THE CHRONICLES: 1975

THE CHRONICLES: 1975 - 1979

CHRONICLING THE GOLDEN ERA

PART XVI: 1975

(✓ = Items that have separate 'Chronicles' articles written about them.)

The last year of The Golden Era that still had enough positivity about it to fit the description 'Golden'...? Perhaps...

But politically and socially, 1975 continued the downturn that began so markedly in 1974; it was a year that attempted to steady the ship and avoid catastrophe... But those attempts would lead to public disillusionment and bewilderment... And the old guard Establishment was regrouping - reinventing itself - and preparing to return to power...

The music of 1975 was a plus; the albums output was an upturn in quality after a disappointing 1974.

For me, personally, it was a very important year of change and adventure: I left school; I had my first big adventure in life by going to London to see Led Zeppelin live; and I was now facing life's decisions about the future... without being equipped to do that...

Let's have an overview of how it all panned out...

WORLD POLITICS and CONFLICT

✓ North Vietnam took advantage of the turmoil and frailty that had beset U.S politics in 1974, by invading South Vietnam and consequently conquering the whole country. Neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia and Laos, also fell to communist forces during 1975.

✓ India's President Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in the country, with severe restrictions on freedom and free speech being imposed.

✓ In Lebanon, the influx of Muslim refugees fleeing the Jewish - Palestinian War in 1948; then the state of Israeli's victory over Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the Six Day War of 1967, and then the expulsion from Jordan of Palestinian refugees / and members of the political and paramilitary Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1970, led to the destabilising of the delicate political - social - ethnic balance in that country, and civil war broke out between various Muslim, Christian, and Druze factions: with Syria supporting Sunni Muslim groups, and Israel supporting Christian groups.

The Lebanese Civil War lasted until 1990.

✓ In Spain, Fascist dictator General Franco died on November 20th., while still in office. Franco had gained power in Spain in 1939, after the victory of his Fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939).

The world wondered which way Spain would now turn, politically, and overtures were made towards the country by the various powerful interests in the world at the time. In the end, Spain restored the Spanish monarchy, and made the rightful claimant to the throne, Franco ally Juan Carlos, King Jaun Carlos, on November 22nd., and went about the process of establishing a democratic monarchy system of government.

U.S POLITICS

After the disruptive, game changing events in U.S politics during 1974: with the forced resignation of President Nixon, and the appointment as U.S President of Vice President Gerald Ford (the first U.S President who had not been elected as either VP or President), the USA kept a low profile on the international stage politically during 1975...

UK POLITICS

✓In February 1975 The Conservative (aka Tory) Party held a leadership contest, after doubts were raised over the leadership of Edward Heath in the wake of two narrow defeats in both of the 1974 UK General Elections.

The Tories pulled off an unexpectedly progressive move: electing the first ever female leader of a major UK political party: Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher was known to be politically right of centre, and a promoter of free market economics - and of reducing the welfare budget for the poorest and most vulnerable.

The backdrop in UK politics was a 1970 - 1974 Tory Government that had been routed by the power of the trade union movement - and had been driven from office as a result: losing the snap General Election in February 1974 to a hung parliament result: with Labour as the biggest party; then losing the inevitable second General Election to Labour by a flimsy 3 seats.

✓ Meanwhile, the trade union movement, instead of modifying its demands and industrial action to support its political ally, the Labour Party, increased its pressure on the UK Government: slowly grinding the UK economy and industry to a stumbling crawl over the duration of this Labour Government: 1974 - 1979.

This played into the hands of the Conservative right wing: and Thatcher looked like a daring, vibrant, and progressive alternative to what was by 1975 being seen as the tired old failing politics by both main parties - and the bullying overreach of the trade union movement...

UK GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

✓ The dismal state of UK industrial relations was, perhaps significantly, underlined by the first ever industrial action by doctors since the National Health Service (NHS) was set up in 1948.

In April, consultants (the most senior doctors) complained that the provision introduced by the previous Conservative UK Government that allowed them a certain amount of private practice had been stopped by this Labour UK Government. Constantly, they curtailed their working hours within the NHS until a deal could be negotiated.

In November, Junior doctors complained about the long hours that they were forced to work - for moderate salaries. They worked to rule: limiting the hours that they'd agree to work.

The two disputes were dealt with very differently:

The consultants, whose professional body is The British Medical Association (BMA), were met at the Prime Minister's (PM) residence and place of work, number 10 Downing Street, by PM Harold Wilson and members of his government. A compromise was agreed, with consultants allowed a certain amount of private practice.

The junior doctors picketed and took industrial action, like any other trade union workers in dispute. They were initially supported by their senior colleagues in the BMA, but when their dispute was continued past the agreement that had reached with the UK Government in December, the BMA withdrew its support. The junior doctors' dispute lasted until January 1976.

✓ THE BRITISH - IRISH 'TROUBLES'

1975 was another year of escalating violence in the British - Irish 'Troubles'; and a year when the behind the scenes scheming and plotting, subterfuge and intrigues between the various parties involved became more evident.

The Miami Showband Massacre: the murder of innocent musicians by British Loyalist paramilitaries - supported, it is strongly suspected, by members of the British security forces, brought to light some indication the of behind the scenes scheming that went on on all sides during 'The Troubles'.

On the Irish Republican side, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (P-IRA) brokered a supposedly secret ceasefire agreement with the UK Government in December 1974, which carried into 1975.

But it was considered a sham in many ways: other Republican paramilitaries carried out terrorist activities in Northern Ireland; some units of the P-IRA in Northern Ireland simply didn't recognise the ceasefire; and while the P-IRA was at ceasefire with the British security forces in Northern Ireland, it was involved in a violent feud with the Official IRA (O-IRA).

Also - the ceasefire agreement did not apply to P-IRA activity on the British mainland. An active P-IRA unit commited terrorist attacks in the Southeast of England throughout 1975, before being captured in December of that year.

Moreover, the British Loyalist paramilitaries got word of the supposedly secret ceasefire agreement, and intensified their activities against Republicans in an attempt to provoke the P-IRA into breaking the agreement.

A YEAR OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

1975 was, sadly and tragically, yet another year when the use of terrorism to protest - and attempt to achieve results for various causes, escalated.

I refer the reader to the 'Chronicles' article 'POLITICS, THE COLD WAR, AND CONFLICT - 1975':

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?id=100041857974741&story_fbid=1187437509328170

And particularly the link to the Wikipedia page that details terrorist activities during 1975:
https://en.wikipedia.org/.../List_of_terrorist_incidents...

INTERNAL COOPERATION

✓Good and positive news came in the form of the Soviet Union's Soyuz - Apollo (NASA) combined mission to link up a Soyuz and an Apollo space capsule - with the two crews meeting and greeting in space.

It was a welcome thaw in The Cold War - and symbolic as well as real and tangible progress towards International peace and cooperation.

✓And in Finland, l leaders of The Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact alliance and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members, signed The Helsinki Accords - agreeing to limit the number of nuclear weapons in the world.

SPORT

✓1975 gave us what many consider to be the greatest boxing match in history: Muhammad Ali v. Joe Frazier III: The Thrilla In Manila.

MOVIES

The movie industry had been in the doldrums in the early 1970s: some classic movies, certainly, but movie makers had decided that TV was the way ahead, and 'for theatres' movie making suffered.

But 1975 - and and one movie in particular - changed that: the old fashioned, edge of the seat thriller type - with a ferocious monster in the mix - movie - 'Jaws': a scary killer shark tale that everyone wanted to be frightened by...

✓And legendary director John Huston fulfilled a long held dream of his by making the Rudyard Kipling story, 'The Man Who Would Be King' into a very successful movie: starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer.

TV

'Supercop' shows were big around the early 1970s - so too 'buddy' shows, like 'Alias Smith And Jones' and 'MASH'; 1975 gave us a combination of the two, with 'Starsky And Hutch' - it was a huge success.

✓MY 1975

My first big adventure: going to London to go see Led Zeppelin; leaving school for good; and being part of my native Glasgow's 800th. birthday as a city...

CONCLUSION

I have described 1974 as the year that was the beginning of the end of The Golden Era... I think maybe 1975 was the last year in this era of ours that could - just about - properly fit the description of being 'Golden'...(???)

The music was good that year... Movies were about to become big again - thanks to movie events in 1975... The Space Race had taken its first steps towards becoming a cooperative adventure between the Soviet Union and NASA / the USA.

There were advances in the causes of equality of women; and progress in the social acceptance and rights of gays, and of ethnic minorities.

But the effect of the down turn that western society was going through after the unsettling political events that had disrupted the 1970s - culminating in the turmoil of 1974 - continued and was gathering pace.

Terrorism continued to spread and to increasingly be used as the preferred means of expressing protest - and attempting to achieve results, by activists and paramilitary groups all over the world.

The world was changing... While the hopeful, well intented, good and worthy causes of the social and cultural revolution of the 1960s were splitting and fragmenting - instead of conciliating and consolidating... the old Establishment institutions and forces were regrouping and reinventing themselves... waiting in the wings to take advantage of the discord - to re-emerge and roll back the ethos of the 1960 revolution...

1976 would be another step towards that...

(I found the various images used in the collage for this article online. My acknowledgment and thanks to the various people who own them / posted them (identity unknown to me). ). (M).

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 02. 07. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 08. 09. 2024

1975: POLITICS, THE COLD WAR, SATIRE, AND CHANGE

(✓ indicates a story that has a separate article in the 'Chronicles' 1975 section)

POLITICAL CARTOONS

Top - far left: the lighter, more compromising US foreign policy approach in the Middle East - 'small gains, 'step by step'' - is depicted in a cartoon that shows President Ford dancing arm in arm with Egyptian and Israeli politicians. The Sanai II agreement between Israel and Egypt reaffirmed a cessation of hostilities between the two countries.

✓ Top centre: A West German - Dutch cartoon depicts the European Economic Community (EEC) reluctantly welcoming the UK as confirmed members - after the UK referendum of 1975. Behind Prime Minister Harold Wilson, troops what the cartoonist considers to be the UK's unwelcome baggage: a failing National Health Service; Bolshie, powerful trade unions; and, interestingly, Third World immigrats...

✓ Top right: The UK Conservative Party leadership contest is depicted as a dog show. The eventual winner, Margaret Thatcher, is described as 'a charming little bitch - whose bite is worse than her bark'...

✓ Lower left: An Indian newspaper cartoon, satirically condemning the State of Emergency - including strict censorship - imposed on India by the government of Indira Gandhi in 1975. The clever caption reads: 'Don't we have a lovely CENSOR of humour'...

✓ Centre right: This cartoon depicts the uncertainties over the direction that Spain will take after the death of longtime Fascist dictator General Franco. Spain shown as a glamourous lady being courted by various competing political and economic powers.

✓ Lower right: This cartoon depicts the influence of corporate lobbyists on U.S Government environmental policy. A bill to restrict strip mining in the USA was vetoed by President Ford. The cartoon shows powerful corporate interests 'ripping off' the US - both literally (in terms of ripping up the land for strip mining), and figuratively (in terms of corporate influence over the US Government)...

---------------
✓ APOLLO - SOYUZ SPACE MISSION

There was good news for Cold War relations and 'Space Race' cooperation in 1975. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with the Soviet Union's space program, when a manned NASA Apollo space capsule docked in space with a manned Soviet Soyuz space capsule, in a joint mission that would be the basis for the future International Space Station.

NHS JUNIOR DOCTORS and CONSULTANT DOCTORS INDUSTRIAL ACTION

1975 was an indication of how poorly UK Governments had been at industrial relations and employment issues during the 1970s; and how trade union (and also, in this case, professional representative bodies: The British Medical Association (BMA)) applied pressure and increasingly punitive industrial action.

The Conservative UK Government of 1970 - 1974 was constantly embroiled in conflict with the Trade Union Council (TUC), which finally brought it down in 1974... But only to be replaced by a weak Labour Government with a wafer thin majority - which the trade union movement took advantage of...

Since the formation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948 (the public funded, government administered provision of health care for all), there had never been industrial action by doctors or nurses.

In 1975 that changed - in what was a tale of two separate disputes: handled differently.

The Consultants (senior doctors) objected when their right to have a certain amount of private practice (which had been given to them by the previous Conservative Government) was curtailed by the Labour Government. Between January and April they responded by restricting the hours that they worked in NHS practice.

They negotiated via their profession body - The British Medical Association - and held personal talks with the Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Health Secretary Barbara Castle at Downing Street. The dispute was resolved when Castle agreed to allow Consultants who wished to to work part-time for the NHS and continue private practice.

Here's a link to the BBC article about the 1975 doctors' disputes:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-18270523

In November, junior doctors took industrial action over pay and conditions.

They too restricted their working hours. Initially they had support from The BMA, but as the dispute continued past an agreement reached in December, and wore on into January 1976, senior doctors turned against the junior staff's cause and BMA support dwindled. In effect, the junior doctors became gonit alone mavericks - identifying more with the TUC members and their and industrial action than with the more elite professional body, The BMA.

In January 1976 the dispute was resolved by compromise.

This is a link to the People's History of The NHS site article on the junior doctors' dispute:
https://peopleshistorynhs.org/when-do-doctors-strikes.../

The Consultants and junior doctors employment disputes were yet another example of how weak UK Government and politics in general had become - and how fragmented, disorganised, and disunited UK society was becoming.

