The Sunday Papers "opinion poll" edition
international |
history and heritage |
opinion/analysis 
Sunday November 20, 2005 15:17
by iosaf mac D .:. ipsiphi
barcelona, (Catalunya &/or España), European Union &/or NATO though born of (Éire &/or Ireland)
governments & their servants (whatever their nature), stagnate quicker than blood congeals
It has been long observed that people for some reason on their non-banking days readily absorb shite about Dangerous Places, Famous People, Sensible Saving Options, Holidays, Interesting facts, Sport results, Media, gardening and health as well looking ahead at “opinion polls” and looking back at "how history was made".
Here are three dates-
july 27th 1968,
August 29th 1975
Nov 20th 1975
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the last "one".
It also marks the 60th anniversary of the Nuremburg trials.
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You'd have to be in your forties to hold any clear personal memory of the public figures of note in 1968 or 1975. If you're in your sixties some of those public figures shaped your world. The three dates aren't arbitrary, they are the days these individuals died; António de Oliveira Salazar, Éamon de Valera and Francisco Franco. & they all have somethings in common.
- They all wrote constitutions.
- They all got Papal awards.
- None of them got Marshall Aid.
The world has turned since & the states shaped by all three have changed in many respects and regards. All their three countries, Portugal, Spain and Ireland joined the EEC which became the EU.
All three went extra-ordinary periods of growth starting in the late 60s experiencing brief contraction in the 70s and 80s to return in the late 90s. In other words they got "rich". & The blessed virgin Mary stopped appearing.
Today the press in Spain is a little interesting, 30 years since he died and the King got the job and democracy began. What do they say for themselves?
38% of young people polled by the "El Mundo" centreright newspaper want a republic.
the party of opposition the rightwing PP has called for a national spanish demonstration against the Catalan "Estatut" to follow its very large scale demonstration with the RC church against educational reform by the Leftwing government according to the El Pais.
Manuel Fraga himself a former minister of "him" lost the position of prime minister of the region Galicia ("His" home) this year, and has taken the opportunity to argue today "it would have been worse if the other side had won"
3 million people are thought to have died.
a quarter of a million are thought to have been executed.
It was a regime characterised by the twin hallmarks of dictatorship - cruelty and mediocrity.
Yet today it is not the record of Franco that is protected from users of the internet. Spanish tv may abound with memories, there may be so much noted change in the print media. His last statue might have been removed on St. Patricks day from Madrid. But in Melilla the northern african enclave where he served as the youngest officer of his military rank in Europe in the early years of the XX century, his statue was cleaned and returned this month.
Yet the arguments over who the man was do not rage as much as for one other on the list-
It is not "franco" who is protected from "cyber vandals" this morning but Éamon De Valera.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:This_page_is_protected
Democracy does not spring up out of the ground.
The rights to equal suffrage regardless of socio-economic class, gender, or creed in a secret ballot are European rights.
They have rooted in the arguments of Greek sychophants and intellectuals, who never allowed their wives, concubines, slaves or migrants the same rights.
They have roots in the declaration of the rights of man of the French Revolution.
They share the roots with the constitution of the USA.
They have some roots in the equal decision making of the Calvinist and Presbytarian and other dissenting christian faiths.
They owe much to those men and women of the First International who yet again called for -
The Universal right to participate in your society and the decisions which effect it, without prejudice or hindrance on grounds of Race, Gender, Creed, Socio-Economic Class, Ownership of Property, and _in secret_. A Privacy which ironically sits better in the time of hushed confessional boxes than in the socio-economic segregation of archived purchase records and call/weblog history.
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the long expected death of a very mediocre man. It was in itself nothing extra-ordinary. Many know that he in fact "died" on the 19th, but the certification was held off till the 20th. So that the anniversary is shared with that of the de Rivera founder of the falangists himself son of the dictator of Spain de Rivera 1923 -1931. How they wanted to apply that last stitch. no?
The Democratic contract, between state and people, between institutions of state and government and the "estates" of any nation or state, be they military, church, media, academia, or civil service, police, trade unions, political parties and social assembles, must never be taken for granted.
