starmer had lied his way into its leadership - through his deceitful adherence to the Ten Pledges associated with Jeremy Corbyn and his vision for Britain. Who can trust Starmer ever again? The personal pursuit of power corrupts. </b></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-64765135223403801492023-07-14T08:59:00.000+01:002023-07-14T08:59:10.280+01:00TAX JUSTICE - THE WAY TO A FAIRER AND MORE EQUAL WORLD<p> There was an item on Channel 4 News last night which examined the cost of pay settlements - the 'experts' brought in to discuss the matter talked about the part that <b>income tax</b> could play but neither they nor the Channel 4 presenter referenced the elephant in the room - <b>WEALTH TAXES.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRs2cwZoia8RCf_R7tb38IRKQm-71iD5dH80tAcF_Qx-3v0Gpt-A2xew0WxiUYpsyzLJZQyNkRoz4HZ3DuZbZ8H2eIQYwMVHCs3VFQ-NYbRX2pOASR5HUA-9H7Hhrd_OVcq7Ttw-sWcFyfu5GTFT28a9qWWzMJv_gfRCPxnqMB7ayTvO3HbWv-ROaHes/s274/Restorative%20justice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="274" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRs2cwZoia8RCf_R7tb38IRKQm-71iD5dH80tAcF_Qx-3v0Gpt-A2xew0WxiUYpsyzLJZQyNkRoz4HZ3DuZbZ8H2eIQYwMVHCs3VFQ-NYbRX2pOASR5HUA-9H7Hhrd_OVcq7Ttw-sWcFyfu5GTFT28a9qWWzMJv_gfRCPxnqMB7ayTvO3HbWv-ROaHes/w400-h336/Restorative%20justice.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wealth Taxes for a more just society </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Here is a the latest newsletter I received from Tax Justice.UK:</b></p><p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://www.taxjustice.uk/uploads/1/0/0/3/100363766/tjuklogosmall_orig.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 20px; max-width: 310px; width: 100%;" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">Dear Rob,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">In a world struggling with a cost
of living crisis, recent research by <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDL2pqlARv2wBshrgOqWkXMHZiGZpVcaUTlxZtPILyDuLKr_2RrzrOxCRTu-Qbm2R31Pm8KPIlG7wXfeawMkIyJGbU9iKNhesGI2xOeiutJURU9uN5Mj7kTRrIMiMYHiMzulCa9zFEKGvCLR2JYA-5bQVR9EPtbLqmze4FstiEwbnNL1Ni1zlBUDnCl43US-HL8VAqbVvK65RUExY_uxg3B3OntTSeAK3NRXq_rWTNryjUxI8NaCwFumWFUjDvUvBStLkh-7dnOg4eIxhtWWryXO6d7_63AOl37Py4wdcfdZdqk1_Gwgg45fg5hesvBQ8Nis3BAsaeld47DrXFp6trSKCF1v7joQywm34rFUAj0s95NDOM89ZYm7ETa7oFkFKa35tOWdSQGme5Yd1ljZg66TWYxQlBKuGi4VCVkLYUs2Arv2RKR98kmsacn555SN1Aw/3xt/kCQrIEByRce4kvRX5bwdeQ/h0/_VH3Jlp0PQyTDkp3knt7CayvtXyH1P_72i_hMhstaVU">Oxfam
and ActionAid</a> has shed light on a shocking reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">In 2021 and 2022 the world's 722
largest companies reaped windfall profits totaling a staggering $1 trillion
annually.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">It couldn't be clearer that
tackling the cost of living crisis requires a bold approach. This has to
include higher taxes on both companies and the wealthy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">The cost of living crisis affects
ordinary individuals and families who struggle to make <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>ends meet, as prices
soar for essential goods and services <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhmPmPSmVM6GQjUEP3Lj86SWNgRVctv8i4M0mPt6JUDAyslwb8vfTIDZhC6CRz17BOfR87TcUHyxmDSI1trESZNkAVjjJvPopomt2R6fOBbIusVOIVtGJJ4blLtNZO0FJZThC07xThWd13AMs0zinb2DKghzcNDC-fL6HWOXF9azjRjk5tx-kvIbK7DnqylmxfLdPH_nCPnPMH-nmGaDTDeb429K1zwuwdW9J4bCMtLZ0hoxpodZwyRYXlxJytx03DFl0UYl8MbIb3-lSidQ5aa-C3XovRjs9MRlpdZu3IUWMZ4sF5PgRxUOdkuc3uIhDOsR-mfH-yMtBhEKWe5EVvJjMMYr6U4gJWPXdAx6rr1OG/3xt/kCQrIEByRce4kvRX5bwdeQ/h1/7TOEQmJ34wh1jvHqU787hLHLncGOZHGUGHHixzJxkWU">while