UK SEX DISCRIMINATION ACT 1975

The UK Sex Discrimination Act brought about fairer and more equal treatment of women and men - single or married - in the workplace and on training courses,

US CIVIL RIGHTS AMENDMENTS 1975

The US Civil Rights Amendments of 1975 made provided fairer and more equal treatment of gay people in the areas of employment and housing rights.

THE MCWHIRTER FOUNDATION

And finally, a story of an act of good in response to a bad and evil act of terrorism: The McWhirter Foundation is founded.

✓ In November 1975 Ross McWhirter - who, with his identical twin brother Norris was co-founder of The Guinness Book of World Records, and co-hosts of the UK children's TV show 'Record Breakers' - was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republic Army (P-IRA).

In response to this horrific tragedy, Ross's twin brother set up The McWhirter Foundation - a charity promoting good citizenship and the resolving of social disputes by means of reasonable, fair minded discussion and debate.

CONCLUSION

1975 followed on from the disruptive turmoil of 1974 - but managed to calm the storm - at least enough to slow down the decline that had set in.

It was a decline that was bringing about desperate changes in the world - particularly in the West, in an attempt to rescue the social and cultural progress of the previous decade or so... But changes that would, by the end of the 1970s, bring about the destruction of the ideals of the 1960s youth social and cultural revolution, and the end of what we call The Golden Era...

In 1976 politics in the USA would change, as the electorate is given its chance to react to the destructive events of the presidency of President Nixon - and the resultant presidency of the unelected President Ford, in the US Presidential Election... A lighter touch, more diplomatic, social conscience Democrat President Carter was elected...

In the UK in 1976, popular opinion is growing weary of Bolshie trade union aggression and weak UK Government. Veteran PM Harold Wilson resigns and hands over to his Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan...

Some suggest that Wilson saw the writing on the wall, as the Conservative Party's new, radical, very right of centre, leader, Margaret Thatcher, was catching the public mood and gaining popularity...

But that's for the 'Chronicles' history of 1976...

(I found the various images in the collage used for this article online. My acknowledgment and thanks to those who own them / posted them. ) (M)

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 29. 05. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 30. 05. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 18. 06. 2024

1975: POLITICS, THE COLD WAR, and CONFLICT

(✓ = Events that have a separate

'Chronicles' article written about them.)

1974 had been the year of the beginning of the end of The Golden Era: politics and political stability in the U.S and UK was in turmoil; Northern Ireland was inflamed by 'The Troubles'; terrorism was rampant in the world.

1975 was to be a year of attempting to 'hold the line', in terms of Western politics and Cold War conflict; and in terms of the major terrorist conflicts around the world: most notably, Northern Ireland and the British Loyalist and Irish Republican paramilitary groups operating in Ireland and in the UK mainland.

Around the world it was a year of significant events that would have a lasting impact - mainly a negative impact on the future.

VIETNAM / SE ASIA✓

In December 1974 North Vietnam violated the 1973 Vietnam War Paris Peace Accords by making incursions into South Vietnam. The USA did nothing in response...

In January 1975 North Vietnam advanced aggressively into South Vietnam; by April 1975 North Vietnam had taken the South Vietnam capital, Saigon, and conquered the whole country.

US personnel and as many Vietnamese people as could be accommodated by US Military transport helicopters hurriedly fled Saigon during the North Vietnamese conquest. It was a humiliation for the USA - and came in the wake of 1974's political scandal and the resignation of President Nixon.

The fall of South Vietnam on the 30th. of April 1975 was preceded by the fall of neighbouring Cambodia to the communist forces of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge (assisted by the communist forces of the Viet Cong) on April 17th. 1975.

The victorious communist forces of the now united Vietnam also assisted the communist Pathet Lao / Lao People's Front to conquer Vietnam's neighbour, Laos, in December 1975.

The impotency of the USA - after the political turmoil of 1974 - led to this rapid 'domino effect' in the Southeast Asia Cold War conflict zone. Once North Vietnam tested what the response of the USA would be to its incursions into South Vietnam in December 1974, and found that response to be placid acceptance - the fall of the entire Southeast Asia conflict zone was on the cards soon after.

THE BRITISH - IRISH 'TROUBLES'

1975 was, as ever, a complex year in the history of 'The Troubles': 'secret' negotiations; ceasefire; subterfuge; suspected British security forces collusion with Loyalists; feuding within the Republican movement; Republican terrorism on the UK mainland... And the usual, tragic, death and destruction...

In December 1974 the Labour Party UK Government 'secretly' negotiated a ceasefire with the Provisional Irish Republic Army (P-IRA) that was to last until January 2nd. 1975. In January 1975 it was extended, and would last until January 1976. But the supposedly secret ceasefire negotiations became known to groups supporting the British Loyalist position: both official and unofficial / paramilitary - and they were deeply displeased by it and and suspicious of it. Some suspected that it was a ploy by the P-IRA to allow them time to regroup and re-equip - especially as part of the ceasefire agreement was a more relaxed approach to Republic of Ireland - Northern Ireland border security.

Consequently, he so-called ceasefire agreement with the P-IRA led to increased Loyalist paramilitary activity - in an attempt to provoke the P-IRA into breaking the agreement.

But the situation was was even more complex than that, as, for one thing, some P-IRA units simply didn't recognise the ceasefire agreement and continued activity; plus, there was the appearance of other, small Republican movement paramilitary groups that would carry out attacks against Loyalists - but officially be declared to be not connected to the P-IRA.

Significantly too, during the 1975 ceasefire period, the P-IRA and the Official IRA (O-IRA) engaged in a violent feud against each other.

✓ Moreover, the ceasefire agreement didn't seem to apply to P-IRA units active on the UK mainland: most notably the unit that operated around the SE of England, which became known as The Balcombe Street Gang - after the conclusion of The Balcombe Street Siege, in December 1975, which resulted in its the gang's capture.

✓ The Balcombe Street Gang had been responsible for atrocities throughout the SE of England during 1974 and 1975, including the high profile assassination of Guinness Book of World Records founder - and UK children's TV host - Ross McWhirter.

In Northern Ireland, Loyalist terrorist activity took an even more sinister twist in response to the UK Government - P-IRA ceasefire. In a year of violence aimed at undermining the ceasefire, a particularly cynical and brutal - and, Investigations suggest, sinister - event, was 'The Miami Showband Massacre': when Loyalist paramilitaries - some also members of the official British Army part-time Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) - used British Army uniforms to pose as an official border checkpoint, and then stopped the tour van used by The Miami Showband and attempted to frame a band of musicians as P-IRA weapons smugglers - and murdered band members on the spot when the operation went wrong. Investigations into this atrocity revealed strong evidence (even proof) of possible collusion between Loyalist paramilitary groups, Ulster police officers, a official British Army operatives. ✓

On October 2nd. 1975, the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) carried out a series of attacks across Northern Ireland, killing 12 people and injuring 45.

On an (unsuccessful) attempted positive note, The Northern Ireland Constructional Convention - a proposal put together by the UK Government in 1974 to attempt a governing body in Ulster which more fairly represented the Roman Catholic/ Republican community - was established on 1st May, by elections using Proportional Representation (PR) - thereby ensuring a representation by elected Republicans.

It was unpopular with Loyalists, who determined to undermine it, as it was a threat to their built-in dominance as the majority of the populace.. Strikes were called throughout the province, and Loyalist politicians from various patties allied together in common cause to make the new political body unworkable. The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was disbanded in March 1976.

A link to the University of Ulster CAIN site, giving an overview of 'The Troubles' during 1975:

https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch75.htm

A link to Access Research Knowledge (ARK) UK site article on The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention:

https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/fc75.htm

A link to the Wikipedia article on the October 2nd. UVF attacks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../October_1975_Northern....

(I found the various images used in the collage for this article online. My acknowledgment and thanks to the various people who own them/ posted them (identity unknown to me). ) (M).

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 20. 06. 2024

THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE WILL FOLLOW LATER...

1975: POLITICS, THE COLD WAR, AND CONFLICT

1975: JANUARY - APRIL: NORTH VIETNAM INVADES SOUTH VIETNAM: CONQUERS THE COUNTRY IN APRIL.

THE USA EVACUATES ITS PERSONELL - AND AS MANY VIETNAMESE ALLIED PERSONELL AS POSSIBLE.

BACKGROUND

On January 27th. 1973, the Vietnam War peace talks in Paris, France, that had been on-going since 1968, reached a ceasefire agreement, in which the USA would withdraw from the conflict, North Vietnamese forces would withdraw from South Vietnam - and both sides would respect a demilitarized zone (similar to that which separates North Korea and South Korea), and a ceasefire - if not actual peace - would be observed.

Although this was hailed as a great breakthrough for peace, U.S negotiator Henry Kissinger was skeptical about the lasting effectiveness of the agreement...

(For more, please see the 'Chronicles' section: 'The Chronicles: 1973.)

1974 saw U S politics in turmoil: the various scandals that had stalked President Nixon and his administration - which had already forced the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1973, and his replacement by Senator Gerald Ford - finally caught up with President Nixon himself, and he too was forced to resign in August 1974.

That left the U.S public - and U.S politics - in turmoil, as well as shock and disillusionment - and a USA with the first U.S President in history who was not elected as either President or VP: when Gerald Ford was appointed U.S President after Nixon's resignation.

President Ford's main - it might be argued, his ONLY - job in office, was to try to clean up the mess - and hold a despondent USA together...

On December 12th. 1974, the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) began hostilities against the South Vietnamese city of Phước Long (close to the border with Cambodia), which was defended by the Army if the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). This assault was a clear violation of the 1973 Paris peace agreement.

It is reasonably assumed by some analysts that this campaign was launched partly to test the response of the USA, in light of the USA's state of political turmoil. The USA made no response to the attack on Phước Long.

(For more, please see the 'Chronicles' section: 'The Chronicles: 1974.)

JANUARY 1975

Emboldened by the USA not responding to its hostilities against South Vietnam in December 1974, the PAVN pushed on, and on January 6th. 1975, the North Vietnamese forces captured Phước Long. Again the USA did not respond to this significantly increased aggression by the PAVN.

FEBRUARY 1975

February saw the PAVN push on still further into South Vietnam, with the objective of conquering the city of bBuôn Ma Thuột in the Central Highlands of Vietnam - a clear induction that North Vietnam no longer intended to uphold the Paris peace treaty: it was intent in conquering all of Vietnam.

U.S impotency and dithering was underlined by President Ford's response. Quoting the Wikipedia article '1975 In The Vietnam War':

25 February - 3 March

A bipartisan Congressional delegation visited South Vietnam at the request of Ford. The delegation was led by John Flynt, a supporter of continued aid to South Vietnam and included Bella Abzug, Donald M. Fraser and Pete McCloskey, all opponents of continued aid. The delegation was unable to agree a unified position, other than their dislike of Ambassador Graham Martin...'

In short: a team of U.S delegates who, from the outset disagreed with each other about what the U.S response to North Vietnam should be, in the end could only agree upon their mutual dislike of the U.S Ambassador to South Vietnam.

MARCH 1975

The PAVN pushed on through South Vietnam, March 1st. saw a massive invasion of the Central Highlands - and the rout of South Vietnamese ARVN forces - which suffered heavy losses.

By March 25th., Hue, South Vietnam's third largest city, had fallen to the PAVN.

APRIL 1975

South Vietnamese military resistance had all but collapsed, and the PAVN swept through South Vietnam - closing in on the capital, Saigon.

It was only on April 29th., with the PAVN storming Saigon, that the USA ordered an airlift of helicopters from U.S aircraft carriers to evacuate U.S citizens - and as many Vietnamese refugees as could be rescued (numbering some 7000) - from Saigon. The image of desperate people queuing to board the shuttling convoy of U.S helicopters has become an iconic image of the fall of Saigon - and the North Vietnamese conquest of South Vietnam.

On April 30th. 1975 the Vietnam War was finally - and truly over: the PAVN took control of Saigon - North Vietnam had conquered South Vietnam - and Vietnam was united under communist rule.

The inevitable had finally happened... And the world reacted more with relief at the end of the terrible loss of life and the destruction caused by the North Vietnamese PAVN Spring Offensive, than with any kind of shock or outrage...

FURTHER READING:

This is a link to the Routledge publisher site for the book 'The Road To Balcombe Street':

https://www.routledge.com/The.../Moysey/p/book/9780789029133

Here's a link to the invaluable source for information on 'The Troubles' the University of Ulster CAIN site, outlining 1975:

https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/truce/chron.htm

A link to a brief overview The Balcome Street Gang on the YouTube channel Audioversity:

https://youtu.be/69eusKvIRfU?si=-A3pzn2_E_GyRu-c

A link to the Wikipedia page on The Balcombe Street Gang:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balcombe_Street_Gang

A link to the Wikipedia page on The Balcombe Street Siege:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balcombe_Street_siege

(The image used with this article is from the cover of the book: 'The Road To Balcombe Street' (see link above). My acknowledgment and thanks to the author and publishers.) (M).

