The War THEY Dont Want You To See.

Essential viewing for those that care.

Fighting Back Against The ConDem Spending Cuts.

Letter to the leader of Liverpool Council
The following open letter has been sent to Joe Anderson, leader of Liverpool City Council, by members of the 1983-87 group of 47 surcharged councillors

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Dear Joe
We note in your declarations that you claim there is nothing the council can do other than implement the Con-Dem cuts more humanely than government commissioners.

Workers and their families will not notice the difference between you and Tory commissioners, the effect will be the same.

We would suggest that there are several steps you could take as part of a strategy to fight the cuts.

You claim that, in addition to the projected shortfall of £120 million, the government proposes to cut up to a billion pounds over the next four years.


Liverpool lobby of council: Tony Mulhearn (holding The Socialist), waiting to speak, Daren Ireland, RMT and President of Liverpool TUC, addressing demo , photo Merseyside Socialist Party (Click to enlarge)

We reject the notion that cuts of such magnitude can be managed without savaging the incomes, employment and living standards of workers.

The alternative strategy we propose is a bold campaigning one, which the city council of 1983-1987 pursued.

The first step should be to use the council's budget reserve, reported in the Echo as £80 million, to maintain current funding levels in areas which the Con-Dem alliance is cutting.

This would buy time for more decisive measures to defeat the cuts. We understand that your figures for reserves may differ, if so then please explain the situation according to council figures.

In addition you could take Liverpool Direct back in-house thus saving a reported £29 million a year.

1983-87
Then, as we did in 83-87, you should work out how much is required to fund the existing council services in 2011 and pass a budget in line with inflation.

This would no doubt produce a short-fall in the council's income. The amount of the shortfall could be identified, say £50 million.

A campaign could then be launched to oppose the cuts with the specific demand that £50 million be restored to the Liverpool City Council as a means of defending jobs and services.

You could issue a call for all local authorities to embrace the same strategy, and call for support from the local authority trade unions and the wider labour movement, in concert with community organisations which are planning to resist any cuts in their own localities.

If Liverpool makes a courageous stand, this could act as a beacon to other local authorities and campaigning organisations to join the campaign.

Strategy
If a number of the main local authorities adopted this strategy of refusing to cut jobs and services to compensate for Tory cuts, backed up by a campaign of mass demonstrations and industrial action, the Tories would be compelled to retreat.

Already the magnificent action of the students has created chaos in the ranks of the Lib Dem wing of the government which, let us remember, is ruling without a popular mandate.

We call on the Labour group to totally reject the cuts and to join, not with the Lib Dems, but with the trade union and labour movement in defending the mass of Liverpool's working people.

It was such a campaigning strategy which resulted in the Thatcher government releasing funds to the city worth some £60 million which allowed us to carry out our electoral promises.

The alternative is a programme of cuts which will devastate the jobs and services which thousands of working families rely on, and signal a return to the dark days which we inherited in 1983.

Those dark days resulted from a catastrophic 65% collapse in the Liverpool economy between the mid-seventies and 1983, made worse by the £30 million which the Tory government cut from Liverpool's rate support grant.

If the Con-Dem cuts are implemented in Liverpool we will see a return of those dark days which we should all campaign to avoid.

Signed: Paul Astbury, Harry Smith, Tony Mulhearn, Alan Fogg, Felicity Dowling, Frank Mills, Tony Rimmer

Happy Birthday, Leona.

My eldest daughter is 29 years old today.

Happy Birthday, Leona.
May you always have what you need.

(Where did 29 years go ?)

Hung Like A...

Riots In Greece

People have had enough.

Everyone Blames Everyone Else.

Noticing I'm attracting attention from people willing to blame others for the troubles in their lives.

Whenever we look outside of ourselves, we are missing the real reason(s) for our unhappiness - ourselves !

If only people took responsibility for their own actions, it would be a far happier world.

Abusers and women batterers especially...

Strange people make for a very strange world.

Ann.

It is twenty one years ago since an old friend died.

How time flies.
Her children have grown up and one is a mother, herself.

