Same Planet, Different Worlds

 

Same Planet, Different Worlds (Where Do We Fit In?)

by C. A. Matthews

“In an insane world, the sane man must appear insane.” – Charles William King

I’m anxiously awaiting news from the United Nations calling for a Uniting for Peace resolution. I’m wondering how it could have taken them this long to call what’s happening in Gaza a genocide. I’m debating whether or not to remain in a country with a government that shows zero respect for civil rights, human rights, or the rights of anyone not a member of the economic elite.

I’m puzzling, “Why do I live on a planet where some can carry on as if there’s nothing wrong with starving and bombing children simply because they want to steal the land right out from under the oppressed babies’ tiny feet? Where do I fit into a world that is very different from the way I want to imagine it?”

There’s a certain freedom to not fitting in. You revel in a feeling of superiority to those who declare with a straight face, “Newborns are Hamas!” as they clutch their Star of David flag. But really, where do we who are pro-Palestine and anti-genocide fit into a world full of narcissists and neo-Nazi sympathizers?

We may as well be aliens from outer space when conversing with the brain dead zombies who get their news from the mainstream media—if they even bother to follow the news at all. We seem to have nothing in common with each other. Well, we all breathe air and consume food in order to live, but most of us have very poor quality air to breathe and some have little or no access to food...

 

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This article is the 538th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another ten years. 

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“Accumulation of wealth at one pole is at the same time accumulation of misery, slavery, and brutality at the opposite pole.” — Karl Marx 

 

God Save the King?

God Save the King? It's More Like God Help the British People!
by Coast Watcher

Tradition is a strong force in Britain. The "British way of doing things"is often at odds with the rest of the world and is probably the major factor in the Brexit vote that saw the UK leave the European Union.

The death of HM Queen Elizabeth II saw a surge in royalist sentiment, and a matching anti-monarchist/republican feeling that has led to protests and demonstrations across the country. King Charles and his wife Camilla were booed on their arrival in Cardiff, Wales. One man in the crowd demanded to know why the taxpayers had to fork out much needed cash to pay for Charles' parade. Protesters have been arrested for holding signs reading "Not MY King" and even for holding up a blank placard as a royal motorcade passed. Given that the Conservative government recently passed a law banning protests "if they cause annoyance" with a penalty of up to eleven years in jail, this is no light matter.

Reaction across the whole country has been mixed. At some soccer matches the crowd lustily sang the national anthem. At other venues the mere mention of royalty drew equally lusty booing. Sentiment abroad has also varied. Last year Barbados got rid of the monarchy as the island’s official head of state. Now fourteen other nations including Jamaica, Barbuda, and Grenada are also talking of following suit. Chief among the reasons given is that the British royal family has not taken the commitment to formally own up to and acknowledge their family’s history of slavery.

Recent inept handling of the economy by the Tory government has even led to renewed calls for Scotland to leave the United Kingdom. The passing of the Queen has only added fuel to this fire.

Prince Andrew, brother of Charles, is now Counsellor of State. He is in effect the monarch’s deputy whenever he/she is out of the country. Everyone knows how Andrew bought off the woman who accused him of raping her as a young teen—a woman he claims he never met—for £12 million. The fact that his mother the queen and his older brother bailed him out to the tune of several million pounds more is also well known. Had Andrew been anyone else, the UK would’ve deported him to the US to stand trial for statutory rape.

As of September 18, a five miles plus long queue has formed to see the queen’s lying in state. People are camping out overnight to retain their places. It's said to be the longest queue in British history, eclipsing even those that formed for Princess Diana, but this claim isn’t true. The longest queue is, in fact, composed of 6.8 million people waiting for NHS treatment following the Tory government’s determined efforts to privatize Britain’s cherished healthcare service.
 

Speaking of the National Health Service, hospitals throughout the UK will suspend cancer treatments for patients on Monday, September 19, the day of the funeral. All burials will also be suspended, which will come as a blow to people of the Jewish and Muslim religions whose faiths decree burials must take place within 24 hours of death.
 
