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indiaalphawhiskey · 5 years ago

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PU Drabble #1

Note: This plot has been sitting in my mind for a while, but I really, really cannot afford to start another WIP. So, as a writing exercise, I’m just going to keep writing in this universe in short drabbles and posting them under the tag “Political Unrest ABO”. Please excuse my self-indulgence. xx For @theficwritersblock. I love you very much, friend! :D ----- “This is ridiculous. You’re being ridiculous,” Louis said, enunciating each word rather pointedly. “Niall, tell His Royal Highness Prince Liam James Geoff Bartholomew, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland that he’s being ridiculous.”

Liam sighed and leaned back in his chair, so, so tired. “You know I can have you tried for treason for using my title like that, right?”

The threat was drastically dimmed by the way his hands slid frustratedly down his face, making him look like a modern version of Van Gogh’s ‘The Scream’.

“Please,” Louis scoffed, over his shoulder. He looked back out the window at the expansive, rolling grounds. “You didn’t even have me tried for treason when I told the Headmaster all of Niall’s Playboys were yours in secondary.”

“I remember that,” Niall chuckled, uncapping the glass decanter in the corner. “Think that saved me from expulsion, honestly.”

“Glad I could help,” Liam deadpanned, still behind his hands. “Nevermind that Jamie Langford called me ‘His Royal Pervert’ for the rest of sixth form.”

“Mm,” Louis hummed thoughtfully, turning to face the boys, and resting his arse on the windowsill easily. His eyes sparkled wickedly. “Maybe you should have him tried for treason, retroactively.”

“Louis,” Liam whined to the ceiling, and it amazed Louis how dignified Liam could be, even while whining. “I swear I’ll have every single one of your ex-boyfriends locked in the Tower of London tomorrow if you just promise to go.”

Louis paused, pretending to consider the tempting offer, but when Liam sat up, eyes alert and wide with hope, he dropped the act.

“Li,” Louis tried, his guilt skyrocketing as he watched Liam’s face fall. “You know I can’t. The first Omega candidate for Prime Minister running scared three weeks before the election? That’s playing right into the oppositions’ hands.”

Liam stared at him, his eyes wide. “Louis, you woke up to a death threat nailed to the headboard of your bed and no sign of forced entry, for fuck’s sake. I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about the opposition right now!”

“I can’t run every fucking time someone threatens me, Liam,” Louis argued, voice sharp but even. “That’s exactly what they want, and you know it. God,” he chuckled humorlessly. “I can see the tabloids now: ‘Prime Minister Hopeful and Supposed Gender Equality Advocate Louis Tomlinson Locks Self In Bunker and Sets Omega Rights Movement Back Three Centuries!’”

“Probably too long for a headline, that,” Niall mused, unhelpful. When both men glared back at him, he only shrugged. “What? I majored in Journalism, sue me.”

“You majored in Financial Journalism, Christiana Amanpour,” Louis shot back.

“‘S the same ––”

“Louis, listen to me,” Liam cut in, standing up from his desk and striding smoothly towards him. “I know you would do anything for the good of this country. I know you want to change it, I know you want to fight. But you can’t do that with a fucking bullet in your back!”

“No one’s going to assassinate me –”

“You don’t know that!” Liam screeched. “You saw how those stuck up misogynists reacted when you inherited your father’s seat in the House of Lords. I thought they were going to straight up strap a bomb to your chair –”

“Well I fucking survived, didn’t I?” Louis yelled back. “I showed up without security every bloody day, and fought my fights, and I’m not going to back down now!”

“This is different, though, Lou,” Niall interrupted from where he was standing, his voice suddenly somber. “This isn’t one seat in a hundred. You’re the most controversial candidate for Prime Minister in the last century, and it looks like you’re going to win. The opposition is going to get desperate.”

“So you want me to run away? Are you mad?” Louis asked, unable to accept the words that were coming out of his mouth. “Why don’t I just put on an apron that says ‘Mate Me, I’m Pretty’ and set the Omega flag on fire, while I’m at it?”

“You’re not running,” Liam said firmly. “You’re lying low. You’ll go to the cabin for a week, just to give us some time to talk to MI5 and come up with a game plan without a target on your back.”

“It’s campaign suicide--” “Better than murder,” Niall threw in, face stern, and if Niall was being this serious, maybe it was dire. Still, Louis rolled his eyes. “I don’t really get how dumping me in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, by myself, is going to deter assassins from finding me,” he answered, voice bordering petulant. “If anything, they’ll have me cornered where it’s easy to dump the body.”

“Do not joke like that, Louis William Tomlinson,” Liam barked, immediately paling as the Alpha timbre slipped out. “I’m sorry,” he rushed to say, raising his hands towards Louis in surrender. “You know I didn’t mean to do that.”

Louis swallowed, trying to fight the familiar nausea of displeasing an Alpha that was curling thickly at the bottom of his belly. God, fuck biology. Fuck biology sideways, honestly.

“It’s okay, I know,” he managed to say, feeling placated by the sheer amount of guilt pouring out of Liam’s eyes. Liam stepped forward then, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Louis, please,” he nearly begged, looking more pained than Louis had ever seen him. “You know I would never pull rank – gender or otherwise.” He looked straight at Louis, apologetic. “But if this is what it takes to keep my best friend safe, I will command you to go.”

Louis paused, biting his tongue between his teeth as he thought this through. Admittedly, he was shaken – the image of him lying alone, asleep and vulnerable, while a stranger, possibly armed, traipsed comfortably through his flat was enough to make his stomach turn – and though he knew his campaign would take a massive hit if he lay low even for a week, Liam was right. He would be of no use to Britain if whomever was threatening him got their way first.

Slowly, he smirked, the left side of his lip curling upward.

“I have been meaning to take a holiday,” he joked, weakly.

“Oh thank God,” Liam sighed in relief, pulling Louis into a hug.

“Whoop whoop!” Niall added, joining in. They squeezed tight around him, rocking Louis back and forth like they used to when he’d scored a goal for Eton at a championship game and Louis smiled, knowing that no matter what the world threw at him, at least he had these two.

Then, Liam pulled away, slapping his shoulder twice. “I’ll tell Harry to pack his things.”

Like a record playing with a faulty needle, Louis brain skipped.

“Wait,” he said, holding his hand up. “Who?”

Liam blinked.

“Harry Styles,” he answered easily, like he had mentioned him all along. “Head of Royal Household Security, Alpha Cavalry. My bodyguard. Well,” he paused, his eyes happy. “I guess your bodyguard, now.”

#political unrest a/b/o #larry drabble #iaw drabble #PU1 #writing exercise

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gryffindormischief · 6 years ago

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Hey I’m wondering if you can give recs for your all time favourite fanfics? Like the ones that are just so fucking good, as good as some life changing books you’ve read, and you finish it and you’re just sitting there like woah that was really fucking good

I am not committing to these being all time favorites because then I will wake up at 3 am and be like WAIT I FORGOT ONE. So here are some favorite fics, but not THE favorite fics because is that even possible? Also idk if you wanted Jily or Hinny so I picked some of both?

Jily

Sunshine in My Eyes by monroeslittle

Mr. and Mrs. Evans are killed when Lily’s only a girl, and she’s supposed to go to a home with her sister. Instead, a relative they didn’t know they had comes to collect them, and introduces Lily to manners, magic, and a life that’s just the slightest bit different from the life she was supposed to live.

Or, an AU in which Minerva McGonagall raises Lily.

Pas De Deux by petals-to-fish

James leaned against the cold door and stared at Lily in curiosity as she made her way back to the shop counter. She was like nothing he’d ever come across in Levinstown. James knew he’d come searching for a Christmas gift for his mother, but he felt like he’d gotten a gift of his own just by meeting Lily. (muggle christmas AU)

Good Luck Charm by corny sloth

If Lily Evans was notorious for something, it was for the fact that she was extremely superstitious. Oneshot.

Fighting Fate by scared of clouds

It may have taken him a while to get to this point, but James Potter is happy with his life; as the captain of the pirate ship Fawkes, no-one tells him what to do or where to go. But when he agrees to carry a passenger - for a fee, of course - his life takes a rather interesting and wholly unexpected turn, and the past may be about to catch up with him. Jily AU, cover art by Viria.

The White Album by cgner

James poses as an advice charm in Lily’s diary. He’s really got to start thinking through his shenanigans.

You and Me Both, Kid by twilightstargazer

Because standing in front of him with her green eyes blown wide and mouth shaped in a small ‘o’ is Lily Evans and James is just about hoping that the ground would open up beneath his feet and swallow him whole.

To Locronan by livy_bear

James and Lily meet on a plane to France.

An au simply described as “you fell asleep and i started making funny faces at your kid to keep them amused and the steward mistook us for a couple au”

Deliverance Disorder Descent by Tedd.E.Bare

It’s 1989, an election year; Lily and James are agents working for Phoenix, the secret security organisation that ensures members of parliament are kept safe from terrorist threats during times of crisis, in both war and peace. When a former foe returns for a new round, they’re sent in undercover to reveal what their enemy is planning. Will they survive the mad man? All-Muggle AU.