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts 27. 05. 2024. Edited: 29. 05. 2024

1975: A JULY 31st. : ULSTER: THE MIAMI SHOWBAND MASSACRE

If any event in the history of the 1960s and 70s (and beyond) flare-up of the centuries old 'British - Irish Troubles' can be said to offer some insight into the conniving, the subterfuge, the unseen scheming and behind the scenes plotting that was part of this conflict, then this tragic massacre of innocent musicians - entertainers; a club / cabaret band based in the Irish Republic, that toured the whole of Ireland, and was very popular with people across the social divide - is that event. It is recorded in history as 'The Miami Showband Massacre'.

This incident is so toxic and tangled that, for recording on this medium, it is only possible to give as detailed an overview sketch as possible. I have added links for further reading.

A NECESSARY BACKGROUND OVERVIEW

'SECRET' NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE UK GOVERNMENT AND THE PROVISIONAL IRA (P-IRA): PEACE TREATY - AND LOYALIST SUSPICIONS

On December 22nd., 1974, the Republican paramilitary P-IRA announced a Christmas ceasefire that would last until January 02nd., 1975. The ceasefire was extended to what became a temporary peace treaty that lasted until January 26th., 1976.

It later emerged that during December 1974 and into 1975, the UK Government had been in what they (mistakenly) supposed were secret negotiations with the P-IRA, and the P-IRA political wing, Sinn Fein, and the extended peace treaty resulted from that.

Part of the agreement was that British forces would scale-down activity in Republican areas in Ulster; and cross-border security would be somewhat relaxed.

It is suggested by some, that some people on the Republican side believed that this would be the precursor to a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.

Here's a link to the excellent University of Ulster CAIN site (which covers 'The Troubles') account of these particular events:

https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/truce/chron.htm

The above mentioned - supposedly secret - negotiations, reached the attention of Loyalist leaders in Ulster - who became alarmed at the prospect of a UK Government sellout. It is possible too that elements within the British security forces were concerned that the P-IRA would just use the ceasefire in two ways:

As a positive propaganda excercise.

To use the time to re-equip and rebuild, before relaunching their terrorist campaign at a time that suits them.

There was also concern that the ceasefire and the relaxing of security measures would impact security at the Northern Ireland - Irish Republic border, and potentially allow P-IRA activity, like the movement of arms and personell, to go on unchecked.

The Loyalist paramilitary groups spent 1975 launching fierce, bloody attacks against the Republican community, in an attempt to provoke the P-IRA to break the ceasefire.

This is another example of where the complex, tangled subterfuge and intrigue of 'The Troubles' is highlighted: other, smaller and much less significant, Republican paramilitary groups, such as the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) carried out brutal and bloody reprisal attacks against the Loyalist community... But not the P-IRA - which could legitimately claim to have played no part in the attacks, and thereby continue the peace treaty.

THE MASSACRE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE RELEVANT PARTIES

THE MIAMI SHOWBAND

The Miami Showband is the name of a Pop band based in Dublin, in the Irish Republic, which was formed in 1962. The band played clubs and other venues throughout Ireland (and elsewhere), and was very successful in the singles charts in the Irish Republic. There were personell and image changes in the course The Miami Showband's history.

THE ULSTER VOLUNTEER FORCE (UVF)

The Ulster Volunteer Force was / is an Ulster Loyalist paramilitary organisation that was set up in 1912 as The Ulster Volunteers - becoming The Ulster Volunteer Force in1913, in response to fears that the British Government was planning to give Ireland (which was at that time fully part of Great Britain) its independence, and thereby leave the Loyalist, Protestant majority in Ulster under the rule of the Roman Catholic, Republican majority in Ireland as a whole.

The UVF regrouped an reactivated in 1965, and when 'The Troubles' flared up again in the late 1960s, the UVF was prominent as a Loyalist community group.

Th UVF had been inbanned by the UK Government in 1966, but in April 1974 the recently elected UK Labour Government, and its Northern Ireland Secretary, Merlyn Reece, legalised the UVF again. In October 1975 the banning of the UVF was reinstated, in part because of 'The Miami Showband Massacre'.

(The UVF was by no means the only Loyalist paramilitary group; in both the Loyalist and the Republican communities, there were several paramilitary groups that were active in the conflict.)

THE ULSTER DEFENCE REGIMENT (UDR)

The Ulster Defence Regiment was an official British Army regiment; it was mostly part-time soldiers (akin to the British Territorial Army, or the U.S National Guard). It was formed in 1970, during the early years of the latest flare-up of the 'British - Irish Troubles', for the purpose of assisting the Ulster police force - The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - in managing 'The Troubles'.

Not surprisingly, the UDR was almost entirely made up of people recruited from the British Loyalist community in Ulster.

THE EVENTS OF THE MIAMI SHOWBAND MASSACRE

On July 30th., 1975, The Miami Showband, a six piece band based in Dublin, and with members from both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, had finished a successful gig in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, and was heading home to Dublin. The band's drummer remained in Northern Ireland, to visit his parents in nearby Armagh; the band's manager had gone on ahead with the equipment van.

At around 2.00 - 2.30am on July 31st., the minibus carrying the other five members of the band was stopped by a number of armed men as it headed towards the Northern Ireland - Republic of Ireland border, in what appeared to be an official British Army check.

The armed group that stopped the band's minibus were dressed in UDR uniforms. But, what was obviously not known to the band members, was that this was not an official British Army check: the men in uniform were acting on behalf of the UVF; this was a UVF subterfuge / killing operation.

This scenario is further twisted by the fact that it became known later - after the enquiry into the incident, which resulted in the arrest, trial, and criminal conviction three of the UVF operatives - that at least four of the men were members of the part-time UDR - as well as being members of the UVF: including two of the men who were later convicted; the third convicted man was a former member of the UDR.

The band was ordered to line up by the roadside, while some of the 'troops' searched the minibus.

The later investigations revealed that the plan by this UVF unit, was to plant a time bomb on the minibus, then release the band to continue the drive south; the bomb would detonate - and the assumption would be that the band had been smuggling weapons for the P-IRA, and one of their smuggled bombs had accidentally exploded.

If successful, the UVF operation would have gone undetected; and calls for tightened security on the border would have been ramped up...

...And innocent people - poplar entertainers - would have died - and been falsely incriminated and vilified...

The UVF mission went wrong, however - but caused hideous death, damage and destruction just the same...

While the time bomb was being planted on the minibus, it exploded - killing two of the UVF operatives. In shock and panic, the other UVF men opened fire on the band members - killing three of them and wounding the other two.

Because it failed in its original objective, the UVF mission was discovered - and an investigation found the members of the UVF unit that had survived the attack - and they were convicted.

FURTHER INTRIGUE AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES

This tangled web of deceit and subterfuge is further complicated by the discovery that, besides being members and former members of the UDR, the UVF members responsible for 'The Miami Showband Massacre' were found to be members of the shadowy Glenanne Gang: an alliance of Ulster Loyalists from official legitimate agencies - the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the UDR - and members of Loyalist paramilitary groups.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia page on The Glenanne Gang:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenanne_gang

The toxicity deepens with the suggestion - suspicion, by some commentators and investigators, that the British authorities - notably, British Military Intelligence - was involved in the massacre; and that a British Intelligence officer, Captain Robert Nairac, of The Grenadier Guards, was the British Army 'handler' for the gang that carried out 'The Miami Showband Massacre'.

These suspicions and suggestions remain entirely speculation - and have never been confirmed.

What is confirmed, however, is that 'The Miami Showband Massacre' was carried out by UVF members who were members, or former members, of the UDR, and that some or all of them were members of the underground group known as The Glenanne Gang.

'The Miami Showband Massacre' was condemned across the board by all sides in the Ulster community - and around the world.

The image shown to accompany this article is from a Sunday newspaper report (I don't know which paper, but I think it may be The Sunday World - a very popular newspaper in Ireland, which, I think (?) has different editions published for Northern Ireland and The Irish Republic). It reports on the tragedy, and has an interview with Loyalist politician Glen Barr - from the Vanguard Party (a Loyalist political party), in which he condemns the massacre in profound terms:

'God forbid that our cause has sunk so low...'

CONCLUSION

Amidst all that is known about 'The Miami Showband Massacre', and all that speculated, suspected, and suggested about what may - or may not - be hidden information about the incident, what IS known, is that innocent people - musicians, who were popular across the social divide, and provided escape from the conflict and terror, were murdered mercilessly, in the name of the murky, toxic world of terrorism, subterfuge, and conspiracy that was 'The British - Irish Troubles'...

R.I.P - the fallen members of The Miami Showband...

A link to the the Wikipedia account:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Showband_killings

A link to the Irish Central site retrospective account:

https://www.irishcentral.com/.../miami-showband-massacre...

A link to the Northern Ireland Conflict Videos YouTube site video on the events:

https://youtu.be/9Bfcjr_VgFw?si=pFUBgybNTdbkT0LR

Here's a link to the Wikipedia page on Captain Nairac:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nairac

(I found this image online. It is, as described above, from a Sunday newspaper, but I am not certain which one. My acknowledgement and thanks to whoever posted. the image / owns the image; and of course, to whichever newspaper published it.) (M).

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts 27. 03. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 01. 04. 2024

1975: PROTEST, ACTIVISM, SATIRE, AND CHANGE

1975: JULY 17th. : THE DOCKING OF THE NASA APOLLO and THE SOVIET SOYUZ SPACECRAFT

...Brings the Cold War 'Space Race' to an end... Temporarily...* ... While the Cold War military and political conflict trundled on regardless...

This is an event from 1975 that provides an example (one of many, if you study history) of how history, and the history of human interaction, politics, geo-politics, ideological differences, MUST be studied without dogma and without preconceived ideas of what these events in history were all about.

History is always complex; there are always examples of how, from reasons of pragmatism, material necessity, and inherent humanity, cooperation and alliance existed between what appear to be implacable enemies.

The exploration of space: as Gene Roddenberry put it in the groundbreaking pop culture sci-fi show 'Star Trek' 'the final frontier', began during The Cold War between the Soviet Union led communist ideology, and the USA led western capitalist democratic ideology: a conflict that began as soon as World War II had ended...

In it's early years, during the late 1950s, it was propagandised, militarised, and used to terrorise and triumphalise... That is, by the politicians and the military hawks on both sides.

The 1957 Soviet Sputnik satellite - the first telecommunications satellite - caused panic in the USA; the Soviet Union putting the first human being in space - Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, caused such a fear of Soviet supremacy in the Space Race, that U.S President Kennedy had to announce the morale lifting declaration that the USA would put men on the moon before the end of the 1960s.

Meanwhile, Soviet President Khrushchev made ideological propaganda out of the Gagarin triumph, by declaring that Gagarin 'didnt see God up there'**

(**This declaration is often wrongly attributed to Gagarin himself, but it was in fact Khrushchev who said this; Gagarin is thought to have been a Russian Orthodox Christian; he was at least sympathetic towards Orthodox Christianity.)

In 1969 the Apollo 11 mission fulfilled the U.S promise to conquer the moon...

While the politicians propagandised / and or panicked, and the military sabre rattled, the cosmonauts and astronauts - and the ordinary people of the world - just celebrated great human achievements.

Yuri Gagarin was paraded around the world and cheered as a hero by crowds everywhere. A dinner in his honour was held by The Queen, at Buckingham Palace.

The Apollo 11 astronauts left a specially made token on the moon, in honour of Gagarin, who had tragically been killed in an airplane crash, months before the moon landing...

And, on July 11th., 1975, the final mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Apollo space program* saw fruition of the Apollo - Soyuz cooperation mission, in which Apollo CSM-111, Soyuz 7K-TM No.75, connected via a docking module, and three American astronauts: Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand, and Deke Slayton; and two Soviet cosmonauts:Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, shook hands - and went on to collaborate on scientific experiments... and on the diplomatic and humanitarian demonstration of what humanity SHOULD BE all about...

Meanwhile - the Cold War's other battlefield - military conflict, propaganda, and ideological crowing and posturing - continued unabated...

The uneasy ceasefire brokered between the USA / South Vietnam and Soviet Union backed North Vietnam in January 1973, was broken in April 1975 by the massive invasion and conquest of South Vietnam by its communist neighbour, North Vietnam.

The panicked evacuation of South Vietnam, by U.S officials, the remaining U.S Military presence, and U.S citizens and the South Vietnamese allied personnel that could be accommodated, was a humiliation for the USA and the West - and a triumph for the Soviet Union and its Vietnamese ally - and for communist ideology...

And in Cambodia in April 1975, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge communist forces took control of the country and declared a resetting of the calendar to the beginning of Year 1.

('... You may leave here for four days in space - but when you return, it's the same old place
The pounding of the guns is a frightening disgrace...' (The Eve If Destruction' Barry McGuire (1964).)

...Yet, while all that conflict, destruction, propaganda and triumphalism was going on, the main protagonists - the USA and the Soviet Union - were planning and cooperating on one of the greatest advances in human detente and advancement of knowledge in history...

Moreover, going back to 1962, at around the same time as the most dangerous 'moment' in the Cold War - 'The Cuban Missile Crisis' - the USA and the Soviet Union engaged in talks over the sharing of information on space exploration, which resulted in the 'Dryden-Blagonravov Agreement:: which 'called for cooperation on the exchange of data from weather satellites, a study of the Earth's magnetic field, and joint tracking of the NASA Echo II balloon satellite.' (My thanks to Wikipedia.)

