'Toxic Tour' shames mining companies
Protesters visit Grenfell councillors
End Slave Auctions in Libya
CAIWU protests for blacklisted Beatriz
Protest at Turkish LGBTI+ ban
Zimbabweans celebrate Mugabe's resignation
Homes for All Budget protest
Budget Day Brexit Protests
IWGB protest London Uni outsourcing
Shut Down Yarl's Wood 12
Students march for free education
Silent Walk for Grenfell Tower
Another Canada Goose animal cruelty protest
Orange Lodges Remembrance Day parade
Remember Refugees on Armistice Day
Close Canada Goose for animal cruelty
Silent Remembrance Peace Vigil
ORAL Squat empty NatWest Bank
Vigil for Islington cyclist killed by HGV
LSE against Homophobia
Picturehouse Strike for a Living Wage
Class War back at the Ripper
Equal Rights & Justice for Palestine
Maria Spiridonova - Armed Love
Vigil for Daphne Caruana Galizia
Mexican murders Day of the Dead vigil
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londons industrial history
hull photos
lea valley / river lea
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>Re:PHOTO my thoughts on photography.
A 'Toxic Tour' of a few of London's major players among the mining companies violating human rights, killing opposition, displacing indigenous people, polluting water sources and causing climate chaos around the world was one of a week of activities organised as an alternative to the London Mines and Money Conference.
While around 2,000 mining company representatives, investors and financiers celebrated their destructive and exploitative activities around the world, the London Mining Network, War on Want and The Gaia Foundation and community leaders from Uganda, the Philippines and Colombia visited a series of mining companies and financiers of mining.
London is the heart of the neo-colonial mining industry across the world, with many listed mining companies and it also plays a key role in the financing of mining companies working across the world, in part because of its colonial heritage but also because of the ease of laundering dirty money through hedge funds and other businesses via the City of London.
The protesters began at Harwood Capital LLP in Stratton St who own 9% of
Bluebird Merchant Ventures where a speech from Clemente Bautista Jr, national
coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment described
how the proposed huge open-pit Batangas Gold Project, in Luzon, Philippines
would be an environmental disaster Open-pit gold mining destroying the mountains
of Lobo, displacing wildlife and poisoning marine life in the Verde Island
Passage, and the company was responsible for major human rights violations.
A short distance away in Berkeley St, Miriam Rose of Foil Vedanta spoke
on Vedanta's terrible record of environmental destruction, pollution and
death in India and Africa, and of their illegal attempts to get mining permission.
In Zambia, where their copper mine polluted the countries major river, Foil
Vedanta exposed their illegal avoidance of tax.
Next, just down the road outside Gen core UK, the world's largest mining company by revenue, Adam Lee of the global IndustriALL trade union talked about the activities of this Anglo–Swiss multinational which is listed on the London stock exchange before trying to go in to the foyer of the offices, where he and the other protesters were stopped by security.
Paulson Europe LLP in Jermyn St was the next stop, as a major investor in AngloGold Ashanti. Colombian activist Camila Méndez talked there about the the major environmental damage caused by their La Colosa gold mine in Cajamarca.
The protesters had hoped to walk into the foyer at Rio Tinto plc for a
brief protest but again were stopped by security at the office in the corner
of St James's Square. After a couple of short talks while they blocked the
doorway, they moved onto the pavement outside for a longer talk by a long-term
researcher into their activities. He was hopeful that the company, who as
RTZ were one of the first to attract major protests, was moving away and
attempting to develop in less environmentally damaging ways.
The final stop was Anglo American plc in Carlton House Terrace, where security
locked the doors as the protesters came near, and then a couple of them
stood outside and listened to the protesters.
more pictures
Local activists and supporters from the Revolutionary Communist Group took to the streets of North Kensington to protest over the failures that led to the Grenfell Tower disaster and the lack of support for those who survived.
The marched from Latimer Rd station to the addresses of several local councillors to ask why the Grenfell residents have not been rehoused over five and a half months after the fire, why no criminal charges have been brought against the councillors responsible for the inadequate fire safety and dangerous materials and modifications which made Grenfell a disaster waiting to happen, and what the council's plans for residential development are.