Her death hit a lot of people very hard.
Im thinking of her mother who having lost her daughter,
brought up two small, heart-broken girls.

Time has passed but the sad memories linger.

Fly high, Ann.

7/7 London Bombings

The inquest today began with a minutes silence.
Then the names of the 52 dead were read out.

It hopes to investigate the emergency services response
and, whether MI5 and the Police could have done more to prevent the atrocity.

As the 7/7 bombings were the catalyst for the UK Government
to fully support the USA in the invasion of Iraq.
Remembering, there was a huge anti-war movement, especially in London,
opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Perhaps we need to look at the act of terror itself and the events we do know.

On the morning of 7/7, Peter Power, of Visor Consultants, was running a mock exercise in regard to whether our emergency services could cope with a series of terror acts in London.
His team was reputed to have involved over a thousand people.

Visor Consultants mock scenario involved bombs going off on Tubes
at Aldgate,Russell Square and Edgware Road.

As actually happened !

Not only that, Peter Power's team also had in their 'exercise' a bomb being detonated on a bus somewhere in the city.

That would be Tavistock Square !

Peter Power, of Visor Consultants, should be called upon to name his clients, so a proper investigation into this unbelievable 'coincidence'
which has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Not just the 52.

Peter Power, Visor Consultants, BBC News - youtube for those interested.

Change.

A friend of mine is in "stuff" and looking to turn her life around.

She has plugged me into my own past when I felt the need to change things in my life.

In the begining it was so hard.
Breaking bad patterns and creating more gentle, safer ways to live was my goal.

I remember my family and friends finding it quite difficult to be around me.
They felt threatened by my plans and my need to do different things and meet different people.

They had the thought my 'letting go of my past' meant my letting go of them.

When we go through change - everyone around us changes, too.

Change IS good.
When the painful Past controls the numb Present, change is imperative !

At first, change is uncomfortable for everyone.
For the one needing to change - even more so.
The support of family and friends is so important in this process.

I once again acknowledge and thank those who loved and supported me during that emotional roller-coaster of a ride.
Without you in my life, I would not be the person I am today.

Clun.

Building Off Grid.

For the last few years, I have been toying with the idea of building a straw bale house and going off the grid.

Creating my own shelter from nothing and designing a water harvesting system for my needs has always appealed.

Utilising the wind and solar energy to produce small amounts of electricity is easily possible.

I now have the time.
Now I need the land.

Tony Blair Must Be Prosecuted For War Crimes – By John Pilger | Sabbah Report

Tony Blair Must Be Prosecuted For War Crimes – By John Pilger | Sabbah Report

Wow.
John Pilger agrees with me.

Fight Cuts In Living Standards.

Am I missing something ?

The UK is aiding the USA in two wars.
(we are still in Iraq)
At a fiscal cost of billions, trillions...
Oh who's still counting ?

While our eyes were on the war(s) and online porn,
the B(w)ankers stole all the money.
Yet they are in the club(s), casino's and brothels
whilst we get the bill for it all.

Lengthening dole queues and pay cuts for all.
(well us - again)
Now they want to implement the pension age rise.

Workers in France and Greece and...
kick off against the attacks on their living standards.
Thu UK just accepts, doesnt even criticise.

A revolution is what is needed.
We should be out on the streets.
If we dont do it now - when are we ?

One Working Week.

A week to forget ?
A week to remember ?

Our workshop is a fridge in the winter
and a greenhouse in the summer.

We have been busy and hot.
Which may have contributed to me waking up tuesday feeling groggy.
My body stiffened up rapidly and every part of me hurt.
Weird.

To my rescue came the girls next door.
The most painful, deep and releasing massage ever.
Then I slept for two hours and went back to work.
(I sat still and did nothing - couldnt)

The next day ?
Back to normal.
(whatever that is ?)
Opened an email from my daughter, Grace.
Our communication has been scant and poor.
She was angry - again...
Blah blah.

Shouted at in the street by the Tops Pizza manager.
'Bad man come here'
I guess he read one of my blogs.
I didnt.
His words made me think I am his perfect mirror.
More to come on that one, Im sure.

