tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79989013751628272602024-03-19T00:58:16.754+00:00teifidancerRANDOM THOUGHTS IN A DIGITAL AGEteifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.comBlogger2912125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-15945314973215650392024-03-17T19:50:00.000+00:002024-03-17T19:50:48.961+00:00Karl Marx, revolutionary philosopher, economist, and political theorist remembered <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW8bVmkLkh80oOrrnB3g96Es69v9t3jcWgKCq6lPI3mfCk23p3TOgD9zF_GsXG9ZFr5vZQ5PvtATr3Thd3tufEv_pwh5XmpHu5KiHIwdIsWMDM23R5Kkb2ltBuM3BZ2ZTZlKzunGFNiEAnm3aIPkdM_95Jwcw1ed2RrO5V28WZzfQ5Pk0H61iVhDG0-t1J" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1110" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW8bVmkLkh80oOrrnB3g96Es69v9t3jcWgKCq6lPI3mfCk23p3TOgD9zF_GsXG9ZFr5vZQ5PvtATr3Thd3tufEv_pwh5XmpHu5KiHIwdIsWMDM23R5Kkb2ltBuM3BZ2ZTZlKzunGFNiEAnm3aIPkdM_95Jwcw1ed2RrO5V28WZzfQ5Pk0H61iVhDG0-t1J=w400-h260" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><div>The German revolutionary socialist, philosopher, economist, political theorist and author Karl Marx, was born on May 5, 1818, in Trier, Germany, whose ideas and writings have had a profound impact on political thought and social movements around the world. As one of the most influential figures in human history, Marx's ideas on communism and class struggle continue to resonate today, shaping modern political and economic systems. </div><div>Karl Marx was born into a middle-class family, the son of a lawyer. He attended the University of Bonn and later the University of Berlin, where he studied law, history, and philosophy. It was during his time at the University of Berlin that Marx became involved in radical politics and was exposed to the works of the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who greatly influenced his thinking. </div><div>After completing his education, Marx worked as a journalist for several radical publications, including the Rheinische Zeitung and the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher. His political writings attracted the attention of the Prussian authorities, which led to his expulsion from Germany. He then moved to Paris, where he met Friedrich Engels, who would become his lifelong collaborator. Together with Engels, Marx wrote "<i>The Communist Manifesto</i>" in 1848, a foundational text for the communist movement that called for the overthrow of the capitalist system and the establishment of a classless society. In 1867, Marx published the first volume of "<i>Das</i> <i>Kapital</i>," a critical analysis of capitalism and its effects on society, labor, and the economy. Two more volumes were published posthumously by Engels, based on Marx's notes. </div><div>Marx's ideas on class struggle, historical materialism, and the inherent flaws of capitalism have left an indelible mark on modern society. His works have inspired countless social and political movements, most notably the Russian Revolution of 1917, which led to the formation of the Soviet Union. Additionally, his theories have shaped the economic policies of numerous countries, as well as the academic fields of sociology, political science, and economics. </div><div>While Marx's ideas have also been the subject of much criticism, with detractors arguing that his theories are outdated or have been responsible for the suffering and oppression of millions under communist regimes, There is absolutely no evidence that Marx himself would have supported such crimes. and there is no denying his significant impact on the course of human history. </div><div> Marx’s influence, which has extended beyond communist societies, can be compared to that of major religious figures like Jesus or Muhammad. The lives of hundreds of millions of people were transformed, for better or for worse, by Marx’s legacy and his ideas have transformed the study of history and sociology, and profoundly affected philosophy, literature, and the arts, while his critique of capitalism and vision of proletarian revolution articulated in The Communist Manifesto and Capital continues to help us not only understand capitalism, but fight for a world free of exploitation and domination.</div><div>Karl Marx although was German born, had to flee Germany and settle in London, living there from 1849. Marx never got the reputation that he deserved in his life, and led a poverty and grief-stricken life. His wife and his eldest daughter died before him, creating a devastating impact on him and his health; he died stateless on the afternoon of 14 March 1883 aged 64.from a combination of bronchitis and pleurisy, exacerbated by an abscess on his lung.</div><div><div class="fst">On Saturday, March 17, 1883 Marx was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery, North London arranged for by Friedrich Engels Marx to be buried in Highgate Cemetery. in the family plot in which his wife Jenny had been buried fifteen months earlier. They weren’t alone for long as within a week of his death Marx was joined by his five year old grandson. The family’s life long friend and companion (who had started out as a servant) Helene Demuth joined them in 1890 – after helping Frederick Engels put together Marx’s notes that became the second volume of Capital – and then the last of the group to use the plot was Marx’s daughter, Eleanor, who died young in 1898. </div><div class="fst">The funeral was poorly attended. Estimates vary, but it’s unlikely more than two-dozen mourners were present. The world had yet to be exposed to the work of the man laid to rest in that small ceremony. Besides Marx’s two surviving daughters Laura and Eleanor, others in attendance were the French socialist leaders Paul Lafargue (Laura’s husband) and Charles Longuet (husband to Marx’s eldest daughter Jenny), Prof Roy Lankaster and Prof Schorlemmer (both revered men of science and members of the Royal Society), the German Socialist leader Wilhelm Liebknecht, G. Lochner (a veteran of the Communist League), another German socialist F. Lessner (sentenced in the 1852 Cologne Communists’ Trial to five years’ hard labour), and writer-editor Gottlieb Lemke. It is possible that Helene Demuth, long the Marx family’s devoted housekeeper and friend, who would be buried alongside the family a few years later, was also in attendance.</div><div class="fst">The ceremony was simple, with brief words in German, French and English, from the leader of the German Social-Democratic party, Charles Longuet (a son-in-law) and Marx's lifelong friend and comrade Friedrich Engels delivered the following eulogy predicting Marx's work would endure through the ages. :</div></div><div><div class="quoteb"><br /></div><div class="quoteb">"On the 14th of March, at a quarter to three in the afternoon, the greatest living thinker ceased to think. He had been left alone for scarcely two minutes, and when we came back we found him in his armchair, peacefully gone to sleep-but forever.</div><div class="quoteb">"An immeasurable loss has been sustained both by the militant proletariat of Europe and America, and by historical science, in the death of this man. The gap that has been left by the departure of this mighty spirit will soon enough make itself felt.</div><div class="quoteb">"Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of development of human history: the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.; that therefore the production of the immediate material means of subsistence and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people or during a given epoch form the foundation upon which the state institutions, the legal conceptions, art, and even the ideas on religion, of the people concerned have been evolved, and in the light of which they must, therefore, be explained, instead of <em>vice versa</em>, as had hitherto been the case.</div><div class="quoteb">"But that is not all. Marx also discovered the special law of motion governing the present-day capitalist mode of production and the bourgeois society that this mode of production has created. The discovery of surplus value suddenly threw light on the problem, in trying to solve which all previous investigations, of both bourgeois economists and socialist critics, had been groping in the dark.</div><div class="quoteb">"Two such discoveries would be enough for one lifetime. Happy the man to whom it is granted to make even one such discovery. But in every single field which Marx investigated -- and he investigated very many fields, none of them superficially -- in every field, even in that of mathematics, he made independent discoveries.</div><div class="quoteb">"Such was the man of science. But this was not even half the man. Science was for Marx a historically dynamic, revolutionary force. However great the joy with which he welcomed a new discovery in some theoretical science whose practical application perhaps it was as yet quite impossible to envisage, he experienced quite another kind of joy when the discovery involved immediate revolutionary changes in industry and in historical development in general. For example, he followed closely the development of the discoveries made in the field of electricity and recently those of Marcel Deprez.</div><div class="quoteb">"For Marx was before all else a revolutionist. His real mission in life was to contribute, in one way or another, to the overthrow of capitalist society and of the state institutions which it had brought into being, to contribute to the liberation of the modern proletariat, which he was the first to make conscious of its own position and its needs, conscious of the conditions of its emancipation. Fighting was his element. And he fought with a passion, a tenacity and a success such as few could rival. His work on the first <em>Rheinische Zeitung</em> (1842), the Paris <em>Vorw?rts!</em> (1844), <em>Br?sseler Deutsche Zeitung</em> (1847), the <em>Neue Rheinische Zeitung </em>(1848-49), the <em>New York Tribune</em> (1852-61), and in addition to these a host of militant pamphlets, work in organisations in Paris, Brussels and London, and finally, crowning all, the formation of the great International Working Men's Association -- this was indeed an achievement of which its founder might well have been proud even if he had done nothing else.</div><div class="quoteb">"And, consequently, Marx was the best-hated and most calumniated man of his time. Governments, both absolutist and republican, deported him from their territories. Bourgeois, whether conservative or ultra-democratic, vied with one another in heaping slanders upon him. All this he brushed aside as though it were cobweb, ignoring it, answering only when extreme necessity compelled him. And he died beloved, revered and mourned by millions of revolutionary fellow-workers -- from the mines of Siberia to California, in all parts of Europe and America -- and I make bold to say that though he may have had many opponents he had hardly one personal enemy.</div><div class="quoteb">"His name will endure through the ages, and so also will his work!"</div><div class="quoteb"><br /></div><div class="quoteb">Once it was all over, the cortege wended its way back to Marx’s Maitland Park home. A few days later, Karl’s name was etched into the simple stone tablet that stood over his wife’s grave. Just five days later, some of these same mourners would be back again in Highgate, this time to bury five-year-old Harry Longuet, the youngest child of Marx’s eldest daughter Jenny who had pre-deceased her father. The grave was as unremarkable as the burial. Hidden away in a little-known part of the cemetery, </div><div class="quoteb">The following year after his death over 5,000 people gathered, organised by the Communistic Working Men’s Club in London to commemorate the proclamation of the Paris Commune in 1871.. Far more than a quiet show of respect, this was a full demonstration, with the plan to march, to the beat of a band, to the cemetery and give rousing speeches in German, French and English. But the cemetery directors were nervous, so the police forced the demonstration to stop in some vacant land near the cemetery. The event was peaceful enough, with people listening to the speeches, cheering and heading home. </div><div class="quoteb">In the years that followed, the old grave became a site of pilgrimage. Lenin visited with a group of Bolsheviks in 1903, when they were in London for an early congress. It was known to have baffled visitors who wanted to pay their respects at the grave but found it hard to locate. At a British Socialists’ conference in 1923, a delegate Charles McLean described his effort to find the grave: ‘<i>only after an</i> <i>hour’s search’</i> was he ‘<i>able to stand at the foot of the grave</i>’. He spoke of the sad state of the grave, fnce he managed to reach it, how “<i>an old withered wreath, which appeared to have been lying there for years, and an old flower-pot with a scarlet geranium in bloom, were all that commemorated that great leader</i>”.and that someday ‘<i>there would be international pilgrimages to Highgate Cemetery – just as there were pilgrimages to Mecca by the Moslems</i>’.</div><div class="quoteb">Surely a better memorial was needed. The first response came from the Soviet Union. Feeling that the UK government was derelict in its duty, they proposed in the late 1920s to exhume Marx and bring him to Moscow where he would be remembered with due respect. 115 descendants of Marx signed a petition to add weight to the request. It was refused. </div><div class="quoteb">Due to the popularity of this site and high number of visitors, Marx’s remains were later moved to a public site in the same cemetery where they continue to stay today. The tomb site and the Marx Grave Trust were established with the active support of Karl Marx's great grandsons. The Grave Trust owns and maintains the now famous and iconic memorial at the grave of Karl Marx which was unveiled on March 15, 1956, to a large crowd the day after the anniversary of his death on March 14, 1883. </div><div class="quoteb">The monument was designed by Laurence Bradshaw and was funded by the Communist Party of Great Britain. The party's General Secretary, Harry Pollitt, led the ceremony. Bradshaw, an artist and sculptor, was himself a Party member, had been since the early 1930s. His most famous work was designed “<i>to be a monument not only of a man,</i>” Bradshaw said, “<i>but to a great mind and great</i> <i>philosopher.”</i> He wanted the site to convey “<i>the dynamic force of Marx’s intellect.</i>” Which is probably why he made it so big. </div><div class="quoteb">Since 1974, the bust and headstone have been designated a listed monument, reaching the highest Grade-1 status in 1999 of “exceptional interest.” The Marx Grave Trust wishes to ask all members of the public to respect the tomb of Karl Marx at Highgate Cemetery, London as a place of commemoration and family grave. His grave remains a pilgrimage site for followers from around the world attracting thousands of people each year and his ideas still play an important role in shaping political and cultural discourses in the UK and abroad. A ceremony is still held here annually on the anniversary of his death, to the minute, at 2.30 pm. The Marx Oration started in 1933 and is sponsored by the the Marx Memorial Library<a href="https://www.marx-memorial-library.org.uk/">https://www.marx-memorial-library.org.uk/</a> and respectfully remembers the passing of Karl Marx ,</div><div class="quoteb">The Marx Memorial Library has been in its big, classical 1738 building — originally a school for children of Welsh artisans living in poverty since 1933, the 50th anniversary of Karl Marx’s death. The library specialises in Marxism, the working-class movement, anti-fascism and the Spanish Civil War. It owns a full run of the Daily Worker and the Morning Star.t</div><div class="quoteb">Other revolutionaries have since been buried nearby to Karl Marx. After Claudia Jones founder of Notting Hill Carnival Black Trinidadian communist, feminist, journalist and Black activist died at the age of just 49 in 1964, her ashes were fittingly buried to the left of Karl Marx in North London's Highgate cemetery. And the cemetery also provides the final resting place for Dr Yusef Mohamed Dadoo, chairman of the South African Communist party, Saad Saadi Adi, the Iraqi communist leader, and poet and advocate of democracy and human rights in Iraq,</div>In an assault, reported to police on February 5 2019 Karl Marx's the grave’s marble plaque was repeatedly smashed with a hammer, damaging it beyond repair. A second attack on the night of February 15 saw the entire monument daubed in bright red paint with the words “<i>Doctrine of Hate</i>”, “<i>Architect of Genocide</i>” and “<i>Memorial to Bolshevik Holocaust</i>”.</div><div> "<i>It will never be the same again, and will wear battle scars for the future</i>," said Ian Dugavell of the friends of Highgate Cemetary Trust of the damage to the plaque at the time ,“<i>Senseless, stupid,</i> <i>Ignorant,</i>” the cemetery said. “<i>Whatever you think about Marx’s legacy, this is not the way to make the point</i>.” <br />The graffiti covered inscriptions of Marx’s final words of <em>The Communist Manifesto</em>, “Workers of all lands unite,” and the most famous of Karl Marx’s <em>Theses on Feuerbach</em>, “T<i>he philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point however is to change it</i>.” The contrast between Marx’s messages of hope and the violent smears that covered them could not be more jarring.<br /><div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">“It will never be the same again, and will bear those battle scars for the future,” said Ian Dungavell, chief executive of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, of the plaque.<br /><br />Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/karl-marx-grave-london-highgate-cemetery-vandalised-hammer/</div><div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">“It will never be the same again, and will bear those battle scars for the future,” said Ian Dungavell, chief executive of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, of the plaque.<br /><br />Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/karl-marx-grave-london-highgate-cemetery-vandalised-hammer/</div>The shameful attack on Marx’s grave in a far right targetted ideological assault coincided with fascist attacks on the graves of socialist leaders in Spain and on Holocaust memorials and Jewish cemeteries in France, Poland, Lithuania and Greece. <br /><div>The monument has been attacked previously, most notably during the 1970s, when vandals damaged the face of the bust and attempted to put a bomb inside it to destroy it. </div><div>After his grave was vandalized tin 2019, the Marx Grave Trust, decided to monitor it with video cameras installed hoping to deter vandals from attacking this famous monument, Cameras remain rare in cemeteries, especially around specific graves. Marx’s is the first one to be monitored at Highgate, London’s most-visited burial ground, in a city where video surveillance is almost everywhere.<br />Grave desecration, is integral to fascist terrorism. According to Jewish law, “<i>treating a corpse disrespectfully implies a belief that death is final and irreversible.</i>” In other words, treating the dead disrespectfully gives no hope for their resurrection.<br />Fascists desecrated Jewish graves because it wasn’t enough that those interred were biologically dead; grave desecration meant that the fascists did not think they were dead enough. These attacks against Marx’s grave are meant to prevent Marx from coming back to life — not literally, of course, but in the figurative resurrection of a socialist movement. As <u><a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm">Walter Benjamin </a></u>once put it, not even the dead are safe from fascism; in this case, not even Marx’s grave is safe.<br />For fascists, Marx’s grave does not represent the site of someone dead, but of something threatening to re emerge. Marxism represents the eternal enemy of the fascist imagination; Marx is not dead, but undead. They fear that Marx is still influencing world history from beyond the grave. Worse, they fear that the socialist movement is resurrecting Marx from the oblivion of the past.<br />If capitalism is one day overthrown and humanity moves from its pre-history towards real history, then Marx will be more than a ghost; he will be immortalized.<br />Defacing a beautiful monument in this destructive manner will not change the power of his words. His overwhelming legacy refuses to die. <span class="name">Marx's</span> intellectual influence still so strong, his ideas and thinking have become fundamentals of modern economics and sociology. Marx’s legacy is pervasive, complex, and often polarizing. But the epitaph carved in gold letters into his grey marble tombstone in the hearts and minds of many cannot simply be erased.</div><div>The good news the memorial has now been partially cleaned and after securing funding for some expert grave-scaping, Highgate cemetery in north London is preparing some new plots, which means you could be buried next to Karl Marx. It will cost you, though: while a cremation plot is £5,000, a full grave will set you back “<i>upwards of”</i> £25,000. </div></div><div>On the anniversary, of Karl Marx being laid to rest lets continue our struggle for a world free of injustice, discrimination and inequality.</div><div><br /></div></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-70196551664468224632024-03-14T14:23:00.005+00:002024-03-15T00:26:00.872+00:00Remembering Tony Benn <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bsB_hI-CnXy8kTh1Wtox7gz1HUNF_IL7426ytN432U0lxuj0g3XYxvrlczfFwm5CukJACFK_-926yU_sClDzm1TY3p4fs0phjJqvS0j-47ymkhAar4AEYCHxmk-cdtCJTja5RDvQzvTYJky-HrZ5JphgNq5KiEnJRGThOcjMcGwX1JpwO79NzWkweLwu/s680/GIoRjKhWUAARmsO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="680" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bsB_hI-CnXy8kTh1Wtox7gz1HUNF_IL7426ytN432U0lxuj0g3XYxvrlczfFwm5CukJACFK_-926yU_sClDzm1TY3p4fs0phjJqvS0j-47ymkhAar4AEYCHxmk-cdtCJTja5RDvQzvTYJky-HrZ5JphgNq5KiEnJRGThOcjMcGwX1JpwO79NzWkweLwu/s320/GIoRjKhWUAARmsO.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Remembering the one and only indomitable Tony Benn who died at the age of 88 ten years ago on Friday 14 March 2014. which incidentally was the same day that Karl Marx died in 1883. A constant thorn in the establishment’s side, Tony Benn was an inspiration to me and to all who struggle for peace and justice worldwide. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn was born into an affluent political family on the 3rd of April 1927, and was influenced heavily by his mother, a feminist and prominent member of the reformist Congregationalist Church, as well as his father, a Liberal MP who advised him aged eight to “<i>never wrestle with a chimney sweep”</i>. Taking this advice on board, Benn strived to keep personal abuse out of politics for the entirety of his career. He became famous for his exemplary parliamentary manners, often taking even the harshest of media attacks with a smile.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Coming to power in the Wilson government in 1950, he became the Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol South East. Benn became a household name with his ultimately successful three-year court battle to be rid of a hereditary peerage following the death of his father, setting an important precedent. His efforts to secure re-entry to the lower house rendered him a class traitor to many on the right. In his view, little good came from ennoblement; he would later lament how the establishment uses the Upper House as a tool to decapitate radical movements. Tantamount to political castration, ennoblement would often turn the most hard line of communist trade unionists in to purring kittens overnight.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Tony Benn would be one of Labour’s longest-serving MPs, whose radical vision of a better, fairer society continues to inspire today. His contributions were always fearless, optimistic, full of humour and were always placed in the context of the historical struggles to demonstrate that through organisation and dedication anything was possible.</div><div style="text-align: left;">There was hardly ever been an important working class gathering that did not have Benn as a speaker. And whenever possible he would speak. With his articulated voice Tony Benn delivered a vision of the possible, a tireless fighter for peace, justice and equality who for decades was the most independent-minded, powerful and passionate voice at Westminster, and the man whose crusading zeal led to the new law which allowed him to renounce his own peerage and return to the House of Commons in 1963. He represented Bristol South East until 1983, when the constituency was abolished. </div><div style="text-align: left;">From 1964 to 1966, Benn served in Harold Wilson’s Cabinet as Postmaster General. He was then appointed Minister of Technology, in which office he oversaw the development of Concorde. The 1970 election was won by the Tories, but Benn returned to government on Labour’s victory four years later, first as Secretary of State for Industry and later as Energy Secretary. </div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1979, Thatcher came to power, and Labour were to remain in opposition for the next eighteen years. Benn was at the heart of the internal discord that convulsed his party in the early 1980s: he infamously stood for the deputy leadership in 1981, but was very narrowly defeated by Denis Healey. Seven years later, he challenged Neil Kinnock for the leadership, but was soundly beaten. In between, Benn had become the MP for Chesterfield. He retained his seat at the next three general elections, and watched from the backbenches as neo-Thatcherites Blair and Brown ascended to government. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Benn was widely seen as a key proponent of democratic socialism and Christian socialism, though in regards to the latter he supported the United Kingdom becoming a secular state and ending the Church of England's status as an official church of the United Kingdom.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Originally considered a moderate within the party, Benn moved left, after leaving ministerial office seeing himself more and more as the modern embodiment of the old radicalism. He took to making frequent historical references in his speeches, and commemorated calendar-occasions - the Levellers of the 1640s, the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, the suffragettes, the Chartists. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The terms Bennism and Bennite came into usage to describe the left-wing politics he espoused from the late 1970s and its adherents. He was an influence on the political views of Jeremy Corbyn, who was elected Leader of the Labour Party a year after Benn's death, and John McDonnell, who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer under Corbyn.</div><div style="text-align: left;">A great campaigner who used his voice to speak about the greedy among us, the multinationals, consistently in opposition to wars from the Falklands to Afghanistan and Iraq. A tireless supporter of the anti austerity movement and for Palestine. He denounced the British government’s role over the years as “<i>less than honest</i>” in its supplying of arms to Israel and all too often joining the US in giving them the support they demanded. He insisted that a British Government should act firmly and independently, and not supporting Israeli troops who he described as “<i>An occupying army in a neighbouring state which they have attacked in acts of aggression against international law.</i>” Tony Benn was also in favour of a boycott of Israeli goods. </div><div style="text-align: left;">A champion of so many progressive causes. he proposed the Commonwealth of Britain Bill — which aimed to transform our democracy by devolving power, guaranteeing social rights and abolishing the monarchy. Benn supported any strike that was going. standing shoulder to shoulder with us all. with his strong voice clearly saying that the powerful should always be held to account. Benn also had a strong connection with Wales throughout his parliamentary career and campaigning work. He openly supported Welsh miners during the 1984 strike. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glamorgan in June 2011 for his work as an author and politician.</div><div style="text-align: left;">He was a rare breed indeed, who offered genuine ideas, based on unwavering principles and convictions. A man of great honesty and integrity. famed for his belief in socialism and for being a political radical. who believed not only in parliamentary activity but also in extra-parliamentary activity. Frustrated at politicians’ inability to get involved with grassroots projects, he retired from parliament in 2001after 51 years in parliament. – famously “<i>in order to spend more time on politics”</i>. After leaving Parliament, Benn was President of the Stop the War Coalition until his death. He became the elder statesman of the left, a familiar face at demonstrations, puffing away on his pipe, or taking a brief rest from the marching to chat with anyone and everyone who wanted to speak with him. He addressed protests and television audiences with as much fervour as activists a quarter of his age. Crowds rallied in their thousands to hear him speak at the 2002 Glastonbury festival and he went on to address each Glastonbury festival there, </div><div style="text-align: left;"> One of the greatest politicians in the history of this country, he was well loved and respected. even following his retirement in 2001.In 2006 the left wing icon topped a poll conducted by BBC Daily Politics that asked people to pick a political hero, pushing Margaret Thatcher in to second place. Tony Benn was a beacon of integrity in a forest of deception and expedience. The world remains poorer without his warm spirit. Two of my favourite possessions are signed copies of his 1984 book<i> Writings on the Wall: a Radical and Socialist Anthology 1215-1984 </i>and his 1979 book <i>Arguments for Socialism.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I will never forget the moment when this wonderful man walked into the studio unannounced and demonstrated principles and courage missing from most MPs today by challenging the refusal by the BBC to simply air a humanitarian appeal for Palestinians following Israeli bombing. and shone a light on the shameful BBC bias. His words have never been more relevant. Where have Politicians like this gone?</div><div style="text-align: left;">We must continue his deeds, set about building a genuine alternative to capitalism. On the torch of his unfaltering belief in a better world , there lies a world where politics is not the language of brute force but an articulated vision of the possible - of justice, progress and peace and equality.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/itvWlKJrc2s" width="320" youtube-src-id="itvWlKJrc2s"></iframe></div><br /><div>"<i>There is in every human heart from the beginning of time there have been two flames burning, the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope that you can build a better world. And those two flames are burning in our hearts today, in the hearts and minds of millions of people. </i>" - Tony Benn</div><div><br /></div><div><i>‘In politics there are weathercocks and signposts. Weathercocks spin in whatever direction the wind of public opinion may blow them. Signposts stand true, and tall, and principled. Signposts are the only people worth remembering in politics</i>’ -Tony Benn<br /><p></p><div>Dare to be a Daniel, was the title chosen by Tony Benn for his early memoir, the first lines of the following poem are from an old salvation Army hymn that had been sung to him by his parents. I try to keep faith, dare to be different. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Dare to be a Daniel</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Dare to be a Daniel, </div><div>Dare to stand alone, </div><div>Dare to have a purpose firm, </div><div>And dare to let it know.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dare to stand with the voiceless, </div><div>|the occupied daily denied, </div><div>stand shoulder to shoulder, </div><div>with devoted words of meaning, </div><div>committed breaths carrying no fear. </div><div><br /></div><div>Seed the earth with love, </div><div>persistent grains of freedoms cry, </div><div>move forward with language of hope,</div><div>in blazing movements of united flow. </div><div><br /></div><div>Seek out the hallmarks of truth and justice,</div><div>drink from the vessels of life, </div><div>keep faith as our changeless songs hum out, </div><div>In fearless cry, together we right their wrongs. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the breeze, our voices lift, </div><div>for tomorrows bright sun to shine again,</div><div>leave footprints by rivers' wave of friendliness,</div><div>in flows of solidarity and stealth.</div></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-64324771765307880362024-03-11T17:58:00.001+00:002024-03-12T12:32:28.765+00:00Happy Ramadan/Ramadan Mubarak <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AsZr6qa_rn46LokYg3XBfyQvCngHAeJHHEBDQWnZsD8IUFfHfLpKiTdDmwzye7Vj6JdNLKLiR7rMJQAGwmWTd1brrnjq42HhEyf2s3F9J7y0eHioYPZVK0UdcqETNO7nzgpuYw6QSD4n9P9OiqcHUAkquymJJ1KQ6psJR39xApZi3drL-5pAT_tw2OyC/s275/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AsZr6qa_rn46LokYg3XBfyQvCngHAeJHHEBDQWnZsD8IUFfHfLpKiTdDmwzye7Vj6JdNLKLiR7rMJQAGwmWTd1brrnjq42HhEyf2s3F9J7y0eHioYPZVK0UdcqETNO7nzgpuYw6QSD4n9P9OiqcHUAkquymJJ1KQ6psJR39xApZi3drL-5pAT_tw2OyC/s1600/images.