I received an update on the ATOS Games this morning from Mark Baggley of Choices and Rights (additional updates from DPAC are also at the end of this blog). The ATOS Games for those of you who haven't been paying attention are a series of organised protests against ATOS, the principle sponsor of the 2012 Paralympics. Principle organisers of the protests are Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and Choices and Rights Disability Coalition. ATOS is the French based company who have been...

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I've had several messages concerning limited access  to the forthcoming Paralympics. For the most part it's been about poor information provision but other issues are now coming to light, one of which seems to involve a strange interpretation of PA support. A disabled mum of two, along with her husband decided that they would like to go to the Paralympics. Well, here's her story ... "The London 2012 Olympic Games were brilliant. My family - particularly my two children -...

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I found this article in the Guardian archives which may have some relevance to the forthcoming Paralympics and the proposed ATOS protests. Back in 2008 the British Olympic Association (BOA) said it would review its athletes' contract for the Beijing Games after criticism of a clause which had prevented competitors from making political statements in China. The clause, which appeared to go beyond the requirements of the Olympic charter, will be softened although athletes who engage in overt...

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This is an extract from an excellent article in Disability Now (DN) about disabled asylum seekers using art to express themselves through a painted mural in Bristol. In the DN article, Disabled Iraqi Ahmed tells us a disturbing account about their lives and their treatment in Britain. "People in Britain don’t seem to like the disabled. I see lots of disabled people. They drink in the park, they have nowhere to live. They try to kill themselves ... "Britain says Iraq is rubbish...

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So, let's  take the suggestion a little further shall we? We've already decided if disabled athletes AND disabled artists work together then we have a real chance of putting a spanner in the works of this divisive government, even if it's a small one. Because let's face it, some of those disabled athletes out there are only a hair's breadth away from falling into the benefits trap that many of us currently find ourselves in. Disabled athletes are currently the flavour...

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Why is it that the companies that Cameron and his cronies pay to handle such diverse matters as the Direct Payments Scheme (A4E) and now the stewarding of the Olympic Games (G4S), when they foul up, they get let off with little more than a slapped wrist? Nothing about Breach of Contract, Penalty Clauses, or being made to give back the millions that they've been paid! No, the British tax payer coughs up yet again and we bail out yet another balls-up! But what about all of the pieces that...

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Last week at the Shape media conference I had the pleasure of meeting Kristina Veasey. She has taken part in two Paralympics and talked about her own experiences competing as a disabled athlete. For most of us non-athletic Crips, and in particular those of us involved in disability arts, the world of the Paralympian seems remote to say the least. We see them as single minded Super Crips with no interest or involvement in disability politics and protest. What we do hear about are those sporty...

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On Tuesday of this week (the 19th June) I'll be attending the DAO/Shape conference to be held at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, in London. The aim of the conference is to bring together both disabled and non-disabled professional journalists and disabled artists and to look at how disabled people are being represented in the mainstream press, specifically during the Cultural Olympiad.  I'll be creating and then presenting cartoons based upon the discussions taking...

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I posted this cartoon on the Crippen Cartoon blog the other day and because I've started to get some interesting comments about it, I thought I'd share it with you on this Disability Arts on Line blog. I'm still amazed at the number of Disabled people who don't know who Atos are. Despite most of them having gone through, or are due to go through the Government's Benefits Assessment programme. The Assessment is, of course, being carried out by Atos. They are paid a handsome...

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It's funny where your mind goes when you let it wander ...

Take the Paralympics for example. I wonder if they'll be looking at existing skills in order to incorporate them into the events schedule?

I'm waiting for the 'abuse non-disabled disability professionals' event myself!

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And whilst we're on the subject of disabled Olympic torch bearers ...

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We all have our own take on the Olympics, especially the Paralympics where super crips compete to appear normal and we're all expected to forget about the billions being spent on this event whilst many of us have our benefits pared down to the bone ... or am I being too cynical?! This article caught my eye the other day about a young disabled guy, a wheelchair user, who felt the need to carry the Olympic torch for a few yards. No doubt he was doing this to be ironic (let's give him the...

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Why we need a NEW 'Disabled People's Resistance Movement' by Bob Williams-Findley. "We have campaign groups like Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and Black Triangle (BT), and I'm aware of the effort that is going into what disabled people are doing right now, but I believe we need to have a visible "resistance movement" which brings all the strands together in a 'Rock Against Racism' style approach. "This doesn't need to be organised in the...

