CRIMES COMMUNIQUÉS AND SIEGES

The 28th February has quite a pedigree. On this day in 1951, the Kefauvre Committee, a.k.a. the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organised Crime in Interstate Commerce, issued its second interim report. It concluded that 'Organised Crime does exist'.

It states:

"It cannot now be denied, as will appear more fully later in the report, that the doubt which originally existed in the minds of many intelligent and careful persons as to whether crime is organized in the United States was in great measure deliberately planted there. It was created by criminals who have vast resources and incalculable power. They have amassed and hoarded tremendous wealth out of the proceeds of their criminal activities and with it they have sought to purchase respectability so that the true nature of their operations would not become known. They have insidiously cultivated the association of persons whose integrity and character are unquestionable. They have sought membership in social clubs and other organizations where they might acquire the status of respectability in their respective communities. They have been lavish in their gifts to charity and they have publicly promoted philanthropies, all in. an effort to hide their crimes behind the shielding cloak of respectability.

And to carry out this fiction, in many cases they have invested in legitimate businesses so that they could always point to these false fronts and claim that they were no longer engaged in crime in the event that a question might ever be raised as to their former criminal associations. Nor was this situation confined to any one particular community or State. It was an open secret in the State of Florida, one of the Nation's best-known playgrounds, where at certain seasons of the year affluent Americans from all parts of the country would gather for their vacations, presumably well provided with money and seeking excitement, that criminals from Chicago had moved in during the early pert of 1949 and were attempting to take control of the largest and most lucrative bookmaking operation in the entire State.

It was no secret in the State of Florida at the same time that a criminal gang basing its operations in New York and northern Now Jersey had taken control of the largest gambling casinos in Florida and New Jersey and were mulcting millions of dollars out of these gambling games from anyone who would play."

Various other matters became apparent:

It was no secret that these operations could not continue without the protection of police and with the connivance of local authorities. Yet when this committee, as one of its first official acts, wrote a letter of inquiry to municipal heads and law-enforcement officers in the States of Florida and Missouri, among others, asking for information on the subject, the reply was virtually unanimous that there was no serious crime problem whatsoever, not even in the Miami-Miami Beach area where gambling was so open and notorious as to be a stench in the public nostrils.

It was no secret in the State of Missouri, and particularly in Kansas City, that the State government and its administration had narrowly escaped falling under the control of gangsters with criminal affiliations in the election of 1948.

It was no secret in New York and in the counties of New Jersey directly across the Hudson from America's biggest city that the most notorious hoodlums in Manhattan were operating a chain of gambling houses that showed, conservatively, profits of from five to ten million dollars a year.

It was no secret in Chicago that the head of a Nation-wide wire service which furnished news of horse racing over leased wires from one corner of the country to the other was ambushed and shot after a lengthy dispute with a gang of criminals who were trying to take over control of this lucrative service.

It was no secret that this man had been threatened with death if he did not cut the organized mob in. He died because he fought the gang; after his death the mob took over and again, that was that.

It was no secret to the newspapers of the United States during the year 1949 that from time to time meetings of notorious characters with police records would be held in various places, preferably resorts like Miami Beach, Hot Springs, Ark., Phoenix, Ariz., and others.

They looked for answers:

What brought about this public state of mind that approached almost respect for these underworldcharacters? Why were they permitted to proceed with the organization and integration of their criminal activities throughout the country?

Frank Costello ……………………………. Richard Nixon

Francesco Castiglia a.k.a. Frank Costello was a New York City gangster who rose to the top of America's underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and enjoyed political influence. He was nicknamed the Prime Minister of the Underworld and became one of the most powerful and influential Mafia bosses in American history. He died of a heart attack at a Manhattan hospital in 1973 at the age of 82.

Richard Nixon, was a Yorba Linda California politician, who rose to the top of the America's political world, and controlled a vast political machine across the United States and enjoyed underworld influence. He was nicknamed Tricky Dicky and became one of the most infamous Presidents of the United States, on the verge of impeachment he was forced to resign.

He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1994 and died at the age of 81.

