Money doesn't talk, it swears.

Bob Dylan

The Manchester Rambler

Ewan Mac Coll

I've been over the Snowdon, I've slept upon Crowden
I've camped by the Wain Stones as well
I've sunbathed on Kinder, been burnt to a cinder
And many more things I can tell
My rucksack has oft been my pillow
The heather has oft been my bed
And sooner than part from the mountains
I think I would rather be dead
Chorus: I'm a rambler, I'm a rambler from Manchester way
I get all my pleasure the hard moorland way
I may be a wage slave on Monday
But I am a free man on Sunday

The day was just ending as I was descending
By Grindsbrook, just by Upper Tor
When a voice cried, Eh you, in the way keepers do
He'd the worst face that ever I saw
The things that he said were unpleasant
In the teeth of his fury I said
Sooner than part from the mountains
I think I would rather be dead
Chorus
He called me a louse and said, Think of the grouse
Well I thought but I still couldn't see
Why old Kinder Scout and the moors round about
Couldn't take both the poor grouse and me
He said, All this land is my master's
At that I stood shaking my head
No man has the right to all mountains
Any more than the deep ocean bed
Chorus
I once courted a maid, a spot-welder by trade
She was fair as the rowan in bloom
And the blue of her eye matched the June moorland sky
And I wooed her from April to June
On the day that we should have been married
I went for a ramble instead
For sooner than part from the mountains
I think I would rather be dead
Chorus
So I walk where I will over mountain and hill
And I lie where the bracken is deep
I belong to the mountains, the clear-running fountains
Where the grey rocks rise rugged and steep
I've seen the white hare in the gulley
And the curlew fly high over head
And sooner than part from the mountains
I think I would rather be dead
Chorus

Ewan Mac Coll

"When a piece of bread is dropped
it will land butter-side down"

Sod's Law

"What can go wrong will go wrong".

Murphy's Law

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

Gandhi

"They piss on us and the press says its raining"

Argentinian Graffiti

"Half of advertising is a waste.
The problem is we don't know which half"

Lord Lever

“US foreign policy can be defined as follows:
‘Kiss my arse or I’ll kick
your head in.’”

Harold Pinter

I love this bus

"I love this bus
That I call my home
I dig this coach
That allows me to roam
My little space
That can take me any place
My sanctuary
No matter where I be
And when I know she's ready to go
And a time to travel's dawning
Reaching, to start her heart
She turns, she breathes, she fires, she vibrates gently
We move into the morning
Wondering whence we do depart
Knowing that there's nothing wrong with where I am
Some folk simply do not understand."

A Traveller

"The main thing that has separated people from their utopia is that their utopia is based on lies, the same lies as the very things that have kept them from the truth".
"Whilst men are staring up to heaven looking to their future, their birthright is being stolen all around them".

Gerrard Winstanley

On Creationism …….

"Rational thought proportions belief to evidence. To believe that there are sparrows in the garden is rational because the publicly available and checkable evidence is powerful, repeatedly accessible, undeniable, and conclusive. To believe that there are fairies at the bottom of the garden is irrational, not least if it is based on the testimony of one flaky member of the family who got the idea from an old book. This sums up the comparison between science and creationism in a nutshell."

AC Grayling

"This message is made of 100% recycled electrons.
No new atoms were destroyed in making this message".

An e-mail suffix

Spike Milligan 1919 - 2002

Some of Spike Milligan’s most memorable one-liners:

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.”

“Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion.”

“How long was I in the Army? Five foot eleven.”

“I can speak Esperanto like a native.”

“I spent many years laughing at Harry Secombe’s singing until somebody told me that it wasn’t a joke.”

In a fax to Harry Secombe he said: “I hope you go before me because I don’t want you singing at my funeral.”

Spike’s most memorable quip, which came after he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement gong at the British Comedy Awards in 1994.
Devoted fan The Prince of Wales wrote to congratulate Milligan and the letter was read out to the assembled worthies, allowing Milligan to famously comment:

“Oh, the little grovelling bastard.”

Shortly after this incident, which amused the Royal household, Spike sent Prince Charles a fax saying:

“I suppose a knighthood’s out of the question now.”
He was wrong.

"The boy stood on the burning deck, whence all but he had fled.
Twit!

About heaven he said: “I’d like to go there. But if Jeffrey Archer is there I want to go to Lewisham.”

On Prince Philip: “He was fucking lucky to marry the Queen. He had nothing when he met her. His arse was hanging out of his trousers.”

“I watch American comedies and they are as funny as a baby with cancer.”

“A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree.”

“I thought I’d begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine.”

“When I look back, the fondest memory I have is not really of the Goons. It is of a girl called Julia with enormous breasts.”

“I have the body of an 18-year-old. I keep it in the fridge.”

“Is there anything worn under the kilt?
No, it’s all in perfect working order.”

“It was a perfect marriage. She didn’t want to and he couldn’t.”

On his Army career:
“Then came the war. North Africa, promoted in the field (they wouldn’t let me indoors).
Mentioned in dispatches: nothing positive. Just mentioned.”

“Money couldn’t buy friends,
but you get a better class of enemy.”
“Money can’t buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.”

On receiving an honorary CBE in 1992:
“I can’t see the sense in it really. It makes me a Commander of the British Empire. They might as well make me a Commander of Milton Keynes — at least that exists.”

“My father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.”

“And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, and the earth brought forth grass and the Rastafarians smoked it.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, get it out with Optrex.”

“I suppose basically I am very talented but I am not personally aware of that.”

“I don’t like women in positions of power because they make all the wrong bloody decisions.”

“And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light, but the Electricity Board said he would have to wait until Thursday to be connected.”

“Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to use earplugs?”

"A man can't have everything.
I mean, where would he put it?"

"A hero is a man who does what he can."

Roman Rollard

"Each of the world's current conflicts needs just two individuals, leaders on opposing sides, to stand up, meet talk, keep clearly in view some image - a child blinded or limbless because of bombing, say; and to agree a fixed determination not to us large-scale murder as a way of managing difference.

On that basis, real hope can enter the picture. This is of course an extremely hard thing to achieve; but it is why such individuals, if they were to appear, would be very great heroes indeed"

A.C. Grayling

On Heroism

"My hero is he who wins praise without bloodshed."

Martial

"That was 'Under my Thumb' from the Rolling Stones. As requested by the Fingerprint Department of Surrey Police.

Hope you enjoyed it guys ……. "

Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2. Feb 2002

"No government today can take for granted the existence of an unarmed civilian population or the degree of public order long familiar in large parts of Europe.

No government today is in a position to overlook or eliminate internal armed minorities"

Eric Hobsbawn

"All is change; all yields its place and goes".

Euripides

"Nothing is permanent but change".

Heraclitus

"Man is the only animal whose nudity offends his companions"

Montaigne

" War is capitalism,
with the gloves off."

Tom Stoppard

I AM A ROCK

"Don't talk of love;
I've heard the word before,
It's sleeping in my memory;
And I won't disturb the slumber
Of feelings that have died.
If I never loved, I never would have cried.
I am a rock, I am an island."

Simon and Garfunkel
Sounds of Silence

"Most rock journalism is:
people who can't write
interviewing people who can't talk
for people who can't read"

Frank Zappa

"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can."

Danny Kaye

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."

Phyllis Diller

"A laugh is a smile that bursts."

Mary H. Waldrip

"The world is your playground. Why aren't you playing?"

Ellie Katz

"The world always looks brighter from behind a smile."

Anonymous

"A great pleasure in life is doing
what people say you cannot do. "

Walter Bagehot

"A playful attitude is best. "

Dr. Harold Bloomfield

"We do not stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing."

Anonymous

The Lark Ascending:

Romance for Violin and Orchestra
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

This meditative piece was written in 1914. With the onset of the Great War, Vaughan Williams was soon to enlist as an orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and composition and premières were on hold for the duration.
The piece takes its name from the title of a poem by George Meredith and the following quotation heads the score:-

The Lark Ascending

He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound,
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup whistle, slur and shake.

For singing till his heaven fills,
'Tis love of earth that he instils,
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup,
And he the wine which overflows
To lift us with him as he goes.

Till lost on his aerial rings
In light, and the fancy sings.

George Meredith (1828-1909)

The composer left no programme note to accompany his work,
but it is not difficult to allow one's mind to
wander when listening to or writing about the music.
It is redolent of the English countryside,
especially the wide open hills of
Vaughan Williams' native Cotswold landscape.

