That Was 2013.

      I have no doubt that 2013 will mean so many different things to so many different people. But it is always good to look back and celebrate the victories and to learn from the temporary defeats. I say temporary, because that is all it it is, we will be victories eventually.

A look back at last year from Circled A Radio.

    A review/countdown of 2013. We take a look at the 10 great demo's and actions of the year including Thatcher's death party at Trafalgar Sq, Anti Fracking camp and No More Page 3 campaign.

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Symbolism In Your Face.

      I know I said that the last post on Thatcher would be my last word on the subject, but I couldn't help myself on this one. I sat down with a cup of tea and switched on the tele at the 1 O'clock News, and there it was, "The funeral", (I should have known). The pomp and ceremony, the pageantry, the spectacle, a true picture of how the rich and powerful mark the passing of one of their great warriors.  A display meant to humble those she was sent out to destroy, a marker for you to know your place. You, the ordinary people don't belong here, this is the domain of the ruling class. This whole affair with all its fancy dress and sparkling uniforms, is a victory parade as the parasitic elite feel confident enough to shove their symbolism in your face. A show of power for those who hold power and for the passing of one who worshiped and fought for that power. There was nothing there that said, humility, nothing that said, ordinary people of the UK, it was a military display, with the trinkets of the ruling elite stage managed and hung out to impress.

        When will this grotesque type of display, which is nothing more than a bullhorn advertising the power of the rich, and those who hold that power dear, be swept into the dustbin of history.

        I promise that this is my last word on Thatcher and Thatcherism, honest.

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While Moany An Een is Mistin Up.

      I know it's supposed to be a poem-a-day throughout April, and there already has been one, but I just received this from a comrade and due to the solemnity of this day, I thought that this one should be read.

New poem by Rab Wilson 

The Lanely Daith o Maggie Thatcher

The day they’re mindin her wi hauf-mast flags,
Neist week they’ll spend ten million oan her kistin,
Whiles Tony Blair, wi grief his een are mistin,
Nae dout he’ll bray wi aa the ither windbags,
Wha’ll gaither in the House tae sing her praise;
They’ll deftly whitewaash ower Pinochet,
Mandela’s refusal tae jine her fir some tea....
But frien ah’ve mind o ither lang-gane days,
New Cumnock here in Ayrshire aince wis bien,
Wi pits an factories pourin wages in,
Nou evriwhaur ye luik the place is duin,
Her ‘legacy’ tae us? a thing obscene!
Her room’s redd-up an trig nou at the Ritz –
Mercat forces wull see she isnae missed.

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Respect!!

        I hope this is the last thing I write or say about Thatcher and the Thatcher era, as it is now being called. The usual mouths from the parasite class are calling for respect for, and during the funeral of this individual. What respect are they showing by this multi million pound, in your face, show of worship, for someone who was the leading figure in the crushing of thousands of ordinary working class families? What respect is this theatrical pomp showing for those families? Respect surely is double sided, to earn respect, you must show respect. She showed no respect for the ordinary people of this country, and therefore should receive none from those ordinary people. This expensive extravagance is an attempt at re-writing history, attempting to put sainthood on what was a class warrior of the right, a crusader for the rich, a preacher of selfish greed. Though she was not the architect of those right-wing policies, she was a willing and brutal general for their implementation. She pushed through the ideology of her masters with a callous disregard for all those ordinary people who would be affected. Success of that ideology mattered more than the suffering of those being devastated by that ideology.

      Sadly the funeral of this enemy of working class culture, will not see the end of those same policies that she so religiously pursued. The same savage ant-working class policies are in the safe hands of the present millionaire cabal that sit today in The Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. As for expecting “Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition” to do anything to remove these policies of repression, you only have to listen to the leader of that opposition, Ed Miliband, spewing his mince on the matter of Thatcher, to realise that it won't happen:

“I send my deep condolences to Lady Thatcher’s family, in particular Mark and Carol Thatcher. She will be remembered as a unique figure. She reshaped the politics of a whole generation. She was Britain’s first woman prime minister. She moved the centre ground of British politics and was a huge figure on the world stage. The Labour Party disagreed with much of what she did and she will always remain a controversial figure. But we can disagree and also greatly respect her political achievements and her personal strength. She also defined the politics of the 1980s. David Cameron, Nick Clegg and I all grew up in a politics shaped by Lady Thatcher. We took different paths but with her as the crucial figure of that era. She coped with her final, difficult years with dignity and courage. Critics and supporters will remember her in her prime.”

      There are some who have spoken of Thatcher in a more honest working class manner and therefore should be quoted when ever her name is mentioned This quote from Ken Loach approaches a more accurate assessment:

"Margaret Thatcher was the most divisive and destructive Prime Minister of modern times. Mass unemployment, factory closures, communities destroyed – this is her legacy. She was a fighter and her enemy was the British working class. Her victories were aided by the politically corrupt leaders of the Labour Party and of many trades unions. It is because of policies begun by her that we are in this mess today. Other prime ministers have followed her path, notably [Labour's] Tony Blair. She was the organ grinder, he was the monkey. Remember she called Mandela a terrorist and took tea with the torturer and murderer Pinochet. How should we honour her? Let’s privatise her funeral. Put it out to competitive tender and accept the cheapest bid. It’s what she would have wanted."

     Miner David Douglas's speech at Trafalgar Square on why miners are celebrating Thatcher's demise.

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Privatise Thatcher's Funeral.

     Petitioning Privatise Thatcher's Funeral. It's what she would have wanted!

   Privatise Thatcher's Funeral. It's what she would have wanted!: Sign the petition to say you agree.

     Don't let taxpayers pay for a state funeral when it's cheaper and more efficient via privatisation. Let's do this in her memory. It's exactly what she would have wanted.

A Ken Loach comment:
     “Margaret Thatcher was the most divisive and destructive Prime Minister of modern times,” he said. “Mass Unemployment, factory closures, communities destroyed – this is her legacy. She was a fighter and her enemy was the British working class. “Her victories were aided by the politically corrupt leaders of the Labour Party and of many Trades Unions. It is because of policies begun by her that we are in this mess today.
    “Remember she called Mandela a terrorist and took tea with the torturer and murderer Pinochet. How should we honour her? Let’s privatise her funeral. Put it out to competitive tender and accept the cheapest bid. It’s what she would have wanted.”
     Long an opponent of Thatcher, Loach's views come as little surprise, and follow the announcement that Baroness Thatcher's ceremonial funeral, to take place at St Paul's Cathedral, is expected to cost up to £8 million, the biggest funeral of its kind since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

Sign the petition HERE:

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