Seven Things by Apalapucian

“James leans in. Lily hears the script crumple in his hands, but she doesn’t look to check. His lips touch the corner of hers, a hand coming up to cup her face. He is moving. So. Maddeningly. Slow… She curses in her head, makes up about a hundred thousand excuses for the next second—and then grabs him down by the back of his neck and kisses him fully, desperately, fervidly.” AU.

The Blockout by glassycry

I open my eyes for the first time and look around. The room I’m in is blurry. Extremely so. Where am I? Who are these people? What is this room? Why can’t I see properly? Am I in danger? How did I get here? - L/J One-Shot from James’ POV

Question Time by fetchalgernon

Newly-elected Prime Minister Potter has his work cut out for him. If only a certain red-headed MP weren’t deliberately making life harder for him.

Hinny

No child of mine by AmiliaPadfoot

Harry makes a silent pledge to all his children and vows never to break it. He keeps it in mind at all times, determined to raise them right. Next-gen One-shot.

When Harry Nicked Nicholas by Fics by Fumph

Harry makes an arrest in the early hours of Christmas Day.

A Life Closed Twice Before Its Close by tosca1390

On Halloween, a recurring figment comes back to Harry’s life.

Arse Over Kettle by Laury the Latrator

Three years since the end of the war, Ginny is proud to say she is moving on with her life. She has a growing career with the Harpies, a solid group of friends, and her family is closer than ever. So what if she’s single! She’s perfectly content, right?

Bedside Manner by jk-salmeier

As Harry comes down with a bad case of the flu, who should come to his rescue, but his good friend Ginny Weasley? Slightly AU as H/G never got together in 6th year.

The Tale of Jenny and Henry by The Treacle Tart

Jenny liked to sit in the garden and play with gnomes…and to remember. HP-GW, RW-HG COMPLETE

A Cannon’s Harpy by st122

Ginny begins her life after school and a career in Quidditch. How will her new coach change her life? AU

A Good Weight by keeptheotherone

During Ginny’s seventh year, Harry sneaks into Hogwarts to spend an evening with her.

The First Day by little0bird

The first year after the battle.

Atropos by Luna Plath

Harry is brought in to St. Mungo’s after an auror mission gone wrong, and it’s up to Ginny, a potions expert at the Ministry, to save her boyfriend’s life after he is exposed to snake venom. H/G in four parts.

In Every Universe: All in One Piece by Brightly Bound

'This was lightness. This was love. This was right.’ After spending a moment alone with Harry during her eldest brother’s wedding, Ginny finds herself pregnant and must forgo her education for hiding. One-shot AU, set during DH.

As for books, I love:

Jane Eyre

Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom

Byzantium

Little Women

The Hunger Games (series)

Antigone (play)

Twelfth Night (play)

The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe

Death on the Nile

Hood

There are a billion more…

#blarg fic rec #jily fic rec #hinny fic rec #blarg hinny fic rec #blarg jily fic rec #fic rec

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reekierevelator · 6 years ago

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The Time Has Come

John Maclean (1879 – 1923) reviews his life as he prepares to address the horde of a hundred thousand people which has gathered on Glasgow Green to hear him speak after his release from Peterhead Prison.

So here I am again. Back on the speakers’ platform; fingers twitching and mind racing.

In a few minutes I’m expected to give a rabble-rousing speech to the thousands upon thousands of people staring up at me, despite the fact that until yesterday I was languishing in the sewer called Peterhead Jail, despite the fact I’d been on hunger strike for eight months. But I’ll manage it. I will do it, just as I did it after prison the last time, 1916. For even now that the war is over there are still too many who don’t understand, who aren’t yet class conscious, who can’t see through the fog of capitalism. I will do it because however weak I am today, I am no longer being force-fed twice daily through rubber tubes.

I can hardly believe it’s only 1919. The trial seems such a long time ago. But it was really only a year ago. I was fit and robust then. I conducted my own defence. I spoke from the dock for an hour and a half, logically rebutting in turn each of the trumped up charges they laid against me. Defence of the Realm Act indeed. Then as now I said I wished no harm to any human being; that all my actions were entirely humanitarian in nature. But they insisted I was a threat to society, that I should be keen to kill my fellow workers in other countries, that I should be more patriotic. Patriotism - the last refuge of those scoundrels; Dr Johnson was right. And maybe it’s true that I did try to undermine their war effort, their drive to slaughter millions. I tried, just as my friends Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg did in Germany. I was convicted of sedition, of trying to bring down the state, and sentenced to five years in the Peterhead hellhole. But now that the war has ended, I’m not such a threat, and in response to public clamour they set me free.

Was it all worth it? I suppose I should be grateful to have avoided the fate of my Edinburgh friend. James wanted to bring trade unionism and socialism to another part of the United Kingdom, the Ireland of his father and forefathers. Connolly was brought up among those Irish immigrants crammed into the caves under the arches of the city’s South Bridge. After fighting for workers’ rights against the Dublin lock-out he founded his Citizens’ Army. And in 1916, for his trouble, he ended up severely wounded, dragged up against a wall in Dublin Castle, and shot dead by soldiers. But I’m sure this country will find that’s not the end of the Irish story. Maybe that’s something Maybe that’s what I should tell them.

I still have my friends in Glasgow - Jimmy Maxton, Guy Aldred, and Willie Gallacher Jimmy’s the clever one. One day someone will probably write a doctoral thesis on Maxton’s thinking and end up as Prime Minister. And Guy, like me, he’s seen his fair share of courtrooms. America saw its way to amend its constitution with a Bill of Rights in 1791. But poor old Britain had to wait for Guy to be repeatedly arrested on this very Glasgow Green, for making speeches and gathering crowds, before the courts eventually agreed that public free speech, public meetings, and public processions really ought to be part of everyone’s civil liberties. And Willie, he’s seen the inside of prisons too, Willie still guides the unions, leading the Shop Stewards Movement on the Clyde. But he’s left his syndicalism behind, thrown in his lot with Lenin and Trotsky and founded the Communist Party of Great Britain. One of these days I can see him in Parliament, a Communist MP.

Looking at this huge crowd of people eagerly waiting to hear me speak I know many campaigned relentlessly for my release from prison. And now they expect a victorious call to arms, a vibrant, revolutionary speech, all fire and brimstone. They want to greet a Scottish Lenin at the Central Station rather than the Finland Station. But the prison regime has exhausted me and destroyed my body. And it wasn’t as if I hadn’t known hardship before, growing up in the poverty in Pollockshaws where my Gaelic speaking parents had landed up after being forced off their Highland land. In school they called me a lad o’ pairts, a clever wee boy. The Free Kirk arranged for me to be trained as a teacher. And after that I went on to Glasgow University and took my MA in Economics. But it was the terrible housing, poverty, and illness I saw all around me that drove me to a proper understanding of economics from a socialist perspective. It’s seventy years since Engels, in Manchester but writing in German, found himself forced to describe the awful condition of the working class. And fifty since Marx wrote about the Highland Clearances. Yet sometimes it’s hard to see that very much has changed.

Of course, when I started to speak in public about the need for reform, the need to redress the terrible ills of society, I was sacked from my teaching job. Then they barred me from teaching in schools altogether. Nothing daunted, I founded the Scottish Labour College to teach people about socialist economics. I espoused the co-operative movement. I got the Renfrewshire Co-op to push local school boards into providing facilities for adult education, economics education. During the war I did what I could to support Mary Barbour and the women’s fight against the rent increases, imposed by absentee landlords while their conscripted husbands were away fighting in France. Aye, one of these days they’ll put up a statue to that wonderful woman.

And now Willie Gallacher and the Clydeside workers have decided they have to strike again. Trying to reduce working hours to a forty hour week. And it’s not that they want the same pay for fewer hours. They’ll take a bit less pay. All they want is to make some room in the yards to give jobs to all the unemployed demobbed soldiers. But in Parliament they fear an uprising, a Glasgow Soviet, a Soviet Scotland. Churchill’s tanks are even now being marshalled in the Gallowgate. Thousands of English troops are arriving by train. Meanwhile, the Scottish troops are confined to barracks in Maryhill. And if Willie speaks to them at Maryhill he knows the troops will come out for him. Revolution is in the air. But I’ve told him, that kind of battle – workers in khaki killing other workers in khaki – that’s not for me, not what I want to see. If there are to be tanks on Sauchiehall Street they must be faced down without bloodshed. But can I convince this heaving crowd of that?

Like me, most of the people here couldn’t see what the so-called ‘war to end wars’ was all about, why everyone had to starve or die because of it. Just one imperial power slaughtering the workers of another imperial power as they tried to gain a bigger slice of the cake, the wealth of the exploited colonies, for the benefit of their own capitalist classes.