wages struggle to keep pace</a>. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">Meanwhile, wealthy corporations
have seen their profits skyrocket during these challenging times. This
discrepancy highlights the urgent need for systemic change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">This new research serves as a
wake-up call, urging governments and policymakers to reassess the current way
of doing things. By implementing higher taxes on wealthy companies, we can
ensure that corporations contribute their fair share towards public services
like the NHS. These windfall profits should be channeled back into society,
supporting those who are most vulnerable and struggling to cope with the
increasing cost of living.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">It is also vital to address
wealth inequality. By increasing taxes on wealth, governments can start to
bridge the gap between rich and poor. Money can be put into struggling public
services, including the NHS, schools and housing. By actively working to
level the playing field, we can create a more just and equitable society.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">Unison backs a wealth tax</span></strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">We aren’t alone in calling on MPs
to take a different course of action. Appearing on BBC’s <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhu-ZzizEUfmD-dMhOQtXsj_2ropt3xBmkRtbE71ea_7paCcSXXE1PYZDDE3oZ3Eh4ZWVlx-LfDR2lskvtLEgVMh8GQVpsunCqNuyempvqOh36scZMrDHDZFRKpnFOgZhYROXd6hrbetaZA-nQbg2N8flTY-6yiRhLyvFj1B0sa2JSNHuNoKNel_7L3PpT2Oopz0CkLv8cdnC2MEVQn4AVHXCZb-TIdXNe2epQHkD9a1dYt48RMlYWY1Np4oadX4ygsKMtBF5n69uRoECyN1cMsF_mNFAZJoA9mi7OpsUufNX70DBq0_djaVOA2vIxL1sj7_uPn-gIvPKvlfWlAcl7lf-MUe9jo0gxpK7o3kjmor0RuscMv71AajX9dbZO_HRwQ/3xt/kCQrIEByRce4kvRX5bwdeQ/h2/93HQysuDXaDnJvvrYWIXxShNT0opmqCTxzG6aGEfHyw">Politics
Live</a> this week the boss of the UK’s biggest union, UNISON, said it was
time politicians looked at “how we tax wealth in this country, not just pay.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">Meanwhile, multimillionaire film
director Richard Curtis, creator of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a
Funeral, <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhsq6r-iZL1taWrFkpNiWAN9GCFhySPn1wiUa1eSRrD7Jqg2DLM9aie73FUZEOrZzXVoWIiKWQKU9qO4vdq1dmibMrFmJkI8qelkuX2yxtcJumnvU9_nPh_2M1gOsd_bAvTKkodQRNKy8u1VlGwdcK7RNlkm_OcvexlN6gS0P8oqSiDPU1Yjs7KPJR-Z3bF1PlEamKDo0R8hvYqG1XAfdwErFXw38YylhVamX1XD3yW0FeGZn9tj7Of8xbg0eHMjXWY81vyj5qTL-nxaTh8bocNtB0seUbTaq1f7jojrBmInc4vJvEYaIDObx1IC1Q6CAfcGyXU91yY3NtORDYKqcr4nq-uN8pEfgVqxRIJC-ECt_KLMJxaV2L957V2phQo-TnQ/3xt/kCQrIEByRce4kvRX5bwdeQ/h3/aSa3lHXcc9fMCJNRn-CGC430yGX4kmS8hWdPAQGxf30">joined
the call</a> for higher taxes on wealth in a BBC Radio 4 interview yesterday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">From Hollywood to the heart of
