Just heard that guitarist with one of my favourite bands the Pogues, Philip Chevron, died yesterday aged 56 after a long battle with cancer. He regarded his fate with great stoicism - he told the Irish Daily Mail earlier this year " I am gay, Irish,Catholic, alcoholic pogue who is about to die from cancer - and don't think I don't know it."
He had first performed with the Irish punk band the Radiators from Space, before he joined the Pogues, contributing to some of their more memorable albums, in addition to playing the banjo and mandolin, he added magic to their legendary performances, who I was fortunate to see back in the day. A punk heart with a penchant for the work of Betolt Brecht and Kurt Weill.
Later he became almost like the bands unofficial spokesperson.
My thoughts are with is friends and family.
It is now estimated that over 300 people will have died when a ship full of migrants sunk off the Italian island of Lampedusa.Since then on Monday, 13 refugees drowned off the coast of Scicily while attempting to swim to shore.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24380247 These people have joined the thousands of people who have already died thanks to the racist policies of Fortress Europe. Policies have been designed to make it almost impossible to legally reach Europe and consequently as a result of this people are forced to take desperate risks.
One of the first divers to reach the wreck reported that " There were bodies everywhere, trapped inside the wreck, but also on top of it and around the boat. I saw at least 100 corpses. But what struck me most was that some of them were locked in an embrace - they were hugging each other as they exhaled their last breath. Nobody wants to die alone. I still can't get the sight out of my head. I can't think of anything else."
The map above shows graphically the scale of deaths on the borders of Fortress Europe - this latest disaster off Lampedusa was of a scale that it was reported on. But as shown again and again there is a constant death toll of small groups and individuals that are not judged to be even worth reporting on.
Europe cannot go on sealing its borders and pretend this is not happening. Movement of people is inevitable due to social conflicts, repression, despaired poverty or natural disasters, there will be further asylum seekers and further tragedies, as people try to escape persecution.
I believe that Europe must act together and dismantle its barricades to avoid further tragedies. These deaths are not isolated incidents, they are symptomatic of policies that no longer see the humanity of those fleeing their homeland. For most refugees they are denied access to the asylum system and are treated like criminals.By making legal immigration and asylum nearly impossible these policies will lead to further tragedy.Border militarisation, asylum laws, detention policies, deportations and carrier sanctions etc etc. that lead to the tragic death of migrants and refugees must continually be questioned. Senselessly increasing military patrols near the coast of North Africa is simply not a solution, and while condolences are always good to hear, there must be a better way, and the continued detention of vulnerable desperate people must be avoided, and the laws of immigration should not be punitive. However much European governments try, it is impossible in this global world to shut its doors, we are living in the age of migration, fact, we must look for solutions not more punishment.
The survivors of Lampedusa are now crammed into a refugee centre on the tiny island, with many forced to sleep in the open.
In the middle of the desert landscape of the West Bank, a small village has become an oasis of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation. It's residents have planted flowers in hundreds of spent Israeli tear gas grenades, to honor those killed during their weekly protests against the seperation barrier in an act of peaceful resistance.This garden is located in the village of Bilin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the defacto capital of the proposed Palestinian state.
It serves to commemorate too Bassen Abu Ramah, a protest leader who was killed in 2009, when a tear gas grenade struck him in the chest during a demonstration.
This beautiful garden , acts as a counter marker, against the cruelty of the seperation wall, that divides neighbour from neighbour, and symbolises directly their complex situation
In the most difficult of circumstances, some how hope, manages to flower.
Short documentary on the East End Of Londons militant anti fascist action against Mosely's British Union of Fascists on this day 77 years ago 4th October 1936.
In the end the fascists were thwarted because of a determined group of united people who would not let them pass.77 years ago, people from all backgrounds worked together to prevent
Oswald Mosley's fascists from marching through a Jewish area in
London. We might like to think those days are behind us, but
anti-semitism, racism and intolerance against Muslims is on the rise.
