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Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Wonderful tributes to Stroud legend as hundreds pack venue
WITH a colourful procession of several hundred people, John Marjoram was laid to rest in the June sunshine, surrounded by a circle of family, friends and the many people who had been inspired by the 'fearless and feisty' former mayor of Stroud. The funeral of John Marjoram, held in the heart of the town in the Subscription Rooms on Monday, was a perfect celebration of a man who lived life as a campaigner for peace and his community. With around 450 people sitting in an intimate semi-circle in the Sub Room's ballroom, with more sitting on the stage and balcony and standing at the back, it was no surprise that the venue reached capacity. Outside on the forecourt a further 50 people stood in the sun coming together to remember and celebrate John. The service opened in the Quaker tradition with a silent contemplation. Fiona Meadley, of Painswick Quakers invited the gathering, to sit in silence and 'reach the peace that lies beyond words.' The eulogy was given by Aaron Mirkin of Stroud's Christian Community who invited us to remember our 'feisty and fearless friend John Marjoram.' He recounted John's 'deep humanity, kindness and courage and his capacity to offer up everything he had for what he believed was right, and doing this by 'thinking globally and acting locally.' 'He had a natural and instinctive vision for a better world - the world how it could be - a vision of the world of peace of love and brotherhood and sisterhood.' The eulogy described John's love of nature, his lifelong pacifism and his commitment to the community of Stroud, and beyond. John grew up in rural Essex in the 1940s, the start of his enduring love of nature. The experiences of his two uncles - one of whom was a conscientious objector during World War One and the other a veteran of the war who told John of the horrors he'd seen - inspired John to campaign for peace throughout his life. He became involved with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Peace Pledge Union, and was twice arrested for breaking into American military bases. John moved to Stonehouse in 1967 and then to Stroud in 1970. He worked as a gardener at Wynstones School and then at the Home Farm Trust in Frocester where he worked for 29 years until he retired. In 1975 John co-founded the Stroud district branch of the Ecology Party, which later became the Green Party. In 1986 he became one of the first Green councillors in the UK and represented the Trinity ward seat on Stroud District Council for 35 years. He was also one of the first councillors elected to Stroud Town Council when it was formed in 1990. He campaigned to save many important landmarks of Stroud - Hill Paul, Woodchester Mansion, Uplands Post Office, Lansdown Hall - and to save the Subscription Rooms from private ownership and Stroud Maternity Hospital from closure. In 2023 John was honoured with the first Honorary Freeman of the Town in recognition of his services to the community. 'We're going to miss our feisty and fearless friend very much,' Aaron told the gathering before encouraging us 'to take up the weighty baton he passed on to us' and remember his mission that; 'if we don't do the impossible, we will be faced with the unthinkable.'' (Image: Annabel Richmond) John's wife Laura Ridolfi read the poem 'I Love You,' by Mario Benedetti which was followed by a prayer and a short song for peace. It is believed to be the first time the Subscription Rooms has ever hosted a funeral, and it was a fitting venue for the funeral of Stroud's former mayor whose life was lived at the heart of the community. John's simple coffin adorned with flowers was carried out into the sunshine on the forecourt and onto a hand cart for a slow procession to Stroud Cemetery. Stroud's Red Band accompanied the colourful procession of several hundred people - some carrying rainbow Peace flags - which made its way up Stroud High Street, past John's home on Castle Street and along Horn's Road to Stroud Cemetery. The procession arrived at the cemetery to the band's gentle playing of Wonderful World and He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother. John was laid to rest in the beautiful June sunshine, surrounded by a circle of family and friends, the sound of birdsong, wood pigeons, the scent of elderflower, and ending with a rendition of Kahlil Gibran's words on the nature of death, from The Prophet. It was the perfect remembrance of a man whose lifelong work had inspired so many. Following the burial, friends were invited to return to the Sub Rooms for a bring-and-share lunch, and a relaxed memorial gathering to share memories and celebrate John's life. (Image: Annabel Richmond) (Image: Annabel Richmond) Well over 100 people came to remember and share their memories and stories – with contributions from such Stroud icons as Jehanne and Rob Mehta and Will Mercer (aka Earthwards), who performed Jehanne's evocatively beautiful song 'This Place'; the Green Party's Molly Scott-Cato and Lucas Schoemaker and Elvis ('The Poet') McGonagall. Adrian Keefe, music therapist from Mindsong, played some of John's favourite songs. Political and more personal memories were woven with humour, love and a great sense of loss. The assembled gathering also shared CAKE, Lisa's remarkable sugar-free, gluten-free vegan cakes, for John was a great lover of good cake. And perhaps inevitably, the wonderful sharing of memories and stories about John was ended with the old crooner, Frank Sinatra, singing 'I Did It My Way': so often a coarse karaoke cliché, these days, of course, but in the case of John Marjoram and his great life's work, an entirely fitting ending to a memorable day in Stroud's history.
