WORLD NEWS - U.K POLITICS - SATIRE
easy politics for everyone
WHAT IS THE MUTATIO CONTERVERSIAE? The Controversial Change
This publication is based on one simple thing, educating and engaging the youth in politics, through various sources of information so the choice of what to believe is right and wrong, is your’s. The magazine will cover a wide range of politics and news from times that don’t matter to us anymore, to war’s that are happening now that could affect us. Maybe it’s been a fair few years since World War 2 and everyone in this country was forced to know about what is going on, in the world around us. Now we live in ‘peace’ from mass war, the future is always uncertain, and unpredictable. So the more information you know about British politics and world news can only make us more aware of what is happening and going to be happening. When a dramatic new policy in Parliament is brought to power, most of the youth in the UK won’t witness this change, won’t bother with this change, and won’t act on this change. This is where informing the public of every source around one story will help you decide who to believe and trust. The Controversial Change is coming, it always happens, it’s just some of us don’t know it yet, when we do, we can make a controversial change that’s better.
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Designer, Cartoonist, Journalist, Editor - Michael Ball Historian - Joe Cresswell Calligrapher, (Logo) - Amedeo Spagnolo Journalist’s - Hemi Cordell, Hannah Nicklin
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LEFT WING? RIGHT WING? WHAT? The “wings” represent political parties, groups etc on what their policies are. This is only for British government, but the same applies in every government in the world, it’s meaning is so that we can easily understand where a party/group stand within the rest of the political parties competing for control. The middle is not how you would imagine, freedom, paradise, although you would think, but they’re is no real fine line between left and right. There is only left and right.
Liberal Democrats lead by Nick Clegg
Labour Party lead by Ed Milliband
The ‘Lib-Dems’ have mixed policies, some right wing, and some left wing, These are one of the 3 major parties currently in the UK, and due to the new coallision government these guys are in control.
The ‘Cons’ are the party currently in power along with the Lib Dems, but this party won most of the last election. The parties main ideolgy is basically get the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. The rich, wealthy area’s in your town/city are 99% going to be voting for the Cons.
NAZISM
Neo Nazi and also groups like EDL (English Defence League, which was recently abandoned by leader Tommy Robinson) have members who are Neo-nazi’s. Adolf Hitler types.
Conservative Party lead by David Cameron The ‘Cons’ are the party currently in power along with the Lib Dems, but this party won most of the last election. The parties main ideolgy is basically get the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. The rich, wealthy area’s in your town/city are 99% going to be voting for the Cons.
LEFT WING
RIGHT WING BNP leader - Nick Griffin, looking as good as ever...
COMMUNISM
Far Lefties are communist groups, anarchist’s etc who believe equality, no wealth or power to be given to the few, but to be shared amongst the mass. This sounds very well and good, but it also focus’s on war-like actions and anarchy. This is the another side of extremism.
British National Party lead by Nick Griffin Green Party (of England and Wales) lead by Natalie Bennett The Green Party is the largest of the Green Party’s in the UK, and was formally known as the Ecology Party up until 1985. They believe in making laws that protect women, ethnic minorities, and gay people against discrimination. They also typically believe country-wide tax-funded action on climate change is necessary.
The British National Party (BNP) are very right wing in their Nationalist policies, such as, they want to end immigration and kick out muslim’s and other religions that aren’t Christianity, Catholicism. If this happened, civil war would be here in a flash. These type of parties don’t have much support and the supporters tend to be traditional white british familys and they’re protest’s typically end up in violence.
Save Bradford Youth Service In November 2013 Bradford Council announced its proposed budget for 2014-17. This included a proposal to reduce the Youth Service budget by 79%, decimating the service to only statutory levels, in a city that will become the youngest in Europe by 2020. Between the announcement of the consultation on this and the final decision being made in February, Bradford College led a campaign coalition that successfully saved over £2m of the Youth Service’s budget, reducing the cut to 29%, in line with other services in the authority. In the course of the campaign we: • Hosted question and answer sessions with the leader of the council and local MPs engaging over a hundred students at each event • Engaged over 4,000 people through a social media campaign, including Dynamo, who had been supported by the youth service when growing up in Bradford • Organised two demos outside of full council meetings, each with around 1000 people attending, showcasing the talents of young people in Bradford that had been supported by the Youth Service • Coordinated a mass lobby of councillors at local surgeries with young people and their families telling their stories about how the youth service had helped them • Printed and delivered 1,000 Christmas cards to the leader of the Council, with the message, ‘all I want for Christmas is my Youth Service because…’ • Coordinated a campaign to complete budget consultation documents, over 4,000 consultations were completed by supporters • Generated a large amount of media coverage in both print and broadcast media. This campaign engaged thousands of people across the city over the course of 4-5 months and encompassed a multitude of actions. Below we have tried to sum up the course of the campaign, together with the attached media coverage we hope that it provides a picture of what we achieved. Two days after we found out about the proposed cuts we mobilised 50+ students to attend the council meeting. We arrived with placards, banners and t-shirts, encouraging students to join us on our way. We were met outside City Hall by young people, youth workers and local press. We were initially denied access to the building despite it being a public meeting, and after trying to gain access for 10 minutes, with the meeting having already begun,, we were told to wait for a further 5 minutes. After waiting we decided to enter the meeting; getting into the debating chamber and refusing to move. We were allowed 5 minutes to speak in which we stated the case to save the youth service. During this, one of the students told a deeply moving a personal story about the impact of the youth service on him. Immediately after this the Union President was invited to a trade union meeting by youth workers. We spent hours discussing ideas and came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to let young people lead the fight, with youth workers supporting behind the scenes. That night a group of young people started a Facebook