They found (as I had told them at the start of the event) that Councillor Rock Feilding-Mellen was no longer living at his address but had moved out from the area and his former house was now occupied by a tenant, who came out to speak to them, saying that he rented the property from an agent and was not aware that it was or had been owned by Feilding-Mellen, and asked them to leave as the protest was upsetting his family and their neighbours. The councillor is thought to now be living at a riverside property in Chelsea though often at other properties owned by his excessively wealthy family.
From Bramley Rd the protesters marched chanting to Avondale Park Gardens where they held a rally outside the home of councillor David Lindsay, who came out to try and answer some of their questions. He told them he had no involvement with housing before the fire and tried to persuade them that the council were trying hard to find suitable accommodation, spending large sums to do so. He also told the noisy crowd that on the night of the fire he had got up and gone down there, opening up a centre for those affected at 4am, though he did appear to concede that the council had not done all they might - and that this was why some of his fellow councilors had resigned or been removed. Some of the local residents argued angrily with him, and it was clear that most of the protesters felt the council had been and still was failing in its duties and were not satisfied with his answers. But although the mood was angry and the protesters noisy, there was no suggestion of any physical threat or damage.
The protesters marched on to the house of a third councillor, stopping
in the middle of Portland Road outside his house for more speeches. Although
there was no sign of the councillor, another resident came out of a house
to complain that the protesters were waking his children up, and saying
that they shouldn't protest here and shouldn't protest at night, but should
do so in the daytime when no one would be at home and affected by their
protest. Since his was an intervention that could - and did - only result
in the protesters making more noise and staying there longer it did not
seem in any way sensible.
The marchers turned around and went back towards Grenfell Tower, but I had
to leave them and walked down to Holland Park Rd to catch a bus. I'd taken
plenty of photographs, my LED batteries were failing and I was cold and
tired and needed to eat and get home to work on the pictures.
more pictures
Approaching a thousand people attended the protest outside the Libyan the Libyan Embassy calling on the Libyan Government to put an end to the slave sales of Black Africans there.
The protest follows reports and videos since April this year showing the appalling auctions taking place there where Black African migrant are being sold as slaves. The clamp down on migration across the Mediterranean by the EU authorities working with Libya, with migrant boats being intercepted and towed back to Libya has resulted in inhumane condition with around 20,000 people, the majority from the African continent, now detained in the country.
Many at the protest saw the situation in Libya as part of a continuing
neo-colonialist attempt to control Africa's natural resources which results
in the instability and mass migration from African countries, and that the
current Libyan regime are western puppets installed though Western intervention
to replace the genuinely nationalist Gaddafi regime and are engaged in a
process of de-Africanisation and elimination of Black Libyans, of which
slave auctions are a logical extension. The see this as the explanation
for the lack of interest shown in these slave sales in Western media over
the last six months.
more pictures
The Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) protests on behalf of its member Beatriz Acuna, who for three years worked as a cleaner in the CBRE-managed offices at Number 1 Finsbury Circus, employed there by Regular Cleaning Limited, a family business based in Lewisham, who had taken over the contract from another cleaning contractor.
The union say she was sacked without cause and that proper procedures were
not followed, and that she has been victimised for being a union rep there.
After the protest outside the offices at Finsbury Circus the group of protesters
moved to carry out brief noisy protests in the lobbies of two other offices
where Beatriz was employed by Regular near St Paul's Cathedral and in Fetter
Lane where they were told there was nobody on site from either the management
company or Regular but that their protest would be passed on to the managers.
more pictures
Protesters met at the Turkish Embassy to read a statement in solidarity with Turkish LGBTI+ people after Turkey last Sunday imposed an indefinite ban on all LGBTI+ cultural events in its capital, Ankara.
They criticise the ban which they call illegal, homophobic and transphobic
and which they say risks criminalising LGBTI existence and endangering public
safety. Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey since the modern Turkish
Republic came into existence in 1923, and in the last half of the century
before that under the Ottoman Empire, and they say the ban is based on an
extremist Islamic morality and violates the Turkish constitution.
more pictures
Zimbabweans came to the London embassy to celebrate the resignation of President Mugabe, who they have been protesting there against every week for over 15 years.