He did however, during the course of his presidency, manage to travel to China and together with Henry Kissinger, China's Premier Zhou Enlai and others on the 28th February 1972 issued the Shanghai Communiqué

Kissinger, Nixon, Zhou Enlai & ors

For its part China stated (inter alia) in paragraph 6 of the communique:

Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance. Countries want independence, nations want liberation and the people want revolution--this has become the irresistible trend of history. All nations, big or small, should be equal: big nations should not bully the small and strong nations should not bully the weak. China will never be a superpower and it opposes hegemony and power politics of any kind. The Chinese side stated that it firmly supports the struggles of all the oppressed people and nations for freedom and liberation and that the people of all countries have the right to choose their social systems according their own wishes and the right to safeguard the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of their own countries and oppose foreign aggression, interference, control and subversion. All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries…..

The United States for its part stated amongst other things in Paragraph 7:

Peace in Asia and peace in the world requires efforts both to reduce immediate tensions and to eliminate the basic causes of conflict. The United States will work for a just and secure peace: just, because it fulfills the aspirations of peoples and nations for freedom and progress; secure, because it removes the danger of foreign aggression. The United States supports individual freedom and social progress for all the peoples of the world, free of outside pressure or intervention. The United States believes that the effort to reduce tensions is served by improving communication between countries that have different ideologies so as to lessen the risks of confrontation through accident, miscalculation or misunderstanding. Countries should treat each other with mutual respect and be willing to compete peacefully, letting performance be the ultimate judge. No country should claim infallibility and each country should be prepared to reexamine its own attitudes for the common good…..

How far has China come in meeting its statement that it will "never be a superpower and it opposes hegemony and power politics of any kind", and what of the United States's infallibility?

As to sieges, on the 28th February 1993, what became known as the Waco siege began.

The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located nine miles (14 km) east-northeast of Waco, Texas. On February 28, shortly after the attempt to serve the warrant, an intense gun battle erupted, lasting nearly 2 hours. In the aftermath of this armed exchange, four agents and six followers of David Koresh were killed. Upon the ATF's failure to execute the search warrant, a siege was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The siege ended 50 days later when a second assault on the compound was made and a fire destroyed the compound. Seventy-six people (24 of them British nationals) died in the fire, including more than 20 children, two pregnant women, and Koresh himself.

I'm not sure what all of this means, but one can find parallels in the most unlikely places.

On a happier note today 28th February is the birthday of Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Joseph Stalin is 85 today.

On the 27th February 1922, a mere 89 years ago, The United States Supreme Court delivered a unanimous decision that women had the right to vote by virtue of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This overruled the State laws which allowed only men to vote. The Chief Justice presiding over the Court at that time was William Howard Taft. He had been the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913) and later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1921-1930) He is the only person to have served in both offices.

Cecilia Streett Waters and Mary D. Randolph were registered as voters in the state of Maryland, despite the Maryland Constitution limiting voting rights to men only. Oscar Lesser of the firm of Hill, Randall & Lesser, filed suit against the state board of registry, as they were authorised to do under Maryland law, to have the women's registrations invalidated. There was a clear conflict between the Federal and State constitutions. The Unanimous decision favoured the ladies.

Oscar Lesser

(More of this anon - there is more stuff to come)

WEAPONS - SALE OR PART EXCHANGE

IRAN-CONTRA

On 26th February 1987, a report published by the Tower Commission was delivered to President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The Commission had been appointed by the President himself, to investigate what had become known as the Iran-Contra scandal. I bring this up in keeping with yesterday's piece touching on the interference of the United States Government in the politics of Nicaragua. It is surprising how events seem to have a certain synchronous quality.

It started with a plan to improve U.S.-Iranian relations with a view to getting Iranian assistance in securing the release of six American hostages being held by Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamists organisation. A rather convoluted plot to say the least. The idea was for Israel to ship weapons to a politically influential group of Iranians. The United States would then resupply Israel and received payment. The Iranians promised to do everything they could to get the hostages released. It was believed that there was a close connection between the groups as part of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. This ridiculous enterprise quickly became an arms-for-hostages enterprise, in which members of the US executive sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of the hostages. Much of this was orchestrated by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North who was at the National Security Council in late 1985. A portion of the proceeds from the weapons sales was diverted to fund anti-Sandinista and so called anti-communist rebels, the Contras, in Nicaragua.