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday marked the start of the month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. For Muslims worldwide, the month of Ramadan is precious. It is one of the most important dates on the Islamic calendar observed by around 1.8 billion Muslims across the world. The festival begins with the sighting of the crescent moon, which usually appears one night after a new moon. </div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the five pillars of Islam - along with faith, prayer, charity, and the pilgrimage - Ramadan commemorates the Quran first being revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, A sacred moment which is honoured by Muslims who observe a month of fasting (known as sawm), a time of year when spiritual, family and community connections are prioritised, and when the practice of taking care of others and working for the collective good, is more vital and more urgent than ever. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Whilst Ramadan is a deeply significant time for Muslims worldwide, it marks an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together and make a positive impact. The values of empathy, generosity and compassion resonate all over the globe. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ramadan is also a time of peace . which is needed now more than ever. May this month bring about lasting peace to all in Gaza and other war ravaged regions of the world. </div><div style="text-align: left;">To all my Muslim brothers and sisters Ramadan Mubarak at this special time of year. I'd also like to reiterate my own steadfast solidarity with the Muslim community, who continue to be dismissed, denigrated and dehumanised. I stand with you, always.</div><div style="text-align: left;">To all the politicians such as Keir Starmer who have enabled and justified Israel’s genocide in Gaza, blocked calls for a ceasefire, I will never forget your empty Ramadan Mubarak messages and total hypocrisy. </div><div style="text-align: left;">To wish someone a Happy Ramadan, the greeting most commonly used is ‘<i>Ramadan Mubarak</i>’. This translates to ‘<i>Blessed Ramadan’</i>. Another commonly used greeting is ‘<i>Ramadan Kareem</i>’, which translates to ‘<i>Generous Ramadan’</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;">To everyone who’s marking Ramadan I hope this month inspires us to spread peace, love, kindness and unity across the world. May this holy month fill your lives with blessings as full as the stars in the sky and the lessons of solidarity, compassion and mercy be an inspiration to all of us. </div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-57841405879033784782024-03-01T04:07:00.004+00:002024-03-01T11:50:50.683+00:00In Praise of St David's Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOXoYjMoDT50eBh71Eu_DZmWuDCe2EWulbG2cjIW2j4SZO6nrnc3rMITufulj3CA9_wy9sN1iPaE5XDkpZItGeuMviXpD0SA1EmovDkoHf8Q9TPcLayTJK9SvAkBPpUFYokJT28WGZf-pvAkxQziyGRxo9kLxvtcZZ9oFtoTXFGTDDJhvEA1_XbIJzbBJ/s252/image%20(1).webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOXoYjMoDT50eBh71Eu_DZmWuDCe2EWulbG2cjIW2j4SZO6nrnc3rMITufulj3CA9_wy9sN1iPaE5XDkpZItGeuMviXpD0SA1EmovDkoHf8Q9TPcLayTJK9SvAkBPpUFYokJT28WGZf-pvAkxQziyGRxo9kLxvtcZZ9oFtoTXFGTDDJhvEA1_XbIJzbBJ/w317-h400/image%20(1).webp" width="317" /></a></div><p></p><div>It's become a bit of a tradition to mark the very special occasion of St David's Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, which celebrates my nations patron saint.Today we, as a country. come together to celebrate our culture. history and everything that makes us proud to be Welsh.</div><div>As with St. Patrick’s Day, the Welsh have parades in their major cities, where you’ll see the traditional dress and the red dragon proudly on display on the Welsh flag, or the flag of St. David himself, a yellow cross on a black background,alongside the wearing of one or both of Wales’s national emblems, the daffodil and leek.</div><div>This is because the daffodil begins to bloom early in the year around this time, and the ancient tradition of eating and wearing leeks on St David’s Day supposedly goes back to the 6th century. It is said that St David told Welsh warriors to wear leeks in their helmets in battle against the despised Saxons to differentiate themselves from their enemies, and that the leeks won them victory. This is pure legend of course, but soon the association between leeks and war was firmly cemented in the Welsh mind. In the 14th century Welsh archers adopted green and white for their uniform in honour of the leek. And to this day the Royal Welch Fusiliers uphold the tradition of eating raw leeks on 1 March.</div><div>Welsh women will often dress in their national finery. The Welsh dress was a traditional farming dress with an apron topped with a distinctive tall Welsh hat. It was worn on special occasions such as going to church, and today it is kept for celebrations such as St. David’s Day parades.</div><div>Schools across Wales hold celebrations, with a number of children dressing in traditional costume – a black hat with white trim; long skirts and shawls. Many boys, meanwhile, will wear a Welsh rugby or football shirt. Schools across the country will also hold an Eisteddfod (a traditional festival of Welsh poetry and music) on this day.</div><div>St David’s status as a modern national icon is a good example of how easily myth can trump historical evidence (or rather the lack of it). He lived and died fifteen hundred years ago, during a period of Welsh history often referred to as ‘the Age of the Saints’. The fifth and sixth centuries saw an intense bout of religious activity in Wales as holy men like David preached the word of God, founded churches and, if the monkish historians of the Middle Ages are to be believed, performed all manner of miracles.</div><div>Yet we have very little reliable information about who St David was, what he did, or even when exactly he lived. It seems likely that his fame stemmed from the establishment of a monastery in modern-day Pembrokeshire in the late sixth century – a settlement which we know today as the cathedral-city of St Davids. However the earliest direct references to him are found in manuscripts dating from the eighth century, almost 200 years after his death, so it is difficult to be sure about much else.</div><div>Luckily the Welsh have never been inclined to let a lack of evidence get in the way of a good story. While little is known about his life, much of the traditional tales about St David are based on Buchedd Dewi (Life of David), which was written by the scholar Rhigyfarch at the end of the 11th Century.</div><div>Rhygyfarch's life of St David is regarded by many scholars as suspect because it contains many implausible events and because he had a stake in enhancing St David's history so as to support the prestige of the Welsh church and its independence from Canterbury, the center of the English church (still Catholic at the time). According to David Hugh Farmer in <i>The Oxford Dictionary of Saints,</i> Rhygyfarch's history of St David "should be treated as propaganda, which may, however, contain some elements of true tradition." So most of what we know about Saint David is really legend; and none the less inspiring for it.</div><div>St David's existence at least does not seem to be in doubt; it is attested to in written records from earlier dates. He was born in the 6th century in or around South Cardigan and North Pembrokeshire in what is now southwest Wales, the exact year of his birth is unknown, with estimates ranging from 462 to 515 AD. Born into local royalty, his mother was Saint Non, daughter of a Celtic chieftain, a woman of great beauty and virtue.St David's father was a prince called Sant, son of the King of Cardigan But David wasn't the child of a love-filled marriage. He was concieved after his father either seduced or raped Non, who went on to become a nun.</div><div>St David's greatness was prophesied, both in the Christian and pagan worlds. Merlin, the great mage at the court of King Arthur, foretold his coming. St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, who at that time lived near St Davids, or Mynyw as it was then known, is said to have wanted to found a monastery nearby, but was told by an angel that the place was reserved for another who would appear in due course. St Patrick’s disappointment was soothed by a vision which showed him that his true vocation lay in Ireland. St Davids father, was also warned by an angel that he would find three treasures by the River Teifi in Cardiganshire, which should be set aside for his son; a stag, a salmon and a swarm of bees. These seemingly strange gifts each had a great significance. The stag, said to eat snakes, represents Christianity's conquering Satan (the serpent); the fish represents Saint David's abstinence from liquor; and the bees represent his wisdom and spirituality.</div><div>Even from his birth strange things have been said about St David. It is said he was born in a wild thunderstorm, the birthing process was said to have been so intense and fraught that his mothers fingers left marks as she grasped a rock. As St David was born a bolt of lightning from heaven is said to have struck the rock, splitting it in two and at the moment of birth a spring of pure water gushed out of the ground. A blind old man who held St David at the baptism had his sight restored by applying this remarkable water to his eyes. This is one of the colourful stories about the childhood of Dewi Sant.</div><div>Non named her son Dewidd, though local Dyfed pronunciation meant he was commonly called Dewi. David is an Anglicised variation of the name derived from the Latin Davidus.</div><div>Brought up by his mother in Henfeynyw near Aberaeron, David is said to have been baptised at nearby Porthclais by St Elvis of Munster. It is said that a blind monk, Movi, was cured after drops of water splashed into his eyes as he held David.</div><div>St David was educated at a monastery, usually taken to be Whitland in Carmarthenshire, under St Paulinus of Wales. He is said to have cured his tutor of blindness by making the sign of the cross. Seeing him as blessed, Paulinus sent him off as a missionary to convert the pagan people of Britain. Having chosen life as a missionary monk,he travelled to France, Ireland, and the Middle East to learn and to proselytize and went from place to place helping the poor, and teaching men to live as he did and is known for converting his countrymen to Christianity.</div><div>It is said that once when St David was preaching at a large outdoor gathering, in Llanddewi Brefi people complained they couldn’t hear or see him until a white dove landed on St David’s shoulder, and as it did, the ground on which he stood rose up to form a hill, making it possible for everyone to see and hear him , both near and far off, where a church now stands. The dove became his emblem often appearing in his portraits and on stained-glass windows depicting him. Doves are considered pure due to their typical role as a messenger or a symbol of the Holy Spirit.</div><div>There are many other stories about the man, no one can actually tell if any of them are actually true or not but create a nice tale to tell nevertheless. It is also said that he once rose a youth from death, and milestones during his life were marked by the appearance of springs of water.</div><div>In 550 AD, St David was named the Archbishop of Wales at the Synod of Brefi church council and stayed in the settlement of Mynyw and set up a large monastery. David was a bit of a disciplinarian and hard task masker, but the monks in this monastery obeyed him and lived a simple life, drinking water and eating only herbs and bread. He became known as Dewi Dyrfwr (David the water drinker) as meat and beer were forbidden. Although the monks farmed the surrounding land, St David insisted that they did not use animals to carry their tools,and they were to carry them. Also none of the monks were allowed any personal possessions and they spent evenings praying, reading and writing.</div><div>Eventually became so unpopular with his monks for the life of austerity he made them live, that they tried to poison him. St David was informed about this by St Scuthyn, who as legend says, presumably in the absence of a ferry or a Ryanair flight, travelled from Ireland on the back of a sea-monster for the purpose.</div><div>He frequently visited other places in South Wales, and churches were afterwards built in many of these villages in memory of him. A legend says that he once went to Jerusalem with two companions, St Teilo <a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/02/st-teilos-day-dydd-sadwrn-teilo.html?m=1">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/02/st-teilos-day-dydd-sadwrn-teilo.html?m=1</a> and St Padarn. The three left Wales together "with one mind, one joy, and one sorrow." When after a hard journey they arrived at Jerusalem they were received with joy and hospitality, and the Patriarch of Jerusalem gave St David, before he returned to Wakes, a remarkable bell which "<i> shone with</i> <i>miracles,</i>" a staff, and a coat woven with gold. </div><div>His last words to his followers before his death are thought to have been: "<i>Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.</i>" The phrase <i>gwenwch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd</i> - 'Do the little things in life' - is still a well-known phrase in Wales.</div><div>Here<i><b> </b></i>I offer you this beautiful song from Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion called Pethau Bychain Dewi Sant ( St David's Little Things) from the album Dore.</div><div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RUXg5HBOayM" width="320" youtube-src-id="RUXg5HBOayM"></iframe></div></div><p><b>Geriau/ Words</b></p><p>Pethau bychain Dewi Sant<br />nid swn tan ond swn tant.<br />Nid derw mawr ond adar mân,<br />nid haul a lleuad ond gwreichion tân.<br /><br />Ond o, dyna chi strach, trio cael hyd i sach<br /> i gadw'r holl bethau bach.<br /><br /> Pethau bychain Dewi Sant,<br /> y ll'godan ond nid yr eliffant.<br /> A darnau'r gwlith nid dwr y moroedd,<br /> ond yn y briga', stwr y mae.<br /><br /> Ond o, dyna chi strach, trio cael hyd i sach<br /> i gadw'r holl bethau bach.<br /><br /> Pethau bychain Dewi Sant,<br />swn 'yn traed ni yn y nant.<br />Yr hada' yn disgyn yma a thraw,<br />a'r tamad, y tamad ola' o wenith yn dy law.<br /><br />Ond o, dyna chi strach,<br />trio cael hyd i sach i gadw'r holl bethau bach.<br /><br />Map y byd yn llyfr y plant,<br />pethau bychain Dewi Sant.<br /><br />Y pellter sydd rhwng dant a dant ar ol nawdeg naw a chant<br /> pethau bychain Dewi Sant.<br /><br />Ond o, dyna chi strach,<br /> trio cael hyd i sach i gadw'r holl bethau bach.<br /><br /><b>English Translation Lyrics:</b><br /><br />St David's little things,<br />not the sound of fire<br />but the sound of chords.<br />Not a large oak but small birds,<br />not the sun and moon but the sparks of fire.<br /><br />But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find a sack<br />to keep all of the little things.<br /><br />St David's little things,<br /><br />the mouse but not the eliphant.<br /><br />And the dew drops, not the water of the seas,<br />but in the branches, uproar is found<br /><br />But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find<br />a sack to keep all of the little things.<br /><br />St David's little things,<br />the sound of our footsteps in the stream.<br />The seeds fall here and there,<br />and the scrap, the last scrap of wheat in your palm.<br /><br />But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find a sack<br />to keep all of the little things.<br /><br />The world's atlas in a children's book,<br />St David's little things.<br /><br />The distance between a tooth and a tooth between ninety nine and a hundred - St David's little things. But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find<br />a sack to keep all of the little things.</p><div> St David is also said to have lived for over 100 years, and some say, hold your breathe, to the age of 142 or 147 (his clean living ways, sure must have helped him) and died on Tuesday 1 March 589, in the week after his final sermon. He was buried in the grounds of his monastery, which was said to have been <i>"filled with angels as Christ received his soul</i>". </div><div> Mynyw is now known as St David’s, the UK’s smallest city (,near the southwestern tip of Pembrokeshire.) in his honour. The monastery has since become the magnificent St David’s Cathedral and was a prestigious site of pilgrimage in the middle ages and is still a site of immense interest to this day. It is said by some that two pilgrimages to St Davids are equal to one pilgrimage to the Vatican in Rome. His shrine became so famous that three English monarchs - William 1, Henry 11 and Edward 1 are said to have made pilgramages to it. </div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zlXYepIGl28/XltfbWYv6aI/AAAAAAAATrI/Zuw77mRbJWEvNLsaILx7b8yheF86TEfZACEwYBhgL/s1600/St-Davids-Cathedral-620x350.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="620" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zlXYepIGl28/XltfbWYv6aI/AAAAAAAATrI/Zuw77mRbJWEvNLsaILx7b8yheF86TEfZACEwYBhgL/s400/St-Davids-Cathedral-620x350.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div> </div><div>St David’s Day has been celebrated in Wales on 1st March since the 12th Century when David was made a saint by Pope Callixtus II, at the height of the Welsh resistance to the Normans. You will find churches and chapels dedicated to him in south-west England and Brittany, as well as Wales. His influence also reached Ireland, where the Irish embrace his beliefs about caring for the natural world.</div><div>The nickname ‘Taffy’ for a Welshman links back to St David as the original and ultimate Welshman – the term dates to the 17th century and derives from ‘<i>Dafydd’</i>, the Welsh for David.</div><div>William Shakespeare name-dropped St David in <i>Henry V</i>. When Fluellen’s English colleague, Pistol, insults the humble leek on St David’s Day, Fluellen insists he eat the national emblem as punishment: “<i>If you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek</i>” (Act V, Scene I).</div><div>Although now replaced by the daffodil, the leek was originally the symbol of St David’s day. There are differing stories about how the leek came to take its place in Welsh history. </div><div> One account tells the story of the ancient British king, Cadwaladyr whose soldiers were about to fight the Saxons. The story goes that St David advised the Welsh to wear a leek on their clothes so they could recognise each other in battle. Another legend is set in 1346, when the Prince of Wales (Edward the Black Prince), defeated the French at the Battle of Crécy. The story tells us that the Welsh archers fought heroically in a field of leeks, and as a reminder of their bravery, the Welsh began to wear leeks in their caps every St David's Day. </div><div>However, it seems that the daffodil supplanted the leek in the 20th century after the Welsh politician David Lloyd George (later to become prime minister) allegedly insisted that daffodils be used during the 1911 investiture of the Prince of Wales. Today, although the leek remains associated with Wales, the daffodil is undoubtedly a more attractive and fragrant alternative. And of course, daffodils are usually plentiful and in full bloom by 1st March.</div><div>Whatever the true story of Dewi Sant is , there is no doubt that he was indeed a figure of much historical and spiritual significance that still carries with him much importance to the people of Wales today, a cheerful and celebratory day as my country comes together in honour of their patron saint to celebrate Welsh history, culture, and identity with pride.</div><div>Out of all the saints in the UK, David is the only one to have been born in the country where he is a saint. Scotland’s St Andrew was Palestinian, Ireland’s St Patrick was Romano-British and England’s St George was a Roman soldier who was actually born in Cappadocia, Turkey, around 270AD.with Greek family ties.</div><div>In 2000 the National Assembly for Wales voted unanimously to make St David’s Day on the 1st March a bank holiday.to celebrate out patron saint just like they do in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, but sadly the idea was rejected by Westminster, surprise, surprisea, because of the cost to the economy although a one off bank holiday for the s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 cost £1.2 billion .It's that time of year again when we must ask the same question. St Andrew's/St Patrick's Day are public holidays, why not so in Wales. Dydd Gŵyl Dewi St David's Day Bank Holiday has overwhelming public support in Wales and the support of all Senedd political parties. Why do we allow a foreign country to forbid us to celebrate our national identity on St. David's Day with a bank holiday? Does Germany overrule French Bank Holidays?</div><div>Nevertheless, St David’s position as the patron saint of Wales has only grown stronger since then, with parades and concerts now a staple part of the festivities each year.</div><div><div>Every year in Cardiff there is a National St David’s Day parade. Performers range from local school children, who usually wear traditional Welsh clothing, to theatre groups and dragons. Daffodils and leeks are pinned to clothes. Flags and banners are waved during the parades, including the Welsh flag and the flag of St David.</div><div>The parade typically ends at the Hayes in the town centre, where crowds will gather to proudly sing the national anthem, “<i>Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau</i>”. </div><div>Other villages and towns in Wales may also hold their own parades, and lots of Welsh heritage sites allow free admission for the day. People also attend church services and choir recitals by professional choir groups or school children. </div><div>There’s also a concert held in St David’s Hall in Cardiff, where the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales perform traditional Welsh songs. In Swansea, there’s <i>the Croeso </i>(meaning “<i>welcome</i>” in Welsh) festival, which is a two-day event that celebrates Welsh culture. With music, food stalls, cookery demonstrations, and an event called the daffodil dash. See the full line up here. <a href="https://www.visitswanseabay.com/events/croeso/">https://www.visitswanseabay.com/events/croeso/</a></div><div>Some visit St David’s in Pembrokeshire, known as the religious centre of Wales. The purple-stoned cathedral is found in the UK’s official smallest city (roughly 1,600 people), where two trips to it are equal to one pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Wow! The residents like to decorate the city with bunting and have a weekend of events in the cathedral and around the town. Events include their very own St David’s Day parade: the Dragon Parade and the Ras Dewi Sant marathon, said to be one of the toughest and prettiest races in the world, with the route going through the changing Pembrokeshire Coast Path. The annual Dragon Parade journeys from Oriel y Parc across the city to Cross Square. The parade is so popular, the road is closed for the duration of the parade so that everyone can join in safely. Typical visitors include families, schools and children dressed in traditional Welsh costume. Those part of the parade will pridefully hold their handmade dragons high so that they can be seen from all around. The theme of the St David’s Day parade changes slightly each year to celebrate a different aspect of the event. For example, in 2020, the theme celebrated the colours of Saint David’s famous black and yellow flag.</div></div><div></div><div>To conclude this post I share the following moving poem Rhyfel (War) in both English and Welsh by the Welsh language poet/ pacifist Ellis Humphrey Evans, better known by his bardic pen name Hedd Wyn. (Blessed Peace).<a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/07/remembering-pacifist-poet-hedd-wynn_42.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/07/remembering-pacifist-poet-hedd-wynn_42.html</a> It is one of his best known and most frequently quoted works in which he interweaves ideas about faith, music, class and conflict in a lament for the brutality and devastation caused by the First World War which still has much relevance in the times we live.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>War (Rhyfel) by Hedd Wyn</b></div><p><i>English translation by <a href="https://bookjotter.com/2020/03/24/a-poem-by-gillian-clarke/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gillian Clarke</a></i></p><p>Bitter to live in times like these.<br />While God declines beyond the seas;<br />Instead, man, king or peasantry,<br />Raises his gross authority.</p><p>When he thinks God has gone away<br />Man takes up his sword to slay<br />His brother; we can hear death’s roar.<br />It shadows the hovels of the poor.</p><p>Like the old songs they left behind,<br />We hung our harps in the willows again.<br />Ballads of boys blow on the wind,<br />Their blood is mingled with the rain.</p><p><b>Original Welsh poem by Hedd Wyn</b></p><p>Gwae fi fy myw mewn oes mor ddreng,<br />A Duw ar drai ar orwel pell;<br />O’i ôl mae dyn, yn deyrn a gwreng,<br />Yn codi ei awdurdod hell.</p><p>Pan deimlodd fyned ymaith Dduw<br />Cyfododd gledd i ladd ei frawd;<br />Mae sŵn yr ymladd ar ein clyw,<br />A’i gysgod ar fythynnod tlawd.</p><p>Mae’r hen delynau genid gynt,<br />Ynghrog ar gangau’r helyg draw,<br />A gwaedd y bechgyn lond y gwynt,<br />A’u gwaed yn gymysg efo’r glaw. </p><div style="text-align: left;">This time of the year also serves to remind me that the miracle of spring is just around the corner. Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus i bawb /Happy Saint David’s Day to you all. Heddwch/ Peace.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Even the smallest of things can cause the biggest of change and help the most people. 'Do the little things', click the link below and then the button to help people in palestine! I 'wneud y petha bychan', cliciwch y linc isod a wedyn y botwm i helpu pobl yn palestine!<a href="https://arab.org/click-to-help/palestine/">https://arab.org/click-to-help/palestine/</a></div><p><b>Links to a few earlier St David's Day/ </b><b> Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Posts</b><br /><br />Gillian Clarke - Miracle on St David's David's Day <br /><br /><b> </b><a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/03/gillian-clarke-8637-miracle-on-st.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/03/gillian-clarke-8637-miracle-on-st.html</a><br /><br />The Praise of St David's Day Showing the reason why the Welch -men Honour the Leeke on this Day <br /><b><br /></b><a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-praise-of-st-davids-day-showing.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-praise-of-st-davids-day-showing.html</a><br /><br />Evan James (Ieuan ap Iago) An Ivorite song to be sung to the tune of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau<br /><br /><a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/03/evan-james-ieuan-ap-iago-1809-2091878.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/03/evan-james-ieuan-ap-iago-1809-2091878.html</a><br /><br />Harri Webb - The Red , White and Green<br /><br /><a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/03/harri-webb-7920-311294-red-white-and.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/03/harri-webb-7920-311294-red-white-and.html</a><br /><br />The Welsh Language - Alan Llwyd<br /><br /><a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-welsh-language-alan-llwyd-b1948.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-welsh-language-alan-llwyd-b1948.html</a></p><p> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QvxE5Zu_a70/XltgWJmbDxI/AAAAAAAATrM/a-5Wj43r9kUua-fq7EtcuOVCShsEV39cACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sec_54308972-90b9.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="644" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QvxE5Zu_a70/XltgWJmbDxI/AAAAAAAATrM/a-5Wj43r9kUua-fq7EtcuOVCShsEV39cACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/sec_54308972-90b9.jpg.webp" width="400" /></a></p>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-66090474487342002412024-02-26T13:55:00.007+00:002024-02-28T02:02:32.673+00:00Rest in Peace Aaron Bushnell <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Bn96mA_3GQpqvwep0WM7Ga4yFzjmsPxCDiTrx0S5yanY65dn1FRWHNg6Vr-iFxyKVEnGYGIxkbw702mWeG0733EYqba43r1CR01fz4g6PdYAMaqqLJgexmDezjMbwrWBgqh7vE2UVp_Vs4dtTbNdnVeC7KDFUzGKbEkp33Nmx7ixzcWvXYuLiQ1DXCjr/s1346/GHQdBixXsAAo4wv%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1170" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Bn96mA_3GQpqvwep0WM7Ga4yFzjmsPxCDiTrx0S5yanY65dn1FRWHNg6Vr-iFxyKVEnGYGIxkbw702mWeG0733EYqba43r1CR01fz4g6PdYAMaqqLJgexmDezjMbwrWBgqh7vE2UVp_Vs4dtTbNdnVeC7KDFUzGKbEkp33Nmx7ixzcWvXYuLiQ1DXCjr/w348-h400/GHQdBixXsAAo4wv%20(1).jpg" width="348" /></a></div><p></p><p>Yesterday 25 year old Active duty serviceman Aaron Bushnell self immolated outside israeli embassy in Washington in protest at the genocide in Gaza. Aaron Bushnell, recorded a video live on the Amazon-owned Twitch platform, enroute to the embassy gates in which he said he could </p><p>‘<i>no longer be complicit in genocide</i>’. </p><p>Despite the terrible protest he was about to make, he seemed quite calm and composed, saying that what he was about to suffer was nothing compared to the suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza:</p><p> <i>I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.</i> Aaron Bushnell </p><p>Arriving outside the front gate, Bushnell set down his phone, took eight paces, turned to face the camera, doused himself in an unknown accelerant, donned his service cap, and set himself alight. Security personnel attempted to put out the fire before Bushnell was rushed to hospital with extensive burns, but family members said that he later died of his injuries.</p><div style="text-align: left;">Before the act, which he reportedly live-streamed, Bushnell sent a message to news agencies: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I cried when I saw Aaron Bushnell's final video. Don't look for it. He burns himself to death, shouting his last words "<i>Free Palestine</i>." He remained standing for an unbelievable amount of time while he was burning. I don’t know where he got the strength to do it. He remained standing long after he’d stopped vocalizing. Such a brave young man.</div><div style="text-align: left;">As an emergency crew rushed to try and save Aaron Bushnell’s life an Israeli Embassy Agent held a gun fixed on him as he was dying from his self-immolation. That’s all they know how to do. One of the officers at the scene said we need fire extinguishers not guns, those few words mean so much in so many different ways and can be used as such a big metaphor</div><div style="text-align: left;">Bushnell is said to have worked in IT for the US air force. Whether that led him to seeing things that his conscience couldn’t bear is not known. They'll smear Aaron Bushnell as mentally ill, but his resume speaks for the shit he had access to. An active duty devops engineer, he really meant it when he said he will no longer be complicit in the genocide. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The protest was reminiscent of Thich Quang Duc, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and the first of several to do so, who set himself on fire in protest against the persecution of Buddhists by the US-friendly South Vietnamese government in the 1960s. Duc’s sacrifice galvanised public opinion around the world and focused international attention on Vietnam. Another victim of Israel’s genocide and war crimes, Bushnell clearly hoped that his protest would do the same and shock a complacent US government and (in part) public into action against the apartheid occupation regime and its war crimes. </div><div style="text-align: left;">There were two aspects to his protest. One was against the subjugation, colonisation and genocide of Palestinians, the other was against its normalisation. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Shame on all those media outlets who have ignored Aaron Bushnell’s protest or have left out what he said was the purpose of his action</div><div style="text-align: left;"> “<i>Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.</i>” Aaron Bushnell’s last Facebook post,</div><div style="text-align: left;">What a tragedy when brave young men, with high moral standards and acute sense of justice set themselves on fire while the world is thriving with genocidal psychopaths. This American soldier is a martyr of humanity and we shouldn't let his name be forgotten.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Aaron’s decision to take such extreme action underscores the depth of his commitment to raising awareness about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. His selfless act serves as a poignant reminder of the immense suffering endured by innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of conflict and violence. While the circumstances surrounding Aaron’s passing are undoubtedly tragic, his courageous protest has sparked important conversations about the urgent need for peace and justice in the region. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The incident happened as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet approval for a military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah while a temporary cease-fire deal is being negotiated. Israel ’s military offensive in Gaza, however, has drawn criticisms, including genocide claims against the Palestinians.