The Russian workers couldn’t understand it either. We all cheered when they abandoned the war in 1917 and overthrew their government. I well remember chairing the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets. And then Lenin appointed me Bolshevik Consul in Scotland. I hear they’ve even named a street after me in St Petersburg, or Leningrad as they’re calling it nowadays. There’s even been talk of carving my name on the Kremlin’s walls. But what do those things matter – his ribbon, star, and a’ that?

I’m thirty-nine and feeling nearer ninety. The force-feeding when I went on hunger strike in prison didn’t help. Some even say they tried to poison me. Now they tell me pneumonia is setting in – that I’ll probably be dead in a year or two. People might remember me for a while, before I’m eclipsed by others; Scottish people better able to fight for socialism and independence, people who understand the true nature of Scotland. If my funeral attracts as big a crowd as the one before me now it will be the biggest funeral Glasgow has ever seen. Maybe I’ll be a footnote in some socialist history of Scotland, or someone might write a song, a poem, or a play about me. My dear wee daughter Nan says she’ll write a book about me. A hundred years from now will anyone read that passionate speech I made from the dock? Will that speech’s prediction – of another world war twenty years from now - prove true or false? Will the egalitarian principles I've lived and fought for ever really be able to establish themselves in an independent Scotland? Marx said capitalism forces companies to compete, to exploit resources and labour, and the devil take the hindmost. The losers are taken over, merged, or eliminated altogether, whatever the cost to the workers. Eventually there will be huge companies, but there won’t be many. I suspect, as Marx predicted, that companies will become global, capitalists billionaires, and the gap between rich and poor will only widen. Could an independent socialist Scotland really stand in their way?

Ach, so I lost my safe middle-class teaching career, I lost my health. I gained a prison record. Have all those things really been for nothing? - But good grief, what kind of self-serving question is that for me to be asking myself?

Oh dear, the Convener is nodding towards me now. It’s time to get up on the old hind legs and give this multitude some eloquent words to chew over. Maybe their reaction will provide the answer to some of the questions tickling my brain.

#Reekie Revelator #short story #imaginary monologue #scotland #independence #socialism #john maclean (1879 - 1923)

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john-is-on-the-rails · 6 years ago

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People’s Vote March, London 23rd June 2018

The first sign that I was in the right place was the sight of a cluster of European Union flags propped against a statue of Florence Nightingale. I found the People’s Vote March gathered at the Guard’s Crimean War Memorial on Pall Mall, the long avenue in central London where those demanding a final say on the Brexit deal were to meet. I arrived around 11am, an hour before the march was planned to begin, and at first was concerned that the turnout wouldn’t be as good as predicted. Expected to be around ten-thousand, the crowd, such as it was at that time, was gathered around the square but didn’t seem to extend very far down Pall Mall. I did a full circuit of the roads branching off the square, hoping to find the missing thousands. Very confused tourists were trying their best to snake their way through the growing crowds without a “B******s to Brexit” sticker being slapped on their chests by one of the very enthusiastic volunteers. Among the placards, we’re “Brexit is bloody stupid” and “I’m really rather miffed”, it was a very British protest, after all.

Pro-EU supporters gather at the Crimean war memorial on Pall Mall.

It soon became clear that my worries about the turnout were misplaced. Although it wouldn’t have been all bad if it ended up being Tony Robinson and I carrying a banner and having a chat, I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday. There must have been a run of protester-laden trains into Euston because, suddenly, groups started to filter in from the sides of the square, a sea of blue and gold flooding its way onto Pall Mall. As it neared 12 pm, the stewards began herding us into place and asking us to move behind one of the banners that marked the front of the march. A man blew into a kazoo very close to my ear, and apologised as I turned in shock, “sorry mate, I’m a bit excited.” He blew it again for good measure and smiled.

Protesters of all ages marched to Parliament Square, asking for a people’s vote on the Brexit deal.

The atmosphere was friendly and courteous, the people around me made sure an elderly lady, sat on a folding chair, was OK in the heat and chatted away to her about the weather. However, there was a distinctly miffed undertone. The comment I heard most often frequently was “they can’t ignore us now, can they?”, among more random snippets such as “Jeremy Hunt’s brother’s orange face.” I wish I’d been party to the rest of that conversation. It was abundantly clear that anti-Brexit sentiment is not as narrowly confined to the young as you may have been led to believe. A large proportion of the crowd was made up of the over-50’s. Bearing in mind the march was in remain-voting London, which could account for the wider cross-generational support. I asked the elderly couple next to me, who had travelled from Gateshead that morning, what brought them on the march. “We’re worried about our grandchildren,” they said, “Brexit isn’t what we were told it was going to be before the referendum.” It was a hot and tiring day, but they both bravely held their flags, one a Union Jack, one the blue and gold of the European Union aloft. These people aren’t saboteurs or frustrators, but patriotic Brits worried about the direction their country is taking them in, and what the future holds for their family.

The banner marking the starting point for the People’s Vote march.

A multi-coloured beach ball is bounced over the crowd as protesters wait for the march to begin.

As the day grew hotter, we waited, there were so many marchers filtering in from the side streets that we didn’t move for over an hour. Chants of “B******s to Brexit” and Mexican waves of clapping and shouting kept us entertained, as the news and police helicopters surveyed the crowds from overhead. Finally, at about 1:20 pm, we started to shuffle forwards. A huge roar went up as we got underway, advancing towards Trafalgar Square. The streets grew wider, and the protest spread out a little. That’s when it became clear just how massive the march was. I climbed onto a barrier at the side of the road, looking back down Pall Mall the throng went on for as far as I could see. I’d been so close to the front I hadn’t realised how much the crowd had grown behind me.

The march passes Trafalgar Square, where an Eid celebration is in full swing.

Leaving Nelson’s Column behind us, we continued down Whitehall. An undulating boo emanated from the crowd ahead. We were about to pass the entrance to Downing Street. I have to admit, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as the next wave of booing started. There was something about the bass tone of thousands of people expressing their frustration and annoyance at the seemingly hapless government negotiations, right at the Prime Minister’s front door. They can’t ignore us now, can they?

A protester holds up an anti-Brexit banner outside the entrance to Downing Street.

Arriving at Parliament Square Gardens, the march’s endpoint, a stage and screen had been set up, ready for the day’s speakers. Comedian Andy Parson was to kick things off, with various politicians and campaigners giving speeches. Caroline Lucas of the Greens, Vince Cable of the Liberal Democrats, Conservative Anna Soubry & Labour’s David Lammy also put in appearances. Conspicuous by his absence was the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Leading to chants of “Where’s Jeremy Corbyn?” To the beat of the opening lines of the White Stripes song Seven Nation Army. A change of mood since the rallying cries of “Ooo Jeremy Corbyn” to the same tune at Glastonbury last year.

There is a seemingly open goal here for Corbyn, a mass movement ready to back a proposal for a people’s vote on the final deal, and any party that has the clout to make it happen. It could even fit in with his anti-EU sentiments, if framed as more of a comment on the outcome of the government’s negotiations, keeping the option of leaving on the table. He could offer the reassurance the country is looking for and is not currently getting from a government whose hands are tied by internal conflicts and rivalries.

I left the People’s Vote March behind me and headed to St. James Park, for some green space and a chicken sandwich, with mixed feelings of hope and frustration. Only time will tell which one of these emotions were justified.

As I looked back to the gathered crowds one last time, the statue of Churchill gravely stared out at the throngs of marchers as they arrived at Parliament Square Gardens. Churchillian quotes have often found their way into the language of the anti-EU politicians. So I’ll leave you with a quote from Churchill that they might do well to listen to:

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

#brexit #news #uk #uknews #europe #politics #people's vote #europeanpolitics #protest #london #ofoc

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racingtoaredlight · 7 years ago

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On This Day...

On this day in 1940, the provisional French government in Vichy, which would officially come into existence five days later on July 10, formally broke off diplomatic relations with Britain. The decision to break off diplomatic relations with its erstwhile ally was instigated by the British attack on the main French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir in Algeria two days earlier on July 3. Thus began a complicated and confusing set of circumstances that would persist for the next four years, in which there were two French governments which each controlled colonial territories and had soldiers and sailors who pledged their loyalty, and who on occasion fought the Allies, the Germans and Italians, and each other.

On June 22, 1940, the Second Armistice of Compiègne was signed by German occupation authorities and representatives of the Third Republic. Hitler had personally selected Compiègne as the site of the French surrender because it was also the site in which the Allies dictated ceasefire terms to the German Army in November 1918. Though the French surrender was complete, the terms of the 1940 Armistice recognize the rump of central and southern France which had not been occupied by the Germans during their otherwise spectacularly successful campaign. Germany therefore occupied all of northern France and the Atlantic coast, but permitted the existence of a Free Zone, to be governed by French authorities from the city of Vichy. Ostensibly this government, led by World War I hero Philippe Pétain, retained control of all units and warships of the French military which had not been captured and continued on as the legitimate steward of France’s vast colonial empire in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The Vichy government therefore became the official replacement for the Third Republic. This status was recognized by the Germans and Italians, who signed a separate armistice with France on June 24, and each nation set up an armistice commission to monitor the Vichy government’s adherence to each agreement’s terms.