page, “save Bradford youth service”, and by the next morning it had 900 members, reaching over 4000 by the end of the campaign. We advertised a campaign strategy meeting and the group became called “the friends of Bradford youth service”, composing of youth workers, students, young people, local activists and trade unionists. We decided that we would tour the youth centres across the city doing campaigning sessions helping young people come up with their own ideas. We agreed to hold a demonstration outside City Hall on the same day as the next council meeting in December. Young people and parents attended every council surgery and organised Q&A sessions with their councillors at youth clubs. We distributed posters and flyers for the demo to 11 schools, youth centres, shops, public transport hubs, mosques, churches… basically anywhere there were young people.Young people across the city held fund raisers, raising over £600 for placard materials, paints, t-shirts and banners. We got a picture of the magician Dynamo holding a board saying how Bradord youth service helped him gaining the attention of the local press. He continually tweeted and promoted the demo. The University of Bradford Union also supported us in offering support, funding, promotion and engaging hundreds of students in different ways. 1,000 people attended the event,it included speakers and 20 different performances from young people that had been supported by the service. While all this was going on, we filled the City Hall with young people and parents where we addressed the Council. Councillors from all the parties began to break ranks and defend the youth service and describe their experiences. The demo was covered by 6 radio stations, 10 local & regional newspapers and local TV. The demo made a massive statement, shook the council, and helped promote and engage more people. Ultimately it left people believing that we could win. In the lead up to Christmas produced 1,000 cards saying “all I want for Christmas if my youth service”. People stated inside what the youth service meant to them and we delivered them to the Leader of the Council. We got 563 people to fill in the online public consultation forms and just over 4,000 paper copies. Over 6 weeks we collected over 300 pictures of people holding up a3 pieces of paper stating why the youth service should be saved and what it had done for them. Over 100 came from students and student union officers from across the UK. We then choose the 91 most powerful messages and in the January full council meeting we put a different picture of someone holding their message on each seat. In February the Council agreed it’s budget, saving the majority of the service for the future of Bradford. From nothing we had created the biggest campaign the city had seen in years and we have been told that we have secured the future of the service for years to come. Written by Piers Telemacque, Vice President for Society and Citizenship for the National Union of Students
UK NEWS
STUDENT POLITICS... The NUS play a huge role in what goes on with the Youth and Education within the country, they’re influence in the Houses of Parliament is very powerful, and over year’s, there has been non-violent and violent protest’s against Course Fee’s and many other issues. The people who run for positions in the leadership can only be students, much like the Trade Unions they have stated they’re presence amongst British Politics. The recent elections in the NUS have seen some new faces, all of the speeches from the election can be seen on www.NUS.org.uk One of winners Piers Telemacque, a local Bradfordian who hasn’t had much education, but thanks to the NUS he’s made so much out of being an activist for his local community, and now he’s the Society and Citizenship President, i’m sure only good things are going to come, he promises to get youth clubs back up and running and more than ever be created around the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1339DyJWcvI&sns=fb
Piers Telemacque ending his enthusiastic rap apparoach to a speech at the NUS conference 2014.
UK NEWS
SAVE THE BRADFORD YOUTH SERVICE
United Kingdom, however we must look at this small island of rich history and culture, we must look at it with an open mind, we must learn about the people who once lived here, fought, invaded, immigrated and currently live here. We must think about the strength of this might European fortress and how not just Western society, but cultures and societies all over the world have mixed here to form the Modern civilization we are today. There is certain things we all learn as part of the National Curriculum; Ancient Rome and Greece, Henry the VIII and the tudors, but these are just some of the big stories history has to tell us. There is history on everything from Ancient techniques on war, to modern day corrupt media. We can learn a lot about ourselves from the history around us.
‘GREAT’ BRITISH JOURNALISM
The Great British public’s attraction with scaremongering journalism is at an all time high, with the Daily Mail newspaper and its online counterpart wielding huge influence amongst a wide Middle-England readership. Many of their articles focus the ways in which vices such as alcohol and drugs destroy our society; yet whilst this seems a fairly recent phenomenon, its roots are evident in the advent of “slum journalism” in the late 19th century! Similarly to the modern day, “muck raking” journalism preyed on the fears of society by depicting crumbling values across the country. Serialised in newspapers such as the Morning Chronicle, the stories were often read on the way to and from work, and so earned the nickname “train-station literature”. Henry Mayhew’s work “London Labour and the London Poor” was one groundbreaking piece, depicting in thorough detail the lives of many of the poorest people in the capital. One article; “Of the Filth, Dishonesty and Immorality of Low Lodging-Houses”, sees Mayhew discuss the problem of conditions in London’s numerous lodging-homes for homeless men. He described them as devoid of “cleanliness, comfort and decency” and First impressions suggest homes are filled entirely with “coarse men and boys” speaking “gross language”. Most often, the articles focus on the effects of alcohol, amongst the homes Mayhew finds a man “who had a filled job of no little importance”.
