Aleppo: The nightmare continues

Yesterday’s deal to evacuate the remaining civilians trapped in East Aleppo has collapsed.
Civilians stayed up all night awaiting evacuation but buses stood and idle and returned empty on Wednesday morning. Iran-backed militias reportedly prevented civilians and opposition fighters from leaving the besieged city. Shelling and airstrikes by pro-regime militias and Russia have resumed.
Journalists are reporting that cluster bombs and vacuum bombs are targeting civilian homes. Medics that had been preparing for hours to get badly injured patients ready for departure are now trapped under heavy fire and are struggling to deal with new casualties.
Terrified residents who had hoped that their nightmare had come to an end are now desperately seeking shelter amid airstrikes. It is still unclear if residents will be allowed to leave and whether the deal will hold. According to Syrian Journalist Zouhir Al Shimale, regime media is reporting that it will resume its attacks until all of Eastern Aleppo is taken.
Unless there is a safe and secure evacuation out of Aleppo, there is a risk that the remaining trapped civilians will be killed or detained. 
This is an emergency. Please do everything in your power to take action for the safe passage of these civilians. Make a call now and demand life saving action.

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The following is is a message from Raed Saleh, head of the Syria Civil Defense, published in The Guardian today :-

As a White helmet I ask for one thing: safe passage for those trapped in Aleppo.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/14/white-helmet-aleppo-civilians-safe-passage-city 


The Morning Star newspaper had reported yesterday that acts taking place in Aleppo yesterday as liberation with a headline announcing :- "Final liberation off Aleppo is in sight." These efforts at 'liberation' have now extended to pro-government forces " entering homes in eastern Aleppo and killing those inside, including women and children according to the UN. Its human rights office says it has evidence at least 82 civilians have been shot on the spot, with a spokesman declaring it " a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo." While Assad claims to be liberating Aleppo from terrorists, he is, in fact, slaughtering not only armed rebels fighting government forces, but untold numbers of civilians. This a deeply complicated war and in this particular conflict it is hard to throw ones hat with any of the opposing sides, at the end of the day the guilty can be found on all sides. Our newsfeeds are filled with the most horrific stories of death, torture, rape, annilihation and atrocities, the misery in Syria continues. We have to stand with the people of Syria  against the tyrants ,whether from the East or the West.We must support calls for a ceasefire and an immediate stop to bombing and shelling. We should be attempting at reaching a political solution to ending the war, towards alleviating immediate suffering. Further intervention in this war-torn country will only make things worse. The task ahead sadly is not an easy one.
The following statement has been issued by Geert Cappelaere, Unicef's regional director:

" As violence continues to escalate in Aleppo today, thousands of children are suffering in silence, and coming under brutal attack on our watch.It is time for the world to stand up for the children of Aleppo and bring their living nightmare to an end.
According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo.
We urge all parties to the conflict to allow the safe and immediate evacuation of all children. Unaccompanied and separated children have the right to be registered by a neutral humanitarian organisation and be reunified with their families  wherever they may be. 
Unicef is deeply concerned by reports of extra judicial killings of civilians including children and reminds all parties of their responsibilities under international law.
Unicef calls on all warring parties to immediately reach a truce in Aleppo and allow humanitarian organisations to deliver urgent assistance to families and children in need wherever they are, and without conditions.
Civilians who wish to leave east Aleppo must be allowed to do so in safety and in dignity.
Unicef's team in Aleppo and stands ready to provide assistance, including facilitating the evacuation of children.
The children of Aleppo are our responsibility and must be helped now. There are no more excuses."

 Britain has failed to stand by a vision of an open, tolerant Syria. But,we can give urgent help to those fleeing Aleppo, and those left behind. We can give sanctuary to more refugees and we can properly invest in reconstruction.It is the least we can do.
Right now, people in East Aleppo are posting their final goodbyes online as government forces gain full control of the city. Instead of being given a safe path out, they face being trapped, tortured or executed. We can at least continue to demand the safe  evacuation of  the people trapped there now and that UN monitors are deployed to monitor evacuations and protect people from harm.To try and provide them with the safety, justice and dignity that some seek to steal from them.
I am currently hearing reports that another ceasefire has been brokered and a second attempt to evacuate civilians could take place in Aleppo.Let's hope that this is not another taunt and that those in the Eastern part of Aleppo will be taken to areas not under siege.