The far-right are growing throughout Europe. After seventy seven years we must
still remain vigilant to this. We should never forget events like the battle
of Cable Street. Teach your kids about it.
This post is dedicated to Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail and all other fascist scum who think they can pass among us.
W.H. Davies ( 3/7/1871 - 26/9/40 ) The Battle for Cable Street.
You ask me how I got like this, Sir
Well, I don't care to say
But I will tell you a little story
Of when I was in a big fray.
I'm not very well in my old age
And as I sits drinking my broth
My mind goes back to 1936
That Sunday,Otober the fourth.
I was walking down Bethnal Green Road, Sir
just walking about at my ease
When the strains of a famous old song, Sir
Came floating to me on the breeze.
I stoppe, I looked and listened
Now where have I heard that old song?
Then I dashed to the Salmon and Ball, Sir
I know I wouldn't go wrong.
It was the Intenationale they were singing
They were singing it with a defiant blast
And holding up a big banner
With these words: " THEY SHALL NOT PASS"
And we then marched on to the East End
They were five thousand of us , I am sure
And when we got to the Aldgate
We were met by three hundred thousand more.
'Red Front! Red Front! these workers cried
It was a sight I wouldn't have missed
To see these thousands of defiant workers
Holding up their Mighty Clenched Fist.
The police said 'Now move along please,
This is all we ask'
But we said 'No, not for those blackshirts
Those rotters THEY SHALL NOT PASS'
We then marched on to Stepney Green Sir
You could see that this fight was no sham
For there were thousands of and thousands of workers
Marching from Limehous,Poplar, Stratford and East Ham.
You could see that Mosely wouldn't get through Sir
That our slogan that day was no boast
And I shouted 'Hip Hip hurrah'
And I saw our flag being tied to a lamp post
the children shouted from the windows "O, golly"
For Mosley, no one seemed sorry
But someone ha da the goodness
To lendv us their two ton lorry
We got it over on its side Sir
It wasn't much of a strain
But the police krpt knocking our barricade down
So we built the damn thing up again.
The police said we worked mighty fast
As with a hanky their faces they mopped
So we got out our big red banner
And stuck it right on the top.
The police then charged with their truncheons
They charged us, the working class
But they couldn't pinch our red banner
With these words THEY SHALL NOT PASS
I wish you had been there to see it
You would have said it was a ruddy fine feat
How we kept that old Red Flag flying
On those barricades of Cable Street.
So this is the end of my story
And I must get back to my broth
But I hope you will never forget Sir
It was Sunday October the fourth.
Ghosts of Cable Street
(video showing the scenes of Cable Street,
set to the music of the Men They Couldn't hang)
and again and again
we will cry
THEY SHALL NOT PASS
NO PASARON
The destruction of the popular Chartist mural, in Newport yesterday has robbed many Newport residents of part of their rich personal and cultural history. Commemorating the Chartist uprising of 4th November 1839, the mural was located in an underground walkway leading to to John Frost Square (named after eminent local Chartist leader, who was packed of to Tasmania, only to return later to heroes welcome.) in 1979, and was made by artist Kenneth Budd a renowned figure in post war mosaics.
The Chartist mural was one of several works by Budd commissioned by
Newport City Council after 1974 to promote public art, by applying them
to highway and other major council developments in and around the city.
At this time Newport had a reputation as perhaps the leading public
authority in Wales for promoting public art, not only to enhance the
city but also to enlighten its inhabitants about its history of struggle
for social improvement. Its significance thus lies not only in its
artistic quality and craftsmanship, but also in its historical
importance as a record of nineteenth century working-class protest.
