40,000 Norwegians Sing Out In Defiance And Love.....

[Cidersomerset]

Citizens of Oslo gave a spontaneous responce of revulsion to the 'evil' Anders Breivik....
When he commentated how he hated this song and what it stands for !!
Breivik stated in court that the song is an example of Marxistic influence on Norwegian children.
He is just a mass murdering psycopath imho !!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


QVBsZPP6R6s

Oslo, April 26 2012: What started out as an initiative to gather a few dozens of people to sing the song Anders Behring Breivik told in court that he disliked the most, turned out to become a gathering of 40 000 people.

The song is the Norwegian version of Pete Seeger's "My Rainbow Race", rewritten in Norwegian and released in the early 1970s by singer/songwriter Lillebjørn Nilsen who is the lead in this recording from the Norwegian Broadcasting corporation (NRK).

This extremely well known and popular song was sung by the crowd at the Youngstorget square before they all walked to the court building, still singing, laying down roses outside while court was still in session.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you have a dry eye after hearing the significance and poignancy of this , I'll be surprised !!!

Steve.....


9Q7CPNNWfME

[wynderer]

very moving, Cidersomerset -- i'll bet the Reptilians & Greys are jealous because Humans do such a good job of singing & dancing & other such creative actions

& i bet they get nervous when Humans gather together to use their voices [sound -- Wade Frazier is working w/this] for the cause of freedom


QVBsZPP6R6s

Oslo, April 26 2012: What started out as an initiative to gather a few dozens of people to sing the song Anders Behring Breivik told in court that he disliked the most, turned out to become a gathering of 40 000 people.

The song is the Norwegian version of Pete Seeger's "My Rainbow Race", rewritten in Norwegian and released in the early 1970s by singer/songwriter Lillebjørn Nilsen who is the lead in this recording from the Norwegian Broadcasting corporation (NRK).

This extremely well known and popular song was sung by the crowd at the Youngstorget square before they all walked to the court building, still singing, laying down roses outside while court was still in session.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you have a dry eye after hearing the significance and poignancy of this , I'll be surprised !!!

Steve.....

[spiritguide]

The candles of light and the flowers of peace are spreading and they are saying we are one. The message will spread and grow louder and more intense as we espouse love and peace! IMHO

:peace:

[percival tyro]

Adam and Eve must be proud of their kids,

[Cidersomerset]

Why someone would want to block the copyright on the original vid is beyond me in these circumstances......Heres another version...


9Q7CPNNWfME

[Cidersomerset]

I agree Wynderer when the human race wakes up to the fact we are all 'wonderfull human creators' The ' Reps and the Grey Devils' will be out of buisness
and kicked into touch !!!

Mr5bU9WuYxA

[GoodETxSG]

We need something like that, say on WORLD LIBERATION DAY 5-5-2012??? It would be a better display than any left or right wing groups that we have seen... just everyone in solidarity. What a wonderful moment to be a part of. I wish something like that was apart of this day of liberation.

¤=[Post Update]=¤


very moving, Cidersomerset -- i'll bet the Reptilians & Greys are jealous because Humans do such a good job of singing & dancing & other such creative actions

& i bet they get nervous when Humans gather together to use their voices [sound -- Wade Frazier is working w/this] for the cause of freedom


QVBsZPP6R6s

Oslo, April 26 2012: What started out as an initiative to gather a few dozens of people to sing the song Anders Behring Breivik told in court that he disliked the most, turned out to become a gathering of 40 000 people.

The song is the Norwegian version of Pete Seeger's "My Rainbow Race", rewritten in Norwegian and released in the early 1970s by singer/songwriter Lillebjørn Nilsen who is the lead in this recording from the Norwegian Broadcasting corporation (NRK).

This extremely well known and popular song was sung by the crowd at the Youngstorget square before they all walked to the court building, still singing, laying down roses outside while court was still in session.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you have a dry eye after hearing the significance and poignancy of this , I'll be surprised !!!

