Great positive advice from PK!!

Democracy – Some Thoughts.

Democracy is good; or is it?

We enjoy a democratic system; or do we?

You be the judge:

In order for democracy to work we have to have a number of important factors:

a. One person one vote

b. An intelligent well-informed population

c. A good education system providing people with the tools to weigh up and make decisions

d. A media that has no bias and provides factual information.

e. Transparency and scrutiny of all politicians to ensure there is no corruption.

f. Accountability for all the actions and decisions taken by politicians.

g. A system where every vote counts.

h. Representatives elected who are intelligent, educated, informed and able to discuss, debate and make informed decisions better that the electorate can do (They possess all the facts and are better aware of the implications.

i. a system that is honest, free of corruption, free of self-interest and not open to bribery of any kind.

I said that you can be the judge. I’ve already judged.

Always More!

Always More!

The wealthy never have enough

                They always want more.

The unfortunate never get enough;

                Forever poor.

The system is loaded.

                Wealth buys the votes.

Propaganda rules

                We have to stop the boats.

The boats are a distraction

                A tiny fraction of the whole.

But they take the attention away

                From the true goal.

The wealthy never have enough

                They always want more.

The unfortunate never get enough;

                Forever poor.

Opher – 29.11.2023

There’s a battle going on. It’s being fought with VIP lanes and the tabloid press. Money is being funnelled to the rich while the tabloids distract.

The finger is pointed at the evil immigrants, at the EU and the boats. It takes the attention away from the systematic robbing of the public services and poor to give to the wealthy.

So while darling Boris, Lord Cameron, Lord Snooty, Osborne, May and Mone walk away with millions the schools and hospitals crumble and people are left in destitution.

Cost of living crisis? Try telling that to Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson, to Richkid Rishi and David Cameron.

We’re all in it together – except that was just a lying slogan.

Today’s Music to Blow My Mind – Phil Ochs – A Man who said something in his Songs.

Phil Ochs was a man with a social message. He wanted a better world, more equality, no war, social improvement. For Phil songwriting was all part of the cause. I respect that. I want to change the world too!

Ever remembered – a pioneer of protest, a man who was prepared to put his head on the block!

Long live Phil Ochs!!

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Phil Ochs – Opher’s World pays Tribute to a Genius.

Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs – Opher’s World pays tribute to a genius.

Dylan accused Ochs of being a journalist. That was far from the truth. Phil, like Bob, did scout through the newspapers to find stories and causes that would resonate with his ideals. But that isn’t all he did. He chose his words and aimed them at their targets with honesty and craft.

Phil was a part of that early sixties Folk scene in Greenwich Village. He was the most political and outspoken of them all. He was a ‘Protest’ singer. There’s nothing wrong in being a protest singer. There’s a lot that needs protesting about. It got itself a bad name after Dylan popularised ‘Protest’ and made it a commercial success. The media coined the phrase, ridiculed it, pigeon-holed it and every Tom Dick and Harry jumped on the band-wagon. They all wanted a bit of that fame and fortune that Dylan had grabbed. We need our protest singers. We need to protest. If only we had our Och’s and early Dylan’s to high-light the woeful capitalist exploitation, global inequality, war and wanton of destruction of the environment we might be better placed to deal with it. Where are the singers writing songs about the butchery of the elephants, rhinos and apes? When are we going to hear songs about the crazy overpopulation crisis that is destroying the world? Surely the new generations have the talent but do they have the sensibilities, the compassion and idealism that Phil and Bob possessed? Can they create a zeitgeist to carry a whole generation along with them like Bob and Phil did?

Both Dylan and Ochs baled out of ‘Protest’ into more poetic expressions of artistic depths. Phil always seemed to walk in Bob Dylan’s shadow and was consumed with jealousy and destroyed by alcoholism before killing himself.

But should not detract from the work he produced. His early work was full of fervour and idealism. He tirelessly set about writing his songs of hope. He shone a searchlight on the issues going on around us and by highlighting them raised them up into everyone’s consciousness. He brought those issues to life and wakened the consciousness of a generation. We became enlightened to the atrocities going on around us and activated to protest about it.

Phil targeted the civil rights war that was being fought particularly in the Southern States where the Blacks were free but still kept in slavery, where they were denied votes, rights and equality and lived in poverty and fear. Where racism was endemic, the Klu-Klux-Klan ruled and people still got lynched, beaten and tortured for speaking out or stepping out of line, where there was no justice. He sang about the assignation of Medgar Evans, the murder of civil rights campaigners and the way the hierarchy supported the suppression of black rights. People had been killed for less.

Phil targeted the war in Vietnam and American foreign policy where they felt entitled to invade other countries with impunity and sanctimoniously set themselves up as Cops of the World, dishing out their gum, rape, casual violence and disdain.

Phil targeted injustice and fought for a strong union system to protect the rights of workers yet he felt free to criticise the unions in their stance to Blacks and Communists. He had no faith in government, the establishment or the legal system. They all had their snouts in the same trough.

Phil was a man of integrity who followed on in the tradition set by Woody Guthrie. He wasn’t afraid to put his face where his words were. His songs were full of intent yet he deployed humour and produced well-crafted works of art. He was unique and that was probably his downfall. He was a little too quirky and out of step with the times. He did not easily slip into the long-haired freaks of the sixties counter-culture. He was a bit too political, too extreme and too different. He did not adopt the same uniform of freakdom or produce music with the right instrumentation for the times. He did get heavily involved with the YIPPIE political group and all their antics but he was still a little left-field. He did espouse all the right causes but he did it his way and did not quite fit in to the zeitgeist of the time. Where Dylan easily slipped from Protest to an equally incredible stream of consciousness and mercurial new sound that rode the crest of the new consciousness Phil’s created a sound that was not so much of the moment.