CONCLUSION

It makes you wonder... What's going on in the 'Big Picture' when it comes to politics, conflict and International relations...? The picture offered to the public is this, this, and this - and we, the public, act and react accordingly - basically rooted in fear of one thing or another... But behind the scenes, diplomacy, politics, 'horse trading', cooperation, on a different level, and towards a different goal, is ongoing - yet kept much lower profile than the gung-ho warmongering and propagandising...

(*After the chaotic period of political instability and weakness that the West's leading Cold War nations, USA and the UK, went through from 1974 to 1979, the result was a swing towards significantly right of centre, economics driven politics, which militarised economics - and then re-militarised the 'Space Race': with the USA proposing using U.S economic muscle to fund the so-called 'Star Wars Program: - which would put anti-ballistic missile weapons into space.)

But for this posting, let's celebrate this triumph of human ingenuity, search for knowledge, cooperation - and shared humanity...

Here are links to further reading:

Wikipedia: Apollo - Soyuz;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo%E2%80%93Soyuz

NASA - Apollo - Soyuz Test Project:
https://www.nasa.gov/apollo-soyuz-test-project/

The websitesiteDiscovery: Apollo-Soyuz Mission: When the Space Race Ended:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/.../apollo-soyuz-mission...

The Miscow Times: Forty year anniversary of the Apollo - Soyuz mission:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/.../apollo-soyuz-mission...

(I found this image online. My acknowledgement and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it (identity unknown to me. ). (M).

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 19. 93. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 91. 04. 2024

1975: MAY: PRESIDENT FORD VETOES ENVIRONMENTAL RESTRICTIONS ON STRIP MINING COAL

This cartoon, by renowned U.S political cartoonist Herblock, depicts a caricature of corporate interest (in this case, coal mining companies and their interested parties) 'ripping off ' the environment and, in the view of those protesting against environmental damage by corporate / industrial interests, ripping off the future of environmental health and safety.

It was in response to U.S President Ford vetoing a second bill from the U.S Congress that would have placed restrictions on the surface mining of coal: strip mining, as it is known. The President had already vetoed a similar bill in 1974.

The pro-coroporate lobby (and its paid lobbyists: professional influencers, paid to promote the interests of their clients when new legislation is to be introduced) feared that President Ford would perhaps allow this bill to pass - although it had already been watered down by its opponents. But, as it transpired, the President vetoed the 1975 bill too.

Here's a link to a New York Times article from May 8th. 1975, about the part played by lobbyist D. Michael Rappaport in trying to weaken / scupper the bill:

https://www.nytimes.com/.../strip-mining-battle-classic...

There's a particularly telling (but fair enough, honest) quote by Mr. Rappaport, that gives an insight into how politics and political decision influencers and makers operate:

“...I don't work for the world, I work for my clients.”

... And there you have it...

Here's a link to an article on the subject of President Ford's vetoes, from a site called: The Pop History Dig:

https://pophistorydig.com/topics/strip-mine-history-1974-75/

CONCLUSION

This is another example of how this era was the first to raise concerns about environment issues. 'Green' issues had become particularly prominent in Golden Era revolutionary youth culture during the 1970s; many artists - from across the musical spectrum - wrote and recorded songs with environmental messages: from, for a few examples: Led Zeppelin with 'That's The Way' ('Led Zeppelin III' (1970)), Joni Mitchell 'Big Yellow Taxi' ('Ladies Of The Canyon' (1970)), and The ELO with 'In Old England Town ' ('ELO 2' (1973)), to the mass singles market audience appeal of The Osmonds' 'Crazy Horses' (1972). And also other popular culture expressions, such as the brilliant movie 'Silent Running' (Starring Bruce Dern (1972)).

Like all truly worthwhile causes, the roots of the ecology and environment awareness movement - as a popular social phenomenon - are in The Golden Era (with grateful acknowledgement and tribute to Scottish / American geologist and environmentalist John Muir (1838 - 1914): the acknowledged father of the ecology movement, and founder of The Sierra Club: the original environment protection group: though this was not a mass popularity social movement. ).

(I found this cartoon online. My acknowledgement and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it (identity unknown to me); and of course to the cartoonist, Herblock; and to the The Washington Post, the newspaper that originally published this cartoon. )

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts 11. 05. 2024. Edited: 12. 05. 2024

1975: JUNE 7th. : THE REACTION FROM A GERMAN CARTOONIST TO THE UK 'YES' VOTE IN THE REFERENDUM ON EEC MEMBERSHIP

The UK formally joined the EEC in 1973, after having originally applied to join in 1962.

The original EEC members (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) were not enthusiastic about allowing the UK to join: especially unhappy about it were France and West Germany - because of age-old scores and animosities against the UK - most recently, grievances about British conduct during World War II - still festered.

But after coming to office in 1970 the Conservative Party UK Government, led by Prime Minister Edward Heath, successfully negotiated UK entry into the EEC trading block.

UK entry into the EEC was negotiated and implemented without a referendum vote. It was not popular across the board among the UK public or politicians, and a strong element on the left wing of the opposition Labour Party resisted the change and insisted upon a referendum.

In February 1974 the Conservative UK Government called a snap General Election. The result was a hung Parliament - no party with an overall majority, but the Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, took office as the party with the most seats in Parliament.

Soon after taking power, the Labour UK Government sent Foreign Secretary James Callaghan to the EEC to renegotiate UK membership. This was seen by some political commentators in the EEC as the first sign that allowing the UK to join was a mistake.

On June 5th., 1975, the UK public got its EEC referendum. The result was Yes: agreement to remain in the EEC.

This political cartoon, by West German cartoonist Behrendt, in the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, depicts the caroonists' (and we may assume, the editorial agenda of the newspaper and its readers) attitude towards what the EEC is getting by allowing the UK to join - and now, the UK's decision to remain in, the EEC.

Prime Minister Harold Wilson is accompanied by Britannia (as a symbol of the UK's public International pubic image) - but behind, comes all the UK's unpleasant 'baggage': an ailing economy with high inflation; a powerful and militant, left wing trade union movement (the Trade Union Council (TUC)); Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorism; and what's this? bringing up the rear we see wretched looking 'Third World' immigrants...

These aspects of the UK were seen by the cartoonist and the newspaper as unwelcome social and political baggage - or so it seems to my interpretation of it...

And yet, the contemporary website that I found this image on - CVCE.eu - which appears to be, from what I can see from the site itself, in some way associated with some organization called C2 DH Luxembourg Center for Contemporary and Digital History - describes the image as:

'...the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung welcomes the fact that 'the family is growing' and shows united Europe's pleasure at the fact that the United Kingdom, with its strong points and shortfalls, is to remain part of the Community.'

Interesting...

For me, always, when political caroonists depict flaws and failings in a country or a political person or party, it is done in a way that's meant to highlight those failings and lampoon the target; it's not done as some celebration of 'let's have the good with the bad - fair's fair' attitude.

Would a European caroonist really be portraying terrorism, rampant trade union political power, and a weak, dying economy as things to be welcomed into the EEC...?

But... It's the immigration depicted by the figures at the back... That's part of what the cartoonist is lampooning about the UK just as much as the other things mentioned - but contemporary commentators cannot report that.

I must wonder - suppose, even - that this contemporary site has to present a positive interpretation of this 1975 image - purely to suit contemporary sensitivities.

Here's a link to the site: https://www.cvce.eu/.../cartoon_by_behrendt_on_united...

The upshot is: the past is what it is - was what it was - informed by and shaped by the very different circumstances and social, political, and Cold War pressures that existed at the time.

My intentions and purpose in 'Chronicles' is purely and only to report on that history - and, in cases like this one, compare and contrast with the situation in the world in modern times. It is most certainly NOT to make any statements or partisan opinions about history - or about the present.

I have to add that last declaration, because these are among the currently controversial issues in the world. There's a good, friendly, intelligent discussion to be had from this though.

(I found this image online. My acknowledgement and thanks to the site that posted it, to the newspaper that it was published in originally, and of course, to the caroonist: all referenced in the above article. ). (M).

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts 05. 04. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 10. 04. 2024

1975: JUNE 25th. : INDIAN PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY - DICTATORSHIP ENSUES...

Like so much of the politics of history, this has an ironic relevance to the present day...

But...

Satire fights back (as always throughout history)...

In this cartoon, from July 4,th. 1975, Abu Abraham, cartoonist for The Indian Express newspaper, satirically criticises the censorship imposed during the declared state of emergency -mocking the censor and the fact that, apparently, even humour was censorship...

It's a great pun: '... we've got a lovely censor of humour'...

Clearly censorship of humour was the case, and you can see from this cartoon that it is stamped by the censor: 'Not To Be Published'.

I'm not sure if the cartoon got published anyway (clearly it survives); I found it on Google images: a download from the University of Barcelona site: revistes.ub.edu - an article titled: Cartooning Through The Crisis: The Case of Abu in India's Emergency Years 1975 - 77. It's a fascinating read. My acknowledgement and thanks to the University of Barcelona for that site. (M).

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts 18. 04. 1924. Edited and re-posted: 19. 04. 2024

1975: April 28th.: NEWSWEEK ARTICLE TITLED: "The Cooling World" - THE SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS ON THE COMING OF A NEW ICE AGE

This is 'Chronicles' - we don't duck controversy on here - we discuss issues: even handedly, openly - and amicably: with everyone getting a fair say - reasonably, amicably and maturely expressed. .

Climate change 'Science'... It's topical now - and it was back in the 1970s... But there's been a change of tack: back in the 1970s scientific consensus warned of an impending new Ice Age... In recent times, the consensus is towards global warming - global boiling even, as someone said quite recently...

THE1975 NEWSWEEK ARTICLE

This picture shows an April 28th., 1975 article by Science Editor Peter Gwynne, titled 'The Cooling World', from the current affairs magazine Newseek.

In the article, Gwynne states that evidence for the significant reduction in the earth's temperature is so great and is accumulating:

“so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it.”

The article goes on to predict the possibility / likelihood of all the disasters that will ensue if the predicted coming Ice Age issues are not addressed.

The 'Global Cooling / coming Ice Age' scientific consensus was supported by various articles and scientific experts at the time. For some examples:

Time magazine published front page features in 1973 and 1979. That's highlighted in an article 'When Hell Freezes Over: Remembering the Pop Culture Ice Age Panic of the 1970s' on the site Flashbak. Here's a link:

https://flashbak.com/when-hell-freezes-over-remembering.../

And a popular TV documentary, narrated by Leonard Nimoy, called 'In Search Of The Coming Ice Age'. Here's a link to the YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/RQRqr9_jw5I?si=rQVVZqDduTaSQI8Q

And also in various articles in other publications - examples of which can be found by Googling: 1970s Global Cooling; or on the 'Chronicles' Facebook page posting of this article (in The Chronicles: 1975 album), in the comments section

THE REALITY THAT WE LIVED THROUGH

Well, we now know that various warnings that we were all going to be permanently iced-up, snowed-in, freezing and starving to death, and generally feeling a bit chilly, did not in fact come to pass...

But, I, for one, was alarmed by the reports - I took them as reliable and, after all, backed by sound, tested, dependable Science - and look: statistics, graphs - and scientific consensus and all...

So what went wrong - or perhaps more accurately, what DIDN'T go wrong, in this case...? Or maybe that should be: what went wrong with 'The Science'...?

BALANCE: A REFUTATION BY NEWSWEEK IN 2014

In a 2014 article, 'Debunking Global Cooling' by Newsweek reporter Rob Verger records (citing a quote from the 1975 Peter Gwynne article):

'..."Climatologists are pessimistic that political leaders will take any positive action to compensate for the climatic change," science journalist Peter Gwynne reported....'

Adding:

'...The story, and others like it, has been cited by people who like to challenge current climate science and global warming...'

Which seems to be Verger stating that just because scientific consensus was wrong (and let's be honest, spectacularly wrong) 50 or so years ago, that's no reason to presume that scientific consensus is wrong today - when it's saying pretty much the exact opposite of the scientific consensus of the past; but that's exactly what (what Verger calls) '...people who like to challenge current climate science and global warming...' are doing.

Here's a link to the 2014 Newsweek article: Debunking Global Cooling, by Rob Verger:

https://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-rewind-debunking-global...

REFUTATION BY THE SITE 'LONGREADS'

An April 13th. 2017 article by Jack El Hai, titled:

'In 1975, Newsweek Predicted A New Ice Age. We’re Still Living with the Consequences'

with the subtitle:

'All climate change deniers needed was one article to cast doubt on the science of global warming.'

cites the 1975 Peter Gwynne article, and uses it to (apparently) suggest that that article is responsible for some people (Climate Change Deniers, as El Hai describes them) challenging the current scientific consensus on climate change - Global Warming...

Though El Hai does acknowledge that:

'...And Gwynne’s was no lone voice, at least in the popular press. Scores of similar articles, some with even more dire predictions of a “little ice age” to come, appeared during the 1970s in such mainstream publications as Time, Science Digest, The Los Angeles Times, Fortune, The Chicago Tribune, New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Popular Science, and National Geographic....'

citing a list of popular, and among them some highly respected, heavyweight publications, that supported the claims of 'Global Cooling' and a coming Ice Age.