It seems alcohol was responsible for this man’s downfall, stories like these no doubt served to frighten the middle-class readers of the Morning Chronicle! Alcohol and sexual activity are repeatedly focussed upon; and whilst the articles focus on the causes of the poverty facing working classes. This could certainly be considered an appeal to the higher classes reading these reports by creating an image of an underworld London class which shares features with their own society. Several articles focus on the underdeveloped nature of “half beggar-half thief wanderers”. Mayhew and other journalists had the belief that settlement and education were essential to human development and civilisation. However, like in modern publications, they don’t often offer solutions. Their theme is to suggest that issues such as “utter want of religion” could be solved by religious or educational reform, yet they never put forth any ideas as to how to change it. The articles suggest distrust for the street-folk they describe, who often remain voiceless; once again this mirrors much modern day journalism. Articles are content to focus on the “habitual violations of all the injunctions of law” in these societies who are presented as a threat to good society’s stability. Sympathy appears reserved for men “once well off, who have sunk into the very depths of poverty”, hardly offering suggestions for reform but rather on how to avoid finding yourself in the same position. Clearly the British appetite for voyeurism of other people’s problems is a long established one.
UK NEWS
TWO GOVERNMENTS ARE RULING THE UK? HUH? The current government we have is called a ‘coalition government’ because it is made up two political parties. After the end of the last election no party had a large enough majority of MPs to form a government that would work, this either meant that they had to run the election all over again, or some people had to decide to work together.
There was a ‘coalition agreement’ where the Lib Dems were able to get the Conservatives to take on a few of their policies, and to pick issues which they didn’t want to vote with the Conservatives on, so they get something out of it, too. Written by Hannah Nicklin (2010, Idontgetpolitics.co.uk/pagename)
The Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) - the third biggest party in numbers of MPs, and the party in the middle of the biggest two (Labour and Conservative) in terms of their beliefs - went into talks with both in order to decide if they wanted to make a deal with either. In the end they decided they would support the Conservative MPs - this means that on important issues the Conservatives could count on the Lib Dems’ votes and parliament could function (pass bills and policies).
THE PLUMB-PUDDING IN DANGER!
Written by Joe Cresswell
William Pitt and Napoleon, both in uniform, face each other at a dinner table, with the globe steaming like a plum pudding in the center of the table. Pitt is shown slicing off the oceans for Britain, while Napoleon takes a large chunk of Europe. The quote references a passage in The Tempest (Act IV, Scene I). It is attributed to William Windham and the Political Register, which is merely part of Gillray’s satire. Windham was critical of Pitt’s handling of the war with France, but he did not publish this quote in the Register.
UK NEWS
HISTORY 101
WORLD NEWS
‘Radical’ groups and gangs, even individuals have always been apart of the world, in many forms and many different reasons. These people will use many different ways to show thier presence and power amongst the world. Weather it’s killing innocent people, or holding protests... these people are here to stay, and we need to be aware of who they are and what they do.
THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH This church was created by one radical thinker called Fred Phelps, who over the years, has brainwashed people, some are so young they don’t know what it is they’re doing, into believing that ‘God Hates Fags’ and everyone else it seems. Even a journalist who went to investigate the church got brainwashed and is now living amongst the rest of the followers in thier compound in Kansas, USA. Westboro Baptist Church hold protest’s at military funeral’s and frankly, just in the middle of the highway’s and town’s to spread thier word around. As you can already guess, the public wouldn’t take kindly to this, as some passerbys would be hurling verbal abuse at them, and confronting them about the Bible. Some of even Fred’s own family have left the church, a guilty conscience and reality of thier beliefs hit them and they decided against they’re grandfather and creator’s old fashioned beliefs. Fred Phelps recently passed away, but the church is still going strong, now it’s been taken over by Fred’s daughter. Written by Michael Ball
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RADICALS
WORLD NEWS
USA can’t control them. This could turn ugly, a civil war, even worse, so even with Oleksandr out of the picture, chaos is still going on.
