20th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“A story of immense courage
and conviction by a movement of 6,000 barely educated women labourers”
“They took on one of the
world’s most powerful companies and won!”
“Indian women tea pickers challenged
the male dominated world of trade unions and politics”
“They refused to allow men to
take over their campaign”
“The women tea pickers work
for a huge plantation company Kannan Devan Hills Plantations that is part owned
by Tata, the owner of Tetley Tea”
“An incident sparked off this
outrage, which had been building up over a long period of time”
“The workers were to have
their bonuses cut”
“Tea workers in India are
treated appallingly anyway with living conditions of a one bed hut with no toilets
or amenities”
“The families are all
malnourished and vulnerable to fatal illnesses”
“The women earn only £2.3p a
day, which is half of what other tea workers get in Kerala”
“These women accused the male
trade unions of being in cahoots with the company’s management”
“They said they were denying
the women their entitlements, yet saving their own plum jobs”
“When 6,000 women occupied a
main road leading to the headquarters of the plantation company, it was
organised entirely on their own”
“They chased away all the
trade union leaders and politicians, who tried to support their cause”
“They also pulled down the
flag posts outside the trade union offices”
“The women insisted they
would continue with their protests until their demands were met
“The plantation company of
course were defiant, but after nine days of protests and marathon negotiations
the company finally gave in!”
“The women represented the
workforce and forced management to accept their demand to bring back the 20%
bonus”
“Their pay rise was
negotiated by them separately and their increase was not met!”
“Then the unions launched an
indefinite campaign to raise the rates from 232 rupees to 500 rupees a day”
“Yet again the women refused
to be a part of this union effort and launched their own independent demands
for higher wages”
“As they already had nothing
to lose, they felt they could hold out even if it meant starving to death”
“They said they would never
be exploited again, enough was enough! They have since won again”
“What is so alarming is the
abject greed and exploitation by big companies who continue to ride roughshod
over people”
“These women tea pickers only
wish to earn a living wage”
“Their dignity is taken away
by those who sit in luxury in high office drinking their tea”
“They have no qualms about
the constant misery they are bringing to their work force”
“Workers the world over are
now fighting for their rights”
“These are the women who feel
that unless they take a stand nothing in their lives will ever change”
“The global movement of women
against injustice imposed on them by their male counterparts is growing”
“Their voices are being heard
and nothing will ever stop them, as they have been suppressed for long enough”
“We must congratulate all
women who do stand up for their rights”
“They begin to change the
male dominated injustice that goes on throughout this world”
19th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Many children around the
world are gaining mentally and physically by playing rugby”
“They not only gain physical
fitness, they gain strength and coordination”
“The sport enables children
to test themselves, as they must learn to play by the rules, which helps them
form a child’s moral attitude”
“Playing in a team, helps them
learn social skills like sportsmanship, team spirit and cooperation”
“It allows children to
develop self-esteem, which is especially important for those who are not
academically minded”
“Children will improve their
body image and will come to understand the importance of physical health and
fitness”
“By playing rugby it also
enhances a child’s concentration, which is a part of life’s skills”
“The sport gives the
opportunity for children to develop their own personality and gives them an
insight into their own strengths”
“No matter what size a person
is, there will always be a position within the team allowing for all shapes and
sizes to participate”
“With rugby it shows children
how they must respect their opponents on the field, so creating a healthy
conflict”
“Children, who play rugby,
will benefit throughout their lives with mental and psychological advantages”
“These will be with them
throughout their lives”
“Organisations are being
formed around the world to help children learn about rugby and to give those
children a sense of belonging”
“When you are initiated into
a rugby team, you become a part of a family”
“This is supportive and gives
the individual a sense of belonging and worth”
“Many children now in North
America are being taught the sport of rugby”
“These children often come
from deprived areas, where they only have one parent in their lives”
“Anger and a sense of being
disenfranchised goes once they become a part of a rugby team”
“These children are able to
channel their anger & frustration into this physical game; it’s always
positive & enables them to learn from it”
“They become at peace in
their hearts and minds and so stronger in their learning that rugby gives to
all who play it”
18th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“World leaders are coming
together to try to break the deadlock on ideas of self-interest and purposes”
“We are all entering dark and
horrific days, as the dogs of war gather momentum and begin to encircle the
civilised world”
“There are no winners in
these conflicts only hardship, disgrace and discourse”
“A coming together of
intellectual minds, who have nothing to gain but can see the broader picture
and will express their views to be debated”
“So many solutions need to be
found, where history has shown repeatedly that conflict is useless”
“Consideration for Mankind’s
welfare must now be taken into consideration”
“There is no longer a so
called master race. We are all brothers
and sisters together”
“We are united by a common
theme of love and expectancy of a life lived in peace”
“All leaders must now look to
their own hands in these conflicts and to finally own up to their part in the
constant mayhem that pursues”
“The constant warring
factions will in time be tamed as one begins to realise the futility of what
they have been fighting for”
“At the end of the day there
are no winners, nothing is ever gained or resolved”
“The dawn is breaking on a
new form of leadership, where the need for power is no longer the objective,
but the needs of the people are!”