What’s not so well known is that homeless people—who have to spend every night on the streets—are being moved by police so they won’t interfere with the optics of this outpouring of national grief.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan walked in the funeral procession. For some reason, elements of the British media are virulently against Meghan. She and Harry were roundly criticized for holding hands as they walked. Snobbish critics say it "isn’t protocol." Seriously? The man lost his grandmother. Why should he not hold hands with the woman he loves both to give and take comfort? Add to that the establishment at first denied Harry, a man who served two tours in Afghanistan, the right to wear military uniform during the funeral and commemorative events. 

You can see how rotten the protocol system surrounding the British monarchy is. The ban was subsequently lifted following public protest. Yes, protest does work.

British law requires members of the public pay 40% tax on any property inherited over the value of £340,000 under the 1993 memorandum of understanding. However, King Charles III is exempt from inheritance taxes. The British monarchy's total wealth is estimated at around $34 billion in assets, but Charles won't have to pay the UK's 40% inheritance tax-or indeed any tax unless he volunteers to do so. He inherits his mother’s personal £641 million estate without having to pay the government a single penny. Charles was also gifted the Duchy of Lancaster, a royal prerogative worth over £750 million. 

See where this is going?

When Charles became King of England, he no longer needed the staff who served him during his tenure as Prince of Wales. They were all given redundancy notices while a service of commemoration was being held for his mother.
[Editor's note and American translation: Charles' personal staff members, who had been with him for decades, were all fired while he was at a his mother's memorial service. This wasn't just a handful of people losing their jobs through no fault of their own, either. He employed a lot of full-time staff.] 

Those with long enough memories will recall how unpopular Charles became with the public because of his negative treatment of Princess Diana, both during and after their marriage. One Ipsos poll taken in April 2022 showed that nearly half of Britons thought Charles should step aside and cede the throne to his oldest son, Prince William. Among millennial-age Britons, Charles ranks twelfth in popularity.

Couple all of the above with a Conservative government that is deeply unpopular over the Brexit disaster and its gross mishandling of the economy in general, and you have an explosive mix. Add to that a Parliamentary Labour Party that is nothing more than "Tory Lite" in its policies, and there really isn’t any prospect of change any time soon without a radical uprising.

The royal family may be at the center of all the ceremony and tradition, but they’re not the only ones, or even the driving force behind the throne. That honorific goes to the people behind the scenes—the chamberlains, equerries, private secretaries, general hangers-on, and those who aspire to gain from being in the royal presence. I can speak from personal experience as to what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a royal visit.

In 1976, then Prince Charles established a charitable foundation called The Prince’s Trust. Aimed at helping disadvantaged young people aged 11-30 all across Britain, it does a lot of good. The trouble is, it provides a nice venue for all those wannabes who crave the glamor of the royal presence.

In the 1980s, I worked in the tourism/hospitality industry. One of the places where I worked hosted the Prince’s Trust for several years. One year Prince Charles came to visit. The site owners had accommodation set aside for his use, which included a brand new toilet installed expressly for him. (The Royal Wee? Quite.)

We working peons were ordered back and forth between venues on the site until finally we were told by functionaries to wait up on a mezzanine level of the first building we’d come from and to stay out of sight while the High and Mighty formed a reception line about fifty feet away. Charles came in, walked along the line shaking hands then departed without even so much as a nod at us workers who had done the brunt of the work to make the venue shine. We were then told to remain on the site until he left. I and several others voted with our feet and walked out. We gave up an afternoon’s pay, but we had better things to do with our time.

Oh, and the toilet accommodation set aside for Charles’ use? He never used it, and it was ripped out completely the next day!

The overall impression I got was of a crowd of teenagers vying to catch the eye of the cool kid, and they were not afraid to shove and push away anyone who might have stolen a bit of the reflected glory. It was all rather sickening.