A familiar presence in the city of Newport , the mural had
become firmly established as arguably the best known tribute to the
political rising of 1839 and wasl was deliberately placed next to John Frost Square to
commemorate the events of 4 November 1839 and serve as a memorial to the
twenty Chartists killed by the army outside the nearby Westgate Hotel,
as depicted in the mural. John Frost, later Mayor of Newport, was one
of several thousand Chartists who marched that day from the Monmouthshire valleys in
support of their demands for parliamentary reform. Their demands were
for secret ballots, a vote for everyone 21 and over, annual elections to
Parliament, all constituencies to have equal numbers of voters,
abolition of the property qualification for MPs, and payment of MPs.
The Newport Rising, a few months after Parliament
had rejected the six-point Charter calling for voting reform, was the
last major armed rebellion in mainland Britain.
The Chartist leaders, including Frost, were convicted of high treason
and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. But after protests from
all over the country, the sentence was reduced to transportation for
life. Other uprisings were also planned in Sheffield, the East End of
London and Bradford.The Chartist movement represented the
culmination of an extraordinary political, cultural and intellectual
ferment that affected broad sections of the British working class in the
decades that followed the French Revolution.
The vast 35m long mural was beautifully executed and extraordinarily
detailed, depicting the 1839 Chartist uprising with life-size figures
made from 200,000 pieces of ceramic tile and glass mosaic.
The
mosaic was so intricately designed that you could see subtle variations in
skin tone and expression in the faces of the protesters, and the surface
has projecting elements like spears and weapons which provide an added
layer of three-dimensional detail.
In telling the story of the Chartist rising, artist Kenneth Budd depicted key aspects of the day’s events,
including the text of the People’s Charter, the march and the final
bloody shootout on the steps of the Westgate Hotel. But more than being
an historical interpretation, the mural also became an archive of 1970s
Newport, for every face included in the mural was based on that of a
prominent member of the community in Newport at that time. This was a
People’s Charter, manifest in a people’s mural.
A local campaign had collected over 4,000 signatures in support of keeping the mural. Many locals had gathered to show their opposition, and to try and defy the wreckers, however sadly now reduced to rubble in an act of despicable cultural vandalism. All for the sake of building yet another shopping centre, a disgrace in any context, but absolutely disgusting under the direction of a Labour Council, who did not seem to care about their roots, or the proud heritage of the local people.
The council sought to justify its destruction of the mural on the
grounds that the Welsh heritage organisation, Cadw, had not awarded the
artwork listed status and that its relocation would cost £600,000. A
spokesperson for Cadw commented, “The Chartist Mural in Newport has not
been awarded listing status principally because it fell short of the
criteria to be listed at the national level on grounds of its special
architectural interest. The quality of building to which the mosaic is
attached is poor and the underpass itself has no intrinsic design
merits. It was also felt that there was no specific association between
the location of the mural and the Chartist uprising.” .
The cold nature of the mural’s destruction upset many. Video footage
revealed that they happily destroyed a beautiful and visible expression of working-class people and struggle.with total disregard for the mural during demolition, with no
attempts made to preserve any sections of the display. Official
statements suggested the building was unsafe for the general public, yet
the sight of a mechanical digger slamming into the supposedly fragile
wall, raised eyebrows all round. Further statements indicating that the
mural was fused to an adjoining wall, a major factor in the £600,000
costing for ‘safe’ removal’, were also called into question as great
segments of the mural appeared to ‘peel’ from the walls. The demolition
crew succeeded in showing that, parts at least, of the mural could have
be saved, for very little money and for the loss of very little time. By
this stage in proceedings however, little could be done, the mural was
gone.
We should never forget the insurrectionary spirit of the Chartists, and the proud part Newport played in fighting for workers rights, nor the people of Newport who determingly campaigned to save this mural from this willful desecration and destruction.
I make spontaneous verse I am not very good at rhyme, I am often non-conformist my visions speak against injustice, words released like a slow burning fuse to fill the air with crackling alarm, I have felt emptiness, exhaustion witnessed forces of distortion, the politics of empty gestures shaped by the hands of jesters, I hurry on, follow tides of innocence try to swim beyond rivers of ambivalence, these words are my swords & ploughshares clouds of abstraction, in intervals of time, whilst breathless, I try to run free empty pockets of contemplation, share my conscience into night sky with each season's passing cry.