As usual with such half assed enterprises, the whole business was exposed and unravelled as the result of a leak. The by now familiar cries of "What did the President know, and when did he know it" As a result, Reagan announced the creation of a Special Review Board to investigate. He appointed Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security advisor Brent Scowcroft. It became known as the Tower Commission. Its main objectives to enquire into the circumstances surrounding the Iran-Contra matter. It began of 1st December 1986 and delivered its report to the President on 26th February 1987. In three months the Commission had apparently interviewed 80 witnesses to the scheme, including the President, and two of the arms trade middlemen, Manucher Ghorbabifar and Adnan Khashoggi. There were 200 pages and the Commission concluded with criticism of the actions of Oliver North, John Poindexter (National Security Advisor), Caspar Weinberger (Secretary of Defence) and others. It determined that the President did not have knowledge of the extent of the program, especially not the diversion of funds to the contras, although it argued that the President ought to have had better control of the National Security council staff. They heavily criticised Reagan for not properly supervising his subordinates or being aware of their actions.

After publication of the report, the Senate began its own televised enquiry in May 1987. I have posted 4 of 8 parts of a documentary on the affair posted on You tube. If you want to see the rest, go to you tube. You might like it. There are also longer views of Oliver North's evidence to the Senate hearings. Oliver North is now listed as a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on the Fox News Channel, military historian and a New York Times best selling author. As they always say "FOLLOW THE MONEY' and then the drugs, whatever takes your fancy. This is worth revisiting. As David MacMichael, a former CIA Analyst states in the course of an interview, in reference to the Reagan Presidency, "This administration is impossible to embarrass…they rely on the old rule Deny, Deny, Deny, despite the vast amounts of evidence that is available…" I wonder, could that apply to other administrations we have seen, say in the UK recently ??

SUPPORT AND INTERFERENCE - WHAT NOW?

EDSA SILVER ANNIVERSARY

On the 25th February 1986, 25 years ago today President Marcos fled the Philippines. Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos was the tenth President of the Philippines from 3oth December 1965 to 25th February 1986.

In 1965 he began by stating:

" The Filipino, it seems, has lost his soul, his dignity, and his courage. We have come upon a phase in our history when ideals are only a veneer f0r greed and power -in public and private affairs- when devotion to duty and dedication to a public trust are to be weighted at all times against private advantages and personal gain, and when loyalties can be traded…Our government in is the iron grip of venality, its treasury is barren, its resources are wasted, its civil service is slothful and indifferent, its armed forces demoralised and its councils sterile. We are in crisis. You know that the government treasury is empty. Only by severe self denial will there be hope for recovery within the next year." He vowed to fulfill the nation's 'mandate for greatness'. "This nation can be great again. This I have said over and over. It is my articles of faith, and Divine Providence has willed that you and I can now translate this faith into deeds"

Some of those words seem to resonate with stuff we hear today.

Marcos, on the other hand descended into that same grip of venality. In this he was supported by various United States administrations.

His corruption got to the point where he felt himself obliged to declare martial law in 1972, which was not lifted until 1981. In 1973 Marcos commented "It is easier perhaps and more comfortable to look back to the solace of a familiar and mediocre past. But the times are too grave and the stakes too high for us to permit the customary concessions to traditional democratic processes."

Elections or a sort were held in 1981 and he was of course re-elected. At his inauguration in June of that year, the then vice-president George H. W. Bush said:

"We love your adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic process, and we will not leave you in isolation"

Things finally began to turn when it became painfully apparent that Marcos had become so enmeshed in his iron grip of venality that by 1984 even Ronald Reagan began to distance himself from his 'close personal friend'. As U.S. support dwindled and the "People Power" movement grew in strength and numbers, Marcos's days in office were numbered. This People Power Revolution, a.k.a. EDSA Revolution or the Philippine Revolution of 1986, was a series of popular nonviolent protests and prayerful mass street demonstrations that occurred in 1986, which marked the restoration of the country's democracy.

The majority of the demonstrations took place at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, hence the acronym EDSA, in Quezon Cioty, Metropolitain Manila and involved over 2,000,000 Filipino civilians as well as several political, military and religious figures. The protests occurred from 22nd February to the 25th February 1986, when Marcos fled the Malaca

ñ

ang Palace to Hawaii.

