Today, over 24,000 children died around the world

Despite the fact that you rarely hear about this in headlines, it is a fact that well over 24,000 Children died today, and nearly everyday, around the world. They were killed by poverty, hunger, illnesses and diseases that can be easily cured and better yet easily prevented.

The well known fact seems to be easily forgotten in our busy society. A child dies every 3 seconds. That is a hard fact to swallow and we seem to ignore it daily. About 16-17 Children die every minute. 9 Million Children die every year. From 2000-2007, our world lost about 79 Million Children.

It is the equivalent to the Haiti earthquake taking place on a 10 day cycle, or the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

According to UNICEF:

1 million Children are deprived of one or more services essential to survival and development.

148 million under 5's are underweight for their age.

101 million Children are not attending primary schools.

22 million Children have no regular immunization from disease.

8.8 million Children died before their fifth birthday in 2008.

4 million new borns are dying within the first month of life.

2 million Children under 15 are living with HIV.

Over 500,000 woman die each year from causes related to Child birth or pregnancy.

Burma

Burma is currently ruled by a dictatorship, charged by the United Nations with "crimes against humanity, for its systematic abuses of human rights. It is one of thee most brutal dictatorships in todays world.

While the population go without healthcare, education and food, the regime spends the majority of its budget only on the military. A sad, but undeniable truth, is that one in ten children die before the age of five.

In 1990 the country held elections, in which 82% of the vote was won by the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Aung San Suu Kyi has since been under House arrest and as of May 6th of this year the NLD have been banned by the Regime.

There are currently 2,100 political prisoners in Burma and NGO's and Human Rights groups have reported them tortured. Ko Mya Aye has been denied urgent medical treatment for a heart condition, as he lays in Taungyi Prison for leading a Student protest. Furthermore the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimated that 136 other prisoners are in bad health.

Men, Women and Children are in forced Labour, made to work for the Regime without pay. Many have suffered beatings, torture, rape and even murder. The International Labour Organisation committee on Burma said that Burma had made "totally inadequate" steps to change this.

The Regime is knowingly waging war on ethnic minorities. The Burmese Army have increased attacks on Karen civilians in Eastern Burma. On the 23rd of July the Burma Army soldiers burned 50 homes, a school and a church in the Dah Der village in the Mutraw District of the Karen state. 540 people fled into hiding. The Karens Women's Organisation has released a report documenting the horrors of the regime; crucifixion, burning people alive, raping and gang rape, burying women up to their heads, beating women to death and beheadings.

To find out more, and discover how you can help, visit http://www.burmacampaign.org

God Bless, Peace

The Current State of Ireland as a Nation

The Irish Free State is no more than a capitalist, power orientated, bear shaped hole in the world map. The constant Americanisation has done for Ireland what sins do for the soul.

The land of Saints and Scholars is no more as her morals are sold and squandered; those who align themselves with the proclamation of 1916 must feel like strangers on their own island, struggling to see where the desire for a workers orientated free Ireland died on the path along which the Celtic Tiger led us.

Her neutrality exists no more to be questioned, as US war planes fuel in Shannon to fly to decimate Iraq or wherever America deems fit next. Her abandonment of the dying people of Palestine, as they continue trade with Israel and refuse to throw out their ambassador, shows how quickly one can forget the help received from the likes of the Choctaw Tribes during An Gorta Mor.

After correspondence with the councillors of Dublin over the insane prospects of a state visit from an English Monarch I have come to finally accept that the people of the occupied territory have been cut lose, no longer considered an issue for Ireland. Seemingly our Irish citizenship is symbolic only of times gone by. The visit from the occupier is being warmly welcomed by those who are s'posed to represent the views of the people.

The welcoming of the English head of state, legitimises her claim of sovereignty over our island; it legitimises partition and it forgets the sons of Róisín who died for her freedom!

The Free State is a British state!

Anyone, who is revolutionary enough, to show a glimmer of hope, for an Ireland of which they can be proud, is painted as a dissident, living in the past and tarred with the same brush used against Ireland's armed rebels.

Yet there is hope, a candle still burning in the hearts of unfree or righteous men. It can be seen, placard in hand, marching the streets; for Palestine; for POWs; for workers; Yes the light is dim, but it burns!!

It may seem insane, but serious economic failure is probably the only future for Ireland. For people to turn to the left and rise up; to fight for the Ireland from tales of old.