"One regret, dear world,
That I am determined not to have
When I am lying on my deathbed
Is that I did not kiss you enough."

Hafiz, 1319-1389
Persian Poet

He who knows not, and knows he knows not, is a child.
Teach him.

He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, is a fool.
Avoid him.

He who knows, and knows not he knows, is asleep.
Wake him.

He who knows, and knows he knows, is wise.
Listen to him.

Persian proverb

Lord of the Rings

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and
in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

J.R.R Tolkien

This is to be posted at the end of a statement in evidence.

"This statement, is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that, if it tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated in it anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true."

"It is easy to fly into a passion.
Anyone can do that;
but to be angry
with the right person,
to the right extent,
at the right time,
in the right way,
with the right aim;
that is not easy"

Aristotle

On Anger:

"Angry men are blind and foolish,
For reason at such times takes flight, and in her absence anger plunders all the riches of the intellect".

Aretino

“Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience.

Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to
violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring”

Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950

"There is no old age for a man's anger;
only death.

Sophocles (c. 496-406 BC)

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.


Originally by John Newton
Composed probably between 1760 and 1770

Extract from Guardian Article re: al-Jazeera TV

........................ The channel’s Afghan outpost is not a plush studio but a small, ramshackle building where visiting dignitaries have to be filmed outside or, more likely, on the roof.

The rudimentary conditions occasionally produce moments of tragi-comedy. One of these came on Sunday night while Mohammed Halimi, one of the staff of the Taliban foreign minister, was being interviewed - live - on the roof.

“While Halimi was speaking we heard a big noise, like a bomb,” Kicham said.
“Suddenly we had no picture and no sound at all. After about five minutes, the sound came back and Allouni reported that a bomb had fallen nearby. “I’m sorry,” he told the studio in Doha,
“but the cameraman has disappeared and I’ve no idea where he is.” The cameraman, it turned out, had fallen off the roof.

“FORTUNATELY, IT’S NOT A HIGH BUILDING,” Kicham said. “So he climbed back and finished the interview.”

(I mean, Bloody heck!)

In the five years of its existence, al-Jazeera has become the most-watched satellite channel in the Arab world and has infuriated every government from Libya to Kuwait - both of which once threatened to pull out their ambassadors from Qatar in protest. ..........................

Brian Whitaker
reports on how al-Jazeera cornered the conflict.
Tuesday October 9, 2001
The Guardian
http://media.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,7541,566045,00.html

A further rant, from Tash

Personally, I come from a free festivals and travelling background. New Age Travellers etc.
A number of sayings have helped guide my life over time. Like....

Bring what you expect to find?
If no you, who?
If not now, when?
If not here, where?

In sum, this means self-reliance. It means gigs are ALWAYS better, when people attending don’t just attend , but are a main part of the act. It is obvious to all those there, when this magic happens.

This is actually where I came in. 1972 Windsor, Stonehenge etc..... These were my motives then and remain so now.
Of course the authorities have difficulty with a system that means they are not in sole charge, hence all the law and violence since the Beanfield etc......
Over time, I have been involved I raising awareness about the law changes and their implications to us all.

 Public Order Act 1986
 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
 Noise Act
 Barry Legg MP: Places of Entertainments (Increased Penalty) Act
 Security Services Act

And now all the Acts that have been going through parliament - with the words
“conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose” being a new definition of serious crime!!!

With the new definition of serious crime, that enable the use of some ‘heavier’ police departments to be applied against us. And will be the end of all the RTS and similar gigs.
Shame eh?

Now, in ‘rave mode’, I have spent time with the Velvet Revolution and All Systems gigs, I had written ‘Sound Advice’ and the 'Right to Party’ - to try and raise these matters in peoples minds.
Well, we have lost each of the matters I’m on about here. Whoever you vote for, the government gets in!

What I am absolutely positive about though, is that people involved in the scene,
DID NOT DO ENOUGH ABOUT ANY OF IT AS IT HAPPENED AND NOW IS STILL GOING ON.

People have to realise that self-interest and their own immediate happiness ( hedonism?), is not enough to make a festival, party rave, traveller site, gathering.
Important, but not enough.
Some folks on reading this will have been too young, to have had any objection to these changes as they have happened over recent years. But many others of you will have been.

The way parties are now organised, between those trying to conform with some pretty onerous conditions, (ie half to 2/3 of a ticket price to ‘self-police’ and pay for your own public order management and drug search.!) and those involved with the ‘free’ end of things but at continued ‘personal’ rather than ‘sheared’ risks.

This division is of course orchestrated by the other side.

This old hippy / raver? Is now of the opinion that folk have now got the party they deserve. Discuss........
Love

Tash
Wed 19/07/00

"It takes a couple to have a child.
But, it takes a whole village to raise a Child.

African Proverb

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

John Lennon

"He shall mark our goings,
question whence we came,
Sets his guards about us, as in Freedom's Name.
He shall peep and mutter,
and night shall bring Watchers 'neath our window,
lest we mock the King."

Rudyard Kipling

The Old Issue

Rudyard Kipling

Ancient and unteachable,
Abide abide the Trumpets!
Once again the Trumpets, for the shuddering ground-swell brings Clamour over ocean of the harsh, pursuing Trumpets
Trumpets of the Vanguard that have sworn no truce with Kings!

All we have of freedom, all we use or know
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
Ancient Right unnoticed as the breath we draw
Leave to live by no man's leave, underneath the Law
Land and torn and tumult, steel and grey-goose wing,
Wrenched it, inch and ell and all, slowly from the King.

Till our fathers 'stablished, after bloody years,
How our King is one with us, first among his peers.
So they bought us freedom not at little cost
Wherefore must we watch the King, lest our gain be lost.
Over all things certain, this is sure indeed,
Suffer not the old King: for we know the breed.
Give no ear to bondsmen bidding us endure,
Whining "He is weak and far;" crying "Time shall cure."
(Time himself is witness, till the battle joins,
Deeper strikes the rottenness in the people's loins.)
Give no heed to bondsmen masking war with peace,

Suffer not the old King here or overseas.
They that beg us barter wait his yielding mood
Pledge the years we hold in trust pawn our brother's blood
Howso' great their clamour, whatso'er their claim,
Suffer not the old King under any name!
He shall mark our goings, question whence we came,
Set his guards about us, as in Freedom's name.
He shall take a tribute; toll of all our ware;

He shall change our gold for arms, arms we may not bear.
He shall break his Judges if they cross his word;
He shall rule above the Law calling on the Lord.

He shall peep and mutter;
and the night shall bring Watchers 'neath our windows, less we mock the King
Hate and all divisions; hosts of hurrying spies;
Money poured in secret; carrion breeding flies.
Strangers of his counsel, hirelings of his pay,
These shall deal our Justice: sell deny delay.
We shall drink dishonour, we shall eat abuse,
For the Land we look to for the Tongue we use.
We shall take our station, dirt beneath his feet,
while his hired captains jeer us in the street.
Cruel in the shadow, crafty in the sun,
Far beyond his borders shall his teachings run.
Sloven, sullen, savage, secret, uncontrolled,
Laying on a new land evil of the old
Long-forgotten bondage, dwarfing heart and brain
All our fathers died to loose he shall bind again.
Here is naught at venture, random or untrue
Swings the wheel full-circle, brims the cup anew.
Here is naught unproven, here is nothing hid:
Step for step and word for word so the old Kings did!
Step by step and word by word: who is ruled may read.
Suffer not the old Kings: for we know the breed
All the right they promise all the wrong they bring.
Stewards of the Judgement, suffer not this King!


Rudyard Kipling
This was written October 9, 1899,
and concerned the Boer War:
the conquest of a people in the name of human rights and justice.
On War and Civil Rights.

"Hi, I’ve just stumbled across your website whilst looking for a friends sound system one...and boy am I pleased that I did stumble across it !!! I can’t believe it...you have all the photo’s of all the things that have meant something to me on my journey.

I was born in ‘76, and when i was 6/7 years old my mum was part of the womans peace movement...so my first protests and big gatherings were at Greenham common. She was arrested for dancing on a missile, and put in Holloway for three weeks. But i was too young to think of taking photo’s and my mum too busy.

I went to most of the Glastonbury’s in the eighties as a child, and as we lived in the west-country, all the festi’s there, like Trewargy, Elephant fair and more.

As a teenager I got into things on my own terms instead of being dragged about by my mother. One of the first things i went to was the white goddess festi in Camelford, Cornwall, a spiral tribe experiance...and of course Castlemorton, Lechleid (or however u spell it) etc etc. But again, i didn’t ever take a camara...i guess at the time i didn’t realise that this was a major part of our history, let alone my life.