the trade union movement, there’s agreement that we need wealth tax reform.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">I couldn’t agree more!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">Robert Palmer</span></strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;">Executive Director<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 140%;"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ZeZ3E1eH73a3nszCI3gAkAvg8bmWKZlBh6jVCJ6aLRmS-lYBh_NYeKhPyW_u0IKvs-slBEM4uQJhXJIDT779gv5lcc255negheD_Y_aVNwp9kxce1VFGsixZV1zg8dNWSpGimQsfO0UJ2uctOt9j1pg" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I think those details and ideas are well worth sharing - a trillion is a million million which reads, in pounds, £1,000,000,000,000. In the last two years, 722 companies have reaped windfall profits to that value. Why aren't the Opposition Parties in Parliament demanding wealth taxes to finance redistribution through national investment in infrastructure and essential services such as the NHS and education? The neoliberal Tories in power will never take this path. </b></p>
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</tbody></table><b></b></p>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-48194348204811735572023-07-10T18:16:00.000+01:002023-07-10T18:16:58.081+01:00THE STATE OF THE NATION REPORT BY OPEN BRITAIN<p> I get regular updates from <b>OPEN BRITAIN </b>- they always have their finger on the pulse of the country. I want to share their latest newsletter because I agree with the points within it and the word needs to be spread:</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDciEE-2MhpeQT3KUMGXdg6Z44lpI-JlPJALJO33atqojY3Vr0L2XG5bUHVXVWXKDw2HFzp9nNEHQA8l6YfiZRXfDhIs47uq1RiYazCQY6-hsf6xTbIfW2WnvdDl4SDc7s-29XcY9EM6M1PHWE5UqKIZU2ASGF2oRtGGHsySVZIfdpTedKRAt-H2ytww/s3701/Marazion%20-%20September%202023%20-%206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3701" data-original-width="2618" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDciEE-2MhpeQT3KUMGXdg6Z44lpI-JlPJALJO33atqojY3Vr0L2XG5bUHVXVWXKDw2HFzp9nNEHQA8l6YfiZRXfDhIs47uq1RiYazCQY6-hsf6xTbIfW2WnvdDl4SDc7s-29XcY9EM6M1PHWE5UqKIZU2ASGF2oRtGGHsySVZIfdpTedKRAt-H2ytww/w283-h400/Marazion%20-%20September%202023%20-%206.JPG" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warning (2018) by Louise Donovan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div align="center">
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<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dear Rob,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Whenever accountability comes knocking on his door, <strong>Rishi Sunak
vanishes without a trace.</strong> Today, <em>Byline
Times</em> Political Editor Adam Bienkov <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=YqgukYA3Mrlri-dqG7I8Tjzc1fGL4t7zbnuxhVziS5jicnrp2vyy2UU5K1kKe7hPuFuCKy67-F-ZzmFeGxtjPg&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sunak_pvgs_committee&n=1"><span style="color: blue;">reported</span></a> that the PM will be missing the debate
and potential vote on the Privileges Committee's recent report – even though
it suggests <strong>seven of his MPs and three Tory peers could be
in contempt of Parliament. </strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is not the first performance of Sunak's disappearing act.
Whenever any subject related to Boris Johnson, Conservative sleaze, or
Parliamentary <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>integrity arises, Sunak's diary magically contains unbreakable
commitments far from the Palace of Westminster. Sunak "missed" the
votes on punishments for Owen Paterson and Boris Johnson and conveniently
dodged an <strong>unprecedented number</strong> of awkwardly-timed PMQs.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Only by today's dismal standards of political
leadership is it even conceivable for a PM to miss a vote like this one.