Nor is the only expression of Democracy found on "ballot day" when the enfranchised are called to poll.
The expression of democracy must be found every day, if it is to remain in any good health. Its expression relies on the rights of man, as articulated in the French Revolution and First International and United Nations charter of Human Rights.
Freedom of Expression.
Freedom of Association.
are amongst the most important.
In most recent times we have as social assemblies in Europe moved to define in _de facto_ terms if not _de jure_, additional rights of "civil disobedience" and "democratic dissent".
We will continue no doubt, to do so. We need to consider how as dictatorship and authoritarian governments could be so long borne by our Western european peoples, our understanding of democracy is still insufficient to protect its true evolution. To ensure that democracy is protected, now we must also consider other rights - that of "privacy of opinion"
The values of Democracy, of Liberty and Equality and Fraternity are threatened when any of the estates party to the state or nation exert imbalanced and undue power. Those values may exist in either republics or constitutional monarchies in equal measure with change of "accent", we now know that now. Flags might change, but a policeman may still make you kneel at the side of the road....
These values are undermined by militarised societies, by unchecked police forces, by xenophobic political parties which move against migrants or minorites on ground of creed or race, by trade unions who do not properly represent the interests of their workers, by media owners who attempt to monopolise public opinion and stiffle or limit public debate or manipulate public opinion.
Democracy is about much much more than voting once in a while.
Its about being polled, wearing a bracelet, sending a christmas card, doing phone interviews, filling out questionaires, knowing how to complain, going for a big march at least once a year, and knowing the names of individuals from at least 2 different political parties.
It is more than saying "yes" or "no", in our high technological society of today it is also about "abstention" and "participation". Democracy is about learning and teaching the values of participation in society. From the smallest communities to the largest international stages.
Democracy is a system of values, a constant search for dialogue, a constant re-affirmation of the Rights of Mankind, a constant challenge to authority which stagnates quicker than blood congeals.
It is my opinion that the anniversary of the death of last dictator in _non-warsaw pact_ Europe is a fitting day to again urge all in the estates of society-
Military, Church, Media, Academia, Civil service, police, trade unions, political parties and social assembles, to continue to listen to each other to respect each other, to recognise that any modern society is a tapestry of cause and effect, injury and gift, hurt and understanding. To know that governments & their servants (whatever their nature), stagnate quicker than blood congeals. If there is debate, and motion, protest and challenge, dialogue and exchange - we may yet teach the next generations what democracy can be.
Together we teach the next generations, so that together we move, for we must all realise that our democracies are imperfect. As were the democracies of the ancient greeks, as was the republic of Rome, as was the time of the First International when the majority of Europeans did not vote on gender or class grounds. Together we must realise our democracies are "emergent".
Our role in social assemblies and as media collectives ought be to help that future democracy emerge, and curtail the threat of monopolised commercial media and opinion.
Our role is to balance the damage done in the name of free speech to the minds of the next generation who weren't born in 1975. Or for that matter weren't alert and memorising when the Nuremburg trials started in 1945.
Our role is not to wear T shirts.
nor to give christmas cards.
nor to buy Pink Floyd albums.
nor to wave flags and offer salutes.
but to stop that blood congealing.
The Last 10 editions of The Sunday Papers :-
Plague of Locusts
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72153&search_text=sunday%20papers
Independence Day.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71913&search_text=sunday%20papers
Playing the Exodus Game.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71523&search_text=sunday%20papers
Breath of God
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71252&search_text=sunday%20papers
Fatwa
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71025&search_text=sunday%20papers
dark side of the Moon
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70614&search_text=sunday%20papers
Geneology
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70462&search_text=sunday%20papers
We are all Galicians
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70326&search_text=sunday%20papers
Your choice always was
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70137&search_text=sunday%20papers
Recollection of Fools
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=69934&search_text=sunday%20papers
(as always I thank sincerely the imc ireland collective for the space which is "ar oscailt")
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Now do the questionaire.
5 - completely satisfied
4- satisfied
3- neither satisfied or unsatisfied
2- unsatisfied
1- very unsatisfied
N/A - don't know, doesn't apply to me, @