Local Germany
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
What are Germany's Easter marches and how did they begin?
While others look forward to a barbecue with friends or an Easter egg hunt with the children, many in Germany will be painting banners in the run-up to Easter weekend. Over the decades, Easter marches - known as Ostermärsche in German - have become a well-worn tradition in the country, infusing the religious holiday with a political edge. Dealing with themes such as peace and disarmament, the marches today stay true to their roots in the peace protests of the 1960s. Over the years, however, they have also dealt with the most pressing contemporary issues, from the Vietnam War to the threat of climate change. For many Germans, hearing protest chants and seeing a sea of colourful banners is nothing unusual over Easter weekend. Newcomers, meanwhile, may wonder how this springtime festival of hope and renewal came to be associated with war and political resistance. So how did the Ostermarsch become such a long-standing Easter tradition, and why have these marches found such resonance in Germany? The answer dates back to the middle of the last century, when the country was still reeling from horrors of the Nazis and the Second World War. Pledging to never again repeat history, the authors immortalised a pledge in the constitution: "Never again war, never again German soldiers (fighting) in a conflict." This spirit of pacificism was behind the first ever Ostermarsch in Germany, and remains part of the movement to the present day. Advertisement What was Germany's first Easter march about? On Friday, April 15th, 1960, small groups of protesters left their homes in Braunschweig, Hamburg, Bremen and Hanover to embark on an unusual pilgrimage. Their destination wasn't a holy site or a memorial to a fallen saint, but rather the NATO training facility in the south of Lüneberger Heide. Instead of prayers, they brought with them songs and chants in protest at nuclear weapons. Just months earlier, the military alliance had stationed Honest John missiles at the base. These were set to carry nuclear warheads in the future, intended as a "deterrent" in the escalating Cold War. Responding to the move, demonstrators in Germany took inspiration from the UK, where the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament had organised a three-day march two years prior. Anti-nuclear protestors take part in the first ever Easter march from Hamburg to Bergen-Hohne in April 1960. Photo: Konrad Tempel / Wiki Comons "It was a terrible day, with slush and cold," recalled political scientist Andreas Buro, who took part in the first-ever Easter march in Germany. "We stood between the pillars of the church in Braunschweig with a group of just over 20 people, the priest gave us some good words and then we had to leave." It took a total of three days for the demonstrators to reach the Bergen-Hohne base in Lower Saxony. Along the way, they slept on friend's sofas, at youth hostels, and in barns. By the time they reached their destination, however, the crowd had grown to 1,000 people. By 1963, the protest movement had officially branded itself the Campaign for Disarmament, marching for peace, the renunciation of weapons and peaceful relations between different countries. READ ALSO: 10 things you never knew about German reunification How have the marches changed? In the decades since, there have been many different iterations of the Easter marches, each latching on to the most controversial conflicts and topics of the day. In the early sixties, in a divided Germany, the marchers sought to spread a message of peaceful unity on either side of the Iron Curtain. "Are we marching against the East? No! Are we marching against the West? No! We are marching for the world that no longer believes in weapons," demonstrators at the marches sung in tandem. In the middle of the decade, the Ostermarsch tradition even spilled over the border into the GDR. However, songs of dissent were quickly co-opted by the regime in order to spread an explicitly socialist message. Advertisement After a lull in the 1970s, the Easter marches once again gained relevance in the early 80s as NATO weighed the deployment of cruise missiles in Germany. In the context of the Cold War, as the United States faced off against the Soviet Union, the messages were often non-partisan, criticising both superpowers. Nevertheless, the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the USSR led to something of an identity crisis in the German peace movement. Throughout the 1990s, the feverish militarisation of Europe seemed to have briefly come to an end. READ ALSO: How a June 1953 uprising continues to shape the German mentality The respite didn't last long however, and by 2003, thousands were once again taking to the streets to protest the Iraq War and other international conflicts. More recently, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has sparked a renewed interest in the Ostermärsche, while Fridays for Future has also joined in the tradition to highlight the ongoing climate crisis. Advertisement Has there been criticism of the Easter marches? Yes. Since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine in February 2022, there have been concerns that the Easter marches have adopted a pro-Russian narrative akin to propaganda. With its ingrained scepticism of NATO and opposition to weapons deliveries, critics have accused the peace movement of playing into Vladimir Putin's hands. In 2023, for example, Tagesschau reported that Easter march in Berlin was attended