Will Britain become a republic? I doubt it. As a Briton who grew up with the whole tradition of monarchy and the "British way of doing things" I know my people. We’ll keep buggering on even as the world burns. An admirable trait in many ways, yes, but I feel we can change and modernize for the better without throwing away everything in our culture that’s of value. 

And the one thing that’s in dire need of an overhaul? The monarchy. We’ll see what happens in the meantime to help relieve the British people of these injustices, shall we?

Learn more at:
https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/

https://time.com/6212008/king-charles-iii-controversy-past/

https://moneywise.com/taxes/king-charles-to-dodge-estate-taxes

https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/20220915151185/prince-andrew-prince-charles-counsellor-of-state-reason/

BIO: Coast Watcher is our resident British commentator and world historian at TRC. As a survivor of a royal visit, he seemed the best to give his opinion of what life is like living in a country where you have a hereditary monarch as your head of state. As you can tell, it's complicated. But does it have to be? The future will tell.

 

Related Articles:

Not Everyone Mourns the Queen. For Many She Can't Be Separated From Colonial Rule https://www.rsn.org/001/not-everyone-mourns-the-queen-for-many-she-cant-be-separated-from-colonial-rule.html

Former British Colonies In Caribbean Consider Cutting Ties to the Monarchy https://truthout.org/video/former-british-colonies-in-caribbean-consider-cutting-ties-to-the-monarchy/

Antigua and Barbuda Announces Referendum to Become a Republic
https://popularresistance.org/antigua-and-barbuda-announces-referendum-to-become-a-republic/

Chris Hedges: Monarchs Belong in the Dustbin of History
https://popularresistance.org/monarchs-belong-in-the-dustbin-of-history/

Lizzy's Face https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/lizzys-face 

It's a Big Club and You Ain't In It https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/its-a-big-club-and-you-aint-in-it/comments

The Queen's Death Brings Growing Hope for Irish Unification https://truthout.org/video/the-queens-death-brings-growing-hope-for-irish-unification/

Steven Donziger: How the Royal Family Helps Normalize Oligarchy
https://stevendonziger.substack.com/p/how-the-royal-family-helps-normalize

How Rich Is King Charles? He Built His Own Property Empire Long Before He Inherited His Mother's https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2022/09/13/how-rich-is-king-charles-he-built-his-own-property-empire-long-before-he-inherited-his-mothers/

Queen's Death: Colonial Legacy and Media Hysteria
https://youtu.be/mcotClf4omY (video)

Queen's Funeral Shuts Food Banks Amid Cost-of-Living Crisis
https://scheerpost.com/2022/09/16/queens-funeral-shuts-food-banks-amid-cost-of-living-crisis/

Luring Doctors from Poorer Countries Is the UK's Quiet Scandal
https://scheerpost.com/2022/09/17/luring-doctors-from-poorer-countries-is-the-uks-quiet-scandal/ 

Decolonizing the Mind https://popularresistance.org/decolonizing-the-mind/

Seen on Twitter:

Why aren’t people raiding Buckingham Palace and taking all that money that the royal family didn’t earn??

— BerningMama412♻️ (@berningmama412) September 10, 2022

The world should take a moment of silence in honor of the people who died under the boots of the crown all over the world.

— Lockridge Wesley (@GuterManne) September 9, 2022

I’m not emotional about the queen one way or the other. But I’m shocked by how many people think the Potato Famine was due to crop failure and don’t know the English EXPORTED food from Ireland to England during that time - enough food to feed all the Irish who died #irishtwitter

— Hannah Wanebo (@hannahwanebo) September 8, 2022

The British royals stole about $45 trillion in wealth from India, including this sweet little diamond. One person's queen is another person's thief. pic.twitter.com/rpL6hJSR1g

— Prof Zenkus (@anthonyzenkus) September 9, 2022

"Why I Adore Joe Biden"

Before we get to our featured blog,  here are some photos from a recent motorcade protest.