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Not every Frenchmen, however, considered the Vichy regime to be legitimate. A rival government formed in Britain under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. The Free France movement was quickly recognized as the true government of France in exile by the Allies. Most French soldiers, sailors, and airman who had fled to Britain after Dunkirk, pledged allegiance to De Gaulle. France’s various colonies, each with their own governors and with large French colonial military formations stationed on their territory, had to decide whether to declare for Vichy or for Free France. Early on many preferred the suzerainty of Vichy and accordingly arrested or openly resisted any who declared loyalty to de Gaulle.

The French surrender and subsequent formation of a German-recognized government was of even greater concern to Britain, especially Prime Minister Winston Churchill. With its sole continental ally defeated and under the control of what he suspected to be a puppet regime, Churchill quickly realized that the considerable amount of French military hardware in Africa and the Middle East could be taken over by German and Italian forces. The German Navy in World War II was not large, but it had at its core several well-built fast battleships and cruisers which, if not contained by the British Home Fleet, could wreak havoc on British shipping in the North Sea and Atlantic; to say nothing of what German U-boats were capable of independent of the surface fleet.

Likewise, the Italian Navy of World War II, though slightly larger than the German Navy in terms of surface forces, was still outnumbered and out-led--Italian naval leadership during the war was notoriously incompetent--by the British Mediterranean Fleet based in Egypt, and Force H based in Gibraltar. However, these commitments, as well as the need to provide escorts for convoys crossing the Atlantic, stretched the Royal Navy to the very limit. The addition of a significant portion of the French Navy to either the German or Italian fleets could have tipped the balance of power in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean against Britain which, as an island nation, depended on its navy to protect shipping and prevent invasion. This existential threat prompted action by Churchill.

At the time of surrender, the French navy was scattered in various squadrons around the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Most of the warships and submarines which fled to Britain at the armistice pledged to de Gaulle and came under the control of the British navy. Another squadron which left Toulon shortly before the surrender in late June, steamed to Alexandria, Egypt and presented itself to the British Mediterranean Fleet there. Other polyglot squadrons of small ships and submarines either sailed to Toulon and became part of Vichy or made themselves available to the British in other ports. The most powerful French squadron which had not declared itself by early July was a force of four battleships, five destroyers, and one seaplane tender under Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul at Mers-el-Kebir. Gensoul’s nominal superior was Admiral François Darlan, the senior French military commander in Africa. Darlan was pledged to Vichy and so Churchill ordered Force H, under Admiral James Somerville, to sail from Gibraltar to Mers-el-Kebir to negotiate for Gensoul to come over to Free France.

Gensoul’s squadron was at its moorings at Mers-el-Kebir while Somerville’s Force H took up patrol positions outside the harbor in order to keep the French from fleeing. Somerville and Gensoul entered into negotiations that dragged on for days. Finally Somerville presented an ultimatum: declare neutrality and sail to a French port in the Americas, declare for Free France and join the British fleet, or be destroyed. Gensoul, acting on instructions from Darlan, refused any sort of cooperation largely because all of Somerville’s proposals would have violated the armistice signed by the Vichy government. Somerville gave Gensoul six hours to change his mind.

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It is difficult for some to comprehend the position of those Frenchmen who were Vichy allied or who at least recognized the legitimacy of the Vichy government, especially in light of the British pledge to never surrender. France, it must be understood, in her defeated state of 1940, was desperate to retain what territory and governance it could. The notion of a national identity is and has been since the Revolution a powerful one in France. And the maintenance and continuity of this identity continues to suffuse French politics and society to this day. Thus, the resort to dealing with an enemy that has shown itself more powerful than you, can be forgiven in the name of continuing the idea that is France. Reliance on the legalism of the armistice, in the eyes of Vichy supporters, was what prevented Germany from occupying the rest of the country and its colonial holdings.

Following the strict interpretation of the armistice, Gensoul and Darlan provided no response to Somerville. As promised, Somerville’s ships opened fire on the French fleet at its moorings. Though one French battleships and three destroyers escaped, the rest were heavily damaged and the battleship Bretagne, sunk. 1,300 French sailors were killed and 350 wounded. News of the attack spread through the French colonial empire and many officials and officers who considered joining de Gaulle, instead re-pledged their loyalties to Vichy.

Two years later in November 1942, American and British troops landed at several ports in French North Africa as part of Operation Torch. Several Vichy garrisons put up stiff resistance, but then surrendered upon orders from Admiral Darlan, still the senior French military commander in Africa. Darlan had been in secret negotiations with the Allies for months leading up the landings and had agreed to go over to the Allies in order to prevent destruction and loss of civilian life. For his efforts, Darlan was assassinated by a Vichy loyalist one month later, Christmas Eve 1942.

When news of Darlan’s surrender and deal with the Allies reached Europe, the German Army immediately proceeded with Operation Anton, the occupation of the Free Zone of France; just as Gensoul and Darlan feared two years earlier. In order to prevent the rest of the French fleet in Toulon, including some survivors of Mers-el-Kebir, from being captured by the advancing Germans, the last Vichy naval chief Admiral Auphan, ordered his ships scuttled. Throughout the Second World War, except for a handful of brief moments, British naval supremacy was never challenged by the Germans and Italians.

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opedguy · 6 years ago

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May Faces Brexit Showdown

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), March 11, 2019.--No longer worried about her own survival, 62-year-old British Prime Minister Theresa May faces another Parliament vote March 12 on whether to approve her best Brexit deal with the European Union. May has won precious little from Brussels trying but failing to win concessions of the Northern Ireland border with the EU’s Irish Republic. May wanted a backstop or insurance policy that the border would remain a passport free zone allowing the same commerce that existed before British subjects voted June 23, 2016 to end its membership in the EU. With Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] terror attacks sweeping Europe, British citizens had had enough of the EU’s pro-immigration policies. Voting to end membership in the EU, British voters told the EU that it had enough of the EU’s refugee mandates, leaving voters no choice but to end ties with the EU.

Spearheading the Brexit vote, former leader of U.K.’s Independence Party Gerard Batten lobbied the public hard about the dangers of letting the EU dictate immigration quotas in the U.K. While euroseptic opposition was strong in 2016 leading to a 52% to 48% final tally on leaving the EU, the public has reversed itself, now showing an equal percentage now favors staying in the EU. Whether staying or leaving the EU comes with a big price tag, the British parliament must decide to accept May’s Brexit deal tomorrow or ask for a month-long delay to decide leave the world’s second largest trading bloc with a signed deal or not. No-deal Brexiteers believe no deal is preferable over a bad deal, something that would tie up British politics for years. No deal backers want May to negotiate an independent trade deal with EU at a time-and-place that suits both parties in the future.

British parliament has been reluctant to accept a deal that doesn’t guarantee London as the EU’s banking capital, fearing, without a deal, more financial institutions would move to Frankfurt. Eighteen days away from the Brexit deadline, it looks more likely that May will ask for an extension of Article 50, allowing Downing Street to find a better way forward. Without a deal, Members of Parliament fear economic chaos, potentially sending world markets into a major sell-off. “We have an opportunity now to leave on March 29 or shortly thereafter and it’s important we grasp that opportunity because there is wind in the sales of people trying to stop Brexit,” said British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. May and Hunt want the Brexit deal because they fear another defeat in Parliament could reverse the outcome. May and Hunt haven’t accepted that British voters have changed their minds.

May has refused so far to hold a second referendum to give voters another voice in the outcome of the vote. If the first referendum June 23, 2016 decided to leave the EU, a second vote could very well decide to stay in. May’s allies Nigel Dodds in North Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party and Steve Baker of the Parliament’s euroseptic faction said “the political situation is grim,” meaning May stands to lose tomorrow’s vote in Parliament. “An unchanged withdrawal agreement will be defeated firmly by a sizable proportion of Conservative and the DUP if it is again presented to the Commons,” Dodds and Baker wrote the Sunday Telegraph. Labour Pary spokesman Kier Starmer said his party firmly supports staying in the EU, seeking a second referendum. With the vote scheduled tomorrow, May hasn’t got a firm commitment of the “backstop,” preventing the return to the hard border in Northern Ireland.

If the vote fails in Parliament tomorrow, May promises to let the Commons vote on whether to leave the EU without an exit deal. MPs fear that a no deal Brexit would lead to economic chaos, potentially driving the global banking community out of London to Frankfurt. With so much at stake, you’d think May would have her ducks in order before she schedules a vote. Looking more like May will ask for a delay under Article 50 to leave the EU, it still doesn’t satisfy Parliament’s demands that the EU provide a backstop on the Northern Ireland border. France’s EU affairs minister Nathalie Loiseau told French Inter Radio that she saw no value in extending the Article 50 deadline, because European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Donald Tusk told May that Brexit negotiations with the EU were over, giving little chance of a different deal.