<strong>The Privileges Committee's allegations were damning.</strong>
The report described a <a href="https://in.nationbuilder.com/r?u=FECXgvVBAH18GBWRCy8D9eULR8jVNuzMIqF4hPkjI6-WN4R3ptMRUSw67WEH-k1j0Ywx9UWInwbZaHa1T_Hj7J2DFGZsBMBNQdpg17_I5y183m1Z1Vbt1l_sVa91hHdZThwgupucj98vSXKGJZGZx8LQ8DmPuw6Gm6Ql5sTgcnU&e=1e195389b794efb842f0556779ea8edd&utm_source=in&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sunak_pvgs_committee&n=2"><span style="color: blue;">coordinated attack campaign</span></a> to undermine
the inquiry into Boris Johnson. It alluded to an incredibly toxic and authoritarian
culture deeply embedded within the governing party, one that Sunak is clearly
terrified of. <strong>Failure to condemn such actions clearly and
forcefully represents an unforgivable failure of leadership</strong>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It's not an exaggeration to say that <strong>this
is how</strong> <strong>states begin to fail.</strong> In
recent years, we've seen the UK government loot the public purse during a
global pandemic, systematically dismantle the rights that protect us from
their excesses, and undermine and discredit the checks and balances meant to
hold them accountable. <strong>Either Sunak is on board with these attacks, or
he's too cowardly to speak up.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The
Great British public needs to wake up very soon, or we will sleepwalk into a
political abyss</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">. We need to make the stand that
Sunak is so afraid of making by calling out the authoritarian creep of recent
years and making clear that we will no longer put up with it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That starts by voting out a government that has shown itself
beyond any reasonable doubt to be anti-democratic. <strong>But
it also requires us to be clear with possible future governments that we
expect and demand better from them</strong>. Whichever party, or
parties, form the next government, they will need to take decisive action in
their first term to fix our democracy or risk foisting an even more sinister
right-wing government on us next time around. <strong>A new variant
Conservative Party, moulded in the image of Suella Braverman or David Frost,
might very well finish the job of dismantling our Parliamentary democracy</strong>.
We cannot allow that to happen, and we won't.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All the best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Mark
Kieran</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
CEO, Open Britain<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p align="center" style="line-height: 18.0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">It's your generous support that makes all our work
possible</span></strong><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<strong>THANK YOU! </strong></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="line-height: 18.0pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><strong><br /></strong></span></b></p><p align="center" style="line-height: 18.0pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><strong><br /></strong></span></b></p>
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</div><p><br /></p><p><b> </b></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHjFUNHa1a6_S6kvIXaQLnUb1OP3q2km6LDwEPRhWWrjNDePugZDqPZrOLuYwi7b8BBeIUTdh3f5kDRYVx3ymc9s22W1p4gpJ9Lr46nZVNs15MFK98M8k_mSj_UYANBFwfGr71J7wcZ9I_a6uE1lyxMwdHk7TKtpq158k3OvcyxVAGuyZdJX7GGvSmzv4/s517/Sunlight%20through%20bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="506" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHjFUNHa1a6_S6kvIXaQLnUb1OP3q2km6LDwEPRhWWrjNDePugZDqPZrOLuYwi7b8BBeIUTdh3f5kDRYVx3ymc9s22W1p4gpJ9Lr46nZVNs15MFK98M8k_mSj_UYANBFwfGr71J7wcZ9I_a6uE1lyxMwdHk7TKtpq158k3OvcyxVAGuyZdJX7GGvSmzv4/w391-h400/Sunlight%20through%20bars.jpg" width="391" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunlight Through Bars (2021) by Louise Donovan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Back to me - we are displaying the signs of a failing state. Be aware - sound the alert. </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8742367813304231523.post-42488402491755898642023-06-21T13:59:00.000+01:002023-06-21T13:59:11.131+01:00THE WISDOM OF EUGENE MCCARRAHER - EXPLORING THE ENCHANTMENTS OF MAMMON IN BRITAIN - PART TWO<p> Keeping to the promise I made in my March blogpost about Eugene McCarraher and his 2019 masterpiece, The Enchantments of Mammon, here is a summary of the Professor's main points in the first of the seven parts of his monumental work. Part One (pp.19-106) is called: <b style="font-style: italic;">The Dearest Freshness Deep Down Things: Capitalist Enchantment in Europe, 1600-1914</b>.