Steve.....

THEY absolutely cannot exist or survive in such a high LOVE vibration. I totally agree...

[Ba-ba-Ra]

I'm bumping this thread because I found it inspiring and hopeful. A great reminder of what loving hearts coming together with intentions can create.

[wynderer]

this ties in w/what Wade Frazier is doing w/sound -- & the choir he is assembling -- also it ties in w/Vansak's thread about the RIGHT NOW deliberate mutation of Humans going on thru sound

jumping into 5D as part of a gathering of all the Humans on Earth singing together --now there's a dream [ it should be so easy...]


We need something like that, say on WORLD LIBERATION DAY 5-5-2012??? It would be a better display than any left or right wing groups that we have seen... just everyone in solidarity. What a wonderful moment to be a part of. I wish something like that was apart of this day of liberation.

¤=[Post Update]=¤


very moving, Cidersomerset -- i'll bet the Reptilians & Greys are jealous because Humans do such a good job of singing & dancing & other such creative actions

& i bet they get nervous when Humans gather together to use their voices [sound -- Wade Frazier is working w/this] for the cause of freedom


QVBsZPP6R6s

Oslo, April 26 2012: What started out as an initiative to gather a few dozens of people to sing the song Anders Behring Breivik told in court that he disliked the most, turned out to become a gathering of 40 000 people.

The song is the Norwegian version of Pete Seeger's "My Rainbow Race", rewritten in Norwegian and released in the early 1970s by singer/songwriter Lillebjørn Nilsen who is the lead in this recording from the Norwegian Broadcasting corporation (NRK).

This extremely well known and popular song was sung by the crowd at the Youngstorget square before they all walked to the court building, still singing, laying down roses outside while court was still in session.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you have a dry eye after hearing the significance and poignancy of this , I'll be surprised !!!

Steve.....

THEY absolutely cannot exist or survive in such a high LOVE vibration. I totally agree...

[aranuk]

Steve do you know why the crowd were there? What was the purpose? Was it a demonstration? Lots of folk with roses in their hands. It was beautiful. My heart was warmed.


Stan

[percival tyro]

They may even choose to join us in a sing song Cid'. after all there's more to creation than humanity....One day maybe.

[Cidersomerset]

Hi Stan the reports say it was a spontanous responce of revolsion to the 'evil' Anders Breivik....
When he commentated how he hated this song and what it stands for !!
Breivik stated in court that the song is an example of Marxistic influence on Norwegian children.
He is just a mass murdering psycopath imho !!!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Oslo

Mass choir of 40,000 sang in Breivik protest

Lillebjørn Nillsen
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTvnfQEUrmXwUVlXm99HSHOmPNLDNnofQvTA0maFz0QWXcAfpTjZA
Artist Lillebjørn Nilsen led when a mass choir gathered at Youngstorget in downtown Oslo on Thursday to sing his song "Children of the Rainbow" (Barn av regnbuen) in protest against Behring Breivik.
The protest was a spontaneous Facebook reaction after Breivik stated in court that the song is an example of Marxistic influence on Norwegian children.
An overwhelming crowd of 40,000 people braved the pouring rain and gathered at the square, according to the police. Beforehand, around 5,000 had signed up to say they would be coming.
The song describes a "World where - every sister and every brother - shall live together - like small children of the rainbow".
The ministers of culture from five Nordic countries, - Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, the Faroes and Norway,- participated in the singing, NRK reports.
Following the singing, the crowd went in a rose parade from the Youngstorget Square to the Oslo City Court, where the trial against Anders Behring Breivik is held.
There are also reports of similar spontaneous gatherings from many other places around the country.
Source: NRK and Norway Post.

[Cidersomerset]

Billy Bragg ..Songwriter political activist comments on the Oslo event...