The Daily Mail is rightly getting hammered at the moment....which has been cheering me up greatly. Here's last nights stand off on Newsnight. 10 minutes in Paul Dacre gets it! We're still living in dangerous times, however, and the right wing media and their poison need to be fought tooth and nail.
Long has the Daily Mail's brand been tainted. It's unique combination of bullshit, scaremongering and hatred making it one of the worst newspapers in the world, for some time it has exhibited a right-wing stance on both society and politics. It still holds an inherently racist outlook, whilst supporting whatever right-wing crazies that cross their path, ie, the Conservative Party, U.K.I.P, or the English Defence League. Combined with a lack of trustworthy news, hypocricy and bullshit. A bully that is constantly attacking the poor, the vulnerable, the unemployed and disabled benefit claimants. It's headlines long fuelling xenophobia, bigotry, public anxiety and islamphobia, for too long now it has just been a poisonous piece of toilet paper, that needs to be shut down in the name of human decency, and is strictly beyond the pale.
Lest us not forget that during the 1930's and 1940's this newspaper (if we can call it one) openly supported the Nazis and the Blackshirts.
Daily Mail Poem
I pour scorn on its petty margins,
its distortion of realities silhouette,
the daily shame, should be its new name,
cross out all its lies, we'd be left with empty pages.
Drinking toasts to underbellies of nastiness,
it sharpens its pen on bile,
its agenda of spreading hatred,
is enough to scramble your brain.
Acts like a bully, but is simply scared
of everything,
its dark heart is a destroyer of dreams,
as its wedges of venom drives people apart,
in truth, it reminds me of nothing at all.
In these times, when I think people,
should be drawing closer together,
its pinning sense of intolerance,
fuels only fear, with its jackboots
gnashing daily.
its message is not one I want to hear,
we are so diametrically opposed,
dont ever think I will ever be able
to call it a friend.
On September 30th 2000 Mohammed Al Durrah and his father were filmed crouching behind a concrete block along one
of Gaza streets as Israeli army soldiers showered them with heavy
gunfire. Moments later, the terrorized boy collapsed dead on his
father’s lap whose attempts to shield his son from live ammunition
proved to be futile.
This incident became one of the most evocative events of the occupation and haunting images of the intifada. Jamal al-Durrah and his 12-year-old
son, Mohammad, were filmed by Talal Abu Rahma, a Palestinian cameraman freelancing for
France 2, they are seen with their,
backs pressed against the wall, Jamal’s arm shielding his young son
whose mouth is oval with what must have been a paralyzing fear. And then
the shots. After an emotional public funeral, the 12 year old became a symbol of the struggle of the Palestinian people against a ruthless occupier.
After initially taking responsibility for killing Mohammad, a bogus
Israeli army investigation concluded that the killing of Mohammad was a
hoax, that Palestinians were to blame, that the France 2 journalist who
shot the video was part of a conspiracy to ‘delegitimise Israel’.The Prime Minister’s office released a document officially denying Israel’s responsibility for the death and stating that the
footage was staged.But the boy did die in conflict and his own father could not save him.
Abu Rahmeh told the Al-Monitor news website that his French employer
had posted on YouTube the entire raw video to put an end to attempts to
discredit him through claims that the footage was staged.
The footage of al-Durrah was popular because it captured human
emotion, he said: “It moved the world and whoever saw it because it
reflected a real human emotion of a father unable to protect his young
son.”
Here is a report by the Guardian newspaper on the case, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/23/israeli-report-denies-death-al-dura. Thousands of other Palestinian
civilians died too and he symbolized their plight.The footage, became the most potent symbol of the Palestinian resistance against the decades-long Israeli occupation.Drawings and pictures of the scene were painted on walls across many parts of the world in support of the Palestinian cause.
