Palestine, Pancakes, Put up, Olympics & Zombies – Tuesday twenty fourth February 2009 was an extended and diversified day for me and included some critical points which can be nonetheless on the forefront of present information in addition to some lighter moments – and I ended the day having fun with a little bit uncommon company hospitality with some free drinks for London bloggers.
Al-Haq Sue UK Authorities – Royal Courts of Justice
First got here Palestine, with Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq submitting a declare for judicial assessment earlier than the Excessive Courtroom of England and Wales difficult the federal government’s failure to fulfil its obligations with respect to Israel’s unlawful actions in Palestine.
They have been calling on our authorities – then New Labour below Gordon Brown – to publicly denounce Israel’s actions in Gaza and the persevering with development of the separation wall, to droop arms associated exports and all authorities, navy, monetary and ministerial help to Israel and to finish UK firms exporting arms and navy know-how.
Additionally they requested them to insist the EU suspends preferential buying and selling with Israel till that nation complies with its human rights obligations, and for the federal government to present the police any proof of battle crimes dedicated by any Israelis who intend to return to the UK.
After all the courtroom refused Al-Haq’s case, declining to cope with the UK authorities’s compliance with its worldwide authorized obligations and stating that their declare would danger the UK’s diplomatic “engagement with peace efforts within the Center East“, one thing which appeared on the time to be completely zero if not adverse. Additionally they refused Al-Haq any proper to carry the declare as a result of it was not a UK-based organisation and “nobody in the UK has sought judicial assessment of United Kingdom overseas coverage concerning Israel’s actions in Gaza“.
Worshipful Firm of Poulters Pancake Race – Guildhall Yard
It was Shrove Tuesday and I couldn’t resist the Pancake Race organised by the Worshipful Firm of Poulters, and held – with the permission of the Chief Commoner, within the Guildhall Yard.
As I stated, “It’s a disgrace that the Pancake Race is unlikely to characteristic within the London 2012 Olympics, as a result of it’s maybe the one sport during which Britain nonetheless leads the world, and we appear to have loads of expertise in coaching.“
Postal employees got here out from a rally in Methodist Central Corridor towards authorities plans to privatise Royal Mail. The federal government argued they wanted to do that to guard pensions and modernise the service.
Postal deliveries had been intentionally made uneconomic by earlier measures which have allowed personal firms to cream off the simply delivered worthwhile components of the service, whereas leaving the Royal Mail to proceed the costly common supply service – together with the supply of its opponents put up at low regulated costs to harder locations.
The federal government picked up the duty for the pensions when the put up was privatised and the privatised put up workplace has been allowed to fail on its supply obligations. We now get deliveries on maybe 3 or 4 days every week reasonably than 6, few top notch letters arrive on time, and the gathering instances for many pillar packing containers at the moment are a lot earlier within the day – now 9am reasonably than 4pm at our native field. Whereas privatisation was presupposed to end in extra funding it largely appears to have resulted in giant dividends and better pay to managers and the Put up Workplace is in a worse state than ever.
I had time for a short go to to the publicly accessible areas in and across the Olympic web site the place quite a lot of work was now happening with the principle stadium starting to emerge.
There have been some experiences on the time that the landmark constructing Warton Home, as soon as owned by the Yardley firm with its lavender mosaic on Stratford Excessive Road was to be demolished, however luckily these turned out to be exaggerated, with solely a small half on the rear of the constructing being misplaced. However all of the buildings on the principle a part of the positioning had gone. Some others south of the mainline railway have been additionally being demolished for Crossrail.
I made my method again to Oxford Circus for the ‘March of the Company Undead’, a Zombie Buying Spree full with coffins, a useless ‘banker’, posters, numerous members of the undead and a reasonably good band.
Police watched in a suitably deadpan method (I did see one or two often smile) because the group assembled and utilized giant quantities of white make-up earlier than making its method alongside the pavement of Oxford Road, to the astonishment (and sometimes delight) of late customers and employees speeding residence.
We stopped off at Stratford Place, reverse Bond Road Station to toss some fried bankers brains within the frying pans after which there was a pancake race, holding up a Rolls Royce that was prevented by the police from driving via whereas we have been there.
The parade continued, stopping for a minute or two below the brilliant lights of Selfridges earlier than persevering with to Tyburn, or not less than Marble Arch, with extra zombies becoming a member of on a regular basis.
Hanging the already useless banker appeared a terrific concept, however getting a rope up over the arch was difficult. Finally a severed hand gave adequate weight to allow a rope to be thrown over the decorative iron-work and the banker was quickly hoisted as much as dangle over the persevering with revels under.
This was an anticapitalist occasion and particularly aimed towards bankers and the massive quantities of money given to them to within the aftermath of the 2007-8 monetary disaster which was seen as rewarding the very individuals who had precipitated the mess the system was in. The mass of the inhabitants was having to undergo cuts in providers below a extreme austerity programme whereas bankers have been nonetheless pigs in clover. The UK has turn into a really unequal society over time since 1979 when Thatcher turned Prime Minister. The the highest 10% bought 21% of the UK earnings, by 2010 it was round 32%.
I left to go to a gathering of London bloggers – and revel in a couple of free drinks due to Bacardi. The blue and inexperienced Breezers appear to me good for zombies, although I’m afraid after tasting one I went for the beer as a substitute. However I believe the zombies on Oxford Road have been extra alive than these within the company world.
This entry was posted on Saturday, February twenty fourth, 2024 at 08:54 am and is filed below LondonPhotos, My Personal Work, Political Points. You possibly can comply with any responses to this entry via the RSS 2.0 feed.
