“Today, economic power has been captured by a small minority. But it has acquired this power only by accumulating the productive power of others. Their capital is simply the accumulated labour of a millions of working people, in a monetized form. It is this productive power that is the real capital, and it is this power that latently resides in every worker …” — Samabayaniti/The Co-operative Principles, 1928.
Duke Augustus: I like to remember that the 4th of July is a celebration of Independence, not of war. It is the celebration of activists coming together to speak out against human rights violations and crying “Enough! We will not take any more.” IN that vein, one of our greatest Americans,Frederick Douglass spoke on July 5, 1852:
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than I do this day. A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. I know that apologies of this sort are generally considered flat and unmeaning. I trust, however, that mine will not be so considered. Should I seem at ease, my appearance would much misrepresent me. The little experience I have had in addressing public meetings, in country schoolhouses, avails me nothing on the present occasion.
The papers and placards say, that I am to deliver a 4th [of] July oration. This certainly sounds large, and out of the common way, for it is true that I have often had the privilege to speak in this beautiful Hall, and to address many who now honor me with their presence. But neither their familiar faces, nor the perfect gage I think I have of Corinthian Hall, seems to free me from embarrassment.
The fact is, ladies and gentlemen, the distance between this platform and the slave plantation, from which I escaped, is considerable—and the difficulties to be overcome in getting from the latter to the former, are by no means slight. That I am here to-day is, to me, a matter of astonishment as well as of gratitude. You will not, therefore, be surprised, if in what I have to say. I evince no elaborate preparation, nor grace my speech with any high sounding exordium. With little experience and with less learning, I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and trusting to your patient and generous indulgence, I will proceed to lay them before you. Continue reading Frederick Douglass speaks on the 4th of July→
The Duke and Duchess of Peace have not encountered any protests against them thus far.
Though, for Prince William and Duchess Catherine, there have been some protests criticizing the monarchy in general, Queen Elizabeth, and the cost of their tour.
from our royal tour in the land of Lilliput with William “Billy” Connolly, Jr., CBE. Sadly, the Duke and Duchess found themselves surrounded by much talk of wars and killing, much like Prince Williams talk of all the successful wars Canada and Britain partnered on. The Duke and Duchess were pleased that all the war talk ended on a sane musical note:
The Duke then took a walkabout (literally) down to the a local library to return the DVD
After perusing the household treasury, The Duke and Duchess of Peace have determined that they are unable to visit our Canadian neighbors as part of their current tour. Though, it has been interesting to follow the current focus of world thought on Canada.
The Duke and Duchess were disappointed with Prince William’s big speech. Because, the speech included a list of past wars which Canada has fought. We do not believe that countries should be proud of war, especially wars for territory. It would be more honorable to have solved historical differences with diplomacy. You can see the video of Prince William’s speech for Canada Day, which shows the eerie juxtaposition of celebration, pride, and militarism at The Express UK: here. We have concluded that part of his job is to make sure that England will have Canada for back-up again if they want to start any new wars.
The Duke and Duchess of Peace try to be very diplomatic in their observations of the royal family. We feel a certain “noblesse oblige”, and we strive to practice Nonviolent Communication.
Though, there are difficult struggles in life, culture, and politics which must sometimes be addressed head on. And, even in NVC/Nonviolent Communication, there is a time to allow people to vent.
So, we will open up our website to some sincere critiques of the monarchy. We think it is especially important to allow political critiques from people who are in countries that are part of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms.
Below is a link and excerpt from a story at the Vancouver Sun, with an interesting take on the Canadian tour of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:
(excerpt from)The Vancouver Sun Young, attractive, but increasingly irrelevant by Barbara Yaffe / June 29, 2011
Duke Augustus: My attention was caught by an opinion piece in The Hindu titled Tagore and the idea of Cooperation which started with a quote from Nobel-Prize-winning Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore:
The Duke and Duchess of Peace have not encountered any protests against them thus far.
After perusing the household treasury, The Duke and Duchess of Peace have determined that they are unable to visit our Canadian neighbors as part of their current tour. Though, it has been interesting to follow the current focus of world thought on Canada.