The fact remains that Israeli soldiers still do kill little Palestinian boys on a regular basis,with impunity sometimes just for throwing rocks.Human rights groups’ reports are never short on distressing details: 954
Palestinian children were killed between the Second Intifada in 2000
and Israel’s war on Gaza, the so-called Operation Cast Lead in 2008. In
the latter war alone, 345 children were reportedly killed. Years years later, we should remember this terrified boy, remember his name and all the other innocents since trapped in the fogs of war and occupation.
Quick plug for this event.
Sunday 6th October 2013 Benefit Concert for Medical Aid For Palestinians, a cause very close to my heart,http://www.whatevertheweatherwales.co.uk/en/events/fundraiser-for-palestineAs part of Drones Action Week this concert is organised by Bro Emlyn For Peace and Justice http://www.bepj.org.uk/Featuring West Wales based rock band Scene Red https://scenered.bandcamp.com/, Pembrokeshire based singer sonwriter Bob Fish, Swansea based stand-up comedian Ben Jenkins and Carmarthen based performance poet Bill Vester. The venue is The Small World Theatre http://www.smallworld.org.uk/in Cardigan. Doors open at 7.30 the event starts at 8.00pm and tickets are availabe at the door priced at £8.00p (£7.00p for usual concessions). All profits from this event are being donated to Medical Aid For Palestinians http://www.map-uk.org/ . The organisers are also hoping that China Fish of Circus To Palestine will be able to give a short talk on her recent experinces in Gaza.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees.
MAP delivers health and medical care to those affected by conflict, occupation and displacement.
Working in partnership with local health providers and hospitals, MAP addresses a wide range of health issues and challenges faced by the Palestinian people.
With offices located in Beirut, Ramallah and Gaza City, MAP responds rapidly in times of crisis, and works directly with communities on longer term health developoment.
Please feel free to share the above flyers with as many people as possible.
Please sign this petition to the British government to end the "War on Welfare," which currently has over 55,000 signatures but needs 100,000 to be eligible for a Parliamentary debate, https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154
Since the Tory Government came to power their vicious assaults on the poor, the ill, the unemployed and the disabled has been relentless, in it's pure callousness, backed by their partners in crime the Liberal Democrats and the majority of the mainstream media. Currently the Labour Party have been making gestures, but these gestures and fighting talk should have started a long time ago.
Many people are now sick and tired of it all and are, refusing to accept this govennment's relentless attacks, sadly many people have had their lives devastated by the austerity programme, including more than 10,000 people who died shortly after undergoing the Atos Work Capability Assessment, a degrading test used by the government to assess the needs of people receiving benefits related to disability and ill health. I welcome the Labour Party's decision to scrap Atos, a truly harrowing process, that is simply not fit for purpose, but lets not forget who introduced in the first place, yes, the Labour Party. They also persisted with WCA's (Work Capability Assessments) until the 2010 General Elections, so a whiff of hypocricy surrounds them.
This Saturday coming there will be a ceremony of rememberance and solidarity for all those who have their lives destroyed by austerity at Parliament Square 28/10/13 from noon http://www.10kcuts.org/
The gathering will demand an immediate end to the Work Capability Assessment, as voted for by the British Medical Association, and a New Deal for sick and disabled people based on their needs, abilities and ambitions.
Disabled people are leading the fight back against the injustices of auterity: we cannot stand idly by while our communities and institutions are devastated by this government.
Across the U.K over a thousand people have died only months after being told to find work, we must not forget them, and must ask ourselves the question what kind of civilised society are we living, that allows this to happen to our citizens. How many more people will kill themselves because of government cuts to their benefits?Personally I think powers should be given back to G.Ps who are the only people that can be truly trusted to decide who is sick or not, whose valuable opinions are currently ignored. Please sign the wow petition above.
Below is a link to a powerful poem from a poet friend, that sums up the harsh realities and remembers the victims of the Tory's cruel policies.