 #FreeThemAll

Even in this day of "social distancing,"  it's still possible to make your voice heard. Non-violent inmates need to be released from jails where the coronavirus can spread quickly. Toledo-area protestors donned their masks, placed their posters and banners on their vehicles and circled the block, honking and chanting until the prisoners in the Lucas County Jail banged on their windows in response. 

Will the Sheriff release these prisoners to their families until their trial dates? We'll see. But time is of the essence, and compassion is every bit a part of justice and rehabilitation.  Human beings shouldn't be locked up simply because they cannot afford bail. There is no reason to let these non-violent detainees be exposed to and possibly die from COVID-19.  Keep shouting at the walls until they come crumbling down!

Read more about the protest: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/city/2020/04/18/motorcade-of-protestors-demand-release-of-non-violent-inmates-toledo-lucas-county/stories/20200418081 

And now our guest blogger shares why she can't wait to vote for the former vice president.

"Why I Adore Joe Biden"

By A. Riche-Persson

I’m excited! I can’t wait to cast my vote for President of the United States for Joe Biden. He’s the man who represents everything I know and love. Things will stay the same under good ol’ Uncle Joe, and that’s the way it should be. We can’t be changing everything to suit the whims of the public, can we? They didn’t go to Ivy League schools, and they can’t even manage an invite to my yachting club regatta. We need to keep things in the hands of those who know best, don’t you think?

And all this blah-blah-blah from the Bernie Bros about Medicare for All —who needs it? I have great private health insurance. It even covered my Botox injections and my tummy tuck last year with just a mere ten thou deductible. Couch change! All red-blooded Americans everywhere love their private health insurance according to Joe. Nobody worth anything would be caught dead walking into a hospital with a Medicare card. You wouldn't catch me doing something so lowbrow! It doesn’t go well with my designer purse and matching heels, either.

These hippie peaceniks who keep saying things about Joe voting for the Iraq War and that he never met a war he didn’t like and that he was a friend of segragationalists in the past? Well I say, “Pfft!” War is great for business and that’s what America is all about – business. My Raytheon stocks skyrocket every time dear Donald rattles his sword, and I’m certain Joe will do the same. He’s got an interest in seeing those stock prices go up and up, especially after all this unnecessary shut down of our economy with this coronavirus hoax. It’s just like the flu I hear. And nobody wants their kids to attend school with ghetto scum. Joe was dead right on that issue. Get over it, crybabies.

Where was Joe during all these coronavirus town halls that Bernie put on? Does it really make a difference that he was taking a nap? Who needs all these extra people crowding up the place anyway? I think we could stand to lose a few thousand hoboes sleeping on our park benches and who would miss a few thousand old people or grocery stockers or cashiers or daycare workers here or there? (I get my food delivered to my door, the back door, I think... I let my cook and housekeeper handle that sort of thing.)  

What I’m saying is that America has more than enough people, so let the virus get rid of a few of them. It’s back to work the rest of you lazy bums so my company can realize a good dividend by the quarter’s end. Joe will make sure America is up and working. What I mean by that is that you all will be back to work so I can continue to live off the money you make for me.

Oh, and you’re begging for free money because you lost your job, along with free health care from the government? Who told you to get sick? Nobody! What do you think government is for? Looking out after your health and safety? No, it’s for keeping business people like me afloat and bailing out our banks when they make a bad decision or two. We are the “job creators” after all. All those million of small businesses in small town America just get in the way of our big monopolies making a bigger profit. The government needs to protect us from these annoying little challengers to the free market system. Go big or go out of business is what I say!

Yes, I do like how Joe believes the oil, gas and coal companies deserve to be given massive tax breaks, and we should hinder solar and wind energy technologies from growing and expanding. We don’t want to use up all the sunlight and wind too quickly—what would we do at the beach if we didn’t have sun and wind? Our sailboats wouldn’t work, and I’d have to go to the salon for a fake tan. No way am I going to turn myself orange like you-know-who!