“Mankind starts to come into
his own as the superpowers lose their will and aggression over the people”
“Power is being taken away
from all superpowers by The Great Intelligence that sees over us and guides us
all forwards”
“No country is great anymore”
“All are vulnerable to
earthly/global conditions be it climatic, financial or civil unrest”
“The tide is already turning,
whereby enemies of various countries will have to come together in order to
secure their own futures”
“Their futures are crumbling
around them, exposing them to the elements of uncertainty and fear”
“This is slowly growing and
exposing their power-loss, allowing for extreme negotiations to take precedent
over their needs for control”
“The hardliners of this world
will fall in all directions”
“It will be those whose
wisdom and overall forward-thinking will steer this world forwards”
“No one will judge another as
all must come to the table collectively to reach concrete agreements towards world
safety”
“The new dawn on dialogue is
being established where arms no longer play their part, but where trade and
common sense is finally realised”
“Peace always comes at a
price, but with war the price is always higher and always devastating”
“This world cannot afford any
longer to prop up the dictators of war, as their power-loss becomes
self-evident”
“It will be those stable
countries that will be able to pave the way and where trust and goodwill are
once again established”
“A new world order will be
formed and this will take many years in the making, but its seeds are already
taking root”
“Mankind will eventually rise
again from the destruction of the old world order and into the new!”
“For the people it really
can’t come in quick enough!”
17th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“How far must Mankind go
before it says enough is enough?”
“Fighting on every level is a
worldwide disease and there is no let up to this monster of one nation or ideal
wanting to crush another”
“In 1937 Pablo Picasso read
about the thousands of incendiary bombs dropped by Hitler and Mussolini’s
planes”
“They reduced the city of
Guemica to ashes. An incalculable number died and were wounded”
“Picasso’s masterpiece
evolved under his repugnance of aerial bombing”
“Guemica became the emblem to
the horrors of war”
“Picasso’s tapestry facsimile
was placed in the lobby of the United Nations in 2003”
“When Colin Powell went to
the UN to present the US case for military intervention in Iraq, the tapestry
was covered up by a blue curtain”
“Mr Powell couldn’t try to
seduce the world into bombing Iraq…”
“…while having the background
of the tapestry shrieking with mutilated women, men and children”
“The latest horror is the MSF
hospital in Afghanistan by the US’s aerial attack”
“The MSF’s President Joanne
Liu has called for a full investigation”
“It has been stated at the
Geneva Convention, where the organisation announced that ambulances and
military hospitals…”
“…were recognised as neutral
and so protected, because they housed the wounded and the sick”
“Despite all the wars this
legal situation regarding MSF has not been diluted”
“All know that attacking
neutral medical staff and facilities without notifying them in advance are
guilty of a war crime”
“It is vital that President
Liu’s appeal for an independent investigation by the US’s attack is acted upon
and any proven war crimes ensue”
“Our present world crisis is
a result of the assault on this world over the last seventy years”
“There has to be an
international consensus to bring about judicial process to restore sanity in
these global affairs”
“Allowing for this to happen
may give the young people of this world hope”
“Especially in Iraq, Syria,
Afghanistan and Palestine that the world is not entirely lawless and senseless”
“A strong collective
international leadership is required that is bound by due law and process and
not by individual country’s interests”
“Just rules on any society
worth its weight will be bound by these same rules/laws as the weak”
“It has been said that when
Pablo Picasso was living in Nazi occupied Paris, he had his studio searched by
the Gestapo”
“Coming across the Guemica
the German officer asked the artist, “Did
you do this?””
