8GB VIDEO WATCH

Half a million people march in London to stop the cuts. 26.03.2011


The Trades Union Congress' (TUC) "March for the Alternative" today saw the streets of Central London choked solid with at least half a million Public Sector employees, Disability Rights and anti-war groups, students and many others who had travelled from the furthest corners of Great Britain to send a clarion call to the Cameron government that people are not going to idly stand by and silently watch Cameron and his chancellor George Osborne destroy the very heart of British Public Services for nothing more than archetypical right-wing ideology.

Huge, swingeing cuts across the entire range of Public Services by the Conservatives are designed to hand over control of the most vital state welfare functions to greedy, profit-driven, completely unaccountable private companies and to break the collective bargaining power and influence of the Trades Unions, whose members are being laid off by the tens of thousands under the premise of saving the economy which was almost destroyed by the same bankers and hedge-fund managers who now sit on Conservative government advisory panels.

The carnival-atmosphere march slowly threaded its way towards Hyde Park where rousing speeches by assorted Trades Union representatives sent out a call for concerted action to fight every single cut every step of the way, and to protect our vital services from Conservative dogma, which only favours the already-wealthy at the expense of the disposable poor and weak.

To date not a single banker has been tried and imprisoned for their outrageous, fraudulent and undoubtedly dishonest (if not illegal) practices leading directly to the crash of 2008 - a situation which could never have occured if the Financial Services Industry was firmly regulated by government. Tragically in the last thirty years the banks and their equally-greedy doppelgangers running the hedge funds have connived with supine Parliamentarians to dismantle huge swathes of vital regulation put in place by previous governments... such regulatory checks and balances being labelled as a massive hinderance which stopped the banks from making obscene, unfettered profit, albeit fraudulent.

Instead we now see the bankers picking up exactly where they left off, absolutely unapologetic, giving themselves billions of pounds in bonuses whilst the poorest in our midst are having essential support and benefits axed as the Conservatives brazenly use the compliant Murdoch press to demonize the poor and the disabled, labelling them all as mere fraudsters and parasites.

Eleswhere, predictably, the usual cohort of violent "Anarchists" - many seemingly associated with University College Union - wrought their usual havoc along Oxford Street, parts of the West End and Piccadilly, targetting businesses run by companies publicly exposed by whistleblowers as using massive, complex, completely opaque tax avoidance schemes in Tax Havens - and doing illegal "sweetheart" deals with the Inland Revenue to avoid paying their fair share of corporation taxes, which, if they were forced to do so would pay this country's deficit off without public services being axed. Cameron and Osborne choose instead to protect this immoral status-quo, which is unsurprising - the Cabinet reportedly contains 14 multi-millionaires, and the revolving door between government and bank directorships is both insidious and notorious.

The anarchists smashed windows, threw paint bombs and fireworks and had running battles with the police across Central London, and, much to the fury of the grown-ups has poisoned the moral high ground which was being gently but brilliantly occupied by UK Uncut with their humorous, pacific occupations of the same premises where they have in the past set up temporary libraries, hospitals and creches in their intelligently organised grass-roots campaigns to shame the government to force companies to pay their dues.

Sadly the anarchists' aggressive direct-action (and the thousands of adrenaline-inducing photographs of their actions which will now completely dominate the national dialogue for weeks) instantly and conveniently paves the way for the Cameron government to impose severe restrictions on public protests and the right to assemble in the future. Costs, budgets and the need to "protect legitimate businesses from mindless criminal attack" will be the reasons given. Many people suspect that the anarchist groups contain deep-cover police and/or MI5 officers who are also maybe agent provocateurs, sometimes leading the violence. This can no longer be instantly dismissed as mere conspiracy theory as recent discoveries of police infiltration and manipulation of peace campaign groups (including the Quakers) over the last decade have now been proven in court, and discussed in Parliament.

Though people are clearly very, very angry with the Tories and their outright election lies

This Panther tank was part of the German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge, and it was knocked out and found by Allied troops upside down near the Ourthe river. This Panther, a G model, had a 75 mm gun

This picture was taken in Houffalize, which is about 10 miles north of Foy.

Belgian Residents Thank Battle of Bulge Vets
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

HOUFFALIZE, Belgium, Dec. 17, 2004 -- Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge got a hero's welcome today from local residents who endured some of the most brutal fighting of the battle between U.S. and German troops here 60 years ago.

Schoolchildren from Houffalize, Belgium, join veterans of the Battle of the Bulge during 60th anniversary ceremonies in their town Dec. 17. Photo by Donna Miles
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.

Memorial ceremonies and a special Mass here commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge and civilians as well as troops who died here during the fighting.

Houffalize, on the banks of the Meuse River north of Bastogne, was a highly strategic crossroads during World War II. German troops fought bitterly to maintain their hold on the town, which was virtually destroyed during the battle and endured the deaths of some 200 of its citizens within just a few hours.

However, the U.S. 2nd, 3rd and 11th Armored divisions finally were able to break the Nazi stronghold here, after which Houffalize became a linkup point for the 1st and 3rd Armies as they forced the Germans to retreat to the east.

Sixty years later, residents here clapped as American veterans returned to the city to attend a church service and waved U.S. and Belgian flags during wreath- laying ceremonies at memorials to local citizens killed here and to their American liberators.

Local schoolchildren presented the veterans certificates declaring them honorary citizens of the town and expressed personal thanks on behalf of their townspeople.

"We salute you and pay respect to our American friends," Mayor Jose Lutgen told the veterans during a reception following the ceremonies. He recalled "those terrible days" when Houffalize had reached what seemed like rock bottom, then to be freed "by young soldiers who landed in the midst of enemy fire."

"You all were heroes," Lutgen said. "And today, 60 years later, we welcome you again as the heroes who helped us retrieve our lost freedoms."

Daniel Denning, principal deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, whose father was among the soldiers who fought at Houffalize, praised the veterans for overcoming severe hardships as they continued the fight in the Ardennes.

"You fought for freedom and for the people of Belgium and Luxembourg," Denning said. "But you also fought for each other." He likened the Battle of the Bulge soldiers to the 101st Airborne Division's Easy Company, popularized in the "Band of Brothers" book and television miniseries.

Denning called the 60th anniversary observances a fitting time "to commemorate the valor and sacrifice of those who fought here" and particularly to remember those who paid the ultimate price. Their sacrifices, he said, "will never be forgotten."

"I, like you, will never forget," agreed U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Tom Korologos. "And I assure you that the American people will also never forget."

Herbert Ridyard, who fought here as a private first class with the 94th Infantry Division during the battle, said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of appreciation the veterans have received throughout their visit to Luxembourg and Belgium.

"The love of these people is what I'm going home with," he said. "It's been absolutely incredible."

"I'm very humbled and honored and overwhelmed by the Belgian people," agreed Charles Nelson, who 60 years ago was a private first class with the 87th Infantry Division. "This has truly been a mountaintop experience."

Nelson received a big hug during a reception here from Josiane Pelzer, a Luxembourger whose family was part of the resistance movement against their German occupiers during the war.

"My family was on the list to go to a concentration camp," Pelzer said. "I owe so very much to these soldiers. If it hadn't been for them and what they did for us, I would never have been born!"

Nelson said it's been an enlightening experience to return to the Ardennes with the fellow soldiers he served with six decades ago "to reconstruct what happened here and to see it through the eyes of the local people."

Reliving his person history, he said, "has been very emotional."

Army Maj. Gen. David Zabecki, commander of Task Force Ardennes 60, said he wants to ensure the 60th anniversary commemoration activities are "as meaningful as po