Speaking of colors, Green New Deal? What kind of deal is that? (I look better in black.) The Earth was put here for our plundering. And gasoline is cheap--I filled up my three Escalades for next to nothing this past week.  The Obama Administration was the leader in bringing fracking to the world. Joe will continue that legacy, no fear. So, frack away and let's enjoy the open road in big thirsty cars. Vroom-vroom!

We want Joe to be in office so he can put in a Supreme Court justice replacement for Ruth Ginsburg who will stand up for a woman’s right to… do something. I know Joe said something about how this old-fashioned Roe v. Wade decision could be let out to pasture. It’s not like women can’t easily jump on a plane or a yacht and go elsewhere for an abortion, right? We don’t want to be paying for  poor women’s mistakes or paying to feed and clothe all their baby mistakes. They need to get off their lazy welfare queen butts and get a job waiting tables. Pull themselves up by their own bootstraps! Government money should be put to better use for the good of all—like bailing out the banks again when they need it in the future.

I certainly want to commend Joe for doing a great job to putting conservative-business-minded men like Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court back in the day. Joe raked that Anita Hill over the coals for saying the same things about Justice Thomas that some are saying about Joe nowadays—that they sexually harassed women who worked under them. 

There’s the problem right there. These women work under them, and so they deserve to have their butts pinched and be kept in their place. We can’t have uppity-types telling wealthy, powerful men to keep their hands to themselves. They have the money after all. They pay your wages. They own you, you good-for-nothings!

At the end of the day, how can I resist that sexy way Joe comes right up behind me at a thousand dollar a plate fundraiser and breathes in my hair? Ooo! I get shivers down my spine just thinking about his presidential hands all over me. Just call me "Monica," haha! All these people who get bent out of shape because of a few gals who didn’t care for his pawing just haven’t enjoyed having sex with a rich and powerful person before, and they’re just plain jealous of those of us who have. LOL!

I hope you can see now why Joe Biden would make a super president for people like us. He’s older and wealthy and white—so he understands how it feels to have to put up with the rabble that Bernie guy and other Lefties roused up. Joe was a huge supporter of Bill Clinton's wonderful crime bill in 1994 that locked up all those naughty black and brown people who smoked too much marijuana (not sold by our new corporate cannabis operations). He’ll continue to militarize the police so they’ll keep things the way they should be and deal with those troublemakers. We’ll all prosper and not have to worry about our share prices dropping precipitously under a Biden administration.

That’s all we really need in a president anyway, right? More of the same, 'cause happy days are here again! Even Republicans like Joe Biden and say they'll vote for him. With Donny or Joe in the Oval Office, we'll all be raking in the cash and rolling in the dough like we are now. And a healthy stock market is a great thing for all Americans, don't you agree?  

Don't believe me? Well, this gal says she'll vote for Joe (holding her nose) https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/62473-focus-i-cant-believe-i-have-to-vote-for-joe-biden

But this guy says you actually have a choice and you don't have to vote for him if you don't want to. As if!  https://medium.com/@danielca/dont-vote-for-joe-biden-the-case-for-the-green-party-in-2020-fcae946e0ffc

:BIO: "A. Riche-Persson" (or Ayn to her friends) is a member of the country club down the road and thinks she knows what's best for those who haven't been blessed with her good looks (and face lifts) and brains (she attended Yale, but married a millionaire and forgot to finish her degree). Heed her advice and you, too, can become well-connected in a corporate-owned-and-operated establishment party like the DNC. Just leave your conscience at the door with the coat check girl.