May surely knows that all her failed negotiations with the EU have damaged the U.K.’s reputation with the international banking community. Instead of recognizing the mistake of leaving the EU, May’s Tory Party has dug in, stubbornly trying to push her Brexit deal through the House of Commons. Tomorrow’s vote looks to repeat the Jan. 15 vote that May lost by 230 votes. Unless May pulls a rabbit out of her hat, tomorrow’s vote should mirror Jan. 15, wreaking more havoc on British politics. “Business is holding its breath ahead of the vote in parliament this week, knowing that if Brexit has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected,” said James Stewart, head of Brexit at U.K’s London office of accounting firm KPMG. Steward worries that financial firms will look to get out of London, looking to move headquarters to Frankfurt without Brexit deal.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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stephaniefchase · 7 years ago

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Bajan Newscap 7/7/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Friday July 7th 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today ((BT), or by purchasing a Weekend NATION Newspaper (WN).

NO MORE THAN 5% SAY UNIONS – Local trade unions today said they were now prepared to meet Government halfway on the controversial National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL), even as they announced major plans for a march on Parliament next Tuesday in a show of opposition to the measure, which took effect last week. The decisions were taken at this afternoon’s joint meeting of shop stewards from the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) at Solidarity House. Following the closed meeting, which got under way at 5:15 p.m. and lasted just over two hours, NUPW President Akanni McDowall announced to reporters that the unions were now willing to accept a 50 per cent reduction in the NSRL after they had demanded either a total repeal of the onerous tax measure or the introduction of a coping subsidy for their members in their meeting with Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, Minister of the Finance Chris Sinckler and other Government officials at Government Headquarters two weeks ago. At the end of the meeting, during which animated voices were clearly heard coming from the packed auditorium, BSTU President Mary Redman also explained that Tuesday’s march from Queen’s Park, The City, to Parliament was only phase one of ramped up action by the unions, which remained adamant that the NSRL would only spell undue hardship for their members. Redman, who had earlier announced that the unions would be dispatching official correspondence to Stuart, Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley and the two Independent Members of Parliament, further revealed that there would be the symbolic delivery of the correspondence to these same officials. After that, Redman said the unions were prepared to give the Stuart administration a short period to change its decision on the levy, which was increased in the May 30 Budget from two per cent to ten per cent. Redman also warned that should Government fail to comply with the unions’ demands, more militant action would follow. (BT)

SYMBOLIC MARCH FOR STARTERS – The island’s four major trade unions aren’t ready to take drastic action in response to Government’s hike of the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL). Related articles 5 p.m. deadline Sir Roy's parting shots BWU to fight for domestic workers... At least not just yet. The next set of action which the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) will take to protest the increase in the NSRL from two to ten per cent will be a purely symbolic one. Following a two-hour meeting at the BWU’s Solidarity House, St Michael headquarters yesterday evening, a decision was made by its members to stage a march from Queen’s Park to Parliament Buildings on Tuesday, where letters will be delivered to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the two Independent members of Parliament. (WN)

NEW SCHOOL HEADS COME SEPTEMBER – When the new academic year starts in September, many schools will be greeting a new head. Principals have been breaking the news to their staff and students that they would be moving on, according to school sources. The shifts are coming in light of three secondary principals retiring – Jefferson Phillips from Frederick Smith Secondary School, Vere Parris from Combermere and Pauline Benjamin from Springer Memorial – as well as the closure of the Alma Parris Memorial Secondary School. However, some parents and teachers were only made aware yesterday and the WEEKEND NATION understands not all of them were pleased. (WN)

SHAKE UP OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS - A shake-up of secondary school principals is under way. When the new term begins in September, Captain Michael Boyce, the current head of The Lester Vaughan School, will be take up the reins at Frederick Smith Secondary School in Trents, St James, Barbados TODAY understands. Boyce is among five principals and one deputy being moved, with two other deputies being elevated to act as principal. With the retirement of Vere Parris, principal of the Combermere School, he will be succeeded by Coleridge & Parry head Vincent Fergusson. Also going on retirement leave is Springer Memorial School Principal Pauline Benjamin, who will be replaced by her current deputy Mitchelle Maxwell as acting principal. Deputy Principal Bradston Clarke of Alma Parris Memorial School, which shuts down permanently tomorrow, is set to become the deputy at Springer. An official source also told Barbados TODAY that St George Secondary School Principal Sonja Goodridge is to be transferred to Coleridge & Parry, and Dennis Browne, who is currently at the helm at Grantley Adams Memorial will replace Goodridge. Browne’s vacated position will be filled by Valdez Francis, principal of the closing Alma Parris Memorial School. Meantime, Deputy Principal of The Lester Vaughan School Tanya Harding will act in the post of principal at the Cane Garden institution, the official source said. Efforts to reach Chief Education Officer Karen Best for comment on the transfers were unsuccessful up to the time of publication. (BT)

DISTRESSED PARENTS - It was a mix of anger and bewilderment as parents of students attending Alma Parris Memorial Secondary School filed out of the Ministry of Education’s Constitution Road headquarters this afternoon following a 2 p.m. meeting with officials. Some parents also expressed shock over the sudden announcement of the school’s closure a week ago, but it was the revelation made today of where the displaced students would be placed come September that caused the most frenzy. With the planned closure of the Speightstown-based remedial institution at the end of the current school term, parents were officially informed this afternoon that affected students – 16 years or under – will be going to St George Secondary, Darryl Jordan Secondary and Grantley Adams Secondary School next term. However, those students who are over 16 have been taken out of the secondary school system altogether and are to be enrolled in skills training programmes with either Barbados Vocational Training Board (BVTB) or the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polyclinic. The biggest issue for parents, besides the location of the three schools, was whether their wards would be able to keep up with their new curricula. Fabian Clarke, a parent of a second former, was generally dissatisfied with the amount of information given by the officials today during the hour-long meeting. And though he has already resigned himself to the fact that he really does not have a choice in the matter, he told Barbados TODAY he was genuinely concerned about whether his son, who is a slow learner, would be able to cope with his new school syllabus. (BT)

STRAUGHN ACCUSES GOVT OF SNEAKING IN BACKDOOR TAX – Insurance premiums are likely to rise, hitting the transportation sector particularly hard, due to a “backdoor” tax which Government plans to impose on insurance companies, an Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) spokesman on economic matters has charged. BLP candidate for Christ Church East Central Ryan Straughn told party supporters at the Graydon Sealy Secondary School last night that not only was the Freundel Stuart administration trying to sneak the tax in, it planned to make it retroactive to last year. “The Government has recently introduced the tax through the backdoor . . . . What is particularly sinister about this is that the Government wants to introduce tax on insurance companies, but essentially they want to take the tax back to apply it from April 2016,” Straughn charged. The charge could not immediately be verified, however, the economist claimed that if the insurances companies were forced to pay the levy, Barbadians would be faced with increased premiums when they renew their policies. He said while ordinary Barbadians would feel the squeeze, public service vehicle operators and motorists on a whole would suffer most. “You will have to pay insurance on those vans and those people will also face some burden. You as a motorist would also have an increase in your premiums,’ he said. Straughn also slammed the administration for failing to do “the decent thing, come to the public and announce to the country that you are going to levy taxes on the people”. Worryingly, he said, there was no notice through the Barbados Government Information Service, and “there was absolutely no mention of any tax in any insurance company in any budget or in any ministerial statement”. (BT)

BARBADOS SIGNS BOUNDARY AGREEMENT WITH ST. LUCIA – Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his St Lucian counterpart Allen Chastanet today signed a maritime boundary agreement, as Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government were ending their 38th annual summit in St George’s, Grenada. In a statement following the ceremony, Stuart said the accord demonstrated “the commitment to foster closer regional integration and closer cooperation that is still alive with the regional grouping”. He also pointed out that the twin issues of ocean governance and the blue economy were becoming increasing topical. He also lauded the speed with which the agreement was reached, saying it spoke volumes about the “breadth, the depth and the tenor of regional cooperation and the spirit of unity that have traditionally characterized CARICOM interstate relations”. Stuart also reminded that CARICOM member states not only exist in close proximity to each other, but also share a history and cultural identity that will facilitate “an enduring bond of kinship among our peoples”. St. Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines also signed a maritime agreement today. Two years ago, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines signed a similar treaty. (BT)

AMENDMENTS COMING TO FIREARMS ACT – With concern that gun violence is at an all-time high, Government has announced plans to amend the Firearms Act in effort to tighten control and stem the inflow of guns. That revelation came from Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Attorney General Deborah Payne, who did not give any details, only noting that the authorities would speed up the country’s compliance in the landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) of 2014, which would in turn significantly curtail gun importation into the region. By mandating that its signatories put national controls in place, the ATT broadens the network of national-level controls in a way that gives the international community a new tool to identify and interdict the illegal trade in arms. The increase in the number of countries that regulate this trade also means a drop in the volume of unregulated trade. Before the ATT, only just over 50 countries had control systems in place. Today, 92 countries, including Barbados, have come on board. The Permanent Secretary stressed that it was only through accurate reporting that consistent application of the ATT could be achieved, and she urged the region’s signatories to play their part in this respect. However, she asserted that consideration should be given to those who were lagging in their reporting protocols, since the process could be quite challenging. (BT)