Luckily by the time that the CJB came in and all the march’s in Trafalgar sq were kicking off, i had hit 17, going on 18, and had realised the importance of a camara, although by the time we got to Claremont rd for the after party, i was probably too meshed to take any photo’s, as i only have them of the march.

Cheers mate for bringing back many, many memeories of my life, it even brought tears to my eyes. Keep up the good work."

Alison Conroy
kennytobe@
Tue 03/04/01 06:12

“We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party nor against the other but we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness, righteousness, meekness, temperance, peace and unity with God,
and with one another, that these things may abound.”

Edward Burroughs, 1659
‘Quaker Faith and Practice’

"Non Profit, independent video makers,
what does that mean?

Where does the money come from to keep these ‘non profits’ fed and watered, let alone able to make a good enough film that’s worth the effort?

What is the actual average income of a ‘non profit’ activist film maker? How do they live? Surely there must be money involved somewhere. Where does it come from?
Seems to me the term is a red herring. Profit for many small organisations just means sustainabilty at a decent and viable standard".

John Lubran
Moving Vision
Newbridge-on-Wye

"Just had a call from BBC Online wanting to use a stock picture on the “Home Truths” website.
But, you guessed it, they had “no budget at all on this one” and could they use it for free, please.
I pointed out that their boss was getting paid, as were they, not forgetting the web-designers, the writer whose piece the pic would illustrate, the web host, even the cleaning lady who comes after they’d gone home. There clearly was a budget.
She said this issue “comes up in meetings” all the time and she understood my argument completely.
She will try to bring it up again, but the bean-counters still insist they ask us. She confirmed that it’s only photographers who get asked to contribute for free.

I’m off to WH Smiths for a copy of the Radio Times, even though I’ve got no budget for it. They won’t mind if I just take a copy, will they?"

Andrew Hasson
Brighton
hasson@
dated 9/11/01 2:58:35

On a Photographer, Giving Away Pictures

"Every professional photographer, at one time or another, has received a phone call or letter reading as follows: "Our organization would like to use your photograph in a brochure [or advertisement, or magazine, or audio-visual presentation]. We are a nonprofit organization that has no budget for the purchase of the photograph, and we hope that you will provide the picture without charge." My standard answer is an emphatic "no." I am tired of the exploitation of creative people by nonprofit organizations. You may think this a crass and overly commercial response, but let's consider it for a moment.

What about the person who wrote that letter or made that call? Does that person get paid for his or her job as the editor or art director of the publication? What about the rest of the staff of that nonprofit organization? Do they get paid for their efforts? Does the paper company charge for the paper used: in the brochure or publication? Do the typesetter, color separator, half-tone maker, printer, and binder get paid? The answer is a categorical "yes." So why should the photographer be the one who is asked to contribute the work without compensation?

My position is that if everybody is donating their services, and no one is getting paid for a project that is altruistic and idealistic, then, and only then, should a photographer ever consider donating the reproduction rights to his or her photograph."

Chapnick, H. (1994)
Truth Needs No Ally: Inside Photojournalism.
Columbia: University of Missouri Press.
P334-335.

“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don’t want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ...Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.”

Hermann Goering,
Nazi leader,
at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II

"Copyright info is changed to save hassle and cash and more cash. Whoever does it knows full well it is unlawful - they do it because they can. And they’ll get away with it time and time again. Largely because no one knows otherwise most of the time and because the rightful owner doesn’t kick up a stink when they do know about it. The only exception: someone very new to the business accidently highlighting the photographers name in the copyright field. The middle finger has a sudden reflex and right clicks the mouse. In a violent sneeze, the index finger slips onto the delete key. Before realising this unfortunate accident, the operative becomes so distracted at the unusual sight of pigs, dancing majestically in a synchronised aerial performance to the tune of All Around My Hat through the office window, forgets to undo it and, in a lapse of concentration, puts in the company’s name instead. Benefit of doubt on that one, otherwise guilty until proven innocent"

David Hoffman - Photographer

“The more corrupt the state,
the more numerous the laws!”

Tacitus (A.D. 55-130)

"We are living in very dangerous times in many senses.
The use of armed and specially trained para-military police units to counter protests in the EU will tend to escalate violence not diminish it.
But, more importantly, it is part of a strategy to treat protestors as the same kind of "threat" as terrorists.
This can only lead to a curtailment of the right of free movement and the democratic right to demonstrate."

Tony Bunyan, editor of Statewatch

The British Passport Pre-amble

" Her Britannic Majesty's
Secretary of State
Requests and requires
In the Name of Her Majesty
all those whom it may concern
to allow the bearer to pass freely
without let or hindrance,
and to afford the bearer
such assistance and protection
as may be necessary. "


(signed, The Queen. Yea, right!!)

"It is a good thing to demand liberty for ourselves and those who agree with us; it is a rarer thing to give it to others who do not agree with us".

FD Roosevelt

“Work like you don’t need the money,
love like you’ve never been hurt,
and dance like no one is watching...”

anon

“We are a cultural community,
not an ethnic one”.

John – a showman

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

*29 have been accused of spousal abuse
*7 have been arrested for fraud
*19 have been accused of writing bad checks
*117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
*3 have done time for assault
*71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
*14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
*8 have been arrested for shoplifting
*21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
*84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Guess which organization this is.
Give up?
Yep, It’s the 535 members of the United States Congress.

A statement of fact!

“look... tabloids make things up; but that’s ok... because people who read tabloids deserve to be lied to...”

Jerry Seinfeld –
when being questioned about the extreme claims
that tabloids made about his private life.

When in danger or in doubt
- run in circles, scream & shout.

David Hoffman

"There is only one thing in this world, and that is to keep acquiring money and more money, power and more power.
All the rest is meaningless."

Napoleon Bonaparte

Freeborn Man Of The Travelling People

I'm a freeborn man of the travelling people
Got no fixed abode, with nomads I am numbered
Country lanes and byways were always my ways
I Never fancied being lumbered

O we knew the woods, all the resting places
And the small birds sang when wintertime was over
Then we'd pack our load and be on the road
They were good old times for the rover

There was open ground where a man could linger
Stay a week or two for time was not your master

Then away you'd jog with your horse and dog
Nice and easy, no need to go faster

Now and then you'd meet up with other travellers Hear the news or else swap family information
At the country fairs, we'd be meeting there
All the people of the travelling nation

All you freeborn men of the travelling people
Every tinker, rolling stone, or gypsy rover
Winds of change are blowing, old ways are going
Your travelling days will soon be over.

Ewan MacColl

‘Go Move Shift (The Moving On Song)’

Born in the middle of the afternoon,
In a horsedrawn carriage on the old A5
The big twelve wheeler shook my bed,
You can't stay here the policeman said,
You'd better get born in some place else,
Move along, get along, move along, get along,
Go, Move, Shift.


Born on the common by a building site,
Where the ground was rutted by the trail of wheels,
The local Christian said to me,
You'll lower the price of property,
You'd better get born in some place else,
Move along, get along, move along, get along,
Go, Move, Shift.


Born at potato picking time,
In an old grown tent by a tatie field,
The farmer said the work's all done,
It's time that you was moving on,
You'd better get born in some place else,
Move along, get along, move along, get along,
Go, Move, Shift.


Born at the back of a Hawthorne hedge,
Where the Blackheath frost lay on the ground,
No eastern kings came bearing gifts,
Instead the order came to shift,
You'd better get born in some place else,
Move along, get along, move along, get along,
Go, Move, Shift.



The eastern sky was full of stars,
But one shone brighter than the rest,
The wise men came so stern and strict,
And brought the order to evict.
You'd better get born in some place else,
Move along, get along, move along, get along,
Go, Move, Shift.


Wagon, tent, or trailer born,
Last month, last year or in far off days,
Born here or a thousand miles away,
There's always men nearby who'll say,
You'd better get born in some place else,
Move along, get along, move along, get along,
Go, Move, Shift.

Ewan MacColl
©Stormking Music

The UK-based anti-virus outfit Sophos is reporting a new variant of the 'LoveBug' Outlook worm which contains a large amount of hidden text, apparently designed to attract the US National Security Agency's Echelon spy satellite network and overload it.