Anders Breivik's hatred has been drowned out by Norwegians singing

With Children of the Rainbow, the people of Oslo chose a song that extols the kind of multicultural society the killer despises


Billy Bragg
guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 April 2012 11.39 BST
Article history

Thousands of Norwegians sing song Breivik despises – video Link to this video

It's not much of a protest song, to be truthful. The lyrics of Children of the Rainbow sound ideal material for a Sunday school choir. Yet, when sung by 40,000 Norwegians in response to a week of testimony by the rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik, the meaning of those words has been transformed.

The lyrics were written by Lillebjørn Nilsen, a much-loved Norwegian singer-songwriter from the 1970s, who Breivik singled out in his testimony as a "Marxist" who "writes music that is used to brainwash children". Far from being a call for revolution, the lyrics paint a picture of a society where "Together we will live/Each sister and brother/Small children of the rainbow".

If anything, Nilsen has toned down the content of the original, a song called My Rainbow Race, written by Pete Seeger in the 1960s. Pete warns about the evils of greed in a consumerist society that dreams "plastic dreams". He speaks of poison and bombs – written during the Vietnam war, this evoked images of defoliant chemicals and munitions used by American troops. Another line has particular resonance with the murderous crimes of Anders Breivik: "Don't you know you can't kill all the unbelievers?/There's no shortcut to freedom".

Yet, even shorn of Pete's righteous anger, Children of the Rainbow packs an emotional punch. For those singing close to the courthouse where Breivik is being tried for the murder of 69 participants in a Labour party youth camp on the island of Utøya, the line "And someone steals from the young" must have held a terrible poignancy.

What transforms a familiar children's song into a powerful vehicle for a nation's outrage? It's not just a simple matter of context. Singing a song together is a powerful social experience, as anyone who has ever been to a rock concert can testify. However, if the song you are singing is not just a celebration of love, if the lyric seeks to make a point to people that you consider to be the opposition, then the sense of bonding is heightened. Think of a football crowd whose team have just taken the lead singing in unison a song aimed at their rivals.

Protest music has a similar unifying effect. When the majority of an audience sing along with a song attacking the government, critics dismiss such behaviour as "preaching to the converted". While it may be true that those singing share a political outlook with both the performer and one another, the experience goes much deeper than simply affirming one's beliefs. For someone who exists in an environment where their political views are in a minority, immersing themselves in an audience who are singing songs that articulate those views can be inspirational. To find yourself among other people in your town who share your views – people whose existence you may not have been aware of – offers a sense of social solidarity unavailable in internet chatrooms.

That's why the people of Oslo chose a song to express their opposition to everything that Breivik stands for. Hundreds of articles in the media, angry blogs condemning his views, memorial pages for the victims on Facebook – none of these had the effect of sending a clear, unified signal of how the Norwegian people felt.

Seeking to express their solidarity with the victims of this act of terror as they assembled to give their evidence this week, the people of Oslo chose a song that extols the kind of multicultural society that Breivik despises. By the simple act of singing it together, they have drowned out the voice of hatred emanating from the Oslo courthouse.

______________________________________________________________________________

For those not familier with Billy here he is speaking at 'Speakers Corner' in London about
bankers.......

jMftdDvXWYk

and one of his songs....Protesting Murdochs gutter press....

nBh2oAvsSSc

His most well known song is 'Looking for new England'....

[transiten]

Nope, the lyrics and the song is written by Pete Seeger, Nielsen translated it into Norvegian, he actually goes into details about that at the end of the video and finally they are all singing the English version.

[Delight]

Nope, the lyrics and the song is written by Pete Seeger, Nielsen translated it into Norvegian, he actually goes into details about that at the end of the video and finally they are all singing the English version.

Here is a clip of Pete Seeger responding to his friends' gathering....

D_XDJkbo4NQ

Thanks so much for this post. I am singing this too.....