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Aaron Bushnell's unwavering dedication advocating for the rights of the oppressed will not be forgotten, and his sacrifice will serve as a catalyst for change. As we mourn the loss of Aaron Bushnell, let us also reflect on the issues he sought to address through his activism. The plight of the Palestinian people demands our attention and action, and Aaron’s sacrifice reminds us of the urgent need to work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict. In the wake of this heartbreaking loss, my thoughts and prayers are with Aaron’s loved ones, friends, and fellow activists.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The flames that consumed Aaron Bushnell today were more than a physical manifestation of anguish; they symbolized the depth of his despair and the urgency of his message. In a world marred by conflict and indifference, Aaron sought to ignite the collective conscience, sacrificing himself in a final act of defiance against the silence surrounding the suffering in Gaza.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Rest in Peace Aaron Bushnell your bravery will not go in vain, your selflessness is a real lesson of courage for us, may your memory be blessed. You refused to be an accomplice to genocide. Standing up for what you believe in, and sacrificing your life to do it (in this case alone) takes more than what most of us have. May we all have the courage and bravery you showed us. There is only so much evil in the World people are prepared to stomach. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Let us turn our sorrow into anger, and our anger into action. Honour Aaron Bushnell. Don’t stop talking about Rachel Corrie. Don’t stop talking about Shireen Abu Akleh. Don’t stop talking about Refaat Alareer. Don’t stop talking about Palestine. May Aaron Bushnell's resounding last words become a reality in our day.<span> W</span>e cannot allow his tragic death to be in vain and must continue calling out the evil atrocities perpetrated daily against Palestinians. We must all say "<i>I will not be complicit</i>" and "<i>Free Palestine.</i>"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCJUMjJ59nHVDH_Q9_istLH7cx5m7M43C_4h1n6INtvrKp5GLtoWUc0tZZ_wR4yHeQ-X-Q0kSoa2Y3nN_QyYS_lc5hQa-Cj5S-XkzAEolM-I-cK7LG0DOs143H_wClI3PTCtDrCxtOpxPFw5KuCsGOUwPbEzl_mwES-BjSToO2AaCbqgnACm4xPOMo0GV/s680/GHPVD1abwAAEGLB%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCJUMjJ59nHVDH_Q9_istLH7cx5m7M43C_4h1n6INtvrKp5GLtoWUc0tZZ_wR4yHeQ-X-Q0kSoa2Y3nN_QyYS_lc5hQa-Cj5S-XkzAEolM-I-cK7LG0DOs143H_wClI3PTCtDrCxtOpxPFw5KuCsGOUwPbEzl_mwES-BjSToO2AaCbqgnACm4xPOMo0GV/s320/GHPVD1abwAAEGLB%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-13110101373644158702024-02-19T14:47:00.003+00:002024-02-19T15:06:03.694+00:00Boycott Israeli dates - a 5 step guide <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLSLrQ9NVGsoE7cCWxP3Trli0yr5lW4KGWxFFFLWXS-nzGJzEFkZbHJ2R6VK9t8hR5Mz_1N776S9MyCTHqo-2TGk1q0Qvu_bwljyDo0P7CHMCTx003Xe4odekwrXn3jeu_ZE3qssBQVde6DEQEnDazANCybhWfLVrtfOpxFZ5zIXuftHGbfCJkL5sJIle/s1748/dates-postcard-2012-single-colour11%20(1).webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1748" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLSLrQ9NVGsoE7cCWxP3Trli0yr5lW4KGWxFFFLWXS-nzGJzEFkZbHJ2R6VK9t8hR5Mz_1N776S9MyCTHqo-2TGk1q0Qvu_bwljyDo0P7CHMCTx003Xe4odekwrXn3jeu_ZE3qssBQVde6DEQEnDazANCybhWfLVrtfOpxFZ5zIXuftHGbfCJkL5sJIle/w400-h284/dates-postcard-2012-single-colour11%20(1).webp" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Palestinians call on us to boycott Israeli products to pressure Israel to end its apartheid and genocide against Palestinians..In 2005, Palestinian civil society called for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions to assist Palestinian people to also achieve freedom and justice, founded in the same year BDS t<a href="https://bdsmovement.net/">https://bdsmovement.net/</a>, is a global movement which takes inspiration from the campaign that targeted South Africa’s apartheid regime, focusing on non-violent methods to accomplish its goals. Its basic principle is that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity, and it seeks to mount international political and economic pressure on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The worldwide consumer, cultural, sporting and economic boycott, divestment and sanctions of South Africa contributed to the end of that apartheid state. </div></div><div>Israel is a major producer and exporter of dates to the European market! They are grown in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, and are the most profitable crop of the illegal Israeli settlers, who exploit the desperate poverty of their Palestinian workers – including children – with appalling working conditions.</div><div>Many dates sold in UK supermarkets and grocery stores are grown in Israeli settlements which are illegal according to international law as they are located on Israeli Occupied Palestinian land.</div><div>Dates are an important part of Israel’s economy, producing over half of the world’s leading varietal the Medjool date. Medjoul dates are grown in the Jordan Valley within illegal Israeli settlements. They form a large part of the agricultural produce from these settlements which are then exported all over the world.Buying these dates means that you are actually helping Israeli settlers steal Palestinian land. Israelis claim Palestinians are given jobs working on the land of these settlers and a boycott will harm them. In actual fact, these Palestinians are employed for paltry wages, to do the back-breaking work that the Israeli settlers will not do themselves. </div><div>Settlers exploit Palestinian children, who are forced to miss out on their education and work long hours under the hot baking sun for small sums of money.The price of settlement produced dates are cheaper compared to those produced by Palestinian farmers as a result.Israeli exporters are using their profits to support these illegal settlements that help entrench the brutal, military occupation and colonisation of Palestine. </div><div>Additionally, Israel has maintained control of Palestine’s water resources since 1948, leaving Palestinians with insufficient water for their individual needs or to produce food for their own economy.</div><div>As Ramadan approaches, make sure you stand with Palestinians by boycotting dates from Israel. Say no to the dates of oppression, occupation and apartheid! Free Palestine.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Boycott Israeli dates - a 5 step guide </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Step 1: When you’re buying dates, always check the label. Don't buy dates that are produced or packaged in Israel or its illegal settlements. Keep Israeli goods off the table.</div><div>Unfortunately checking the label doesn't always help as Israel has been caught falsely labelling settlement in order to evade boycotts, they are often disguised using labels such as: Jordan Valley, West Bank (settlements), or ‘produce of more than one country,</div><div>So please be mindful of such devious marketing ploys and mechanisms</div><div><br /></div><div>Step 2: Check the retailer’s website. If you can't find a country of origin on the box this information is often online.</div><p>Step 3: Don’t buy dates from Hadiklaim This is one of Israel's largest exporters. It sells dates under the names: King Solomon, Jordan River and Jordan River Bio-Top, and under supermarket brand labels Check the box, if the dates were “exported by Hadiklaim" don’t buy them </p><p>Step 4: Avoid these companies: Mehadrin, MTex, Edom, Carmel Agrexco, and Arava. They are major exporters of Israeli agricultural goods.</p><p>Step 5: Support the Palestinian economy by buying Palestinian Palestinian dates Buy Palestinian dates with @Zaytoun_CIC These are social enterprises supporting Palestinian farmers, that imports Palestinian dates to the UK. Support Palestinian farmers defending their land against Israeli colonialism.<a href="https://zaytoun.uk/">https://zaytoun.uk/</a></p><div style="text-align: left;">The boycott of Israeli dates is already working and is sending a strong message to Israel’s government that its conduct will result in economic losses..Spread the word by downloading updated boycott Israeli dates postcard: </div><p><a href="https://palestinecampaign.org/resources/leaflets/">https://palestinecampaign.org/resources/leaflets/</a></p>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-43723736749964646922024-02-13T17:54:00.002+00:002024-02-13T17:54:23.155+00:00Saunders Lewis : ‘Tynged yr Iaith’ (‘The Fate of the Language’) <p> <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LmOpDaXMuBo/V8iw2DL_YnI/AAAAAAAAPTo/ix11DvQ-F_oXqGdqSd25fde2BkvqD_KHQCLcB/s1600/13090264_10154230444249073_2118964539_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LmOpDaXMuBo/V8iw2DL_YnI/AAAAAAAAPTo/ix11DvQ-F_oXqGdqSd25fde2BkvqD_KHQCLcB/s320/13090264_10154230444249073_2118964539_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></p>Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, dramatist literary critic, and political activist.Saunders Lewis is considered one of Wales' leading literary and political icons, and is considered by some a nationalist hero.was born John Saunders Lewis, into a Welsh-speaking family in Wallasey, Cheshire on the 15th October 1893, and grew up among the Welsh community in Merseyside. <div>He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party (later known as Plaid Cymru). Lewis is usually acknowledged to have been among the most prominent figures of twentieth-century Welsh-language literature. Lewis was a 1970 Nobel nominee for literature, and in 2005 was voted 10th as Wales' '<i>greatest-ever person</i>' in a BBC Wales poll.. <br /><div class="Textblock"><div class="TextblockContent">Lewis studied English and French at Liverpool University until the breakout of World War One, after which he served in the South Wales Borderers. After the end of the war Lewis returned to university and graduated in English.In 1922 Lewis joined the University of Wales, Swansea as a lecturer in Welsh. Lewis' nationalism was heightened by his wartime experiences, and fighting with Irish soldiers in particular seemed to shape his ideas on the importance of Welsh identity.In 1925 he joined other nationalists at a 1925 National Eisteddfod meeting with an aim to establishing a national party for Wales. Plaid [Genedlaethol] Cymru was established, of which Lewis was President from 1926 to 1939.<br />In 1936 in protest to a bombing school being established at Penyberth on the Llŷn Peninsula, Lewis along with along with Rev. Lewis Edward Valentine, pastor of the Llandudno Welsh Baptist Church and David John Williams, senior schoolmaster at Fishguard County School had in protest set fire to a structure on a RAF base at Pwllheli, Caernarfonshire, Wales. They felt the recently built RAF base <i>"was an immoral violation of the sure and natural rights of the Welsh people</i>", Lewis saying that “the UK government was intent upon turning one of the ‘<i>essential homes of Welsh culture, idiom, and literature’ into a place for promoting a barbaric method of warfare</i>”. After setting the blaze, the trio informed the police what they had done and turned themselves in and claimed responsibility for the act of arson.Lewis was dismissed from his post at Swansea University following the crime.</div><div class="TextblockContent">Following the arrests of D.J Williams, Saunders Lewis and Lewis Valantine for the "<i>tân yn llŷn</i>" in 1936 all three were tried on charges of arson in Caernarfon crown court where their pleads were deemed invalid as they all pleaded in Welsh.</div><div class="TextblockContent">Following the jury's indecision on the matter it was decided that the case should be moved to the Old Bailey causing outrage though Wales which along with the lack of status for the Welsh language in the legal system. </div><div class="TextblockContent">The Penyberth Three were jailed for nine months at Wormwood Scrubs for the act, an event which had major repercussions in the run-up to the Second World War and provoked a backlash against Wales and the Welsh in England. However after being released from prison the men were given a hero's welcome by 15,000 people in Caernarfon.They had won the hearts of the Welsh people when they opposed the building of a bombing school in Wales .Sympathy for this case will depend upon feelings for the nationalist cause. However, what is striking is that the government’s lack of willingness to engage and compromise with the protestors led to a few people taking an extreme form of action. It may not have worked as far as the Llyn Peninsula was concerned but it probably helped galvanise nationalist feeling in Wales for many years to come.<br />A<span class="article_body">fter being released from prison in autumn <span id="date">1937</span>, <span class="name"><span class="surname">Lewis</span></span> moved to <span class="name">Llanfarian</span> on the outskirts of <span class="name">Aberystwyth</span>, and spent the following fifteen years earning an uncertain living between <span class="name">teaching</span>, <span class="name">farming</span> and <span class="name">journalism</span>. </span></div><div class="TextblockContent"><span class="article_body">In <span id="date">1939</span> he resigned from the presidency of the National Party. <span id="date">1941</span> saw the publication of the slim volume of poetry, <i>Byd a Betws</i>, in which the opening poem, ‘<i>Y Dilyw </i>1939’ (‘The Deluge 1939’), refers to unemployed <span class="name">miners</span> of the industrial south as ‘<i>y demos</i> <i>dimai’</i> (‘<i>the halfpenny demos</i>’) and to <span class="name">Wall Street</span> financiers ‘<i>[a]'u ffroenau Hebreig yn ystadegau'r chwarter’ (‘with their Hebrew nostrils in the quarter's statistics’</i>). It was repeatedly quoted from then on by left-wing critics attacking his snobbery and his anti-semitism. His column ‘<i>Cwrs y Byd</i>’ (‘<i>The</i> <i>Course of the World</i>’) in <i>Y Faner</i> was more substantial. <span id="date">Between 1939 and 1951</span> he contributed more than 560 weekly articles on life in <span class="name">Wales</span>, <span class="name">Europe</span> and the world as it faced the inevitability of war, the conflict itself, and the new world which emerged from the subsequent peace. These columns show <span class="name"><span class="surname">Lewis</span></span> at his best and his worst. Prophesying doom and convinced that no good would come of victory for either side, he said that <span class="name">Wales</span> should remain above the fray. His column was withheld more than once and often cut by the censor's blue pencil.</span><br />His half-halo came to be cancelled out by one diabolical horn. Lewis’s support for the dictatorships inaugurated first by Portugal’s Salazar and then Spain’s Franco became a subject of concern to Plaid members and voters. Possibly influenced by his embrace of Catholicism – in whose pre Vatican 2 reading of the Christ story and certainly influenced by Maurice Barres, the market-leader in what has been called ‘the first wave of French Fascism’ and a high priest of French anti-semitism (of whom Lewis once wrote, acknowledging his debt, that ‘<i>it was through him that I discovered Wales’</i>), Lewis was certainly a political and literary anti-semite.</div><div class="TextblockContent">His position during the Second World War was also controversial as he felt that Wales should take a completely neutral position and supported the campaign for the Welsh to become conscientious objectors. He argued with the left of the Welsh nationalist movement and was seen by some as having an elitist approach. Perhaps his most controversial statement, though, was<b> </b>when he appeared to show admiration for Adolf Hitler – as late as 1936, the year of the arson attack, when he wrote: <i>“At once he fulfilled his promise — a promise which was greatly mocked by the London papers months before that — to completely abolish the financial strength of the Jews in the economic life of Germany.</i>” Though he is considered one of the leading Welsh political figures of the Twentieth Century, Lewis reputation should now be forever held into question like his comtempraries T.S Eliot and Ezra Pound whose work is still marred by the same stain that lingers over Saunder Lewis.It would be a dereliction if I whitewashed this thorny issue from Lewis's story.<br />Saunders Lewis was a complex, tortured individual, a poet and dramatist, described by historian Gwyn A Williams as “<i>deeply conservative, a monarchist, a believer in leadership by a responsible elite</i>”. Under him, Plaid called for “<i>a nation of ‘small capitalists’, cooperation, the deindustrialisation of South Wales and the restoration of agriculture as the basic industry</i>”. Lewis also called for the annihilation of English as a national language: “<i>It must be deleted from the land called Wales</i>”.<a href="http://isj.org.uk/clear-red-water-or-fabianism-with-a-valleys-accent/#evans141_41" name="evans14141"></a> He served as president of Plaid for 13 years and became its public face.<br />During the Second World War the party moved rightwards, and its toleration of anti-Semitism and refusal to oppose Hitler, Mussolini or Franco alienated many who believed they had joined a liberal, even left wing, nationalist party. <span class="article_body">By the end of the <span class="name">Second World War</span> <span class="name"><span class="surname">Lewis</span></span> was disillusioned by the ‘<i>communal socialist’</i> and pacifist tendency of <span class="name">Plaid Cymru</span> (as it was called by then), by its lack of emphasis on the language, and later by what he regarded as the half-hearted stance of its liberal pacifist <span class="name">president</span>, Gwynfor Evans, on plans by <span class="name">Liverpool Corporation</span> to drown the village of <span class="name">Cwm Celyn</span> in order to create the <span class="name">Tryweryn reservoir</span>. <a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/cofiwch-dryweryn-remember-tryweryn.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/cofiwch-dryweryn-remember-tryweryn.html</a></span> Over the next 15 years the party moved from being a right wing nationalist movement to being a party in favour of trade unions and social reform. Nationalist sentiment was heightened in the late 1950s and 1960s with the case of the Tryweryn Valley, where, despite nationwide Welsh protests, the village of Capel Celyn was flooded to build a reservoir for Liverpool. Plaid’s share of the vote went up from 0.7 percent in 1951 to 3.1 percent in 1955 and 5.2 percent in 1959.<br />Lewis will probably be best remembered today for his literary legacy. His first play, "<i>Blodeuwedd</i>" ("<i>The woman of flowers</i>") opened in 1923. His play "<i>Buchedd Garmon</i>" ("<i>The life of Germanus</i>") was broadcast on the BBC in 1937. Later plays like "<i>Siwan</i>" (1956), "<i>Brad</i>" ("<i>Treachery</i>") (1958) and "<i>Esther </i>"(1960) would establish his reputation as a poet and a philosopher. Lewis wrote two novels, "<i>Monica</i>" in 1930 and <i>"Merch Gwern Hywel</i>" ("<i>The daughter of Gwern Hywel</i>") in 1964. These works along with many others garnished him a nomination for the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature.<br />He returned to lecturing in 1952 at Cardiff and remained there until his retirement five years later.<br />On February 13 1962 Lewis gave a now famous lecture on BBC radio entitled ‘<i>Tynged yr Iaith’</i> (‘<i>The Fate of the</i> <i>Language’</i>), Addressing his fellow Welsh-speakers in a mixture of realistic fact-finding and wry humour, he pilloried the ‘<i>English government’s’ </i>deliberate efforts over the previous half-millennium to eradicate the Welsh language, and warned his compatriots that this persistent policy was about to be rewarded by their own failure to resist. <i>“Restoring the Welsh language in Wales is nothing less than a revolution</i>,” he declared “<i>It is only through revolutionary means that we can succeed " </i>predicted the extinction of the Welsh language and declared that the language would die unless revolutionary methods were used to defend it. <i>Tynged yr iaith</i> was a clear defiant rallying cry that sounded the alarm that, if what Lewis called ‘<i>the</i> <i>present trend</i>’ continued, and warned that Welsh would disappear as a living language by the start of the 21st century.</div><div class="TextblockContent">Welsh developed from older Celtic languages in the 6th century and 90% of the population spoke Welsh as recently as 1850. There were two main reasons for its rapid decline, firstly, the industrial revolution with its mass immigration and secondly, the active and often forcible discouragement of its use.</div><div class="TextblockContent">As far back as Henry VIII's Act of Union in 1536, which fixed English sovereignty over Wales, the use of Welsh for legal, administrative and business purposes was largely prohibited.</div><div class="TextblockContent">In Wales, Welsh school children were punished for speaking their own language in the belief that the English Language would solve all their educational problems. hey tried to kill its language and damned nearly succeeded, because in the nineteenth century their was a superficial belief that English was superior, and that English was the only language which should be used throughout the British Empire.</div><div class="TextblockContent">A report of 1847 which became known as the <i>Treachery of the Blue Books</i> written by English barristers who did not speak any Welsh between them castigated Welsh culture in general, and referred to the Welsh language as a drawback and that the moral condition of Welsh people would only improve with the introduction of English.</div><div class="TextblockContent">The ' <i>Welsh not </i>' consisted of a small piece of wood or slate inscribed with the letters '<i>W.N</i> ', which was hung barbarically around the neck of any child caught speaking Welsh. At the end of the day , the child wearing the '<i>Welsh Not</i> ' would be punished by the schoolteacher with the cane.. It was a form of cultural genocide and it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that this draconian measure and attitude to Welsh slowly began to change.</div><div class="TextblockContent">Yet at the same time, right up until the early part of the 20th century, Welsh was actively discouraged in education and government. The population colluded; English was seen as a route to well paid white collar jobs.</div><div class="TextblockContent">Lewis' radio speech was in response to the 1961 census, which showed a decrease in the percentage of Welsh speakers from 36% in 1931 to 26%, of the population of about 2.5 million. In the census the counties of Meirionnydd (Merionethshire), Ynys Môn (Anglesey), Caerfyrddin (Carmarthenshire), and Caernarfon (Caernarvonshire) averaged a 75% proportion of Welsh speakers, with the most significant decreases in the counties of Glamorgan, Flint, and Pembroke.</div><div class="TextblockContent">A result of the lecture led to the foundation of the Welsh Language Society/ Cymdeithas Y Iaith – a protest organisation which subsequently forced the adoption of equal legal validity for the Welsh-language in official communications and road signs – and forced a Government U-turn leading to the establishment of S4C – the Welsh Fourth Channel and saw a revival in the use of spoken Welsh. Here is a link to full transcript of this historical lecture;-</div><div class="TextblockContent"><a href="https://morris.cymru/testun/saunders-lewis-fate-of-the-language.html">https://morris.cymru/testun/saunders-lewis-fate-of-the-language.html</a><br />It would have an impact, and the language movement went through an important shift, ceasing to be just a conservative concern and beginning to draw in many students and young people. The action focused on campaigning for the use of Welsh in official documents, in the media and on road signs. Many members of Cymdeithas were involved in a high-visibility campaign of direct action in 1969, in which English road signs were vandalised and painted out. This period saw numerous hunger strikes, prison sentences and occupations of TV studios. The campaign against the Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon, also in 1969, saw a separate bombing campaign, in which two young men died after bombs went off prematurely.<span class="article_body">This speech also ironically made the old man into an idol for a new generation bred on the ideals of the civil rights movements in the southern <span class="name">United States</span> and <span class="name">South Africa</span>. The arch-conservative had become a symbol of revolution.</span></div><div class="TextblockContent">The impact and influence of the speech contributed to a renewed sense of purpose among those resistant to the language’s increasing marginalisation. Over the subsequent three decades the case for Cymraeg would be campaigned and argued for with an applied fervour.</div><div class="TextblockContent">With concern for the Welsh language mounting in the 1960s, the Welsh Language Act 1967 was passed, giving some legal protection for the use of Welsh in official government business. The Act was based on the Hughes Parry report, published in 1965, which advocated equal validity for Welsh in speech and in written documents, both in the courts and in public administration in Wales. However the Act did not include all the Hughes Parry report's recommendations. Prior to the Act, only the English language could be spoken at government and court proceedings. </div><div class="TextblockContent">In 1990, Welsh became a compulsory subject for all pupils in state schools in Wales up to the age of 14. Three years later the Westminster government passed a Welsh Language Act, which formally recognised that <i>“in the course of public business and the administration of justice, so far as is reasonably practicable, the Welsh and English languages are to be treated on the basis of equality</i>”. </div><div class="TextblockContent">Although the Welsh Language Act 1967 had given some rights to use Welsh in court, the Welsh Language Act 1993 was the first to put Welsh on an equal basis with English in public life. </div><div class="TextblockContent">The Act set up the Welsh Language Board, answerable to the Secretary of State for Wales, with the duty to promote the use of Welsh and to ensure compliance with the other provisions. Additionally, the Act gave Welsh speakers the right to speak Welsh in court proceedings under all circumstances. The previous Act had only given limited protection to the use of Welsh in court proceedings. The Act obliges all organisations in the public sector providing services to the public in Wales to treat Welsh and English on an equal basis; however it does not compel private businesses to provide services in Welsh: that would require a further Language Act. Some of the powers given to the Secretary of State for Wales under this Act were later devolved to the National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru), but others have been retained by Westminster. </div><div class="TextblockContent">Today Welsh language comprehensive schools are multiplying. There is a Welsh language TV channel, S4C and a thriving cultural scene, including a vibrant youth culture.Today thankfully the Welsh language remains very much a living language, and is spoken by 20% of the population, concentrated mainly in the west of Wales. The concern for its survival ignites much passion and political activity. Its survival is remarkable, given its culturally powerful neighbour. Despite this dramatic reversal in the language's fortunes, its future remains in the balance and consequently is still very much worth fighting for.Siaradwch Cymraeg</div><div class="TextblockContent">Saunders Lewis died on September 1st 1985 at the age of 91.Yes he stood up for the Welsh language but despite efforts to sanitise his story by members of the Welsh establishment, it would be wrong to airbrush the ugly whiff of fascism that stays attached to him today, however by the time of his death he remained one of the most celebrated of Welsh writers.</div><div class="TextblockContent"><br /></div><div class="TextblockContent"><b>‘Tynged yr Iaith’ (‘The Fate of the Language’) - Saunders Lewis</b></div><div class="TextblockContent"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BnqylLCe85Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="BnqylLCe85Q"></iframe></div><br /><div class="TextblockContent"><br /></div></div></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-80256600322784851672024-02-12T23:32:00.006+00:002024-02-13T03:07:43.554+00:00All eyes on Rafah! All out for Palestine! <div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2s-nKzFAMJ1xO92orv1DEqfgXy7UpkL39O-8jE_9MC503xh9apsH4HKbiva_b9OP0Zark5Bq8Q_hwPkCfJGlaCmjT3D9XxaC0Nkmi4E1B4wGSuUKdMAkL0E8JY-w4lmBGXt6HSolDc4XrWsHubzerLQVK6YwXN2RzxG7GeoomrikRXMHcVnKUA9DgYLqU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2s-nKzFAMJ1xO92orv1DEqfgXy7UpkL39O-8jE_9MC503xh9apsH4HKbiva_b9OP0Zark5Bq8Q_hwPkCfJGlaCmjT3D9XxaC0Nkmi4E1B4wGSuUKdMAkL0E8JY-w4lmBGXt6HSolDc4XrWsHubzerLQVK6YwXN2RzxG7GeoomrikRXMHcVnKUA9DgYLqU=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Those who have been silent have been complicit: 12,300 Palestinian children killed by genocidal Israel. When 70% of the dead are Women and Children the ratio in itself shows intentional War Crimes. </div><div>In less than an hour Israel indiscriminately killed 63 Palestinian civilians in Rafah and heavily bombed homes and mosques. </div><div>Rafah is home to 260,000 Palestinians,in addition to more 1.2 million displaced civilians the majority of them children.With no where to run or hide. Deliberately told to go to Rafah as a "<i>safe place</i>". Now being murdered. Whilst the world watches and cannot help, Many have been displaced multiple times, pushed further and further south.They have been living in tents, in relatives’ crowded homes, or informal shelters like cafes. Conditions are already dire, with severe shortages of essential supplies including water and food, and diseases spreading. They barely have any protection from the cold wind or rain. </div><div>Palestinians in Rafah are bracing for a major ground offensive. Israeli state officials have planned the permanent mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt. We know military officials have discussed it during the current assault.</div><div>My heart is heavy now with the unfolding tragedy happening in Rafah right now.where children, women, and men are being killed. Just as it has happened in all the cities of Gaza over the last four months.</div><div>For months, Israel's relentless aggression has systematically herded Palestinians into Rafah, transforming it into the most densely populated area on Earth. With each bombardment, the already dire situation plunges further into the depths of despair.</div><div>The recent escalation of violence has exacted a heavy toll on Gaza's people, with over 27,000 lives taken and a staggering 1.9 million displaced, seeking refuge wherever they can find it amidst the rubble of their shattered homes. Half a million individuals teeter on the brink of starvation and disease, their plight exacerbated by the relentless onslaught.</div><div>The attack on Rafah escalated as the Super Bowl kicked off, and began at about the same time the Stop Hate/Antisemitism ad played. This isn’t coincidence. It is planned. They would have known that most eyes in the US wuld have been glued to the game and not paying attention.Football and Genocide what a spectacle.</div><div>My thoughts are with everyone in Rafah. I have no words for the images I’ve seen, just tears.What kind of sick evil dystopian world do we live in? F16 aircraft from 30,000 feet dropping US and British supplied bombs, killing starving infants and women.This is insanity.The images out of Rafah are sickening. The most horrible fiction could barely hold a candle to what grown armed adults are doing to defencless people and children corralled for slaughter.</div><div>Rafah’s population has increased x5 since the Israeli offensive began in October and now Israeli forces are preparing to launch a ground operation in Rafah. Civilians have nowhere to go to escape the bombardment and are facing the real and imminent risk of genocide.This is the worst war crime in modern history. The "<i>final solution</i>" has started. We are living a live tragedy supported by Europe and US. </div><div>Looking at the unthinkable, unspeakable images of the Israeli state’s depraved genocide of Palestinians in Rafah, and thinking as these crimes against humanity take place that something in our moral selves has been altered forever by this moment. I’m ashamed that we haven’t been able to stop this horror and feeling shame, rage, and grief.</div><div>The number of people killed in Rafah is increasing every hour and who knows how many will be trapped under the rubble? Many children already have grave injuries like amputated arms or legs. Medical supplies are scarce and Israeli bulldozers have flattened most of the hospitals in Gaza. </div><div>Politicians who cry crocodile tears instead of doing all they can to stop the extension of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza to Rafah deserve all the anger and contempt that is surely coming their way. Labour and the Tories have both refused to oppose genocidal violence, which has now reached the point of carpet bombing over a million of people seeking safety in Rafah. We must not be complicit! Do not vote for them. Do not vote for parties that permit genocide. No ceasefire no vote! </div><div>Israel can only continue its genocidal rampage because of the complicity of governments like the UK, which continues to provide diplomatic and military support for Israel’s assault. The UK continues to license weapons to be supplied for use in Israel’s attacks. We must demand the government immediately ends all arms trade with Israel. </div><div>In the face of such unyielding suffering, we must not allow ourselves to become desensitized. We must raise our voices in unwavering solidarity with the people of Gaza, demanding accountability from the Israeli government and justice for the victims of this senseless violence.