by protesters from the right-wing extremist scene, as well as conspiracy theorists from Germany's Querdenker (lateral thinker) movement. Indeed, many of the original members of the peace movement have distanced themselves from the marches in recent years , citing a one-sided and largely pro-Russian message. One of the march's original slogans was "Frieden schaffen ohne Waffen" (achieve piece without weapons). As Ukraine tries to defend itself from its Russian aggressors, some have questioned whether this slogan is too naïve. "Achieve peace with weapons" is written on a sign at an Easter march demonstration in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow What Easter marches are happening this year? This year, the Peace Cooperative network has announced that around 100 events will take place under the Ostermärsche moniker, spanning from Maundy Thursday on the 17th to Easter Monday on the 21st. As well as traditional marches, there will be bike rides, rallies and a range of other protest events. READ ALSO: What's on over the Easter holidays in Germany in 2025 On Saturday, a series of marches will take place in Berlin, Stuttgart, Mainz, Hanover, Braunschweig, Munich and Cologne. Further events will then follow on Easter Sunday in Essen, Halle, Frankfurt/Oder, and elsewhere. Advertisement Though the marches are diverse, the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine are once again in the spotlight this year, with protests calling for peace initiatives to end these brutal conflicts. For a full list of Easter marches happening around the country this year, you can check out the Peace Cooperative website here .
BBC News
08-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Kent: Designer of CND peace sign honoured with Hythe blue plaque
The man behind the famous peace symbol used by anti-nuclear weapons campaigners has been honoured in the Kent town where he Holtom designed the symbol synonymous with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) which swept across the world in the second half of the 20th Century against the looming shadow of the Cold Holtom has been honoured with a blue plaque on the wall of Hillside Street in Hythe where he lived for over 20 years, from 1962 until his death in said Mr Holtom's legacy is "part of Hythe's rich history" and that celebrating his work was appropriate "with the situation in the world as it is". Sally Chesters, one of the project leaders, said: "Amongst all of the famous people who have lived in Hythe he might be the most special."With the situation in the world as it is its particularly appropriate now and perhaps people are thinking more about it."Paul Naylor, chair of the Hythe Civic Society, added: "We felt publicising what he achieved would be an important part of Hythe's history."Designed for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1958, the symbol is said to represent a stick person holding out their arms in lines also represents the semaphore symbols for the letters N and D, for nuclear Holtom's daughter, Rebecca, said: "Growing up knowing that my father made a design as an activist seemed very normal for me."It was only in young adolescence in the 1970s that I started understand the complete importance and strength of his work."I really hope my father will be remembered for his strong, clear and undaunted activism."The blue plaque was unveiled at a ceremony in Hillside Street in Hythe on Friday, 28 February.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The reason Trump wants to ‘denuclearise' the US
It is not hard to picture a typical nuclear disarmament activist: there is the untidy beard, the tie-dye T-shirt and the pained expression of someone who spends a lot of time marching around in the rain. What they do not look like, on the whole, is Donald Trump. On a day in which the president – a real estate mogul apparently born in a suit and tie – made epoch-shifting news on Ukraine and global tariffs, it barely seemed to register that he also sought to commit the United States to reducing its stockpile of around 3,800 nuclear weapons. 'We want to see if we can denuclearise, and I think that's very possible,' Mr Trump told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 'There's no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many.' Together with Russia and China, the US is 'spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully much more productive', he added. For life-long members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it must have been curious to see a man they revile express an ambition that could have been lifted from their manifesto almost word-for-word. In the wake of the Cold War, a cavalcade of American presidents have sought to reduce the world's nuclear stockpile, attempting to dispel the looming sense of dread that children of the 1960s can well remember. After signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia in 1987, eliminating all intermediate and shorter-range missiles, Ronald Reagan dismantled 2,700 nuclear weapons. George H W Bush hit the high water mark with a cull of 9,500 warheads. But the effort has floundered in recent years, with Mr Trump himself pulling America out of the INF treaty in 2019, and Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling over Ukraine putting paid to any further peacenik ideas. So what has changed the president's mind? Trump appears to be envisioning a world in which the Ukraine war is over, Vladimir Putin is pacified and the threat of nuclear war recedes. Addressing the Davos crowd, he said he would seek to hold disarmament talks with Putin once 'we straighten it all out' in the Middle East and Ukraine. 