Pete Seeger - My Rainbow Race lyrics


One blue sky above us, one ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round, who could ask for more?
And because I love you I'll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race, it's too soon to die

Some folks want to be like an ostrich
Bury their heads in the sand
Some hope that plastic dreams
Can unclench all those greedy hands

Some hope to take the easy way
Poisons, bombs, they think we need 'em
Don't you know you can't kill all the unbelievers?
There's no shortcut to freedom

One blue sky above us, one ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round, who could ask for more?
And because I love you I'll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race, it's too soon to die

Go tell, go tell all the little children
Tell all the mothers and fathers too
Now's our last chance to learn to share
What's been given to me and you

One blue sky above us, one ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round, who could ask for more?
And because I love you I'll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race, it's too soon to die

One blue sky above us, one ocean lapping all our shore

[Ellisa]

That is a very moving sight. and a powerful one too, showing the power of people when they come together to make a statement.

We must remember that there are 40.000 there--- and many more like them everywhere, and only one Breivik. We are better than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.

[panopticon]

G'day Cidersomerset and everyone else,

I saw this on Billy's site and was going to post about it but decided not to as I get sick of the right wingers coming in and screaming bloody murder. I always thought that Pete Seeger and Bob Dean sounded like they could be brothers when they spoke. It was good to see Pete Seeger in one of the videos.

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people, from the US in particular, are unfamiliar with the folk music and history of standing up to oppression in their own country. I hope you don't mind but here's a few of my favourites as examples...

The story of the 1913 Massacre (AKA 'Italian Hall Disaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Hall_disaster)') where company thugs caused the death of 73 men, women and children at a Union Christmas function for the striking miners (written and sung by Woody Guthrie):

oz7oguguIZE

The 'Ludlow Massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre)' which commemorates the 19 deaths (including 2 women and 11 children) at Ludlow after Rockerfeller's company thugs called in the Colorado National Guard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_National_Guard) (written and sung by Woody Guthrie):

XDd64suDz1A

Finally, the classic song "Which Side Are You On (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Which_Side_Are_You_On)" (written by Florence Reece (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Reece) and performed by The Dropkick Murphy's):

SKWfnO7fhQM

I haven't even mentioned Utah Phillips (http://thelongmemory.com/), Billy Bragg (http://billybragg.com/), Bob Dylan (http://www.bobdylan.com/) or any of the thousands of others who write our living history in song.

There's a rich history of protest all around the world.
I would advise everyone to learn about it.
Only through coming together and remembering what has happened in the past can we know how to avoid the need to be reactive in the future.

As Ruskin said:

A little group of wise hearts is better than a wilderness full of fools.
Thanks for reading this and now :focus:
Kind Regards, :yo:
Panopticon

[panopticon]

Why someone would want to block the copyright on the original vid is beyond me in these circumstances......Heres another version...

Because they can. Why would the ubiquitous "they" want to show people coming together.
Money, control and power Cid, money control and power.
Kind Regards, :yo:
Panopticon

[Cidersomerset]

Thanks panopticon good strong grass roots lyrics nothing fancy just the 'Plain bloody truth'.....I notice where you got your avatar in vid 3....

The problem today is people do not know how recently the working man got anyrights from our so called Mazzer's....Who resent what was
achieved by our grand parents and have been contrieving a new form of serfdom, this time by debt and greed so we end up back in
debt to the fuedal Lords as our forfathers were...Unless we can awaken the sheeple which some are trying to do !!

Its coming up to May day celebrated around the world apart from the US which is odd since the event took place in Chicargo 1886...

KpTAWspTxtc

7frdXZzRtPQ

[panopticon]

Thanks panopticon good strong grass roots lyrics nothing fancy just the 'Plain bloody truth'.....I notice where you got your avatar in vid 3....

The problem today is people do not know how recently the working man got anyrights from our so called Mazzer's....Who resent what was
achieved by our grand parents and have been contrieving a new form of serfdom, this time by debt and greed so we end up back in
debt to the fuedal Lords as our forfathers were...Unless we can awaken the sheeple which some are trying to do !!

Its coming up to May day celebrated around the world apart from the US which is odd since the event took place in Chicargo 1886...


G'day Cid,

It's May 1st here in Oz so please excuse my rant...