</div><div>Mass protests on short notice have been tajing place across the UK to call out its complicity in the ongoing genocide, in support of Palestinians in Rafah All eyes on Rafah! All out for Palestine! In our thousands and in our millions, we are all Palestinians.Whether an action is small or big we cannot stop fighting the genocidal Iisraeli state. and keep calling for the full liberation of Palestine, from the rivers to the sea!</div></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-17293570710669429082024-02-11T11:17:00.004+00:002024-02-11T13:08:41.642+00:00 Lingering Echoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sentzoHMO-pDXfpG-TgyjbH4aAqxVHWdBtyYAEwtwEB8b7ZqKnd0RYhAkXFjQKkR4hWGlmjY3SaKipOSDVeW7oNrIj66cv6-lEAZGp71JP_Xt9STqClIlG8_e0Il3GDt04ERmMj_4qYZCZEz616JR9ioVTfsRbtfyj3zKp5HUoy2XQvIyTHw3I8jQ6sY/s1000/shadow-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1000" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sentzoHMO-pDXfpG-TgyjbH4aAqxVHWdBtyYAEwtwEB8b7ZqKnd0RYhAkXFjQKkR4hWGlmjY3SaKipOSDVeW7oNrIj66cv6-lEAZGp71JP_Xt9STqClIlG8_e0Il3GDt04ERmMj_4qYZCZEz616JR9ioVTfsRbtfyj3zKp5HUoy2XQvIyTHw3I8jQ6sY/s320/shadow-1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Memories of stolen dreams, convoluted truths</div><div style="text-align: left;">Nights of deceit and chaotic mayhem,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Distempered times of heated atmosphere</div><div style="text-align: left;">Twisted yesterdays, wrapped up in bent todays, </div><div style="text-align: left;">She dreams of days of welcomed thunder</div><div style="text-align: left;">The patter of rain against her window pane,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Soothing sounds to cancel the intoxicating misery</div><div style="text-align: left;">Forces of unreason, biting ferociously,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cloaked insecurities, dampening down happiness</div><div style="text-align: left;">Snarling forcefields of whirling crappiness, </div><div style="text-align: left;">Intrusive thoughts, weighing down heavily</div><div style="text-align: left;">That trigger internal doors of rattling insanity,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Longing for emerging light, springs alchemy</div><div style="text-align: left;">To release the forcefields of inner maladie,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Shrouding herself from the mists of heartache</div><div style="text-align: left;">Beyond the chords of bitterness that break,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Remembers that the entire earth is a masjid</div><div style="text-align: left;">Can be a place of unbounded sanctuary,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Where the nectar of human kindness is stored</div><div style="text-align: left;">Healing the cracked illusions that once roared.</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-39421857311867219502024-02-07T16:22:00.004+00:002024-02-07T18:46:35.102+00:00Remembering the Battle of Jarama and the fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l34ey3YOhlY/WJixinFEmjI/AAAAAAAAP9E/8pUxWkReGLAtKK6Roogh5NSaTzKx6aCXwCLcB/s1600/177_178081s1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l34ey3YOhlY/WJixinFEmjI/AAAAAAAAP9E/8pUxWkReGLAtKK6Roogh5NSaTzKx6aCXwCLcB/s400/177_178081s1.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="padding-left: 30px;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Spanish Civil War broke out on July 18th 1936. after fascist ‘Nationalist’ forces commanded by a group of military generals led by General Francisco Franco attempted to overthrow the democratically elected Republican government of Spain.Franco gained military support from various regimes and groups, especially Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Alarmed at the prospect of another European country falling into fascist hands, and dismayed at the inaction of their political leaders,almost immediately volunteers throughout the world joined the International Brigade, risking their lives to go out to Spain to fight against Franco and fascism.and to defend the Spanish Republic.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Those who signed up either sympathised with one or more of the radical groups trying to reorganise life in republican Spain, or were just acutely aware of the danger that the rise of fascism would pose for the whole world.</div><div style="text-align: left;">This cause, in support of the democratically elected Spanish Republic, brought together an estimated 45,000 to 55,000 men and women from over fifty countries, with the largest contingents coming from France, Italy, Poland, the United States, Germany, the Balkan countries (including the former Yugoslavia), and Great Britain. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Among the many intellectuals world-wide who rallied to the Republican side were George Orwell, W.H. Auden, Federico Garcia Lorca, John Dos Passos, Andre Malraux, Arthur Koestler, and Langston Hughes,while many other writers and artists devoted their writing and art to the subject, most notably Picasso in his tour de force Guernica, on exhibit in Madrid’s Prado museum.</div><div style="text-align: left;">This week in history on the morning of 6 February 1937 General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist army launched a massive attack on Republican lines in the Jarama valley to the southeast of Madrid seven months following the army revolt.The attack launched was an attempt by General Franco's fascist forces to dislodge the anti-fascist (Republican) lines along the river Jarama, just south east of Madrid, and lasted until Feb 28th, Following the failure of the attempts on the west of Madrid in November and December 1936, Franco had prepared a new offensive to the south of the capital, aiming to cut the vital road that linked Madrid with the Mediterranean port of Valencia, restricting vital supplies of food, fuel and munitions to the besieged capital. the seat of the Government.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Initially intended to be part of a combined operation with Italian troops to the east of the city, Franco decided to push ahead with the Jarama action despite the Italians having being delayed by heavy rain. Colonel Varela, Franco’s field commander, had five brigades of six battalions at his disposal, plus eleven reserve battalions, totalling some 25 000 men – mostly elite Moroccan regulares and legionnaires – and nationalist forces were supported by the German Condor Legion, two heavy machine gun battalions, a tank corps under and batteries of 155mm and 88mm guns and two heavy bombers provided by Mussolini backed up by German armour..</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Republicans had a similar number of men available, who had been mustered for an impending Republican offensive in the same sector, which had also been delayed by the weather.The volunteers were a mixture of Communists, Labour Party members, socialists, anarchists, trade unionists and other sympathisers, all bitterly opposed to the idea of fascism. They came primarily from the unemployed areas of Mersyside, Manchester, Scotland, Tyneside and London.</div><div style="text-align: left;">They had travelled by boat and land to join the fight. Hardened by the British weather, they hadn’t anticipated Madrid’s temperature drops at night and it weakened them. For many of the British volunteers, this was also their first experience of action and they had been given as little as six weeks’ training when they faced Franco’s battle-hardened and weather-ready Army of Africa. </div><div>The Rebel offensive pressed forward quickly and by the evening of the 6th the Republicans had been pushed back to the Jarama River, and Rebel troops were within shelling distance of the Madrid-Valencia road. Over the next three days, Franco's troops forced back the anti-fascists,despite the Republican commander, General Miaja, throwing the elite Spanish Lister, El Campesino and 11th International Brigades into the defence. but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Anti-fascist counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides.</div><div>Many American anti-fascist volunteers from the Abraham Lincoln Brigades fought and died in this battle to stop the spread of fascism.Jarama marked the beginning of a bruising and often dispirited campaign and witnessed one of the bloodiest battles of Spain's Civil War.By the end of the first day of battle, the British batallion found itself with less than half the number they had set out with.</div><div>Early in the morning of 11 February, hostilities begin again. The Tiradores de Ifni ("Ifni Rifles" or "Ifni Shooters") takes the Pindoque Bridge by surprise. The second part of the offensive begins with the passage of the river. The Third National Brigade, under the command of Colonel Barrón, is going to launch itself towards the conquest of the heights of the vertices Pajares and Valdeperdices, although the republican resistance is beginning to make the advance of Franco’s troops very difficult.</div><div>In the early morning of the 12th, another bolt jumps again over the Jarama. On this occasion, it is the III Tabor de Regulares de Tetuán which takes the bridge that joins the San Martín de la Vega road with Morata, which was defended by a company of the 17th Mixed Brigade. The II and the IV National Brigades commanded by the colonels Saénz de Buruaga and Asensio Cabanillas are launched towards Morata ascending to the plains that separate the valleys of Tajuña and Jarama, with the so-called “<i>Army of Africa</i>” in vanguard (Tabores de Regulares and Flags of the Legion).</div><div>Opposite Morata they meet with the XI and XV International Brigades, producing a very hard conflict between the two armies in the olive groves that surround the Galiana Way. The Republican units manage to stop the offensive. In the following days the attacks and counter-attacks take place in this olive grove maze, turning the struggle into a battle of exhaustion. It will be considered the first modern battle in history due to the participation of battle tanks, artillery and aviation in coordination with the infantry; and the first open field “<i>Great Battle</i>” of war. </div><div>The maximum point of the Francoist advance on Morata takes place on February 16th, with the road cut of the Arganda bridge and the conquest of the Radio House (El Alto) amid a bleeding of casualties. They’re not moving any further. </div><div>From February 17 onwards, the initiative changes in the battle. There is a changeover in the Republican command, with General Miaja taking charge of the operations, replacing General Pozas. The rebel army is exhausted and has no reserves. They’re going to entrench and try to hold the conquered terrain. On the contrary, the government army launches a counteroffensive in all fronts with the intention of expelling the rebels to the other side of the Jarama River. The key to this counteroffensive will be the reconquest of Cerro Pingarrón, located in the municipal district of San Martín de la Vega. The Republican troops, led by Enrique Líster, head of the 11th Division, are going to throw themselves over and over again against this position. The most critical day will be the 23 February, when as many as three times the Republicans are on the verge of taking the high ground, recognized as one of the bloodiest places in the Civil War. From this day forward, the battle is fading, although there will still be a last and desperate republican attempt to break the front lines.</div><div>On February 27, beside the San Martín de la Vega highway, the Americans of the Abraham Lincoln battalion and the 24th Mixed Brigade launched themselves against Franco’s positions with a disastrous result. It was the epilogue of one of the most important battles of the Civil War. It made it clear that the war was going to be a long one. The front was stabilized without the two sides having achieved their objectives, remaining almost unchanged until the end of the war, beginning a hard fortifying work that has left our landscape marked with innumerable traces of that conflict.<div>The second part of the offensive begins with the passage of the river. The Third National Brigade, under the command of Colonel Barrón, is going to launch itself towards the conquest of the heights of the vertices Pajares and Valdeperdices, although the republican resistance is beginning to make the advance of Franco’s troops very difficult.</div><div>In the early morning of the 12th, another bolt jumps again over the Jarama. On this occasion, it is the III Tabor de Regulares de Tetuán which takes the bridge that joins the San Martín de la Vega road with Morata, which was defended by a company of the 17th Mixed Brigade. The II and the IV National Brigades commanded by the colonels Saénz de Buruaga and Asensio Cabanillas are launched towards Morata ascending to the plains that separate the valleys of Tajuña and Jarama, with the so-called “<i>Army</i> <i>of Africa</i>” in vanguard (Tabores de Regulares and Flags of the Legion). </div><div>Opposite Morata in a place that became known as '<i>Suicide Valley</i>" ,they meet with the XI and XV International Brigades, producing a very hard conflict between the two armies in the olive groves that surround the Galiana Way.The Republican units though they were outnumbered manage to stop the offensive and manage to keep the fascists at bay. but suffered heavy losses. </div><div>In the following days the attacks and counter-attacks take place in this olive grove maze, turning the struggle into a battle of exhaustion. It will be considered the first modern battle in history due to the participation of battle tanks, artillery and aviation in coordination with the infantry; and the first open field “<i>Great Battle</i>” of war..</div><div>On February the 18th the brigadiers launched a counter attack, but this was stopped by the fascists. Despite the poor conditons, the brigadiers managed to stand firm. As the men made their way up an outcrop that was later known as "<i> Suicide Hill </i>" they were mown down mercilessly by machine gun fire. They had little chance.Of the 500 brave men only 140 survived, the memory of this battle haunting them for many years later. </div><div>But the vital road that Franco needed to have cut remained open. The most critical day will be the 23 February, when as many as three times the Republicans are on the verge of taking the high ground. From this day forward, the battle is fading, although there will still be a last and desperate republican attempt to break the front lines.</div><div>Mussolini and Hitler continued to give Franco large amounts of aid in men, aircraft, bombers, tanks and ammunition, much of it coming in via Portugal, throughout the war.</div><div>On February 27, beside the San Martín de la Vega highway, the Americans of the Abraham Lincoln battalion and the 24th Mixed Brigade launched themselves against Franco’s positions with a disastrous result. It was the epilogue of one of the most important battles of the Civil War. </div><div>The 28 February 1937 marked an end to '<i>The Battle of Jarama</i>', one of the most vital yet deadliest battles to have taken place during the Spanish Civil War. Lasting for 21 days, fespite heavy losses – 10,000 dead on the Republican side, the Republican lines held, and a stalemate ensued which stayed in place until the final days of the war in 1939. In all, more than 15,000 died on both sides, making it one of the bloodiest confrontations of the war. </div><div>Depending on the author, an estimated 600 to 1,200 members of the International Brigades lost their lives in the Battle of Jarama, while hundreds were taken prisoner or declared missing in action.Nobody will know exactly how many died, let alone the names of all those who fought there</div><div>While the rest of the world was either complicit or stood by, the International'l Brigades in Spain showed generations to come what solidarity looked like.Although the Spanish Republic would eventually be defeated in 1939,.the Battle of Jarama forever stands as an example of the courage and determination of the Spanish and international anti-fascists during the civil war.</div><div>Franco would establish a military dictatorship, which he defined as a totalitarian state. Franco proclaimed himself Head of State and Government under the title <i>El Caudillo,</i> a term similar to<i> Il Duce</i> (Italian) for Benito Mussolini and <i>Der Führer </i>(German) for Adolf Hitler. Under Franco, Spain became a one-party state, as the various conservative and royalist factions were merged into the fascist party and other political parties were outlawed. Franco’s regime committed a series of violent human rights abuses against the Spanish people, which included the establishment of concentration camps and the use of forced labor and executions, mostly against political and ideological enemies, causing an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths in more than 190 concentration camps. Spain’s entry into the Second World War. on the Axis side was prevented largely by, as was much later revealed, British Secret Intelligence Service (MI-6) efforts that included up to $200 million in bribes for Spanish officials to keep the regime from getting involved. Franco was also able to take advantage of the resources of the Axis Powers and chose to avoid becoming heavily involved in the Second World War..</div><div>The Civil War ravaged the Spanish economy. Infrastructure was damaged, workers killed, and daily business severely hampered. For more than a decade after Franco’s victory, the economy improved little. Franco initially pursued a policy of autarky, cutting off almost all international trade. The policy had devastating effects, and the economy stagnated. Only black marketeers could enjoy an evident affluence. Up to 200,000 people died of starvation during the early years of Francoism, a period known as <i>Los Años de Hambre </i>(the Years of Hunger).</div><div>The Spanish Civil was was a decisive moment in the history of the world. It was of immense significance internationally. From 1936, Europe’s future participants in the Second World War came into direct or indirect conflict with each other during the Spanish civil war. Spain was the first great battle of the Second World War, the test bench for a war to come that would devastate Europe.</div><div>For the first time in history civil populations were bombed. We all remember Guernica,<a href="https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2023/04/marking-horrific-anniversary-of-bombing.html">https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2023/04/marking-horrific-anniversary-of-bombing.html</a> but there were many Guernicas in Spain. Europeans lost their lives on both sides and their names populate the cemeteries of Madrid, of Jarama, of Belchite, of Teruel, of Guadalajara, of the Ebro …, mythical names, where so many Europeans lie. </div><div>For some people this war was the last great cause, for others it was a crusade.It was the most passionate war, in which the ideologies of the 20th century confronted each other for the first time: democracy, fascism and communism. It was a religious war, but at the same time a class war, a revolution faced with a reaction. It was a conflict that would continue in Europe and which also continued in Spain after the war had finished, because it was not just a war. There was also a long and hard post-war period, during which it was no longer a question of beating the enemy, since the war had been won, but rather of eradicating it, in order to maintain a system that lasted for a long time and kept Spain out of the process of democratisation until freedom returned in 1975. </div></div><div><div>Today I remember those who throughout this conflict their faith and ideals remained intact,with their bravery, sacrifice and committment to their noble cause. Comrades that stood together and fought for good against the evils of fascism.Ordinary people who made the extraordinary choice to leave their friends and family and fight in a brutal war far away from home, a common cause bringing them together, shoulder to shoulder with the workers and peasants of Spain fighting for their emancipation. </div><div>Those who lost their lives will never grow old, they will never fade from our memories or their names from our lips, they live on through us - they are legend.We should never forget theirs heroic struggle against the forces of fascism.,While their own government was appeasing the fascist dictators, these brave volunteers knew that fascism had to be defeated and were prepared to die in order to do so;They will continue to be an inspiration to all of us involved in anti-fascist campaigns today.</div></div><div>The International Brigade Memorial Trust (IBMT), <a href="https://international-brigades.org.uk/">https://international-brigades.org.uk/</a> keeps alive the memory of the 2,500 men and women who went to Spain from 1936-39 to join the International Brigades to help the Spanish republic as it tried to put down the military revolt launched by Franco with support from Hitler and Mussolini. The struggle continues, the fascists shall continue to not pass. No pasaron. Remember the Internationale unites the human race.</div><div><br /></div><div>" <i>It was in Spain that my generation learned that one can be right but can be beaten , that force can vanquish spirit, that there are times when courage is not its own recompense. It is this doubtless , which so many, the world over feel the Spanish drama as a personal tragedy</i>" - Albert Camus</div><div><div><br /></div>The following poem by the young International Brigades volunteer John Lepper charts the day's fighting in the Jarama valley ..Followed by two more reflections on this battle.<br /><br /><strong>Battle of Jarama - John Lepper.</strong><br /><br />The sun warmed the valley<br />But no birds sang<br />The sky was rent with shrapnel<br />And metallic clang<br /><br />Death stalked the olive trees<br />Picking his men<br />His leaden finger beckoned<br />Again and again<br /><br />Dust rose from the roadside<br />A stifling cloud<br />Ambulances tore past<br />Klaxoning loud<br /><br />Men torn by shell-shards lay<br />Still on the ground<br />The living sought shelter<br />Not to be found<br /><br />Holding their hot rifles<br />Flushed with the fight<br />Sweat-streaked survivors<br />Willed for the night<br /><br />With the coming of darkness<br />Deep in the wood<br />A fox howled to heaven<br />Smelling the blood.<br /><br /><strong>Jarama Front - T.A.R Hyndman</strong><br /><br />I tried not to see,<br />But heard his voice.<br />How brown the earth<br />And green the trees.<br />One tree was his he could not move.<br />Wounded all over,<br />He lay there moaning.<br /><br />I hardly knew:<br />I tore his coat<br />it was easy -<br />Shrapnel had helped.<br /><br />But he was dying<br />And the blanket sagged.<br />'God bless you, comrades,<br />He will thank you.'<br />That was all.<br />No slogan,<br />No clenched fist<br />Except in pain.</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Jarama - A.M. Elliot</strong><br /><br />Unrisen dawns had dazzled in your eyes,<br />Your hearts were hungry for the not yet born.<br />In agony of thwarted love and wasted life,<br />Through all long misery, from countries torn<br />With savage hands, you did not shrink or bend,<br />But marched on straighter, prouder to the end.<br /><br />Not blindly, fighting in another's war<br />Lured by cheap promises and dugged with drums,<br />Striking down brothers in the name of lies,<br />Slaves of the blackest with all senses numbed-<br />But clear-eyed, bravely, counting all the cost,<br />Knowing what might be won, what might be lost.<br /><br />The rifles you will never hold again<br />In other hands will speak against the night.<br />Brothers have filled your places in the ranks<br />Who will remember how you died for right<br />The day you took those rifles up, defied<br />The power of ages, and victorious died.<br /><br />Comrades, sleep now. For all you loved shall be.<br />You did not seek for death, but finding it-<br />And such a death - better than shameful life,<br />Rest now content. A flame of hope is lit.<br />The flag of freedom floats again unfurled<br />And all you loved lives richer in the world.<br /><br /></div><div><strong>Poems reprinted from</strong><br /><strong>The Penguin Book of Spanish Civil War Verse</strong><br /><strong>1980.</strong> <strong> </strong> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_fDYV1agVOo/WJiyaYZO_1I/AAAAAAAAP9M/U5Tzy9_JlUELBA-BN6Zk6BcJ4hmSjdicQCEw/s1600/index.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_fDYV1agVOo/WJiyaYZO_1I/AAAAAAAAP9M/U5Tzy9_JlUELBA-BN6Zk6BcJ4hmSjdicQCEw/s400/index.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The following "<i>Jarama Valley</i>" also known as "<i>El Valle del Jarama</i>" is a song from the Second Spanish Republic. Referring to the Spanish Civil War Battle of Jarama, the song uses the tune of Red River Valley.Written anonymously, it became the unofficial anthem of the British volunteers and has been sung by veterans and their supporters to this day at events to commemorate the legendary International Brigades.</div><br /><b>Jarama Valley - Woody Guthrie</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IIB_MqoY45M" width="320" youtube-src-id="IIB_MqoY45M"></iframe></div><br /></div><div><br /></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-63605239188312110042024-02-05T23:22:00.005+00:002024-02-14T01:26:19.254+00:00Happy 110th Birthday to William.Seward Burroughs (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) Literary Outlaw<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gn1iNwE9hYg/UvDLsg-SALI/AAAAAAAAKlM/BNLhlmFRXOw/s1600/William-Burroughs-008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gn1iNwE9hYg/UvDLsg-SALI/AAAAAAAAKlM/BNLhlmFRXOw/s1600/William-Burroughs-008.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Iconoclast; visionary; homosexual crusader; drug advocate; teacher .US author.visual artist and elder statesman to the Beats: William.Seward Burroughs would have been 110 years old today </div><div style="text-align: left;">Burroughs, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on 5 February 1914 the grandson of the inventor of the Burroughs adding machine.Young Burroughs went to Harvard university, graduated in 1936 with a degree in English literature .Drifting around Europe for a while, with enough monety to sustain him, came back to America, diddled around for a spell, a brief period in the Army just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, but was soon discharged, influenced by other writers who advocated the complete derangement of the senses, like Genet, Rimbaud and Artoud, it was not long before he fell into drug use.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Although Burroughs the writer would rebel against his bourgeois upbringing, he was happy to receive money from his parents, Mortimer and Laura Lee Burroughs, until he was 50 years old. That allowance, about $200 a month, gave him much freedom and drug money. By the early 1940s, Burroughs had already had at least one stay in a mental institution (diagnosis, schizophrenia). His sexual obsession with a man had led him to cut off part of a finger. While living in New York, he would try heroin and quickly become addicted. In 1946, he was arrested for forging a doctor’s prescription. When his father bailed him out, Mortimer merely told his son, <i>“It’s a terrible habit</i>.”</div><div style="text-align: left;">Nowadays recognised as one of the most culturally influential and innovative artists of our time. Outsider, misfit, junky,homosexual, writer, painter, messiah, prophet, satirist, punk godfather, world and inner space traveller extrordinaire. he has been all these things.</div><div style="text-align: left;">He was to become one of the most influential and prominent voices of the Beat Generation.Alongside his friends, Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Hunke, Gegory Corso and Jack Kerouac,emerging out of the embers of the Second World War, this group of writers rejected social standards and celebrated narcotics, sexuality and Arcane religions in their witings.His novels include: <i>Junkie,</i> <i>Naked Lunch</i>, <i>The Nova Trilogy</i> (1961–1964), <i>Cities of the Red Night,</i> and <i>The Place of Dead</i> <i>Roads.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">A figure who looms large through the last half of the 20th Century counterculture.Whose image greets me every morning in my bedroom as my dreams awake.A huge influence to me, it has also considered to have affected a range of popular culture, seeping into literature, painting, film and music A true iconclast of the first order, his vision has provoked, outraged, and inspired countless numbers of people.The influence of William Burroughs on popular culture has been enormous: the Beatles, the Stones, Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Keith Haring, David Cronenberg, Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth have all paid homage to the Beat writer in various media. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Now my personal bookshelfs groan under the weight of his tomes, often I listen to recordings of him reading from them, his distinctive voice, his rich elemental cadence speaking to me about freedom, nothing short of complete liberation, this was his mission, unfortunately I am only human, I have not yet wrestled my way from Control, how they control our bodies, our ideas, our imaginatuions, our spirits and our futures, but I try, and I remember that it was sweet William who first tempted me with new forms of thinking. His world was one that essentally contained no boundaries, continents limitless with imagination. As Burroughs saw it history dissolves into a perpetual present, driven by need, control and the need to control. Throughout his life Burroughs continued to share his message, in his attempt at breaking down the limiting structures that he saw, had been placed all around. His voice still lingers among us, with it's hypnotysing magnetism, his almost deranged tones of prophesy and warning.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wbEnp_0Wn_w/UvDRYh29tyI/AAAAAAAAKlc/sIx_0ITI4Zc/s1600/imagesCAOUAM6P.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wbEnp_0Wn_w/UvDRYh29tyI/AAAAAAAAKlc/sIx_0ITI4Zc/s1600/imagesCAOUAM6P.jpg" /></a></div><br />Starting with his first novel <i>Junky</i><b> </b> published in 1953, recently reprinted, explored his intimate experiences with the world of heroin, serving as a "<i>memory excercise</i>." He set himself a daily schedule, helped by injections of morphine. Originally published as a pulp paperback under the pseudonym ' William Lee' with the lurid subtitle<i> Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vdFkWMhf4VM/UvDVBN6hiVI/AAAAAAAAKlo/28jmaccoi1g/s1600/200px-Junkieace.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vdFkWMhf4VM/UvDVBN6hiVI/AAAAAAAAKlo/28jmaccoi1g/s1600/200px-Junkieace.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div> On September 6, 1953, Burroughs accidentally killed his second wife Joan Vollmer after shooting her in the head, in a drunken attempt to imitate William Tell's feat of shooting an apple of his son's head. Burroughs was charged with criminal impudence and eventually skipped bail, travelled to South America in search of a telepathy-inducing drug called Yage. These travels and his subsequent letters to Ginsberg would serve as the basis of his 1963 book <i>The Yage Letters.</i></div><div>He would later claim that he would never have become a writer, if it was not for the guilt that he suffered after this unfortunate incident. Attributing his descent into writing to Joan’s death, Burroughs explains in his introduction to Queer, <i>“I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would never have become a writer but for Joan’s death and to a realization of the extent to which this event has motivated and formulated my writing. I live with the constant threat of possession and a constant need to escape from possession, from Control. So the death of Joan brought me in contact with the invader, the Ugly Spirit, and maneuvered me into a lifelong struggle, in which I have had no choice except to write my way out.</i>” One of Burroughs first works <i>Junky</i><b> </b>was published in 1953, recently reprinted, exploring his intimate experiences with the world of heroin, serving as a "<i>memory excercise</i>." He set himself a daily schedule, helped by injections of morphine. Originally published as a pulp paperback under the pseudonym ' William Lee' with the lurid subtitle<i> Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vdFkWMhf4VM/UvDVBN6hiVI/AAAAAAAAKlo/28jmaccoi1g/s1600/200px-Junkieace.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vdFkWMhf4VM/UvDVBN6hiVI/AAAAAAAAKlo/28jmaccoi1g/s1600/200px-Junkieace.jpg" /></a></div><br /> The son that he had with Joan, Billy Jr was sent to live with his grandparents, Burroughs Sadly ever saw him, and Billy Jr, subsequently drank himself to death in 1981.<br />In 1956, Burroughs tried to cure his drug addiction with the help of a London Physician named John Dent. It did not work, and he would spend the rest of his life reliant on methadone, but after living for a spell in Tangiers, where he had headed inspired by the works of the writer Paul Bowles, he wrote one of his most enduring works <i>Naked Lunch<b>.</b></i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MSspO1g_Dwc/UvIqkePPtBI/AAAAAAAAKm4/hWhWyXwDvqY/s1600/200px-NakedLunch1stedition.