Does any of this strike a cord? Look around.

The U.S government and the Reagan administration in particular was involved in yet another countries affairs in the 1980's. Nicaragua. Multi-party elections were held on the 25th February 1990, which saw the defeat of the Sandinistas (under Daniel Ortega) by a coalition of anti-Sandinista (supposed from the left and right of the political spectrum) parties led by Violeta Chamorro, the widow of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro.

Violeta Chamorro -first (and so far only) female president elected in the Americas

She was in office for 6 years. Her election was heavily supported by the United States. She was succeeded by another US supported candidate Arnoldo Aleman, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 20 years for embezzlement, money laundering and corruption. These charges were brought by Enrique Bolaños who won the 2001 elections. The Sandinistas, longtime foes of the U.S., alleged that their support for Bolaños was lost when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Bolaños to keep his distance from the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front).

Legislative and presidential elections took place on 5th November 2006 and Daniel Ortega was returned to the Presidency with 37.99% of the vote. The percentage was enough to win the presidency outright, due to a change in electoral law which lowered the percentage requiring a runoff election from 45% to 35%, with a 5% margin of victory.

So, what price support and interference. In the long run Ortega is back. The electorate has spoken.

There are a number of People Power Revolutions taking place at present. Good luck keeping it together without support and interference from abroad. Mind you 1,000,000 people demonstrating in London did not prevent Tony Blair from acting up in Iraq, but of course he had the support on the United States.

SEARCH AND SEIZURE

WRITS OF ASSISTANCE

On 24th February 1761, 250 years ago today, James Otis Jr. and Oxenbridge Thacher argued a case before the Superior Court of Judicature of the Province of Massachusetts against the issuance of Writs of Assistance. These writs effectively allowed British customs officers to arbitrarily search people's premises.

The court was presided over by Chief Justice Thomas Hutchinson, a prominent Loyalist before the American Revolution, who went to England in exile in May 1774. As well as being Chief-Justice, he was lieutenant-governor of the Massachusetts Bay Province. The Governor, Sir Francis Bernard (1st Baronet) was especially instructed to see that the decrees of the English Board of Trade in regard to the collection of duties and the restriction of commerce were enforced.

The case arose when James Paxton, a Massachusetts customs official, applied to the superior court for a writ of assistance. 63 Boston merchants petitioned the Court to challenge the legality of these writs. James Otis Jr. advocate general for the colony, resigned his post to represent the merchants who opposed the writ.

First Oxenbridge Thacher challenged the authority of the Court to issue the writ as no statute specified which courts in American could issue such writs. Otis next challenged the procedure by which the writs were issued. Suspicion should not be enough. The person seeking the writ should be placed under oath and made to disclose the evidence on which the application was based. Secondly, he argued that an application must identify the person, place, or thing to be searched and thirdly Otis challenged Parliament's autocratic authority. He argued that no Parliament has power to pass legislation that is against fundamental principles of law.

In response lawyers for the Government asserted that the Superior Court had no discretion to deny Paton's application for the writ. Not surprisingly Chief Justice Hutchinson and his colleagues agreed with the government lawyers. They unanimously voted to grant Paxton's application.

Among the lawyers who were present on this important day was John Adams, then a fresh faced youth of 26, who had come from his home in Braintree to hear the case. He later wrote

"Round a great fire were seated five judges, with Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson at their head as Chief-Justice, all arrayed in their new fresh rich robes of scarlet English broadcloth; in their large cambric bands and immense judi­cial wigs. At a long table were all the barristers-at-law of Boston and of the neighboring county of Middlesex, in gowns, bands and tie­-wigs. They were not seated on ivory chairs, but their dress was more solemn and more pompous than that of the Roman senate, when the Gauls broke in upon them. Two portraits of more than full length of King Charles the Second and of King James the Second, in splendid golden frames were hung up on the most conspicuous sides of the apartment. If my young eyes or old memory have not de­ceived me, these were as fine pictures as I ever saw;... they had been sent over without frames in Governor Pownall's time, but he was no admirer of Charles or James. The pictures were stowed away in a garret among rubbish until Governor Bernard came, who had them cleaned, superbly framed and placed in council for the admiration and imitation of all men, no doubt with the advice and concurrence of Hutchinson and all his nebula of stars and sat­ellites."