Oleksandr Muzychko
How do we all imagine a modern day ‘Robin Hood’ figure? Oleksandr Muzychko a Ukrainian UltraNationalist, also a Neo-Nazi, is apparently a Robin Hood figure to certain people around the Ukraine, much like how our EDL (English Defence League) or BNP (British National Party) would be if we went into civil war. But let’s look at some fact’s about this guy, he hates Russia’s, most of his life he’s spent fighting them, in several wars. He recently was on an International wanted list, by Russian Government, he was on this list for kidnapped and killed 20 Russian soldiers. He also was at the front line of the riot’s and protest’s that were happening in Kiev, the Ukrainian Capital, with his party Right Sector. Anyway, this bloke Oleksandr Muzychko, who also goes under other names such as “Sasha the White” and “Sashko Bilyi” has recently died. When he died, it was during a raid, he was at first, shot down during the raid, but later articles worldwide are saying that he shot himself in the heart. There’s two views on how the world are seeing this person, the USA are seeing him as a Robin Hood figure, as the Russian sites are rejoicing from the death of a criminal. A leak had been posted not long after his death that explained that the Americans (USA) were helping this Nazi because he hated russian’s so much, and he was an ingredient to spice up a war in Ukraine. CNN (USA) “He was a national hero. He’s an inspiration for millions of Ukrainian people, especially young people. He’s a local Robin Hood,” Bilyus said Muzychko, 52, reveled
Oleksandr Muzychko who liked to show off his AK-47 in parliament, much like how Osama Bin Ladan brandished his AK-47 in video’s for a war not to long ago, that we all know the american’s played a big part in. This brut is dead or alive, but the power he had in Ukraine still stands. So what is to become of Ukraine now...
in his tough guy image. His Facebook page is plastered with images of him, crop-haired in combat fatigues giving a raised-arm, clenched fist salute. Others show him relaxing in his favorite Oakland Raiders cap and jacket. This is the american’s trying to show to their readers that this guy was a national hero to the Ukrainian people, and he liked to wear his Oakland Raiders jacket, to make the readers of CNN know that he is a fan of American culture. The American news channels are the only ones in the WORLD to proclaim this man a Hero. This is a long written article, not many picture’s of him being a ‘Robin Hood’ figure and not much evidence to show for it, as on the other hand, and other side of the world, Russia Today (RT) posted a wild article, more images and laid out in more of a timeline of Muzychko’s crimes, towards the Russians, HUGE text so this comes across as more of a statement than an article. Russia Today (Russian) Notorious ultra-nationalist leader Aleksandr Muzychko has been shot dead by Ukrainian special forces after going on the rampage amid Ukraine’s current turmoil. Muzychko’s death followed many years of unpunished militant activity in neo-Nazi organizations. BUT ALTHOUGH THE THUGGISH FIGURE IN MILITARY FATIGUES DID HAVE A HISTORY OF “RESURRECTIONS” TO ESCAPE THE RULE OF LAW, IT APPEARS THIS TIME THAT MUZYCHKO/SASHKO BILYI IS GONE FOR GOOD.
Written by Michael Ball Sources: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/26/world/europe/ukraine-rightwing/ http://rt.com/news/ukrainian-nationalist-muzychko-antics-093/ http://scgnews.com/the-ukraine-crisis-what-youre-not-beingtold
HIS LEGACY MAY BE DIVIDING AN ALREADY POLARIZED COUNTRY, EVEN IN DEATH. Russian’s really didn’t like this guy, they posted several video’s and images of Oleksandr dead, but they wasn’t going to believe it until an official report had been delivered from the capital. One of the images posted, was a Tweet by someone at the scene who was clearly stating it is him. Since his death had been announced, he has a history of faking death’s and ‘resurrecting’ just to hide from the Law, baring in mind he played a huge part in the 2014 revolution in Ukraine but corruption is all over the country at the moment and it’s on the verge of another Cold War. So his death hasn’t 100% been announced as to date. But leaks about his career and recent work in Ukraine has revealed much information for many outside the Ukraine wanting to know more. SGC News (Online Leak)The mainstream media tried to draw your attention away from the important part of this conversation by focusing on the fact that she used a cuss word when referring to the E.U. The U.S. government thought they could control this beast. But they were wrong. Svoboda and the Right Sektor are not toys to be played with. These groups are armed, they’re forceful, and they view this crisis as an opportunity to reshape Ukraine in their own image. So it’s ok to use known Neo-Nazi groups to topple a government as long as their leaders keep their people from saying anything stupid in front of cameras for a few months? The reality of the matter is that as ridiculous as this assertion makes Washington look, they are trapped. They can’t deny that Svoboda and the Right Sektor are running the coalition government when Svoboda holds five senior posts including the deputy prime minister position and the Right Sektor’s Dmytro Yarosh is now the country’s Deputy Secretary of National Security.
Oleksandr Muzychko posing with a dagger in Chechnya.
SGC News covers the whole government and the situation at the moment, the bit here about Right Sektor becoming in control of a coalition government with Svoboda and connections with the USA but now the
WORLD NEWS
HERO OR MENACE?