Though dancing and singing and delighted at his going, they warned that
his likely successor Emmerson Mnangagwa could not be trusted and called
for free and fair elections and an end to rule by Zanu PF.
more pictures
Housing activists came to Parliament Square on Budget Day at a protest called by Homes For All to call for the government to commit to building more homes for social rent.
They say that only a programme that allows local authorities to borrow money and build homes can deliver homes at a cost that the majority of people can afford to live in and blame the current housing problem on developers who profit from market prices inflated by foreign investors and used for money laundering.
As well as attacking the government's record on housing they also blamed the Labour Party for allowing Labour councils to demolish council housing and combining with developers and housing associations to provide new housing at market prices, unaffordable so called "affordable' properties and and high rents without long-term security of tenure.
They also called for Government funding for necessary fire safety work to avoid another Grenfell disaster and dismissed the idea that council housing was subsidised, pointing out that by 2010/11 councils were paying more than £700 million to government in surpluses from council housing.
Some NHS protesters also joined the Housing protest.
The was another small protest taking place in Parliament Square, where
the Socialist Party had asked school students to come and protest against
the cuts and student fees. There were some speeches and the group then marched
to protest briefly briefly at Downing St.
more pictures
Protests outside Parliament against Brexit continued on Budget Day with some new slogans for the occasion, 'What's the Budget for Brexit' and 'Brexit spreads Sheet Everywhere', a reference to the Chancellor's nickname 'Spreadsheet Phil'.
As well as European flags they have upside down Union Flags, traditionally a sign of distress, if a rather discreet one, which caused some argument with Leave supporters passing by who accused them of not knowing which way up to fly the flag.
They were briefly joined by political artist Kaya Mar with his image of
the Chancellor sitting on a floating mine with his computer holding up a
sinking Theresa May as the ship of Britain sinks in the background.
more pictures
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain and supporters protested outside Senate House while University of London Chancellor Princess Anne was visiting on Foundation Day, calling for all workers in the university to be directly employed by the university.
They say the use of outside contractors to employ staff is discriminatory with outsourced workers including security, cleaning and catering staff who are predominantly migrant and BME workers being on far worse terms and conditions than other staff and subjected to harassment and bullying.
Security workers in the IWGB were on one of a series of a one day strikes
and with supporters made sure their protest was noticed with drums, horns
and speeches. After protesting at the main entrance where guests for the
evening had to walk past them, they heard the Princess was to arrive by
another entrance, and marched around the building, but missed her. They
marched around Russell Square and then returned for speeches, more noise
and dancing in front of Senate House.
more pictures
Movement for Justice hold their 12th protest at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, calling for all immigration detention centres to be closed down.
Hundreds of anti-racists came from across the country to show their solidarity with the women held inside, making a huge noise kicking on the fence, shouting slogans and with speeches on a powerful public address system.
Most of those who spoke were former detainees, including several recently released from Yarl's Wood; speaking from a step-ladder next to the tall fence they were able to be seen as well as heard by the women who crowded around windows facing the protest defying guards who tried to move them away.
The protesters could also clearly hear the voices of the women as they shouted together with them, and a several spoke over phone links as well as holding posters to their windows calling for freedom and justice.
There were fewer protesters than at the previous protest, and the preparations for the event had been disrupted by a controversy about MfJ, with one formerly very active member leaving feeling very angry about the group's treatment of her. But although it was a little smaller than otherwise, it seemed even better organised at Yarl's Wood than previous protests.
MfJ has never made any secret of its political background (you can read
about it on Wikipedia), and has done far more than any other group to raise
the issue of immigration detention, organising major protests at Harmondsworth,
the Home Office and Yarl's Wood and working practically with many former
asylum seekers to stop deportations. And while much of the organisation
of protests has clearly been carried out by a small and devoted core group,
the activity and enthusiasm of those former asylum seekers is vital. MfJ
would be impotent without their support, which it would not have unless
it commanded their respect.
more pictures
A student march organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts marched through London calling for an end to all tuition fees and for living grants for all and an end to all cuts.
