Flamin' madness

I did not go and see the Olympic torch that was run through Machynlleth (where I live ) on it's way North. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of the Olympics, internationalism and coming together as a 'globe' to celebrate events. I wish I could have stood on the streets of Machynlleth with my friends, cheering the torch along and feeling part of a global community. It's just that I feel totally conned by the whole Olympic shambles.

Despite promises of being the greenest Olympics ever, it is not. BP, Rio Tinto and Dow are sponsoring the 'sustainability' side of things. Greenwash Gold is a campaign that set up around the Olympics to highlight the hypocrisy of the 3 of the world's dirtiest companies sponsoring the Greenest Olympics. BP are “devastating the gulf of Mexico and digging up the dirty oil in the tar sands.” Rio Tinto are providing metal for the medals- from the Gobi desert, where the mines produce deadly air pollution and endanger scarce water sources. Dow merged with Union Carbide in 2001, a company that had been charged with culpable homicide due to the death of 25,000 people in the world's worst industrial disaster. There is a horrific irony in Dow sponsoring the para Olympics whilst families in Bhopal are still forced to drink poisoned water every day and children are still born with health problems.

WISE Up for Bradley Manning - Three weeks in Wales

WISE Up for Bradley Manning is a loose network of groups and individuals in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England (WISE) taking action for Bradley Manning, the young US military intel. analyst with Welsh roots who has been held for almost two years without trial accused of blowing the whistle on war crimes and revealing other truths the US would have preferred to keep buried. Bradley Manning has been tortured and denied his constitutional rights. President Obama, Commander-in-Chief of the military, has already said he broke the law and has therefore irrevocably prejudiced the upcoming court martial as well as breaking – not for the first time – his election promise to protect whistleblowers.

We call for all charges against Bradley Manning to be dropped and for his immediate release. Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime!

Opposing anti-abortionists in Cardiff

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) held UK wide kerbside vigils on Saturday 28th April to mark the 44th Anniversary of the Abortion Act - a law allowing women to opt for legal, safe terminations. In Cardiff, they chose an area by a junction on the busy A470 near Whitchurch High School.

As most people with an ounce of common sense don't think that sending human rights back to the dark ages is very progressive, it didn't take long to muster support for a counter demo. Nearly fifty of us turned up, despite SPUC's best efforts to keep the location secret. When we contacted them, we were told that it was a 'members only' vigil. It would appear, judging by Saturday's turnout, that they only have fifteen active members in the Cardiff area.

The demonstration started at 11am. The SPUCkers looked quite shocked to see us as they collected their boards which read 'Abortion - A baby can live without it' and 'Hurt by abortion? Call xxxx'. They spread themselves out thinly around all corners of the junction, and we thought it only right and good to keep them company. Some of us sang songs while others waved their placards strategically. Many of us attempted to engage in debate with them, and while a few were pleasant, their general response was aggressive. They made childish digs at our appearance, called us various names, including 'murderers', made homophobic comments, and one even threatened to push someone under a truck! I'm sure this isn't a fair representation of god-fearing, church-going Catholics as these all claimed to be.