For more on Biden's background, check out this informative blog post from last year -- Biden: My Time? https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2019/04/biden-my-time.html

UPDATE: New Evidence Supporting Credibility of Tara Reade's Allegation Against Joe Biden Emerges: https://theintercept.com/2020/04/24/new-evidence-tara-reade-joe-biden/ 

Now for a different viewpoint of what's happening in the world. Lee asks, "Will things ever be the same?" (And will we ever see that $12,000 yearly we've all been paying out to the 1% since 1980?)

https://youtu.be/HO0aB_VuoGo

***

For families locked away in the Trump administration's detention centers, there are zero options to stay safe from the coronavirus. Even in the middle of a pandemic, authorities are keeping dozens of families away from their loved ones in facilities with limited access to soap or adequate medical treatment.
Two of the largest U.S. private prison profiteers have already recorded cases of COVID-19 among their staff and the people they've detained. [1] 

There is no time to waste: Rush an urgent message to state and federal legislators and DEMAND that they IMMEDIATELY end the use of private prisons and release vulnerable populations so they can reunite with their families and socially distance safely.

ACT NOW

When an outbreak occurs in a detention center, the families there won't be the only ones at risk: the staff who work in these facilities could take the virus home, and put their entire communities at risk of exposure.
 
By demanding an end to the use of private prisons, we can help thousands of children and their families escape conditions that will condemn them to needless suffering and death from COVID-19. 70% of all immigrants detained by the Trump administration are held in private prisons. Ending the use of private prisons would release many migrant children and families in federal detention, and seriously affect the Trump administration's ability to separate more families in the future. 

This pandemic reminds us that we are intertwined. You can't cage a virus; the only way to ensure our collective health is to care for each other. To do that, we have to fight back against this administration's abusive policies that endanger families in federal detention and beyond. 

Tell federal and state lawmakers to end the use of private prisons and protect incarcerated people from COVID-19.
 
Thanks for all you do,
Jess Morales Rocketto
Families Belong Together

[1] A Second ICE Detainee in Louisiana has Tested Positive for COVID-19

***

Don't let the coronavirus make us homeless. Demand an end to rent and mortgage payments during the crisis.

Sign Now

Over ten million U.S. citizens filed unemployment claims in just two weeks due to the intentional economic shutdown to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Unemployment websites are crashing, many people are not even eligible, and the one-time $1,200 checks promised by the government will not even cover many people's rent. In short: millions of Americans have no way to pay their rent or mortgage right now. That's why we need to demand leaders put a freeze on rent and mortgage payments during the pandemic for both individuals and businesses. Sign the petition if you agree! A national landlord association reported that a full one-third of renters in the U.S. failed to pay their rent during the first week of April and May is going to be even worse. While some cities have put a moratoreum on evictions, that just means rent and mortgage payments will pile up during that time and folks will be evicted as soon as those moratoreums are lifted. The only ethical, humane answer is for lawmakers to put a freeze on rent and mortgage payments, and they have the power to do it. Please sign on to help make sure no one ends up homeless due to this global crisis. Thank you, Kelsey B. The Care2 Petitions Team

 ***

From Color of Change:

We just received great news to provide us all with a glimmer of hope! Since the outbreak of COVID, we knew we had to fight hard for incarcerated people because our elected leaders failed to make a humane plan to address those who would be hardest hit. 

So we decided to launch our fight.

Thousands of Color Of Change members joined us in pushing to make all communication free of charge for incarcerated people and their families during this crisis, and forever. As of last week, people incarcerated at federal prisons have finally been granted free phone calls during the pandemic, up to 500 minutes a month. Before we launched our campaign and more than 18,000 people signed our petition, many incarcerated folks were only given two fifteen-minute free calls per week, some received even less.

This is what’s possible when we unabashedly fight for those most impacted, in the face of elected leaders who show indifference for incarcerated people. We win and keep families connected!

But C.A., we know we have much more to do to ensure ALL incarcerated people receive the humane response needed to ensure their wellbeing. Here is what we need you to do to continue fighting with us:

  1. Share the petition with your friends and family demanding elected leaders grant ALL incarcerated people with free calls. This includes state prisons, county jails, and all detention centers.

  2. Start or join a local campaign and demand your elected leaders implement a humane plan for incarcerated people. We need mass releases and an end to the constant churn of people in and out of facilities across the country.

Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Clarise, Erika, Malachi, Leonard, Marybeth, Madison, and the rest of the Color Of Change team