Stare not at the stars, nor at the bright moon, cry our for the children, dying in Aleppo's gloom.

John Lewis Christmas 2016 Fox Hunt Parody : Keep the fox hunting ban

A parody of the heart warming John Lewis Christmas advert 2016 to highlight the importance of keeping the fox hunting ban.
It's a sad fact that up and down the country many foxes have lost their lives due to illegal hunting activities. See the following two links for instance :-
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/man-49-arrested-after-foxes-killed-by-hunt-hounds/story-29971820-detail/story.html
 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/police-probe-footage-heartbreaking-footage-9395384

Hunting is still going on. We still have a lot to do to protect our wildlife.We need tougher legislation to stop fox hunting completely. Wouldn't  it be nice if the police actually enforced the law but the continuing support for hunting by people in positions of power make that unlikely but well done to the brave Sabs and hunt monitors who stand between the hunters and our wildlife,stopping hunts in the fields, thank you each and every one, those of us who want to live in a civilised 21st century society are grateful for your efforts. What an unsavoury axis the pro-hunt lobby present. Those who consider themselves superior to the rest of society, determined to carry on hunting because these sick proponents actually  enjoy killing and the feeling of power watching a fox being torn apart by a pack of dogs gives them. Then there are the Terrier men and the rest of the slavish lackeys who are just along for beer money and the chance of a bit of violence, often setting their own dogs on the fox if it has managed to go to ground, while toadying to the squirearcy. And most contemptable of all the nouveau riche wanabee gentry, who are no doubt despised by lord and lackey alike.
I  believe that chasing and killing live animals with dogs is barbaric, outdated and has no place in modern Britain. The vast majority of the British public support the Hunting Act (typically 70 - 80 per cent) and the UK has some of the most progressive animal welfare laws in the world. This reflects the public consciousness of compassion towards animals.In 2004 the 'Hunting Act' was put in place to prevent people from hunting wild animals with Hounds. The main 'pest' being Foxes.Recently, rumblings seem to be stirring from certain areas of government that suggest a lift, lighten or watering down of these laws. Andrea Leadsom is one such person responsible for the re-opening of this upper-class wound.

Tell Theresa May keep Fox hunting banned,
please sign following petitions :-

Call on Andrea Leadsom not to hold a vote to repeal the hunting Act 2004

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/161635/signatures/new

https://www.change.org/p/rt-hon-theresa-may-mp-keep-fox-hunting-banned 

 

Counting down the days to Christmas

                                                ( a prison window of consumerism)

It's a wonderful time of the year
for  many  now trapped and living in fear
caught by a malicious system
drowning in debt,facing struggle alone,
benefits cut, holding on as best they can
spending many days with heads in hands,
hearts aching, tears rolling down cheeks
counting down the days to Christmas.

Have you seen the alternative news
that exposes this conscious cruelty?
Government robbing people of self respect
left in sullen days of  abandonment,
people with no heating, sitting around freezing,
listening to reality blues, life in gloom
trying to fight, pick up the pieces
counting down the days to Christmas.

Its difficult to find any hope
or feel the presence of any holy spirit,
in this season when things fall apart
people caught up in war zones,
refugees fleeing for their lives
lovers slowly dying of terminal disease,
refusing to surrender, releasing resistance
counting down the days to  Christmas.

I can't handle another bloody Christmas song
my will is already being pinched and broken,
by adverts spreading the disease of capitalism
tinsel,glitter and fairy lights masking crisis,
at a time of the year many now come to dread
too difficult to contemplate, let alone celebrate;
scrambling our way through the fog
counting down the days to Christmas.

A time for peace,goodwill and generosity
but the world's stage makes this  difficult,
leaving many facing sleepless nights
long drawn out days of thrift,
so try not to forget,the cheated, the old
the poor and the sick, the weak
cast aside, forced to tighten their belts
counting down the days to Christmas.

https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/counting-down-the-days-to-christmas-by-dave-rendle/

Llewellyn ap Gruffyd, the last Prince of Wales ( 1232-1282)