They condemned the increasing marketization of the education system that is resulting in cuts across university campuses and a dramatic reduction in further education provision across the country and the Teaching Excellence Framework which was supposed to ‘drive up standards in teaching’ but is intensifying the exploitation and casualisation of university staff as a part of the marketization agenda.
The march was not supported by the National Union of Students, and the
numbers were rather smaller than expected, with only several thousand on
the streets. It was peaceful but noisy, and there were many flares set off
on the way from Malet St to Parliament Square.
more pictures
A large crowd met at Notting Hill Methodist Church for the monthly slow and silent walk to demand justice and remember those killed in the tragic fire.
Many carried posters or placards calling for those responsible, primarily the councillors of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to be brought to justice, for the promises made to the surviving victims of the tragic fire to be kept and for proper fire safety for all housing, including social housing, with fire inspections by fully trained firefighters, strict interpretation of building regulations, the fitting of sprinkler systems etc.
Protesters accuse the council of deliberately putting the residents at risk to cut costs and of a complete failure to take effective action since the tragedy. The families of those who died and survivors made homeless by the fire marched at the front, together with local clergy.
A group of firefighters took part in the march, including FBU General Secretary
Matt Wrack, and two fire engines stood by Ladbroke Grove Station with firefighters
standing to attention as the march past on its route to the Maxilla Centre.
more pictures
Protesters keep up the campaign to close down the newly opened Regent St London flagship store of Canada Goose, which campaigners say has cruelty to animals hiding in every stitch, with a the first of random 'secret' protests, details only shared in a private group, which it intends to mount together with regular Saturday protests.
Canada Goose garments use fur trims from trapped wild coyotes, often left suffering for days with legs caught in cruel traps, facing blood loss, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene and attacks by predators; some even try to chew off their own trapped limbs in desperation to escape before a trapper returns to strangle, stamp or bludgeon them to death.
The down filling their jackets is feathers from ducks and geese who have their throats slit and are dumped into scalding hot water for feather removal often still alive and feeling pain.
Police and shop security worked together to keep a clear path into the
store and along Regent St. One officer seemed to me greatly over officious
in moving people who were standing on the pavement edge and not impeding
the passage of pedestrians.
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London City District No 63 and the Houses of Parliament Lodge march along Whitehall with visiting loyalists on their annual Remembrance Day parade in central London.
After senior members lay a wreath at Westminster Abbey on the tomb of King William III the marchers come to the Cenotaph to lay wreaths there. They then marched away to lay another wreath at the Duke of York Column in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the second eldest son of King George III who was a Grand Master of the Loyal Orange Institution of England and ending their parade in St James' Square where they lay a wreath at the memorial to WPC Yvonne Fletcher.
But I only photographed them marching up to the Cenotaph, laying wreaths
and marching away.
more pictures
Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants hosted a a commemoration ceremony to lay a life-ring wreath in memory of the people who have died fleeing their war-torn countries to seek refuge over the past year.
On remembrance day it seemed appropriate to remember them, as many were fleeing war. It had been intended that the procession would start from Trafalgar Square, but this had been walled off for a concert and the Ministry of Defence was perhaps more suitable. Many feel that the official celebration of Remembrance Day has gradually become more militaristic and a celebration of our victories rather than remembering the deaths of many in all the wars that our country has played a part in.
Many of those taking part were either refugees or those who have been actively
engaged in supporting them, both in the camps at Calais and on Greek Islands.
After speeches on the steps of the Ministry of Defence they processed holding
wreaths of orange poppies and lit candles to the Cenotaph where they laid
these to remember those who died seeking sanctuary. There were 17 small
wreaths, one for each person who has died trying to migrate each day in
2017 so far.
more pictures
A protest took place most of the day outside the newly opened Regent St London flagship store of Canada Goose, which campaigners say has cruelty to animals hiding in every stitch.
Canada Goose sells coats with fur trims using trapped wild coyotes, which may suffer for days in cruel traps, facing blood loss, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene and attacks by predators, some even trying to chew off their own trapped limbs to escape before a trapper returns to strangle, stamp or bludgeon them to death.
