A reformed Tennessee sinner walks the roads with his sign as a badge of honor.
After “living a life of Sin”, illness and god brought him to this way of life. He was calmly walking along as grid-lock rush hour traffic hummed quietly at intersections in Chattanooga.
He feels his message is one that needs to be shared, many honked their horns at him as he waved and smiled back, others showered abuse and children gesticulated rudely from car windows.
I took the time to hear his story and see what truly inspires him to do what he does.
A Sheffield shop keeper has been violently attacked by hammer-wielding thugs merely six months after being stabbed three times in an armed raid.
Michael Wiles, 58, has been running his shop on Langsett Road for over 35 years, suffering over six robberies since 2002. His father was also a victim in 2007 when he died after an argument with youth offenders over selling single cigarettes.
Michael is determined to carry on though and will not give in.
“You’ve just got to keep battling, get through the rough and jog on. I’ve been here for nearly 40 years and its only in the last 10 I’ve had this problem”, he stated.
“There’s a target on smaller business, because bigger places have got security. They won’t attack there, but I’m just on my own. There’s one or two who just want to be Mr Big Gangster”, Michael said.
The latest attack occurred after a football game when two hooded thugs attempted to rob the shop of its day’s takings. After Michael tried to defend himself and the shop, one attacked him with a hammer hitting in him the side of the head and shoulder five times, while the masked accomplice kept guard of the door. Police are investigating the incident, using CCTV footage.
“They know they get away with it a lot of the time, if they want to cause trouble, you can’t stop them really ” Michael said.
It is nearly six months to the day that Michael was stabbled in the stomach, ribs and shoulder after a group of armed raiders attempted to steal cash from the till. Michael said: “You’re just never expecting it. I check my doors every five minutes, when I see any doubtful characters I just clear off. If I don’t get it someone else will.”
In 2010 Michael was also attacked by a robber who tried to gouge his eyes out with a tent peg, and in 2002 he was smashed in the head with a wrench. Michael also receives frequent abuse from drunks and underage teenagers who want to buy cigarettes.
A protest in Sheffield is being held to demonstrate the issue of disabled workers being let go from factory jobs in the UK. The Remploy workers are outraged at the closures and loss of jobs as they are seen as some of the most vulnerable in society. The issue affects workers in London as well as Sheffield and the protests are being staged outside of the Department for Workers and pensions in both cities.
Unions are particularly angry with closures to 36 of 54 Remploy sites this Summer including those in the surrounding cities of Chesterfield and Worksop.
With unemployment hovering around 2.6 million it looks as those with very few options and who are most at risk in Britain will also be joining the dole queues.
South Yorkshire Migration & Asylum Action Group supported by ASSIST, City of Sanctuary and others staged a demonstration outside Sheffield Town Hall to draw attention to the proposal by the UK Border Agency to award a major contract to the security firm, G4S, to provide accommodation and other services to people seeking sanctuary in the UK and Sheffield.
The demonstration started at 12.30pm outside Sheffield Town Hall. There were numerous speeches until 1.30pm when the protestors marched to the UKBA offices at Vulcan House and handed over a petition with 100’s of signatures reflecting the views of a growing number of people in South Yorkshire.
Prior to handing over the signatures a passionate Wattra Wajontany from City of Sanctuary termed asylum seekers accommodation under G4S as similar to “concentration camps”. He described the contract to the firm associated with Palestinian human rights abuse as being similar to expecting a cat to help a mouse.
Jeni Vine of the Northern Refugee Centre said more needs to be done and this is an issue that will not go away. She also felt that the pressure that they were adding with the protest would help change the Border Control’s minds and offer the contract to a security group with a less questionable history.
A routine trip to Chesterfield as part of my Masters in Broadcast Journalism coursework turned into a tragic spectacle when a man died after being struck by a train at around 19.35 this evening.
As i stood waiting for my train on platform one in the distance a train seemed to slow and stop; within twenty minutes every train was cancelled and the station began to feel eerie as the gathered commuters became concerned and frustrated. A member of staff bellowed urgently for us to vacate the platform and as we were forced out of the station a two carriage train appeared slowly and stopped. After nearly an hour Sheffield bound passengers were let back into the station and were made move to platform three, about twenty meters to my right a black blanket covered a body with two pale white torches either side of the track acting as beacons to the unfortunate man who lost his life, we were promptly ushered away and onto the waiting train.
Below are some witness reports and information regarding the incident available on soundcloud.com
One man, Richard Bradbury a local Network marketer was heading home from work when he came across the scene.
My heart and thoughts are with the family and friends of the man at this time.
Police refused to disclose any information to me by 11.20 pm on the 8th of November stating only that the trains were now running as normal and were unwilling to make a statement.
James P. Mahon 