Then the Advocate of Freedom began to speak, confounding all his opponents by the splendour of his eloquence. "Otis," says John Adams, "was a flame of fire. With a plenitude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid summary of his­torical events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetic glance of his eye into futurity, and a torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away everything before him!... Every man of a crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take arms against writs of assistance. Then and there was the first scene of the first act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then and there the child Independence was born!"

Pretty heady stuff. It was from that case that the 4th Amendment to the Constitution was drawn:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This is now fundamental to the rule of law. Few democratically elected representatives would seek to change this principle. Even in the UK, I think.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

The Cato Street Conspiracy

The Cato Street Conspiracy was an attempt to murder all the British cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London.

On February 23, 1820, Richard Bimie, Bow Street magistrate, and George Ruthven, another police spy, went to wait at a public house on the other side of the street of the Cato Street building with 12 officers of the Bow Street Runners. Bimie and Ruthven waited for the afternoon because they had been promised reinforcements from the Coldstream Guards, under the command of Lieutenant FitzClarence, the late king George III's grandson. Thistlewood's group arrived during that time. At 7:30 pm, the Bow Street Runners decided to apprehend the conspirators themselves. In the resulting brawl, Thistlewood killed a police officer, Richard Smithers, with a sword. Some conspirators surrendered peacefully, while others resisted forcefully. William Davidson failed to fight his way out. Thistlewood, Robert Adams, John Brunt and John Harrison slipped out the back window but they were arrested a few days later.

Eleven men were later charged for the plot. During the trial, the defence argued that the statement of Edwards, a government spy, was unreliable and he was therefore never called to testify. Police persuaded two of the men, Robert Adams and John Monument, to testify against other conspirators in exchange for dropped charges. Most of the accused were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason on April 28. All sentences were later commuted, at least in respect of this medieval form of execution, to hanging and beheading. The hangman was John Foxton who was assisted by Thomas Cheshire in this high profile execution and an unnamed person who actually cut off the conspirators' heads.

(More to come on this post)

CPR FOR A NATION - CONSTITUTION PROTEST REVOLUTION

George Washington, first President of The United States was born today 22nd February 1732. His election as first president was the result of an extraordinary collection of people who had come together to institute and conduct a revolution, and thereafter deal with forming a system of governing what had been acquired by that revolution. How to deal with the spoils of war.

At the very beginning a convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies was called together to act as a governing body of the United States during the revolution. The idea had been first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1773, but the first Continental Congress came together in 1774. George Washington, then a Colonel of the Virginia Volunteers, was a member of that first convention. It convened between the 5th of September and 26th of October. There were 56 delegates from the 13 colonies. Amongst them Patrick Henry (Give me liberty or give me death), John Adams, who became the 2nd President (There is no good government but what is republican. That the only valuable part of the British constitution is so; because the very definition of a republic is 'an empire of laws, and not of men'.) and Samuel Adams (If taxes are laid upon us in any shape without our having a legal representation where they are laid, arewe not reduced from the character of free subjects to the miserable state of tributary slaves?)

A pretty bolshy group to say the least, but quite well set up: P Henry -J Adams - S Adams

The second Continental Congress met on the 10th May 1775. This led to the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. They established the Continental Army in June 1775, appointed Washington - one of its members - as commander of the Army, established a Continental Navy in October 1775, the Continental Marines in November 1775 and as we know the final text of the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4th 1776. The Articles of Confederation don't actually go into effect until March 1881. Congress has convened and moved around quite a lot during this period, all the while putting together the Constitution. It finally convenes at Philadelphia between 25th May and 17th September 1787 and produces the Constitution of The United States.

This was 14 years after the first convention in 1774 although rumblings of discontent began much earlier. Making up a democracy is clearly not something that happens overnight.