REMEMBER THIS:
A wage is hours, minutes, seconds of your life that you trade for financial remuneration.
Nothing else.
How much is an hour of your life worth?
Well how much?
Guess you didn't answer "minimum wage".

People just don't know the fight that went into Unions getting workers the rights they have from the "bosses". Now the "bosses" let the workers bargain these very rights away. Bargain for whom I ask? I reckon it has been carefully manipulated to not teach this information in schools. The tradition of standing up for your rights doesn't help in creating a subservient employee (that was the original purposes of public schools by the way) so it is largely ignored in the public education system and patriotic self serving nationalist rhetoric is taught in its place. Unless someone is bought up surrounded by "the struggle" they may never know much about it.

The 8 hour day, women's rights at work, fair wages, sick leave, holiday pay, overtime penalty rates.
The list goes on...
The Unions were weakened by government (AKA The State), particularly the coin-servative governments of Thatcher, Howard and Reagan. Who owns the government? The bosses. The oligarchs. Follow the Money, Control and Power.

The sheep are given the illusion of freedom in their paddocks and used until they are of no further use.

Bloody oath I am angry. State sanctioned violence under the guise of "legitimate coercion" has been the backbone of "representative democracy" since its inception and all the sheep just run along singing how happy they are being looked after by "their" government. Raise a voice in anger at the way the worker gets treated and next thing you're accused of being a communist, a red sympathiser. The looks on their faces when I say I'm an Anarchist is always priceless. It was like I had a virulent disease or something. Anarchists are not usually thought of as being well spoken and knowledgeable. More like little punks in studded jackets with spray cans or throwing bricks through windows.

I get dismayed by all the reptilian agenda stuff as to me it doesn't make a squat of difference if its bloody iguana's, giant bee's, demon possessed catholic priests or business men in fine, fine suits doing it. They are all just "bosses". I know that unless people join together they will lose what small amount of rights they have left. The debates about who is doing what negates the fact that at some level we know control and power is being exerted on us and that we are being manipulated. I don't care who is doing it, just that they are.

The State fears organisation. I know I'm anthropomorphising an institution here but sometimes people just don't understand what is being said without doing that. Too much bloody Disney and David Attenborough I reckon. Anyway, the State fears organisation because that is how the information about it being what it is gets into the hands of the sheep. They learn that the fence isn't there to keep the wolves out, it's there to keep them penned in ready for use. That's the crux there isn't it. Ready for use. That is why I don't much like the so-called "libertarian" movement as it appears to be just an extension of the right wing, property possessing, money grabbing, self centred "I'm alright Jack", over sympathetic, boss loving, coin-servative movement that is here to help the bosses. No better than the so-called "management sanctioned union representatives" that some companies are advocating as the solution (solution to bloody what?).

The early 20th Century American Anarchist Emma Goldman wrote (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html):

Yet even a flock of sheep would resist the chicanery of the State, if it were not for the corruptive, tyrannical, and oppressive methods it employs to serve its purposes. Therefore Bakunin repudiates the State as synonymous with the surrender of the liberty of the individual or small minorities,--the destruction of social relationship, the curtailment, or complete denial even, of life itself, for its own aggrandizement. The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice.
5DTbashsKic
Enough, I've kicked my black cat off my lap and I'm off to wave my black flag.
Kind Regards, :yo:
Panopticon

[transiten]

Thanks panopticon and cidersomerset for these reminders!

I've been singing the songs of Joe Hill (the Swede that started the trade unions in the US), Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and songs from the folk song magazine "Sing Out" ever since 1966. For many years i had no spiritual knowledge so my perspective has "widened" so to say.