““No,” replied Picasso. “You did!””
16th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Sport is a powerful tool for
progress and development”
“In the post-genocide Rwanda,
Felicite Rwemalika’s work is an embodiment of this idea”
“Felicite has made
opportunities, which have brought increased wealth and skills to women and
families”
“All this is done by women
playing football”
“Felicite, who ran a beauty
salon, came across women who were traumatised by the genocide”
“Women were raped several
times, their husbands left them and were killed and sometimes their children
were killed”
“They did not have any hope
for the future”
“Felicite decided to do
something to change these women’s mind-sets.
Before the genocide football for women was unthinkable”
“In Rwanda the authorities
wanted to support change and so an agreement was made for the city of Kigali to
support girls’ football teams”
“The authorities were even
willing to pay them a wage which enabled them to stay at school”
“Felicite’s project, AKWOS
(the Association of Kigali Women in Sports) is more than just football”
“Rwanda has only 15% of girls
attending secondary schools. It has enabled girls to continue with their
education”
“Football has given women and
girls a safe space to meet and talk and has given them all confidence”
“Women have grouped together
to start farming & open up other co-operatives & they are now earning a
significant income for the first time”
“Evidence has shown that once
women have control over household spending they soon invest in their children
and economic growth”
“Far more than men do!”
“Felicite has travelled with
a head coach Grace Nyinawumuntu to the town of Gashanda to get more women to
start up football teams”
“They also get local primary
schools girls to play”
“Football has empowered women
in Rwanda”
“It has impacted on the
different communities and their benefits have spread across the entire country”
“The AKWOS women now have
1,200 women playing football, with 60 AKWOS teams in the country”
“From that, fifteen players
have started co-operatives”
“There have been 200 women
who have joined the Rwandan Women’s National Football League since this all
began in 2008”
“The city of Kigali supports
AS Kigali players coached by an AKWOS graduate to stay in schools furthering
their education”
“It is this team sport that
has built up the social networks and has successfully built up women’s
confidence”
“Rwanda owes all this to the
amazing foresight of Felicite Rwemalika, who is an inspiration to so many women”
“It is all about women
empowering women in this world, which makes the difference
“It brings them up to what
they are worth, which is so much!”
15th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Noam Chomsky is renowned for
his Knowledge and Power and is one of the world’s most celebrated intellectuals”
“He is known for his writing
on language and his views on US foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East”
“As a prolific writer, he has
been controversial”
“Despite his Jewish origins,
he has been an increasing critic of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and
US foreign policy as a whole”
“What is more important is
the justice for the Palestinian cause”
“There are few in the US, who
have been as strong an ally and a friend of the Palestinian people as Noam
Chomsky”
“Chomsky’s classic works on
Israel – Palestine are ‘Peace in the
Middle East’ (1974) and ‘The Fateful
Triangle’ (1983)”
“They led to him being
marginalised by mainstream academia and publishing”
“By condemning the power
system which is not approved of, Chomsky got denounced by the US press and was
kept out”
“He understood that anyone
who goes against the grain in the US political culture was going to get
marginalised”
“The truths that Chomsky
articulates are very unpopular. In spite of this he has reached wider audiences
by his talks”
“These are always packed out
with thousands of listeners willing to hear his wise words”
“His book ‘9-11: Was There An Alternative?’ put the
attack in the context of America’s intervention worldwide and became a best
seller”
“His work is both original
and important. He has focussed on some of the most critical periods in recent
history”
“Noam Chomsky is the world’s
leading public intellectual, who can match his intellectual achievements with
political courage”
“It has been said that
Chomsky is struck by a sense of very great intellectual power and he is a
tireless scourge of US imperialism”
“Noam Chomsky ranks with
Marx, Shakespeare and the Bible as one of the ten most quoted sources in the
humanities”
“Two of his quotes are
relevant today”
““The Oslo Accords in 1993 determined that the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank are a single territorial entity which cannot be divided…””
““…Immediately, the United States and Israel set about separating the
two and making sure that they would not be united””
““Everybody’s worried about stopping terrorism, well there’s a really
easy way: stop participating in it!””