But, Friday, flee the city and spend time with the girlie.
Relax cool down sleep.
Yahoo.
But Abbies breast is lumpy and she has had pain.
And I cant get no sleep.

Quite Silent Pool.

One of my favourite places.

The Longest Day.

What a strange, beautiful day it has been.
Perfect weather for the ride into London.

Arriving around midday to an organised, busy chaos.
Worrying about a family member who appears to have gone walkabout.
Fretting - the perfect word.

Reminded and remembering the summer solstice of 1990 (0r 1991 - my bloody memory)
When my X and I lost a child in Bangor Hospital.
(yes we did look behind the sofa)

One child born on a winter solstice.
One child lost on a summer solstice.

The longest day, indeed.

Wikileaks Under Attack From Pentagon.

I didnt think the Pentagon would be so stupid to go after Wikileaks.
How wrong was I ?

Pentagon officials have announced the detention of Army private Bradley Manning, as well as stepped-up efforts to locate Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks web site, in a security crackdown sparked by the release of politically damaging video of a US military massacre in Iraq.

On June 7, Defense Department officials confirmed that Manning was in confinement in Kuwait “for allegedly releasing classified information.” Three days later, Pentagon investigators told the web site Daily Beast that they were looking for Assange in connection with the Manning investigation. The Australian-born WikiLeaks founder had scheduled speaking engagements in New York City and Las Vegas last week, but canceled them, citing “security considerations.”

WikiLeaks, which solicits leaks of government and corporate criminality worldwide and makes them public to a global audience on the Internet, published a decrypted and edited version of the video footage in April, using a special web site entitled “Collateral Murder.” The original video was shot by the US military in 2007 in the course of a helicopter assault in eastern Baghdad which left some 15 people dead, including two Reuters journalists.

The video and the accompanying voiceover of radio traffic, in which American soldiers joked about exterminating Iraqis, sparked widespread international outrage and a furious counterattack by the American military/intelligence apparatus. Defense Secretary Robert Gates denounced the release of the video, although he conceded that the footage was produced by the US military and had not been doctored.
According to press accounts, Manning was detained May 26 after he made the mistake of confiding in an online acquaintance, Adrian Lamo, an experienced hacker. Manning told Lamo that, in the course of his work as an Army military intelligence analyst at Forward Operating Base Hammer, east of Baghdad, he had been able to acquire a vast stockpile of internal military and State Department documents and communications, including the original footage from which “Collateral Murder” was produced. Lamo turned Manning in to the Army and FBI.

Manning is reportedly being held at a military facility in Kuwait. Several computer hard drives taken from him arrived in Washington Thursday and are now being analyzed by government computer experts to determine what documents Manning downloaded and what he did with them.
Manning enlisted in the Army in 2007 and held a Top Secret/SCI clearance. He reportedly told Lamo that he had been looking through military and government networks for more than a year and found “incredible things, awful things… that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC.”
Besides the video which became “Collateral Murder,” Manning said he supplied WikiLeaks with a second video showing a May 2009 US air strike near the village of Garani in Afghanistan, in which more than 100 people were killed, including many children.

The main focus of the military/FBI investigation is Manning’s claim to have downloaded some 260,000 secret diplomatic cables, which he described as showing “almost criminal political back dealings.” Manning added, according to an e-mail to Lamo, “Hillary Clinton and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format, to the public.”

WikiLeaks has denied being in possession of the 260,000 secret cables. Assange has reportedly offered to help finance Manning’s legal defense.
The detention of Manning and the pursuit of Assange must be opposed by all those who defend democratic rights. The American people, and the people of the entire world, have a right to know of the crimes committed by the American military/intelligence apparatus under the orders of the American president.