Below is the full text of the file's comments, as reported by Sophos:

(i am NOT from iraq, and not protecting
iraq/islamic anyway) Stop Violence Pentagon. Why are you testing your
new weapons on iraq? You are trying to protect children from porn but
you are also killing them and other innocent people in iraq... ...and
another thing... why are you using echelon type stupid things to listen
around...?< Hey others, lets fl00d the echelon... .gov @ NSA national
security agency code PGP GPG satellite cia yemen toxin botulinum mi5 mi6
mit kgb .mil mil base64 us defence intelligence agency admiral diplomat
alert! begin pgp message cert HQ password secret information Shamil
Basaev BATF Tactical information broadcasting service netsec DEA Ayman
Al Zawahiri RADINT ETA Fort Meade explosive gun conspiracy primer
detonator initiator unicos al amn al-askari cray arpanet node backdoor
mi-6 mi-5 terrorism SSCI sairi islamic revolution assembly not for
public private korea diplomat wiretap Usame bin Laden DF ZARK SERT VIP
ARC S.E.T set ssl hezbollah hizbullah afiwc compusec M51 phsical
security division MOSSAD DDos denial of sevice don't try to contact me
astel DH breaking machine Xu Yongyue agent agents national
infrastructure air command control facility nm info Lieutenant tactical
defcon mortars rpg7 propellants defensive evasion boobytraps secure
internet rsa uzi buy hrt hk33ke aks-74 galil arm detcord pmk40 silencers
timing devices information security naval yard sao reno jics computer
terrorism NAIA SAPM ASU ECHELON ASTS RSP ISS JDF NAAP RSO encryption
ASWS USDOJ SAMU COSMOS DATTA e99ll bill clinton george bush nash asis
seal team 3 MSEE M.P.R.I top secret mossberg sursat 5926 telint fraud
analyzer b61-7 sbu err SO13 reojdykarna airframe 510 EuroFed Avi shelter
Cryto AG IDP RHL MP5K-SD sniper gign exon shell masuda eada shs NSWF
sabotage nitrate Counter terrorism RCMP CTU CQB CONUS BOP CID thief NCSA
ISACA ASVC spook words flashbangs magnum resta 777 666 MD2 MD4 MDA 747
boing domestic disruption smuggle Z-200 Security Consulting Keyhole NABS
Kilderkin covert video pathfinders oscor merlin ntt sl-1 sr-71 sr71 f117
f-117 cornflower TNT rdx amfo hmtd lead azide styphante ddnp nitrostarch
mines grenades rockets fuses nitrocellulose c4 ambush sniping spoof
sniff sniffing sniffer motorcade assassination jtf-6 psyops privacy

Written By Extirpater and beyin.

"THE MOST OFFENSIVE THING ABOUT LITTLE PRICKS LIKE YOU MARK, IS THE FACT THAT YOU CAN SIT BEHIND YOUR LITTLE CORPORATE IDEALS AND YOUR SAD LITTLE LIFE SLAGGING OFF PEOPLE ON YOUR COMPUTER, ABOUT HOW PATHETIC IT IS FOR THEM TO GET OFF THEIR ARSES AND TRY AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE TERRIBLE WRONGS THAT ARE GOING ON THIS WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT PEOPLE ON LOW WAGES WORKING EVERY HOUR GOD GIVES TO TRY AND FEED THEIR FAMILIES AND TRY AND CREATE A SLIGHTLY BETTER LIFE FOR THEMSELVES WHILST UNDER CONSTANT FEAR OF SPEAKING OUT FOR FEAR OF LOSING THEIR SHITTY JOB AND CONDEMMING THEMSELVES TO SCROUNGING FOR FOOD OF RUBBISH TIPS WHILE THERE IS A CONSTANT QUEUE OF OTHER DESPERATE PEOPLE TO TAKE THEIR PLACE, THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO VOICE, SO WHO EXACTLY IS MEANT TO SHOUT OUT AND GET ANGRY ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THESE PEOPLE. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD THAT YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHO'S YOUTH ARE NOT APATHETIC, WHO WOULD RATHER THAT THE DEBTS THESE COUNTRIES OWE OUR BANKS SHOULD BE SPENT ON THEIR OWN INFRUSTRUCTURE, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS AND MEDICINE AND WHOS PEOPLE GET A DECENT WAGE FOR MAKING PRODUCTS THAT BIG COMPANIES SELL FOR OVER INFLATED PRICES TO LOGO OBSESSED PEOPLE SUCH AS YOURSELF. EVEN RECENTLY IT TRANSPIRED THAT THE CHOCOLATE THAT WE ALL EAT ON MASS IS MADE ON THE BACKS OF CHILDREN SOLD AS SLAVES TO WORK ON THE PLANTATIONS. DOES NONE OF THIS BOTHER YOU EVEN SLIGHTLY?
IF THE ANSWER IS STILL NO YOU SHOULD HANG YOUR HEAD IN FUCKING SHAME AND IF THE ANSWER IS YES THEN GET OFF YOUR NASTY LITTLE BACKSIDE AND START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

PS THIS IS A NEWSGROUP, ANYBODY CAN READ WHAT IS WRITTEN HERE, IT IS NOT WRITTEN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW EVERYBODIES LITTLE SECRETS IT IS HERE SO PEOPLE CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE, AS YOU ARE NOT LIKE MINDED WHY DONT YOU GO BACK TO YOUR BRITNEY SPEARS NEWSGROUP."


[mayday-monopoly] Digest Number 181
From: "Leona"

"Overthrough capitalism and replace it with something nice"

banner at Mayday 2001

What do we want?
Dunno!
When do we want it?
NOW!!

Daily Telegraph cartoon, on Mayday 2001

"Never drink water!
Look what it does to the bottom of ships."

WC Fields

"Just occurred to me that it is quite funny how many anarchists seem to listen to radio 4,
maybe one will move into ambridge :-)"

Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 09:58:24 -0000
[mayday-monopoly] Digest Number 158
From: "Ferdi"
Subject: anarchists and radio4

"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."

Longfellow

"Any campaigning movement is naturally corcerned about conflicting opinions that might lead to splits. But if divisions are of substance, they have to be faced openly and honestly. And if there are splits so be it. Splits are commonly a sign of vitality and growth.
To pretend they don't exist, and search always for the lowest common denominator,is to have nothing interesting to say - a prescription for failure. People probing a new horizon have to be prepared to live dangerously and take risks."

PeterCado@
[mayday-monopoly] Digest Number 128

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire.

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

William Blake - Jerusalem

"All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him."

Sun Tzu

"He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake since for him the spinal cord would fully surfice. This disgrace to civilisation should be done away with at once.

Heroism at command, senseless brutality, despicable love of country stance, how violently I have all this how despicable and ignoble war is. I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."

Albert Einstein

"The first step is to penetrate the clouds of deceit
and distortion and learn the truth about the world,
then to organise and act to change it.
That's never been impossible and never been easy."

Noam Chomsky

"In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."

Douglas Adams
Hitch-hiker Guide to the Galaxy

"A drug is neither moral nor immoral -
it's a chemical compound.
The compound itself is not a menace to society
until a human being treats it as if consumption bestowed a temporary license to act like an asshole."

Frank Zappa

"The ordinary man is an anarchist.
He wants to do as he likes.
He may want his neighbour to be governed,
but he himself doesn't want to be governed.

He is mortally afraid of government officials and policemen."

George Bernard Shaw

"Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent?
Several have died of conformity in our lifetime."

Jacob Bronowski

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed."

Martin Luther King

"Join the Army
travel to exotic distant lands
meet exciting and unusual people
and kill them."

"If it's yellow, let it mellow.
If it's brown, flush it down."

An old (environmentally friendly) toilet use motto

"Old hippies don't die,
they just lie low until the laughter stops
and their time comes round again."

Joseph Gallivan

"My advice to people today is as follows:
If you take the game of life seriously,
if you take your nervous system seriously,
if youtake your sense organs seriously,
if you take the energy process seriously,

you must turn on, tune in, and drop out."

Timothy Leary

"The greatest honor history can bestow is that of peacemaker."

Richard M. Nixon (1913-94)

"There never was a good war or a bad peace."

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)

Defence of the free world?

(I thought this example of defence of the free world might help you sleep safer in your bed tonight.)

This is the transcript of the ACTUAL radio conversation of a US Naval Communications on 10th October 1995, with the Canadians off the coast of Newfoundland.

CANADIANS: We advise you to divert your course 15 degrees to the South, to avoid a collision.

AMERICANS: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the North, to avoid collision.

CANADIANS: Negative. You are still on collision course and must divert your course 15 degrees to the South.

AMERICANS: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert your course.

