King Wenceslas died on September 20, 929.
He was in his early twenties and had ruled Bohemia for five years.
Today he is remembered as the patron saint of the Czech Republic.
The Crown of Wenceslas is the symbol of Czech independence.

GOOD KING WENCESLAS PLEASE LOOK OUT

In his master’s steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.

lyrics Good King Wenceslas Christmas Carol

listen Good King Wendeslas Christmas Carol, YouTube

In the history of the world the good leaders are always murdered. In our lifetime and our corner of the world the Kennedy Brothers were slain. A thousand years ago it was Good King Wenceslas of Czechoslovakia. In every nation and every century the travesty is repeated.

The following story (Nov 2003) describing Czech youth protesting against Corporate Communism by torching themselves in Wenceslas Square brings profound meaning to the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas. If only King Wenceslas were here today so those youth could follow in his footsteps through the snow and be protected by his body from the cold wind instead of resorting to death for comfort.

The Czech teenagers are protesting against a world where those with "money and power inflict a depravity of drugs, violence, war, unemployment and poverty on mankind". This is exactly what Orwell described in 1984 as "oligarchical collectivism" - the joining of the communists with the capitalists - with humans nothing but slaves to the totalitarians. This is what life is like in present-day China and the Soviet Union and this is what life will be like for all of us once the three Super States are set up and running.

In deference to the Czechoslovakian teenagers - and all the people in the world suffering war and desperation - I suggest a boycott of those with "money and power" at Christmas. Reject their depraved consumerism and instead aspire to be like Good King Wenceslas in our own lives. ~ Jackie Jura

Jolly Old St. Wenceslas and History of Czechoslovakian King Wenceslas

Human torch suicides expose disillusion of Czech teenagers
by Clare Chapman, Scotsman, Nov 9, 2003

Disillusioned teenagers in the Czech Republic have been setting themselves on fire in a spate of horrific incidents which mirror the actions of a youth who died in front of crowds of people as he protested against Communist oppression in 1968. At least five teenagers have died, with 16 young Czechs trying to commit suicide this year alone by dousing themselves in petrol and setting light to themselves.

Senior politicians have pleaded for an end to the incidents, baffled by the young people’s actions at a time when the Czech Republic is set to join the European Union and is undergoing rapid modernisation.

Jan Palach’s ultimate protest was seen across the world in January 1969 at the end of the so-called Prague Spring when thousands of people rose up against communist oppression. A philosophy student, Palach was angered at the Czechs’ and Slovaks’ apathy over the Soviet occupation of the country.

Hoping to shake up his fellow countrymen, Palach marched into Wenceslas Square on a busy weekday afternoon and held a lit match to his petrol-drenched body. He died three days later from his injuries. Several more people tried to repeat Palach’s protest in the following months.

The recent incidents come against the backdrop of high unemployment, a weak economy and low wages. Just last month, a 17-year-old boy covered himself in petrol at a Prague petrol station and turned himself into a human torch. Student Zdenek Adamec also set himself on fire in front of crowds of people in Prague’s Wenceslas Square.

Like Palach, Adamec’s motive for killing himself in such a dramatic fashion was to draw attention to the situation in the Czech Republic. In a letter he left behind, the 19-year-old criticised the country’s government. Describing himself as "another victim of the democratic system, where it is not people who decide, but power and money".

He wrote: "Drugs, violence, money and power - these are the watchwords of our civilisation. The so-called democracy we gained is not a democracy. It’s about the rule of officials, money and treading on people. The whole world is corrupted by money and is spoilt, depraved."

MP Jaroslav Moserova, a former doctor who treated Palach, said he understood why young people took such drastic measures despite the changes in the country since the 1960s. He said: "Back then it was different. Palach and his contemporaries did it to shake up the conscience of this nation, and their deaths were viewed with respect. Now the situation is not the same, but people are just as desperate. There is a great deal of despair arising among the young. All they see around them is war, unemployment and poverty."

But Czech President Vaclav Klaus said: "I know that our world is complicated and life is often painful. But life should be considered a gift."

Prague riots for student martyr (burned himself to death in protest at Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia). On-This-Day, BBC, Jan 26, 1969. Go to 7.Sytems of Thought

JFK donated salary and Corporate Communism and Kennedy Brothers slain and Oligarchical Collectivism and Life in the present day Soviet Union and Super States and Those with "money and power" and war, unemployment and poverty

POEMS & SONGS

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~

email: orwelltoday@gmail.com
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