the english democrats

It's a good job that l was out when these were put through my letterbox, as l'd have told them to bugger off (maybe not so politely) and not to come back. English jobs for English workers? Good luck with getting rid of all of the Irish, Scots or Welsh for a start, although l suspect they will be too busy dealing with 'foreigners' who look as though they have some kind of tan first.

Fucking bunch of racist bastards.

toodle pip

danny baker the racist - now fired

I've been listening with great pleasure to various Danny Baker podcasts for years now, and although he can have certain convictions that l completely disagree with, l have never thought that he was a racist. Last night however, he made a serious error of judgment on his twitter feed, by posting a picture of a posh couple with a suited monkey, straight after the naming of the new royal baby (Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor). There was  a backlash about the picture on racist grounds, due to the mixed race parentage through Megan Markle, and Danny apologised a few times (although often with a caveat) and took it down, saying he did not mean it to be perceived as racist. He has also had years of ongoing jokes of a non racist kind about monkeys dressed as famous people without complaint. Twitter however, would not let it lie, and despite other apologies from Danny, he has now been sacked from his BBC5 Live show.
Now a lot of people may argue that as Danny comes from a working class background and supports Millwall, there may be racist connotations to the post as he may be subliminally racist. However, forget his background and the team he supports, this does not make him racist. It's actions and deeds that count.
Only Danny knows the truth, but l for one, was extremely disappointed that the following tweets from Danny could also have been seen to be linked to the one that was taken down, although no-one seems to have really mentioned this. One referred to 'Brown' being added to a drink, and the next referring to a microphone he was holding from an early show of his being in the shape of a banana. I think if there was a genuine heartfelt apology after the monkey pic, without the next couple of tweets, he should have been forgiven.
Maybe these were intended as racist. Maybe these were just poor attempts at humour and coincidental. Maybe there is nothing of note in these tweets and l am the racist one, finding meaning in them.
As l stated, only Danny knows, but these were seriously stupid posts, and this could be a sad end to a career.
Posts are below, his twitter feed is here, and there are plenty of podcasts out there for you to make up your own mind.

toodle pip

the death of emmett till

 Emmet Till and his mother

The Jury - who thought Bryant and Milam were guilty, but didn't deserve a life sentence or the death penalty for killing  a black man, so acquitted them

The murderers

I first heard about the death of Emmet Till through the song by Bob Dylan, but after re-reading about it recently, it is amazing to think that it only happened in 1955, ten years after the end of the Second Word War.
Till (aged 14) had supposedly wolf whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a shop girl in Money, Mississippi, and was subsequently beaten, an eye gouged out, fatally shot, and then thrown into the Tallahatchie river.
While there was outage after the body was found, and the open casket funeral to show Till's beaten and disfigured face, there was even more when the all white jury found the killers, Roy Bryant and J.W Milam (Carolyn's husband and his half brother) to be not guilty.  The killers later gave a paid interview to Look magazine in 1956, where they admitted what they had done, but because of Double Jeopardy, they could not be retried, and they went on with their lives, with Bryant not dying until 1994, aged 63.
Despite the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr preaching non violence, and the rapid escalation of the Civil Rights movement due in no small part to this case, l'd still have wanted to extract revenge on the murderers.
Just over 50 years ago - that is no time at all as far as history is concerned, and sadly, there are still plenty of people about now who still harbour the white supremacy attitude, and probably think what happened to Till was justified.
Twats.

toodle pip

james earl ray forgotten footage

This is pretty amazing footage that has just been unearthed after 45 years.  Not for the quality of the film, but for the historical significance.
It shows the killer of Martin Luther King, James Earl Ray, being taken into custody, and strip searched.  Potential jurors are also filmed, but these turned out not be be needed, due to Earl Ray pleading guilty.
It would have been better if this had been posted yesterday, as it was the anniversary of Dr King's death, but it's still a fascinating document of America's not so distant (and racist) past.
I still think George Wallace, the right wing politician and racist politician should take a lot of responsibility for what he had been preaching, as this encourages fanatics and idiots, but l suppose he got shot and paralyzed in a 1972 assassination attempt, so it's all Yin and Yang, cause and effect etc, even if he later renounced his views.
In related news, l been past The Lorraine Motel (now known as The National Civil rights Museum), where Dr King was shot, and witnessed and support what Jacqueline Smith is protesting about outside.  That is, the gentrification of the area, which resulted in pricing out the locals, and the wrong use of the motel as a museum, rather than as a clinic or college.  She used to live in the motel, and was the last person the leave it,
and has been protesting outside for the last 20 years or so, and good luck to her (although the money always talks, so l think she is on to a lost cause).