CANADIANS: Negative. That is not possible, Captain. I say again, you must divert your course immediately.

AMERICANS: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES FLEET, WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS, AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, I SAY AGAIN, THAT'S 15 DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTERMEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

CANADIANS: We are a lighthouse. Your call.

US Naval Communications on 10th October 1995
(Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations 10-10-95.)

"If we have to use force,
it is because we are America."

Madeleine Albright - American Secretary of State

"Violence versus non-violence -- a solution

spikey - fluffy ?

two methods - one objective".

"When I see an actual flesh and blood
worker in conflict with his natural
enemy the policeman, I do not have
to ask myself which side I am on"

George Orwell

"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion."

William Inge

"There is a stuffed fish on my mantle-piece. If it had not opened its mouth, it would not be there."

Eton Schoolmaster in tutorial

"Better to die with memories than with dreams".

Rebecca Legg
Round-the-world sailor

"If we could read the secret history of our enemies,
we should find in each man's life
sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."

Longfellow

“I have never seen a normal man or woman,
or even a normal dog.
I have never experienced an average day
or an ordinary sunset.
The normal, the average, the ordinary describe that which we never encounter outside mathematics."

Timothy F.X.Finnegan,
Nightmare and Awakening

"well we were pissed when we built it….."

On building a bender.

"To wash one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, is to side with the powerful, not to be neutral"

Paulo Freire

"If the brain were so simple we could understand it,
we would be so simple we couldn't."

Lyall Watson

“A full stop could be a hyphen
coming straight at you”

Ken Campbell.

"I'm not against the police,
I'm just afraid of them".

Alfred Hitchcock

“Work like you don’t need the money,
dance like nobody’s watching and
love like you’ve never been hurt”.

Once is happenstance.

Twice coincidence.

Three times enemy action !!!

James Bond: Goldfinger

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever does."

Margaret Mead

A brief chronology of land and rights

1066 --Norman Invasion, imposition of Norman Yoke
1086 --Domesday Book
1470-1900 --Enclosure
1536-1540 --Dissolution of the Monasteries
1549 --Kett’s Rebellion
1642-1649 --English Civil War
1649 --The Diggers
1870-1903 --Irish Land Acts
1879-1881 --Irish Land League
1800-1882 --Highland Clearances
1882 --Crofters’ War
1995- --The Land Is Ours, a landrights movement for Britain

Tony Gosling - The Land Is Ours

Rights of Common Land

Common Land is Land subject to Rights of Common - ie rights enjoyed by one or more persons to take or use part of a piece of land or the produce of a piece of land which is ‘owned’ by somebody else.
Ancient rights of common were usually of five kinds, although there were others:
of pasture: the right to graze livestock; the animals permitted, whether sheep, horses, cattle, etc.,were specified in each case.
of estovers: the right to cut and take wood (but not timber), reeds heather bracken, etc.
of turbary: the right to dig turf or peat for fuel.
in the soil: the right to take sand, gravel, stone, coal, minerals, etc.
of piscary: the right to take fish from ponds, streams etc.

"All mainstream media news has an agenda which is strictly adhered to; the biggest factor being the reliance on commercial advertising for survival, which itself compromises the impartiality claims"

Jim Carey
Squall.

"Let right be done"

Sir Robert Morton
'The Winslow Boy'

"This instrument can teach, it can illuminate, yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it's nothing but wires and lights in a box"

Edward R. Murrow,
on TV ... and the Internet?

"In the end they will lay their freedom at our
feet and say to us in power,
‘Make us your slaves, but feed us"

The Grand Inquisitor,
Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky

"The green lobby wants to curb the World Bank and the IMF yet expects the Hague climate summit to come up with solutions. You can't have it both ways".

Larry Elliott.
Guardian Economics Editor

"Now that the floods are subsiding,
heat pours from open shop doors
and streeets are festooned with Chrismas lights.
Global Warming? Who cares?"

SMJ Kill
Letters: Guardian

"How ironic. They ran out of time and had to hand over to the next bookers of the hall: oil industry executives"

Mark Walker
Letters: Guardian

Climate Change Conference, The Hague Nov 2000

"What a terrible indictment of humankind that we cannot agree how to stop ourselves destroying the planet we inhabit"

Mike Worthington
Letters: Guardian

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world... as in being able to remake ourselves.”

Mahatma Gandhi

‘Is My Team Ploughing?’

"IS my team ploughing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?’
Ay, the horses trample,
The harness jingles now;
No change though you lie under
The land you used to plough.
‘Is football playing
Along the river shore,
With lads to chase the leather,
Now I stand up no more?’
Ay, the ball is flying,
The lads play heart and soul,
The goal stands up, the keeper
Stands up to keep the goal.
‘Is my girl happy,
That I thought hard to leave,
And has she tired of weeping
As she lies down at eve?’
Ay, she lies down lightly,
She lies not down to weep:
Your girl is well contented.
Be still, my lad, and sleep.
‘Is my friend hearty,
Now I am thin and pine,
And has he found to sleep in
A better bed than mine?’
Yes, lad, I lie easy,
I lie as lads would choose;
I cheer a dead man’s sweetheart,
Never ask me whose."

A.E. Houseman

My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people.
Let tyrants fear; I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you all - to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust.

I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king - and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms - I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.
I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns, and, we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you.

For the meantime, my Lieutenant General Leicester shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my General, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom and of my people."

Elizabeth I

To her army at Tilbury
on the eve of the Spanish Armada, 1588

"If A is success in life,
then A = x + y + z,
where work is x,
play is y,
and z is keeping your mouth shut."

Einstein

"The earth is not dying,
it is being killed."

www.corporatewatch.org

"First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win."

Gandhi

"The Law doth punish man or woman
Who steals the goose off the common.

But sets the greater felon loose
Who steals the common from the goose."

Garrard Winstanley 1649

"All animals are equal,
but some animals are more equal than others."

George Orwell
(Animal Farm, Ch. 10)

"At the moment it's just a Notion, but with a bit of backing I think I could turn it into a Concept, and then an Idea."

Woody Allen

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known."

O. Wilde

"Ever tried. Ever failed. Never mind. Try again. Fail better."

Samuel Beckett

"Really! If we knew what it was we were doing,
it would not be called research, would it?"

A. Einstein

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

Dan Quayle

"If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now."

Douglas Adams
(The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy)

"In matters of grave importance,
style, not sincerity, is the vital thing."

O. Wilde

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."

Douglas Adams
(The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

"Mobs have never accomplished anything but destruction."

Henry Miller

"Never let your morals keep you from doing what's right."

Isaac Asimov

"Not only is there no God,
but try getting a plumber on weekends."

Woody Allen

Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.

Groucho Marx
(Resigning from the Friar's Club in Hollywood)

"The larger a man grows in his own inner darkness,
the more his outer form diminishes."

M. Kundera

"The human mind has first to construct forms, independently, before we can find them in things."

Albert Einstein

"The History of every major Galactic Civilisation tends to pass through three distinct and recognisable phases,
those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases.

For instance, the first phase is characterised by the question `How can we eat?'
the second by the question `Why do we eat?'
and the third by the question `Where shall we have lunch?'

Douglas Adams
(The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

"The great question...which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is `What does a woman want'?"

Sigmund Freud
(Psychiatry in American Life)

"The last time I was inside a woman
was when I went to the Statue of Liberty."

Woody Allen

"The last thing one knows in constructing a work
is what to put first."

Blaise Pascal

"To read too many books is harmful."

Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
(The New Yorker, 7 Mar 1977)

"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarrely inexeplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

Douglas Adams
(The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

"There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies and the other is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."

Charles A. R. Hoare

"There are two major products to come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX.
We don't believe this to be a coincidence."

Anonymous

"You should never bet against anything in science
at odds of more than about 1012 to 1."

Ernest Rutherford

"You know it's easy to be happy if your one concern in life is figuring out how much saliva to dribble."

Woody Allen

"You certainly look cool.
Thanks, you don't look so hot yourself."

Yogi Berra

"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."

Niels Bohr

"The play was a great success, but the audience was a disaster."

O. Wilde

"The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius."

O. Wilde

"Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do."

O. Wilde

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

A. Einstein

"Common sense is the collection
of prejudices acquired by age 18."

A. Einstein

"You can't have everything.
.. where would you put it?"

Steven Wright

"A modest little person,
with much to be modest about."

W. Churchill

"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing,
and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."

O. Wilde

"A gentleman is one who never hurts
anyone's feelings unintentionally."