On Friday 4th of April I travelled towards Trafalgar Square to find one of the many protests to be held in Central London. The protest I was hunting down was called “Wave of Action” (https://waveofaction.org) who were running a worldwide protest in most countries. I arrived at Trafalgar square around 3pm expecting more than enough people to have gathered to support the protest, I could only see buskers and small charities among a vast crowd of tourists. I got in contact with the protest via Facebook and I met up with them shortly after outside the entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Around 50 of them, maybe less had shown up to protest. A police car and van was already sat in front of them waiting for anything to spark. The protesters sat around in a circle and sang a few songs, the gave sheets of information to the local businesses and people passing by, so I set on searching the surrounding area to see what the police were doing. A street away I found another 4 police vans waiting about, already I could realise how many more police than protesters there was. After an hour or even less of them been in a circle, I returned to find out the police had gone over to complain, there was confusion everywhere, protesters and police arguing amongst one another. One of the women from the protest ran to get a what looked like a member of security for the Cathedral. Two minutes after, he stormed off from the protesters, I managed to catch him and asked him why they are being moved his response was “These… these crazy people!”. That wasn’t what I was expecting, at all. The protest moved, walking down the Strand, back towards trafalgar square. Walking down the street following the protesters, some stopped off at a local off-license to stock up on booze, which I didn’t think was a responsible way of protesting, especially seen as they just got escorted away from an area. It seemed a few of the protesters were drinking. Minutes later, further down the street, a woman who had been in the protest, and had been drinking, was holding up a zebra crossing, showing the posters and banners they had with them. Some protesters were ahead of the others and turned back to utter confusion as to why they had stopped in such a random place. I got talking to one Liverpudlian protester who just returned to zebra crossing, he told me that the reason they moved from St. Paul’s is because they were noise complaints and that he wasn’t happy with the turn out of the protest, he expected more people like the previous ones.You could hear the atmosphere of the cities streets over the circle, they was no need for the protesters to move, it simple was a peaceful protest then… Until this.
One women who even the protesters were trying to hold back carried on, ignoring some of the bystanders who were wanting to cross, most of the people stood watching talking amongst each other as to why so many police were needed, 4 police vans that had followed helped blocking the street, and 4 officers stood either side of the crossing and a handful of them in the centre dictating people when to cross and traffic to go through. People were amazed at the amount of officers stood around not doing much, holding back one drunk woman. People didn’t know weather to laugh or moan, at either the protest or police. One officer got a tad wound up when he dragged the women to the wall I was standing against, pushing her against it with his finger pointing in her face like an old school teacher telling off a kinder garden child, he warned her if she carried on, she would be arrested, yet. She was just walking back and forth on a zebra crossing, dancing and crawling at times.The hold up or occupation of this crossing made more people stand and stare at them, maybe more people were thinking “what a bunch of arse-holes, holding up the crossing” whilst other’s thought, “to many police, to little protesters”. I was lost, confused, I didn’t know why they had stopped at the crossing to hold it up. I did think the amount of police was madness, but I also thought the amount of drunks in this protest was madness. Days before the Wave of Action Facebook page warned people attending that they would be people trying to give the protest a bad name, maybe I was watching these people they were talking about, or maybe I showed up to the wrong protest and back at trafalgar square it would be booming of protesters. The protest returned to Trafalgar Square, after a long confusing afternoon, and they settled on the stairs, the police, surrounding the square in vans, and almost guarding the protesters from… nothing. I left shortly after, but this was one confusing, frustrating and eye-opening day, I am still getting my head around the police. Maybe the government plan to smother these protests in police because they want the public to think they are a bunch of crazy people, maybe they think it could end up like the recent student protest were the police hadn’t much control. Or maybe they were scared of the drunks within the protest kicking off at the public, which I highly doubted. The way I look at the events that happened during this day – the police knew about this, didn’t want this, and tried to disband them as fast as possible. But if we live under these rules, then how do we live in democracy?
WORLD NEWS
Where the fuck has our freedom of speech gone? Freedom of protest. All of these words seemed to vanish away letter by letter as I saw more and more police and less protesters. After the protest, on Facebook an anonymous representative from Wave of Action said on behalf of the protest “The individuals that were involved in the excessive drinking are not affiliated with the true spirit of wave. Protesters must sometimes make personal sacrifices for the cause, whatever that might be, to protect the good of the majority.When people act in the ways that they did, they remove the individuals human right to free protest and association, due to the fact they cannot control how they are viewed by the majority of the public, who will see the minority alone. a great shame”. I couldn’t agree more with him, but it’s how this can change in the future that I believe is a greater challenge not just for this protest, but maybe for Wave of Action around the world. Written by Michael Ball
Police bring drunk protester to side of the street whilst many other officers block the zebra crossing.