Beidh Ár Lá Linn!!

Ardoyne Situation

So it has been a while since I posted anything here. Truth is, I've become rather fed up with everything. I want to discuss my opinions on the current trouble in Ardoyne. Firstly, I will discuss my opinion on the whole Orange Order, 11th/12th Nights and Orangefest.

The Bonfires of the 11th night, are completely unacceptable in a 21st Century society. I have blogged about this before so you can read that if you wish to know my opinions on the Bonfires.

Loyalist Bonfires: http://whatsachris.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-cant-decommision-attitudes-harsh.html

Republican Bonfires: http://whatsachris.blogspot.com/2009/08/republican-bonfire.html

On the Orange Orders own website it states that they "strenuously oppose the fatal errors and doctrines of the Church of Rome", and that they should "resist the ascendancy of that Church". This is blatant admission that the Orange Order are sectarian, in that they are antiCatholic. So, in this day and age where we are "Moving away from Sectarian divisions" in our City, the Belfast City council agrees to this farcical that is "Orangefest", trying to disguise this Sectarian bigotry as family fun. Then we have politicians claiming that it is a community event. Well, it clearly is not a community event. I would not be welcome at the "Festival" if I carried my tricolour, only if I carried a Union flag. So Orangefest is both antiCatholic and Loyalist only; It is not a family or community event.

So this leads me on to my opinions on the GARC's sit down protest.

I belief that the residents of the Ardoyne area are entitled to stage their protest, against this bigoted march through their area. The resident's of the area have staged their peaceful protest for the past few years, but what has it achieved? They still have not got dialogue with the Orange Order and the march still goes through their area. So this year I think it was right for the Residents to stage their sit down protest. Civil disobedience is a legal way of Protest and revolution. It was the soul solution to the downfall of Apartheid in South Africa. So at this I agree with the Protest. I think it was wrong for the police to remove the protesters by force, and completely unacceptable that they fired baton rounds.

However I can not give support to the constant riots. Many of these rioters are bored youths, without a political concept in their head. Not all of them, but many. I am sorry to say that I do not agree with the RSF opinion, that these people are defending their neighborhoods against British Police. These British Police would not have been there last night if not for the riots. Maybe on the 12th night you could use this argument, but not on the 13th Night. The 13th should be used to commemorate Martin Hurson who died after 46 days on the Hungerstrike.

I furthermore think that it is wrong for non residents to bus into the area to take advantage of the situation. If the people of the area called for Republicans to travel to their community in support then I myself would have gone, but they did not. This means, whether it was intentional or not, those that did travel Hijacked the protest, and marred the peaceful civil disobedience with violence.

At the end of the day do I condone the Loyalist, bigoted parades? No I do not. I believe there is no place in this society for this kind of contentious parading outside of their own areas. Do I condem the Residents sit down protest? No, I fully support their decision. Do I condem the youths rioting? No I do not. Society has failed these youths and they can not be completely condemned, though they must face responsibility. Do I condem the actions of those that are using these riots to their advantage? No, I do not agree with them but I have no right to condem them. My opinion is that all this trouble has done us great disadvantage.

The numbers of the Orange Order had reportedly fallen to 9000 across the occupied territory. That is a considerably lack of people in comparison to the years gone by. The lack of serious trouble over the past years has saw people lose interest and their numbers fall. This year will see a dramatic rise.

Beidh ár lá linn.

One must ask...

One must ask, if not for European Colonialisation, what kind of world we would live in today. If not for the likes of Imperialism or Empire building.

If not for the European Colonialisation of nearly all the world, would we have a so called "Third World"? Would Africa be a beautiful and prosperous continent? Had the likes of Germany, Belgium, Britain or France not pillaged and raped the nations in Africa, would South African Apartheid ever have happened? Would 800,000 people still have been slaughtered in Rwanda?

If not for the building of Empires, would Kashmir be the subject of conflict between India and Pakistan? Would Asia be such a poor continent?

Would the Natives, on the continent now known as America, still live in relative peace, indeed on the land and not in "reserves" like some kind of endangered species? Would Racism be as rife in the North of America as it is?

Would the people of Palestine suffer under the same degradation relayed unto them by Israeli occupation forces?

Would Irelands History be one of such Bloodshed, war and devision?