The attack on WikiLeaks and its collaborators is part of a broader security crackdown by the Obama administration. As reported by the New York Times this week, the White House has decided to go ahead with the prosecution of Thomas Drake, a whistleblower at the National Security Agency, who sought to expose financial mismanagement at the NSA by providing information to a reporter for the Baltimore Sun.
According to the Times article, “The indictment of Mr. Drake was the latest evidence that the Obama administration is proving more aggressive than the Bush administration in seeking to punish unauthorized leaks. In 17 months in office, President Obama has already outdone every previous president in pursuing leak prosecutions.”
This stepped-up crackdown on leaks came the same week as the issuance of a report by Physicians for Human Rights that doctors working for the CIA collaborated with interrogators who conducted torture of prisoners. The doctors monitored the torture sessions to make sure the prisoners did not die—so they could be interrogated and tortured further—and to refine the methods used to make them more painful and effective. The report’s title speaks for itself: “Experiments in Torture: Human Subject Research and Evidence of Experimentation in the ‘Enhanced’ Interrogation Program.”

The Obama administration is striving to plug leaks, not out of concern that the lives of American soldiers could be endangered, as it habitually claims, but for the same reasons that motivated the Bush administration: top government officials—in the Pentagon, CIA, NSA and in the White House itself—could face war crimes charges, either in the United States or before an international tribunal, based on the evidence produced by such revelations.

Relatives of those killed in the helicopter gunship attack in Iraq criticized Manning’s detention. Nabil Noor-Eldeen, whose brother Namir was one of the Reuters employees killed in the assault, told the press, “Justice was what this US soldier did by uncovering this crime against humanity. The American military should reward him, not arrest him.”
Manning is not a criminal, but someone evidently motivated by revulsion against the crimes committed by “his” military and “his” government. The World Socialist Web Site joins with all those demanding that Manning be released without any charges being brought against him. We further demand the dropping of all efforts to investigate and suppress the activities of Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks activists.
Patrick Martin

Cut and pasted from The World Socialist Web Site

BMW Motorcycles - London

A customer turned up with a running issue on his BMW R80 rt.
BMW couldnt solve the problem without spending loads of money on it.
(ie swapping parts rather than diagnosing the problem)

In desperation he found his way to us.
Three hours later, he left with the problem sorted.

I do love it when we can help people and their bikes.
But why is there such a dearth of good mechanics in London ?

They Shoot Babies Don't They ?

Another victim of the Israel - Palestinian conflict.

Problem With The Boss ! - Tops Pizza - W9 London

Not once has the boss asked about our neighbour who lost her house.
Wanker.

Tops Pizza - W9

Tops Pizza - W9.

One of their riders just popped by with a centre stand issue.

We were closed but made sure it was safe.
As he was leaving, I noticed his rear tyre was flat and started to put some air in it.

The boss of Tops Pizza came by and started shouting 'He's got a delivery - go go.'

I kept him waiting till his bike was safe(r).

Bosses - no thought for the driver(s).
You are such a wanker !

Customers !! Ours Are Often Right.

Another of our customers/friends hands us a cheque to help with our losses after the fire.

We are slowly picking up the pieces and returning to some sort of normality.
(whatever that is)

Thank You, Emma.

Shoot Anything That Moves !!

From Wikileaks

Tops Pizza - Awful Behaviour.

The Mews is nearly back to its old ways.

The road has been cleared of most of the burnt out bikes and debris.
We have used 150 litres of degreasant as well as the council's own clean up squad.
And a huge THANK YOU to them.

Pauline's burnt out house is still a testament to one persons moment of madness.

As I look down the street - for the two thousandth time, all I see is the remains of Tops Pizza's bikes.
Still we wait for them to move them.

It would have been so nice for them to have offered their help in the clear up.
(they didnt)
But, at least, move your goddamn bikes...

Most of our neighbours have been great during this period.
Tops Pizza - good neighbours you aren't !

Total Devastation.

One idiotic act...

Deleted Post.

I never delete posts.
Did it once, to my shame, and vowed never to delete again.

Tonight - I deleted.

I wrote it whilst angry but I was probably very disappointed.
(tis easier to feel anger)
But, it was all about I...

After posting, I went out for a fag and a look around.
My neighbour came out and wept in my arms.
She told me how scared she was and she looked so tired.

I promised to stay at the workshop and she went to bed less afraid.

The fire is a life-changing event.
Not just for the woman who has lost her home and her memories.
For all the neighbours and their friends and family, too.

And now Im angry again...

Final Day Of Treatment.