O. Wilde

"To er is human.
But for really big mistakes,
You need a computer."

Jeremy Vine, BBC Newsnight

"Should we be excited or alarmed by the advance of technological change?
In Britain, we tend to be alarmed by change.
In a century, during which we lost an empire, and found Mr Blobby.
That is perhaps, not surprising."

Douglas Adams

"For every problem there is a solution that is simple, attractive.... & wrong. "

Arthur C Clarke

“The greater danger for most of us,
is not that our aim is too high and we miss it.
But that it is too low...and we reach it.”

Michelangelo, 1475-1564

Re-Tort!

"Friends, humans, countryfolk,
Lend us your ears;
We come to change our Government,
Not to praise it;
To disempower the shirking element
Who on their backsides sit,
While gathering our taxes
Who say they're doing their bit.
Our Environment was heaven-sent,
Did you see where it went?
It must be bent, It must be negligent
On the part of the Government
To authorise so much harm
To this world which has such charm!
So while the Government continues
To fail to provide the resources we need
To prevent this suicide,
We'll pay no more tax-revenue
To continue down this avenue
Of destruction and disaster
They're our servants,
We're their masters!
It's illegal to pay a servant
To commit a negligent act.
The Government are civil servants;
We, their masters pay them
That's where it's at!
So it's illegal to pay a tax
To this Government that's lax
In it's duty of care
For the Environment we all must share!
Because the common-law says
You must be careful in your ways
Not to injure your neighbour:
A clean Environment we need
To sow our daily seed,
And a World without health
Is a World without wealth!
You Law Lords in our House of Lords
Must force negligent companies
To cease their pollution immediately
And to use the confiscated property
For the benefit of our Ecology!
Yes, the collectors of tax
Have been getting very lax
Upon the peoples' backs,
Can you see the cracks
In the makeup?

If this country went to war
Of resources we'd want no more,
Yet the sickness from pollution
Needs a grand solution,
Resources at least as great
To save us from this fate!
So we will pay no more tax
Until the Government acts
To facilitate the Nation's
Environment salvation
Only true respect for Creation
Will save us from damnation!
So now that we may use
The resources we need to choose
To redress the balance between
The order and the Chaos that we've seen.
Before Earth's Spirit's all burned,
Her gifts gratuitously spurned
We'll take the lessons we have learned
And create the World for which we've yearned.
If you can call yourself a blade,
Then live for Mother Nature's glade;
Trees infused with Sunlight-
Useless fears from peers take flight! "

Eco-tort
The green movement - protecting life and property and upholding the law!

"Technology is the name we give to new stuff
… that doesn't work yet!"

Douglas Adams

“If I can’t have a Revolution, what is there to dance about?”

Albert Meltzer

"News is what somebody does not want published.
All the rest is advertising"

Northcliffe

"When in danger or in doubt - run in circles, scream & shout".

David Hoffman

"Some will rob you with six-gun, some with a fountain pen"

Woodie Guthrie

"If you're not careful the media will have you hating the people who are being oppressed,

and loving the people who are doing the oppressing".

Malcolm X

"Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is discredited and abandoned and until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes, there will be war".

Bob Marley OM

“Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.”

Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations
on 10 December 1948.

"A lie frequently repeated will gradually gain acceptance."

Joseph Goebles

"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail … the rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter - all his force dares not cross the threshold of his ruined tenement"

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham

"When I'm writing a song I'm 100 per cent an artist. When I'm dealing with contracts I'm 100 per cent a businessman"

David Bowie

“We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party nor against the other… but we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness, righteousness, meekness, temperance, peace and unity with God, and with one another, that these things may abound.”

Edward Burroughs 1659
from ‘Quaker Faith and Practice’

"The earth has enough for everyone's needs,
but not enough for some people's greed"

Mahatma Gandhi.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph,
is for good men to do nothing"

Edmund Burke

"To prove a legal title to land one must trace it back
to the man who stole it".

Lloyd George

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”

Abraham Lincoln

"I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves."

August Strindberg

"What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet."

Woody Allen

"The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it."

John Hay, 1872

“The English man believes himself to be free and believes that he lives in a democratic country. Neither of these things are true and he behaves so stupidly on that one day every 5 years when he is free... that he does not even deserve that right.”

Jaques Rousseau

‘Evil will triumph because good men do nothing’

Edmund Burke

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."

Steve Biko
Murdered South African freedom fighter

Why Video Activism?

Video Activism deters police violence.

 Video Activism helps to document what occurs at actions, for legal follow-up purposes.

 Video Activism doesn't water-down, or alter the message of the people.

 Video Activism gives the people themselves opportunities to voice their own concerns as cameras are getting cheaper and editing technology is becoming more available.

 Video Activism enhances the capabality of the internet for spreading information accross borders by adding nontext content. Still images captured from video, downloadable audio and streaming video files can be made instantly available to interested people on the other side of the planet.

 Video Activism is a big feature of the growing world of independent media. More and more concerned citizens, all over the world, are making their own media and by-passing the corporate-owned press with their own stories and their unique visions of a better world.

http://whisperedmedia.org/

"The difference between Art and Design:
Art has to move you and design does not,
unless it’s a good design for a bus. “

David Hockney

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, With all the existing human ratios remaining the same, It would look something like the following.

There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north & s. America)
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death;
1 would be near birth;
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education

1 would own a computer

There are beautiful deserted islands in the middle of nowhere where the following people are stranded:

2 Italian men and 1 Italian woman
2 French men and 1 French woman
2 German men and 1 German woman
2 Greek men and 1 Greek woman
2 English men and 1 English woman
2 Bulgarian men and 1 Bulgarian woman
2 Japanese men and 1 Japanese woman
2 American men and 1 American woman
2 Irish men and 1 Irish woman

One month later on these absolutely stunning deserted islands in the middle of nowhere, the following things have occurred:
One Italian man killed the other Italian man for the Italian woman.
The two French men and the French woman are living happily together in a menage a trois.
The 2 German men have a strict weekly schedule of when they alternate with the German woman.
The 2 Greek men are sleeping with each other and the Greek woman is cleaning and cooking for them.
The 2 English men are waiting for someone to introduce them to the English woman.
The Bulgarian men took a long look at the endless ocean and one look at the Bulgarian woman and they started swimming.
The two American men are contemplating the virtues of suicide,while the American woman keeps on bitching about her body being her own, the true nature of feminism, how she can do everything that they can do, about the necessity of fulfillment, the equal division of household chores, how her last boyfriend respected her opinion and treated her much nicer and how her relationship with her mother is improving. But at least the taxes are low and it is not raining.
The two Japanese men have faxed Tokyo and are waiting for instructions.
The Irish began by dividing the island into North and South and by setting up a distillery. They do not remember if sex is in the picture because it gets sort of foggy after the first few liters of coconut whiskey, but they are satisfied in that at least the English are not getting any.

“The great appear great because we are on our knees.”

Max Stirner,
19th century German anarchist & author

"If you don't stand up for something,

you'll fall for anything"

WE ARE IN REVOLT

We are in revolt against Victorian values.

We are in revolt against Norman overlords.

We are in revolt against Roman culture.

We are in revolt against all the anally-retentive, repressive, patriarchal, hierarchical bullshit that is passed off by our rulers as the culture of our country and as the natural human way of life.

We insist on our right to celebrate the amazing beauty of life on this planet in a way that feels right to us.

We insist on our right to freely and fully feel and express our emotions and our spiritual selves.

We insist on our right to gather together, to celebrate, to show our love, to be unashamed of our beautiful bodies, to make music and dance, to live according to the directions of our hearts, to live in freedom and joy.

We reject the notion that we should all direct all our energies according to someone else's will in return for the crumbs off their table.

We reject the ridiculous idea that only by doing this will we be worthy and valuable members of society.

We reject completely the claims of the thieves and murderers, and descendants of thieves and murderers, who say they own this land and that they have the right to control its use and our access to it, and even to abuse and destroy it if they so wish.

We reject without exception the arrogant philosophies of so-called "economists" who believe that we should base the running of our society around the production and exchange of useless rubbish, and that it matters not what is produced and exchanged - only that money is made, and that we can only survive by all competing with each other; with our neighbours and friends around us; with our fellow countryfolk and with our brothers and sisters in other lands.

We reject wholeheartedly the claims of bullies in suits and uniforms that harmony amongst human beings can only be maintained by force.

We are frightened and worried by the horrifying thought that these are the people being allowed to make decisions about the running of our collective affairs.