'One of the first meetings I want to have is with president Xi of China, president Putin of Russia. And I want to say: 'Let's cut our military budget in half.' And we can do that. And I think we'll be able to.' Ending those wars aside, bringing China on board will be a challenge. Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese People's Liberation Army is engaging in a stomach-churningly rapid programme of nuclear armament, with its current arsenal of 500 warheads set to hit 1,000 by 2030. The surge is thought to be linked to Mr Xi's oft-repeated threat to invade Taiwan, something he is unlikely to give up over a few chummy phone calls. Mr Trump, though, appears confident he can make deals with the world's strongmen through a series of heart-to-heart chats. His record here isn't unblemished. In 2019, the president proposed a nuclear disarmament pact with 'Rocket Man' Kim Jong-un, whom he said he had 'fallen in love' with after an exchange of 'beautiful' letters. But a much ballyhooed summit in Pyongyang ended in failure, and the North Korean leader eventually stepped up nuclear testing and moved closer to Moscow. In his speech, Mr Trump suggested two key reasons why he is ready to risk heartbreak again. The first is simple, and strategic. Generals in the Pentagon have long cast nuclear build-ups as vital in a 'delicate' balance with adversaries of the United States. They argue that if China invests in the Dongfeng-27 missile, equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, the US must have something similar, or better, to prevent Beijing gaining atomic-tipped leverage in any power struggle. But such thinking is increasingly outmoded. Past the point when one possesses a nuclear stockpile large enough to survive an attempt to knock it out, the benefits of adding more rapidly diminish, according to a large swathe of nuclear scholars. As it stands, America, Russia and China share that privilege. In Mr Trump's words, the US has enough to destroy the world '50 times, 100 times over.' Even if four or five missiles are missed in an assault, that is enough to devastate major population centres, thus ensuring the principle of 'mutually assured destruction' – and the nuclear restraint it brings – survives. The mainstream wing of the Republican Party does not subscribe to such views, to put it mildly. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, wants to raise defence spending by $200 billion (£159 billion) per year, a jump of roughly one-fifth of the total annual budget, in part to modernise the US nuclear arsenal. Eldridge Colby, who is likely to be confirmed as Mr Trump's under-secretary of defence for policy, is a keen backer of nuclear proliferation. The economies of many Republican-held congressional districts rely on the jobs provided by the nuclear weapons industry. But the second reason – and apparently the foremost in Mr Trump's mind – is cost. While Elon Musk and his band of Doge acolytes comb through the accounts of USAid, a department that makes up less than one per cent of US government spending, there are far bigger fish to fry in the Pentagon. The US is spending around $50 billion per year on its nuclear forces. Scrapping the Sentinel programme, which would modernise the land-based arm of America's nuclear triad, would save $310 billion over its lifetime. Doing the same for the accompanying W87-1 warhead would add $15 billion to the pot, or $700 million per year. Ben Friedman, an analyst at the Defense Priorities think tank, has argued that the US could comfortably maintain deterrence just through its fleet of nuclear submarines, as Britain does with the Trident programme. In battlefield terms, air and sea-launched nuclear missiles overtook land-based equivalents years ago. These days advocates of the latter are often reduced to arguing they provide the other side with something to shoot at, thus wasting missiles that would be more damagingly delivered elsewhere. Perhaps Mr Trump, then, could save Doge a lot of effort in reaching its target of a $2 trillion cut in US annual government spending. Certainly he could protect his Maga base from the swingeing cuts to Medicaid that would surely be part of any serious effort to reach that goal. To do so, he will have to get through Putin, Mr Xi and a good part of his own party. If anyone believes he can do it, though, it will be the man who now has his fingers on the nuclear button. 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Telegraph
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
This is the reason Trump wants to ‘denuclearise' the US
It is not hard to picture a typical nuclear disarmament activist: there is the untidy beard, the tie-dye T-shirt and the pained expression of someone who spends a lot of time marching around in the rain. What they do not look like, on the whole, is Donald Trump. On a day in which the president – a real estate mogul apparently born in a suit and tie – made epoch-shifting news on Ukraine and global tariffs, it barely seemed to register that he also sought to commit the United States to reducing its stockpile of around 3,800 nuclear weapons. 