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Hi Folk, A Fundraiser for the Campaign Against Benefit Cuts and another gathering of 'NUTS IN MAY’ This month sees Mad Pride back at that great community venue Tottenham Chances in North London. This time it is going to be an ALL DAY family fun-packed festivity, with more music, poetry and mad frolicing than we'll know what to do with. And this time we'll be having Open Mic slots, so bring instruments and poems along. SUNDAY 27th MAY (12 noon until 11pm) Tottenham...

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The present government, seemingly  run and controlled by a small clique of ex Public schoolboys, seem intent on taking us back to the 1950s where people did what they were told, without question. And the alarming thing is that this tactic seems to be working! Let's just look at what has been happening with regard to Disabled people. Seemingly overnight the ConDems have managed to reverse the process in which society was begining to view us in a more positive framework. People were...

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Following on from my last blog about the passing of the law proposing changes to the National Health Service, I have since had more information passed to me about a document called the 'Health Bill Transition Risk Register'. Never heard of it? Then you're not alone. Apparently our dear Prime Minister and his cronies are desperate for us not to see it. They've even gone so far as to refuse to comply with a ruling by the information commissioner to publish it! The reason that...

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I realise that it might appear to be a 'closing the stable gate after the horse has bolted' type of scenario, especially as the government's health changes have survived their final parliamentary test and are set to become law. But I can't help feeling that there's something we can all still do to forestall the seemingly inevitable conclusion. I suppose, having received treatment through the National Health System (NHS) several times over recent years, I can be forgiven for...

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Having been out of things for most of the last 12 months I was saddened to hear that the political activist and god-father of the disabled people's movement Vic Finkelstein had recently died aged 73. Originally deported from South Africa in the 60's for his support of the anti-apartheid movement, Vic was the main architect of 'The Fundamental Principles of Disability', published in 1975, which argued that the problems faced by disabled people were caused by society's...

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I have also reopened my Crippen Cartooning Blog in conjunction with this blog on DisabilityArtsOnline web journal. Non-disabled people are warned not to visit this other blog if they are of a delicate and sensitive disposition. Like my work on this blog, all my cartoons have text description inbuilt. Just click on the cartoon to bring it up. You can view Crippen's Cartoon Blog by clicking...

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Hi boys and girls. You'll be pleased to hear that I've made about 200 of my more recent cartoons more accessible by uploading them to a unique Flickr site. The cartoons have been split into sets and you'll find a hot button for each set on the right hand side of the page. Alternatively you can hit the 'slideshow' link and see them that way. If you want to use any of them as part of our continued struggle towards full equality, please do so (you can cut and paste). All I ask...

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One of the main problems affecting many disabled people at the moment is a lack of income. And, as a result, a reduction in the ability to make those choices that affect the quality of our lives. Until recently, many disabled people earned a reasonable income from providing professional services to organisations which provided disability equality training for their workforce, as part of complying with their legal obligations in relation to employment and providing services.  But recently...

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Well, it's all been happening whilst I've been away. Apart from such regulars as young Dolly, Joe Mc, Tanya and Ms. Pepper, a quick glance at the DAO blog lists brings up a host of fresh names. But are they what they appear to be? Take for example Rich Downes. Obviously a  pseudonym (and I see he's done the reverse of what I do and has used a picture of a much older man in order to establish more credibility). I actually have it on good authority that he's only allowed out...

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Just when you'd all been lulled into a false sense of security and felt able to visit the blog section of the DAO web site without the need for extra double-gusset strength protection, I'm afraid we have to break the news to you that ... he's back! Yes, that old curmudgeon* Crippen is back from his bed of pain and incontinence and has once again picked up his pen ready to do battle on behalf of crips everywhere. "It's good to be back" he told us when we spoke to him at the home for...

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According to documents obtained by the Guardian newspaper, Cameron’s senior adviser on troubled families has set up a new partnership to bid for work under a programme to get 120,000 households into work. A programme that she helped create! Emma Harrison, the multimillionaire founder of private welfare company A4e, was appointed the “families champion” last December. The prime minister singled her out in a key post-riot speech last month, saying she had “develop[ed] a...

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Recent legal advice given to 38 Degrees, the 'Save our NHS' campaign group, makes sobering reading. It states that the government’s changes to the NHS plans could pave the way for a shift towards a US-style health system, where private companies profit at the expense of patient care and those without money go untreated. Barrister Rebecca Haynes found that the government's plans could pave the way for private healthcare companies and their lawyers to benefit most from changes,...

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