(As a detached analytical assessment of this article, I have to say that it is a glaring flaw to have a subtitle that emphasises an assertion that 'climate change deniers' only needed one article to cast doubt - and then in his own article, El Hai goes on to give an impressive list of publications that backed up Gwynne and the generally accepted scientific consensus about 'Global Cooling'. Essentially, El Hai has refuted the primary claim in his own article - which he set out at the very beginning, in the subtitle...)

El Hai seems to continue his mixed messages style by stating:

'...We now see that these forecasts were badly off course, but how did climate science go so wrong? The quick answer is that it didn’t....'

Hmm... The forecasts were 'badly off course' - but still, the climate science didn't go wrong...

That appears to be an acknowledgement by El Hai that there was a scientific forecast - based on available evidence (and not just one article in Newsweek); that the scientific forecast was 'badly off course'... but all the same, he asserts that the climate change science didn't go wrong...

But El Hai has an explanation: which basically comes down to that trusty standby used by the modern scientific community: 'Ah! But that was old, less sophisticated Science! We know better now...'

El Hai's version of that is given in the following quoted section, in which he states:

'...A Young Science

The scientific study of the climate is not very old. Compilations of global temperature data started in the 1870s, and not until 1963 did J. Murray Mitchell bring together information from hundreds of weather stations around the world to build a modern representation of Earth’s temperature. His work suggested a steady increase in global temperatures from around 1880, followed by a cooling of the planet from about 1940. In addition, satellites of the early 1970s spotted more snow and ice across the Northern Hemisphere, and people were well aware of unusually harsh winters in North America during 1972-73...'

Hmm... It appears that the research methods found that the earth goes through natural cycles of warming and cooling... And that satellite technology added more information - but the sample information was too limited to be considered valid as accurate predictors of global climate change...

But now (please comment if I'm getting this wrong), it appears that if the natural warming - cooling cycle is the cooling phase - we now know that we can't consider that to indicate a coming Ice Age... But if it's in the warning phase - we can most definitely consider that to be an induction of a continuous Global Warming and all the disasterous consequences that will follow...

Confused? You will be... (Acknowledgment to the classic Golden Era sitcom, 'Soap'.)

Here's a link to the Jack El Hai article in Longreads:

https://longreads.com/.../in-1975-newsweek-predicted-a.../

CONCLUSIONS

I have a saying: If you want to get as good an Idea as possible of what's REALLY going on, ask an impartial Historian...

Do not ask:

Politicians

Religious leaders

Scientists - in particular, Pop Scientists / 'Science communicators'

Social media 'influencers' (including 'Chronicles'- if you happen to consider It to be that: though it's not set up that way: I aim to be impartial and analytical - and, what's important - give everyone their fair say and respect their opinion.)

Pop culture 'public intellectuals'.

All of the above have agendas and dogmatic ideologies to dogmatically peddle.

A Historian has studied History - and the way that rhetoric and propaganda is used to peddle agendas and ideological dogma - and how that has panned out in world history...

A Historian, presenting fairly and even-handedly - always trying to keep a check on his or her natural inclination to personal biases - will report what has happened - and is known to have happened. If discrepancies are picked up in accounts if past events - he or she will point them out - on either side.

What a Historian will note too, is that the methods, and the rhetoric and propaganda used in the past to persuade people of this or that ideology never change: they are exactly the same throughout history... Because they never stop being effective...

I say that it is - or SHOULD BE - the purpose of all Historians to make everyone aware of those methods - and make people wary of them...

That SHOULD BE the purpose of Historians, but so far in human history, that hasn't always been the case...

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 'SCIENCE'

Climate Change... What is the reliable information...? Is there ANY reliable information...? What do I, personally, believe about it...?

As someone who tries to be an even-handed Historian, I look at the history of the phenomenon, and I can only say: I DON'T KNOW... Because history shows that we've been misinformed in the past... And in the present, the agenda claiming Global Warming is vague, and its rebuttal of the 'scientific consensus' of the 1970s 'Global Cooling' appears to be fumbling, self contradictory, condescending apologetics - that comes across as, (speaking frankly and honestly), 'same old -same old' - just 'warming' replacing 'cooling'...

FINAL CONCLUSION

What's needed, for once, and finally, is just honest, no agenda, reporting... The lack of it throughout history has led to a gaslighted, unsure, suspicious, no trust modern society...

(I found this image on the Longreads site; it is, obviously, a graphic image of the 1975 Newsweek article by Peter Gwynne; my acknowledgment and thanks to all concerned. ). (M).

1975: FEBRUARY 4th. - 11th. : THE UK CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADERSHIP CONTEST

(Second round of the ballot: playfully depicted as a dog show in this September 7th. 1975 political cartoon by the Daily Mail cartoonist, who signs as 'Emmwood'.)

BACKGROUND

During 1974 the UK Conservative Party, under Edward Heath, lost power in the UK - and, remarkably, lost two General Elections in that year: the first in February 1974: a snap General Election that was an attempt to put the Trade Union Council (TUC) in its place and establish Conservative UK Government authority: the Labour Party won by taking most Parliamentary seats in a no clear winner hung Parliament. The second in October 1974,: when the Labour Party Government called an inevitable second General Election: Labour won with a slender three seat majority.

1975: THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY REVIEW

In January 1975 the Conservative Party held a review in order to work out how to become more electable in future. One proposal was that, when in opposition (not in power), the leader of the party should stand for reelection as leader every year.

Incumbent leader, Edward Heath, duly put himself up for reelection. It was assumed that his reelection would be a formality.

FEBRUARY 1975: THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADERSHIP CONTEST

In the wings, an unlikely candidate was slickly stage managed and put forward by some top Conservative Party members who wanted change: sometime Minister for Education, Margaret Thatcher.

There had never been a female UK political party lesder, nor, obviously, a female UK Prime Minister, and Thatcher herself had declared some years earlier that she didn't think there would be a female Prime Minister in her lifetime...

On February 4th. the first round of ballots was held... In a humiliating result, Edward Heath - who was SUPPOSED TO win quite comfortably - possibly needing no second ballot - came second to the outsider, Margaret Thatcher...

Heath had no choice but to step aside.

The second ballot, on February 11th., saw Thatcher having the momentum and the wind at her back, in a vote that would be contested between her and two Conservative Party grandees: William Whitelaw and James Prior (who, in effect, were just the guys that Edward Heath had already seen off in the leadership contest). Thatcher won the Conservative Party leadership ballot quite comfortably.

MARGARET THATCHER'S LEADERSHIP OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY: THE CONSEQUENCES

Thatcher won the Conservative Party leadership on that second ballot. It was the start of a kind of political and social revolution in the UK: not only because this marked a breakthrough for women in UK politics - being the first female political party lesder; and not only that it would (as history shows) lead to the first female UK Prime Minister... But also, that it set in motion a political and social future for the UK that would move UK politics distinctly to the right of centre, and undo much of the social equality policies that had been built-up by both Labour Party and Conservative Party UK Governments since the end of World War II...

...AND THE BACKSTORY CAUSE (IN PART)

It has to be said too though - that since 1970, the overreaching, overbearing policies and actions of the Trade Union Council, which didn't know when it was time to compromise and conciliate, but instead kept flexing its unweildly 'clout' and making more and more demands - played a big part in making the Margaret Thatcher Conservative Party electable in 1979 - and all the consequences of that...

THIS CARTOON

This cartoon, in the Conservative Party supporting Daily Mail, playfully reflects on the Conservative (ska Tory) Party leadership second ballot.

I must say, it's a bit risque for today's sensitivities: describing the Thatcher dog as a 'charming little bitch'.. Well, some might say (not me - good gracious no! I only report the history... ): 'How can you call Thatcher 'charming'...? . LOL...!

Anyway & this is another valuable and fascinating historical document.

+I found this cartoon online. My acknowledgement and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it: identity unknown to me; and also to the Daily Mail newspaper; and, of course, to the caroonist,'Emmwood'. ) (M).

Textual content: ©Copyright: MLM Arts 12. 04. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 14. 04. 2024

1975: NOVEMBER: FASCIST SPANISH DICTATOR GENERAL FRANCO DIES IN OFFICE - SPAIN HAS A DECISION TO MAKE ABOUT ITS POLITICAL FURTURE...

This political cartoon by Dutch - German cartoonist, Beherendt, shows post-Franco Spain being courted by various factions: The European Economic Community (EEC); Anarchists; the Soviet Union (satirically depicted as Gulag & Co.), and what's named as Bunker GMBH (denoting the capitalist banking system) - with a car showing what looks like a U.S flag (?): it suggests to me that U.S / Western democracy is being depicted as rampant, banking and markets driven capitalism...

In the end, Spain adopted a free election democratic monarchy, with King Juan Carlos as Head of State, and an elected government in poilical power.

THE BACKGROUND (OVERVIEW)

The roots and causes of The Spanish Civil War of 1936 - 1939 are is a complex issue - dating back to 19th Century power struggles between monarchists (of different royal houses), powerful landowners, republicans, anarchist groups, and various left wing and right wing political movements.

Spain was never what could be called a democracy.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia page on the background to The Spanish Civil War:

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Background_of_the_Spanish....

And the Britannica site:

https://www.britannica.com/event/Spanish-Civil-War

General Franco's Fascists won The Spanish Civil War, with militarily assistance from Nazi Germany.

Spain remained neutral during World War II - and during The Cold War political / ideological / military stand-off between the b democratic capitalist West: the USA and its allies; and the communist East: the Soviet Union and its allies.

General Franco remained in power from the end of The Spanish Civil War in 1939 until his death in 1975.

Franco was succeeded as Spanish Head of State by Juan Carlos - a political ally, and also the son of the precious King of Spain - King Alfonso XIII (reign: 1886 - 1931), who was despised by the abolition of the Spanish monarchy in 1931.

Juan Carlos saw the restoration of the Spanish monarchy, and was crowned King Juan Carlos I in November 1975 - an indication that Spain was moving in a direction away from Fascism - and towards a modern European democratic monarchy.

(I found this image online. My acknowledgement and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it (identity unknown to me); and of course to the caroonist, Beherendt. ) (M).

CHRONICLING THE GOLDEN ERA:

PART XVII: 1976

(✓ = Items with longer articles written about them in 'Chronicles' 1976 album.

* = Items described in a little more detail in 'Chronicles' '1976: Politics, The Cold War, And Conflict' overview article.)

INTRODUCTION

Pivotal: that's the word I would use to describe 1976 - in regards to how the 1970s was playing out, and the gradual, but increasingly rapid shift in political, social, and cultural attitudes... 🤔

Western politics - that is to say, in the key influential countries - the USA and the UK - was in the process of being re-shaped towards a more right of centre position, by the failures of centre and centre left politics, and 1976 was to be the year that really set that process on course. 😳

1976 was another 1970s year when protest was expressed by conflict; and terrorism was again rife around the world.

But in Northern Ireland, and in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) there was at least some hope for peaceful resolution amidst the conflict. ✌️

Music, TV, and movies produced some real classic output this year - and that was a plus. 😎

Oh, and right in the midst of 1970s clamouring alarm bells about a coming ice age... We got a record breaking, blistering heatwave... 😏

Another fascinating year...

U.S POLITICS

✓ 1976 was a U.S Presidential Election year; it was contested between Republican Party President Gerald Ford, and Democratic Party Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.

President Ford led a wounded and dispirited Republican Party - and USA - after the scandals that had brought down his predecessor, President Nixon, and Nixon's Vice President, Spiro Agnew.

After winning a contest for the Republican Party candidacy against California Governor Ronald Reagan, President Ford fought a good election campaign under difficult circumstances, and only narrowly lost to the charming, charismatic, Governor Carter.

The Carter U.S Presidency would be one of reconciliation, calm, measured decision making, and advances in international peace making...

But in a hostile world, which now viewed the USA as weakened and more likely to make concessions, conflicts and challenges arose that would test the leadership abilities of the honest, sincere, but perhaps too lightweight President Carter beyond his limitations.

In the background, the bullish, assertive, less compromising Ronald Reagan waited in the wings...

UK POLITICS

The Labour Party UK Government of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, which had won the October 1974 General Election by a slender margin of three seats, was further diminished by by-election losses by 1976. The Conservative Party's progressive, system changing appointment of Margaret Thatcher as the first female leader of a British political party: and a leader with definitely right of centre policies that directly opposed the Labour Party left of centre socialism that was perceived to be failing the country, caught the electorates imagination. Conservative Party popularity grew - as Labour Government popularity sank.

In the midst of this waning authority and popularity of the Labour UK Government, its financial backer and supposed ally, the trade union movement, rather than easing up on industrial action and political confrontation, continued the policy that it had exercised throughout the 1970s - of exerting more and more demands, and implementing industrial action to assert those demands. The general public - though all working people were trade union members by law - were mostly getting tired of this trade union power over-reach. 😔

✓ PM Harold Wilson - whom I have described as the template for the modern western political leader (for good and / or bad), it has been suggested, saw the writing in the wall and quit at the top. He decided to resign as British PM, to (he said, paraphrasing): give someone else the opportunity to take the Labour Party and the country forward. He was succeeded by his Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan.

* NORTHERN IRELAND

1976 began with the truce brokered between the Provisional Irish Republican Army (P-IRA) and the British authorities (a truce that applied only to P-IRA activity in Ulster) still in place - and Loyalist paramilitaries still intent on provoking the P-IRA to break it.