“The world is in great need
of men of Chomsky’s stature, wisdom and intellect”
“The lack of correct
leadership in this world has brought about world suffering on levels not before
imaged and it is not over yet”
“Until leadership with wisdom
is directed, this world will continue to remain in the cesspit that Mankind has
created!”
14th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“There is a deafening silence
of the media in the international world”
“The toll of Palestinians
injured and killed by the Israeli army is appalling”
“The cycle of violence
continues over decades, as Israel continues to wage its daily war on
Palestinians”
“They restrict their
movements, demolish their homes, displace families & are assassinating
Palestinians & bombing their towns & cities”
“Israel, with US backing,
refuses to abide by international laws of convention”
“These ban occupying forces
from confiscating, acquisition by force and transferring the population from
their own land”
“The Palestinian Authority
(PA) is also to blame”
“By their non-descript
opposition to the Israeli authorities it means the status quo remains intact!”
“It is high time that the PA
started to invest in a new form of leadership”
“They need to begin to have a
greater voice in the international community”
“It is Israel all the time
that calls the shots & screams the loudest, drowning out the bitter cries
of injustice of the Palestinian people”
“It is now time that the
international community woke up from its enforced slumber”
“They need to bring justice
to a people, who have been persecuted wrongly for decades”
“How long can the
international community turn a blind eye and sit on their hands and do nothing?”
“It is only when the
international community starts to band together that any kind of human rights
for Palestinians can ever come about”
“Their cries are always in
vain!
“We, as a world community,
have a moral responsibility to set the scene right and to finally give
Palestinians their rights and their land”
“To ignore this injustice is
a dark stain on all of us, who are compliant with this Israeli aggression”
“President Obama has a moral
and political obligation to hold the Israeli prime minister accountable for his
failures”
“His policies in Palestine
are dangerous”
“We all have blood on our
hands”
“Collectively we all are
guilty by our intransigence to sit back and see the slaughter of innocent
people and still do nothing!”
“Are we human or are we
savages? Are we all like the Israelis bent on carrying out injustices on our
own fellow man?”
“The Jews of this world
control it and they are the ruling sector here”
“Nobody dare override their
position of authority”
“So bloodshed and injustice
will continue to spawn violence until Mankind starts to deal with justice and
the rule of law!”
13th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“The incompetent way that
India’s Government cannot deal with rape in their country continues”
“Until India’s laws are
enforced with the highest penalty and profile on rape…”
“…then the plight of women
and children continue to suffer extreme brutality nationally”
“Unless India’s Government
starts to do something that will educate their men into what they are doing…”
“…then women will start to
take extreme matters into their own hands and arm themselves against assaults”
“The latest horror to emerge
in this rape country is a four year old girl, who is in intensive care due to
her injuries on being gang raped”
“This child was found
unconscious by a railway track last Friday evening”
“She had been slashed and
suffered severe injuries to her body”
“Brutal sexual attacks
against women and children continue to be reported right across the country”
“In July of this year a man
was arrested, who confessed to sexually assaulting and murdering thirty children
in and around Delhi”
“More than 1,500 cases of
rape have been reported to police this year alone. It is believed that many
more go unreported”
“Again it shows that not
enough is being done to deter or educate the population that these assaults
will not go unpunished”
“It is the culture of abuse
that needs to be addressed and cannot be left to go unnoticed anymore”
“Extreme measures to protect
women and children have to be stepped up and these measures must be implemented
by Parliament”
“Current measures in place
are not doing the job”
“There has already been a
national outcry, who is actually listening to the people?”
“India still has not enough
toilets for its citizens and children become vulnerable when men go out to
relieve themselves”
“Again shame on the Indian
Government”
“The Indian Government and
subsequent other Governments are a disgrace to their own people and all have
let them down”
“Rape destroys lives forever
and we do not believe that lives are cheap, but sacred”
“If animals such as the cow,
the monkey, elephants and tigers are all considered sacred in India and
revered, then human life is also”
“You cannot see one as sacred
and not the other!”