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MSspO1g_Dwc/UvIqkePPtBI/AAAAAAAAKm4/hWhWyXwDvqY/s1600/200px-NakedLunch1stedition.jpg" /></a></div><br />A collage of disturbing, bizzarre and for some obscene images, of hallucinatory intensity, written whilst under the influence of various drugs. It would become his most famous and read book. It was here that he came under the influence of the painter Brion Gysin, from whom he learnt the cut-up style, a technique that would dominate his work for the rest of his life, with ideas and images repeating over and over again, helping produce the works <i>The Soft Machine</i> <i>(1961) The Ticket that Exploded (1962) and Nova Express(1963).</i><br /><b></b><br /><b>'</b><i>All was enveloped in a flaming chromosphere..... Swirling within the incadescence of solar energy were sprays of blood.... Perception was heaving<b> .....</b></i><br /><b><i></i></b><br />WB - Nova Express<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>He would travel extensively, moving to Paris to live at the famous Beat Hotel, where he joind a younger generation, which included the poet Gregory Corso,and a motly accumulation of misfits and outsiders, a feral crew of miscreants, living lives of excess, coming and going as they pleased, like the rats that scurried through it, a place that endeared itself to Burroughs, perhaps because of its wildness and the fact that it's front doors were never locked at all. Whilst here he undertook his most important work, his second novel <i>The Soft Machine </i> was assembled and written while he was at the hotel.<br />In the early 1960's Burroughs moved to London, where he would spend 6 years, supporting himself and his continual addiction by publishing extensively in small literary presses and the burgenining underground scene, as his avant garde reputation grew internationally, as the emerging hippy counterculture discovered his early work.</div><div style="text-align: left;">He also retained the impeccable manners he grew up with. In London, Burroughs would wear three-piece suits and stand up when women entered the room. Those manners didn’t soothe, however, the embarrassments that his parents suffered.By the early ’60s, Burroughs’ parents had moved to Florida, escaping not just Midwestern winters but also, perhaps, hometown gossip and newspaper articles about their son. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Burroufgs during this period was quietly going about his own business in St James, living at Dalmery Court, 8 Duke Street, an unimposing place, near Picadilly, that I've visited once or twice as an act of homage. Not that much to see though. During his stay he took on the Church of Scientology, turning up outside their headquarters to take photographs, observe and simply annoy them. It worked they subsequently moved.<br />His primal books releasing his anti-government ramblings, political undercurrents coarsing through his work, libertarian, anarchistic, alternative models of thinking.Way beyond consensual reality.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ozGJiWRrF6g/UvEhDTpivPI/AAAAAAAAKmI/Yw7rxP_Eicw/s1600/william_s_burroughs-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ozGJiWRrF6g/UvEhDTpivPI/AAAAAAAAKmI/Yw7rxP_Eicw/s1600/william_s_burroughs-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />In the 1970's he would move back to America, first moving to New York, from where he would undertake extensive reading tours,becoming associated with other cultural players like Andy Warhol, John Giorno, Lou Reed and Patti Smith, Keith Karingand a galaxy of other famous names. He became this notorious literary celebrity, lovingly embraced by young new wavers and became a sort of Godfather to the emerging Punk movement.<br />In 1981 he settled in Lawrence, Kansa, spending his time painting wonderful beautiful abstract picturesy, some used with the aid of shotguns, collaborating with many from Bill Laswell, Michael Franti and his Disposable Heroes of Hipocricy and Ministry. Appearing in films, including a seminal appearance in Guy Van Sants 1980 film the Drugstore cowboy.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In spite of courting controversy throughout his whole career, he was not without his supporters. American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, for example, called Burroughs the "<i>greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift</i>." While American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film-maker, actor, and political activist Norman Mailer declared him <i>"the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius.</i>” </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>While I adore Burroughs’ novels, my interest in Burroughs’ work also lies in his semiotic and cut-up collaborations with Brion Gysin. Originating during their stay at the Beat Hotel in Paris, Burroughs and Gysin experimented with the cut-up technique as a means to transcend, as Burroughs would say, Control and access an unrestricted, unmediated truth, culminating with their text <i>The Third Mind</i>.</div><div>While Burroughs’ life story and sexual/narcotic proclivities have had their own legacy, the “<i>cut-up</i>” method that he developed in the 1960s with his friend Brion Gysin has proved his most generative legacy. Writers, musicians and artists of all kinds have adopted this chance procedure, which involves the cutting and splicing of language--or image, or sound--to produce unexpected conjunctions and scramble consensus reality. “<i>The cut-up is actually closer to the facts of perception than representational painting,</i>” Burroughs wrote of the method. “<i>Take a walk down a city street and put down what you have just seen on canvas . . . consciousness is a cut up</i>.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Gysin and Burroughs<br /><b></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0t__mx5o1GE/UvERwvj1l_I/AAAAAAAAKl4/yxQZu27I8tQ/s1600/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0t__mx5o1GE/UvERwvj1l_I/AAAAAAAAKl4/yxQZu27I8tQ/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div><div> <b>William S. Burroughs on his Cut-Up Method of Writing</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NTHU5Jal25g" width="320" youtube-src-id="NTHU5Jal25g"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Here iis a link to an essay on The Cut Up Method:-</div><div> <a href="https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88v/burroughs-cutup.html">https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88v/burroughs-cutup.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Later in his life, Burroughs enjoyed his status as a Downtown, New York forefather, recording an album with poet John Giorno and Laurie Anderson. He also collaborated with director Robert Wilson and musician Tom Waits on a play <i>The Black Rider</i>, a mythical tale vaguely reminiscent of Burroughs’ wife’s death.n 1990 he released the spoken word album <i>Dead City Radio </i>with musical back up from producers Hal Wilmer and Nelson Lyon and alternative rock band Sonic Youth. In 1992 he recorded with the Kurt Cobain, a piece called <i>The Priest They Called him</i><b>.</b></div><div><div>At the end of his life he was living in a two bedroom cottage, with his beloved feline companians,taking gentle stroolls around his garden, a lover of men and science fiction, visited by admirers on his front porch. Despite his struggles with his addictions, his rage, with an '<i>ugly spirit</i>' that he knew well, was able to quote Prspero, finding some kind of peace "<i>But his rough magic, I here abjure."</i><br />For Burroughs the war on drugs were totally unachievable, one that the world was incapable of winning.Burroughs considered opiates to be depressents. They work on the back of the brain, suppressing the emotional and social centres of thought. This was for him was part of the addiction. An addict does not need society, feels no love or hate, gripped by this illness, that cannot be escaped, hooked in junk time, their mind and body becomes regulated by their sickness, their addiction. But for Burroughs addiction was a general conditin limited to drugs. Politics, religion, the family, love are all forms of addiction. In the post-Bomb society, all the mainstays of ther social order have lost their meaning, and bankrupt nation states are run by control addicts.<br />Burroughs finally died on August 2, 1997 at the age of 83 on in Lawrence,Kansas ,USA from a heart attack, still reliant on a methadone maintenence programe, but had survived most of his peers.His work continues to inspire, influence, writers, lyricists and artists of all kinds across the globe. Leaving behind a solid body of work, his legacy still evolving, regarded as one of the greatest writers of our time. His final written words were "<i>Love? What is it? Most natural painkiller what there is. LOVE.</i>"</div><div>William Burroughs remains one of the most complex and controversial American writers of the twentieth century.This agent;s words are still shared, El Hombre Invisible, is still visible for all. Remembered for his lifelong subversion of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous sardonicism. A writer who has been many things to many people.You get what you want from Burroughs, more importantly, you get what you need, and that can sometimes be uncomfortable.Happy birthday William Burroughs.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> "<i>How I hate those who are dedicated to producing conformity. I want real freedom, to live in gross abandonment, to walk the forbidden paths... to burn the bridges and roads meant to contain me.</i>"- William S. Burroughs,</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-61473789850209910722024-02-01T04:05:00.010+00:002024-02-09T16:51:18.685+00:00Realms of Mercy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXIossif5MPBZ10SP8lTMxoKL0ll1osDBtOz1RCWR_d6kOZq4HSY4Khng-kf-tGvj4loaoTD2RzOeSRFs4xzks-XyjsRSRKzDne-XK5PAGFny9esWQpbNbXw0G318Ma7J7Xm75LaadG4CV3P1ZxVMnlCl1_nCPhI0tecbZx68P7K94VZRhdua6rOMGRo-/s1080/Gaza_OJ_hero%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXIossif5MPBZ10SP8lTMxoKL0ll1osDBtOz1RCWR_d6kOZq4HSY4Khng-kf-tGvj4loaoTD2RzOeSRFs4xzks-XyjsRSRKzDne-XK5PAGFny9esWQpbNbXw0G318Ma7J7Xm75LaadG4CV3P1ZxVMnlCl1_nCPhI0tecbZx68P7K94VZRhdua6rOMGRo-/s320/Gaza_OJ_hero%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The world is very weary,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Feeling so much terrible pain</div><div style="text-align: left;">While injustice is continually denied</div><div style="text-align: left;">To the oppressed people of Palestine,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Witnessing and watching misery</div><div style="text-align: left;">Mourning tears difficult to restrain</div><div style="text-align: left;">The light of humanity dimming</div><div style="text-align: left;">After innocent civilians slain,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Unimaginable horrors inflicted</div><div style="text-align: left;">Apocalyptic landscapes of despair,</div><div style="text-align: left;">A disturbing unending nightmare</div><div style="text-align: left;">Releasing tormented sleep,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Trapped by enshrouding blackness</div><div style="text-align: left;">Of endless restless disquiet,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Catastrophic conditions unfold</div><div style="text-align: left;">Casting darkness all around,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amid constant bombardment </div><div style="text-align: left;">Terrorised by Israel Defence Forces,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Without shelter or essentials to survive, </div><div style="text-align: left;">Over rumpled ground, minds growing numb</div><div>Reason and logic with cruelty shattered,</div><div>Walking among paths, upon unweildy feet,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Feeling empty inside, unease in stomachs,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Despite the sadness, against all the odds, </div><div style="text-align: left;">Still steadfastly resist malevolent protrusion </div><div style="text-align: left;">Refuse to be beaten. find ways to ease affliction,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Remain defiant, repel deliverers of tainted death </div><div style="text-align: left;">Deny extermination, exhale liberated breath.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-55106504063248240832024-01-27T13:07:00.002+00:002024-01-27T17:56:51.609+00:00Holocaust Memorial Day : Never Again <div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0i_OflKGc8Zs0Q9Q69H2XYAtDxrhEn5ZzVQzlM8HpFcgyEQeRg3XHDxoRgiWQLAGdaIkhkJgPiWUJSiPiDuFGcYXAJLsvaQTyBet6UFU9KTjjQFib2kUmeD6pqABRWTjYOimkuQV54w5FGubOPqVS2jGeCCwLfp1pqnVyVZ-DtHNF7b57Kgb3VQAOCg/s568/burning-candles-568x320.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="568" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0i_OflKGc8Zs0Q9Q69H2XYAtDxrhEn5ZzVQzlM8HpFcgyEQeRg3XHDxoRgiWQLAGdaIkhkJgPiWUJSiPiDuFGcYXAJLsvaQTyBet6UFU9KTjjQFib2kUmeD6pqABRWTjYOimkuQV54w5FGubOPqVS2jGeCCwLfp1pqnVyVZ-DtHNF7b57Kgb3VQAOCg/s320/burning-candles-568x320.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div><div>Today is Holocaust Memorial Day an important opportunity for us all to reflect on the darkest times of our history..We remember the six million Jewish people, and everyone murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, all victims of Nazi persecution and the victims of subsequent genocides. The genocide of the Jewish people, Roma and other minorities during World War II is a brutal reminder of what can happen in a society overtaken by division, prejudice and hatred, and the fragility of our own humanity, security and safety.Today we remember the victims but also the lesson. Never again must mean never again.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">The slogan Never Again symbolised the determination of anti-fascists and the labour movement that after the Holocaust, genocide must never happen again - that no one should be annihilated because of an accident of birth and who they are.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div> </div><div><i>“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.</i>” </div><div> </div>These are the words of Elie Wiesel, a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He, along with 1.3 million other Jews, was held prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, and he was also one of only 200,000 (approx) Jews who survived it.</div><div><div>Elie went on to write a number of books about his own personal story and that of the Holocaust (also known as 'the Shoah’ in Hebrew) in general, and his works — along with the likes of Primo Levi (author of <i>If This Is A Man</i>) and Anne Frank, whose diary is famous across the world — are some of the most defining stories of that era. They are books I would implore everyone to read, especially as a 2021 <a class="external-link" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/10/half-of-britons-do-not-know-6m-jews-were-murdered-in-holocaust"}" data-offer-url="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/10/half-of-britons-do-not-know-6m-jews-were-murdered-in-holocaust" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/10/half-of-britons-do-not-know-6m-jews-were-murdered-in-holocaust" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">study</a> found that over half of Britons did not know that six million Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust, and less than a quarter thought that two million or fewer were killed.</div><div>And though it is easy to leave history in the past, events like The Holocaust must be remembered — they must be remembered out of respect for those who lost their lives, for those who overcame the most severe form of persecution and went on to become productive members of the communities in which they settled and for those who are yet to even step foot on this planet. We must, as Elie Wiesel says, “<i>bear witness</i>” to these events, and pass their stories and their lessons onto the next generation, so that we can avoid such horrors happening again.</div><div>There is no doubt in my mind that the Holocaust was the greatest crime of the 20th century because of the sheer scale of the premeditated and industrialized murder that occurred.</div></div></div><div>As we contemplate the monumental nature of this moment, it’s instructive to consider the history of International Holocaust Remembrance Day itself. This annual commemoration was created by the UN in 2005, to take place annually on January 27: the day Aushwitz-Birkenau , the largest of the Nazi Concentration Camps was liberated by allied forces. In its resolution establishing the day, the UN General Assembly made it clear that this observance would not merely be about commemorating the past; it pointedly urged member states <i>“to develop educational programs that will inculcate future generations with the lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide</i>.” </div><div>The GA also made it explicit that this remembrance would not be limited to the European Jewry alone, but should also extend to “<i>countless members of other minorities</i>” who were murdered en masse by the Nazi regime.</div><div>From the time they assumed power in 1933, the Nazis used persecution, propoganda, and legislation to deny human rights to so many. Using hate as their foundation. By the end of the Holocaust more than a million inmates, primarily Jews, were brutally and systematically killed in the place where the Nazis introduced the monstrous concept of ‘industrialized murder.’ Among the other victims were non-Jewish Poles, political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, Jehovah’s witnesses,Trade Unionists,. half a million mentally and physically disabled, to say nothing of the millions of prisoners of war, Poles, Russians alongside others deemed undesirable who were exterminated by the nazis between 1939 and 1945.We honor their memory and must pledge to defeat antisemitism and all forms of hatred, never again allowing such horrors to occur.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Zionism however drew different conclusions from the Holocaust. As Professor Yehuda Elkana, a child survivor of Auschwitz and the Rector of the Central European University wrote in Ha’aretz, in '<i>The Need</i> <i>to Forget</i>' in 1988: <i> a profound existential “Angst” fed by a particular interpretation of the lessons of the holocaust … that we are the eternal victim (arose). In this ancient belief… I see the tragic and paradoxical victory of Hitler. Two nations, metaphorically speaking, emerged from the ashes of Auschwitz: a minority who assert, “this must never happen again,” and a frightened and haunted majority who assert, “this must never happen to us again.</i>” </div><div style="text-align: left;">The Holocaust played an important part in the establishment of the State of Israel yet it was because of the Nakba, the expulsion of three-quarters of a million Palestinians from their homeland, that a Jewish State was formed. A series of massacres accompanied the Nakba which were aimed at <i>‘encouraging</i>’ the flight of the Palestinian refugees. </div><div style="text-align: left;">International Holocaust Remembrance Day arrives today at a deeply fraught moment for the Jewish community. Just yesterday, we received the news that the International Court of Justice, ruling on a case brought by South Africa ordered that Israel must do everything within its power to prevent genocidal acts against Gazans. Such acts include, among others, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about Gazans’ physical destruction, carried out with the intent to destroy the Gazan people.</div><div style="text-align: left;">To further mitigate the risk of genocide, the court also ordered Israel to immediately and effectively enable the provision of humanitarian aid and basic services to Gaza. The ICJ’s order is legally binding on Israel, as are the Genocide Convention and Geneva Conventions. Accordingly, there is no doubt that Israel must take concrete actions to ease what the court found to be a “<i>catastrophic humanitarian</i> <i>situation</i>” and restore conditions that can support life in Gaza, not risk its destruction. Specifically, Israel must allow food, water, medical aid, fuel, and other humanitarian essentials into Gaza, without delay or arbitrary restrictions on quantities or types of aid. Israel must cease telecommunications blackouts to ensure aid can be delivered to and distributed across Gaza. Israel must stop denying humanitarian aid distribution within Gaza. Israel must limit its military operations in Gaza to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered to and distributed across all of Gaza. Israel must not attack civilians waiting for humanitarian aid. Failure by Israel to take these steps places Gazans at further risk The order but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.<a href="https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf">https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf</a></div><div style="text-align: left;">In short, International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024 is arriving just as Israel are literally being judged on the world stage for an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. </div><div style="text-align: left;">I realize how painful – even unthinkable – it will be for many Jews to lift up the lessons of International Holocaust Remembrance Day to suggest Israel that is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.But if this particular day is truly is to be a day for us to apply the “<i>lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide</i>,” it is all the more critical for us to speak out and name a genocide that is literally unfolding before us in real time. No matter how uncomfortable or painful the prospect.Lett's remember the 26,000 slaughtered Palestinians in the ongoing genocide in occupied Palestine and Apartheid Israel murdering hundreds of people within 24 hours of the InternationaL Court of Justice ordered it to prevent acts of genocide.</div><div style="text-align: left;">On International Holocaust Memorial Day, we must remember all those who lost their innocent and precious lives in the past.Remember, it didn’t start with gas chambers. It started with politicians dividing the people with ‘<i>us vs. them</i>.’ It started with intolerance and hate speech, and when people stopped caring, became desensitized, and turned a blind eye.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> “<i>Never Again</i>” was always meant to mean never again for all regardless of skin colour, religion or ethnicity.We are all human. We all bleed the same colour, red. When we say '<i>Never Again'</i>, we have to mean it. “<i>Never again</i>” means we must never see the slaughter that we saw during the Holocaust again. And it doesn’t matter who these crimes are being committed against, just as it doesn’t matter who the perpetrators of the crimes are.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Holocaust Memorial Day is about remembering everyone who is the victim of Genocide: WW2, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and Gaza etc History begs us not to make the same mistakes. No human deserves death in the name of politics or power.Peace not war is the only solution for humanity</div><div style="text-align: left;">This International Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us find the courage to speak the words that must be spoken. Ceasefire now. No more genocide.</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-16611671587245086432024-01-25T14:40:00.007+00:002024-01-25T14:43:51.590+00:00Some thoughts on talk of conscription into the army<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCdhu94olE99gLZ4gyTK9nTyIzWHMSuQXZNJFdK8IoE0N2N9B8avkkbXen9TnqKzmJCbN1bcflOIMJU5-Sira4nJ6-q4VjIQ1ZhbTD9L7tr6c85zwrRb_UfHijok8cV1WbxucTv7aPVcWbswr278sh3uoinifhKCWJiXJVCn1C6YgXOY8ChV4Y2FQPQA2/s244/download%20(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="207" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCdhu94olE99gLZ4gyTK9nTyIzWHMSuQXZNJFdK8IoE0N2N9B8avkkbXen9TnqKzmJCbN1bcflOIMJU5-Sira4nJ6-q4VjIQ1ZhbTD9L7tr6c85zwrRb_UfHijok8cV1WbxucTv7aPVcWbswr278sh3uoinifhKCWJiXJVCn1C6YgXOY8ChV4Y2FQPQA2/w339-h400/download%20(2).jpeg" width="339" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The iconic First World War recruitment poster, featuring Lord Horatio Kitchener asking British citizens to "<i>join up</i>" in 1914. Drawing by Alfred Leete.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of the British Army, has said people must be prepared to support the armed forces by participating in a war if called upon to do so. Referring to people in the UK as a "<i>prewar generation</i>",</div><div style="text-align: left;">Speaking at the International Armoured Vehicles conference in west London on Wednesday, Sanders' remarks have been read as a warning to civilians to be ready should Nato go to war with Russia.</div><div>Sanders, who is retiring as chief of the General Staff in the Army this summer, referred to the UK's allies as examples of countries "<i>laying the foundations for national mobilisation</i>". </div><div>He highlighted the role that Ukrainian civilians have played in the war against Russia, implying that he envisions a similar strategy for the UK, should conflict ever break out. </div><div> "<i>Taking preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing when needed are now not merely desirable but essential</i>," he said, adding: "<i>Within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000, folding in our reserve and strategic reserve</i>." </div><div>Since making the statement, social media has been alight with concerns about conscription.Some expressed scepticism that it would be possible to mobilise many people, given the low popularity of the government and anti-war sentiment.I simply cannot see Gen Z or millennials accepting this; conscientious objections and civil disobedience would be abundant.</div><div>On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak insisted the UK government had <i>'no</i> <i>intention</i>' of bringing back conscription. They added: <i>'The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force. There are no plans to change that</i>.' The Downing Street official also labelled '<i>hypothetical scenarios</i>' about potential future conflicts as unhelpful. </div><div>Previously when conscription was used in Britain it was often dependent on age, with many younger citizens being called up to bear arms first. When conscription was first introduced between 1916 and 1920 - during the Fist World War - unmarried men from the ages of 16 to 40 were summoned to bear arms for their country.</div><div>Unless they were in a particular career which was needed for the war effort - or were single parent or minister of religion - they would be expected to serve for King and country. By the time the Second World War rolled around, single men between the ages of 20 and 22 were required to serve.</div><div>However as the war continued to blaze, men aged between 18 and 41 - except those who were deemed medically unfit or workers in key industries - had to register for service.The fighting age range then became bigger, with anyone aged 18 to 51 liable to be drafted. </div><div>Prison workers, students, medical staff, ministers of religion, government staff and police officers were all exempt from bearing arms, however. Additional exceptions were also based on health, so those who had mental of physical isssues, such as blindness were not called to the frontlines.</div><div>Unlike the aforementioned groups, pregnant women were liable to conscription however in reality they were never summoned to serve.</div><div>For millions of British citizens, conscription was a controversial issue, especially for those who had strong anti-war convictions,Those who objected on moral grounds became Conscientious Objectors. A pacifist who objected to war in principle and therefore refused to be enlisted was considered a Conscientious Objector. </div><div>Others had political objections to the war as they did not consider the government of Germany to be their enemy. Some had religious objections to the war, believing whole-heartedly in the commandment '<i>thou shalt not kill</i>'. Members of religious groups such as Quakers or Jehovah's Witnesses fell into this category. </div><div>As with those wishing to be exempted from fighting for reasons of employment, family needs or disability, Conscientious Objectors had to attend a Tribunal hearing to register their objection to participating in combat. If a man's job was considered valuable to the war effort, he was exempted from enlisting. The cases of Conscientious Objectors, however, were usually rejected. </div><div>Those who had been rejected were forcibly enlisted in a combatant Corps, although some could opt to join the Royal Army Medical Corps. If the Objector refused to don the uniform and cooperate he would be sent to prison where the conditions were harsh.</div><div>The No Conscription Fellowship was formed to campaign against the imposition of compulsory conscription. Later, when this failed and conscription became law, the NCF provided support for conscientious objectors throughout the country.There were over 20,000 Conscientious Objectors in Britain between the years of 1916-1918.</div><div>During the Second World War, men up to the age of 60 were required to do some form of National Service. After the war, when the passing of the National Service Act came into force In 1949, conscription became a major part of British life once again.</div><div>Initially recruits were required to serve for 18 months, but this was extended to two years when the Korean War started in 1950. Only those who failed the medical or who worked in the three <i>'essential</i>' industries of coalmining, farming and the merchant navy were exempt. </div><div>National Service was deemed necessary in part because of Britain's military commitments abroad.But towards the tail end of the 1950s National Service was scrapped, because of the burden it placed on the Army and the fact that workers were being drained from the economy.</div><div>The last recruits entered the armed forces in November 1960, with their service coming to an end in 1963. In the present day, there is no conscription legislation in the UK, thank goodness and only those who have a desire to pursue a military career join the army. Therefore, it is unprobable that you would be asked to engage in military combat for Britain under the present legislation. If they were, it would largely be dependent on your age, career path and fitness.</div><div>Sunak trying to look tough by bombing the Houthis is one thing, but the Tories using the threat of WW3 to try and get re-elected is next level evil. All this talk about preparing for War with Russia, China and Iran. Whoever, expanding armaments, conscription. Put all this energy into peace. No, I'm not naive but it's this sort of war talk driven by the media and certaint politicians that makes me so bloody angry. Conscription? Fucking do one! We are NOT going to allow it!</div><div>The idea of dragooning ordinary people into these wars is utterly reprehensible and underlines the dystopian nature of the increasingly aggressive foreign policy being pursued by this government.</div><div>Personally speaking In case of any attempts of conscription into the UK army, I would like to put on Public Record.I have flat feet. I am short sighted,I have a dodgy shoulder. Besides all that I'm probably far too old for all this rubbish, and I hate bloody wars.If you’re happy to be a disposable pawn in a game of proxy war chess, then good for you. I on the other hand, am not.</div><div>I do however love the absolute hubris of people like Sir Patrick Sanders,and politicians demanding people put their life on the line for a political system that has been actively excluding, disenfranchising and in many cases, trying to kill them, for decades Russia is not the enemy. China is not the enemy. are. Anyone pushing for this stipid idea needs to lead by example and go fight their own fucking wars and the UK Government will always be a bigger direct threat to UK citizens than Russia.Besides this millions would defy conscription and young people want peace not war..I think the following sums up my thoughts on conscription perfectly!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujrRKHzUnTlZFhLK-iHARvEEVNZl1GAIkiB_0fSpVCC0bEuWxVUZL5jaT-Sir1yXI4c1AStRPx1f4u4ucSWfGzyM8tel7mBi8NjGEIm8hUxn9LXLHZQXSnpTlMNYAwof9vaHnnVjnTVIYX98paoXZCoy9ZokCD-lbeFs5FYP2pbIrP1lYGETm8QzPYmia/s679/GEoUX4fXEAAFbAe.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="679" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujrRKHzUnTlZFhLK-iHARvEEVNZl1GAIkiB_0fSpVCC0bEuWxVUZL5jaT-Sir1yXI4c1AStRPx1f4u4ucSWfGzyM8tel7mBi8NjGEIm8hUxn9LXLHZQXSnpTlMNYAwof9vaHnnVjnTVIYX98paoXZCoy9ZokCD-lbeFs5FYP2pbIrP1lYGETm8QzPYmia/w400-h206/GEoUX4fXEAAFbAe.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-84783698931024448332024-01-22T14:24:00.002+00:002024-01-22T16:49:42.429+00:00After Storm Isha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsg-sN_vJ-J_Ez2vFVaaf8bTzR6U2YphxJTCniqqYhvbJRMoPA9jQvLJiTAZbe998M22P_oIB1DYdlD0XM6WacBUpiVj8Sa4XwbVsGZHykgOQN5qVpfoiweuZ2ZcP_R9LY1sJnVFSdSh_1mz3A4i7gQqwR0uTJMrvctekDnZ01Kz8OVppN6AMU3i1AbFB/s259/download%20(2).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsg-sN_vJ-J_Ez2vFVaaf8bTzR6U2YphxJTCniqqYhvbJRMoPA9jQvLJiTAZbe998M22P_oIB1DYdlD0XM6WacBUpiVj8Sa4XwbVsGZHykgOQN5qVpfoiweuZ2ZcP_R9LY1sJnVFSdSh_1mz3A4i7gQqwR0uTJMrvctekDnZ01Kz8OVppN6AMU3i1AbFB/s1600/download%20(2).jpeg" width="259" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Storm Isha arrived growling ferociously</div><div>Causing disruption with annoying force,</div><div>Flexing her muscles across the UK</div><div>Like a battering ram of elemental instensity,</div><div>Moving very fast pushing things over</div><div>As she moved swiftly across the land.</div><div>I found shelter in my comfortable warm home</div><div>As mother natires fury kept on raging,</div><div>Thought of the homeless left abandoned outside</div><div>Left me feeling angry like the howling wind,</div><div>Stirring emotions. creating inner disturbance</div><div>As storm raged on, releasing fierce turbulence,</div><div>Killing many trees that we treasure and love</div><div>That had stood proudly not wanting to be hurt, </div><div>Though calmness has returned today</div><div>After the tiring hours from the night before,</div><div>The urgency of climate change is very real</div><div>Gusts of force arrive to give us a warning,</div><div>Unless we act now. with utter ermergency</div><div>Isha's sisters will call again, far from gently</div><div>Bringing danger to life, delivering destruction</div><div>A maelstrom of chaos and willful obstruction.</div><div>.</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-29118797719769717982024-01-19T11:00:00.001+00:002024-01-19T12:18:07.654+00:00Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ( 15/1/1809 -19/1/1865) - To be Governed <b></b><br />