GOVERNMENT EAGER TO WORK WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – Barbados is eager to increase its cooperation with the United States (US), following the signing last December by the US government of the US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act. Acting Prime Minister Richard Sealy gave this assurance Wednesday night as he joined with US Ambassador Linda Taglialatela and other officials in local activities marking the 241st birthday of the United States. Just last month the US Agency for International Development released a programme of action covering several areas, including security, prosperity, energy, diplomatic engagement, health and education. Sealy said those areas were consistent with the strategic interests of Barbados, adding that the island looked forward to the early convening of the regional trade and investment conference highlighted in the US strategy. In her address, the US diplomat pointed to the recently staged Operation Tradewinds exercise saying it “was a perfect example of our robust and effective partnerships that prepare us to respond to any threat or event. (BT)

NO JOB CUTS AT CHEFETTE DESPITE NSRL, SAYS HALOUTE – Boasting that his fast food chain of restaurants “have never sent home workers”, Managing Director Ryan Haloute today said Chefette Restaurants was not about to begin cutting staff even though Government’s contentious National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) would prove a burden. In addition, Haloute vowed that his prices would not rise, at least for the time being, despite the levy, increases in the excise duties on petrol and the imposition of a two per cent tax on foreign exchange transactions, the latter beginning to take effect from July 17. The local business community has complained that the NSRL, which jumped from two per cent to ten per cent effective July 1, along with the other measures, would hurt business and would likely force closures and job cuts. However, Haloute today made it clear he was not among those planning to sever staff, despite the inevitable rise in the cost of doing business. Revealing that prices had not risen over the past six years, with some exceptions, the Chefette boss said the fast food chain would absorb the new taxes, although he left the door open for a change of heart. With the country’s foreign exchange deficit at a dangerously low 10.7 weeks of import cover as at the end of March this year – a long way below the recommended 14 weeks – Haloute dismissed any thoughts of his company investing outside Barbados in a bid to cushion the impact of the taxes. He said now was the time to keep the money within Barbados. (BT)

CHEFETTE DISMISSES CLAIM OF MAGGOTS FOUND IN SANDWICH – Fast food restaurant Chefette is roundly dismissing a woman who alleged on social media that she found live worms in a sandwich bought at an unnamed branch of the outlet. In fact, Managing Director Ryan Haloute today accused the woman of seeking attention, and said Chefette was ignoring her. “We actually ignore it to be honest. If someone has an experience that they are not happy with at Chefette and their first point of contact is social media, then we deem that that person is seeking attention,” Haloute said soon after donating $125,000 to three charities – Young Women Christian Association, the Precious Touch Foundation and Variety The Children’s Charity – at the company’s corporate headquarters in Wildey, St Michael. “Why would we reply to it, informing over 50,000 persons who are on our social media page, that ‘hey, this happened or didn’t happen?’ We try to promote positivity and give back to the community [instead of] responding to social media posts that are seeking attention,” he stressed. In a three-minute 37-second expletive-laden video, the woman claimed to have bought the sandwich at a Chefette branch which she did not name, and to have started eating it when she discovered “worms crawling on the sandwich”. Although she zoomed in on the sandwich in an attempt to give viewers a closer look, the image was not entirely clear. (BT)

PSVS CALL FOR ROUTE SURGERY – THE transportation system is overcrowded with about 500 public service vehicles (PSVs) and 2 200 taxis, according to owners and drivers who say revenue is taking a bit hit. Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael has called for the implementation of a route committee, which would help to monitor and regulate the number of PSVs and taxis on the island’s roads. Raphael told the WEEKEND NATION that a suggestion had already been made to Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley about the setting up of the committee. “We are hoping to set up a route committee, whose main responsibility would be to regulate the number of PSVs and taxis.” (WN)

SAFE WON’T PAY UP, SAY STAFFERS – One of the island’s leading security firms is being accused of treating its employees unfairly and denying them vacation leave. William Thompson is among several security guards who have charged that SAFE Security Consultants Inc. has not granted them leave or vacation pay. Describing it as “modern-day slavery”, the 47-year-old told the WEEKEND NATION he has been working at SAFE for over three years. Thompson said during that time he had done everything in his power to get his employers to pay up, including taking his case to the Labour Department. (WN)

LANDLORD & TENANT AT ODDS – Michael Weekes is accusing a landlord of not only rendering him homeless, but also of refusing to give him back his belongings. However, as is often the case, a check with the landlord, George Caesar of Church Road, Christ Church, revealed another side to the story. An upset Weekes, a carpenter by trade, came to the NATION’s office earlier this week saying he had been evicted from his rented home back in May and had been relying on the kindness of friends ever since. To make things worse, he said multiple attempts to at least get back his belongings had failed, despite the intervention of police. (WN)

CAR SCAM VICTIM OUT OF $40,000 – When Mohammed Mohamad bought his new car, little could he have known six months later that he would be waiting outside his home for the police in the wee hours of the morning. Related articles Community expresses shock at suspected... Man survives car flip Pedestrian struck by car However, the irate man wants to know how a stolen car could have passed through the Barbados Licensing Authority so easily. Mohamad told his unfortunate tale, which went from a man happy to get a modern car to a man out thousands of dollars and forced to “bum” lifts. He said: “I bought a car in December, a 2012 Toyota Axio, worth $40 000. I met a fella who acts like a used car broker, he is a go-between buyer and seller and I got the car through him.” (WN)

COMPLAINANT ORDERED TO PAY COURT – A man who claimed to have been seriously harmed by two other men has been ordered to pay the High Court $1,500 in three months, after dropping the case. Conan Kenelm Ashby of Coles Road, Bournes Village, St George, and Shane Omar Callendar of Glebe Land, St George had been charged with causing Carlos Austin serious bodily harm with intent to maim, disable or disfigure him on September 2, 2008, and inflicting serious bodily harm on him, as well as assisting an offender. However, Austin told Madame Justice Michelle Weekes in the No. 2 Supreme Court recently that he was no longer interested in pursuing the case. Under oath and questioning by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Donna Babb-Agard, QC, Austin maintained that he had not been threatened or promised any incentive to stop the case. Babb-Agard told Justice Weekes that the Crown was relying on Austin’s testimony to prove its case, and with his lack of interest, it had no choice but to drop the matter. The judge enforced that decision, but not before ordering Austin to pay the court costs in three months’ time with an alternative of six months in prison. The legal troubles of Coles and Callendar are not yet over, however, as they have a joint firearm charge still hanging over their heads. That case will come up for hearing in the High Court on September 19. (BT)

Two women on assault charges – Two women accused of separate incidents of assault appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court Thursday. Maria Dona Wood and Lois Lorraine Yearwood were each granted $3,000 bail by Magistrate Douglas Frederick. It is alleged that Wood, a shop owner of Lemanbelle, Salters, St George, assaulted Shanique Shepherd on April 29, occasioning her actual bodily harm. There was no objection to bail from the police prosecutor after Wood denied the charge. The 42-year-old accused was ordered to return to court on October 2. Also reappearing in court on that date will be 48-year-old Yearwood. The Thompson Road, Wavell Avenue, Black Rock Road, St Michael resident is accused of causing serious bodily harm to Shawn Francis on July 4, with intent to maim, disfigure or disable. The self-employed woman was not required to plead to the indictable charge. With no objections from the prosecutor, she was released on bail with one surety. Meantime, a 35-year-old phone technician will have to successfully perform 80 hours of community if he wants to keep his criminal record clean. Ron Casper Camille of Piper Avenue, Bayville, St Michael pleaded guilty in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court to having a rock in a public place, James Street, on January 18, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Magistrate Frederick imposed the community service on the first-time offender after the police prosecutor outlined the facts. He will return to court on August 6 for a progress report. (BT)

LEBRAUN DEFYING THE ODDS – Lebraun Toney HAS defied the odds. Related articles Kobe in last NBA season St Winifred’s rule the surf NATION newscast November 10, 2014... And similar to namesake American basketball player Lebron James, the St Catherine’s student has scored his own slam dunk. The 11-year-old was able to rebound and score the highest amongst the boys at his school during this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination after an eye condition caused him to miss several weeks of class. Unlike James, however, Lebraun has no basketball aspirations; he plans to either become a police officer or a fire fighter. (WN)

OUT OF KADOO – FOUR BANDS will not be enjoying the sweetest summer festival this year. The popular Grand Kadooment band Fantasy Crop Over Experience, along with the Ravurz band, will not be part of the last lap, which culminates in four weeks’ time.The other two bands that have also pulled the plug on their revelry are Foreday bands Island Fusion and Collision Entertainment. Island Fusion has also cancelled its all-inclusive cruise on the MV Harbour Master. Island Fusion had no comment, referring the WEEKEND NATION to its release stating that the cruise was cancelled “due to circumstances beyond our control”. (WN)

That’s all for today folks there are 179 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

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warninggraphiccontent · 4 years ago

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22 May 2020

Data dump

I'll keep this short* and sweet** and let everyone enjoy the long weekend.