“It is high time that India’s
Government come up to the plate”
“They must dealt with these
perpetrators of brutal crimes against the innocent and helpless children of
this world”
12th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“The situation in Syria under
the Russian bombardment will intensify”
“Russia is determined to
break the deadlock of the Bashar al-Assad regime”
“Russia expects Bashar
al-Assad to remain in power for all time”
“They expect him to give
Russia whatever it wants, which is a divided Syria and not a united one”
“The rules of the game are
changing daily and it is now up to the other Arab States to come to the rescue
of Syria”
“Otherwise it will finally be
carved up like a piece of cake with no proper government to speak of”
“Syria and the Syrian people
have already lost this war. Another established democratic policy will have to
follow on”
“Bashar al-Assad can never
rule over a fraction of this once great country, as the Syrian people
themselves want to be rid of him”
“Iran will play its part in
the division of Syria and put their man in charge, which will not be Bashar
al-Assad”
“It will be another, which
would be closer to their influence”
“America and the West will
need to compromise with other regional powers to see what is left and how that
other slice of Syria can operate”
“What is sure is that Russia
will do its best to disarm terrorist fighting for the freedom of Syria”
“But over time it will fail
and so they will have to put up with just a part of Syria and not the whole
country!”
“Syria is in a lose-lose
situation and IS will still be the breeding ground of continuous unrest over
many years”
“All the major powers are now
reaping what they have sown in breaking Syria apart”
“There will still be a
bloodbath until the political solution is found”
“There have been mistakes on
the ground that have still not been realised, but need to be dealt with”
“Armies of many different
factions are now facing an uphill battle to demolish a failed state”
“Only when nothing is left
will the solutions be found”
“The Syrian people are just
the pawns in a highly complicated and motivated system of power sharing”
11th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Kazakhstan is a country
rising every day and its new capital has many amazing buildings”
“The buildings have local
nicknames. The Banana is a bright yellow office tower”
“The Cigarette Lighter is the
Ministry of Transport and Communications”
“The Baiterek building does
not have a nickname, as it does not look like anything else”
“Baiterek means ‘tall popular
tree’ in Kazakh. It is a 318 foot tower, buttressed by an exoskeleton and white
painted steel”
“At its top is a gold tinted
glass sphere”
“At its base is a monument
that represents the Kazakh myth of a sacred bird that every year lays a golden
egg”
“The sun is the crown of an
enormous tree of life”
“The designer is President
Nursultan Nazarbayev”
“He’s a steel worker turned
strongman, who has run this country since its independence of Russia in 1991”
“He is also responsible for
changing the country’s capital from a temperate area to a frigid windswept
area, some 600 miles north”
“The new capital is called
Astana, which means centre in Kazakh”
“Kazakhstan is rich in oil
and minerals. Its billions have been lavishly invested in this new capital”
“It has invited some of the
world’s leading architects to showcase their work”
“The results are eclectic and
visually arresting, but are not to everybody’s taste”
“To build this dream city,
President Nazarbayev has established foreign benefactors, all eager to do
business with this country”
“A Qatari emir founded a
mosque and space for 7,000 worshippers. Islam is the dominant faith of this
country”
“Some years ago Nazarbayev
declared he wanted a huge pyramid built”
“It was called the Palace of
Peace and Harmony and the design went to the British architect Norman Foster”
“He was also responsible for
the Khan Shatyr or the King’s Tent building”
“Norman Foster’s concrete and
glass pyramid is awe inspiring and it contains a 1,500 seat opera house as well
as conference rooms”
“At the very top is a sky lit
conference room”
“It is bathed in natural
light by pale blue, white and gold stained glass windows depicting doves
against the sky”
“Kazakhstan’s climate is
extreme, because it is at the centre of the Asian continent”
“Astana, the brand new
purpose built capital, is an act of defiance against the constraints of nature”
“There are temperatures of
-35⁰C in winter and of +35⁰C
in summer”
“President Nazarbayev wants
to have this city as a memorial to his leadership and his reign, which is held
with an iron tight grip”
“At present he has no one to
take over from him and this is posing worries amongst his people”
“Until that day occurs, the
President will keep on building and so his legacy will remain intact!”
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