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Pierre Joseph Proudhon was a French politician, socialist /printer and philosopher. A member of the French Parliament, the socio-economic system which he expoused is generally called mutualism. Proudon was the first man to call himself an anarchist", holding that <i>"Anarchy is Order"</i>, inspiring the famous symbol the anarchist circled-A symbol. He is regarded as a forerunner and prominent influence on individualist anarchism.<div>Proudhon’s view of the ideal anarchist society, which he expanded upon in <i>The Principle of Federation</i>, consists of a world without nation-states or borders, with political authority decentralized by a system of independent federated communities, with contracts amongst the parties replacing state-backed laws. It is a government of no one, a self-regulating system in which no individual has power over others. Workers, either individually or collectively, would take control over their own affairs, coming together to coordinate when necessary. </div><div>One person claiming authority over others, Proudhon argued, is an inherently oppressive form of despotism. No one has the right to rule and be obeyed, or to impose penalties for disobedience. Relations between individuals need to be made consensual and be based on principles of mutual aid.</div><div>In a statement traditionally misattributed to Karl Marx, Proudhon argued that “<i>property is theft</i>!” He thought that privately-owned productive resources, insofar as their ownership could always be traced back to some act of arbitrary violence, were all stolen goods. Proudhon believed that the state was inherently unjust, too, as it provided violent security for the owners of capital and tended to violate the individual freedom of its citizens. <br />Proudhon, was born in Besançon,the son of a cooper and tavern keeper, Proudhon’s early life was marked by poverty. Although his family’s poverty forced him to leave education and work as a cattle herd, his intellectual brilliance did not go unnoticed, winning him a scholarship to the prestigious college in Besançon. Proudhon’s time at the college ignited a lifelong passion for learning, although he was forced to leave early to help support his family by training as a printer. While training as an apprentice printer, the autodidact Proudhon taught himself Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, all of which helped him succeed in his new profession. Working as a printer also gave the young Proudhon access to local intellectuals, most notably the utopian socialist Charles Fourier, with whom he became lifelong friends. <div>A prolific author, Proudhon printed many books, the most notable of which are <i>Philosophy of Misery</i> and <i>What is property?</i> The latter is famous for the quote, <i>"Property
is theft; property is liberty: these two propositions stand side by
side in my System of Economic Contradictions and both are true".</i> Since Proudhon made the statement, the passage has been misrepresented and distorted by crypto- Bolshevik collectivisations masquerading as anarchists, who quote only the first three words, excluding the reference to <i>liberty</i>.<br />
His influence in France was immense, and his theories played a great
part in the First International and the Paris Commune, in French
syndicalism and in contemporary movements for currency reform. As a
writer he was admired by Baudelaire, Saint-Beuve, and Victor Hugo; as a
thinker he was respected by Tolstoy, Amiel, and Madame d'Agoult. Marx
knew him, and it was around the rivalry of these two strong
personalities that the leverages between libertarian and authoritarian
socialism, developed in the first international, was crystallized.<br />
He was a leading member of the International Working Men's Association after becoming involved with radicals at Paris. A major dispute broke out between Proudon and Karl Marx, splitting the international between anarchists and Marxists. Proudhon favoured worker co-operatives and a financial system similar to credit unions free from usury. He held that such as social revolution could be made peacefully. <div>Proudhon made his biggest impact on the public during the Second Republic through his journalism. He was connected with four different newspapers:<i> La Représentant du Peuple</i> (February 1848 - August 1848); <i>Le Peuple (</i>September 1848 - June 1849);<i> La Voix du Peuple</i> (September 1849 - May 1850); Le Peuple de 1850 (June 1850 - October 1850).</div><div>His polemical writing style, combined with his perception of himself as a political outsider, produced a cynical, combative journalism which alienated some, but appealed to many French workers. In his numerous articles he criticized the policies of the government and continued to propose the reform of credit and exchange.</div><div>To realize his plan, he attempted to establish a popular bank (<i>Bank du Peuple</i>) early in 1849, but despite numerous adherents (perhaps as many as 13,267--mostly workers), receipts were meager (about 17,993F) and the whole enterprise was essentially stillborn. </div><div>Proudhon failed to get elected to the constituent assembly in April 1848, though his name appeared on the ballots in Paris, Lyon, Besançon, and Lille. He was successful, however, in the complementary elections held on June 4, and was therefore a deputy during the debates over the National Workshops. Proudhon had never advocated such workshops, accurately perceiving them as essentially charity institutions which did not directly attack the problems of the economic system, but he opposed their elimination unless some economic assurances could be given to the workers who relied on them for subsistence.</div><div><div>Proudhon's actions and writings over the years have been controversial.He also was sexist and an anti-Semitic. For Proudhon, the Jew was the "<i>source of evil</i>," as "<i>incarnated in the race of Shem</i>" (Césarisme et christianisme, 1 (1832), He accused the Jews of <i>"having rendered the bourgeoisie, high or low, similar to them, all over Europe</i>" (<i>De la justice dans la Révolution et dans l'Eglise</i> (1858), In his "<i>diary</i>," published posthumously, he called them an "<i>unsociable race, obstinate, infernal… the enemy of mankind. We should send this race back to Asia, or exterminate it"</i> </div><div>Proudhon's unremitting hatred of the Jews was probably influenced by his friend Fourier, but above all by his own xenophobic passion for France, which he saw as "<i>invaded by the English, Germans, Belgians, Jews,</i>" and other foreigners (<i>France et Rhin</i> (1867),</div><div>Thrust into the public sphere by tumultuous events of 1848, Proudhon desired to influence national
socioeconomic policy, but he proved to be an ineffective political actor. As he himself perceptively
noted in 1850, he was basically a "<i>man of polemics, not of the barricades</i>."</div><div>Proudhon was shocked by the violence of the June Days. He visited the barricades personally to acquaint himself with the events that were unfolding and reflected in 1855 that his presence at the Bastille at this time was "<i>one of the most honorable acts of my life.</i>" But in general during the tumultuous events of 1848, Proudhon opposed insurrection and preached peaceful conciliation, a stance that was in accord with his lifelong stance against violence. He never fully approved of the revolts and demonstrations of February, May, or June, 1848, though he sympathetically portrayed the social and psychological injustices that the insurrectionaries had been forced to endure, and argued that the forces of reaction were the responsible parties for the occurrence of these tragic events.</div><div>Pierre-Joseph Proudhon died on Jan. 19, 1865.in Passy.on 19 January 1865 disappointed that his non-violent economic revolution did not appear to be making the sort of progress he believed not merely desirable, but inevitable. Like Marx, he was convinced that capitalism would be but a brief way station on the road to a socialist society. Nonetheless, he remained hopeful that the world would eventually come to its senses and recognise the deep truth within those three words…<i>Property is theft.</i> He was buried in Paris at the cemetery of Montparnasse<br /><div>
I will end with the following much quoted passage which many years later shows how well he wrote.It has an almost poetical quality to it and still raises pertinent questions for the times we live in today. <br />
<br />
<b>To Be Governed</b><br />
<br />
“To be GOVERNED is to
be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered,
regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked,
estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither
the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be GOVERNED is to
be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted,
taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized,
admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is,
under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general
interest, to be placed under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited,
monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the
slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed,
fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed,
bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported,
sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed,
derided, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice;
that is its morality."</div></div></div></div></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-12404331103159965362024-01-13T19:59:00.002+00:002024-01-13T21:18:03.187+00:00The life and legacy of Socialist novelist Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) <div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRECjHMBCHDmyvzcwtb17g6BgvX37JpDLYTHyZedAQ2N58Oq8i_TSex9oaxudawHKYbL8pQCX-gg3FXZ7_9oicpUltC8JNaOEbAmj_0mLUDNZT9TnpLCthiwbQJv7NDCwhxKHPuHBQNFZKSG5EQ8rj-anA3VYjLv5X5KLKRIbJcw1dPYCPjOZvMuasxqFB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="462" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRECjHMBCHDmyvzcwtb17g6BgvX37JpDLYTHyZedAQ2N58Oq8i_TSex9oaxudawHKYbL8pQCX-gg3FXZ7_9oicpUltC8JNaOEbAmj_0mLUDNZT9TnpLCthiwbQJv7NDCwhxKHPuHBQNFZKSG5EQ8rj-anA3VYjLv5X5KLKRIbJcw1dPYCPjOZvMuasxqFB" width="317" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Novelist and journalist and passionate advocate of labor unions, socialism, and the rights of workers,Jack London was born on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco as John Griffith Chaney ,His parents were Flora Wellman, the headstr.ong daughter of a well-to-do businessman, and “<i>Professor</i>” W.H. Chaney, an itinerant astrologer, whose celestial counseling took a more earth-bound course (though he later claimed, in correspondence with London, that he was impotent and couldn’t possibly be his father).</div><div style="text-align: left;">When he was eight, his mother married John London, a middle-aged widower with two daughters. She wanted to make money quickly but his stepfather failed as a grocer and the new family had a series of disasters which drove them from home to home in the Bay Area. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Flora had little time for young Jack, so he found mother substitutes in Mammie Jenny, his black nurse, and his stepsister, Eliza, eight years his senior. Shy and sensitive (he later called himself a boy without a boyhood), London felt the only way he could win social acceptance from his peers was by excelling, which meant being a better fighter (he lost a few teeth along the way, but made his point). But he wasn’t so shy he didn’t develop a strong mercantile instinct, such as selling other boys’ rags, bottles and oil cans to junkmen for commissions. He also got a headstart on his writing career when, upon his refusal to sing with his class, the school principal sentenced him to write a composition each noon. </div><div style="text-align: left;">A restless nature and family finances caused him to quit school at 14 and start working around the Oakland waterfront. He also made good use of the Oakland library, beginning to delve into Marx and Nietzche. Between the ages of 15 and 18 he held a variety of jobs such as newsboy, saloon cleaner, and fruit canner. He bought a skiff at the tender age of 15, replete with live-in girlfriend, and became an oyster pirate; he was known as “the prince of the oyster pirates” due to his prowess at this unusual craft. He also hunted for wild cats on the belief that the Chinese would pay large sums for these felines which allegedly gave them strength for tong wars. He went on to sail to Japan as a North Pacific sealer and bummed hisway around the U.S., part of the time as a member of Kelly’s Industrial Army, a protest group which arose out of the Panic of 1893 and which marched on Washington D.C. </div><div style="text-align: left;">But after serving a 30-day vagrancy charge at Niagara Falls, London returned to Oakland determined, despite his refusal to become a “<i>work beast,</i>” to improve his lot in life. At 19, he enrolled in an Oakland high school but found the pace too slow. Taking a five-week cram course, he passed the entrance examination to the University of California. He only went one semester, however, before family finances compelled him to quit school and work, regardless of the risk, for 10 cents an hour at a jute mill. He was so poor he ate meat once a week at the house of his girlfriend,Mabel Applegarth. He did manage, through Eliza, to get a set of false teeth (he chewed tobacco to relieve the pain in his teeth from all the cavities) and celebrated this event by buying his first toothbrush. (Years later, in Korea, he was called to a hotel balcony thinking the crowd wanted to see him as a famous author and discovered the people just wanted to look at his bridge of artificial teeth!). </div><div style="text-align: left;">But he received writing encouragement when, in 1893, he won a prize in the San Francisco Morning Call for a story “<i>Typhoon Off The Coast of Japan</i>.”</div><div style="text-align: left;">Restless, he fled Oakland again and spent the winter of 1897 in the Alaskan Klondike, which was to provide a substantial amount of material for later stories. By this time he had deduced that writing was the best way to earn a living as a socialist under a capitalistic system.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Jack London married Elizabeth "<i>Bessie</i>" Maddern on April 7, 1900. Their wedding was held on the same day that his first short story collection, "<i>Son of the Wolf</i>", was published. Between 1901 and 1902, the couple had two daughters, Joan and Bessie, the latter of which was nicknamed Becky. In 1903, London moved out of the family home. He divorced Bessie in 1904. </div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1905, London married his second wife Charmian Kittredge, who worked as a secretary for London's publisher MacMillan. Kittredge helped to inspire many of the female characters in London's later works. She went on to become a published writer.</div><div style="text-align: left;">By the age of 30 London was internationally famous for his books <i>Call of the Wild</i> (1903),<i> The Sea Wolf</i> (1904) and other literary and journalistic accomplishments. Though he wrote passionately about the great questions of life and death and the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity, he also sought peace and quiet inspiration. His stories of high adventure were based on his own experiences at sea, in the Yukon Territory, and in the fields and factories of California. His writings appealed to millions worldwide.</div><div style="text-align: left;">London became an active socialist in the 1890s. Already notorious before the age of 20, he had written an article “<i>What Socialism is</i>” for the San Francisco Examiner at the end of 1895. In 1896, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about the “<i>Boy Socialist</i>”.Neither a theorist nor an intellectual socialist, London's socialism grew out of his life experience. As London explained in his essay, "<i>How I Became a Socialist</i>",his views were influenced by his experience with people at the bottom of the social pit.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1896 he joined the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), led by Daniel De Leon, and later that year had a letter published in the Oakland Times urging readers to study Marx’s Capital. London would leave the SLP and join the breakaway socialists around Eugene Debs, running as the Social Democratic Party candidate for mayor of Oakland in 1901 and amassed some 245 votes. He ran again several years later and quadrupled his votes. Though spoken of for the Socialist candidate for the presidency, London’s political career never got past these two unsuccessful mayoral tries. This might be because he signed some his letters, “<i>Yours for the Revolution”</i> and lectured on the evils of capitalism, stressing that “<i>Excess profits were unpaid profits.</i>”</div><div style="text-align: left;">During the early years of the twentieth century, he wrote and spoke up for the burgeoning socialist movement, spreading the message far and wide and leaving a literary legacy around which organisers could recruit. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> In “<i>The Scab</i>” (1903) London provided a fitting epithet for those who ignore workers’ solidarity. He wrote that workers apply <i>“the opprobrious epithet ‘scab’ to the labourer who takes from him food and shelter by being more generous in the disposal of his labour-power. The sentimental connotation of scab is as terrific as that of ‘traitor’ or ‘Judas’, and a sentimental definition would be as deep and varied as the human heart… The labourer who gives more time, or strength, or skill, for the same wage, than another, or equal time, or strength, or skill, for a less wage, is a scab. This generousness on his part is hurtful to his fellow labourers, for it compels them to an equal generousness which is not to their liking, and which gives them less of food and shelter…</i>” </div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1905, London founded the Intercollegiate Socialist Society to propagate socialism among students. London spoke at Harvard, Yale and other Ivy League universities, spreading the message of class struggle. In “<i>Something Rotten in Idaho</i>” (1906) he defended the miners’ union leaders Bill Haywood and Charles Moyer, who had been arrested and fitted up for murder.</div><div style="text-align: left;">His 1908 novel <i>The Iron Heel </i>depicted the rise of fascism in an America eventually freed by a socialist hero.The Nazis burned this and other socialist-leaning works in 1933, but did not, however, ban London's adventure stories. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> London remains a complicated character. He was a socialist who worked hard at making money, becoming one of the highest-paid writers of his day; an author who broke ground by having nonwhites as protagonists in some books and yet made troubling ethnic references , consistent with the racism prevalent in his day.Nevertheless it is an infected scar running across his politics that is hard to ignore. </div><div style="text-align: left;">London was also widely known for his personal exploits. A colorful, controversial personality, London was often in the news. Generally fun loving, he was quick to side with the underdog against injustice of any kind.Jack London's commitment to socialist ideals shaped his worldview and led him to advocate for social and political change. An eloquent public speaker, he was much sought after as a lecturer on socialism and other economic and political topics.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Most people considered London a living symbol of rugged individualism, a man whose fabulous success was not due to special favor of any kind, but to a combination of immense mental ability and vitality. Strikingly handsome, full of laughter, restless and courageous, always eager for adventure, Jack London was one of the most romantic figures of this time. He ascribed his worldwide literary success largely to hard work—to “<i>dig”</i>, as he put it. Jack London's adventurous lifestyle and commitment to socialist ideals shaped his worldview and led him to advocate for social and political change. </div><div style="text-align: left;">In addition to his writing and speaking commitments, London carried on voluminous correspondence (he received some 10,000 letters per year), read proofs of his work as it went to press, and negotiated with his agents and publishers. He spent time overseeing construction of his custom-built sailing ship, <i>the Snark,</i> (1906-1907); the construction of his dream house, <i>Wolf House</i> (1910-1913); and the operation of his farm, <i>Beauty Ranch,</i> (1905). </div><div style="text-align: left;">The natural beauty of Sonoma Valley was not lost on Jack London. The magnificent vistas and rolling hills of Glen Ellen were an ideal place for Jack and Charmian (London’s second wife) to relax and enjoy the natural life. “<i>When I first came here, tired of cities and people, I settled down on a little farm…130 acres of the most beautiful, primitive land to be found in California.</i>” </div><div style="text-align: left;">Though the farm was badly run down, he reveled in its natural beauty. “<i>All I wanted,</i>” London said later, “<i>was a quiet place in the country to write and loaf in and get out of Nature that something which we all need, only the most of us don’t know it.</i>” But true to London’s vigorous nature, he did little loafing and was soon busy buying farm equipment and livestock for his Sonoma Mountain ranch. He began work on a new barn as well as envisioning his dream, <i>Wolf House.</i> “<i>This is to be no summer residence proposition,</i>” he wrote to his publisher as he began planning in 1905, “<i>but a home all the year round. I am anchoring good and solid, and anchoring for keeps.</i>” </div><div style="text-align: left;">Living and owning land near Glen Ellen was a way of escaping Oakland, from the city way of life he called “<i>the man trap.</i>” But, restless and eager for foreign travel and adventure, he decided to build a ship, the Snark, and go sailing around the world, serializing his adventure. The Snark voyage made it as far as the South Pacific and Australia but was curtailed due to ill health. Discouraged by health problems and heartbroken about having to abandon the trip and sell the Snark, the Londons returned to the ranch in Glen Ellen. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Between 1908 and 1913 London purchased adjoining farms and in 1911 he moved from Glen Ellen to a small wood frame house in the middle of his holdings. (This Cottage and adjoining Stone Dining Room can be toured at the Park, a touchstone to the early 20th-century life Jack and Charmian enjoyed at the ranch). On horseback, Jack explored every canyon, glen and hilltop. He threw himself into the farming fad of the period, scientific agriculture, believing this to be a truly justifiable, basic and idealistic means of making a living. A significant portion of his later writing—<i>Burning Daylight </i>(1910), <i>Valley of the</i> <i>Moon </i>(1913) and <i>Little Lady of the Big House</i>(1916)—centered on the simple pleasures of country life, the satisfaction of making a living from the land and remaining close to nature. Jack and Charmian London’s dream house began to take shape early in 1911 when a well-known San Francisco architect, Albert Farr, created the drawings and sketches for Wolf House. Farr supervised the early stages of construction of a grand house that was to remain standing “<i>for a thousand years</i>”. </div><div style="text-align: left;">By August 1913 London had spent between $50,000 and $75,000 and the project was nearly complete. On August 22 final cleanup got underway and plans were laid for moving the Londons’ specially designed custom furniture, thousands of books, collections from travel, and personal belongings into the massive stone and redwood residence. That night, a ranch hand noticed a glow in the sky half a mile away. Wolf House was burning. By the time the Londons arrived by horseback the house was ablaze, the tile roof had collapsed, and even a stack of lumber some distance away was burning. Nothing could be done. </div><div style="text-align: left;">London looked at the fire philosophically, but the loss was a crushing financial blow and the end of a long-cherished dream. Rumors abounded about the cause of the fire. In 1995 a group of forensic fire experts visited the site and concluded that the fire resulted from spontaneous combustion in a pile of linseed oil-soaked rags left by workers. London planned to rebuild Wolf House, but at the time of his death in 1916 the house remained as it stands today, the stark but eloquent vestige of a shattered dream. The loss of Wolf House left London depressed, but he forced himself to go back to work.He added a new writer’s study to the Cottage, continued his efforts to breed prize livestock, and expanded his plans for the 1400 acres he now owned.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Occasionally, London traveled to New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles on business. He spent time living and working aboard his 30-foot yawl, the Roamer, which he sailed around San Francisco Bay and the nearby Sacramento and San Joaquin deltas.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1913, London published what was arguably his least successful book, <i>John Barleycorn,</i> a non-fiction account carrying the subtitle <i>Alcoholic Memoirs.</i>A classic biography of Jack London as a drunk; it is most likely the first thoughtful analysis on alcoholism in Amreican literature. The novel is packed full with London’s notorious adventures including his well known drinking career via the character known as John Barleycorn - a term even now given to alcohol just like the ‘<i>demon rum.</i>’ It is an incredible insight into London and alcoholism.</div><div style="text-align: left;">John Sutherland, professor of English Literature at University College in the UK, wrote in his introduction to the Oxford edition of Jack London’s book that London had pitched the book as “<i>the bare, bald, absolute fact… of my own personal experiences in the realm of alcohol.</i>” As Sutherland notes, “<i>The drunk’s stigma was, however, indelible in 1913. No one of London’s public standing had ever come clean on the question of problem drinking before—at least not while at the zenith of their power and fame.</i>”</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1914 Jack became a war correspondent in Mexico, covering the role of US troops and Navy ships in the Villa-Carranza revolt. London dropped out of any active socialist politics by the end of the noughties. In 1914 he supported the allied side in WWI. He resigned from the Socialist Party in early 1916. London made it clear in his resignation letter that he was not abandoning the ideals of socialism, but rather the Socialist Party itself because of <i>"its lack of fire and fight, and its loss of emphasis on the class struggle.</i>" It's an important distinction. He never did abandon socialism, and even in his departure, he stated what it was all about: “<i>I believed that the working class, by fighting, by never fusing, by never making terms with the enemy, could emancipate itself</i>”.</div><div style="text-align: left;">After breaking with the Socialist party, London became increasingly isolated from his friends and political compatriots in the last years of his life.London’s physical health deteriorated as well. By age 37, the strong, ready-for-anything body of his youth of which he had taken so much pride had become bloated and creaky, old before its time. His formerly fit waistline had expanded, his joints ached from rheumatism, and he was stricken with uremia. kidney failure.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Doctors pleaded with him to change his his work habits and his diet, stop all use of alcohol and get more exercise, he refused. If anything, the pressure of his financial commitments to helping friends and relatives and his increasingly severe health problems only made him dream larger dreams and work harder and faster.habits, but he refused to alter course. He continued to chain-smoke 60 Russian Imperials a day, gorge himself daily on two nearly raw ducks (his favorite meal), and enjoy the regular company of John Barleycorn. He was constantly fatigued and in pain, and when kidney stones arose to deepen his suffering, he added morphine to his arsenal of self-medications</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1915 and 1916, Charmian persuaded her husband to spend time in Hawaii, a relaxing and healthful respite for the two of them. But London’s greatest satisfaction came from his ranch activities. His ambitious plans to expand the ranch and increase productivity kept him in debt and under pressure to write as fast as he could, even though this might mean sacrificing quality for quantity. He continued to push to complete 1000 words per day regardless of his location, duties, or health.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Jack London's death remains controversial. an alcoholic and addicted to painkillers, he had been suffering from a variety of ailments, but up to the last day of his life he was full of bold plans and boundless enthusiasm for the future. Many older sources describe it as a suicide, and some still do. However, this appears to be at best a rumor, or speculation based on incidents in his fiction writings. His death certificate gives the cause as uremia, also known as uremic poisoning (kidney failure).</div><div style="text-align: left;">He died November 22, 1916, at the age of 40 in a sleeping porch in a cottage on his beloved ranch and it is possible that a morphine overdose, accidental or deliberate, may have contributed to his death. Words of grief poured into the telegraph office in Glen Ellen from all over the world. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The buildings and property where he built his last home, and where he and his wife were cremated and interred, were later preserved as Jack London State Historic Park, in Glen Ellen, California. London became for much of the 20th century possibly the best known American author around the world,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Despite his relatively short life, his literary legacy remains influential, inspiring generations of readers with his gripping storytelling.and his legacy and writings speak to a life lived with abandon.In any era undergoing dramatic social change, the work of a writer like London can still arouse people’s sense of fairness and justice that still remains relevant and engaging.</div><div style="text-align: left;">London's literary executor, Irving Shepard, who visited London weeks before he died reported that London said, "<i>I would rather be ashes than dust ... The function of man is to live, not to exist. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor every atom of me in magnificent glow than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.</i>"</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-58854157374107310522024-01-12T16:33:00.003+00:002024-01-12T16:33:32.807+00:00Marking 22 years since the opening of Guantanamo Bay <div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwXoEjRaoBIRfzpSVS05LqSZEBQuSeQgsTxQvehaYifdBnYdMomTwcbNqi6JaDgfZI0kAJWgJhmDvxqr-NLP1-OxtGjdfnHNVKg0DZ0Vh2E3gMxfEcmj0-aaLAEFdSg3eTw7r_47HF2fFOPJeTQEtsrdAefpbNdgLYmdQj5CyZ1CfsYfXB-I26uxs_TYuD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="372" data-original-width="620" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwXoEjRaoBIRfzpSVS05LqSZEBQuSeQgsTxQvehaYifdBnYdMomTwcbNqi6JaDgfZI0kAJWgJhmDvxqr-NLP1-OxtGjdfnHNVKg0DZ0Vh2E3gMxfEcmj0-aaLAEFdSg3eTw7r_47HF2fFOPJeTQEtsrdAefpbNdgLYmdQj5CyZ1CfsYfXB-I26uxs_TYuD=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This week marks 22 years since the opening of the illegal camps at Guantanamo Bay. In the decades-long story of Islamophobia in the name of security, Jan. 11, 2002 was a watershed moment in dehumanization, racism, and bastardization of constitutional and humanitarian law.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Created in the wake of 9/11 to house those suspected of terrorist activity, during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, while the naval base at Guantánamo Bay is under U.S. control, it is not technically American territory because the U.S. rents the land from the Cuban government under a coerced agreement signed in 1903, following the 1898 Spanish–American War. This uncertain legal status is one of the reasons Guantánamo Bay was chosen as a detention site; it has allowed the U.S. government to claim that the individuals held and detained at the base are not entitled to certain rights under U.S. laws.