Some things:

Keep your eyes on the IfG events page, where details of the latest Data Bites (our eleventh) will be appearing shortly. It'll be 6pm on Wednesday 3 June, with SAP (who are kindly sponsoring), the Government Digital Service and Government Shared Services among the speakers.

On the subject of IfG events... the excellent team over at Drawnalism did their thing with our event earlier this week on (re)shaping the state after coronavirus.

And also on the subject of IfG events... make sure you keep 0930-1030 free on Monday 8 June. More on that soon.

Parliamentary Monitor 2020 is out!

A case of not updating some of our charts being significant: a new report from the National Audit Office on the government's coronavirus response suggests there have been 11 ministerial directions issued by the government during the crisis - but they've only published three of them. Transparency much? Given 72 non-Covid directions have been issued since 1990, that's... quite a lot. If you're wondering what on earth I'm wittering on about, here's our explainer on what directions are and why you should care.

The Orwell Prize announced its shortlists for political writing, political fiction, journalism and exposing Britain's social evils yesterday - well done to all those on the lists (and the Orwell Foundation team for keeping everything running). There's still time to enter the Orwell Youth Prize.

The data developments and transparency things spreadsheet tracking the UK's government coronavirus response is still going strong - please add to it here.

And finally... I'd been wondering just how much people were able to understand the forest of log scale charts that have sprouted in recent weeks. Interesting research here (via Alice). It's something Marcus Bell from the Cabinet Office's Race Disparity Unit touched on in his Data Bites presentation - they apparently junked lots of graphics after user testing.

Enjoy the long weekend

Gavin

*relatively. Or at least, bullet points rather than me pontificating

**your taste may vary

Today's links:

Tips, tech, etc

Mental health awareness week (Janet Hughes)

Championing mental health and wellbeing through the pandemic (UK Civil Service)

My mind matters – because Every Mind Matters (UK Civil Service)

Life after lockdown: our ‘new normal’ needs to be one which puts mental health first (Stylist)

Learning in lockdown: moving L&D online (Defra digital)

Lessons learned: 9 takeaways from teaching online during COVID-19 (Damian Radcliffe)

How to…take your events online (Smart Thinking)

Six Feet From Forever (Real Life)

Relax to the sounds of British wildlife (The Guardian)

Graphic content

Viral content: cases

Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) (Our World in Data)

Coronavirus cases and deaths over time: how countries compare around the world (The Guardian)

Will Hot Weather Kill the Coronavirus Where You Live?* (New York Times)

Tracking The Pandemic: How Quickly Is The Coronavirus Spreading State By State? (NPR)

Early projections of covid-19 in America underestimated its severity* (The Economist)

Viral content: consequences

The UK’s public health response to covid-19 (The BMJ)

How views to the @CitizensAdvice webpage on being furloughed peaked during/after big government announcements this week (Gemma for Citizens Advice)

The Results of Europe’s Lockdown Experiment Are In (Bloomberg)

American restaurants are struggling to fill tables weeks after reopening* (The Economist)

R numbers offer no easy answers for UK to lift lockdown* (FT)

Social care: Old money* (Tortoise)

By the numbers: Europe on the move again (Politico)

As football returns in empty stadiums, four graphs show how home advantage disappears (The Conversation)

The Architecture of Containment: Getting to Gold (Institute for Global Change)

Tens of millions of surgeries are being postponed as a result of the pandemic* (The Economist, via Benoit)

Emerging countries lift lockdowns despite Covid-19 cases surge* (FT)

Breaking lockdown rules? An experiment into what the public see as acceptable (YouGov)

COVID-19 policy tracker (The Health Foundation)

Furloughed and Frustrated, Workers Are Struggling Across the U.K.* (Bloomberg)

How far would a million N95 masks go? It’s complicated, and this is why.* (Washington Post)

#dataviz

The public do not understand logarithmic graphs used to portray COVID-19 (LSE Covid-19, via Alice)

John Snow's map of cholera looked as dull as (cholera filled) dishwater compared to his competitors... (James Cheshire)

Anti-viral content

Parliamentary Monitor 2020 (IfG)

Cabinet committees (IfG)

In charts: healthcare technology in low-income countries* (FT)

For Global Legislators on Twitter, an Engaged Minority Creates Outsize Share of Content (Pew)

UK Consumer Digital Index 2020 (Lloyds Bank)

Poorly designed ballots lead to thousands of undercounted votes each year* (Washington Post)

Isochrones (Tom Forth)

Meta data

Viral content: appy days

Coronavirus: Security flaws found in NHS contact-tracing app (BBC News)

Apple and Google release marks 'watershed moment' for contact-tracing apps (BBC News)

NHS App Has More Glaring Security Flaws and This is Just Getting Bloody Ridiculous Now (Gizmodo)

Countries around the world are rolling out contact tracing apps to contain coronavirus. How will we know whether they work? (Science)

Hard questions for policy-makers about digital contact tracing (First Policy Response)

Coronavirus: Northern Ireland rejects UK's COVID-19 contact-tracing app (Sky News)

Coronavirus contact-tracing apps: can they slow the spread of COVID-19? (Nature)

Scotland begins trials of contact-tracing app (Public Technology)

The ethics of contact tracing apps: International perspectives (CDEI)

Viral content: big tech

Naomi Klein: How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic (The Guardian/The Intercept)

Martha Lane Fox: how Big Tech can help us through the coronavirus crisis* (The Times)

How CIA-backed Palantir embedded itself in the NHS* (Telegraph)

Big Tech’s viral boom could be its undoing* (FT)

Viral content: data sources

NEW, FREE DATA: We have just published the code and data behind our excess mortality tracker (James Tozer, The Economist)

Excess Deaths During the Coronavirus Pandemic (New York Times)

Data sources (FT)

Viral content: everything else

The public debate around COVID-19 demonstrates our ongoing and misplaced trust in numbers (LSE)

High visibility and COVID-19: returning to the post-lockdown workplace (Ada Lovelace Institute)

Greater Manchester STILL doesn't know how many people are testing positive for COVID-19 because it can't get results from government (Manchester Evening News)

Guidance on the introduction and use of video consultations during COVID-19: important lessons from qualitative research (BMJ)

Open letter: the NHS’s plans to build a COVID-19 datastore (Anouk Ruhaak)

Removing the pump handle: Stewarding data at times of public health emergency (Significance)

Doing community management for @GOVUK Twitter during COVID-19 (Government Digital Service)

COVID-19: Social surveys are now more important than ever (UK Data Service)

We Have No Idea How Many People in Prison Actually Have COVID-19 (Slate)

Committee writes to the Prime Minister: Lessons learned so far from the COVID-19 pandemic (Science and Technology committee)

Anti-viral content

How Facebook Could Use Giphy to Collect Your Data (OneZero)

POST-LEGISLATIVE SCRUTINY: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002 (Scottish Parliament)

I'm thinking about data... (Edafe Onerhime)

Military And Intelligence Personnel Can Be Tracked With The Untappd Beer App (Bellingcat)

The AI Powered State (Nesta)

Many public authorities are warning requesters that #FOI requests may be delayed... (Campaign for FOI)

MPs make history with remote voting – the story of how it happened (Parliamentary Digital Service)

Why AWS’ Open Government Platform could revolutionise government innovation (Matthew Cain)

Understanding international migration in a rapidly changing world (ONS)

EU privacy enforcer hits make-or-break moment (Politico)

Rebuilding the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers (MHCLG)

Unlock the Hidden Value of Your Data (Harvard Business Review)

Professor Dame Wendy Hall appointed Chair (Ada Lovelace Institute)

Opportunities

JOB: Research Analyst (Spend Network)

JOB: Data analyst (Samaritans)

JOB: Digital Content Creator (HMT)

JOBS: Director of Research, Communications Manager (World Wide Web Foundation)

JOB: Performance Analyst (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency)

JOB: Community Research Consultant (Open Heroines)

JOB: Head of Futures Capability (Parliamentary Digital Service)

CONSULTANCY: User Experience Researcher vacancy (360Giving)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: databank learning partner (Wellcome)

And finally...

The Miracle Sudoku (Cracking the Cryptic)

TreeTalk

today’s nightmare thought... (Julia Carrie Wong)

Look closer at the dates on the X-axis... (Dale Howard, via Sam)

When axes get truly evil* (FT)

Actually... (Nick Takayama)

The #Bundesliga restarts today. But for those who've never followed it, how do you choose a team? (Jon Worth)

Thread Of Awesome Bird's-Eye Views Of Cities Around The World (Joaquim Campa, via Alice)

@plottervision

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askarsjustsoswedish · 6 years ago

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Alexander Skarsgård, Charlize Theron - Long Shot ‘19 - Prime Minister James Steward, Charlotte Field. Lionsgate Movies Trailer, 13 March ‘19.