 Llewellyn ap Gruffydd couldn’t have known it during his tumultuous life, but he would become known to posterity as Llewellyn the Last. He was the last native born Welshman recognised as the sovereign Prince of Wales, before Wales was finally conquered by Edward the 1st in 1282. I am no fan of titles and now is  little more than an honorific bestowed upon the eldest son of the King or Queen of England, a final insult dreamt up by King Edward to make certain that Wales knew its place in the new order. But in Llewellyn’s day, it was not something that came by birth right, but something he took by force of arms, strategic alliances, and breath-taking diplomacy.
Llewelyn was the second son of Gruffydd and his wife, Senena. Following his father's death, Llewelyn joined forces with his uncle, Dafydd, and effectively became Dafydd's heir as Dafydd had no sons. Llewelyn helped to re-unite North Wales.In 1247 Llywelyn and his brother Owain signed the Treaty of Woodstock with King Henry III. The treaty restricted the brothers' rule to parts of Gwynedd west of the River Conwy, while the remainder of Conwy, the Perfeddwlad, remained under English control.Within two years, however, Llywelyn had gained control of the Perfeddwlad and most of the Pura Wallia, parts of Wales under native Welsh rule. By early 1258 he was using the title Prince of Wales, although the English crown refused to acknowledge him as such.
When Henry was temporarily deposed by Baron Simon de Montfort after the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Llywelyn allied himself to the new ruler. The Treaty of Pipton, signed the following year, set out the terms Llywelyn had desired for several years: formal recognition as Prince of Wales and overlord of the other Welsh rulers.De Montfort died at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and the resulting English power vacuum allowed Llywelyn to consolidate his control of Welsh territory. He was formally recognised as Prince of Wales by Henry III with the signing of the Treaty of Montgomery on 29 September 1267.
De Montfort died at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and the resulting English power vacuum allowed Llywelyn to consolidate his control of Welsh territory. He was formally recognised as Prince of Wales by Henry III with the signing of the Treaty of Montgomery on 29 September 1267. However with the advent of a new English King, Edward I, relations deteriorated as Llewelyn refused to pay homage or make the money payments due under the Treaty of Montgomery. In 1277 Llewelyn was forced to submit to the King and was stripped of his hard won overlordship.Edward embarked on a unprecedented building programme across Wales, including the enormous sastles at Caernarfon, Conway and Harlech , showing of his military strength and acting as signals to the Welsh about the futility of opposing his might.
However in 1282, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Llewelyn's brother, attacked Hawarden Castle. Llewellyn  was faced with an impossible choice; he was called on to crush the rebellion, instead he joined it, sided with his brother against the English.Now engaged in a bitter struggle with Edward I of England, leading the Welsh resistance to Edward, with an ambition to create a permanent, independent Welsh principality and to keep Wales independent.  Edward continued to send armies into Wales and one consisting of 2000 infantrymen and 200 cavalrymen succeeded in capturing Anglesey. However the routing of this army by Llywelyn on 6th November 1282, boosted Welsh morale and when Edward turned his hand to diplomacy, offering Llywelyn a large estate in England if he would surrender, Llywelyn defiantly  refused, stating that he would not abandon the people whom his ancestors had previously protected.

Llywelyn was then deceived into attending a meeting with Edmund Mortimer at Aberedw, who  claimed that he wished give homage to Llywelyn. In Llywelyn's absence, the English army advanced on the Welsh position at Orewin Bridge.The full force of the English  army now crossed and engaged the leaderless Welsh army.As the Welsh turned to confront the archers they left the bridge undefended. The English seized the moment to attack. Mounted soldiers charged across Orewin Bridge, causing the leaderless and disorganised Welsh army to flee. Upon hearing the noise of the battle, Llywelyn realised that he had been tricked and immediately headed back with his entourage to assume command yet was ambushed and overwhelmed. Llywelyn lay mortally wounded and asked for a priest, but was recognized, and was instantly killed and his head cut off and sent to Edward at Rhuddlan, who then took it to London, put on it an ivory crown and placed it on the gate of the Tower of London, where it stayed for 15 years.
The death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd marked the end of an independent Wales. Resistance continued for a while under Dafydd, but by June of the following year, he too had been captured and executed, with his head displayed next to that of Llywelyn.The beheading of Llywelyn, the imprisonment of his family, the melting down of the crown jewels and the destruction of the royal mausoleums, and the symbolic display of their decapitated  heads would all have been designed to oppress the Welsh people, the end result being that Edward's conquest of Wales being complete.
Llewellyn dominated Wales for more than 40 years, and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called "the Great", the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great. The first person to give Llywelyn the title "the Great" seems to have been his near-contemporary, the English chronicler Matthew Paris.
 Llewellyn was  the last  prince of an united independent ,Wales until that is  Owain Glyndŵr rebel  prince came along to leave  his mark in the 14th century .with his fight against English oppression , his fight that nearly won Welsh independence and his threshold plan for a Welsh Parliament, an independent church and university which would turn him into a potent symbol of Welsh nationalism in the 20th Century.This is  another story from the pages of our history.
There is much uncertainty as to Llywelyn's final resting place, with the Cistercian Abbey at Abbeycwmhir the site suggested by most historians,it is known that he killed in battle not far from Llanfair in Buellt now known as Builth Wells.