[Cidersomerset]

The Unions are essential to the well being of most working people without them conditions & standards would soon lapse back to pre WW2 levels,
although around the world the majority of workers are totaly under valued compaired to the 1% and there lacky's....As they move their corporate
wealth around the sweatshops of the the world..
There is a balance and the Union movement reached its peak in the UK in the 60's/70's and strikes though a important tool
of the worker can also be manipulated....This culminated in the 70's and 80's miners strike which led to the elites thru puppets
like Thatcher to decimate the industry and the Press Barons like Murdoch backed the 'Iron Lady' ( now very rusty..LOL ) in the
resubjugating of the working class back to where they belong servicing the 1% exstotionate life style....

One song I loved from the era, which obviously got on the right wingers nerves was by the strawbs....

KdOCWUgwiWs

[panopticon]

The Unions are essential to the well being of most working people without them conditions & standards would soon lapse back to pre WW2 levels,
although around the world the majority of workers are totaly under valued compaired to the 1% and there lacky's....As they move their corporate
wealth around the sweatshops of the the world..
There is a balance and the Union movement reached its peak in the UK in the 60's/70's and strikes though a important tool
of the worker can also be manipulated....This culminated in the 70's and 80's miners strike which led to the elites thru puppets
like Thatcher to decimate the industry and the Press Barons like Murdoch backed the 'Iron Lady' ( now very rusty..LOL ) in the
resubjugating of the working class back to where they belong servicing the 1% exstotionate life style....


I couldn't have said it any better.
Wages and conditions are often sacrificed on the altar of profit and sector "feasibility". Then the "bosses", having taken all they can get from the local economy and its workers, move to another area (where the workers will work for less money, OHS is less stringent and the government will give better incentives) Governments sit and say "why did this happen?" Inevitably they blame the Unionists for saying "NO!" to the corporations and the oligarchs. I was taught that the working man has only one right... The right to withdraw his labour. Now legislation wont even allow that.
Kind Regards, :yo:
Panopticon

[Cidersomerset]

I couldn't have said it any better.
Wages and conditions are often sacrificed on the altar of profit and sector "feasibility". Then the "bosses", having taken all they can get from the local economy and its workers, move to another area (where the workers will work for less money, OHS is less stringent and the government will give better incentives) Governments sit and say "why did this happen?" Inevitably they blame the Unionists for saying "NO!" to the corporations and the oligarchs. I was taught that the working man has only one right... The right to withdraw his labour. Now legislation wont even allow that.

I agree my collegues and i walked out of our sorting office a few weeks ago in support of another postman who was sacked unfairly, what we did was technically illegal and we all lost 3hrs pay
before we were negotiated back in by union and management ..Our collegues was reinstated, he has got problems and it is ongoing but at least we gave him another chance ...
Our union reps could not be seen to back us as they would have been disaplined because 'walk outs' have been criminalised, though if we had not our collegue would deffinately have
lost his job....Sometimes we have to make a moral stand...

Bridgwater Mercury..UPDATE: Postal sorting staff go back to work (From Bridgwater Mercury)


http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/resources/images/1931983/?type=articleLandscape




2:42pm Thursday 8th March 2012 in News
UPDATE: Postal sorting staff go back to work UPDATE: Postal sorting staff go back to work

< STAFF at Bridgwater postal sorting office held a mass walkout this morning because they believed a colleague was being unfairly dismissed.

The group, based in Friarn Street, held an unofficial ‘day of action’ and are now balloting to strike.

One staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Mercury: “We have had an unofficial day of action in support of a colleague who we believe was unfairly dismissed.

“As a group we will stand together in a show of strength. There are strong feelings and we felt we needed to act. We have now balloted for strike action.”

But staff have now gone back to work after reaching an agreement with employers.

Kevin Beazer, South West regional secretary, said: “The staff in Bridgwater who walked out this morning at around 9am have gone back to work.

”Staff were not happy with the dismissal of an individual who had been dismissed because they had taken lots of time off on sick leave due to their personal circumstances.

“We have reached an agreement about the appeal procedure for the dismissal. The final appeal to be heard will now be moved forward.”

It has been agreed staff will ballot for industrial action if the appeal is unsuccessful.


Mr Beazer added: “The best case scenario is the decision to dismiss the individual will be overturned, but members will ask for a ballot if the appeal against dismissal fails.”