#alexander skarsgård #alexander skarsgard #charlize theron #long shot '19 #ajss13 #prime minister james steward #charlotte field #lionsgate movies #trailer #13 mar '19 #yt jTdr445vnDo #lspr #my gifs

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global-news-station · 6 years ago

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LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of supporters of the European Union marched through London on Saturday in the biggest demonstration so far to demand that the British government holds a public vote on the terms of Brexit.

The protesters waved the blue and gold flag of the EU and held up “Bollocks to Brexit” banners under sunny skies to call for another referendum on the eventual deal on how Britain will leave the world’s biggest trading bloc.

The march comes after another tumultuous week for Prime Minister Theresa May in which she failed to agree a divorce deal with EU leaders in Brussels and infuriated members of her own party by making further concessions in the talks.

With just over five months until Britain is due to leave there is no clarity about what a future trade deal with the EU will look like and some rebels in May’s Conservative Party have threatened to vote down a deal if she clinches one.

James McGrory, one of the organizers of the march, said voters should have the chance to change their minds because the decision will impact their lives for generations.

“People think the Brexit negotiations are a total mess, they have no faith in the government to deliver the promises that were made, partly because they cannot be delivered,” he said.

At the march, demonstrators carried placards saying “Brexit is pants”, “Time for an EU turn” and “European and proud.”

Organizers said about 670,000 people took part in the march, which would make it the largest in Britain since a demonstration against the Iraq war in 2003.

The “People’s Vote” campaign, which includes several pro-EU groups, said they had stewards stationed at regular intervals to estimate the size of the crowd. The police did not provide an independent estimate of numbers participating.

Protesters originally gathered near Hyde Park and then walked past Downing Street and finished outside parliament where they listened to politicians from all main political parties.

The post Hundreds of thousands take to streets in London demanding second Brexit vote appeared first on ARYNEWS.

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todaynewsstories · 6 years ago

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John McCain, war hero and ‘maverick’ Republican, is dead at 81

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam who ran for president in 2008 as a maverick Republican and became a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, died on Saturday. He was 81.

A senator from Arizona for more than three decades, McCain had been suffering from brain cancer since July 2017 and had not been at the U.S. Capitol this year.

He died on Saturday afternoon at his ranch in Arizona with his wife, Cindy, and other family members at his bedside.

McCain frequently battled with Trump and his family has said he did not want the president to attend his funeral.

Flags flew at half-staff at the White House on Sunday. Trump has tweeted his “deepest sympathies and respect” to McCain’s family, although he added no words of praise for McCain himself

All five living former presidents – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter – paid tribute to McCain’s courage and character.

Cindy McCain said her husband had “passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the place he loved best.”

McCain will lie in state in the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday and in the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday.

There will be a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, with U.S. and international leaders invited to attend, and McCain will then be buried in a private ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Sunday.

AFFABLE, CANTANKEROUS

McCain’s death brings to 50 the number of Republican-held seats in the 100-member U.S. Senate, with Democrats controlling 49. Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey will appoint a member of his own party to succeed McCain after the funeral.

That could also give Republicans a slight edge in the battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court because McCain had been too ill to vote this year.

Alternatively affable and cantankerous, McCain had been in the public eye since the 1960s when, as a naval aviator, he was shot down during the Vietnam War and tortured by his North Vietnamese Communist captors.

He was edged out by George W. Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 but became his party’s White House candidate eight years later. After gambling on political neophyte Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain lost to Obama, who became the first black U.S. president.

Obama said in a statement that he and McCain, despite their different backgrounds and political views, shared a belief in American ideals.

“We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world,” Obama wrote.

McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was a frequent critic and target of his fellow Republican Trump, who was elected president in November 2016.

McCain denounced Trump for, among other things, his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders the senator described as foreign “tyrants.”

“Flattery secures his friendship, criticism his enmity,” McCain said of Trump in his memoir, “The Restless Wave,” which was released in May.

McCain castigated Trump in July for his summit with Putin, calling their joint news conference in Helsinki “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”

Defense Secretary James Mattis saluted McCain as a figure who “always put service to the nation before self.”

In Germany, whose government has clashed with Trump over a range of issues including trade and defense, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “John McCain was guided by the firm conviction that the value of all political work could be found in serving freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”

French President Emmanuel Macron called McCain “a true American hero (whose) … voice will be missed” and British Prime Minister Theresa May said he “embodied the idea of service over self.”

THUMBS-DOWN

McCain, a traditionally Republican foreign policy hawk, was admired in both parties for championing civility and compromise during an era of acrid partisanship in U.S. politics.

But he also had a famous temper and rarely shied away from a fight, including several with Trump.

He was the central figure in one of the most dramatic congressional moments in Trump’s presidency when he returned to Washington shortly after his brain cancer diagnosis for a middle-of-the-night vote in July 2017.

Still bearing a black eye and scar from surgery, McCain gave a thumbs-down signal in a vote to scuttle a Trump-backed bill that would have repealed the Obamacare healthcare law and increased the number of Americans without health insurance by millions.

Trump was furious about McCain’s vote and frequently referred to it at rallies.

After Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, McCain condemned his hardline rhetoric on illegal immigration and said Trump had “fired up the crazies.” Trump retorted that McCain was “not a war hero,” adding: “I like people who weren’t captured.”

After Trump became president, McCain blasted what he called the president’s attempts to undermine the free press and rule of law and lamented the “half-baked, spurious nationalism” of the Trump era.

MCCAIN VERSUS OBAMA

McCain, the son and grandson of U.S. Navy admirals, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 after more than two decades of Navy service.

FILE PHOTO – Republican presidential hopeful John McCain points to his head during his Carolina kickoff rally at Presbyterian College February 2, 2000. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Arizona next elected him to the U.S. Senate in 1986 to replace Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential nominee revered by conservatives.

In running for president in 2008, McCain tried to succeed fellow Republican Bush at time when the United States was mired in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and stuck in a financial crisis.

It was a stark contrast between McCain, then a 72-year-old veteran of Washington, and the 47-year-old Obama, who was offering a “Yes, we can” message of change.

McCain tried to inject some youth into his campaign with his selection of Palin, Alaska’s governor, as his running mate. But her political inexperience and shaky interview performances raised concerns about her qualifications.

McCain voiced regret in his new memoir for not choosing then-Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent, as his running mate.

WAR INJURIES

McCain flew attack planes off aircraft carriers during the Vietnam War. In October 1967, his A-4 Skyhawk was shot down on a bombing mission over North Vietnam’s capital and he suffered two broken arms and a broken leg. A mob dragged him from a lake, broke his shoulder and stabbed him.

Held at the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” prison and other sites, McCain was beaten and tortured, suffering broken bones and dysentery. He was released on March 14, 1973, but left with permanent infirmities.

Several U.S. citizens living in Vietnam adorned a monument erected at the site of the plane crash with flowers on Sunday in tribute.

“Not only did Senator McCain actively contribute to Vietnam-U.S. ties, he was a friend of Vietnam who won huge love from Vietnamese people at many levels,” Vietnam’s ambassador to the United States, Ha Kim Ngoc, told the state-run Voice of Vietnam radio service.

In Congress, McCain prided himself on his history of working across party lines on immigration, climate change and campaign finance reform.

He supported Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq but also spoke out against the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning widely considered torture, and other extreme interrogation tactics in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

McCain was born on Aug. 29, 1936, at an American naval installation in the Panama Canal Zone – U.S. territory at the time – where his father was stationed.

McCain divorced his wife Carol after 15 years of marriage in 1980 and weeks later married the then Cindy Henley, daughter of a wealthy beer distributor in Arizona.

A dark period for McCain came as one of the “Keating Five” group of senators accused of improperly intervening with federal regulators to help political contributor and bank executive Charles Keating, whose Lincoln Savings and Loan failed in 1989, costing taxpayers $3.4 billion.

McCain was cleared of wrongdoing in 1991 but the Senate Ethics Committee rebuked him for poor judgment.

On July 25, 2017, McCain delivered a Senate floor speech not long after his cancer diagnosis that was widely seen as his farewell address. It called on fellow Republicans to stand up to Trump and for all lawmakers to work together to keep America as a “beacon of liberty” in the world.

Slideshow (18 Images)

Reporting by Will Dunham; Additional reporting by Jason Lange, Maria Caspani, Paul Grant, Richard Cowan, Patricia Zengerle, Bill Trott, John Walcott, Rich McKay, Thomas Escritt in Berlin, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and David Schwartz in Phoenix; Editing by Diane Craft, G Crosse, Lisa Shumaker and Peter Cooney

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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newsintodays-blog · 6 years ago

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John McCain, war hero and 'maverick' Republican, is dead at 81

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/08/27/john-mccain-war-hero-and-maverick-republican-is-dead-at-81/