WORLD NEWS
PROTESTING IN LONDON WITH WAVE OF ACTION
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WORLD NEWS
THE UNHEARD VOICE The nature of this article is graphic. It is a unique insight into the everyday struggles that are thrust upon the occupied Palestinians and it goes some way to reveal the disturbing nature of Israel’s determination to achieve their goal – or their ‘God-given right’ – and stamp out any last remaining non-Jewish, non-Israeli influences from ‘their’ land. This is a real story however the names and places have been deliberately changed in order to protect the wellbeing of the individual this article discusses. Contact was made through secure communication invisible to ‘Big Brother’; Israeli surveillance. As of yet, there have been no repercussions. “Let us not get lost here. I was kidnapped, simple. That night – the event - is history,but I am the living reminder.” There is still anger in Barakat Asra. He lives with the constant memory of the night he was ‘kidnapped’ and has lived with it for 9 years. Barakat talks in a rough Arab accent, well spoken but his English is broken. He sits smiling warmly, beer in hand and a cigarette rests gently between his hidden lips – a moustache that could win competitions covers his mouth and his eyebrows are just as thick. In an effort to describe his appearance, he resembles – without any hesitation – an Arab Super Mario. A man that you would want to win and succeed in life, his charm and grace seems undamaged from the reason we are talking today. He looks beaten though – a Mario who has lost one too many to Luigi. In the face of oppression, Barakat has been defeated, his courage and determination has all but diminished. Barakat now lives a timid, fleetingly conscious existence as a florist - and an alcoholic - in Ramallah,Palestine. Barakat Aziz Asra was born in Wadi al-Joz (Valley of the Walnuts) - an Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem - in 1960. He was born into a middle class family; his parents Ayda and Badr Asra were teachers in Jaffa before the Israeli invasion of 1948. They subsequently became refuges and were evicted to Wadi al-Joz where they found work and lived until they passed away. Barakat quickly becomes uncomfortable when talking about his parents. He later explains his memory of them is masked with his sense of failure – the story of the Palestinian refugee is revered, and those who became refugees are seen as martyrs, the most affected by the occupying force. Barakat says he is ashamed about many things. His alcoholism is a consequence of the night he was abducted, or so he says. This is arguable of course; some say it’s just an excuse but either way it happened and when evaluated, it shows definitive signs of a man who has bowed his head in pressure, or oppression. The comparison between his parents’ struggle and his is unbearable for him to discuss.
Barakat sighs and gulps down the remainder of his beer, pardoning himself for a minute. It’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon in Ramallah and it’s visibly hot – his beer visibly cold. He returns soon enough with a replacement beer and sits down.They stopped and pulled him out of the jeep, and he landed heavily on his front – this, he found out from the doctor later, had nearly broken his wrists. His hands were handcuffed in front of him.
My mind went wild. They were probably just sitting there, looking out the window or reading.” They stopped and pulled him out of the jeep, and he landed heavily on his front – this, he found out from the doctor later, had nearly broken his wrists. His hands were handcuffed in front of him. He surfaced and stood up – Barakat is a proud man and ‘decided he would die on his own two feet’.
Barakat had worked a long shift the night he was kidnapped. He will not say where or for whom he worked – the risk of repercussions is all too real for him. The journey he took everyday to and from work was normal. “There was no indication then or anytime before that I would be in trouble” he says. He passed the first two checkpoints with ease – he had what he calls a ‘friendly relationship’ with the soldiers. A relationship based on hostility, anger and authority but he didn’t get much stick from the soldiers.
A well-spoken Israeli soldier asked, in English, what his name was – a test Barakat says. “If you are low-class, you don’t speak English. Only the middle and upper classes speak fluent English in Palestine. I suspect he was seeing if I was suitable.” Gently the soldier removed the sack from his head and under instructions, another one cleaned his face with anti-septic wipes. This parade of what he deemed ‘fake hospitality’ angered him enough to speak out against his captors.“I told them the wipes hurt more than what they could ever do to me.”
Barakat approached the third checkpoint. It was gone 9pm by then - suspicious in the eyes of the Israeli checkpoint guards who, so oblivious and unattached from reality, would regard a flock of Palestinian sheep as suspicious. After some time he was told to park on the side of the checkpoint, turn off his car and stay seated. “Roll down your window and put your hands on your head.” “I knew I wasn’t going to be home for dinner”.
Barakat had nothing to offer in the way of information the Israeli’s may have found useful, nor was he affiliated with a political party and nor was he an outspoken critic of Israel. Barakat was however a respectable man with a good job and was considered middle class. Fellow Palestinians would have no reason to suspect Barakat as an informer. He wouldn’t have much to gain nor want financially - he was well off compared to most. “They interrogated me for an hour, maybe less. They spoke politely at first. They knew everything about me already; I knew it and they knew it.”
Barakat was pulled out of his car and a black cotton sack was placed over his head and fastened with rope around his neck. His hands were handcuffed. He was in a state of panic and shock and his desperate pleas for mercy wouldn’t dare escape his mouth; he was too scared to speak. As the soldiers discussed their next plan of action, Barakat was pushed to the floor and beaten. “They were waiting for instructions, so they beat me. There was no need, they just had nothing else to do,” he says. He was powerless, like his parents were powerless in 1948 and like so many Palestinians before him – he had nowhere to go. He was bundled into the back of an army van; long bench seats lined the sides. He was sitting in between two soldiers and there were two or three on the opposite bench but he couldn’t tell. He had been beaten badly. They drove in agonising silence for hours. “If they wanted to scare me, they did.There is uncertainty in silence. If they talked, even if they were shouting at me, it would have calmed me down. I couldn’t see what they were doing and there was no noise,’ he describes. ‘I imagined them to be plotting how they would kill me with complicated diagrams and surgical machinery.