The year was barely begun before an attack by the Loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), followed by retaliatory action by the P-IRA hastened the end of the P-IRA truce.

On January 4th., in County Armagh, six Roman Catholic - Nationalist civilians were murdered in their homes in two separate attacks by the UVF.

✓ The following day, 10 Protestant - Loyalist civilian workmen were murdered, when the P-IRA stopped the minibus that was carrying them home from work, and ordered the men out of the vehicle before shooting them. Another victim survived the attack; a Roman Catholic workman who was in the minibus was allowed to flee the scene; he raised the alarm in an attempt to save his workmates.

These attacks resulted in the UK Government deploying troops from the elite special ops Special Air Service (SAS) into Northern Ireland: a clear declaration that the UK was escalating its campaign against the P-IRA.

The P-IRA - UK Government truce ended on January 23rd.

1976 was to be another year of escalation of the 'British - Irish Troubles'. 😔

Here's a link to the University of Ulster CAUNI site - describing an overview of 'The British - Irish Troubles' during 1976:
https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm

✓ HOPE FROM TRAGEDY: ANDERSONSTOWN

On August 10th. 1976 there occurred one of the most tragic, heart-breaking incidents of 'The Troubles': a car carrying P-IRA operatives was being pursued by a British Army vehicle, and veered out of control and struck a young mother and three of her four her small children: the three children died as a result; their mother was seriously injured. 😪

Mrs Betty Williams witnessed the incident - and as a result, she and the children's aunt, Mairead Corrigan, set up a peace movement - The Peace People of Northern Ireland - to campaign for an end to 'The Troubles'.

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Corrigan were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976.

SOUTH AFRICA AND RHODESIA

Events in these two white European ruled countries in the south of Africa, both of which practiced the white and black population segregation policy of apartheid - and which aided and supported each other, were linked during 1976.

✓ In South Africa on June 16th., Bantu students in the Soweto township protested against the ruling Afrikaner South African Government insisting that lessons were taught only in Afrikaans (a dialect of Dutch) and English: thereby banning the indigenous Bantu language.

The protestors were met by violence from the authorities and the protests turned to rioting. Many were left dead or injured. 😔

RHODESIA

* In October, Rhodesia (a country which had made a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from membership of the British Commonwealth in 1965, due to Commonwealth demands that it must abandon its apartheid policies (segregation of the black majority population from the ruling white colonial majority)), was involved in cross border incursions into neighbouring Mozambique - a country which had gained independence from Belgium in 1975, after a revolutionary war which installed a communist government.

International sanctions had been imposed on Rhodesia since it had declared UDI in 1965. Neighbouring South Africa - another country that operated an apartheid policy - had worked with Rhodesia to relieve the pressure of the sanctions.

Rhodesia's incursions into Mozambique brought Rhodesia further international condemnation - including from its southern Africa ally and fellow apartheid regime, South Africa.

Behind the scenes, diplomatic efforts were underway between the UK and U.S Governments to work out a proposal to put to Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, which would persuade him to accept a transition to black majority rule in Rhodesia. In return, international sanctions against Rhodesia would be lifted. It is believed that South Africa was in agreement with the UK - U.S proposal, and would no longer support Rhodesia if the proposal was rejected.

The proposal was put to PM Smith by U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. PM Smith accepted the proposal: but made clear that he was only doing so under pressure - but did not agree to the terms.

A link to the BBC News site article on the Rhodesian transition to majority rule:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/24/newsid_2537000/2537969.stm

* THE HIJACK OF AIR FRANCE FLIGHT FROM TEL-AVIV TO PARIS BY PALESTINIAN AND WEST GERMAN TERRORISTS

On 27 June 1976, an Air France flight departed from Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying 246 mainly Jewish and Israeli passengers and a crew. The flight stopped at Athens, Greece, to pick up more passengers - including (as it later transpired) four hijackers, before leaving for its destination in Paris.. It departed for Paris at 12:30 pm. Just after take off, the flight was hijacked by terrorists: two Palestinian and two West German.

The hijackers ordered the plane to fly first to Benghazi, in Colonel Gaddafi's Libya; and then on to Entebbe Airport, in General Idi Amin's Uganda.

This terrorist operation, carried out by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP - EO), and the West German terrorist group Revolutionary Cells, became one of the most high profile events in world news during 1976. It culminated in the daring rescue mission by Israeli Army Special Forces: code named Operation Thunderbolt.

The Israeli rescue mission freed 102 of the 106 hostages: three of the hostages lost their lives; another, 74 year old Dora Bloch, had been taken from Entebbe Airport by Ugandan security personnel before the rescuers arrived; her fate remains unknown. 😔

A link to the History Extra site article on the hijacking, and Operation Thunderbolt events:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/operation-thunderbolt-was-the-1976-raid-on-entebbe-a-brilliant-rescue/

* SEPTEMBER 9th. - CHAIRMAN MAO DIES

Mao Tse-Tung was the first leader of the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) (est. 1949), and remained in power until his death in 1976, at age 82.

The Chinese communist revolution had been aided by the Soviet Union, and the two countries were allies in promoting communism and communist revolution around the world, until 1961, when Chairman Mao perceived a lack of respect for the PRC, and for himself as leader, from the Soviet Union and Soviet President Khrushchev. An acrimonious split developed between the two communist nations.

In 1966 Chairman Mao instigated the Chinese Cultural Revolution: a purging of all European influence fo Chinese society.

In 1972 U.S President Richard Nixon visited Chairman Mao in China - with both leaders seeking to work out how best to cooperate in ways that would work against their mutual enemy, the Soviet Union.

Chairman Mao died on September 9th. 1976. He left a power vacuum in the PRC, which was briefly filled by the Maoist faction known as The Gang of Four. This group was overthrown by the PRC military in October 1976; Hua Guofeng was appointed as successor to Chairman Mao.

*INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

The events in Northern Ireland, and the Entebbe Airport incident, involving both Palestinian and West German terrorist groups, are just two examples of terrorist activity around the world during 1976.

1976 was yet another year when terrorist activity was used by protest / 'freedom fighter' groups worldwide to assert their claims. The list is distressingly long; he is a link to the Wikipedia page on terrorist activity during 1976. 😔

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_1976

CULTURAL EVENTS

✓ THE MONTREAL OLYMPICS

This was yet another Olympic Games that was affected by political activism and protest. Many African nations boycotted the Montreal Olympic Games, because of the events in South Africa and Rhodesia (described above).

From a personal point of view, the Montreal Olympics was made memorable for the swimming gold medal won by Scottish swimmer David Wilkie. 🙂

✓ ROCK AGAINST RACISM

This sounds wholly positive on the surface, but sadly it was partly motivated by negative incidents: when Rock grandee Eric Clapton made shockingly racist comments at a gig in Birmingham, UK; and fellow Rock icon David Bowie made comments that could be perceived as presenting a glamourous image of Adolf Hitler, in an interview with Playboy magazine.

New Wave and Punk bands and artists formed the core of the Rock Against Racism movement.

✓ THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) DECLARES THE BEGINNING OF A DECADE FOR WOMEN

In 1976 The UN made a high profile declaration of its commitment to equal rights for women, with the announcement that 1976 - 1985 was to be 'The Decade for Women'.

Women's Liberation had been becoming increasingly high profile since the 1960s, and by 1976 it was one of the most popular and active movements for equality in the western world. This declaration from the UN was significant recognition of that.

✓ THE USA IS 200 YEARS OLD

July 4th. 1976 - U.S Independence Day: but not just any Independence Day - the USA's 200th. birthday. 🤗

I'd studied The American Revolution at school, and written essays on it for my certificates - soI almost felt a part of the celebrations. 😏

MOVIES

1976 was the year when the movie industry began a revival of great quality made for cinemas movies (after an early - mid 1970s when TV was seen as the future for movie making, and great cinema movies were fewer in number). Movies for cinemas would get better and better from 1977, but 1976 was perhaps the trailblazer year.

✓ My pick as best is The Outlaw Josie Wales - starring Clint Eastwood. It's rated as one of the greatest Western movies ever made.

✓ TV

1976 was not a bad year for TV debuts. A couple of standouts for me are:

The Michael Palin and Terry Jones post- Monty Python project, 'Ripping Yarns': satirised tales of Victorian British vim and vigour; adventure and derring-do. 😏

But top pick by far goes to the BBC Roman Empire drama 'I Claudius' - starring Derek Jacobi - and a who's - who of British classical acting greats. For me, 'I Claudius' is the greatest TV drama series ever made. 😎

✓ MUSIC

1976 was a very good year for music, in my opinion. Three particular highlights for me:

GENESISTERIA

The launch of the four man version of Genesis (after lead singer and front man Peter Gabriel quit in 1975 - to be replaced by drummer and backing / harmony / one-off time lead vocalist Phil Collins).

It was a nervous, anxious time for Genesis fans: wondering if the band could survive the loss of not just a leader, but a charismatic, unique performer. When the launch of the new set-up came, it proved to be a triumph.

The Genesis Prog. Rock sound was scaled back a bit for the outstanding album 'A Trick If The Tail' - yet still lost little or nothing of its gravity and serious album music quality. Phil Collins - a drama school trained performer since childhood; and with experience of the London West End stage in the musical 'Oliver!' as a child actor - was a relaxed and confident front man live; and his vocals were a familiar, not much difference really, reassurance on record. 🙂

The launch campaign was titled 'Genisisteria' - and a marvellous poster appeared in the media and at venues on the tour: celebrating Genesis history - and the present and future of the bsnd.

Like I said - a triumph. 😎

✓ THE WHO UK STADIA TOUR

I've written a full article on this, and a shorter description in the article 'The Music of 1976', so I'll keep this brief: even as someone who's only a casual fan of The Who's music, I have to say that The Who at Celtic Park in 1976 was the greatest gig I was ever at; and The Who are the best live band I ever saw. 😎

ALBUMS

A very good year for albums, 1976... 😎

But a very big standout for me is the Dylan album ✓ 'Desire': it slowly, slowly worked its way into my all-time top 10 albums list: that's how it is with all the albums on that list of mine: each one was 'slow burner': it took me quite a while to fully get into them.

'Desire' is Dylan at his lyrical, story telling best, and vocally expressive best. But what elevates the album above other Dylan albums (in my opinion) is the collaboration with composer Jean Jacques Levy - and the mix of musical styles used on the album. A mention too for the backing vocals from Emmylou Harris, and superb violin work from Scarlet Rivera.

The album 'Desire' is distinctly different from any other Dylan album - and is, for me, not only the best album release in 1976, but one of the greatest albums of all-time. 😎

✓ THE LONG HOT UK SUMMER OF 1976

The summer of 1976 is remembered very well by those who were around at the time: it was, what we call in the UK, a scorcher...! 🥵 A long - hot - VERY hot - basking in what are recorded in the meteorological records as record breaking temperatures... 🥵

But hey - we loved it. 🥰 We're not used to that in the UK. 😏 We sun bathed; we played some football in the parks - taking breaks for the ice cold water that gushed out of the public drinking water fountains (the old saying: 'the definition of the word 'delicious' is a cold drink of water to quench a thirst on a scorching hot day' was never more true than then... 😋); and some escaped to the seaside or the countryside.

I headed north to the Scottish Highlands - the stunningly beautiful and isolated Glen Coe - camping by the side of the invariably ice cold River Coe. 🤗 It almost always rains at Glen Coe - but not this year: it baked like the rest of the UK... And that ice cold river - rushing fast down from the mountains - was a joy to be beside... and in... 🙂

I suppose though, what was also appreciated about the scorching summer of 1976, was that throughout the 1970s we'd been getting told that the world was heading for a new Ice Age soon... 😳 So let's not grumble about some record breaking heatwave - enjoy it while we can - apparently, we could be living in igloos and struggling through snow drifts in the near future... So sayeth 'the experts'... We're still waiting for that, but heigh-ho... 😏

ROUND UP

So that was the pivotal year in Golden Era history that was 1976, folks... 🤔

Politics was changing - shaping towards a paradigm shift on the 1980s that would roll back much of the social progress of the 1960s social and cultural revolution - and replace Peace and Love as the popular slogan if an era, with Greed Is Good... 😔

Violence, aggression, and terrorism continued to be used as the favoured method of expressing dissatisfaction and trying to achieve change.

What had by 1976 become a Rock Establishment was being resented and waved aside by a next generation of youth and a New Wave of music... Some of the 'Old Guard' gave the resentful new youth fuel for their attitudes - by exhibiting attitudes of their own that went against the ethos of their generation. 😔

On the modern culture side, movies, TV - and especially music & put out some really classic work. 🙂

As Dylan said way back around the early years of The Golden Era: 'Times they are a-changing...': they certainly were in the pivotal year that was 1976... Though, it looked to me, changing towards a wrong direction... 😳

What say you, folks...?

(I found the various images used in this collage online. My acknowledgment and thanks to the various people who own them / posted them (identity unknown to me). 🙂) (M).

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts 06. 02. 06. 02. 2025. Edited and re-posted: 07. 02. 2025

1976: JUNE - AUGUST: THE NOW LEGENDARY UK HEATWAVE

To this day people in the UK still talk about the 1976 heatwave - if, like most of us on 'Chronicles', you are old enough, and if you're from the UK, then it's a memory of a glorious long, hot summer from our youth.