The down in their jackets is from ducks and geese that have their throats slit and are dumped into scalding hot water for feather removal while often still alive and feeling pain to make the down-filled jackets.
Police struggled to keep a path to let customers enter and leave the store through the crowded and noisy protest. After I left there were a few scuffles as police moved protesters bodily away from the store. There was a pen made with barriers, but most protesters declined to use it as it was a little out of the way and far too small for the several hundred who came. The barriers - or traffic cones - could have more usefully have been used to close one lane of the roadway.
The protesters say they will keep up their protests , weekly on Saturdays
and with random events between these, until the shop is closed down. Although
some customers walked past the protesters making rude or angry comments
and gestures, others held their heads down and rushed by, and a few stopped
to talk and then turned away. There are plenty of other London shops which
sell coats and other clothing which does not involve cruelty to animals,
and a continued protest stands a good chance of success. Most of London's
fashion shops have been persuaded to drop fur by previous high-profile protests.
more pictures
As many observed the two minute silence to mark the anniversary of the signing of the armistice at the end of the First World War, a small group of Quakers and friends began a 45 minute silent remembrance peace vigil outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
They wore white poppies produced by The Peace Pledge Union to remember those on all sides who have died, been injured or still suffer in conflicts across the world; both military personnel, civilians and their families and holding hope for a world where conflicts are resolved without violence and with justice.
Sales of white poppies have increased greatly over the past few years and
last year the demand was so great that they were unable to supply them to
thousands who had ordered them. There seemed to be more than ever being
worn this year, with some people choosing to wear both a red and a white
poppy.
more pictures
Walking back from the die-in outside Islington Town Hall we stopped to talk with people outside the squatted former NatWest Bank on Upper St, which was squatted around a week earlier by the Order of Rampaging Anarchist Lunatics (ORAL) and set out to provide tea, coffee, clothing and shelter for the street homeless of the area.
With another photographer I was given a brief tour of the building, from which ORAL expected to be evicted in a few days time. Eight days later the group published the following statement on their Facebook page:
FINAL ORAL COMMUNIQUE.
Several years ago, what began as a ridiculous idea to form a satirical nation of squatters evolved into one of the most infamous land pirate crews known around the world. Originally coined the Autonomous National of Anarchist Libertarians [ANAL] we've penetrated deep into London, forming a property portfolio that undoubtedly far exceeds any other crew; Having taken roughly 60 buildings in zone 1 over a period of around 4 years. Most notably Admiralty Arch.
Time has passed, the fun & allure of squatting is swiftly fading. The original crew has long since dispersed, the memories serve as reminders that things will never be the same. However fun it once was: looking back in hindsight, having matured with age, one reaches the saddening conclusion that we haven't truly achieved anything. Quite the opposite, we've likely contributed to the criminalization of squatting through our reckless destruction of squats we've taken.
We must evolve to survive. Its time to take responsibility for our actions. We talk of social change, (re)volution, the consequences of needless destruction, waste, consumption; yet in many ways we are the epitome of all that's bad in society. As such, ORAL is to be officially laid to rest & cremated. From the ashes, a new group will form, focused on setting the example of how to evolve society & humanity. Whereas previously we were focused on anarchy & destruction, we will now focus on construction & creation. Inspired by @hivedalston & in collaboration with ReSpace, we will soon to be opening a new community hub (only better than the hive, cos, y'know, that was a bit too hippiefied)
All those who have something to contribute please get in touch.
What they and others have done is to draw attention to the scandal of so
many empty properties while we have a housing crisis. There should be ways
to bring these - and the houses and flats in which, unlike commercial properties
it is illegal to squat - into use to provide shelter for those who are now
forced to sleep out on our streets. The number of street homeless has increase
dramatically over the past couple of years, thanks largely to the government's
austerity programme. It is truly shameful that this should be happening
in what is still the world's sixth largest economy despite the government's
efforts to cripple it (until recently it was the fifth)
more pictures
Stop Killing Cyclists hold a die-in and vigil outside Islington Town Hall to honour Jerome Roussel, who died in hospital seven weeks after he was hit an HGV while cycling on Pentonville Rd, and whose inquest opened today.