Nor should it be. The seeds of the French revolution began long before 14th July 1789, although matters did happen slightly quicker than in the United States. From the Day of the Tiles in Grenoble on the 7th June 1788, a meeting called to assemble a parliament in defiance of government order put down by soldiers. That same month there was an outcry across France over certain enforced so called reforms, and courts across the country refused to sit. On the 17th June a National Assembly is declared. On the 20th June there is a declarative vow by the National Assembly, known as the "Serment au Jeu de Paume" (The Tennis Court Oath) not to dissolve until a constitution has been declared. Meetings take place at various locations. There is continuing general unrest.

Jeu de PaumeRights of man

On 30th June large crowds storm the left bank prison and free mutinous French Guards, and on 9th July the National assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly. 14th July the Bastille is taken and by the 17th July the peasants across the country are in full revolt which is the beginning of 'The great fear'. On 26th August 1789 the Assembly adopts The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Thereafter there is a turbulent political history culminating in 1799 with Napoleon. A Brief time-line gives an idea of the history leading to an adopted Constitution in 1795 some 7 years after the Day of the Tiles:

30-9-1791: Dissolution of the national Constituent Assembly

1-10-1791: Legislative Assembly meets

19-9-1792: Dissolution of Legislative Assembly

20-9-1792: First session of The National Convention

21-9-1792: Abolition of royalty and proclamation of the First French Republic

11-3-1793: Revolutionary Tribunal established in Paris

6-4-1793: Committee of Public Safety Established

24-6-1793: Ratification of new Constitution by National Convention, but not yet proclaimed

5-9-1793: Reign of Terror begins

22-8-1795: Constitution ratified - bicameral system, executive Directory of five.

26-10-1795: National Convention dissolved

2-11-1795: Executive Directory takes on Executive Power

9-11-1799: Coup d'Etat - end of Directory

24-12-1799 Constitution of the Year VIII - leadership of Napoleon established under the Consulate. Revolution considered ended.

It took the National Convention 6 months to produce the Constitution which did not go into effect for another 2 years and lasted for only 4 years. It's not that the Constitution was wrong, it could not sustain itself against so much strife, opposition and the ambition of certain men.

So what chance have the people demonstrating in Egypt and Libya. In fact all across North Africa and the Middle East. What is happening is the beginning of a long process of change. One can only wish them well and trust that civil authority and the rule of law will prevail over the military and police forces. We can but hope.

Although what is David Cameron doing selling weapons in Arabia?!?*?

FOUR BIRTHDAYS AND AN ASSASSINATION

A number of events mark the 21st February. Actors Alan Rickman and Anthony Daniels (C3PO) celebrate birthdays, as well as young singer Charlotte Church among many others in the entertainment world.

In politics this is the day Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born in 1924. There is not much that one can say these days about Mr Mugabe. Once regarded as a hero by many Africans as well as Europeans, he has become somewhat of a disappointment.

Having started out his government of Zimbabwe in 1980 with mainly socialist policies, he seems to have lost it completely with an appalling decline for the last 15 years. Not just with the economy, but with the civil liberties he had so long fought for, and spent eleven years in prison for. It is clearly time for him to go.

In the 1980's he was awarded a number of honorary degrees from international universities, a number of which have been revoked. The University of Massachusetts in 1986 awarded an Honorary LLD for:

"Your gentle firmness in the face of anger, and your intellectual approach to matters which inflame the emotions of others, are hallmarks to your quiet integrity…We salute you for your enduring and effective translation of a moral ethic into a strong,popular voice for freedom"

This Honour was revoked in June 2008:

"Mugabe's corrupt, repressive regime" was deemed "antithetical to the values and beliefs of the University of Massachusetts". It is the first time the board has revoked an honorary degree.

On another note, there was an assassination which took place on the 21st February 1919 in Munich. That of Kurt Eisner. He was a Bavarian politician and journalist. As a German socialist journalist and statesman, he organised the Socialist Revolution that overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy in Bavaria in 1918. He was later assassinated on a Munich street when German nationalist Anton Graf von Atrco auf Valley shot him in the back. He was on his way to present his resignation to the Bavarian Parliament. In 1989 a monument at the site of his killing was built.

It reads (in English translation) "Kurt Eisner, who proclaimed the Bavarian Republic on 8 November 1918 -later Prime Minister of the Republic of Bavaria-was murdered here on 21 February 1919".