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJIa94oiGt0NeXiF4AXKv-LbKzTGhKMTRRKs9rUWoOmC2mdNkb_Fzgqrl8qW53qJiIuSSxT2YO0kiywy3aNjQ-gMeRQdiqq8_3LjNDo-2jFsbbdmk2eOM7-fveKH1oGCU-qhfw1NW0hiArYYKMITYZ7TvjRWJ0O9tlySvcUS_4WHjwD4mubVIPJOJ/s277/Mammon%20-%20Enchantments.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJIa94oiGt0NeXiF4AXKv-LbKzTGhKMTRRKs9rUWoOmC2mdNkb_Fzgqrl8qW53qJiIuSSxT2YO0kiywy3aNjQ-gMeRQdiqq8_3LjNDo-2jFsbbdmk2eOM7-fveKH1oGCU-qhfw1NW0hiArYYKMITYZ7TvjRWJ0O9tlySvcUS_4WHjwD4mubVIPJOJ/w263-h400/Mammon%20-%20Enchantments.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCarraher's 2019 masterpiece</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The age of capitalist enchantment began in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. A capitalist vanguard of landowners and merchants blazed a trail of 'improvement' that swept away the ties of common-land holding that had been blessed by the medieval church. Puritan improvers had a Protestant ethic that was perfectly compatible with omens and portents and matters of the Spirit. The metaphysical enchantments of medieval Catholicism were reworked into the imperatives of Protestant dispossession and enclosure of land for profit - in the name of God.</li><li>English Protestants such as Richard Baxter and John Locke developed a systematic theology of the divine right of capitalist property which still embraced the power of the sacred enchantments - although other Protestants such as Gerard Winstanley and the Diggers offered a radical <span><a name='more'></a></span>communistic alternative which was duly swept away. For Winstanley, God 'is in all things, and by him all things consist'. God had ordained common ownership of the planet as the original state of nature. That was a message that was anathema to the emerging capitalist age. </li><li>Capitalism emerged as the moral and political economy of modern enchantment. Protestantism was a reformation of enchantment. In early Europe, and especially in England, educated Protestants became a new clerisy of enchantment. Sir Francis Bacon, a seminal figure in the development of scientific methodology, was also steeped in alchemical and occult lore; so too were Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton.</li><li>Puritans were adamant that they could not serve two masters: God and Mammon. The NT biblical injunction remained paramount. Yet, somehow the same God who created all had also made the market for pecuniary glory. Profit-making followed the grain of the universe; it was God's will. The pursuit of wealth now became mandatory - with, of course, due respect for the souls of others whatever that might mean. What may seem Puritan avarice had been moulded so it had sacramental approval.</li><li>Even John Locke thought of God as the Almighty Sponsor of Improvement. Locke measures terms such as 'advantage', 'convenience', and 'improvement' in almost wholly pecuniary terms. 'Improvement' meant not just the art of cultivation through, say, enclosure but also the science of profitable enterprise. What mattered to Locke was the exchange value that was now created in land and assessed in monetary terms. The metaphysics of capital had replaced notions of communal stewardship of land as a sacred substance. Locke explicitly provided the justification for dispossessing native Americans of their land due to their lack of prowess in doing 'His business', that is 'improving' the land. </li></ul><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-v2L2XXdY_qi2rH8GMuWfdiXuMMk03fGjJrCrqINLgyxLpRa95wWKauunXGzi__FEKKFcJjNuILyeNLalXu885UcGZhfGk1ozm7oefRi9gcSUDuUPlSVDmROfGBe-qbc1NsM-m_163lsgvtkYT8RSbMx2NzLfAJpNhsWG5W98ehgO2uI82pLWFpbeN4/s309/John_Locke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-v2L2XXdY_qi2rH8GMuWfdiXuMMk03fGjJrCrqINLgyxLpRa95wWKauunXGzi__FEKKFcJjNuILyeNLalXu885UcGZhfGk1ozm7oefRi9gcSUDuUPlSVDmROfGBe-qbc1NsM-m_163lsgvtkYT8RSbMx2NzLfAJpNhsWG5W98ehgO2uI82pLWFpbeN4/w285-h400/John_Locke.