'We want to see if we can denuclearise, and I think that's very possible,' Mr Trump told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 'There's no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many.' Together with Russia and China, the US is 'spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully much more productive', he added. For life-long members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it must have been curious to see a man they revile express an ambition that could have been lifted from their manifesto almost word-for-word. In the wake of the Cold War, a cavalcade of American presidents have sought to reduce the world's nuclear stockpile, attempting to dispel the looming sense of dread that children of the 1960s can well remember. After signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia in 1987, eliminating all intermediate and shorter-range missiles, Ronald Reagan dismantled 2,700 nuclear weapons. George H W Bush hit the high water mark with a cull of 9,500 warheads. But the effort has floundered in recent years, with Mr Trump himself pulling America out of the INF treaty in 2019, and Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling over Ukraine putting paid to any further peacenik ideas. So what has changed the president's mind? Trump appears to be envisioning a world in which the Ukraine war is over, Vladimir Putin is pacified and the threat of nuclear war recedes. Addressing the Davos crowd, he said he would seek to hold disarmament talks with Putin once 'we straighten it all out' in the Middle East and Ukraine. 'One of the first meetings I want to have is with president Xi of China, president Putin of Russia. And I want to say: 'Let's cut our military budget in half.' And we can do that. And I think we'll be able to.' Ending those wars aside, bringing China on board will be a challenge. Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese People's Liberation Army is engaging in a stomach-churningly rapid programme of nuclear armament, with its current arsenal of 500 warheads set to hit 1,000 by 2030. The surge is thought to be linked to Mr Xi's oft-repeated threat to invade Taiwan, something he is unlikely to give up over a few chummy phone calls. Mr Trump, though, appears confident he can make deals with the world's strongmen through a series of heart-to-heart chats. His record here isn't unblemished. In 2019, the president proposed a nuclear disarmament pact with 'Rocket Man' Kim Jong-un, whom he said he had ' fallen in love ' with after an exchange of 'beautiful' letters. But a much ballyhooed summit in Pyongyang ended in failure, and the North Korean leader eventually stepped up nuclear testing and moved closer to Moscow. In his speech, Mr Trump suggested two key reasons why he is ready to risk heartbreak again. The first is simple, and strategic. Generals in the Pentagon have long cast nuclear build-ups as vital in a 'delicate' balance with adversaries of the United States. They argue that if China invests in the Dongfeng-27 missile, equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, the US must have something similar, or better, to prevent Beijing gaining atomic-tipped leverage in any power struggle. But such thinking is increasingly outmoded. Past the point when one possesses a nuclear stockpile large enough to survive an attempt to knock it out, the benefits of adding more rapidly diminish, according to a large swathe of nuclear scholars. As it stands, America, Russia and China share that privilege. In Mr Trump's words, the US has enough to destroy the world '50 times, 100 times over.' Even if four or five missiles are missed in an assault, that is enough to devastate major population centres, thus ensuring the principle of 'mutually assured destruction' – and the nuclear restraint it brings – survives. The mainstream wing of the Republican Party does not subscribe to such views, to put it mildly. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, wants to raise defence spending by $200 billion (£159 billion) per year, a jump of roughly one-fifth of the total annual budget, in part to modernise the US nuclear arsenal. Eldridge Colby, who is likely to be confirmed as Mr Trump's under-secretary of defence for policy, is a keen backer of nuclear proliferation. The economies of many Republican-held congressional districts rely on the jobs provided by the nuclear weapons industry. But the second reason – and apparently the foremost in Mr Trump's mind – is cost. While Elon Musk and his band of Doge acolytes comb through the accounts of USAid, a department that makes up less than one per cent of US government spending, there are far bigger fish to fry in the Pentagon. The US is spending around $50 billion per year on its nuclear forces. Scrapping the Sentinel programme, which would modernise the land-based arm of America's nuclear triad, would save $310 billion over its lifetime. Doing the same for the accompanying W87-1 warhead would add $15 billion to the pot, or $700 million per year. Ben Friedman, an analyst at the Defense Priorities think tank, has argued that the US could comfortably maintain deterrence just through its fleet of nuclear submarines, as Britain does with the Trident programme. In battlefield terms, air and sea-launched nuclear missiles overtook land-based equivalents years ago. These days advocates of the latter are often reduced to arguing they provide the other side with something to shoot at, thus wasting missiles that would be more damagingly delivered elsewhere. Perhaps Mr Trump, then, could save Doge a lot of effort in reaching its target of a $2 trillion cut in US annual government spending. Certainly he could protect his Maga base from the swingeing cuts to Medicaid that would surely be part of any serious effort to reach that goal. To do so, he will have to get through Putin, Mr Xi and a good part of his own party. If anyone believes he can do it, though, it will be the man who now has his fingers on the nuclear button.