The temperature maxed out at 96°, apparently - nothing like it known before or since.

There was drought in places - with the imposed water saving measures that are always applied in areas that have a couple of weeks of anything over 70° of summer sunshine: garden hose pipe bans; advice on not having showers or baths; that kind of thing...

I guess older folks groaned and struggled a bit in the heat (as I do now ) - in the UK domestic homes having air conditioning was rare; in fairness, we didn't usually have weather to warrant it.

But for us, young, free and reckless - it was great: sweaty 'shirts off' (in Scotland they say 'taps [tops] off') football games in the park - that was for guys - ONLY guys (don't get on my case: it's how it was back then... ).

At half-time and full-time we'd be rasping and panting with dehydration as we queued behind each other at the public drinking water fountains (whatever happened them?) for the ice cold spout of crystal clear water that gushed up at the twist of the round level at the side: to this day I understand the meaning of the old fable that tells us: 'The definition of 'delicious' is a cold drink of water when you're parched on a scorching hot day'.

That Summer of 1976 brought that simplest of extreme pleasures many times...

Other than that, it was heading for streams, lakes (lochs in Scotland), pools, the countryside, the seaside - and lying around, or strolling, lazing... Perhaps the word 'chilling' - or trying to - in a very literal sense - was never more appropriate...

For myself, along with a guy I knew at the time, going camping up in the dramatic scenery of Glen Coe - free, wild camping, right by the side the fast flowing, always ice cold River Coe - which flowed down from the mountains in the glen - had become an annual Summer event since 1974. The previous two years it did what the Scottish Highlands do: rained so hard it almost seemed like being under water. But in the glorious Summer of 1976 we had the beauty of the glen - the ice cold of the river - and the scorching heatwave weather...

As UK youths, we basked in the 1976 heatwave. And anyway, better enjoy the freakish maxed out heatwave while we could - because what 'The Science' and the 'experts' were telling us throughout the 1970s, was that a new Ice age was just a couple of decades (at the very most) away...

Funny that... Because the 'freakily coldest UK winter' - with snowdrifts you'd expect in the north of Canada - was in 1963... And older people grumbled; kids made snowmen, had snowball fights, and played on ice slides - but nobody thought that life on Earth was under threat.

Ah well - maybe ours was an era of naive innocence about meteorological issues... Our maybe it was an era of greater commonsense - and less easily terrified...?

I'll leave it for you to decide...

Meanwhile - let's just have a nostalgic look back at the famous 1976 UK long hot summer heatwave...

And while I'm here: sorry if the majority of folks on here who aren't from the UK feel a bit excluded by this very UK post... But at the same time, I'm curious: was the Summer of 1976 in any way exceptional down your way...?

This image is from the thumbnail to a short, informative video on the famous UK Summer of 1976 (my acknowledgment and thanks to that YouTube channel); here's a link to that:
https://youtu.be/gJHiDQlHgT4?si=XjjcyyjEJ7iwv-y6

(M).

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 20. 10. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 23. 10. 2024

1976: PROTEST, SATIRE, ACTIVISM, AND CHANGE

(✓ = Items with more extensive articles written about them in the 'Chronicles' 1976 section.)

INTRODUCTION

Before commencing the year by year recording of the 1970s some years ago, I had to write a link article that prepared readers for the marked difference between 1960s modern social and cultural attitudes and protests - and what this revolutionary phenomenon had developed into by the time the 1970s began - and what would unfold in the course of that decade.

1976 was, perhaps, the pivotal year for highlighting the changes in revolutionary modern cultural attitudes - and the need for the rise of another 'New Wave'...?

Rock Against Racism was launched... Sadly, as a response to expressions of - and perceived expressions of - racism within the (what had by that time become) the Rock Establishment... 😲

More in that later in this article....

POLITICAL CARTOONS

1976 was dominated by the U.S Presidential Election between sitting U.S President, Gerald Ford, and Democratic Party Georgia Governor, Jimmy Carter. As always, a U.S Presidential Election was the target for political satire cartoons. So too the struggles of a weak and floundering British Labour Party UK Government.

Top left:

✓ The UK Labour Party Government's disarray and mounting issues also made for cartoonist lampooning. This cartoon, by Giles, shows senior UK Government members at a 'banquet' of unpalatable dishes - based on the issues that the UK Government faced at the time. 😏

Top right:

In his contest against President Ford for the Republican Party U.S Presidential Election candidate nomination, California Governor Ronald Reagan suggested that U.S troops should be deployed to conflict zones around the world, such as Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe), which was going through a process of regime change - while having confrontations with revolutionary communist neighbour, Mozambique.

This cartoon depicts a ghoulish Reagan stating (not something that he actually said for real) that a benefit of old age was being able to send young men to war.

Reagan's policy suggestion was unpopular: coming only two years after the USA ignominiously withdrew from the Vietnam War - and left the USA low on confidence and international prestige. President Ford capitalised on Reagan's gaffe, and used it to help him to secure the Republican Party nomination.

Middle left:

This is a cartoon is by German cartoonist Horst Haitzinger, in which he lampoons the United Nations (UN) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (March 23rd. 1976), in so far as it was applied and respected by the Soviet Union and its Eastern Europe satellite states. The covenant document is depicted as toilet paper. 😏

A link to the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History site, describing this cartoon:
https://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/cartoon_by_haitzinger_on_the_application_of_the_csce_resolutions_march_1976-en-0c4fe867-f5ee-4c58-be0c-1670d6ce8234.html

A link to the Wikipedia page on The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Covenant_on_Civil_and_Political_Rights

Middle right:

✓ The previous cartoon, by Horst Haitzinger, links with this cartoon by Paul Conrad in the LA Times: it's mocks a comment made by President Ford during a U.S Presidential Election debate against Democratic Party candidate Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter: President Ford insisted that the Soviet Union did not exert tyrannical control over its Eastern Europe satellite states. The cartoon depicts Polish people (specifically) as opposed and yoked in service to the Soviet Union.

The comment by President Ford was a damaging gaffe - and Governor Carter's campaign - and the media - used it against him.

Bottom left:

✓ President Ford had been appointed as first the unelected Vice President (replacing the ousted Spiro Agnew in 1973), and then the unelected U.S President (replacing the ousted Richard Nixon in1974) due to corruption in the Republican Party administration. This situation hampered his credibility as an electable candidate for U.S President. Added to this was President Ford's unpopular decision to pardon former President Nixon for his part in that corruption.

This cartoon, by Herblock, depicts the media as a bloodhound - still in the trail if the corruption that haunted the Republican Party - and President Ford's campaign.

Bottom right:

A criticism of Governor Carter as U.S Presidential candidate, was that he was all image and charm - but a lightweight as a politician. This cartoon depicts Carter's trademark endearing, beaming smile - with the joke being that he had a coat hanger stuck in his mouth the whole time. 😬

WORLD EVENTS

SOUTH AFRICA

✓ In South Africa, students at the Bantu population Soweto township staged protests in opposition to the white Afrikaner, apartheid South African Government policy of forcing schools in Soweto to teach only in English and Afrikaans (a dialect of Dutch: the language of the Afrikaner ancestors) and not in the native Bantu language.

The South African authorities responded with violent intervention that cost the lives of many of the Bantu protestors. The protests that had begun peacefully then descended into violence by the protestors - as they responded to the severe provocation by the South African security forces. 😔

NORTHERN IRELAND

✓ In Belfast, a vehicle carrying known Provisional Irish Republican Army (P-IRA) operatives was pursued at speed through residential streets by a British Army vehicle. Shots were fired, and the P-IRA vehicle spun out of control and collided with a young mother and her children. Three of the children were killed in the incident; their mother was severely injured. 😢

The incident was witnessed by Betty Williams, a woman from a mixed Protestant - Roman Catholic family. Mrs Williams response was to set up The Peace People of Ulster, along with Mairead Corrigan, the aunt of the children who were affected by the incident. The Peace People of Ulster campaigned for community cooperation in Ulster - and aimed at achieving an end to the 'British - Irish Troubles'.

Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan were awarded The Nobel Peace Prize in 1976.

GAY RIGHTS

In the USA laws concerning the legalising of gay sexuality were not a matter for federal government, but were state by state concerns. In 1976 four U.S states: California; West Virginia; Washington; and Maine - legalised gay sexuality.

WOMEN'S LIBERATION

I976 was the beginning of the United Nations (UN) Decade for Women. The aim was to accelerate the cause of gender equality and rights for women worldwide.

A link to the Encyclopaedia Britannica article on the UN Decade for Women:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations-Decade-for-Women

ROCK AGAINST RACISM

And so to the uncomfortable subject of the background to the Rock Against Racism movement... 😳

The Rock Against Racism movement was launched in the UK in 1976 and mostly involved UK New Wave and Punk bands and artists. It was an idea that had been talked about for some months prior to 1976, but events during 1976 - in particular things said by what were by then grandees of the established UK modern music scene - promted the still underground New Wave and Punk music scene to react... And gave that scene fuel for their resentment against 'old school Rockers'. 😳

A link to the Wikipedia Rock Against Racism page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Against_Racism

Two events by established Rockers fuelled the Rock Against Racism phenomenon:

At a gig in Birmingham, UK, on August 1976, Eric Clapton made inflammatory comments to his audience in support of conservative politician Enoch Powell (who had been expelled from the Conservative Party in 1968 after giving what was considered to be a racist speech - urging the repatriation of immigrants).

Clapton is said to have said the following:

'...“Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight?” he began. “If so, please put up your hands. So where are you? Well, wherever you are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. I don’t want you here, in the room or in my country.”

Adding more remarks that were used terms of insult that were used to describe immigrants. I've read too (but cannot confirm) that Clapton said something if the order of: 'Vote for Enoch - he's our man...'

It is fairly well recorded, that at this time Eric Clapton was at a personal low in terms of his own life: struggling with substance abuse and other issues in his private life. Besides that, he issued a letter of apology to the Sounds UK music paper - and cited provocation as being partly to blame for his anger.

(I must add too, that Eric Clapton successfully distanced himself from the label of 'racist' by his subsequent lifestyle (part of which included recovery from substance abuse); and that his life up to 1976 had not suggested that he was racist; Clapton had, for example, been one of the performers at his friend, George Harrison's 'Concert For Bangladesh' in 1971.

I'll also add, that Eric Clapton's racism 'moment' had been resigned to the archives as an anomaly - until 2021, when he went public with his bad experience of side effects from a medical procedure: it was then that the 1976 incident was made 'news' again. 🤔

I add these details for the sake of even-handed recording. 🤔)

A link to the site Far Out Magazine - retrospective report on the Eric Clapton incident:
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/eric-clapton-racist-outburst/

A link to the Letters Of Note X account, which features Eric Clapton's letter of apology for his racist comments: sent to Sounds music paper, published in 11. 09. 1976:
https://x.com/LettersOfNote/status/910136782112612353

In 1976 David Bowie was interviewed by Playboy magazine. At a time when Women's Lib. was very much on the rise, Bowie's involvement with what was considered a misogynist publication alone probably caused negativity in some quarters. But that wasn't the main issue: the main issue was Bowie's description of Adolf Hitler in the interview as being '... one of the first Rock stars...'

In a recent (published after Bowie's demise in 2016) BBC Radio 4 feature in Bowie, it's said that:

'...There were also reports that he was interested in Nazi memorabilia, that his mother was an Oswald Mosley supporter and that Bowie once gave fans a Nazi salute. Bowie always denied giving the salute, had a fraught relationship with his family and apologised for his Playboy comments. But his remarks at the time were taken so seriously that they, in part, led to the formation of the Rock Against Racism movement. Russell asks a pertinent question: “At what point do we say, ‘we don’t care how good the art was, that’s problematic’?” ...'

A link the Playboy magazine interview (full reading requires signing up and membership (which I did not do):
https://www.playboy.com/magazine/articles/1976/09/playboy-interview-david-bowie/

A link to the BBC Radio 4 article:
BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 in Four - David Bowie: Evil Fascism Flirter or Genius Musical Chameleon?

These events caused outrage - especially among the next generation of Golden Era teens, and in the history of Rock Against Racism, Wikipedia records:

'Originally conceived as a one-off concert with a message against racism, Rock Against Racism was founded in 1976 by Red Saunders, Roger Huddle, Jo Wreford, Pete Bruno and others. According to Huddle, "it remained just an idea until August 1976", when Eric Clapton made a declaration of support for former Conservative minister Enoch Powell (known for his anti-immigration Rivers of Blood speech) at a concert in Birmingham. Clapton told the crowd that England had "become overcrowded" and that they should vote for Powell to stop Britain from becoming "a black colony". ...'

The Rock Against Racism movement was launched - and remained an active movement until 1982. Sadly, it also provided some justification for New Wave and Punk youth to resent the modern youth culture 'old guard'... 😔

ON A POSITIVE NOTE: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

✓ In 1976 the Christian based organisation 'Habitat For Humanity' was founded for the purpose of providing good homes and support services to poor people all over the world (irrespective of their religious affiliation).

