Saturday, November 5, 2011

Remember, remember the 5th of November (Guy Fawkes, Occupy Movement, Operation Cashback)

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...


Over in Britain, the 5th of November becomes a special night where people up and down the country let off fireworks and light bonfires to celebrate Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night.

The tradition stems back to the events of the 5th November 1605. Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder plot, was caught guarding explosives which were set to go off under the House of Lords – in an attempt to assassinate King James I whilst he attended the State Opening of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was then found guilty and hung, drawn, and quartered; a rather grizzly end.

With the plot failed, the government proclaimed the 5th of November as a day of thanksgiving and since then celebrations in one form or another have taken place across the country on this day.

Most local towns and villages nowadays will have a fireworks display, and will occasionally burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes on the large communal bonfire.

***
You may have recognized the photo above as a still from the film V for Vendetta, based on the comic book series by Alan Moore.

From wikipedia:
The series depicts a near-future UK after a nuclear war, which has left much of the world destroyed, though most of the damage to the country is indirect, via floods and crop failures. In this future, a fascist party called "Norsefire" has exterminated its opponents in concentration camps and now rules the country as a police state. "V", an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent, and intentionally theatrical campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and convince the people to rule themselves.


The face of "V" is also being used today by many of the Occupy protestors as a sign of discontent.
Today many customers of big banks are transferring their money into smaller local institutions such as credit unions to show solidarity with the ever-growing Occupy movement. You can read my Bank Transfer Day / Move Your Money Project post from yesterday.

There's also been word that the hacktivist group Anonymous will host a series of attacks on various institutions waged by members of the online collective Anonymous. Among the rumored targets this weekend include Fox News, Facebook and a notorious Mexican drug cartel. 

Anonymous posted a video on YouTube regarding this:


"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." - V


"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -  John F. Kennedy

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