Islington has not built a single protected cycle route in over 20 years and Transport Minister Jessye Norman has so far failed to sign the the commencement order to allow TfL to fine HGVs and traffic that drive into mandatory cycle lanes, such as the one on Pentonville Road where Jerome Roussel was killed. Islington, responsible for 95% of the roads in its area has reserves of £277 million (and growing) and campaigners say it should spend some of this on making its streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
Stop Killing Cyclists also call for London Mayor Sadiq Khan to make it
compulsory for lorries in London to be equipped with CCTV. After several
speeches, police stopped traffic on Upper St and the campaigners held a
5 minute silent die-in on the road in memory of Jerome Roussel, before more
speeches and a final address by Donnachadh McCarthy.
more pictures
LSE students and supporters protested against the homophobic abuse that Daniel, one of the LSE cleaners, has been subjected to over the past 10 months but over which the LSE has failed to take appropriate action outside the building where the LSE was hosting a talk, "LGBT Rights: what next?".
Complaints by Daniel and his union have been brushed aside and he has been threatened with disciplinary action for making some of the complaints. His case against employer Noonan will go to tribunal in January.
The students accuse the LSE of hypocrisy, boasting about its promotion of gay rights but say when confronted by a case of anti-gay discrimination in the LSW it has refused to take any action. Although the cleaning contract is outsourced to Noonan, the LSE has full control over hiring and firing of cleaners and if they had ordered action to be taken Noonan would have complied.
The protest called on the LSE to apologise and commit to zero tolerance of homophobic and racist behaviour at all levels throughout the institution and to sack all homophobic bullies.
The students moved onto LSE property outside the building were the talk
was taking place despite attempts by security to stop them, but failed to
gain entry to the building. They made a lot of noise outside, then marched
around to the Kingsway entrance to make more noise before going for a brief
protest outside the main LSE entrance. As I left they were going back to
protest outside the talk.
more pictures
Striking staff picket Picturehouse Central in Shaftesbury Avenue in their continuing campaign for the London Living Wage.
As well as the Piccadilly cinema, strikes were also taking place at Crouch
End, Hackney, and East Dulwich Picturehouses and the Brixton Ritzy. This
is Living Wage Week and the new London Living Wage of £10.20 per hour
was announced today. Strikes have been taking place for over a year, with
staff living on poverty wages while the post-tax profits of Cineworld, the
parent company of Picturehouse were £93.8m last year in UK and Ireland
and the CEO is paid £2.5m.
more pictures
Class War and London 4th Wave Feminists protest again outside the Jack the Ripper tourist attraction in East London, calling for it to be closed.
They say the so-called 'museum' exploits violence against women, making money from images of sexually mutilated women, and encourages the attitudes that lead to violent sexual assaults like the recent attack on a 17 year old young woman in Tower Hamlets who was subjected to a number of rapes on the street and was found collapsed on a doorstep of one of the women taking part in the protest, who saved her from further assaults by calling the police.
The tourist attraction has failed to remove shutters and signage which were deemed illegal by Tower Hamlets council a year ago, including a poster which was partly ripped off the shop front in the protest.
Patrick, dressed as Father Brannigan, performed a series of exorcisms holding
up a hastily improvised cross. One of the two security guards standing in
front of the shop roughly pushed several of the protesters who challenged
the few visitors entering and leaving the shop. It took police half an hour
to arrive and they argued with the protesters wanting them to move away
from the shop but with little success.
Later they raided the nearby Brown Bear pub in which Class War were celebrating
a successful protest and arrested a person accused of having taken part
in an incident involving anti-trans feminists in Hyde Park in September.
Apparently one of the women who claims she was assaulted had come to watch
the protest and phoned the police to tell them the suspect was taking part.
The woman serving behind the bar then revealed herself to be a special constable
and tried to stop me and others from taking photographs. Although she failed
to do so, I have decided not to publish these pictures until the case is
resolved. But it's a pub I won't drink in again.
more pictures
On the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, thousands march through London to demands the equal rights for Palestinians which are included in that declaration, but have been disregarded for 100 years.