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Since then 779 Muslim men have been held without charge or trial , 35 men remain, 23 of which have never been charged with a crime. All of them have been subjected to tortured. Shockingly, people who have never had a trial are still detained there all these years later and heartbreakingly, more people have died than been charged. has housed up to 780 men, many of whom were later determined to be innocent of any wrongdoing after enduring years of abuse and unlawful detention. Today, 30 detainees remain, 19 of whom still have yet to be so much as charged with a crime. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Guantánamo was also home to one of many secret U.S. “<i>black sites”</i> documented in a 2014 Senate report on the CIA’s use of torture through so-called “<i>enhanced interrogation techniques.</i>” The Senate report determined that these techniques - which included waterboarding, lengthy sleep deprivation, acts of sexual assault, and years of solitary confinement -did not aid in counterterrorism efforts. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> Even 22 years later, Guantánamo continues to be the subject of serious international scrutiny. Current and former Guantánamo detainees have provided harrowing accounts of their years in Guantánamo, which left them with crippling physical and mental illnesses, including heart problems, brain trauma, and PTSD. Many former detainees suffer relentless nightmares or fear of going outside.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/world/cia-torture-guantanamo-bay.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/world/cia-torture-guantanamo-bay.html</a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Despite widespread agreement that the treatment detainees received in Guantánamo violated their most basic human rights,<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/01/guantanamo-bay-ugly-chapter-unrelenting-human-rights-violations-un-experts">https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/01/guantanamo-bay-ugly-chapter-unrelenting-human-rights-violations-un-experts</a> no one has ever been held accountable and while Guantánamo has largely faded from public attention, the prison and its enduring legacy continue to cast a dark shadow over the United States and its global reputation.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Allegations of Torture and Abuse: Reports of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment have plagued Guantanamo since its inception. Investigations by independent bodies have substantiated these claims, raising questions about the camp's compliance with international human rights law.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Guantanamo remains open despite promises to close it by both Presidents Obama and Biden and finally end its legacy of human rights abuses, yet dozens of these “<i>forever prisoners”</i> remain today. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Guantánamo.symbolises Islamophobia in the global War on Terror. Exclusively holding Muslim men, and leaves an indelible mark on the discourse surrounding human rights and justice and remains a symbol of torture, injustice and oppression.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> As we mark this anniversary, we must not forget the individuals who have been held in this legal limbo for years, nor can we turn a blind eye to the erosion of legal principles that Guantanamo represents. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Recently, some of the most impactful reporting on Guantanamo has come from the findings of Fionnuala Ni Aolain, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/expert-welcomes-historic-visit-united-states-and-guantanamo-detention">https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/expert-welcomes-historic-visit-united-states-and-guantanamo-detention</a> the United Nations special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights who visited Guantanamo. </div><div style="text-align: left;">She found enormous issues remain in health care, inhumane and arbitrary standard operating procedures, persistent shackling, and even in the naming of prisoners who are called by Interment Serial Numbers, not by name. </div><div style="text-align: left;">All of these and many other issues amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law. She also found that current prisoners and survivors continue to live with a deep, profound psychological trauma, enormous anxiety, and pain caused by years of torture, inhumane treatment, and arbitrary and indefinite imprisonment. </div><div style="text-align: left;">For many prisoners, the dividing line between the torture of the past and their present conditions are paper thin. And yet, Guantanamo remains open. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> "<i>A reckoning is long overdue—a moment where acknowledgement of wrongdoing, sincere apologies to the victims, compensation and reparation for the survivors, and a commitment to justice and accountability are non-negotiable</i>"</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Around the world, Guantánamo is now a symbol of racial and religious injustice, abuse, and disregard for the rule of law. The US’s inability to close Guantanamo, release the full details of the torture program, and provide justice and redress for the many victims has shown other countries a path to open similar facilities and to avoid accountability.Guantánamo serves only to undermine human rights and the rule of law worldwide. By indefinitely detaining foreign Muslim men without charge, and holding no top US officials accountable for the abuses that they and other prisoners endured, the US signals to the world that it is acceptable to sideline rights and humane treatment in the name of countering terrorism. </div><div style="text-align: left;">This undercuts the US when it calls out other countries for secret detention, torture, and crackdowns on religious minorities and peaceful critics under the guise of security. And it undermines the very international human rights standards and institutions that the US worked so hard to create in the aftermath of World War II. </div><div style="text-align: left;">This is why we cannot forget Guantanamo and must continue to fight for its closure, and justice for its victims.It is outrageous that 22 years after the U.S. government opened the Guantanamo detention camp to detain Muslim men beyond the reach of U.S. law, that this abuse of human rights continues today. The commitment to close Guantanamo Bay must now become a reality. Ensuring that all detainees past and present can obtain justice and live out their lives in dignity is an urgent priority, and an obligation under international law.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Respect for the dignity of human life is not a reward, but a right. The U.S. has a responsibility to fully address the human rights violations committed at Guantánamo and close this dark chapter once and for all.</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-60811128657482408082024-01-08T15:29:00.003+00:002024-01-08T15:33:18.388+00:00There Is No Escape - Hermann Hesse (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWkmpJBW5yo6iYkDc_hCG4gjgNhkJVLmsYPdbDWUCQ1VienmgetmTyp8OGDZygJQYDvv1TMmYYunSRhpZHqdbTF6T31X5rvzVq95TGquZalLVsizrUzfADzOdSs5sv50yaCQrKfvCONUipJj9Nv8Ib6uzozAurtbYW_U9_sbl2NoGBCrXuqr8hKEfBQO6r" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="597" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWkmpJBW5yo6iYkDc_hCG4gjgNhkJVLmsYPdbDWUCQ1VienmgetmTyp8OGDZygJQYDvv1TMmYYunSRhpZHqdbTF6T31X5rvzVq95TGquZalLVsizrUzfADzOdSs5sv50yaCQrKfvCONUipJj9Nv8Ib6uzozAurtbYW_U9_sbl2NoGBCrXuqr8hKEfBQO6r" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Hermann Karl Hesse was born on 2 July 1877 in Calw, Germany.His interest in Eastern religion and Chinese philosophy, following a journey to India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, led to the publication of Siddhartha, a fictional account of a young man's journey toward enlightenment during the time of Buddha, and one of his best-loved novels.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The brilliant German-- Swiss poet, novelist and painter is in my opinion is one of the greatest writers of our time. Hesse gained a wide readership for his lyrical explorations of identity, spirituality, self exploration.and psychology in a time when other modernists were describing the dread, alienation, and absurdity of modern industrial society. As a young man, Hesse was an eager student of nineteenth century Romanticism, admitting his immense debt to major Romantic novelists and poets such as Goethe and Hölderlin.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Profoundly impacted by his parent’s Christianity, he said, “<i>their Christianity, one not preached but lived, was the strongest of the powers that shaped and moulded me</i>"</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1946 Hesse was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. Hesse’s exclamations on life continue to move and inspire me in so many unexpected ways. Hesse was a writer of fascinating extremes and contradictions, a spiritual bent, a lyrical style, combined with a deep sensitivity . a sense of humor and a wealth of imagination. He died on 9 August 1962 in Montagnola, Switzerland.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> The following wonderful passage is from a thoughtful collection of poems and travel prose that Hesse wrote in 1917, titled, <i>Wandering.</i> The book was translated in 1974 by James Wright.</div><p>"There ii no escape. You can't be a vagabond and an artist and still be a solid citizen, a wholesome, upstanding man. </p><p>You want to get drunk, so you have to accept the hangover. You say yes to the sunlight and pure fantasies, so you have to say yes to the filth and the nausea. Everything is within you, gold and mud, happiness and pain, the laughter of childhood and the apprehension of death.</p><p>Say yes to everything, shirk nothing. </p><p>Don't try to lie to yourself. You are not a solid citizen. You are not a Greek. You are not harmonious, or the master of yourself. You are a bird in the storm. Let it storm! Let it drive you! How much have you lied! A thousand times, even in your poems and books, you have played the harmonious man, the wise man, the happy, the enlightened man. In the same way, men attacking in war have played heroes, while their bowels twitched. </p><p>My God, what a poor ape, what a fencer in the mirror man is — particularly the artist- particularly myself.</p><p>There ii no escape. You can't be a vagabond and an artist and still be a solid citizen, a wholesome, upstanding man. </p><p>You want to get drunk, so you have to accept the hangover. You say yes to the sunlight and pure fantasies, so you have to say yes to the filth and the nausea. Everything is within you, gold and mud, happiness and pain, the laughter of childhood and the apprehension of death.</p><p>Say yes to everything, shirk nothing. </p><p>Don't try to lie to yourself. You are not a solid citizen. You are not a Greek. You are not harmonious, or the master of yourself. You are a bird in the storm. Let it storm! Let it drive you! How much have you lied! A thousand times, even in your poems and books, you have played the harmonious man, the wise man, the happy, the enlightened man. In the same way, men attacking in war have played heroes, while their bowels twitched. </p><p>My God, what a poor ape, what a fencer in the mirror man is — particularly the artist- particularly myself."</p>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-29643918479945002922024-01-03T14:10:00.003+00:002024-01-03T15:02:49.070+00:00A Sonnet for Peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih52fBY0qWEHAexsNfpjEhuuBH3Ge7Ys9cRWnwixHpTCwcZFsYiuMBvVCEt0BQf9Y_sW6vWjM3UY_koHhaaodcTI4YhJmmi29ZRneOQ53tzTAB4HMbA-87RSWCdtutYdGaGgYaVmOtmRSRy4wKG3ni7xiddxXoqvflEOIahEYfcP35v8jZx1J_AO3rviCB/s249/download%20(18).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="249" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih52fBY0qWEHAexsNfpjEhuuBH3Ge7Ys9cRWnwixHpTCwcZFsYiuMBvVCEt0BQf9Y_sW6vWjM3UY_koHhaaodcTI4YhJmmi29ZRneOQ53tzTAB4HMbA-87RSWCdtutYdGaGgYaVmOtmRSRy4wKG3ni7xiddxXoqvflEOIahEYfcP35v8jZx1J_AO3rviCB/s1600/download%20(18).png" width="249" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Lets's keep moving forwards </div><div style="text-align: left;">Beyond the cabals of insanity,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Perpetrators of war and misery</div><div style="text-align: left;">Creating howls of shrieking agony,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Delivering fury and rage</div><div style="text-align: left;">From horrors never sated,..</div><div style="text-align: left;">Mass graves, grieving mothers</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starvation, fear and injustice,.</div><div style="text-align: left;">We continue, against all odds</div><div style="text-align: left;">Keep thirsting for peace,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Release the energy of love </div><div style="text-align: left;">To the dark horizons in chaos,.</div><div style="text-align: left;">For brighter days to glow</div><div style="text-align: left;">Tomorrow not filled with dread.</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-15225563585866959822023-12-31T16:40:00.003+00:002023-12-31T17:00:48.539+00:00For a brand new Tomorrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWcXYmevhjCq8CTPPd3aXL84fz58R93w_KzzGw_xGN2vRhasYLMK2x6HY41JaVGz7MYV5NvUgKLyvjDg0Ptl5QE11q6yluZtCMo7UDLVw0Aeo7SEENrFnEHlP08NJvesXhmvU0RUef5et-T8bPcuCJ5ZJI7sFyBGDALKJp2zAh4mPkyhQSULcrZoZDhP3/s320/I_LOVE_Palestine_3_by_PaLiLinz%20(1)%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="213" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWcXYmevhjCq8CTPPd3aXL84fz58R93w_KzzGw_xGN2vRhasYLMK2x6HY41JaVGz7MYV5NvUgKLyvjDg0Ptl5QE11q6yluZtCMo7UDLVw0Aeo7SEENrFnEHlP08NJvesXhmvU0RUef5et-T8bPcuCJ5ZJI7sFyBGDALKJp2zAh4mPkyhQSULcrZoZDhP3/s1600/I_LOVE_Palestine_3_by_PaLiLinz%20(1)%20(3).jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Happy New Year everyone for tomorrow. It's been another tough year for us all with the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, combined now with the very sad news to end the year that the legendary John Pilger has died. He was so brave and focussed his life on telling the world what many, particularly British journalists have failed at. He told the truth.I thank him for shining a light on injustice in the world. He helped shape my outlook on the world with his reporting and documentaries. From Palestine to Iraq, Australia and the Chagos Islands, he did what journalism should do - question and expose. A man of true integrity. Rest in power.</div><div>Let's keep fighting for social justice, a profoundly different future, where the human rights of all will be fully realized, a future of life and of decent lives for all.highlighting injustices done to those fleeing persecution and war and those living in the UK who are denied means to protect their health.</div><div>With no end in sight to the genocide in Gaza, it won't be a happy, joyful new year for me. As we approach 2024 there are thousands of innocent people being massacred in front of our very eyes. Instead of a countdown for a happy new year, let's countdown for a permanent ceasefire and an end of the occupation. </div><div>Real transformative compassionate change is possible. There is no such thing as an ending, just a place where you leave the story. And it’s your story.Keep fighting for truth and integrity and don’t let the bastards get you down. They can never ever beat you. Retain your humanity and compassion.</div><div>The victims of war deserve our solidarity and support, whoever they are, and wherever they happen to be. We should not be fooled by the hypocritical statements of out political leaders. May 2024 be a year of change for the better in love. peace and solidarity. ❤️ </div><div> </div><div>" So hope for a great sea-change<br />On the far side of revenge.<br />Believe that a farther shore<br />Is reachable from here.<br />Believe in miracles<br />And cures and healing wells." - Seamus Heaney<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>" Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." -Archbishop Desmond Tutu</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-49422198784863305152023-12-25T21:40:00.004+00:002023-12-25T22:16:24.321+00:00Christmas Truce 1914<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC-9XsN-soCTuuDuXbJGkMbotuJBTmdlVRNa6XJ6crjeJX7NWeaUM3UguIjxb5IvHKDlwH6sJgiRibDK7EyUgJKAgzDC0JLMHF2TblqL6UWst2cCF4E7gmfMeP5BM9mM2PROT0PHqvRb1VWdvQpIh6ozh3rvuNNiz82VSCvZRGfFXVyuKpK2lcrJlXhdG3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1214" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC-9XsN-soCTuuDuXbJGkMbotuJBTmdlVRNa6XJ6crjeJX7NWeaUM3UguIjxb5IvHKDlwH6sJgiRibDK7EyUgJKAgzDC0JLMHF2TblqL6UWst2cCF4E7gmfMeP5BM9mM2PROT0PHqvRb1VWdvQpIh6ozh3rvuNNiz82VSCvZRGfFXVyuKpK2lcrJlXhdG3=w400-h231" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">In 1914, during World War I, an event known as the "<i>Christmas Truce</i>" occurred on the Western Front. Despite the ongoing conflict, soldiers from opposing sides called a spontaneous ceasefire around Christmas.</div><div style="text-align: left;">On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, about 5 months after the start of Word War I soldiers from the British, German, and French trenches laid down their weapons, emerged from their trenches, and ventured into no man's land—a space between the opposing lines. They exchanged gifts, sang carols, and even played football (soccer) matches in some areas. Choosing to spend Christmas time at peace with one another rather than continue to fight an already unpopular war.</div><div style="text-align: left;">It’s said to have started on the Western Front in Belgium, when the Germans started singing <i>Silent</i> <i>Night</i> from their trenches.<i> Silent night </i>was originally a German song, but was very recognizable to the Allies across No Man’s Land, a 250 yard expanse between the opposing trenches. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The serene melody contrasted greatly with the No Man’s Land that it drifted over. Pictures of No Man’s Land show a haunting expanse of abandoned equipment and barbed wire. It was pockmarked with shell holes from artillery fire filled with water, and littered with bodies of men that were shot as they crawled through the mud to obtain information from their enemy. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The Truce happened up and down the Western Front. Soldiers on both sides sang, in their native tongue, Christmas carols that were recognizable by Central and Allied troops. Graham Williams of the Fifth London Rifle Brigade recounted, </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">“<i>First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until when we started up ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ the Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words Adeste Fideles. And I thought, well, this is really a most extraordinary thing – two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.”</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">As soldiers crept out of their trenches, they began to see German soldiers carrying Christmas trees, and realized that this was not a trick. They met on No Man’s Land, exchanging things like chocolate, brandy, and tobacco. They even played soccer together. They also took time to bury their dead. Strangely enough, it wasn’t in a bitter manner. Soldiers they had called their enemy only moments ago were helping with the burial. Soldiers were also surprised to meet enemy soldiers that could speak their own languages. They saw that these men didn’t want to be there as much as they didn’t want to be there. Soldiers on both sides saw the others as fathers and sons, just as they were. </div><div style="text-align: left;">So sad because peace could not be permitted to break out among the troops who were supposed to kill and die in a war brought about by politicians hundreds of miles away that will continue to kill about 10 million soldiers and about 7 million civilians.</div><div style="text-align: left;">But still teaches us so many things. and acts as a powerful reminder that even in the midst of conflict, empathy and camaraderie could and can prevail, that human nature is not inherently bound to violence.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amid waves of strife, a wish for a Christmas truce still echoes, elusive in tumultuous tides. no peace on earth,no goodwill or silent night to the Palestinian as more are killed in Israeli Air Raids the call for peace must persist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTBb4wzZmNs3YjZU11mgqEn1ndl29yajikhthRNXxw00KhP18POLbtBPDuPoHcBe7Gy2EXEcYgQwdfjQF0dwdjWbP8T4i7NvTGBqZOkmiMESnJQfn81qi7m5UevK_zj4BceYMwYk22Yk4xQ0qVNfwVk0GIdEmO2UH1uu0fkJPK1IsmiYwW6V1prDMMtsiL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTBb4wzZmNs3YjZU11mgqEn1ndl29yajikhthRNXxw00KhP18POLbtBPDuPoHcBe7Gy2EXEcYgQwdfjQF0dwdjWbP8T4i7NvTGBqZOkmiMESnJQfn81qi7m5UevK_zj4BceYMwYk22Yk4xQ0qVNfwVk0GIdEmO2UH1uu0fkJPK1IsmiYwW6V1prDMMtsiL=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-62302890751942275392023-12-21T19:32:00.002+00:002023-12-21T20:46:30.530+00:00 Remembering Dame Rebecca West (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983)<p> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IXQM0IHRcPE/T6aU6edNpbI/AAAAAAAACp8/MB2Ws5kp3oU/s1600/west_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" mea="true" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IXQM0IHRcPE/T6aU6edNpbI/AAAAAAAACp8/MB2Ws5kp3oU/s400/west_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><div>Rebecca West was one of the major literary figures of the 20th century, known for her lifelong commitment to feminist issues. The youngest of three daughters, West was born Cicely Fairfield on this day 1892 in Ireland.Her father, Charles Fairfield, was a lieutenant in the British army, a convicted gold and silver thief, and a highly-regarded Conservative journalist who, despite being a feature writer for the Melbourne Argus and having a brief stint as chief leader-writer of the Glasgow Herald. never made much of his literary abilities West’s mother Isabel had, according to West, all of the makings of a concert pianist, but never pursued a professional career. Both parents, however, encouraged West’s interests in art, politics, and debate.</div><div>Following West’s father’s death the family moved to Edinburgh, where she attended George Watson’s Ladies College. After leaving school in 1907 due to contracting tuberculosis, West moved to London looking to begin a career as an actress and adopted the professional name Rebecca West – borrowing the name from Ibsen’s strong-minded feminist heroine in <i>Rosmersholm</i>.</div><div>West was a passionate suffragist, a socialist and fiercely intelligent and her long career as a writer began when she was barely out of her teens.but her move to London was a turning point. She joined the <i>Freewoman Circle</i>, a group of suffragists who published a feminist journal, and then discovered the <i>Fabian Society</i> and the socialist newspaper <i>The Clarion</i>. For both publications she wrote articles and reviews, attracting immediate attention with her incisive prose. </div><div>One of her admirers was the Fabian H. G. Wells, a novelist twenty-six years older than she was, and they embarked on an intense affair. But in 1914, one year into the relationship, the arrival of a son Anthony Panther West. (The unusual choice of middle name, Panther, was the pet name Wells had for West.) heralded the end of their unmitigated happiness. </div><div>Wells was unwilling to acknowledge his illegitimate son and banished West to the countryside. Resenting this treatment, West waited for the end of the war and then rented a flat of her own in London. Her independence brought some measure of contentment, but the relationship remained fraught with disagreements.Their romantic relationship ended after a decade, but in spite of this Wells and West remained friends until his death in 1946.</div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Wests relationship with both father and son were stormy.Her son resented her absences from him during his childhood, yet never blamed his father for even more prolonged absences. He rather idolized his father, and grew up to be a talented writer.In 1955, Anthony West wrote <i>Heritage</i>,thinly veiled autobiographical novel about a son torn between two hugely famous parents. and portrayed his mother in a very unflattering light West threatened legal action against any publishing house that bought the novel and subsequently it wasn’t published until after West’s death.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Among her other lovers were Charlie Chaplin and Lord Beaverbrook, a newspaper tycoon. As a witty and beautiful woman, men were drawn to her wherever she went on her far-flung travels.</div><div>As a young socialist and feminist, West lived, worked and took action through her writing. With a fertile imagination, mischievous wit and some self-indulgent verbosity, West's articles for feminist weeklies attacked, with savage refinement, the repression of suffragists by politicians and police, especially the barbaric force-feeding of suffragist prisoners on hunger strike. </div><div>West defended trade unions, especially their efforts to organise women workers, and also argued for the need for the suffragist movement to link the demand for the vote w</div><div>West quickly won a reputation for witty and cutting journalism, and became aligned with socialist and feminist movements. She went on to write for <i>The New Republ</i>ic, <i>New Statesman</i> and <i>Daily Telegraph</i> and would be affiliated with feminist and socialist causes throughout her life. </div></div><div>In 1918 West published her first novel,<i> The Return of the Soldier </i>followed by <i>T</i>"<i>he Judge"</i> (1922) reflected her ability to address pressing social issues, from the effe<i>T</i>"<i>he Judge"</i>cts of shell shock on soldiers to the circumstances of single mothers and feminist militancy. However "<i>T</i><i>he Judge"</i> <i> </i> did not please all her readers, and the trials of writing it, combined with the negative reviews it received, brought her to the brink of a nervous breakdown. </div><div>Her subsequent novels, all considered extremely fine yet undervalued by critics, included <i>Harriet Hume</i> (1929), <i>The Thinking Reed</i> (1936), <i>The Fountain Overflows </i>(1957), and <i>The Birds Fall Down</i> (1966).Though she was prolific in her journalistic writing, fiction, for most of her life, cost her a great deal of pain and effort. </div><div>Rebecca West is is now considered one of the great minds of the twentieth century. She looked at the human condition with the dispassionate eye of a journalist and the heart of a feminist. For example, from a 1928 speech to the Fabian Society: “<i>There is one common condition for the lot of women in Western civilization and all other civilizations that we know about for certain, and that is, woman as a sex is disliked and persecuted, while as an individual she is liked, loved, and even, with reasonable luck, sometimes worshipped.”</i> </div><div>She was an ardent feminist as she puts it below, </div><div>“<i>I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute</i>”) but also a spirited and independent thinker. She was not afraid to attack or mock the suffragist movement when necessary, but she was also one of its most vivid voices. (She once made fun of one of the feminists from the New Freewoman “<i>who was always jumping up and asking us to be kind to illegitimate children, as if we all made a habit of seeking out illegitimate children and insulting them!</i>”) </div><div>Her fierce feminist inquiries were original and inflammatory; she was not content with slogans and bromides, and went deeper than other politically progressive women of her time, and in fact, our time. She wrote, for instance, a provocative attack on women, herself included, for devoting too much of their energy to love and relationships in the New Republic, denouncing them for <i>“keeping themselves apart from the high purposes of life for an emotion that, schemed and planned for, was no better than the made excitement of drunkenness</i>.”</div><div>In 1930, when she was thirty-seven years old, West married a banker named Henry Andrews.</div><div>West continued to take a keen interest in politics and was a supporter of the Popular Front governm ent in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. She joined with Emma Goldman, Sybil Thorndyke, Fenner Brockway and C. E. M. Joad to establish the Committee to Aid Homeless Spanish Women and Children. ith the needs of working women. West also took o</div><div>Her new husband had spent his childhood in Germany and been interned there during World War I. Spurred by his stories, West observed Hitler’s growing influence in Europe with deep apprehension and a reporter’s interest that led to much of her most interesting non-fiction, that left an indelible mark, especially <i>Black Lamb</i> and <i>Grey Falcon</i> (1941), a monumental work on Balkan history and culture, and in 1946 she reported on the trial for treason of William Joyce (“<i>Lord Haw-Haw</i>”) for The New Yorker magazine. Published as <i>The Meaning of Treason</i> , it examined not only the traitor’s role in modern society but also the roles of the intellectual and the scientist. Later she published a similar collection, <i>The New Meaning of Treason</i> (1964). Her brilliant reports on the Nürnberg trials were collected in <i>A Train of Powder</i> (1955)</div><div> Bonnie Kime Scott has pointed out: <i>"Rebecca West has gradually gained recognition as a perceptive and independent interpreter of literature.</i>..</div><div><i>West's accounts of literature and culture are typically grounded in philosophical paradigms and cultural diagnoses that invite critical study today. She found pervasive examples of Manichaeism, and j</i></div><div>After the Second World War West became more conservative in her political views and wrote for the Daily Telegraph and the New Yorker. </div><div>West's decline from socialist to conservative anticommunist is one of the more tragically wasteful of such falls. She flirts with Lord Beaverbrook, millionaire capitalist and media mogul. She votes Labour in 1945 but can't sleep because of the Communist bogey, supposedly revealed in Soviet infiltration of the National Council for Civil Liberties, the Times (which she describes as "a <i>Communist Party organ</i>") and "<i>most of the BBC</i>". whilst Admiral Rickover sends her details of each new US nuclear submarine deployed to fight the "<i>red menace</i>". </div><div>Some of her work was extremely anti-communist and some critics, including Arthur Schlesinger and J. B. Priestley, accused of her being in sympathy with McCarthyism - a charge she denied. </div><div>West finds solace in "<i>law and order"</i>, taking furious exception to spies for their treason against the state. She also finds solace in the monarchy; it's off to Buck Palace with a new hat and facial in a rented Daimler in 1949 to interview Princess Elizabeth about her wedding, and again in 1959 to be knighted with feudal baubles.</div><div>In the latter decades of her life, sadly though still untiring and determined as ever, West continued to write about events all over the world her socialist fire had well and truly been extinguished and became increasingly frail and lost eyesight in her last years. </div><div>Rebecca West died on 15th March 1983 at 48 Kingston House North, South Kensington at the age of 90...a Dame of the British Empire still bemoaning the fraught relationship with her son on her deathbed She was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, near Woking. Rebecca </div><div>Despite her her flaws and many contradictions ,Known for her elegant fiction, and forceful personal style, West should also be known as a unorthodox thinker and daring social critic. that made her one of the most fascinating and controversial voices of the 20th century.</div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-36672976660361718872023-12-20T23:13:00.000+00:002023-12-20T23:13:24.184+00:00 The Life and Work of Saint Maria Skobtsova <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSFvZtK1Q2wcBW11YZYZrMyKtkKTrs8HD6mlTQwZAOogRYKOvnIQdN_AKSgksbEGUBjysYjy4HoC83V52nKTzcjCMq7KO2AzJ4WQ7zNkC3LROREdimQ-IOkIAiBxX4AumCFtgQEE7AdE9GbM3pSXIYEmvzTPx6eZnfb6EzkzO9YyCcQCFwhN0Kf6AR4Hi/s300/158060639_76b51aa15d-271x300-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="271" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSFvZtK1Q2wcBW11YZYZrMyKtkKTrs8HD6mlTQwZAOogRYKOvnIQdN_AKSgksbEGUBjysYjy4HoC83V52nKTzcjCMq7KO2AzJ4WQ7zNkC3LROREdimQ-IOkIAiBxX4AumCFtgQEE7AdE9GbM3pSXIYEmvzTPx6eZnfb6EzkzO9YyCcQCFwhN0Kf6AR4Hi/s1600/158060639_76b51aa15d-271x300-1.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">20 Dec 1891 poet and activist Maria Skobtsova, aka Mother Maria of Paris, was born in Riga, the capital city of Latvia. At that time Latvia was part of the Russian empire, and Pilenko grew up in Anapa, a town in southern Russia on the shore of the Black Sea. Her family was relatively wealthy and belonged to society's upper class. Her father directed a botanical garden and school, and for a time he served as the mayor of Anapa. Her mother was a descendant of the last governor of the Bastille prison in Paris, which fell at the start of the French Revolution (1789–99; a rebellion resulting in the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of a democratic government)</div><div style="text-align: left;">The home Pilenko's parents provided was a devout Eastern Orthodox one. Eastern Orthodox Christianity believes in the complete authority of the Bible, the Christian holy text, and that Jesus's teachings were preserved in them without error.