What seems somewhat strange is that at his funeral in Munich, Adolf Hitler walked behind his coffin in his role as head of a military unit, the Ersatz Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Apparently surviving film footage of the funeral shows Hitler wearing two armbands: one the black band of mourning, the other a red armband of the socialist revolution. Hitler was only 29 at the time so might have been going through his youthful flirtation with the left by paying tribute to German Jewish Socialists.

1919 was quite a year for assassinations. Only the day before, on the 20th February 1919, Habibullah Khan the Emir of Afghanistan was murdered on a hunting trip.

Two months later that year, Emiliano Zapata was assassinated in Mexico.

He had been invited to a meeting by a Colonel Jesus Guajardo, who claimed he intended to defect from the Government to the revolutionaries. When Zapata arrived at the Hacienda de San Jaun, in Chinameca, Guajardo's men riddled him with bullets. They took his body to Cuautla to claim a bounty, where they are reputed to have been given only half of what was promised. How strange that a man named Jesus should so betray someone and then

renege on payment.

DADA BRETON

André Breton, one of the principal founders of surrealism was born today 19th february 1896. He was a writer, poet and surrealist theorist. His writings include the Surrealist Manisfesto of 1924.

(This piece will be completed at a later date more of this anon)

THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA

Forty-six years ago today, on the 18th February 1965, The Gambia was granted independence by the United Kingdom. It was also obliged to join the Commonwealth. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa. It is surrounded to the North, East and South by Senegal. To the West, at the mouth of the River Gambia, which runs the length of the country, is the Atlantic Ocean.

The population estimate is approximately 1,705,000 inhabitants over 4,007 sq. miles. A third of that population live below the international poverty line of $1.25 US per day. It has a history of being buffeted between Britain, Franc and Portugal. According to some sources as many as 3 million slaves may have been taken from the region during the 3 centuries that the slave trade operated. Most of those taken were sold by other Africans to Europeans. In 1889 it became a British Crown Colony.

According to the current president Yahya Jammeh:

The Gambia "is on of the oldest and biggest countries in Africa that was reduced to a small snake by the British Government who sold all our lands to the French"

As a 29 year old Lieutenant in the Gambian National Army, he seized power on the 22nd July 1994. The coup produced no fatalities; however, the constitution was suspended the borders sealed, and a curfew was implemented. Supposedly there were free elections and Jammeh was elected President in October of 1996, and re-elected in October 2001. There was a coup attempt in March 2006, whilst he was out of the country. The coup was put down and he was again elected as President in September of that year.

To give you an idea of the President's view of democratic elections, he stated at a rally in July of 2010:

"Whether you like it or not, no coup will end my government, no elections can end my government. By God's grace I will rule this country as long as I wish and choose someone to replace me." The same month, he added "Come 2011, whether you vote for me or not, I will win," and "If any area chooses to be with the opposition, let them go ahead and expect no benefit from my government."

Pictures can never quite tell the whole story. The place looks great and worth a visit, save for the attitudes of the President.

On May 15, 2008, Jammeh announced that his government would introduce legislation that would set rules against homosexuals that would be “stricter than those in Iran”, and that he would "cut off the head" of any gay or lesbian person discovered in the country. News reports indicated his government intended to have all homosexuals in the country killed. In a speech given in Tallinding, Jammeh gave a "final ultimatum" to any gays or lesbians in The Gambia to leave the country. There is no freedom of the press and here have been a number of other human rights abuses.

Not exactly a pleasant gathering. What is sad, is that when Jammeh and his 'Government" took power in 1994, they justified the coup by decrying corruption and lack of democracy under the previous regime. Why does every military coup claim it is taking action to promote and support democratic action as well as sweeping away the previous administrations corruption and and skulduggery.

It should give one pause when one hears the promises of the current military administrators in Egypt. That country had been under British occupation and control from 1889 to 1922. It was then that Britain ended its protectorate and the Kingdom of Egypt was established; however, on June 18, 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamar Abdel Nasser – the real architect of the 1952 movement – and was later put under house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President in June, 1956. And we all know what that unfortunate movement led to:

This newsreel gives a flavour of what else was going on in 1956, whilst the Middle East was intent on blowing itself part. Plus ca change. At least the first 52 seconds was on point.