Barakat Aziz Asra refused the offer from the Israeli army and he says so with confidence. It was a brave thing to do as he is perhaps aware and he knew he wasn’t about to be let off with a handshake and an apology. The spontaneity of the situation is also of importance for Barakat. There was constant deliberation between soldiers of higher and lower ranks Barakat mentions, leading him to believe it was a spur of the moment decision to attempt to recruit him as an informer. If Barakat was under surveillance, or if he had been marked for recruitment, they wouldn’t have let him go. The soldiers bundled Barakat into the back of the jeep as they did before, but this time they were angry, and they were loud. He was pushed, whilst seated on the side bench, against the inside of the jeep – his head resting next to a square hole from where soldiers can shoot. A machine gun was placed on his right shoulder looking out the square hole and whilst three soldiers beat his lower body, the machine gun was fired, constantly. This happened – with or without the beatings –whilst driving on the outskirts of Palestinian villages Barakat says. They had left the cotton sack off his head this time, the pool of blood from his ear – the ear next to the machine gun fire - and his previous wounds had formed a puddle around the soldiers’ boots.He was interrogated further and asked whether he would reconsider but Barakat had nothing left..“I pleaded no more.
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I spoke no more. I looked at them and I saw my family – I looked at them and saw only love. I was not scared; I had accepted death.”Again, there was deliberation.What should they do with him? Why wasn’t he giving in? Does he have secrets he is hiding? Despite their astonishment at Barakat’s resilience and questions they had because of it, they let him go. Barakat was thrown out of the jeep, naked, in the middle of the night. As the Israeli soldiers drove off, they fired their guns from the jeep, attracting the attention of the nearby Palestinian villagers. The sight of would-be allies must have been a comforting thought for Barakat. Surely fellow Palestinians would help him in his time of need.
PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation) faces is political – the battle ordinary people face is inhumane.
Again, there was deliberation. What should they do with him? Why wasn’t he giving in? Does he have secrets he is hiding? Despite their astonishment at Barakat’s resilience and questions they had because of it, they let him go. Barakat was thrown out of the jeep, naked, in the middle of the night. As the Israeli soldiers drove off, they fired their guns from the jeep, attracting the attention of the nearby Palestinian villagers. The sight of would-be allies must have been a comforting thought for Barakat. Surely fellow Palestinians would help him in his time of need. The encroaching group of Palestinians were suspicious however of Barakat’s reason for being there. They questioned his resilience in the face of such abuse and asked why he was released after he had refused to conform – surely the Israeli’s would have killed him? “This hurt more. It is ridiculous to think that we would fight amongst ourselves in the face of such an opposition. They left me to die.” There was seemingly no hope for Barakat. The villagers dismissed him – they didn’t want to help him for fear of reprisals nor did they want to kill him, for he still could be innocent. They pointed him in the direction of Ramallah and Barakat started walking, alone and naked, miles away from home. It was hours before there was any sign of life – the curfew set by Israeli restricts most movement by Palestinians in after 6pm. In the way off distance behind him he saw headlights. “A Palestinian taxi driver, a kind man with a gentle heart. He gave me some clothes and water then drove me home free of charge. I still meet him for coffee. I was home at 5am.”
Written by Hemi Cordell
www.savethechildren.org
Republican Elephant and Democratic Donkey doing what they do best.
Contextualising a conflict with such religious and cultural importance is difficult. It is reliant upon listening to both sides and your opinion will be swayed by what angle you focus on. Psychological trauma is becoming common amongst Palestinians. You can’t exterminate the physical nature of a people – to ethnically cleanse you must defeat the souls and willpower of your enemy and this is the battle the Palestinians face. The battle the
“What many people may not understand is that it is our only goal. We will never give up hope of one day returning to our land. For Israel, their battles have been won and they are becoming content. Our battle has just begun. Let me be clear on this: analyse history, analyse Britain through history – they have always been the aggressors and they have always had to concede. The oppressed will always revolt and demand right and equality and if it is not done politically, it will be done in other means. This is not our fight, this is our legacy.”
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Recently the world famous Spanish football club FC Barcelona, were caught having illegal non-spanish footballers playing for them in competitions. So now we seem to be hammering down on corruption in football, a bit. Here’s what FIFA had to say about it... FIFA Website The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) and Spanish club FC Barcelona for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18. The sanctions follow investigations initially conducted by FIFA Transfer Matching System GmbH (FIFA TMS) over the course of last year and subsequently by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee as part of disciplinary proceedings. The RFEF and FC Barcelona were found to have violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of nonSpanish minors with the club, as well as other relevant regulations with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in national competitions. The investigations concerned several minor players who were registered and participated in competitions with the club over various periods between 2009 and 2013. But they could have been doing this for years, look at the talent that has come from Barcelona’s academy, they’re B team is a league below the actual squad. Just like Real Madrid, also big English clubs have great academies like Manchester United and Everton, greating players like Wayne Rooney. Now this has happened to Barcelona that’s hope it continues but worldwide, because if the best teams get the best players, where is the sport? We already know who wins. Written by Michael Ball Sources: h t t p : / / w w w. f i f a . c o m / a b o u t f i f a / o r g a n i s a t i o n / n e w s / newsid=2313003/
“WE RUN WITH THE BULLS... BUT, WE’RE NOT ALRIGHT.” Years ago the Bradford Bulls Rugby League Club were booming, they had huge crowds and a crowded trophy cabinet. So where has it all gone? Well over the past 2-3 years the club has been diminishing bit by bit, players, money, the stadium you name it.There was a point when players weren’t getting paid in 2012, and the decision by the Super League to deduct many points from us before the 2014 season even kicked off. So this team are being pushed down by the very people who should be protecting them, the league. The current unsuccessful season Manchester United are having in the F.A compares to nothing with what has happened here. The board who ran the club begged the fan’s for financial support, some people giving their whole wages so the club wouldn’t go into administration. Then that money wasn’t enough, and more board members left. The club now has a new owner, local businessman Omar Khan and local South Bradford MP Gerry Sutcliffe, who have ran the club into administration, yet again! The club is appealing against the league’s decision to start with -6 points. But after a few games into the season and Bradford are bottom with an embarrassing -2 points and their recent loss against Lancashire rivals Wigan Warriors 84-6 is making the future look very dull. Written by Michael Ball
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FC BARCELONA GET IN TROUBLE.