Today was Abbies final session of Radiotherapy.
No more treatment.
Tis a strange feeling now.

Is she cured of the cancer ?
Isn't she ?

'Normal' life resumed ?
Cease being the girl in the bubble ?

The last 9 short, so long months have taken their toll on her body.
Now, I imagine, it could be on the mind.

Well done, Abs.
Onwards and ever upwards yahoo.

Carphone Warehouse Demand Charge After Arson Attack.

My homeless neighbour phoned Carphone Warehouse to cancel her internet connection.
(The phone no longer works there)

'There will be a charge, madam.'
'My house got burnt down',she replied.
'That will mean a £70 disconnection fee'. said Carphone Warehouse.

First of all it was the Banks, now its Big Business taking the piss.

Carphone Warehouse - may you get all you deserve.

Moscow Bombings.

Re the bombs going off on the Moscow tube system, today.

I cannot, for one minute, imagine my life becoming so bad that I would blow myself up to take out my enemy.

Then again, I dont live in Chechnia, Palestine, Iraq etc etc.

Because, if I did, then who knows...

There but for the grace of God.

Halifax Credit Card Dis-Services.

Got a great letter this morning from customer relations at Halifax Credit Card.

I made a complaint about AOL taking money from my account and, in the process, discovered a couple of flaws in Halifax's system.

To my amusement(!), a Nicola Payne, from the Halifax, wrote that she is declining my complaint.
She further adds that she knows I will be disappointed !

Well done, Nicola Payne and the Halifax.

I am disappointed.

Robbing Bastards - AOL Talk Talk.

Whilst welcoming the Government drive to get everyone on Broadband by 2012, I fear for many customers who will have dealings with companies such as AOL.

AOL have been robbing my bank account for months.
Apart from the £9.99 a month they take for one account, they have taken it upon themselves to charge £14.99 for an account I cancelled last year.

Several phone calls to AOL only resulted in them assuring me they were only taking £9.99.

Finally got through to someone who tells me they have been lying.

Talking to people, I have realised that this is not an isolated case.

More people on line can only mean more people are robbed.

Shameful.

No Bowel Control.

Is it me or is there more dog crap around ?

Everyday, I have to sidestep at least one pile that has been kicked around the pavement.

Walking home from work earlier, only the squeals of a small child alerted me to the shit I was to walk in.
His squeals were because he had walked in and through it.

Dogs just wont control their bowels when their out.
Even if the park is just round the corner.
Dog owners will have trodden in shit some time in their lives.
Yet still allow their animals to foul.

A small selfish act or not giving a fuck ?

Leiden University Appoints Anti Human Rights Professor.

Leiden University employ Professor Adam Fairclough, author on American Civil Rights.

But Professor Adam Fairclough does not support everyone's Human Rights.

Shame on Leiden University.

Professor Adam Fairclough And Alison Gelfand - The Result Of Your Creation.

Adam Fairclough, Author, and Professor American History.
Alison Gelfand, Merrick, New York.

After feeding a small child a diet of worms, you have achieved your goal.
My daughter is lost to me.

I guess you may be proud of your actions.
But, at what price ?

A small childs happiness and her right to know her parents.
Stripped from her by your selfish actions.

Hang your heads in shame.

Happy Birthday, Grace

Happy Birthday, Grace.

May you always have what you need.

Thank You, Abbie.

Spent the weekend with abs.
Thank you, lady.

Third week after chemo brings relief from feeling so unwell.
She had to endure the neighbours partying til 3.30 sunday morning.
(why didnt they invite us, the bastards ?)

I slept blissfully, throughout.

Chemo round 6 is on thursday.
The sixth and final.

My prayers are for you, lady.

Brimstone And Quaker.

I was reminded of you both, today.

My Blessings and Thank You.

For Alison Gelfand And Adam Fairclough, Author, American History.

So apt...

Chem Trails.

That, in no way, is normal.

Don't Fall, Santa.

One Life Costs. Four Don't.

Welcome home, Peter Moore.
(though you left your bodyguards behind)

Our government does not do deals with terrorists.
So how come you survived ?

Our government ARE the terrorists !