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Locke (1632-1704) - a portrait of Locke painted by Godfrey Kneller in 1697</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>By the early 19th century, Evangelical Christians had begun to replace the Puritan voice of capitalist enchantment with a message that proclaimed that there was now a science of wealth whose laws had been decreed by God. The Good Lord had created property, markets, and enterprise. He had built in the scarcity and struggle for ordinary people as His paternal inducement to labour, innovation, and riches. The gospel of capitalist freedom was preached loud and clear. It still is, not least in the USA. Yet, many evangelicals were attracted still to enchanted powers such as mesmerism and the occult. Thomas Malthus is an egregious example of an Anglican pastor and evangelical economist who argued that evil was a necessary good and privation of the poor was a necessary compulsion for moral and material improvement. The God of Love had now become the God who has consigned the poor and dispossessed to a lifelong Calvary road. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGKeQjF0ZhB0zK0kFYSfCClXWk83yp8MKPQmotHuShKGJcRNfKrQhAw9RkrA_PoS_vnkSMljQ0XGJYiqTDk5K8hp7KsWWm5dzILnkskBZePZ7YcmM0ZlCUQ2Ac0Yw5vR0wd4BnJBGlj-4eLFHA8ENdUHoh55X-oIp-MQvj-5MWrzqRTAG0CJ5AKAWyzM/s269/Malthus%20(1766-1834).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGKeQjF0ZhB0zK0kFYSfCClXWk83yp8MKPQmotHuShKGJcRNfKrQhAw9RkrA_PoS_vnkSMljQ0XGJYiqTDk5K8hp7KsWWm5dzILnkskBZePZ7YcmM0ZlCUQ2Ac0Yw5vR0wd4BnJBGlj-4eLFHA8ENdUHoh55X-oIp-MQvj-5MWrzqRTAG0CJ5AKAWyzM/w327-h400/Malthus%20(1766-1834).jpg" width="327" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Malthus (1766 -1834) - a portrait in the year of his death,1834</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><br /> <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>As the industrial revolution triggered by the urge for 'improvement' advanced through the 19th century, opposition arose from those who smelt a rat in this prevailing gospel of capitalist enchantment. Marx from an atheist and materialist position offered his alternative; Carlyle, Ruskin, and Morris offered theirs from a Romantic sacramental imagination. It was John Ruskin who "unconverted" from his parent's evangelical faith and later sneered in <i>The Crown of Wild Olive</i> (1866): "You knock a man into a ditch, and then you tell him to remain content in 'the position in which Providence has placed him'. That's modern Christianity." For Marx, "the power of money in bourgeois society" animated a pecuniary way of being in the world. Objects which we need for use become "worth" so much in money and their value then becomes an exchange-value. Marx explored the spell of so-called 'fetishism' by which people attribute a kind of agency and independence to commodities, the products of their own labour. Thus commodity fetishism becomes a capitalist form of alienation, a modern recipe for the opium of the people - in short, the sacramental system of capitalism. </li></ul><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Romantic critique of the mercenary and instrumentalist values of industrial capitalism sought to revive in some more modern form the values cherished from pre-modern societies. Marx was highly critical of such 'nostalgia', declaring that modern revolution "could not draw its poetry from the past; it can only draw it from the future". For all their eloquent invective against industrial capitalism, Carlyle and Ruskin nevertheless championed monarchy and feudalism, opposed Chartism, and regarded British imperialism as a necessary form of moral instruction. (Carlyle's definition of economics as "the dismal science" came in