Had the rulers of the nations in Europe, not decided they were better than others and thus set out with the aim of proving it, would we live in the kind of world now that people often dream off?

Who knows what are world would be. But one thing for sure, if Colonialisation, Imperialism and War mongering are not dealt with, the Rwandan Genocide, South African Apartheid and the Holocaust will creep up on us time and time again.

The Issue of National Sovereignty

I want to address the arrogance of people who take the no interest in the issue of National Sovereignty on the island of Ireland. Whilst doing door to door canvassing this past two years, I have been met with the arrogance and smugness of people who feel they are superior to me on a moral basis because they vote for a "neutral" party, such as Alliance. I feel that for anyone to use the line "I want the parties to deal with real issues" to be arrogant and I personally can't have it. Let me explain why.

Firstly, anyone that votes Alliance is delusional to think that they are voting for a neutral party. Alliance are not a neutral party. On the issue of National Sovereignty, they are Unionist. They share office with Sinn Féin, but have made it clear given the choice they would rather not. They are not neutral, they are smart with words.

Secondly, the reason I can't handle that excuse is because of the obvious self interest it displays. For me, and hundreds of people like me, National Sovereignty is a real issue. It is an issue of major importance. To say you don't like the parties here because they don't deal with real issues really translates to "my real issues". If I was to state that I wouldn't vote for a party cause they are only interested in taxes and not real issues would be laughable; and it is just as laughable when one discusses national sovereignty in the same way.

It would be equally delusional to think that the parties here do not deal with real, or "bread and butter" issues. All the major parties here have proposals and mandates for the likes of general taxes, water charges, fuel charges, education, poverty, depravation etc. However the parties are also involved and have proposals for the issue of national sovereignty.

Now I feel I should address the issue of national sovereignty and why I deem it important. People that lack the interest in the issue, usually are unaware of why other people are. It is no secret to me that people deem the likes of me, as laughable paranoid fools living in the past. Very few people would take the time to ask me why, or try to find out my opinions on the issue. However I feel that if some one is going to judge me for my opinions on the issue they should at least take the time to educate themselves of what my opinions actually are.

So what are my opinions. Well it would be true that some of my issues come from the past. Having educated myself on the actions of British rule in my country I do honestly think that a free Ireland is the right thing to do. It is the only really way to get justice for our country. But it is so much deeper than that.

NOTE: This next paragraph will be the part that people will refuse as the paranoid rant of a "dissident Republican". I am not a dissident. People just don't want to admit that these things are true. Due to this fact however I will keep it to a short paragraph.

These unfair actions of British rule are still ongoing in our country. Last year, as I have stated many times before, the PSNI/RUC stopped and searched 110 people a day, including a three year old and her pram, under section 44, in Republican areas, according to their own figures. Since the European union have deemed this illegal, the PSNI/RUC have continued to use these searches. The British army where involved in a raid on the home of 3 Republicans in Derry last week. This is not speculation, they provided a document to the home owner stating who was searching the house. They only reason for this search was their membership with the 32CSM. I am not really a fan of the 32CSM, but I know that this is wrong. As was the case in 1981 (which I bring up due to its public attention), Republican prisoners in British gaols are denied political status. These same prisoners were not allowed to commemorate their fenian dead at easter when they were denied the right to wear their lily, despite the poppy being worn in the gaol every year. In republican areas, real criminals, the likes of Drug/Death dealers are more likely to receive protection from the PSNI/RUC in exchange for information on Republicans. The catch 22? The more criminals that are allowed such protection, the more people join the ranks of the armed organisations, wether it be the IRA or the likes of RAAD, who focus more on drugs than the issue of national sovereignty.

So now to address another reason I deem national sovereignty to be important. I am from a working class family. I deem the people to be important. I believe that the people, their rights and their well being should be more important than that of big businesses and banker interests. In a word I would be describe as a "socialist" and where as I use this word for simplicity, I don't really like it. I don't think their is a word to describe my political views.

I believe that governments should not be shirts and ties, and fancy cars and security and, as in the case with America, celebrities. The politicians should be working for the people, where as despite what every one of them says, we clearly work for them. I believe this is directly related to the issue of national sovereignty because whilst we live under British rule we will not be able to revolutionize the British institution in a way that will empower the people. The occupied territory is to small for any major changes to be made on their behalf. The fact that George Galloway has been removed from the house on various occasions for acting on behalf of the oppressed Palestinians shows this.