</div><div style="text-align: left;">She was given the name Elizaveta Pilenko. Her father died when she was a teenager, and she embraced atheism.After her father's death in 1906, her mother took the family to St. Petersburg, the political and cultural center of Russia at the time. The untimely death of Pilenko's father affected her deeply, and for a while she questioned her belief in God.</div><div>The early twentieth century was a time of great political unrest in Russia. During her years in St. Petersburg, Pilenko was drawn into radical and revolutionary circles. She was attracted to goals such as the overthrow of the repressive monarchy and the desire to help lift the crushing poverty of many Russians. Even as a teenager she longed to do something great with her life, in the service of others.</div><div>In 1910 she married a revolutionary poet named Dimitri Kuzmin-Karaviev. Pilenko soon gave birth to a daughter, Gaiana, but the marriage proved short-lived and the couple divorced in 1913. </div><div style="text-align: left;">During this period Pilenko began to rethink her uncertainty about God and was drawn back to Christianity and gradually came to accept the truths of the Faith. She moved. now with her daughter, Gaiana.to the south of Russia where her religious devotion increased.</div><div style="text-align: left;">At the end of the Russian Revolution, she took part in the All-Russian Soviet Congress, as a delegate of the Social Revolutionary Party. She wrote about the experience in dire terms, including being dismissed by Trotsky’s lieutenant who told her '<i>Your role is played out. Go where you belong, into history’s garbage can!”d her</i> “</div><div style="text-align: left;"> On her way home, she was nearly executed several times, and that experience seals her dissatisfaction with revolutionary politics. She wrote, “<i>My loyalty was not to any imagined government as such, but to those whose need of justice was greatest: the people. Red or white [the two sides in the revolution] my position is the same—I will act for justice and for the relief of suffering. I will try to love my neighbor.</i>” </div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1918, after the Bolshevik Revolution, she was elected deputy mayor of Anapa in Southern Russia. When the anti-communist White Army took control of Anapa, the mayor fled and she became mayor of the town. The White Army put her on trial for being a Bolshevik. However, the judge was a former teacher of hers, Daniel Skobtsov, and she was acquitted. Soon the two fell in love and were married. Soon, the political tide was turning again. In order to avoid danger, Elizaveta, Daniel, Gaiana, and Elizaveta's mother Sophia fled the country. Finally they arrived in Paris in 1923. Soon Elizaveta was dedicating herself to theological studies and social work. </div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1926, her daughter Anastasia dies of influenza, which prompted the end of her marriage. But Maria ended up working with the poorest of the poor in Central Paris. Rather than letting her successive tragedies destroy her, she felt she saw “<i>a new road before me and a new meaning in life, to be for all, for all who need maternal care, assistance or protection.”</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1932, with Daniel Skobtov's permission, an ecclesiastical divorce was granted and she took monastic vows.something she did only with the assurance that she would not have to live in a monastery, secluded from the world. In religion she took the name Maria. Mother Maria made a rented house in Paris her "<i>convent</i>". It was a place with an open door for refugees, the needy and the lonely. It also soon became a center for intellectual and theological discussion. In Mother Maria these two elements—service to the poor and theology—went hand-in-hand. She was also known to visit Russian émigrés in mental hospitals</div><div style="text-align: left;">.Her refuge became so successful, that she had to find larger quarters. A home at 77 Rue Lourmel in the 15 th arrondissement was rented that allowed her to feed over a hundred a day and offer lodging if needed. Most of her days started by going to Les Halles, the old food market in central Paris. She would beg for food or buy as cheaply as she could whatever provisions needed. She became a regular sight at Les Halles, where merchants often were willing to give her their leftover overripe fruits and vegetables. Many were taken back by her appearance in religious garb, as she was seen smoking cigars and cigarettes while strolling along. </div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1939, Metropolitan Evlogy sent Fr. Dimitry Klepinin to serve Mother Maria’s community. Fr. Dimitry proved to be a partner, committed even unto death, in the community’s work among the poor.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Her writings attest deeply to how her radical Socialist-Revolutionary ideals stuck with her. She gave up the idle hope that human revolution could achieve anything on its own terms, but she never gave up hope that all things could and would be achieved through Christ. Indeed, in her essays, she excoriates both capitalism and communism by name for their mutilation and violent enslavement of the human person, and ends up advocating something that looks very much like distributism: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>In fact, mankind has enough experience of the two opposing systems of coercion and violence. The old coercion of the capitalist regime, which destroys the right to life and leaves one only with the right to labour, has recently begun to deprive people of that right as well. Forced crisis, forced unemployment, forced labour, joyless and with no inner justification—enough of all that. But try going to the opposite system. It turns out to be the system of communist enforcement: the same joyless labour under the rod, well-organised slavery, violence, hunger—enough of that, too. It is clear to everybody that we must seek a path to free, purposeful and expedient labour, that we must take the earth as a sort of garden that it is incumbent upon us to cultivate. Who doubts that? </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her leftist bent extends to her personal ethics as well as to her social ones. She is highly critical of the tendency she saw within the Church to withdraw into one’s own shell of piety, to take only the vertical beam of the Cross descending from God to the individual man, and to leave behind the horizontal beam which embraces the other men and women around him as well. For Mother Maria, not only the crass and obvious impiety of greed, but also the much more subtle and insidious impiety of a philanthropy that is only seen as an occasion for the improvement of one’s own virtue or an exercise for the good of one’s own soul, is a form of selfishness which runs contrary to the Gospel. She writes: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A person should have a more attentive attitude to his brother’s flesh than to his own. Christian love teaches us to give our brother not only material but also spiritual gifts. We must give him our last shirt and our last crust of bread. Here personal charity is as necessary and justified as the broadest social work. In this sense there is no doubt that the Christian is called to social work. He is called to organise a better life for the workers, to provide for the old, to build hospitals, care for children, fight against exploitation, injustice, want, lawlessness. In principle the value is exactly the same, whether he acts on an individual or a social level; what matters is that his social work be based on love for his neighbour and not have any latent career or material purposes</i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The social element of Christianity is, indeed, for her so inseparable from the core of Orthodox spirituality and the Gospel message She dedicated her life to easing the pain and suffering of hundreds in Paris plagued with hunger, racism, homelessness, mental illness, addictions and saving countless Jews during the Nazi occupation of Paris.</div><div style="text-align: left;">She expanded her ministry to setting up a school for children of émigrés, a house for single men and a rural house was turned into a sanitorium for TB patients. She then scoured the mental hospitals of France and rescued many who were confined because of language difficulties rather than mental illness and set up a house for them too. Despite all of the good she was doing, she ruffled the feathers of two priests who were sent to work with her, who left because she put charity and hospitality above religious piety.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The last phase of Mother Maria's life began when the German Nazis conquered and occupied France during World War II. While it would have been possible for her to flee France as the Germans were advancing toward Paris, she refused to leave. <i>"If the Germans take Paris, I shall stay here with my old women. Where else could I send them?</i>" </div><div style="text-align: left;"> As Nazi persecution of Jews in France increased, the Orthodox community’s work expanded to include protection and care of the most helpless and. Maria turned most of her attention to helping save Jews from what she feared would be expulsion or deportation to the concentration camps in Germany and Poland. She worked with the French Resistance in helping Jews escape by secret routes south of Paris into unoccupied territory.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Early in 1942 the Nazis began their registration of Jews. Jews began to knock on the door of the house of hospitality asking if the chaplain, Father Dimitri Klepinine, would issue fake baptismal certificates to save their lives. With the support of Mother Maria, Father Dmitri issued the fake documents, convinced that Christ would do the same. When the order came from Berlin that the yellow star must be worn by all Jews, many French Christians felt that this was not their concern since it was not a Christian problem. Mother Maria replied, " <i>"There is no such thing as a Christian problem. Don't you realize that the battle is being waged against Christianity? If we were true Christians we would all wear the Star. The age of confessors has arrived</i>." </div><div style="text-align: left;"> In July, 1942, mass arrests of Jews began to take place--12,884 were arrested of whom 6,900 were children. They were held prisoner in a sports stadium called Velodrome d’Hiver, where food and water became scarce just a kilometer from Mother Maria's house, before they were sent to Auschwitz. With her monastic robe gaining her entrance, she spent three days at the sports stadium distributing food and clothing and even managing to smuggle out some children by bribing garbage collectors to hide them in trash cans. Her house of hospitality was literally bursting at the seams with people, many of them Jews. </div><div>Eventually,all this work led to the arrest of Mother Maria, Fr. Dimitry, and their associates. Mother Maria was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, while Fr. Dimitry was sent to Buchenwald. Throughout the harsh cruelty of the camps, she ministered to others with the same compassion and love as always. Jacqueline Pery, who survived the holocaust and resided in the same building said “<i>Maria was adored by all.</i>” <i> She added that during her last few months she was so sick that she had to lie down between roll calls. “her face revealed intense suffering, already it bore the marks of death”. “Despite all, she never complained</i>.”</div><div>After great sufferings, they both perished, along with others from their community who followed/ Slse. She was taken to the gas chamber on 31 March 1945 on the eve of Pascha and as WWII was ending in Europe. It is believed that Mother Maria’s last act was to take the place of a Jewish woman who was being sent to death in the gas chambers, voluntarily dying in her place. Mother Maria was glorified as a saint by act of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on January 16, 2004.</div><div style="text-align: left;">We know little of the actual life of many of the saints of the Church. In most cases we rely on hagiographic forms that can often be reduced to caricatures. But with Saint Maria Skobtsova we have an embodied personality—an intellectual, a divorced woman, a political revolutionary, and towards the latter part of her life, a nun. She was a woman who could be frank, outspoken, strong willed and even sometimes, quarrelsome. She was a monastic who defied conventional norms, among other things, smoking in public! She was someone who was shaped by the events of the 20th century—two world wars, forced emigration from her Russian homeland, and abject poverty—and who would subsequently lead a life of prayer, but one in the world, dedicated to helping others.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The memory of Saint Maria Skobtsova is now honored with a memorial sign in the famous Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Cemetery near Paris, where mostly Russian emigrants are buried. The marble slab in her honor reads: “<i>Holy Mother Maria Skobtsova (1891-1945). Nun, poet, artist, resistance fighter. Exterminated by Nazis in Ravensbrück camp. Place of burial unknown</i>.” </div><div style="text-align: left;">There is no tomb for Saint Maria Skobtsova who went to hear death in a gas chamber in place of another prisoner. Her ashes were mixed with those of other prisoners. The memorial project was supported by the Russian embassy in France and the RCSC in Paris.In 1983 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Mother Maria was posthumously awarded the order of the Great Patriotic War, 2nd Degree for her anti-fascist activities. </div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998901375162827260.post-76732894472835151982023-12-20T09:30:00.007+00:002023-12-20T13:36:18.625+00:00Musical Highlights 2023 <p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGsc6TsdrTWK65DVKR-vVbsP0ucluFxRoHVtsS4g0GvBtvH6vPtYOY09lE21r8IEMWcMaMM7G-dnmnSEhsG6zfiAtUCvzYmJmxCYdcY0Hsyzva2jWU9RRidToGiTKOfPTRN5SqcqwQIf7Ltth4xZUBDGXh4y2IsOdtgp9rnxbW8UwuPiOpUZTWDZoyyTq/s400/c010076c-94a9-4e48-a038-db4eb7cf50d0%20(1)%20(1)%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGsc6TsdrTWK65DVKR-vVbsP0ucluFxRoHVtsS4g0GvBtvH6vPtYOY09lE21r8IEMWcMaMM7G-dnmnSEhsG6zfiAtUCvzYmJmxCYdcY0Hsyzva2jWU9RRidToGiTKOfPTRN5SqcqwQIf7Ltth4xZUBDGXh4y2IsOdtgp9rnxbW8UwuPiOpUZTWDZoyyTq/s320/c010076c-94a9-4e48-a038-db4eb7cf50d0%20(1)%20(1)%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>2023 has been a particularly cruel year, a spiralling cost of living crisis,the appalling suffering in Gaza and the West Bank. as well as our increasingly unhinged UK government, to name just a few factors. At times, the news cycle has been simply overwhelming. On top of this so many brilliant people taken from us.This year we lost Alan Rankine. Jeff Beck. Tina Turner, Tony Bennett, Gordon Lightfoot, Denny Laine. Shane MacGowan .Kevin 'Geordie' Walker, Benjamin Zephaniah among some we've had to same bye to.,..</div><div>To honor these musical inspirational legacies,let's continue listening to their incredible music and keeping their influence alive. Times ahead are going to be hard. As we ride these storms together lets be reminded of people like the individuals mentioned and of music’s ability to stir us, allowing us to forge further connections to ourselves and each other.</div><div>However you spend or celebrate this time of year, power to the music and the people that make it. Lets try and support local music venues and appreciate their intrinsic value. Music and the places where it is performed can be balms that can brings us together as we face the challenges ahead. Am fortunate to have wonderful venue called the Cellar Bar based in my hometown, which is always a pleasure to visit. .</div><div>In a year of reflection, music stretched and relocated in often unpredictable ways.Bandcamp an artist-focussed platform continues to allow us to support our favorite musicians and labels that enrich our lives and is a good place to discover new music In no particular order here are my musical highlights of the year that have really enjoyed and lifted me.Here;s to better days ahead. Happy yule. Winter solstice. Heddwch/Peace :- </div><div><br /></div><div>1. LP by The Astronauts</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwKlUkJc2-cXZk_7ajQy7v8hjdikwLivM-soFdLhKH26_cjBqCKx8-jXqak3DoTJZQvRn5NDJ_OQH120p4Vrlqw6HYIak7Oe7dYHWJj_0xT-rY2ZLjSrLw1IIHA_ZJx6c-G3Ei9gEVFbuFf8MezVb-Uw7FMIto1MLRtWatqfN5y71zwgCF9caZ-hihW_xd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwKlUkJc2-cXZk_7ajQy7v8hjdikwLivM-soFdLhKH26_cjBqCKx8-jXqak3DoTJZQvRn5NDJ_OQH120p4Vrlqw6HYIak7Oe7dYHWJj_0xT-rY2ZLjSrLw1IIHA_ZJx6c-G3Ei9gEVFbuFf8MezVb-Uw7FMIto1MLRtWatqfN5y71zwgCF9caZ-hihW_xd" width="240" /></a></div><br />2.Inside the Old Year Dying by PJ Harvey, <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgL34xFE2OojAkFJ69vq9vOoH44x8IFp7xe6P7khcgTYQxL_Im8qi7VlDLN-bSyPfrVcYwWi_cLYEHZlVn66DCWG3RIsJ8jiks1SpTcvKhTTgUcAQJotjFH5TTCmXANSqE-YZtJcuo4di9ztLOrw34TtHpN6KNLo_YR5K1ENeqLHUCHNKPyVAJ4-p4uOa_i" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgL34xFE2OojAkFJ69vq9vOoH44x8IFp7xe6P7khcgTYQxL_Im8qi7VlDLN-bSyPfrVcYwWi_cLYEHZlVn66DCWG3RIsJ8jiks1SpTcvKhTTgUcAQJotjFH5TTCmXANSqE-YZtJcuo4di9ztLOrw34TtHpN6KNLo_YR5K1ENeqLHUCHNKPyVAJ4-p4uOa_i" width="240" /></a></div><p>3.A Web of Braided Willow (The Folklore of the Wickerman) by Folklore Tapes</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiE89w5sF8QhnBJrDIkYn4XfH-k2BkHfY-q_n70ytSW4IE8fDYJsO9tJMICc-NefPVtP1GEEjCD3-u63hRKnV9aIF0ZnXVRH8P040rSm00Zrt19cbxhbvJlhbXl_a_JxGEFrLDIWKaMKuyCebvDgLU_SV56pK7fJKaZo35zmzyFkoZVg_W_7zMz6Tz8TrY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiE89w5sF8QhnBJrDIkYn4XfH-k2BkHfY-q_n70ytSW4IE8fDYJsO9tJMICc-NefPVtP1GEEjCD3-u63hRKnV9aIF0ZnXVRH8P040rSm00Zrt19cbxhbvJlhbXl_a_JxGEFrLDIWKaMKuyCebvDgLU_SV56pK7fJKaZo35zmzyFkoZVg_W_7zMz6Tz8TrY" width="240" /></a></div><p>4.MAN, MYTH & MAGIC by SENDELICA</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4JSh697pQFOqfnYkUPqW_sD3U0jyTtfx62mgq_Sg994PeCXBGG8ZLp8VGHaqIr94zSYLOsVv8IoEFyUFscqrOUJKMj1K6vApO6DD504APywOhuhUQIhhAXdKehEwWuIB_gKI4FjHxFxUqWpp5HClhvhwM9704hzxg5ALeCP8Td6SsHvhlXhpefo_bWTap" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4JSh697pQFOqfnYkUPqW_sD3U0jyTtfx62mgq_Sg994PeCXBGG8ZLp8VGHaqIr94zSYLOsVv8IoEFyUFscqrOUJKMj1K6vApO6DD504APywOhuhUQIhhAXdKehEwWuIB_gKI4FjHxFxUqWpp5HClhvhwM9704hzxg5ALeCP8Td6SsHvhlXhpefo_bWTap" width="240" /></a></div><br />5.Deus Ex Machinations by Spurious Transients<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyIlkOFtR_nryAjEopgRvktqDsdQc0WbUx4gUt5aVIfAU5dNwf37Lw4P0YdSY9itqcHlM0XXghbrTgDdU2xt14ZN_JkhDVgzaYddQ6m986Ohp12RcZ_k5IFCbyYpSpqA39H9IYmnD0SSenw8PQYnqxcRy3fF5O_tEu_73dsSlQgLy2MMIuhTAM9DWVFCMZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyIlkOFtR_nryAjEopgRvktqDsdQc0WbUx4gUt5aVIfAU5dNwf37Lw4P0YdSY9itqcHlM0XXghbrTgDdU2xt14ZN_JkhDVgzaYddQ6m986Ohp12RcZ_k5IFCbyYpSpqA39H9IYmnD0SSenw8PQYnqxcRy3fF5O_tEu_73dsSlQgLy2MMIuhTAM9DWVFCMZ" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>6.Medicine by Goat</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWBEIym5uupC3bo0m_aTP8S5CUbCYyQAfeDrhqr9aX2gavZA2yimlyrtSendnPvRbzBlpTtEevX_rUj4bRf7xlO31WwffIGShekvseJsIil4IsKnrk3ecU6Y-BwAImdGCQ_oxQYaQwoec_1QDjDctwSBXHRnsEa86NfIw7v6FIT8KrGZvvGYe2WVz-6vTp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="480" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWBEIym5uupC3bo0m_aTP8S5CUbCYyQAfeDrhqr9aX2gavZA2yimlyrtSendnPvRbzBlpTtEevX_rUj4bRf7xlO31WwffIGShekvseJsIil4IsKnrk3ecU6Y-BwAImdGCQ_oxQYaQwoec_1QDjDctwSBXHRnsEa86NfIw7v6FIT8KrGZvvGYe2WVz-6vTp" width="320" /></a></div><p>7.Gardener's Of The Earth by White Canyon & The 5th Dimension </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNPjLdvqmhXxPMiWI1_kndxsKLhAye2pebuE7L5KwQbKBCTsRTOKLnvXHvfY5D_FeVas9JH0GpOrbBNZSbN2w3SXElPzl4OWQTmtflJ3cI3I2JWZvcRQRYyFodzIP3HojoEzbNYOWI_ZQlPhXDGi7PlWNqEp_7tM5l11UquHT00EkteIf3Cx4syJB1zXtH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNPjLdvqmhXxPMiWI1_kndxsKLhAye2pebuE7L5KwQbKBCTsRTOKLnvXHvfY5D_FeVas9JH0GpOrbBNZSbN2w3SXElPzl4OWQTmtflJ3cI3I2JWZvcRQRYyFodzIP3HojoEzbNYOWI_ZQlPhXDGi7PlWNqEp_7tM5l11UquHT00EkteIf3Cx4syJB1zXtH" width="240" /></a></div></div><p></p><p>8.K by K Lihn </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJLIf2H5gtfOiB1u6e2XvoLca0Wh77O0NSZso9MVD9JxoFqC2eNiINm-o24ZsRRMxh59FftCfxcqXDAEC-lJ_gA3l1AJWA5Qip0_EzbKAJeX8Ih3HZp92AdBceQ_o1BAjP0ERRN2dTWQwUnVQZzhcf15oS9B7_I3K7cZCGQwqJHgZh3ym9tCaVy2kgmXBi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJLIf2H5gtfOiB1u6e2XvoLca0Wh77O0NSZso9MVD9JxoFqC2eNiINm-o24ZsRRMxh59FftCfxcqXDAEC-lJ_gA3l1AJWA5Qip0_EzbKAJeX8Ih3HZp92AdBceQ_o1BAjP0ERRN2dTWQwUnVQZzhcf15oS9B7_I3K7cZCGQwqJHgZh3ym9tCaVy2kgmXBi" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>9/A Trip To Bolgatanga by African Head Charge </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZxaNfsrausJYgOyM_RLK3MMW5PmlGnVgBgJPoK38owvIHXLgBtYr_KD1sIBcVJCBOWE55zGbUNhYHZA1BHidsmC0oh_FSVctZ0q87HJ-r3-HeCbKMIkbaNwP51hryc8-GQbOxA7tDuLhpOu7v_My84UOoqaNln5JPfF5i1wj9JEQnFwRsq6lKkGEpNWWc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZxaNfsrausJYgOyM_RLK3MMW5PmlGnVgBgJPoK38owvIHXLgBtYr_KD1sIBcVJCBOWE55zGbUNhYHZA1BHidsmC0oh_FSVctZ0q87HJ-r3-HeCbKMIkbaNwP51hryc8-GQbOxA7tDuLhpOu7v_My84UOoqaNln5JPfF5i1wj9JEQnFwRsq6lKkGEpNWWc" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>10. Waltz of the Weekend by Soft Hearted Scientists</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjd8KUer4H2vWSS4_eO_rRc4Qh72Eu-NBYAuXPkBmHlW1Ql1D9P7kSzIOLA2ke-wOjLwd1Os9oKMKbIlqSt8rAzdf0uddyVMRTNW5sSPlZLdz6SZkOG9cDhaJJwYKVa2B3oM4coKSJ0bq-NQq2OnNYoY5M7ioMLKkIAciBLBhRtVYgcAI8p9PTm9uyDlYuU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjd8KUer4H2vWSS4_eO_rRc4Qh72Eu-NBYAuXPkBmHlW1Ql1D9P7kSzIOLA2ke-wOjLwd1Os9oKMKbIlqSt8rAzdf0uddyVMRTNW5sSPlZLdz6SZkOG9cDhaJJwYKVa2B3oM4coKSJ0bq-NQq2OnNYoY5M7ioMLKkIAciBLBhRtVYgcAI8p9PTm9uyDlYuU" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">11 Pil - End of World</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhli_i4mXMdVeuC2er9PfGuYTWQxxceeHPXLiBVMwUdNP9glEziPhC_je5Q0ZaCi6RJnIjkXx_QrO9A0Md01kaZ_cPxfQ1JRW6P6AYh8ivYRGShbpAShFf6cIh4vNMkKxQSTaLZe5eD9DrGezOQWp09Ow71vwF8WXGChQj6AN0OtdXjwIQBlejIOCibss_6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhli_i4mXMdVeuC2er9PfGuYTWQxxceeHPXLiBVMwUdNP9glEziPhC_je5Q0ZaCi6RJnIjkXx_QrO9A0Md01kaZ_cPxfQ1JRW6P6AYh8ivYRGShbpAShFf6cIh4vNMkKxQSTaLZe5eD9DrGezOQWp09Ow71vwF8WXGChQj6AN0OtdXjwIQBlejIOCibss_6" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>12.Lankum - False Lankum</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXZ3nZnt_TmJ6I1Qjxwb40mJEFb9NOENs1tz67Uze5qdR4ZEpvaTjl1XmkT8N5SsKjwg27bjLHJbRBIV_e2Zyz-Kf2Dq28lg6AdCIAtDnHoiD5dD2QWvWaONAqsHBaAE2YMchtsRYTNpv5AzFe2zKN5tiP-dgtkHMwojXntISkxtY5HWS0pFDSiUG8s35s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXZ3nZnt_TmJ6I1Qjxwb40mJEFb9NOENs1tz67Uze5qdR4ZEpvaTjl1XmkT8N5SsKjwg27bjLHJbRBIV_e2Zyz-Kf2Dq28lg6AdCIAtDnHoiD5dD2QWvWaONAqsHBaAE2YMchtsRYTNpv5AzFe2zKN5tiP-dgtkHMwojXntISkxtY5HWS0pFDSiUG8s35s" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">13. Gina Birch - I play my bass loud</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9oWm4vHsTlXZEMyB_N9qL8-MZvbyBPZYxt18KIbWlnZ9XRXsUwmmCEgKJmdIMh69XE-mbcMrg12bhTWcfqoFV8xuBaijDChEoEl1zR-avP7LNYp5XYhWObG5rCgY24ggaNX3tWHrK_p0hPCKluMlYDiaVc9l-MPhQlXz3cAKoEZl6m7jVhm8IrDatjoDX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="90" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9oWm4vHsTlXZEMyB_N9qL8-MZvbyBPZYxt18KIbWlnZ9XRXsUwmmCEgKJmdIMh69XE-mbcMrg12bhTWcfqoFV8xuBaijDChEoEl1zR-avP7LNYp5XYhWObG5rCgY24ggaNX3tWHrK_p0hPCKluMlYDiaVc9l-MPhQlXz3cAKoEZl6m7jVhm8IrDatjoDX" width="240" /></a></div><br />14 Almond and the Seahorse by Gruff Rhys</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjV_Ta2vhzJMbg4ElhMJIyD-1-bo0xdwr1a-2LBQ38VMoetgxmpqG99bOcydQzRq3MSF3llR4k8pUFd5jmnlsR_iRANPCFCdYtrN7tnQ48skCgX_cd2EoeGXbl_fFvAwcTHnIt7IszG0iHawG925S9v5oWCvcgnzcWBwNgksbfFb6NUyQizbVogBYyD37gI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="92" data-original-width="92" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjV_Ta2vhzJMbg4ElhMJIyD-1-bo0xdwr1a-2LBQ38VMoetgxmpqG99bOcydQzRq3MSF3llR4k8pUFd5jmnlsR_iRANPCFCdYtrN7tnQ48skCgX_cd2EoeGXbl_fFvAwcTHnIt7IszG0iHawG925S9v5oWCvcgnzcWBwNgksbfFb6NUyQizbVogBYyD37gI" width="240" /></a></div><br />15 Various Artists Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs Present: Incident At A Free Festival</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6G7dPd539JIUSFEBJol-cf4P_szHbKc5egkyqBf0REfEPcLa5yDolcDYv45kt5-JO34qjoAXQcEAhNeWLWWsyab2HdJ-8_IpnrervqYcUX0jK5CDc7pismv-NqPa3UQ5wF5VOk7_auRfPPgp-kl5bfVcuAG_qtEHMH_d-BvzjGht9_42hUrz5JQpCR7I1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6G7dPd539JIUSFEBJol-cf4P_szHbKc5egkyqBf0REfEPcLa5yDolcDYv45kt5-JO34qjoAXQcEAhNeWLWWsyab2HdJ-8_IpnrervqYcUX0jK5CDc7pismv-NqPa3UQ5wF5VOk7_auRfPPgp-kl5bfVcuAG_qtEHMH_d-BvzjGht9_42hUrz5JQpCR7I1" width="239" /></a></div><br />16. Various Artists Cease & Resist - Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk In The UK 1979-86</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_yrduUhOnU1OQ9gDnOVpBoPzQxR5TfLnpJ-d5smyfNUUFydzcY2JgMkWS84rFZSODt4BFWA5L8aAa1SPQKb24bXYsT90-D64RENvzEbtsMthRSmGOvj_khLKnVbC1Fs1nU0AIhaAMflSzq_D8a0GNFB6ZufRnjP5pk3G1BP8sjB5riaGvABFl41b8towV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_yrduUhOnU1OQ9gDnOVpBoPzQxR5TfLnpJ-d5smyfNUUFydzcY2JgMkWS84rFZSODt4BFWA5L8aAa1SPQKb24bXYsT90-D64RENvzEbtsMthRSmGOvj_khLKnVbC1Fs1nU0AIhaAMflSzq_D8a0GNFB6ZufRnjP5pk3G1BP8sjB5riaGvABFl41b8towV" width="242" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">17. Various Artists Longing for the Shadow: Ryūkōka Recordings, 1921-1939</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSUcx6iJ-IJwIcqRIHwiuNwE_Yme9jFHolHywStayvMl8GRu5YTqPzHuLVSezufPhyCQTMJCrYAvmfkf03blbqXCruNWa784FI_ZhdSCllzZy_2ymFxlT8BOEvWCrOZ4gOpCGhJx5cvQUCP8p4U1Nb0xfI8B05bYG1keWwUjj_DTXeHLYy1IHQz6T3faxy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSUcx6iJ-IJwIcqRIHwiuNwE_Yme9jFHolHywStayvMl8GRu5YTqPzHuLVSezufPhyCQTMJCrYAvmfkf03blbqXCruNWa784FI_ZhdSCllzZy_2ymFxlT8BOEvWCrOZ4gOpCGhJx5cvQUCP8p4U1Nb0xfI8B05bYG1keWwUjj_DTXeHLYy1IHQz6T3faxy" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">18.Various Artists Afro Psych: Journeys Into Psychedelic Africa 1972 - 1977</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibG20kR9nfuesFx-AKHpK0QkUoYY71AvJ63blY5qVY9YJWkogOemPfPJAFSl2wCYpTlgfilXXACwU_AbhAcgvCy1V1R-_OSiZ5mmemfvScr6TqHS3c9U579Y0qZ2lkL7kehOAYxTwt9M1xq5bIS3cfCHMHnc3GvL1odPP0ZdXPzGfgeqc9UISnbdiDFCjs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibG20kR9nfuesFx-AKHpK0QkUoYY71AvJ63blY5qVY9YJWkogOemPfPJAFSl2wCYpTlgfilXXACwU_AbhAcgvCy1V1R-_OSiZ5mmemfvScr6TqHS3c9U579Y0qZ2lkL7kehOAYxTwt9M1xq5bIS3cfCHMHnc3GvL1odPP0ZdXPzGfgeqc9UISnbdiDFCjs" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">19.Arthur Russell - Picture of Bunny Rabbit</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmvAiAUv1qy1r_NTvtzJJmQUrDBfPnZE14fRQy9o2HYkS0mR39NRxAceKpCFJ111w-6ORGsyQ8pQpsulm0zcQ7_wDBk7TAYm1NQs3q5A3b7OvP54_yhtnotVh9Lr9_TTuYTxbt6AufA6V7aqAwAQCg0AWjsfQWu7yXR_RI_rxm-H4z2oT5ciaVDn1VrmuB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmvAiAUv1qy1r_NTvtzJJmQUrDBfPnZE14fRQy9o2HYkS0mR39NRxAceKpCFJ111w-6ORGsyQ8pQpsulm0zcQ7_wDBk7TAYm1NQs3q5A3b7OvP54_yhtnotVh9Lr9_TTuYTxbt6AufA6V7aqAwAQCg0AWjsfQWu7yXR_RI_rxm-H4z2oT5ciaVDn1VrmuB" width="240" /></a></div><br />20.The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizjEBonIu1GGf3Dbjmrj9hC7i7vX51OPYW_NzbmMCOPRw7wyHaSkypgX92nmBS4xzLsRrjJEJWKEI2ywMV_UXzrQOJc_IESoKRnbAT001OiqwLe54EcVQfogGJlEJuoSHWmWyZZyFtrwnv4RVsurTYC34XMAD2V9TLN343Q4zeW5H4Bm4S26PoULYl7J5s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizjEBonIu1GGf3Dbjmrj9hC7i7vX51OPYW_NzbmMCOPRw7wyHaSkypgX92nmBS4xzLsRrjJEJWKEI2ywMV_UXzrQOJc_IESoKRnbAT001OiqwLe54EcVQfogGJlEJuoSHWmWyZZyFtrwnv4RVsurTYC34XMAD2V9TLN343Q4zeW5H4Bm4S26PoULYl7J5s" width="240" /></a></div><br />21.Smile - Skindred</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimDq1zgU-pqR1Po8Xd4a8fiyjEQfHiah3XFMRjZ6Va1KQXnnF9N6D97E1c20RkL9sXrI5r4dMZ03U92oigIrkX9809fZ7tWVLqtzIp0qMKbUPOxabI2cw5jKU3wyVYyVIknEtCDtEwhEUJmQntDVOA7MCjI4J_nK2X8jEO54eOxOEV3VACut_78Uky8Hbn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimDq1zgU-pqR1Po8Xd4a8fiyjEQfHiah3XFMRjZ6Va1KQXnnF9N6D97E1c20RkL9sXrI5r4dMZ03U92oigIrkX9809fZ7tWVLqtzIp0qMKbUPOxabI2cw5jKU3wyVYyVIknEtCDtEwhEUJmQntDVOA7MCjI4J_nK2X8jEO54eOxOEV3VACut_78Uky8Hbn" width="240" /></a></div><br />22 Kristin Hersh Clear Pond Road</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsQcUomYM1GwD-JYYfKd0OpEUOjhl0VhixaoulV7sNkpD7KBV_hC7GG3MPvmou6mCpno59LHIhOsFdya9dL9uizl7KHfQGDKAZzB8DkSSVV0nfu4GkQjL2Q705vTMu5vSzlYQ8-1xY87G49cv_k1m1YlzidzSJUEcgvU4dXdKUDAGQOGKqHwbBWel28v6u" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsQcUomYM1GwD-JYYfKd0OpEUOjhl0VhixaoulV7sNkpD7KBV_hC7GG3MPvmou6mCpno59LHIhOsFdya9dL9uizl7KHfQGDKAZzB8DkSSVV0nfu4GkQjL2Q705vTMu5vSzlYQ8-1xY87G49cv_k1m1YlzidzSJUEcgvU4dXdKUDAGQOGKqHwbBWel28v6u" width="240" /></a></div><br />23 Jah Wobble - A Brief history of now</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOrcFgFkq5szD2dr94yyh7mBFIPezZ2-4a92UAMPyJq7wSytciSc2lN0Ss3vPbFzhH_Wr29SPxGnIX3-P6eYS_RlXrIXuwXPtMqwUAck_uXSYrAd3pJ6s4Dm3ZbQ-tzgU-W_aSjb1Yel6C_zgelXXd63I_XTCJzxXCz82RRQs6SIiGyR2XTY8cL6zzATdn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOrcFgFkq5szD2dr94yyh7mBFIPezZ2-4a92UAMPyJq7wSytciSc2lN0Ss3vPbFzhH_Wr29SPxGnIX3-P6eYS_RlXrIXuwXPtMqwUAck_uXSYrAd3pJ6s4Dm3ZbQ-tzgU-W_aSjb1Yel6C_zgelXXd63I_XTCJzxXCz82RRQs6SIiGyR2XTY8cL6zzATdn" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">24.NAÏA - LA SORCIÈRE DE ROCHEFORT-EN-TERRE</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNJmZV6np3c7zaeGa6_gR34Dvcgp4RODs2VAe3xzMtEqf77Kay6BwX7yEbCu265IvKjdn1uxWR7jE398O7Qr41XPXt2dZFv9oSkU8TkSneiRrBvYwzIsAlYjDEU69xftx_c7Q5zY2A21CZK5KY8XsdZyKkIheURTJCNsmCfqJI8jEjoCAhk2qjOOAAjFpW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNJmZV6np3c7zaeGa6_gR34Dvcgp4RODs2VAe3xzMtEqf77Kay6BwX7yEbCu265IvKjdn1uxWR7jE398O7Qr41XPXt2dZFv9oSkU8TkSneiRrBvYwzIsAlYjDEU69xftx_c7Q5zY2A21CZK5KY8XsdZyKkIheURTJCNsmCfqJI8jEjoCAhk2qjOOAAjFpW" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>25/ FAE TRANSIT - SAM MCLOUGHLIN</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5OE7hgE1SydLkmESpLEIneUEDrkRomV_wQkhBetHtLn1s-hkH6_HwA0ZM3GEu9YtWWONptQLCwoiQh-0IB0XCiI6lnrzpM56hnYwzEGEPKnIBSE2xs84kQER2roSB03cu_BHVcgDbOOi4-rsd70W7V-7b3qiXWFt59LMyPSBXY-gix6dNszJ32jKq8-Wy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5OE7hgE1SydLkmESpLEIneUEDrkRomV_wQkhBetHtLn1s-hkH6_HwA0ZM3GEu9YtWWONptQLCwoiQh-0IB0XCiI6lnrzpM56hnYwzEGEPKnIBSE2xs84kQER2roSB03cu_BHVcgDbOOi4-rsd70W7V-7b3qiXWFt59LMyPSBXY-gix6dNszJ32jKq8-Wy" width="242" /></a></div><br />26.Rasha Nahas - AMRAT</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4T1Zo0OKBHilAncUm8dgc2PHhhhn6ZwM-17c_mMIxxnOxn9_qj9fehMGRBbROyL19-oJW8Vo9TUycEAwqEDDJEHvHtw0DApff2Tx5uyefotG3W2iXF1kUoj79oshwWmX0gmU8LFhosdhnyNv3ssf-UMVQW-WcL2qkKk_ZLuqYf0ItMOBv_6PAA5ccO3y8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="850" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4T1Zo0OKBHilAncUm8dgc2PHhhhn6ZwM-17c_mMIxxnOxn9_qj9fehMGRBbROyL19-oJW8Vo9TUycEAwqEDDJEHvHtw0DApff2Tx5uyefotG3W2iXF1kUoj79oshwWmX0gmU8LFhosdhnyNv3ssf-UMVQW-WcL2qkKk_ZLuqYf0ItMOBv_6PAA5ccO3y8" width="240" /></a></div><br />27 Various:.By the People, For the People - House of Afandi Records</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpq2zU5TAbXxY6Y20xq2r5zeaQ8OgfEjOclf_bkV2bfFMU-gc8fgOVA0-n0yA_PT-M8_jfRi7xa-JjIptcg9H8gr1Qqv2nvkFwNUe4Q89Cxc9W8WqBt5uc7e8mb5jAhZ9ioy0AqKdTcYaNZxGlAF08hs_cuE2AnicdVw7Dfuyy0KnnNBgqMCF_Rq5bv9Nu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpq2zU5TAbXxY6Y20xq2r5zeaQ8OgfEjOclf_bkV2bfFMU-gc8fgOVA0-n0yA_PT-M8_jfRi7xa-JjIptcg9H8gr1Qqv2nvkFwNUe4Q89Cxc9W8WqBt5uc7e8mb5jAhZ9ioy0AqKdTcYaNZxGlAF08hs_cuE2AnicdVw7Dfuyy0KnnNBgqMCF_Rq5bv9Nu" width="240" /></a></div><br /> 28/ Anohni and the Joh to Crnsons: My Back Was a Bridge for Youoss</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2LwsKfvkC7Ht6p02JnzhdNF6r4zRbBQ6Wm3baoIZRDAp1w_BKYQSBTQ6XDf6vvIrD7PWL-MrYcwiF1jbNOmRx3nQMbLWJo7tBB2t2RbQNOakB_NnRe6r7fCErREZrlaK7Mywy0OqNr9Z3bMslB7UG4wVbV5KLoxYuDBjiMObGoXHnbxCQsMUydASE5MuS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2LwsKfvkC7Ht6p02JnzhdNF6r4zRbBQ6Wm3baoIZRDAp1w_BKYQSBTQ6XDf6vvIrD7PWL-MrYcwiF1jbNOmRx3nQMbLWJo7tBB2t2RbQNOakB_NnRe6r7fCErREZrlaK7Mywy0OqNr9Z3bMslB7UG4wVbV5KLoxYuDBjiMObGoXHnbxCQsMUydASE5MuS" width="240" /></a></div><br />29.The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge4qSKS-6jDsSM3qi0bYfyITNfdip8ghldAOl8n4HGYfF8H-yhCbamQYaQ3Xvj_iRKo42SGEZPImY09gwgkFqVrnCcizoss1yAYm06SxYSygl-v0biyh8IgohFWXJwYoNe5LJRbmC5UvYPW8HGdvCQzvEkaPtY3BP5LO7ex_h1MzhROiY7VWjLRc1_Y7oo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="149" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge4qSKS-6jDsSM3qi0bYfyITNfdip8ghldAOl8n4HGYfF8H-yhCbamQYaQ3Xvj_iRKo42SGEZPImY09gwgkFqVrnCcizoss1yAYm06SxYSygl-v0biyh8IgohFWXJwYoNe5LJRbmC5UvYPW8HGdvCQzvEkaPtY3BP5LO7ex_h1MzhROiY7VWjLRc1_Y7oo" width="240" /></a></div><br />30.The Iliminaughty - Kildren </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiGJmyR4hF9jPBhOZ-66cY50iULW9H9f4tqhH52QWH3SAwywsfRrYLoEnma1QRxy9PBJrFkAj9mQjLccOI__dtDl7CkTqFYUVhbuRMPyo7Zcddjgu4shSMq_3GX3UWlU-pf8v0-jjEcIBv5FgCbYEoVZ1Ds7xZeUICxGRB52aytU6CjvwQAubkDMsmXDuS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiGJmyR4hF9jPBhOZ-66cY50iULW9H9f4tqhH52QWH3SAwywsfRrYLoEnma1QRxy9PBJrFkAj9mQjLccOI__dtDl7CkTqFYUVhbuRMPyo7Zcddjgu4shSMq_3GX3UWlU-pf8v0-jjEcIBv5FgCbYEoVZ1Ds7xZeUICxGRB52aytU6CjvwQAubkDMsmXDuS" width="240" /></a></div><p></p></div>teifidancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14476044378212084216noreply@blogger.com0