Royal Mail spokesman, Mike Norman, said: “Unfortunately staff at Bridgwater Delivery Office took unofficial industrial action for a few hours on 08 March 2012. "

We apologise to our customers for any disruption caused as a result of this action. Contingency plans were put in place to keep delays to a minimum. Normal service resumed on Friday morning.”

http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/9579022.UPDATE__Postal_sorting_staff_go_back_to_work/

[panopticon]

I agree my collegues and i walked out of our sorting office a few weeks ago in support of another postman who was sacked unfairly, what we did was technically illegal and we all lost 3hrs pay
before we were negotiated back in by union and management ..Our collegues was reinstated, he has got problems and it is ongoing but at least we gave him another chance ...
Our union reps could not be seen to back us as they would have been disaplined because 'walk outs' have been criminalised, though if we had not our collegue would deffinately have
lost his job....Sometimes we have to make a moral stand...

G'day Cid,

I commend you and your colleagues for standing up and being counted.
Sometimes you just have to make a stand.
What the "bosses" rely on is that workers need their job to survive.
That's where they have the advantage.

I once received a "letter" from a company advising of legal action being taken against me.
I enjoyed burning that one.
Ended up getting everything we wanted (which wasn't that much just fixing faulty equipement, modified shift structure and improved indexing) but the company never forgot.

What really hurt me was watching the scabs go in.
What made it better was later, after that strike action, when those same scabs asked for my help cause they'd "got in trouble".
I've had the most anti-union coin-servatives turn militant Unionist over a single incident.
That little "ahh-ha" moment when they realised that the company really didn't give a damn and they had been wrong in everything they had said. That is the danger for the "bosses", not all the pretty words that can be spoken but that moment, that beautiful moment, when the worker realises what is going on and says "no more".
It was just satisfying to see them on the next line outside the gates.

I was going to put up a stirring Union ditty from the CFMEU but decided instead on this favourite of mine about the miners and residents of Wittenoom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittenoom,_Western_Australia) (a now abandoned mining town (http://wa.gov.au/content/important-information-about-wittenoom) that was the second largest city in Western Australia until the 1970's) who were subjected to asbestos dust leading to mesothelioma (http://asbestosdiseases.org.au/asbestosinfo/wittenoom_tragedies.htm) even after the owners and Government new what it would lead to. To quote the mining magnate involved in this incident, Lang Hancock:


Some people have to suffer so that the majority can benefit from asbestos.
Anyway 'He Fades Away' performed by Kate Fagan at a tribute concert to the song writer (Alistair Hulett, the bloke who was singing 'the Internationale' in one of my previous posts in this thread) following his death:

qu4SGIcNqIw
Kind Regards, :yo:
Panopticon

[Cidersomerset]

Thanks panopticon what haunting lyrics and beautfully sung by Kate Fagen.....

You are right about scabs and Managers many have a ephiphany when the wheel turns , and need help
or benifit from the collective bargaining power for terms and conditions. How may Scabs negotiate long
term benifits for all ?

The callous poisoning of workers is still with us wether in the mines of South america, sweatshops of Asia
or ind factories of China the oil delta of Nigeria.. culminating in indusrial atrocities like Union Carbide in
Bhopal India, Chernoble, Fuchishima and many smaller though just as devistating acts of neglegence ...

Today is International Labour day and I did start a thread to comemorate our forefathers but
not many takers which I understand on here, not a sexy subject though as essential to defeat
TPTB as most others imho...Steve

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?44500-May-1st-International-Labour-Day.......Chicago-1886

[Cidersomerset]

This one is for Mr. Cowardly Breivik.....

From the Les Miserables production by Bømlo Musikallaug at Moster Amfi, Bømlo, Norway

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[panopticon]

Thanks panopticon what haunting lyrics and beautfully sung by Kate Fagen.....