Before we can live in a truly socialist society, where by the people are empowered we must liberate ourselves from a country that still has a monarch. A single family who deem themselves more important than anyone else, for no other reason than their mother and father thought the same thing. We must liberate ourselves from a country that still has a colonial empire, by forced rule over Ireland. We need to liberate ourselves from a country that deems itself better than others. If this is the attitude of the government towards Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine or Iran, how can we expect that same government to respect the rights of six simple counties on an adjacent island? Britain believe that they have the right to have weapons, and spend huge amounts of our taxes on weaponry, and yet they somehow feel they have the right to demand that Iran does not have weapons; That Palestinians live under Israeli oppression and show no resistance.

We need to liberate Ireland, and begin to build the country imagined by all those who have died for it. An Ireland where the tricolour is not the only change to our government corridors, but the very foundations that the political institutions are based are also changed. Where everyone enjoys the same equality that Martin Luther King Jr had his dream about.

National Sovereignty is the only way we can bring the institutions right back to the beginning, and rebuild them. This is why it is a real issue, and an issue of major importance.

SDLP Westminster Manifesto

I would like to discuss and respond to the SDLP manifesto and the attitudes of the party in general.

Firstly, Ritchie begins her speech by saying Westminster is important, this doubled with SDLP denouncing abstensionism is hypocritical, considering the appalling attendance record or the SDLP in the past year. They have the lowest attendance record of anyone in Westminster, including independents. So Sinn Féin are condemned for not taking a salary or a seat, when the SDLP deem it okay to take a Salary, and may as well take no seat.

Sinn Féin do not take their seat, as they will not give any legitimacy to British occupation of Ireland. However Sinn Féin work in the corridors, where the real work is done, where the work is done for you and me.

At this stage Ritchie brings up what she calls a sectarian head count, referring to Sinn Féin's offer of a joint candidate in South Belfast and Fermanagh/South Tyrone, in response to the unionist joint candidate in the same area. Now wether one sees this as a stunt, tactic or legitimate political decision, the logic of the SDLP to this move is beyond incomprehensible.

To try and convince the electorate, that Sinn Féin's decision to pull out of South Belfast, is an attempt to seat an Unionist Politician is completely ridiculous. I honest believe that even the most hardened of anti PSF "dissidents" would find it hard to be convinced of this. I will say that in the same situation as the people of South Belfast, I would need a lot of convincing to vote for the likes of the SDLP, however I can see how Sinn Féin believe that this was a good move. It was in fact an act of "Nationalist Solidarity".

She claims she is planning for Irish unity. Now lets consider this for a second. The SDLP have no agenda or manifesto at this stage for Irish unity. The SDLP are a 6 County Party, and thus has no real understanding of the requirements, needs or desires of the people of the 26 counties of the partitionist free state. To claim any understanding of what is required for the unification of Ireland is ridiculous. This is the same party that said they are ut to "build a better Northern Ireland" and that their number one enemy was Sinn Féin. Not Capitalism, Elitism, Unionism, Loyalism or British Rule; Sinn Féin, the biggest Republican party in the Occupied Six. This statement means she deems the majority of the Republican electorate as enemies. Furthermore the SDLP are a Middle Class party, that are not in step with the people of the struggling working classes, and will not be able to instill a socialist Republic on this island.

To claim that any one party, let alone her own, can single handedly solve the economic crisis in the occupied region is actually so naive that I can't believe she believes this herself. She claims to believe in devolution but out rightly stood in the way of the devolution of Policing powers, albeit not at the same degree as the Ulster Unionists.

Quite a lot of the rest of her 12 minute talk is wrapped up in the usual political nonsense of "We will make everything better, but no I won't tell you how we plan to do it", as all Political manifestos has a habit off, that is no jibe at the SDLP.

Then she moves on to a United Ireland once again, claiming that her party believes in it. Where is the evidence of this however? And what kind of United Ireland does her party believe in? A Middle Class United Ireland? The very thing the people of Ireland rebelled against in the first place?

I mean let us get something straight, National Sovereignty for the people of Ireland, is only a single part of the Irish struggle. The struggle on our island is not so much about Dublin ruling Ireland. The struggle is about empowering the people, and empowering Ireland to be a great nation, not just economically, but socially. For the people of Ireland to live in peace in an equal society, where the money can't crush the workers. But back to the manifesto...