We are inspired by our own and others' experiences to believe that people coming together collectively with mutual respect and a willingness to work together can run their own affairs very effectively without the need for any rulers, leaders, hierarchy or excessive bureaucracy.

We are convinced from simple observation that those who set themselves up as the leaders of the people of this land do so for their own benefit, not for the benefit of those they claim to lead.

We refuse to accept their outrageous claims.

We refuse to put up with their attempts to enforce their perverse and life-denying ways upon us.

We refuse to be their obedient subjects.

We are in revolt….

Zion Train
March 96

“To prove a legal title to land,
one must trace it back to the man who stole it.”

David Lloyd George

The Travellers' situation:

"I like living in a caravan,
am I such a terrible thing.

I dare to be different.
Now that is a terrible thing".

Charlie Smith

"If you wait by the river long enough,
you can watch the bodies of all your enemies float by"

Anon.

"If a writer on a political subject manages to preserve a detached attitude, it is nearly always because he doesn't know what he is talking about.

To understand a political movement, one has got to be involved in it. And as soon as one is involved, one becomes a propagandist. All art is propaganda... on the other hand, not all propaganda is art. "

George Orwell

“We can, each of us,
work to put our own inner house in order.”

E.F. Schumacher
in “Small is Beautiful”

“It is through disobedience that progress is made.”

Oscar Wilde

"Money can't buy you friends but you can get a better class of enemy"

Spike Milligan

"The really valuable thing is the Intuition. The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.

There comes a leap in consciousness, call it Intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why."

Albert Einstein

"Most Western people find it hard to attain unity with the source of light in exactly the same way that most Easterners find it hard to obtain a reasonable hi-fi system."

Timothy Leary

"What we observe is not nature itself,
but nature exposed to our method of questioning"

Werner Heisenberg

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst"

Henri Cartier-Bresson

"Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question. This question is one that only a very old man asks. My benefactor told me about it once when I was young, and my blood was too vigorous for me to understand it. Now I do understand it. I will tell you what it is: Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same : they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long, long paths, but I am not anywhere. My benefactor's question has meaning now. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you."

Don Juan
"The Teachings of Don Juan"
quoted by Carlos Castaneda

"A man's got to know his limitations"

Clint Eastwood

Decide to Network

use every letter you write
Every conversation you have
Every meeting you attend
To express your fundaments beliefs and dreams
Affirm to others the vision of the world you want
Network through thought
Network through action
Network through LOVE
Network through spirit
You are the centre of a network
You are the centre of the world
You are a free, immensly powerful source of life and goodness
Affirm it
Spread it
Radite it
Think day and night about it
And you will see a miracle happen:
The greatness of your own life.
In a world of big powers, media and monopolies
But of five billon Individuals
Networking is the freedom
The new democracy
A new form of happiness

Dr. Robert Muller.
Assistant Secretary General for Economic and Social Services for the United Nations
Networking For A Better World

“Never doubt that a small and dedicated group of people with pies can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Biotic Baking Brigade (BBB).

“Only those who will risk going too far
can possibly find out how far one can go.”

T. S. Eliot

“They hang the man and flog the woman
that steal the goose from off the common,
But let the greater villain loose
that steal the common from the goose.”

traditional rhyme

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 27

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

General Assembly Resolution 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 (1948)
Adopted at 3:00 a.m., December 10, 1948
by the General Assembly of the United Nations (without dissent).

Behaviour and the mind, alternative sexuality, diy, power and gender dynamics, psychedelics, co-operation, communication, sorcery, witchcraft, magic, involving liberals, anti-fascism, poetry insurgence, racial privilege and racism, meditation, media, skill sharing, video, promotions, fundraising, puppet convergence, critical mass, forest activism info-history, strategy, tactics, illumination. Non-violence training countering the cop’s sub-lethal weaponry, marching band, imf \ world bank, mumia, martial arts, yoga, animal activism, free radio, the body, juggling, physical health \ first aid, animal rights drumming, psychological health, food not bombs, gardening, bio-diversity, housing and habitat, meeting spaces, security, establishing an underground, squats restoration, mayan calendar, political prisoners, gentrification, wildcrafting, forest restoration, tolerance and compassion...

Global convergence of activism that will change the world! Come to Eugene, Oregon for a 9 week gathering of Coalition-Building,

Mutual-Aid and Direct Action.

"This is a terrible town. Its dog eat dog.
No, its worse, its dog doesn't return dog's phonecall."

Woody Allen

Time is precious. Waste it wisely.

shockwave.com

Photography is a fad well nigh on its last legs, thanks largely to the bicycle craze.

Alfred Stieglitz 1897.

Be a lion or be lunch

Be of good cheer; all is not lost.

“It’s STILL not too late to have a happy childhood”

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood”

“It takes a couple to produce a child.
However, it takes a entire village to bring one up.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“Politics (from the Greek POLITES - a citizen)
is what happens when
two or more human beings interact.
Every organisation on earth is political, and
Everything it does involves politics.”

George Monbiot

“Why do men go to war?
Because the women are watching!”

Anon.

“The rich ruleth over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

Proverbs 22:7

“Sexual intercourse began in 1963 between the end of the Chaterley ban and the Beatles’ first LP.”

Phil Larkin

“Only when the last tree has died
and the last river poisoned
and the last fish been caught
will we realise
we cannot eat money.”

Cree Indian comment
on the environment and materialism

'The fruits of the earth belong to all,
the land itself to no one'

Raif

Arrowed on the map
now have a nice day
and mind the gap
mind the gap between the rich and the poor
between justice and the law
between a just war and ...
.....just war


mind the gap
between freedom and the free
between news and the story
between you and me
who changes the rules
who moves the goal
who shuts the schools and cuts the dole
the hole
is greater than THE sum
of those who fall down it...
so be a good chap
be a survivor


mind the gap
while we're making it wider
YOU ARE HERE
once and for all
(I guess there are some gaps
we don't mind at all)...

MARK KELLY
With thanks to Reclaim The Streets.

"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen,
and thinking what no one else has thought."

Albert Szent-Gyürgyi von Nagryapult {1893 - 1986}

"It is forbidden to kill...unless to trumpets."

Voltaire {1694 - 1778}

"Those who do not remember the past
are condemned to repeat it."

George Santayana {1863 - 1952}

"Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones.
But a collection of facts is no more a science
than a heap of stones is a house."

Jules Henri Poincairé {1854 - 1912}

"I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter."

Blaise Pascal {1623 - 1662}

“Government, even in its best state,
is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”

Thomas Paine {1737 - 1809}
Rights of Man

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

Orwell, George {1903 - 1940}

"There is nothing so powerful as an idea
whose time has come."

Hugo, Victor {1802 - 1885}

"If I have seen further than others,
it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."

Newton, Isaac {1642 - 1726}
Letter to Robert Hooke - 1676/02/05

"Cogito, ergo sum."

[I think, therefore I exist]

René Descartes {1596 - 1650}

1999 - Seasons greetings ……….

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

May you have a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2000, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make Christmas a joyful occasion celebrated throughout western civilisation, and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual orientation of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms.

 This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal.
 It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.
 It implies no promise of the wisher to actually implement the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and said warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

"you cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong;
you cannot help small men by tearing down big men;
you cannot help the poor by destroying the rich;
you cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer;
you cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income;
you cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds;
you cannot establish security on borrowed money;
you cannot build character and courage by taking away an individual's initiative and independence;
you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."

William John Henry {1873 }

What Is A Rave?

Dictionary definition of the word "rave"
1. rave \'ra-v\ vb [ME raven]
 1a: to talk irrationally in or as if in delirium
 1b: to declaim wildly
 1c: to talk with extreme enthusiasm
 2: to move or advance violently : STORM : to utter in madness or frenzy
rav.er
2. rave n often attrib
 1: an act or instance or raving
 2: an extravagantly favorable criticism

"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great
step to knowledge."

Disraeli, Benjamin {1804 - 1881}

"Power tends to corrupt …
and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Acton, J. E. E. D., {1834 - 1902}
Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887, April 3

“There are no limits to creativity .
There is no end to subversion.”

Raoul Vaneigem
The Revolution of Everyday Life.

"Per Ardua Ad Astra"

means "Through travail to the stars."

Motto: Royal Air Force

“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.”

Edward Abbey

Quis custodiet istos custodes?

[Latin: who will watch the watchers?]

“The state is not something that can be destroyed by a revolution but is a condition,
a certain relationship between human beings,
a mode of human behaviour,
we destroy it by behaving differently,
by contracting other relationships.