My thanks to Wikipedia for this brief overview of the foundation's origins:

(A link to the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_for_Humanity )

'Habitat for Humanity traces its roots to the establishment of the Humanity Fund by attorney Millard Fuller, his wife Linda, and Baptist theologian and farmer Clarence Jordan in 1968 at Koinonia Farm, an intercultural Christian intentional community farming community in Sumter County, Georgia, United States...'

CONCLUSION

1976 was, I think, a year when the transitional phase - the decline of - the ideals of the 1960s youth social and cultural revolution became most clearly defined - and set the tone for the remainder of this, The Golden Era of social and cultural change: a change that would tarnish the past 15 years or so: a change that would further emphasize the gradual movement from unity to a return to division - which had been underway, piecemeal, throughout the 1970s...

It was a change that would lead to the society of the 1980s: when the prevailing youth slogan 'Peace and Love' would be replaced by 'Greed Is Good' - and youth movements for equality and fairness - like Rock Against Racism - would not be the social driving force that changed politics and mainstream society - like the 1960s youth revolution had done: they would be underground, fringe malcontents - against a society in the West dominated by Free Market - 'red in tooth and claw' capitalist politics and economics... 😳

The remainder of The Golden Era was a fading away of a- perhaps naïve, but all the same worthy - ideology that changed society so much for the better - until the Establishment learned its lessons about how culture and mass media can be used to influence popular social attitudes... 🤔 😔

(I found the various images used in this collage online. My acknowledgment and thanks to the various people who posted them / own them (identity unknown to me). 🙂) (M).

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 13. 01. 2025. Edited and re-posted: 14. 01. 2025

1976: POLITICS, THE COLD WAR, AND CONFLICT

(✓ = Items that have more extensive articles written about them in the 'Chronicles' 1976 section.)

INTRODUCTION

A U.S Presidential Election; a stand down as UK Prime Minister by the most influential UK politician of this era (of all-time, really); the death of China's revolutionary leader; troubles and diplomatic solutions in southern Africa...

More tragedy and violence in the 'British - Irish Troubles'...

And another year of terrorism around the world: that was 1976...

THE U.S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

✓ The big news in politics in 1976 was the U.S President Election: a contest between sitting Republican Party U.S President Gerald Ford, and Democratic Party Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.

UK POLITICS

The Labour Party UK Government of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, which had won the October 1974 General Election by a slender margin of three seats, was further diminished by by-election losses by 1976. The Conservative Party's progressive, system changing appointment of Margaret Thatcher as the first female leader of a British political party: and a leader with definitely right of centre policies that directly opposed the Labour Party left of centre socialism that was perceived to be failing the country, caught the electorates imagination. Conservative Party popularity grew - as Labour Government popularity sank.

In the midst of this waning authority and popularity of the Labour UK Government, its financial backer and supposed ally, the trade union movement, rather than easing up on industrial action and political confrontation, continued the policy that it had exercised throughout the 1970s - of exerting more and more demands, and implementing industrial action to assert those demands. The general public - though all working people were trade union members by law - were mostly getting tired of this trade union power over-reach. 😔

✓ PM Harold Wilson - whom I have described as the template for the modern western political leader (for good and / or bad), it has been suggested, saw the writing in the wall and quit at the top. He decided to resign as British PM, to (he said, paraphrasing): give someone else the opportunity to take the Labour Party and the country forward. He was succeeded by his Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan.

✓ NORTHERN IRELAND

In January 1975 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (P-IRA) agreed a truce with the British Government, whereby the P-IRA would cease paramilitary activity against the Loyalist community and against the security forces: but only within Northern Ireland: P-IRA activity on the British mainland continued; moreover, within Northern Ireland the P-IRA fought a violent feud with the Official IRA during this agreed truce.

The Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland - and some elements within the security forces - distrusted the P-IRA truce, and worked to provoke an end to it.

Events in January 1976 brought an end to the P-IRA truce - and a significant escalation of the British Government's military response to the British - Irish 'Troubles'.

On January 4th., in County Armagh, six Roman Catholic - Nationalist civilians were murdered in their homes in two separate attacks by the UVF.

✓ The following day, 10 Protestant - Loyalist civilian workmen were murdered, when the P-IRA stopped the minibus that was carrying them home from work, and ordered the men out of the vehicle before shooting them. Another victim survived the attack; a Roman Catholic workman who was in the minibus was allowed to flee the scene; he raised the alarm in an attempt to save his workmates.

These attacks resulted in the UK Government deploying troops from the elite special ops Special Air Service (SAS) into Northern Ireland: a clear declaration that the UK was escalating its campaign against the P-IRA.

The P-IRA - UK Government truce ended on January 23rd.

A link to the Wikipedia page on Northern Ireland 1976:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_in_Northern_Ireland

A link to the CAIN University of Ulster page on Northern Ireland 1976:
https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm

As well as an escalation of violence by paramilitaries on both sides in Northern Ireland during 1976, there was a new development in Republican paramilitary protest: The Blanket Protest.

On September 14th. 18 year old P-IRA member Kieran Nugent was detained at The Maze Prison. He refused to wear the prison uniform, and demanded special status as a political prisoner for himself and all other Republican paramilitaries in custody. That would mean the right to wear their own clothes, to be exempt from prison work, and other privileges; but most importantly, that they should not be regarded as criminals, but rather political activists.

The authorities refused these demands, and Nugent therefore confined himself to his cell and wrapped himself in the blanket from the bedding. Other Republican prisoners joined him in the protest.

It's reasonable to presume that Kieran Nugent and the others were acting under orders from the P-IRA command. It was an added strategy in the Republican campaign, and, it must be said, a propaganda success in terms of how the outside world regarded the Republican movement and cause.

The Blanket Protest would continue for some years, and would extend to further demonstrations of passive protest by Republican prisoners: such as The Dirty Protest (refusing to leave their cells; and refusing all personal hygiene); and later, hunger strikes. 😔

A link to the Wikipedia page on The Blanket Protest:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanket_protest

1976 was to be another year of escalation of the 'British - Irish Troubles'. 😔

A link to the Global Non-violence Action Database site article on The Peace People of Ulster 1976:
https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm

SOUTH AFRICA AND RHODESIA

Events in these two countries white European ruled in the south of Africa, both if which practiced the segregation policy of apartheid - and which aided and supported each other, were linked in 1976.

✓ In South Africa on June 16th., Bantu students in the Soweto township protested against the ruling Afrikaner South African Government insisting that lessons were taught only in Afrikaans (a dialect of Dutch) and English: thereby banning the indigenous Bantu language.

The protestors were met by violence from the authorities and the protests turned to rioting. Many were left dead or injured. 😔

A link to the Wikipedia page on The Soweto Uprising and Massacre:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto_uprising_and_massacre

A link to the Encyclopaedia Britannica page on The Soweto Uprising and Massacre:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Soweto-uprising

A link to the South African History Online article on The Soweto Uprising and Massacre:
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/june-16-soweto-youth-uprising

RHODESIA

* In October, Rhodesia (a country which had made a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from membership of the British Commonwealth in 1965, due to Commonwealth demands that it must abandon its apartheid policies (segregation of the black majority population from the ruling white colonial majority)), was involved in cross border incursions into neighbouring Mozambique - a country which had gained independence from Belgium in 1975, after a revolutionary war which installed a communist government.

International sanctions had been imposed on Rhodesia since it had declared UDI in 1965. Neighbouring South Africa - another country that operated an apartheid policy - had worked with Rhodesia to relieve the pressure of the sanctions.

Rhodesia's incursions into Mozambique brought Rhodesia further international condemnation - including from its southern Africa ally and fellow apartheid regime, South Africa.

Behind the scenes, diplomatic efforts were underway between the UK and U.S Governments to work out a proposal to put to Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, which would persuade him to accept a transition to black majority rule in Rhodesia. In return, international sanctions against Rhodesia would be lifted. It is believed that South Africa was in agreement with the UK - U.S proposal, and would no longer support Rhodesia if the proposal was rejected.

The proposal was put to PM Smith by U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. PM Smith accepted the proposal: but made clear that he was only doing so under pressure - but did not agree to the terms.

A link to the Wikipedia page on events in Rhodesia in 1976:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_in_Rhodesia

A link to the Rhodesia Study Circle page on The Geneva Conference on Rhodesia:
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/june-16-soweto-youth-uprising

ISRAEL - PALESTINE: THE AIR FRANCE PLANE HIJACK. THE ENTEBBE RAID

On 27 June 1976, an Air France flight departed from Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying 246 mainly Jewish and Israeli passengers and a crew. The flight stopped at Athens, Greece, to pick up more passengers - including (as it later transpired) four hijackers, before leaving for its destination in Paris.. It departed for Paris at 12:30 pm. Just after take-off, the flight was hijacked by terrorists: two Palestinian and two West German.

The hijackers ordered the plane to fly first to Benghazi, in Colonel Gaddafi's Libya; and then on to Entebbe Airport, in General Idi Amin's Uganda.

This terrorist operation, carried out by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP - EO), and the West German terrorist group Revolutionary Cells, became one of the most high profile events in world news during 1976. It culminated in the daring rescue mission by Israeli Army Special Forces: code named Operation Thunderbolt.

The Israeli rescue mission freed 102 of the 106 hostages: three of the hostages lost their lives; another, 74 year old Dora Bloch, had been taken from Entebbe Airport by Ugandan security personnel before the rescuers arrived; her fate remains unknown. 😔

A link to the History Extra site article on the hijacking, and Operation Thunderbolt events:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/operation-thunderbolt-was-the-1976-raid-on-entebbe-a-brilliant-rescue/

A link to The Encyclopaedia Britannica article on The Entebbe Raid:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Entebbe-raid

A link to the Infographics YouTube video on the Entebbe Raid:
https://youtu.be/NyldBcq3X50?si=QWzFsb4rhSjPHQ-1

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINE LAND REFORM ACT

In December 1976 the Australian Federal Government passed the first Act of Parliament that recognised the rights of the indigenous Aborigine people to claim land that they could prove traditional ownership of.

This was a landmark in progressing the equality and rights of Aboriginal people in Australia, and further legislation would follow in the years to come.

A link to the National Museum Australia article on the1976 Aboriginal Land Rights Act:
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-land-rights-act

A link to the Wikipedia page on The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Land_Rights_Act_1976

A link to the Aboriginal Land Rights article in the site: AIATSIS: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies:
https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/land-rights

* SEPTEMBER 9th. - CHAIRMAN MAO DIES

Mao Tse-Tung was the first leader of the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) (est. 1949), and remained in power until his death in 1976, at age 82.

The Chinese communist revolution had been aided by the Soviet Union, and the two countries were allies in promoting communism and communist revolution around the world, until 1961, when Chairman Mao perceived a lack of respect for the PRC, and for himself as leader, from the Soviet Union and Soviet President Khrushchev. An acrimonious split developed between the two communist nations.

In 1966 Chairman Mao instigated the Chinese Cultural Revolution: a purging of all European influence on Chinese society.

In 1972 U.S President Richard Nixon visited Chairman Mao in China - with both leaders seeking to work out how best to cooperate in ways that would work against their mutual enemy, the Soviet Union.

Chairman Mao died on September 9th. 1976. He left a power vacuum in the PRC, which was briefly filled by the Maoist faction known as The Gang of Four. This group was overthrown by the PRC military in October 1976; Hua Guofeng was appointed as successor to Chairman Mao.

A link to the Wikipedia page on death and state funeral of Chairman Mao:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Mao_Zedong#:~:text=On%208%20September%2C%20when%20it,September%201976%20at%20age%2082.

A link to the New York Times archive page on the death of Chairman Mao:
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0909.html

A link to the British Pathe News video China: Peking Mourns Chairman Mao Tse-Tung:
https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/

*INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

The events in Northern Ireland, and the Entebbe Airport incident, involving both Palestinian and West German terrorist groups, are just two examples of terrorist activity around the world during 1976.

1976 was yet another year when terrorist activity was used by protest / 'freedom fighter' groups worldwide to assert their claims. The list is distressingly long; he is a link to the Wikipedia page on terrorist activity during 1976. 😔

A brief and not exhaustive overview of where terrorist groups were operating, and the 'causes' motivating them, is as follows (see the link below for more details):

'The British - Irish Troubles': various groups: British Loyalist - Irish Republican.

Spanish Neo-Fascists: Warriors of Christ The King.

Columbia: various groups: Columbian Government forces; Columbian drug cartels; Marxist guerrilla groups. For controlling influence in Columbia.

Argentina: 'The Dirty War': Argentine Government forces hunting down left wing and Peronist (supporters of the deposed leader Juan Peron); and terrorist activity by those hunted groups, such as Montoneros.

Lebanon: Lebanese Civil War: various groups.

Spain - The Basque Country: ETA: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna: for Basque independence from Spain.

Abu Nidal Organization (and other Palestinian organisations): striking at various locations around the world: in protest against Israeli rule in Palestinian territory.

The list is distressing long: by 1976 terrorism had become a commonplace method of protesting / demanding political change from established governments and regimes. That situation would increase in the years that followed. 😔

A link to the Wikipedia page on international terrorism 1976:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_1976

(I found the various images used in this collage online. My acknowledgement and thanks to the various people who posted them / own them (identity unknown to me. :) ) (M).

Textual content: © Copyright MLM Arts: 27. 02. 2025. Edited and re-posted: 03. 03. 2025