In hindsight it is possible to appreciate the later songs and albums. They had depth and intricacy that was just as wonderful as his early protest material. You can sense his desperation and disillusionment seeping through. He deserved much more. If he had not been so ignored and put down he probably would have blossomed even more. Who knows?

Phil left us a legacy of greatness with songs like ‘Cops of the World’, ‘Links on the chain’, ‘Here’s to the State of Mississippi’, ‘Too many martyrs’, ‘I ain’t marching anymore’. ‘There but for fortune’, ‘When I’m gone’, ‘Changes’ and so many more, that still resonate to this day!

Phil was an outspoken genius. We are desperate for more like him. Perhaps he will inspire a new generation who will create a new positive zeitgeist, highlight the wrongs and put us back on the right road.

We miss you Phil.

Phil Ochs – Cops of the World – far-reaching social lyrics.

Phil Ochs – Cops of the World – far-reaching social lyrics.

Posted on  by Opher

What a prophetic song. It’s as true today as it was fifty years ago. The world is still being ruled by a diplomacy of force and rough justice.

Seemingly foreign policy is to invade and terrorise, subjugate, cause mayhem and get out leaving the locals to bury the dead and pick up the pieces.

From my perspective it’s a policy that seems intent on creating strife and causing hatred and resentment.

Perhaps the UN should have more power and police the world peacefully?

No country should set itself up to police the world. They should merely lobby and exert influence for universal human rights.

This is Phil Ochs at his best.

Cops of the World

Come, get out of the way, boys
Quick, get out of the way
You’d better watch what you say, boys
Better watch what you say
We’ve rammed in your harbor and tied to your port
And our pistols are hungry and our tempers are short
So bring your daughters around to the port
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World
We pick and choose as please, boys
Pick and choose as please
You’d best get down on your knees, boys
Best get down on your knees
We’re hairy and horny and ready to shack
And we don’t care if you’re yellow or black
Just take off your clothes and lay down on your back
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World
Our boots are needing a shine, boys
Boots are needing a shine
But our Coca-Cola is fine, boys
Coca-Cola is fine
We’ve got to protect all our citizens fair
So we’ll send a battalion for everyone there
And maybe we’ll leave in a couple of years
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World
And dump the reds in a pile, boys
Dump the reds in a pile
You’d better wipe off that smile, boys
Better wipe off that smile
We’ll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck
And we’ll find you a leader that you can’t elect
Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World
And clean the johns with a rag, boys
Clean the johns with a rag
If you like you can use your flag, boys
If you like you can use your flag
We’ve got too much money we’re looking for toys
And guns will be guns and boys will be boys
But we’ll gladly pay for all we destroy
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World
Please stay off of the grass, boys
Please stay off of the grass
Here’s a kick in the ass, boys
Here’s a kick in the ass
We’ll smash down your doors, we don’t bother to knock
We’ve done it before, so why all the shock
We’re the biggest and the toughest kids on the block
And we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World
And when we butchered your sons, boys
When we butchered your sons
Have a stick of our gum, boys
Have a stick of our bubble gum
We own half the world, oh say can you see
And the name for our profits is democracy
So, like it or not, you will have to be free
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World

Cops of the World – YouTube

Immigration – Just who do we want out??

We seized back control of our borders and, with great glee, booted all those unwanted EU workers out! Priti Patel had a great time mercilessly uprooting them and sending them packing.

Then we found that nothing was working. We couldn’t get the British workers to fill the holes. They either didn’t have the skills or qualifications, didn’t want to work for a pittance or couldn’t be asked.

We were back in control so we could decide. In place of the displaced Europeans we started shipping them in from Africa, India and China.

This year immigration hit one almighty high!!

Good old Brexit!! Good old seizing back control!!

Callous Patel has been replaced by Commandant Braverman and now James (shithole) Cleverly. But there’s more of them than ever! Even that fascist Tommy Robinson is back out on the streets.

Time to decide.

We are in control now!!

Just who do we want to boot out or prevent from coming in??

Is it the foreign doctors?

Perhaps the midwives and nurses?

Could it be the dentists?

Or the fruit and veg pickers?

Surely the cooks and restaurant workers?

Or those in hospitality?

The students paying a fortune to study in our universities?

Or the drivers of heavy goods vehicles?

The bum-wiping carers?

Or the nursery school teachers?

The secondary school Maths and Science teachers??

Or Engineers?

The IT graduates?

Or useless solicitors?

Perhaps it’s the pilots?

The police and lowly sewage workers?

The electricians, plumbers and builders?

We had no compunction about unceremoniously kicking those EU scum out, did we?

Now we can choose!! Now we’re in control and nothing is working!!

I know!

We can start with the bloody bankers!! We’ve got more than enough of those greedy scumbags.

They we could send all those immigrant Tory MPs like Patel, Braverman, Cleverley and Badenoch back to where-ever their families came from. We’ve got a surfeit of Tories. Who needs them? They’re not just unproductive; they’ve been positively useless!

We’ll welcome all the rest. They contribute. They fill in the holes. We need them!!

The Loathsome Cretin Eats an Arse!!

Tories deserve him!, The creepy clown set on leadership, leading Tories into the wilderness of extremism, it’ll be Tommy Robinson as his vice, selling the NHS, privatising schools, making more cash, who cares about the plebs, living in shitholes,