More of the same really.

The fact is that the SDLP has steered so far away from what they were started out to be. They no longer represent the working class, or nationalist people as a whole.

Críostóir MacAodha

Fighting occupation in Palestine

The UN reports that 70% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are now living in acute poverty, a figure comparable to poverty levels in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 50% are now dependent on food aid.

Palestinians are not victims of a natural disaster. The poverty they are suffering is an acknowledged product of the Israeli occupation. According to the UK government's Department for International Development: "Poverty in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is a product of occupation and conflict." Only by ending the occupation can the root causes of poverty be addressed.

Israel's recent assault on the people of Gaza in late 2008/early 2009 demonstrated the brutality of Israel's army. The assault left over 1400 people dead and thousands more injured. It marked the culmination of a policy of collective punishment practised by Israel against the people of Gaza over the past 2 years.

Israel imposed a state of siege on Gaza in 2007 turning the world’s most densely populated area of land into the world’s most densely populated prison. John Dugard the former UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories described the situation in Gaza before the attack as “collective strangulation” of a people.

Yet this is nothing new. Over the last 61 years Israel has continuously acted in defiance of UN resolutions, international law and global outrage. Through the continuing occupation, Israel has engaged in excessive and disproportionate force, house demolitions, targeted assassinations, detention of minors, detention without trial, attacks on water supplies, violation of the right to food and attacks on medical personnel and equipment. This, alongside the systematic and deliberate destruction of schools, hospitals, water systems, farmland and the building of an illegal Separation Wall, has destroyed any semblance of a Palestinian economy.

In addition, millions of Palestinians are still living with human rights abuses and crushing poverty in refugee camps as a result of the 'nakba', or catastrophe in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven from their homes 61 years ago in the displacement that made the state of Israel possible.

The international community has largely ignored international law with respect to Israel's crimes. Instead the British government amongst others has rewarded Israeli aggression with financial, military and diplomatic support.

The British government continues to license the sales of arms of Israel and in the first nine months of 2008 licensed the sale of 27 million pounds worth of military equipment.

As Israel's principal trading partner, the European Union has been called on to suspend the trading preferences which Israel enjoys as a result of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The Agreement is based upon respect for human rights, yet UN representatives have made clear these rights are regularly violated by Israeli forces.

Palestine is in crisis. We must put pressure on our government to play its part and end the injustice.

http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/fighting-occupation-in-palestine

Dalai Lama

Just a comment I want to pass on something I heard a few days back and never got the chance to mention.

The Dalai Lama commented that the USA were champions of Democracy and human rights. I would seriously hope that this was a case of democratic politeness and nothing more.

How could anyone deem a nation built on genocide, violence and racist bigotry to be a champion of anything?

After "discovering" America, the vistors tried to commit genocide, on the natives. Then you have their fight for independence, as long as you were White. The very men who wrote with one hand "...all men are created equal", oppressed the black with the other.

Then Abraham Lincoln, is famed for liberating the slaves, despite the fact that he publically admitted he did so only to secure his union and had he been able to do so without liberating the slaves he would have done so.

So once black slaves were "liberated", they still were not held in equal standing. The government having dehumanised the black people, made way for the rise of racist groupings such as the KKK.

I won't go through their entire history, but you get the point.

God Bless, Peace

Marimba Ani on Obama

The European conquest of the mind of most of the people of Africa and Asia is their greatest achievement. Beneath this deadly onslaught lies a stultifying intellectual mystification that prevents Europe's political victims from thinking in a manner that would lead to authentic self determination. Intelectual decolonization is a prerequisite for the creation of successful political decolonization. We can proudly say that one of our people represents the most repressive, destructive, inhumane, anti-afrikan nation ever to have existed. Will we go down in "his" story as having finally capitulated and become satisfied with the evil that is represented in contemporary globalization, privatization and intulectual capitalism? Have we aborted our movement for freedom, liberation and soverignty? Or have we merely redefined that objective in "american" individualistic, "whats in it for me" terms? Have we "won"? Or have we simply taken the easier road, finding it more comfortable to be colonialized than to fight for Liberation? Are we excited about the possibility of being closer to the power than we have ever been. Even though that power rests on the exploitation, even murder, of Afrikans and other non-Europeans throughout the world? Have we even dared to ask ourselves what kind of person would want to be president of the United States of America?

- Marimba Ani