You are right about scabs and Managers many have a ephiphany when the wheel turns , and need help
or benifit from the collective bargaining power for terms and conditions. How may Scabs negotiate long
term benifits for all ?
The callous poisoning of workers is still with us wether in the mines of South america, sweatshops of Asia
or ind factories of China the oil delta of Nigeria.. culminating in indusrial atrocities like Union Carbide in
Bhopal India, Chernoble, Fuchishima and many smaller though just as devistating acts of neglegence ...
Today is International Labour day and I did start a thread to comemorate our forefathers but
not many takers which I understand on here, not a sexy subject though as essential to defeat
TPTB as most others imho...Steve

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?44500-May-1st-International-Labour-Day.......Chicago-1886

G'day Steve,

I couldn't agree more with your post.
I'm sorry I missed the thread you posted. I've been a tad busy defending feminism (of all things!) in another thread.
Anyway here's a story you and others might enjoy that is not very well known but is seen by many Australians as the defining moment in the creation of the anti-social rebellious spirit synonymous with Oz.

The 1854 'Eureka Stockade (http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/eureka-stockade)' is where miners burnt the "mining leases" that the authority had forced on them, fought against the colonial authority and were soundly defeated. Seems a bit of a trend in Australian history that our greatest defeats are the most commemorated. Anyway following the events of 3rd December 1854 the colonists rose up in a common voice and said they did not like it.

When the survivors of the 'Eureka Rebellion' (as the colonial authority termed it so as to be able to say the leaders were traitors) were put on trial the jury would not convict.
All were found innocent and released as free men.

A year later Peter Lalor, the reluctant leader of the miners at Eureka, was elected as the first Member of the Legislative Council in the new Victorian Parliament for the seat of Ballarat.

Here's one of the best songs I've heard about it:

laE0hOSMnoo

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Lyrics and music by David Rovics:

From every corner of the world
They came from all around
When in 1851
They struck gold upon the ground
Every voyage was a long one
Months upon the stormy sea
Some to seek their fortune
Others escaping slavery

What they found on the goldfields
Was rule by brutish thugs
Discrimination and taxation
Mixed with swinging billy clubs
The gold was getting scarcer
And cops were getting worse
The diggers burned their licenses
And vowed to end this curse

Chorus:
They swore an oath
Beneath the Southern Cross
That they would stand together
And break the license laws
From twenty different nations
They gathered here as one
In Ballarat
Beneath the southern sun

The crown tried to divide them
Giving preference to some
The diggers wouldn't have it
They said it's all of us or none
They built a stockade
While the Redcoats massed nearby
And they heard the miners shouting
We are ready now to die

The rebel miners waited
For whatever lay in store
And on one December morning
In 1854
The Redcoats attacked the camp
Dozens there would fall
Among these brave gold diggers
Who had risen to the call

Chorus

The Army thought that it was over
And things now would go their way
But when fifteen thousand miners rallied
A month later on the day
The Crown conceded everything
All of their demands
They'd won an end to license fees
The right to vote and land

So here's to Joe and Charley
Lalor and the rest
They drew the battle lines
And put Crown rule to the test
The diggers may have lost the battle
But they quickly won the day
And those shots fired in Victoria
Were heard ten thousand miles away

Chorus

##########################

Anyway it's a major part of Australian history and one that most of the world probably isn't aware of. It helped define the anti-establishment attitude held by most Australians and is a good example of how when people join together, even in defeat they can be victorious.
Kind Regards, :yo:
Panopticon

Further Reading:
http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/eureka-stockade

[Cidersomerset]

Thanks mate I have heard of the 'Eureka Stockade' as i like history but thanks for link as I had forgotten the details..
Although they lost the battle it was the first steps for winning the class struggle for the working man, unfortunately
the elites have been striking back and things have stalled over the last 30 years with the 1% clawing back their
power thru credit and debt.....A updated version of the old 'company store'....

L-xDblPLx78


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Actually this is the song I was thinking off the classic Tennessee Ernie Ford song...

Sixton Tonnes...

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