the midst of a <i>defense </i>of Jamaican slavery.) Yet their emphasis on 'the moral unity of the world' and the need for common purpose to bind humanity together has left an indelible impact on writers since. Carlyle condemned capitalism as a violation of "Wonder". The "Gospel of Mammonism" was a fraudulent religion. However, Carlyle could never grasp the possibility that all the Lord's people could be prophets and heroes; he remained opposed to democracy and a defender of slavery. </li><li>Ruskin too was a monarchist - and an imperial racist who proposed paternalist compassion as an antidote to working-class political struggle. Yet Ruskin's voice remained a powerful weapon against capitalism - he even denied that economics is a science, comparing it to "alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds". Economics is untrue because its account of human nature is fallacious - we are impelled by a Soul, not calculating self-interest. Ruskin's vision is sacramental.</li><li>Morris too inflected his socialist writing with a compelling sacramental hope, despite his professed aloofness from religious and theological matters. He was making a religion of socialism and beauty - and his longing for a heavenly fellowship was shared by many in the Arts and Crafts movement. Perhaps predictably, Romantic opposition to capitalist squalor became transmuted into bourgeois bohemianism. </li></ul><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh454Tlh3wEWAbUzrhItpU7pjpMPD1PSvSbGkB2Fw85yHIBT_C2IvjVk1rftHKZeYvx_nSyuRky_ty8Vt9j0wHmMOSsQubwfCxsu03zlSQW0BDAE3hfgFV6YFpfzGCiGoBNsdXEuPrMiEb6IC75oaHtmvHYDG-8KA-Y_Xzj1LpsBjhd6i1feU0dNuroyF8/s279/Marx%20(1818-1883).webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh454Tlh3wEWAbUzrhItpU7pjpMPD1PSvSbGkB2Fw85yHIBT_C2IvjVk1rftHKZeYvx_nSyuRky_ty8Vt9j0wHmMOSsQubwfCxsu03zlSQW0BDAE3hfgFV6YFpfzGCiGoBNsdXEuPrMiEb6IC75oaHtmvHYDG-8KA-Y_Xzj1LpsBjhd6i1feU0dNuroyF8/w315-h400/Marx%20(1818-1883).webp" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karl Marx (1818-1883) - a photograph by John Mayall in 1875<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div> <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6Lxc6NMSgKi-IlLAVXDJFQRKM5aGrRz-If6UbvXo7F6Kq-ZNjPV1wtZn3jNSGE-EQyV-G_jjB-sIAjgJmKOBS9dN0h7cPVgbR1CrQzfwunDeOHG0ixaR_ECWGutAyiwzgEoETvWI0Z08ybDlWoDBGuazuev7dr68N2Gzan0ECbpzD3obpQme1R6DcJM/s301/Carlyle%20(1795-1881).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6Lxc6NMSgKi-IlLAVXDJFQRKM5aGrRz-If6UbvXo7F6Kq-ZNjPV1wtZn3jNSGE-EQyV-G_jjB-sIAjgJmKOBS9dN0h7cPVgbR1CrQzfwunDeOHG0ixaR_ECWGutAyiwzgEoETvWI0Z08ybDlWoDBGuazuev7dr68N2Gzan0ECbpzD3obpQme1R6DcJM/w292-h400/Carlyle%20(1795-1881).jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) - photograph by Elliott & Fry c.1865<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh4vDMLBrheRJOQ9dBL2JaW-GVYFDsYfea3fbyc44IJ-yPVKUPN53t9TiDxOJzdhih11c2G7Za02hvmPforanLBCR3RQnnmPlCtIcjyOud1prAIV1b6djIFQ0ZiTGFrNXWCWmfwKVgXiE1FO913RNgvOxrOhmOuZe6IOXqZ0nvWfs2ChnDn6Z6_000pc/s314/Ruskin%20in%201863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh4vDMLBrheRJOQ9dBL2JaW-GVYFDsYfea3fbyc44IJ-yPVKUPN53t9TiDxOJzdhih11c2G7Za02hvmPforanLBCR3RQnnmPlCtIcjyOud1prAIV1b6djIFQ0ZiTGFrNXWCWmfwKVgXiE1FO913RNgvOxrOhmOuZe6IOXqZ0nvWfs2ChnDn6Z6_000pc/w280-h400/Ruskin%20in%201863.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Ruskin (1819-1900) - photo image in 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uPpRvCXY0vONyPoWJY2WdfimIH0cSsiXw67KDcs58gTv9j7FpbUCAWXtAx9vXVAQLqaGH-NupB3OxGGkrAFZlWJHe4taCaimnCGb7ceA-jXP0L-AyDNMu4no86MeNwPYD3JvWZoNaj3sz2r7MWwY7vDZ1k3R2bD9OctRD4pW-Dc-jEXa0oj55HciLuw/s277/Morris%20in%201887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uPpRvCXY0vONyPoWJY2WdfimIH0cSsiXw67KDcs58gTv9j7FpbUCAWXtAx9vXVAQLqaGH-NupB3OxGGkrAFZlWJHe4taCaimnCGb7ceA-jXP0L-AyDNMu4no86MeNwPYD3JvWZoNaj3sz2r7MWwY7vDZ1k3R2bD9OctRD4pW-Dc-jEXa0oj55HciLuw/w318-h400/Morris%20in%201887.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Morris (1834-1896) - photographed by Frederick Hollyer in 1887</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>ROB DONOVANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912261189836805409noreply@blogger.com0