The declaration came in a letter written on November 2nd, 1917 and signed
by the
United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a
leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist
Federation of Great Britain and Ireland:
"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".
It came after several months of talks with representatives of Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews, but without any consultation with the Palestinians.
The then Prime Minister Lloyd George clearly stated in later years that it had come about as a reward for the work on the production of acetone, vital for the war effort, by Chaim Weizmann, but many historians discount this, though Weizmann was clearly a leader of the negotiations that led to the declaration. But it was also clearly linked to British policy aims in Palestine for the Middle East solutions put forward by Sir Mark Sykes, MP for Hull and a promoter of Arab nationalism and Zionism, who together with François Georges-Picot was behind the secret agreement in 1916 for how the Middle East would be carved up if and when the Ottoman Empire was defeated. These machinations by the allies (and the Russian Bolshevik government was in on it too) were the root of most of the problems in that area which continue to the present day. According to Wikipedia Sykes was known in some Westminster circles as the "Mad Mullah" and T E Lawrence called him "the imaginative advocate of unconvincing world movements... a bundle of prejudices, intuitions, half-sciences."
Marchers met outside the US Embassy where there were a number of speeches
before marching to a rally at Parliament Square. But I left them not far
from the start of the march to go elsewhere.
more pictures
I don't go to many film premieres, but this was one not to be missed, particularly as I knew most of the stars.
I hadn't intended to take or post any photographs - and seldom do for the more social events in my life, but sitting in the dark I did take out my camera and make a couple of snaps, carefully putting the head I'd been watching to one side of in my way. It's a picture of people watching the film - and you can see the actual film for yourself.
Maria
Spiridonova - Armed Love turned out to be a surprisingly interesting
film (you can watch all 51 minutes of it at the link) though some of the
dialogue from the actual speeches of her, Lenin and the others involved
gets a little lengthy.
Of course it was made on the most shoe-string of budgets and at times this
shows (as when Luzhenovsky arrives for his assassination by British Rail),
but there are some fairly inspired performances with some being taken over
by the characters they portray and others providing possibly unintentional
moments of comedy.
It's also notable for its director, for whom it was the first film, and one that he says was made by continual references to tutorials searched for on Google. Sid obviously found some good advice, and in many ways it is a highly professional production.
It's also a film that gives an interesting perspective on the Russian Revolution,
and a reminder that history is written by the victors. Had Spiridonova and
her fellow Left SRs seized the moment and defeated the Bolsheviks when they
were possibly in a position to do so, the whole history of the 20th century
would have been changed for the better.
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Free expression and anti-corruption organisations paid tribute to leading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, murdered in Malta on 16th October with a protest outside Malta House demanding the authorities in Malta to bring her murderers to justice.
The protest took place on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and was supported by Transparency International UK, Index on Censorship, The Frontline Club, Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders), English PEN Writers at Risk and Committee to Protect Journalists.
Extracts from her reports were read showing her fearless exposure of crime
and corruption, including the shady secret deals that show how politicians
and others hide illicit wealth behind secret companies in the Panama Papers.
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Justice Mexico Now came to the Mexican Embassy to remember the over 150,000 murdered in the Mexican Government War on drugs, and to pay their respects to the hundreds of journalists killed, the hundreds of victims of femicide , the hundreds of migrants murdered crossing Mexico, activists murdered seeking justice for others, the many victims of extrajudicial killings and the 43 Ayotzinapa students forcefully disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero.
People wore masks with Mexican decorations and Helen Goodman MP delivered
a letter to the Mexican Ambassador. Others at the protest included Scottish
Labour MP Danielle Rowley and Argentine human rights activist Nora Cortiñas
from the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, whose son Carlos Gustavo Cortiñas
was disappeared in Buenos Aires on April 15, 1977
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I had a while to wait for a protest on Shaftesbury Ave and spent some time wandering around Soho and Chinatown and taking pictures. Although it was night the lights are fairly bright and I had no problems working with the Nikons.
Other pictures from Covent Garden, Soho, Haymarket, Charing Cross, Hyde
Park Corner, Belgravia, Waterloo Bridge, Fleet St, the City, Moorgate, St
James etc.
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