Gustav Landauer.

“Most of us want more mobility, but not the sort of world that would result if everyone’s wish were granted”

John Adams
Professor of geography, University College, London

“A brisk trade in Battle of Seattle ‘souvenirs’ is being conducted via the Internet.
Online auctioneer eBay is selling 23 lots, including a ‘riot tear gas fun pack’.
This features a spent CS gas canister,
two tear gas shells, rubber bullets and a broken police club.
Five people so far bid more than $100”.

John Vidal
Guardian, 15 December 1999

"Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them,
but to stop there is not enough.
We have a higher mission –
to be of service to them whenever they require it."

St Francis of Assisi

“When a person laughs at the difference between what a politician says and what a politician does they are making a critical judgement on their elected representatives.
If journalists feel they have vacated the ground for
comics to rush in, the answer is simple:
stop whining and get on with doing a good job”.

Mark Thomas
Channel 4

“Think it looks easy, do you?
Well, you’re wrong. To be a great DJ, you need to do more than stand in the corner and put the records on.”

Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim)

"The most fundamental problem of politics... is not the control of wickedness but the limitation of righteousness."

Henry Kissinger

I have never read Marx. Well, I read a few pages then decided he was a bore. Karl didn't invent the class struggle, he merely wrote about it in a way that impressed some people, using lots of big words. While it can certainly be useful to know about the history of the working class, you don't need to have studied Marxist theory to know that being bossed around is degrading.

Dave Coull

Remember 'the Earth is not dying, it is being murdered and the people murdering it have names and addresses'

British EF!,
seen in DiY Culture: Party and Protest in Nineties Britain
(Verso)

In London over 1000 gathered outside Euston Station in support of rail and tube workers.
 Speeches were made
 Drums banged
 People partied
(despite the dull presence of Socialist Wanker Parasites).

Everything was peaceful until ....

 The rally had ended and some protestors charged the cops in the return of rabid riot ravers ruckus
 A police van was set alight
 Protestors and lots of heavy-handed cops pushed each other around
 Arrests were made
 Capitalism was mentioned
 People went home

And remember folks:
you’re not obliged to say anything to the cops
or have your picture taken!

SchNews on WTO demo at Euston Nov 99

It is not enough for a handful of experts to attempt the solution of a problem, to solve it and then to apply it. The restriction of knowledge to an elite group destroys the spirit of society and leads to its intellectual impoverishment.

Albert Einstein

"If the Nuremberg laws were applied today, then every Post-War American president would have to be hanged."

Noam Chomsky

"The internet is a military experiment that the state
has lost control of.
Today we can use the power of that system for people all over the world to join together and protest about the insane policies being developed by the political elite and global corporations."

Paul Mobbs, independent environmental consultant, Banbury, Oxfordshire

"The collapse of the global marketplace would be a traumatic event with unimaginable consequences. Yet I find it easier to IMAGINE than the continuation of the current regime."

George Soros, speculator

“They’re all just a load of alcoholic anarchists.”

Christopher Chope
(Roads Minister 1990-1992)

"Every man's work, whether it be literature or
pictures or architecture or anything else,
is always a portrait of himself."

Samuel Butler

"The fool wonders, the wise man asks."

Benjamin Disraeli

Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Gandhi

Batons will not stop thought,
but neither will thought alone stop batons.

Andy (Earth First)

“May your trails be crooked,winding,
lonesome, & dangerous,
leading to the most amazing view.”

Edward Abbey

“If you think that you’re too small
to make a difference,
try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito...”

African Proverb

"CHIEF SEATTLE'S 1854 ORATION"


AUTHENTIC TEXT OF CHIEF SEATTLE'S TREATY ORATION 1854


Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold, and which to us appears changeless and eternal, may change. Today is fair. Tomorrow it may be overcast with clouds. My words are like the stars that never change. Whatever Seattle says, the great chief at Washington can rely upon with as much certainty as he can upon the return of the sun or the seasons. The white chief says that Big Chief at Washington sends us greetings of friendship and goodwill. This is kind of him for we know he has little need of our friendship in return. His people are many. They are like the grass that covers vast prairies. My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain. The great, and I presume -- good, White Chief sends us word that he wishes to buy our land but is willing to allow us enough to live comfortably. This indeed appears just, even generous, for the Red Man no longer has rights that he need respect, and the offer may be wise, also, as we are no longer in need of an extensive country.

There was a time when our people covered the land as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor, but that time long since passed away with the greatness of tribes that are now but a mournful memory.
I will not dwell on, nor mourn over, our untimely decay, nor reproach my paleface brothers with hastening it, as we too may have been somewhat to blame.

Youth is impulsive. When our young men grow angry at some real or imaginary wrong, and disfigure their faces with black paint, it denotes that their hearts are black, and that they are often cruel and relentless, and our old men and old women are unable to restrain them. Thus it has ever been. Thus it was when the white man began to push our forefathers ever westward. But let us hope that the hostilities between us may never return. We would have everything to lose and nothing to gain. Revenge by young men is considered gain, even at the cost of their own lives, but old men who stay at home in times of war, and mothers who have sons to lose, know better.

Our good father in Washington--for I presume he is now our father as well as yours, since King George has moved his boundaries further north--our great and good father, I say, sends us word that if we do as he desires he will protect us. His brave warriors will be to us a bristling wall of strength, and his wonderful ships of war will fill our harbors, so that our ancient enemies far to the northward -- the Haidas and Tsimshians -- will cease to frighten our women, children, and old men. Then in reality he will be our father and we his children. But can that ever be? Your God is not our God! Your God loves your people and hates mine! He folds his strong protecting arms lovingly about the paleface and leads him by the hand as a father leads an infant son. But, He has forsaken His Red children, if they really are His. Our God, the Great Spirit, seems also to have forsaken us. Your God makes your people wax stronger every day. Soon they will fill all the land. Our people are ebbing away like a rapidly receding tide that will never return. The white man's God cannot love our people or He would protect them. They seem to be orphans who can look nowhere for help. How then can we be brothers? How can your God become our God and renew our prosperity and awaken in us dreams of returning greatness? If we have a common Heavenly Father He must be partial, for He came to His paleface children. We never saw Him. He gave you laws but had no word for His red children whose teeming multitudes once filled this vast continent as stars fill the firmament. No; we are two distinct races with separate origins and separate destinies. There is little in common between us.

To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. You wander far from the graves of your ancestors and seemingly without regret. Your religion was written upon tablets of stone by the iron finger of your God so that you could not forget. The Red Man could never comprehend or remember it. Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors -- the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people.

Your dead cease to love you and the land of their nativity as soon as they pass the portals of the tomb and wander away beyond the stars. They are soon forgotten and never return. Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. They still love its verdant valleys, its murmuring rivers, its magnificent mountains, sequestered vales and verdant lined lakes and bays, and ever yearn in tender fond affection over the lonely hearted living, and often return from the happy hunting ground to visit, guide, console, and comfort them.

Day and night cannot dwell together. The Red Man has ever fled the approach of the White Man, as the morning mist flees before the morning sun. However, your proposition seems fair and I think that my people will accept it and will retire to the reservation you offer them. Then we will dwell apart in peace, for the words of the Great White Chief seem to be the words of nature speaking to my people out of dense darkness.

It matters little where we pass the remnant of our days. They will not be many. The Indian's night promises to be dark. Not a single star of hope hovers above his horizon. Sad-voiced winds moan in the distance. Grim fate seems to be on the Red Man's trail, and wherever he will hear the approaching footsteps of his fell destroyer and prepare stolidly to meet his doom, as does the wounded doe that hears the approaching footsteps of the hunter.

A few more moons, a few more winters, and not one of the descendants of the mighty hosts that once moved over this broad land or lived in happy homes, protected by the Great Spirit, will remain to mourn over the graves of a people once more powerful and hopeful than yours. But why should I mourn at the untimely fate of my people? Tribe follows tribe,
and nation follows nation, like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless. Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the White Man whose God walked and talked with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We will see.

We will ponder your proposition and when we decide we will let you know. But should we accept it, I here and now make this condition that we will not be denied the privilege without molestation of visiting at any time the tombs of our ancestors, friends, and children. Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as the swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch. Our departed braves, fond mothers, glad, happy hearted maidens, and even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season, will love these somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits. And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children's children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone.

Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds.

Chief Seattle, 1854.
This letter appeared in the
Seattle Sunday Star on Oct. 29, 1887,
in a column by Dr. Henry A. Smith.