So if your a footballer or football fan you will have probably heard about the FIFA World Cup 2022 to be in Qatar, an Arab Emirate, country-state who don’t have much football history. The situation is quite messy, they’re is rumour’s of the heat being to much for the players, and the timing of the world cup would change and run when the clubs are playing. This would cause outrage to the football fan’s across the world, especially those in Europe. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became such a progressive city and is now one of the major modern and biggest tourist attraction cities in the world. Dubai is also quite keen in horse-racing and now host huge event’s at enormous stadiums, such as the Dubai World Cup which has been running since 1996, so not that long at all. Since 2010 it has also been the named the world’s richest horse race, even beating the Grand National. But Rio De Janeiro has been giving sign’s that it isn’t ready for the World Cup this year, the country was rioting not long ago due to the government’s decision to spend money on big stadium’s rather than all the slum’s and poverty in around the country. Russia already showed bad results of taking care of Olympians during the Sochi Winter Olympics this year, and even got chance to show off their anti-homosexual side. So what will Qatar be like, what can we expect, what has happened so far.
Banning journalist’s from looking at the building site isn’t very good publicity itself, no wonder we don’t hear much about the World Cup in Qatar, there isn’t allowed to be any knowing of it.To know this modern day slavery is going on there is horrific and should be investigated more. Bloombury News (USA) The Middle Eastern state of 2 million people faces delays and escalating costs related to the event. Work started later than planned on the metro system, and the opening of the new airport is six years behind schedule. “As is the case with any FIFA World Cup, once a country is chosen as host, a review of the bid plans is made with the organizers to propose the final host cities and stadia projects, which then need to be approved by the FIFA Executive Committee,” Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in an e-mailed statement today. “The requirement is a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 stadia.” This is another leak about the stadium’s being cut down to 8 stadium’s instead of the original 12. But struggling to build 8 stadium’s and doing so by what seem’s to be slavery is not good, there has to be a radical change in the set up, everything that is going on to do with the sport. And now they want to change the date, this is from Sky News:
The Guardian (UK) The Times of India last October reported the case of four Indian workers who were killed while cleaning manholes in Doha. They joined a grim tally that has now reached 717 Indians alone since the World Cup was awarded to Qatar in December 2010. Yet while we now know how many Indians, who make up around a fifth of the Qatari workforce, have died, we don’t know who they were, or how.
Sky News (UK) Speaking to French radio, Valcke ruled out holding the controversial tournament in the heat of the Gulf state’s summer, when temperatures can reach 50C, saying a date between November and January 2023 would be more appropriate. “The dates for the World Cup will not be June to July,” Valcke, the second most powerful man in international football’s governing body, told Radio France.
This is the most recent rumour been investigated, this is 3rd world labour, much like you hear about the chinese workshops creating many products we use, but this is for the world cup, the world’s media is and will be watching Qatar until the World Cup is out of their way.
So how bad do you really think it will be? FIFA don’t seem to comment much on this on their website, probably for bad publicity reason’s.
France 24 (France) Our report begins with a shocking image: the coffins that arrive every day at Kathmandu airport. Inside are the bodies of Nepalese labourers who went to work in the Gulf States. In 2013, 173 Nepalese workers died in Qatar of accidents, suicides and mysterious heart attacks, according to the Nepalese government. Several journalists reporting on the Nepalese workers have been arrested and expelled from the emirate, which will host the 2022 World Cup and does not want any bad publicity.
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FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 QATAR
Written By Michael Ball Sources: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/18/doha-forcedbreak-silence-qatar-migrant-worker-deaths http://www.france24.com/en/20140328-reporters-2022-worldcup-worked-to-death-qatar-nepal-nepalese-labourers-modernslavery-football/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-20/qatar-cuts-number-of-world-cup-soccer-stadiums-amid-rising-costs.html http://news.sky.com/story/1191990/qatar-world-cup-will-notbe-held-in-summer
One of Qatar’s stadium’s for the 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP. One of the places journalist’s aren’t allowed, and evidence of modern day slavery has been happening here.
“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave” Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey