Causal Links:
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Obama Enemy Of The People
Knock, knock,
knocking on Corbyn’s door…. But will he open up to the RESIST
CARDIAC ARREST CAMPAIGN and its mission to prevent cardiac arrest deaths that
commonly result from taser-torture? (Note: according to the United Nations, ALL taser
usage constitutes torture.)
Drones (sort of modern
nazi-style doodle-bugs):
N.D.A.A. rips up
Constitution of the U.S.A…
A song for Barak:
A song for Jeremy, and every other Member of the British Parliament I’ve ever tried to deal with……
Download Free E-Book of ‘The Jungle’, by Upton Sinclair:
Download Free E-Book of ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ by Robert Tressell:
THIS JUST IN…. URGENT NEWS FOR KERNOW (CORNWALL)…..
Get involved – help influence Cornwall’s future in a sane way!
The Wailers: Destiny
True Democracy would put our Destiny back in the hands of the
People, where it belongs…..
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
History of St.Anthony’s Chapel, Penzance
The History of the Town and Borough of PENZANCE by
P.A.S.Pool, M.A., F.S.A., Hon.Research Fellow, Institute of Cornish
Studies. Forward by The Mayor of Penzance,
Councillor David Pooley.
Published by The Corporation of Penzance, 1974.
Excerpt from pages 1 – 2
About three quarters of the way between Marazion
and Newlyn a low rocky headland extends south-eastwards into the bay. The southern termination of a ridge between
the Chyandour and the Lariggan streams
which can be traced northwards right across the peninsula past Madron and Ding
Dong to Bosigran Castle on the Zennor cliffs.
This headland in Mounts Bay provided a firm rock foundation close to
sufficiently deep water, and also shelter from the prevailing westerly winds,
for the construction of a small quay for fishing boats, and here grew up the
fishing village which became, eventually, the Town of Penzance.
The Town
owes not merely its existence but also its name to this little headland. The name is found first in 1284 and regularly
thereafter as Pensans, with the variant form Pensant (1368), Pensauns (1482), Pensance (1555), Pensanse (1620)
and Penzanz (1698); its meaning has been variously interpreted
by Richard Carew as “the Saint’s Head”, by John Norden as “the Head of the Sand”,
and by Thomas Tonkin as “the Head of the Bay”, but there is really no doubt
that the correct interpretation is “Holy Headland:, in Cornish pen sans (the noun preceding the
adjective). Of the two elements in the
name, pen in Cornish means ‘head’, ‘top’
or ‘end’, and is also regularly found in names meaning ‘headland’; sans or
sant means holy or sacred, and is
found much less frequently in names than pen,
but occurs also in Lezant (lan sant, holy
enclosure), in Tresance in Cardinham
parish (either tre sant, holy farm,
or tyr sant, holy land), and in Elgosant (eglos sans, holy church), a
former name for Sancreed. Penzance was
so called because a chapel was built on the end of the headland just inland
from the quay, and later another chapel, a little further inland and fifty feet
above sea level, where St.Mary’s Church now stands. The name should be compared with its English
equivalent Holyhead, in Wales, and
anyone who doubts its appropriateness to Penzance has only to look at the town
from east or west along the shore; the
most prominent feature is the headland with the Church, occupying the site of
one of the old chapels, standing proudly above the buildings of quayside
Penzance.
Excerpt from pages 12 – 15:
We now consider the evidence for the development
of Penzance prior to 1500: first its
ancient chapels, then its markets and fairs, and finally its quay and
harbour. The word ‘chapel’ is here used
in the sense of a building other than a Parish Church used for Christian
worship, not in its much later sense of a place of worship used by a sect
dissenting from the Established Church.
No chapel could lawfully be used without a License from the Bishop, and
many were so licensed, either as domestic chapels for use by some important
figure and his family and household, or as chapels of ease for people who lived
inconveniently far from their Parish Church;
but in Cornwall many chapels existed for which no license can be traced,
and some of these at least may have been Celtic foundations. In Penzance we must consider the chapels of
St.Anthony, of St.Gabriel and St.Rafael, of St.Mary, and of St.Clare.
The chapel, presumed to have been dedicated to
St.Anthony, at the corner of Barbican Lane and Coinagehall Street just above
the quay, is of such importance as regards the site and name of Penzance that
the evidence concerning it must be considered in some detail. First is that of Cornwall’s greatest scholar,
Dr William Borlase of Ludgvan, who noted c.1750:
The
ancient chapel belonging to the town of Penzance may be seen in a fish cellar
near the key; it is small and as I
remember had the image of the Virgin Mary in it.
Next came the Rev. John Whitaker, contributing
in 1804 to Richard Polwhele’s ‘History of Cornwall’:
This town
originally rose from a few fishermen settling near the present pier, and
building themselves a chapel dedicated to St.Anthony, that universal patron of
fishermen. The chapel continued within
these three years, when it was rebuilt into a fish cellar. It was only small, however, but had the
statue of its saint in a niche.
Tradition preserved the name of the saint, and antiquarianism has saved
the statue of him. It is merely a bust,
and of alabaster.
{Note: J.Whitaker, ‘Supplement to Polwhele’s History
of Cornwall’, 1804. St.Anthony of Padua was believed to have
preached to fishes, and was therefore regarded as the Patron Saint of
Fishermen. The site of this chapel at
Penzance should be compared with those of St.Anthony in Meneage, St.Anthony in
Roseland, and East Anthony; Charles
Henderson suggested (Cornish Church Guide, 1928) that the names might contain a
Celtic word for “Promontory”.}
The next evidence is that of J.S.Courtney in
1845:
The
remains of a chapel said to have been dedicated to St.Anthony still exist near
the end of Barbican Lane. A rude image
of the saint cut in granite is the principal relic; it was to be seen a short time since, but is
now hidden from view by a hog stye or some such erection.
In 1862 Richard Edmonds wrote as follows:
The walls of
St.Anthony’s Chapel were standing, not a century since, on the west side of
Barbican Street leading from the quay to the battery, but were soon afterwards
taken down and a fish-cellar erected in their place, on which occasion a cross
which had stood on a bracket or projection from the western wall of the chapel
and near the font was used as common building-stone. When the cellar was rebuilt in 1850 the relic
was. . . preserved from further desecration, and may now be seen in St.Mary’s
churchyard. It is a very rudely carved
piece of Ludgvan granite (with a mica of silvery hue), bearing on the one side,
it may be, a seated figure, and on the opposite side a crucifix. . . {R.Edmonds, The Lands End District – 1862}
But the fullest account is that given by
G.B.Millett in 1880:
There are
some slight vestiges of ancient masonry which are pointed out as having formed
part of the chapel of St.Anthony. The
site is at the south-west corner of Barbican Lane, where it occupies the summit
of a little eminence. . . It was a small oblong structure, pointing directly
east and west, of about 30ft in length by 15ft in breadth. A fragment of it only now remains in situ,
consisting of the north- west angle, which has the appearance of being old
work. It is roughly built of irregular
masses of greenstone. . . and amongst them some red bricks of unusual shape and
size, smaller and flatter than any ordinarily in use. . . Within the memory of persons living, the four
walls were comparatively perfect. The
entrance was from the south, and towards the west. In the interior, in the east wall, there
stood in a niche, a figure said to have been of St.Anthony, rudely carved in
that. . . variety of granite known locally as Ludgvan stone. About 50 years ago it was removed from its
original position; and made useful in forming part of the wall of a pig stye,
but the chapel had previously about 1800 been converted into a fish cellar. . .
At the time of its removal from the chapel, the stone had the rude
representation of face and hands upon it, but one day a stranger. . . chanced
to see it in its degraded position; taking a fancy to the stony countenance and
rough hands, they were. . . broken off and carried away as relics. . . This
last piece of vandalism served to call attention to the now mutilated stone,
which in 1850 was removed to St.Mary’s churchyard. . . The mason who removed
the stone told me. . . that he “popped St.Raffidy into a wheelbarrow and
trundled him off to the chapel yard. .”
Though differing in detail, these accounts
concur in recording a dismal tale of the neglect and desecration of the oldest
site of Christian worship in Penzance.
With one possible exception, considered below under the Chapel of
St.Gabriel and St.Rafael, there is no documentary reference to this chapel
earlier than those mentioned above, and the supposed dedication to St.Anthony,
first mentioned by Whitaker, seems to depend entirely on tradition and may be
groundless. A small public garden
adjoining the site of the Chapel was in 1933 named “St.Anthony’s Gardens”, and
contains an archway believed to have been taken from the chapel site.
The stone from the Chapel mentioned in all the
above accounts has remained in St.Mary’s Churchyard where it was taken in
1850; it is a piece of granite four feet
high showing on one face a defaced figure of Christ in loincloth, with feet,
arms and head missing, and on the other a seated Maddona, throned, holding a
child. Each side of the shaft is
surmounted by an uncertain figure, possibly an angel, and the head, which was
apparently a cross of Latin form, lacks both arms, which apparently carried
Christ’s arms in high outstretched position.
This stone, dated by Prof. Charles Thomas as early 12th
century, is certainly one of the most important relics of old Penzance, and
well deserves the tribute paid to it by G.B.Millett in his poem ‘Vox Lapidis
(the voice of the stone): A Plaint heard in St.Mary’s Churchyard, 1882.
I’m but a
block of stone;
‘Tis true,
I am, ah well a day!
Unheeded
and unknown:
From
Ludgvan’s rock hewn long ago
When
saints were Cornwall’s glory,
But can
you in this borough show
A stone
with such a story?
In 1492 Bishop Lacy licensed for Divine Service
the Chapel of St.Gabriel and St.Raphael at Penzance; {F.C.Hingeston Randolph: Exeter Episcopal Registers} nothing more is known of any such chapel, and it
is possible that the license marked re-dedication of the chapel traditionally
ascribed to St.Anthony; there is a great
temptation to claim, as supporting evidence for this, the name ‘St.Raffidy’
given to the stone from St.Anthony’s Chapel by the mason who moved it.
---------------------------------------------------------
Recent
developments at St.Anthony’s Chapel Site.
In August 2009
the remaining 3 massive pieces of masonry were removed from the site of St.Anthony’s Chapel, on the Holy
Headland of Penzance. The largest of
these objects was similar in size and shape to an altar-stone, such as the one at Madron
Baptistry. Repeated letters and Freedom
of Information Requests to Cornwall Council have not been able to disclose the
whereabouts of this archeologically important material. Following removal of these massive stones,
the area around the chapel site was fenced off and turned into a temporary
car-park.
Links to previous
blogs and articles in ‘The Limpet’, journal of Save The Holy Headland:
Statue from
St.Anthony’s Chapel, showing vandalized Christ figure.
The other side of
the cross shows Mary with the infant Jesus.
St.Anthony’s Chapel Site in April 2012. To quote the words of historian Peter Pool: “a dismal tale of
the neglect and desecration of the oldest site of Christian worship in
Penzance.”
Follow this link to check out my ebook of fiction - The Horned Whale or An Morvil Kornek, It includes a gothic novel, plus two short stories and a collection of poems. You can read the first hundred pages free - available at virtually all ebook sites - The Horned Whale by Jeremy Schanche:
http://yecaterpillar.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-horned-whale-by-jeremy-schanche.html
http://yecaterpillar.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-horned-whale-by-jeremy-schanche.html
RCA message to Westminster
Here at the RESIST CARDIAC ARREST Campaign we support the old
adage that the pen is mightier than the sword, or perhaps these days we should
say: “The pen-drive is mightier than the
sawn-off” – anyway, dialogue is, or should be, at the heart of Democracy, and a
lot of what people romantically call ‘activism’ boils down to simply putting in
a lot of hours at the clacking keyboard as an anonymous scribe, churning out a
river of surging words. . . Let’s saunter over to the filing cabinet and take a
look at a typical case in point…. Take
this case for example…. The Case of the
Great British UNCAT Hoax… and how a
meddling amateur hack stumbled into a shadowy world of political deception,
torture and subterfuge, centred around an Amerikan company selling a
particularly ghastly form of weaponry to avid arms-dealers around the World….. Well, enough of my musings, let’s pour a strong
coffee, light up a camel and see what’s in that file, shall we…..?
E-mail to Jeremy Corbyn sent 8th January 2013: corbynj@parliament.uk
To: The Rt.Hon Jeremy Corbyn, M.P.
Dear Mr Corbyn,
RE: UNCAT / ARTICLE 22 / UK
On 23rd
November 2012 I sent you a registered letter concerning the above, and how it
relates to the phenomenon of taser-torture in our country. Being a little concerned at not yet having
received any reply, I include the body of my letter in this e-mail.
With best
wishes, Jeremy Schanche, RESIST CARDIAC ARREST
“Open
Letter To: The Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn, MP, House of Commons,
Westminster LONDON SW1A 0AA.
Dear
Mr Corbyn, 23rd
November, 2012
Re: UNCAT / ARTICLE 22
/ UK
Five
years ago today, the UN declared the use of the taser stun-gun to constitute a
form of torture and thus a violation of the United Nations Convention Against
Torture.
It is my belief that the UNCAT is in need of
ratification by the U.K., as I hope to make clear to you. I know that it is normal procedure to
petition ones local MP but following
a lengthy correspondence with my MP, Andrew George, it is obvious that he is
not minded to get involved in this particular controversy. Having seen your name on the ‘Defend the
Right to Protest’ petition, I take it that you have a genuine interest in
Justice.
Due
to the gravity of this matter, as it is indeed a matter of life and death, I
hoped I could make my case to you, and present certain facts that I believe
have a bearing on the British Justice system.
If you do not feel you can take up this case, I would be very grateful
for any advice about anyone who might be
interested to discuss it further.
I
have founded a campaign called RESIST CARDIAC ARREST, which is opposed to the
use of tasers and stun-guns. The
death-toll in USA and Canada from taser-type weapons currently stands at
758. In Britain, 3 deaths have been
attributed to taser-use. The ‘Stun-Gun’
evolved from a simple electric cattle-prod, used in the slaughter-houses of
Argentina, before first being used to torture humans (political prisoners) in
Latin America in the ‘30’s.
When
studying the taser phenomenon, I discovered that a recent death in
police-custody in Portugal had led to a UN investigation. Following this, the UN Committee Against Torture
released statements on 23rd November 2007 concluding that the effect
of tasers “on the
physical and mental state of targeted persons would appear to violate Articles 1 and 16 of the Convention
[on Torture]”. Tasers were further
described by the U.N. committee as “a
form of torture”; that “can
even provoke death”.
The
Committee Against Torture recommended to the Portuguese government that their
police force cease the use of the taser x-26, but the Committee lacks the power
to enforce its decisions upon national governments and the taser remains in use
in Portugal. As I understand it, a
similar legal contradiction hangs over the status of the taser in this country
and many others. Essentially, the UN
regard it as a lethal torture device, but even though Britain signed the U.N.
Convention Against Torture in 1985, nobody in the British government seems to
have ever dealt with this glaring failure of policy to uphold and embody the
intentions of the UNCAT.
As
part of my campaigning work against the use of these lethal and agonizing
devices, I have attempted to initiate dialogue with various authorities
concerned. I have contacted my local
Chief Constable, Police Authority, The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
and the Attorney General, asking them if they could explain to me how a device
designated by the U.N. as an instrument of torture can be legally used in a
nation that is signatory to the UNCAT.
Sadly, I have not had a straight answer from any of them, as apparently
none of them can give me such an answer.
Of all the aforementioned authorities, I believe the function of the
Attorney General is to deal with legal matters concerning government
policy.
Ostensibly
the purpose of a stun gun is to temporarily disable someone until they can be
arrested. Amnesty International has
documented many cases of suspects already in handcuffs, sometimes in cells
being ‘tasered’. This is blatant
torture, however most of the documented cases occurred in the USA. The taser is routinely used specifically for
torture in many oppressive regimes. A
local taser incident aroused my interest recently. At a royal wedding street party in Falmouth
on 29th April 2011, a young
man named Stefan Naumczyk threw a bottle to the ground where it shattered, reportedly
in the direction of some policemen. What
happened next was filmed and published in the media – Stefan Naumczyk was surrounded by at least five policemen,
tasered, knelt on by a large policeman and
handcuffed. Having subdued and
incapacitated the suspect, one of the policemen then gave him a further 50,000
volt blast of his taser x-26 – the very model indicted by the Committee Against
Torture, when it made its statement in Lisbon on 23rd November
2007.
Having
seen the film of this event, it struck me as a very blatant case of taser-abuse
constituting an act of torture, as the second taser blast, on a handcuffed man,
served no purpose other than summary and cruel punishment. I decided to pursue this matter further and
having had a fruitless correspondence with the government and police, I wrote
to the U.N.’s High Commissioner For Human Rights, in Geneva, asking them to investigate the
case of Stefan Naumczyk, as I believed he had suffered torture in the U.K. and
I wanted to know how to make moves towards seeing the UNCAT properly upheld
here in Britain.
I
got a reply from the UNHCHR informing me that they could not get involved in
the case – I quote the letter:
“The Committee against Torture cannot examine
petitions alleging violations of the Convention against Torture (CAT) unless
the State has made the declaration under article 22 recognizing the Committee’s
competence to receive and consider petitions.
The United Kingdom has not
made the declaration.”
So
it would seem from the above that although Britain’s Thatcher government signed
the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 1985, they failed to sign the
declaration attached to Article 22 of the Convention, thereby rendering the
Convention a mere verbal one, impossible to be actually applied within our
nation!
Interestingly, just before the last election, when I
received letters from Nick Clegg, Andrew George, and other politicians of various hues affirming
that they would uphold the UNCAT, none of them pointed out to me that it cannot be applied in Great Britain. Had I not contacted the U.N. directly, I
would never have discovered this fact which, in my opinion, makes a rather
cynical mockery of the idea of the rule of law.
I don’t think many people are aware that
the U.N. views taser usage as torture, and I think even fewer people know that
the anti-torture legislation is inapplicable in Britain, despite signing the
UNCAT back in 1985. Current Home Office
policy is to increase the arming of police with taser stun guns, I believe the
plan is that eventually almost all police will routinely carry them. I think that a proper and thorough
application of the extant anti-torture legislation would lead to a total ban on
these torture-devices. Surely an
instrument of torture cannot be condoned and passively accepted in a society
such as ours, that ostensibly condemns torture.
Therefore I think this argument needs to be pursued and brought to the
attention of those with the power to change policy and uphold justice.
I am also convinced that the State of
Great Britain owes it to the People of Great Britain to sign Article 22 of the
UNCAT and thus prove that the government is in fact sincere in its stated wish
to eradicate torture from this nation. Incidentally,
I have received written statements from the Green Party and Mebyon Kernow, the
Cornish party, saying that they agree with me that the taser x-26 and similar
weapons constitute a violation of the UNCAT.
If there is any way you can help forward
this matter I would be extremely grateful.
Also, if there is any other person, department or organization who you
think would cooperate or make a contribution to this effort, I would be very
happy for you to copy this letter to them.
If I can provide you with any further information I will be very happy
to do so.
A taser-free world would be an infinitely
better world and any progress in any individual nation towards the elimination
of torture helps show other nations a way forward. Death and torture by electricity is an
increasing global scourge of our times
and needs to be abolished and consigned to history, like other barbarous
manifestations of human cruelty.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely, Jeremy Schanche, RESIST CARDIAC
ARREST.”
Since writing to
you on November 23rd, the American taser death toll has risen
from 758
to 766.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Let’s Not Destroy Our Heritage! St.Anthony's Chapel Penzance
With moves afoot to
‘develop’ the area around what is now the ‘PZ Gallery’, Coinagehall Street,
Penzance; a site of great sanctity and
antiquity is threatened with obliteration.
Please be ready to object
to any planning decision that puts in jeopardy the site of St.Anthony’s Chapel,
the most ancient building in Penzance, and the place from which the town grew
and took its name, which is Kernewek, or Cornish, for ‘Holy Headland’.
Please support the Proposal
for the Restoration of St.Anthony’s Chapel
Don’t allow the
bureaucrats to sell off our ancient heritage!
Contact the
Campaign: savetheholyheadland@yahoo.com
Please follow link to read The History of St.Anthony's Chapel, Penzance:
http://savetheholyheadland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/history-of-stanthonys-chapel-penzance.html
Friday, 23 November 2012
5 YEARS OF TASER TORTURE
5 Years ago today, on November 23rd,
2007, the U.N. defined the use of the
taser x-26 as torture and stated that it is known to be lethal. Since then many hundreds of people have been
killed by tasers and thousands more tortured, traumatized and abused. How is it possible that in a country like
Britain (or your country) which has
signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture, that weapons such as
these are routinely used by police? As
part of the ongoing advocacy of the RESIST CARDIAC ARREST Campaign, ‘The Limpet’ looks into the murky world of
electro-coercion and international law.
If legislators have their fingers
crossed behind their backs when signing international treaties, how valid are
these treaties….? Your correspondent has
been informed by the U.N. High Commissioner For Human Rights, in Geneva, that
they cannot investigate accusations of torture in the U.K. because when Britain
signed the UNCAT in 1985, under Thatcher, the government did not sign the
declaration regarding Article 22, without which the U.N. cannot look into cases
alleging torture in any signatory nation…
What this means in practice is that the international agreement which
Britain made with many other nations of the World, cannot be applied or
actually put into practice here - it is invalid and impotent, a mere abstract
equation. Meanwhile in Britain’s
streets, children, old people, innocent
bystanders and a disproportionately large number of black people have suffered
the trauma of street-electrification, courtesy of the State. Despite being continually ignored and fobbed
off by the British authorities, ‘The Limpet’s political correspondent sends an
open letter to the Right Honourable Member of Parliament, Mr Jeremy Corbyn,
presenting the case for Britain signing Article 22, upholding the UNCAT and
abolishing the use of torture-devices in this, our land.
RESIST CARDIAC
ARREST CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED: Link to RCA’s
mission statement, evidence, linguistic analysis and essay on history of
Electro-Coercion with numerous other articles and links:
RCA Manifesto:
Attempts by RCA
to discuss legal status of taser with Britgov & Britpol:
If you check
through the ‘Blog Archive’ at the top of the page, you can find numerous other
articles concerning the work of RESIST CARDIAC ARREST and the campaign against
stun guns…
These flyers can
be printed out and distributed…. Note: Since the flyers were designed, the
taser-death toll in North America has reached 758.
Flyers for 'The Limpet':
Ongoing list of
those killed by tasers in USA/Canada:
Link to the text
of The United Nations Convention Against Torture – see Article 22, which could
be viewed as a ‘key’ that activates and initiates the Convention…. Know your Rights!
In
other news:
Brave
Police Constable Tasers Disabled Old Blind Man in the Back:
Man
Burns Flower!!!
Beware
of the Flowers……
Give
Him A Flower…
“You're lying in your bath one day and looking at your toes
And sixty policemen bust in through the door
Don't you know it's an offense to strike a public pose
Cos even bathrooms aint not private anymore
"Cos we're all here lookin' at you, aint we?"
.
Give him a flower
Give him a flower
Give him a flower
Give him a flower…..” Arthur Brown, 1967
And sixty policemen bust in through the door
Don't you know it's an offense to strike a public pose
Cos even bathrooms aint not private anymore
"Cos we're all here lookin' at you, aint we?"
.
Give him a flower
Give him a flower
Give him a flower
Give him a flower…..” Arthur Brown, 1967
Let
a Hundred Flowers Bloom!
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Toryism – is there a Cure?
Doctors across the UK are baffled by a massive influx of
patients displaying a range of deeply bizarre and offensive behaviour
patterns. Pharmacologists are
frantically developing a serum to try to contain the infection. If you, or anyone you know, has been exposed
to a sufferer of Toryism, please seek immediate medical advice.
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