toodle pip

django unchained (2013) - quentin tarantino

Myself and the FPO went to Teesside Park to see Django Unchained last month, as we wanted to view it on a large screen with surround sound, thinking that it would look and sound so much better than on an (albeit large) TV, and we could immerse ourselves in the story more.
We were glad we had made the effort, as it was just the type of movie we were hoping for from Quentin Tarantino, overblown, violent, and funny, but with a serious tale to tell relating to the slaves and their treatment.
Some critics have argued about the constant references to 'niggers', but if this film was to portray an in any way realistic view of the old wild west, with all the old prejudices intact and in your face, the language used had to reflect that era, otherwise it could come across as old westerns did, with plenty of shooting, fighting and killing, but with no blood or swear words (and rapid recovery from fights!).  There's a place for those type of films as well, and l am also a big fan of them, but it's sometimes a good thing to bear witness to a representation of how brutal and unflinching those times were.
The screenplay and casting was excellent and believable, with some standout performances from Samuel L Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprico, but for me, Christoph Waltz stole the movie.  Softly spoken, and full of mischief and unexpected surprises, he has rightly been awarded the plaudits for doing so.
With plenty of dialogue and shootings (from Tarantino!!?), and with a romantic quest thrown into the mix, it's a film l will be revisiting again in the years to come. The original 'Django' (Franco Nero) even makes an appearance  and was well spotted by the FPO.
The soundtrack album is also worth checking out, despite the fact it does not contain Richie Havens' version of 'High Flyin' Bird' (which is in the movie).  Sacrilege!



toodle pip

richard and willie

I'm all for a bit of dirty, surreal, and political comedy, especially if there is a potty mouthed ventriloquist's dummy thrown in for good measure, but the trouble with these Richard and Willie albums from the late 1960's to the early 1970's, is that they are not that funny, the politics is laboured (not that way) and they are just foul mouthed yet boring (hard to believe, l know). Created by Richard Sanfield (Willie is the dummy) in 1967.  They may be funnier live, but these feature live performances, so l pretty much doubt it.  Bit of a shame really, as the idea is magnificent.
If you want to check out various dummies  through the ages, there's a great site here.

toodle pip

president obama on the rosa parks bus

President Barack Obama visited the Henry Ford museum the other day and sat on the bus that Rosa Parks made famous when she refused to give up her seat, which was a defining moment in the fight for civil rights. Who would have imagined at that time that a black man could ever become the president of the United States,  and, even though he would have been pandering to the press when he got on the bus, l am sure he would have been truthful when he said that he took time to 'Ponder the courage and tenacity that is part of our very recent history'.
I am however, surprised he did not sit on the same seat as Rosa, and maybe he had the image above in his mind, from when she was on a bus at a later date, but l would have thought sitting in the original seat would have been more significant and poignant. Perhaps he was badly advised, in which case, l should be leading his advice team. Another wasted opportunity (for both of us).

toodle pip

the daily mail and the frail old woman who wants to overstay her visa

Somebody had The Daily Mail with them at work this week, so naturally, l had a glance through after they had finished with it. Once l got past the pages (and pages) about the riots, this article caught my eye. A 96 year old woman from the UK has gone to Australia to visit family on a 12 month visa. She now wants to stay longer, so she can be with her family as her health deteriorates, which means using the Australian Health Service. Because she will be classed as a burden to the state, she is to be deported back to the UK. The Mail is supporting her and saying how unjust this verdict is.

Now...........

Imagine if somebody came to the UK on a visa to visit their family, let's say a 96 year old woman from somewhere in Africa. They then wanted to overstay and use the NHS for treatment, as they were also frail and wanted to be with their family. The Mail would be in uproar, ranting about how the system is being abused and can't afford to treat all the foreigners coming over (deliberately, as l'm sure they would say) for treatment, so send them back.

Sometimes it's too easy to take the piss out of the Mail, racist and right wing bastards they are.

toodle pip

life is good (for some)

Marvelous day today. I stayed in bed till 4pm reading, then had a bath and food, before watching some TV. Didn't even bother going to The Wine Bar to see Joe. I am now going to pratt about on the computer until the early hours.
Someone who did not have it so good was this slave (no name). He has been whipped for trying to escape, and I do mean whipped properly. Look at those scars. I bet that smarted a bit.
As the title says life is good (for some)
toodle pip

haiti on facebook

This is doing the rounds on Facebook at the moment. I was only saying to the FPO last night that most people are pretty racist deep down.
I definitely know some of my works colleagues would agree with this and send it on
Idiots

"Shame on you ENGLAND!!!!!! The only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, mentally Ill without treatment and British servicemen and women fighting without the best kit - yet we donate £50 million to the people of Haiti...
99% of people won't have the guts to copy and re post this"

toodle pip

moses roper and aswad

I used to live daahhnn south, by Wallingford in Oxfordshire. I have just read about Moses Roper (c. 1815 – 15 April 1891), who got himself an education at Wallingford after coming to England.

He was a mulatto slave who wrote one of the major early books about life as a slave (Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper from American Slavery).It is a book I shall read soon, as the bits I have read are outrageous.

Also discovered Jerome K Jerome was buried in Ewelme, a small place nearby who I used to play football for. Damn!

Next time I am down there I shall visit his grave. Three men in a boat is one of my favorite books. Way ahead of its time and I have been to a lot of the places mentioned in it (before I read it).

History - It's great!

"Without a knowledge of history, you're like a vegetable in this society" Aswad (Live at the Counterculture revolution).

toodle pip

alan davis is a racist - shoot him

So, the Togolese team have been attacked in Angola. Alan Davies (who I do not find funny in any way, shape or form), said on Five Live, "Didier Drogba is claiming to be the first to be hit by a bullet".
I understand that Drogba is a diving, whinging bastard, who should be shot (that's not racist, just nasty), but Davis has just lumped him in with the Togolese team because he is the same (kind of) colour.
You know which one..........yes..........that's right..........black.
This gag, which is not even that funny, is racist.
If Bernard Manning had come out with that sort of cheap shit years ago, everyone would have had a go at him.
Let's shoot Alan Davis.
Tosser.