Memorial stone to Llewellyn the last at Cilmeri
 

World Human Rights Day

Today marks Human Rights Day,it is observed every year on 10 December to commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.
This year, Human Rights Day calls on everyone to stand up for someone's rights! Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be wide-spread in all parts of the globe. Extremist movements subject people to horrific violence. Messages of intolerance and hatred prey on our fears. Humane values are under attack.Today we must  take a stand for others who are oppressed by their societies or regimes, or have in some way had their rights taken from them.
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads. "They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
We must reaffirm our common humanity. Wherever we are, we can make a real difference. In the street, in school, at work, in public transport; in the voting booth, on social media.
The time for this is now. “We the peoples” can take a stand for rights. And together, we can take a stand for more humanity.
World Human Rights Day reminds us that there is much to be done  and around to world to protect those who cannot voice or respond to perpetrated discrimination and violence caused by governments, vigilantes, and individual actors. In many instances, those who seek to divide people for subjective means and for totalitarian reasons do so around the globe without fear of retribution. Violence, or the threat of violence, perpetrated because of differences in a host of physical and demographic contrasts and dissimilarities is a blight on our collective humanity now and a danger for our human future.
Recenly after displaying a  rare display of lucidity Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary was severely reprimanded for his remarks that Saudi Arabia is involved in a proxy war in the Middle East. His statements broke on of the cardinal rules of British foreign policy, do not critisice a hideous dictatorship if it is allied with Britain.The UK government is only to well aware of the fact that Saudi Arabia has provided financial support to Isis and other terrorist groups in Syria and elsewehere in a proxy war in the Middle East. His statement broke one of the cardinal rules of British foreign policy, do not critisise a hideous dictatorship if is allied with Britain.So it continues to support the Saudi dictatorship, one of the greatest violaters of human rights in the world. This serves to expose the British establishment's extreme cynicism and hypocrisy. In the name of human  rights we must continue to challenge this shameful narrative.
For millions of people, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still just a dream. December 10th is a symbolic date that reminds us of that fact, but we must keep this commitment 365 days a year. In all the EU's external actions every day must be Human Rights Day, as every person in the world is entitled to the full and indivisible range of human rights every day of his or her life.Global human rights are not selective in their value or meaning, nor are they limited to a day or time of year.

Human Rights Day

Yoko Ono makes plea for gun control on anniversary of John Lennon's murder.

 

On 8th December 1980, John Lennon was shot four times in the back by crazed fan Mark Chapman who had asked the former Beatle for his autograph only hours before laying in wait and killing him.He was just 40 when he died.I was 13 back then, and I'm now 9 years older than John Lennon was allowed to live. Such a tragic and heartbreaking waste of a good and talented man.
The death of Lennon still reverberates as a defining moment for a generation and for the music world.A man who helped define rock and roll, a leader of the peace movement, an icon of the Baby Boom generation, his murder inspired shock and mourning, and for many marked the end of an era.
Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison and was last denied parole in August 2014.
"I am sorry for causing that type of pain," Chapman told the parole board then. "I am sorry for being such an idiot and choosing the wrong way for glory." Chapman can try again for parole next year.

In a message posted on her website, Imagine Peace, and on Facebook, Ono posted a plea to “bring back America, the green land of Peace,” along with an image of Lennon’s blood-stained eyeglasses.

“Dear Friends,” she wrote. “Every day, 91 Americans are killed with guns. We are turning this beautiful country into a War Zone. Together, let’s bring back America, the green land of Peace. The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 36 years, our son Sean and I still miss him.”
The photo also stated that more than 1,200,000 people were killed by guns since Lennon’s death in 1980.

Since 1968 — the year the Beatles released the White Album — the sad fact is that more Americans have been killed by gun violence than all the US wars in history combined.It their stupid right to bare arms, until that changes nothing will change and stupid Americans will keep on killing each other. 
R.I.P John Lennon  

John Lennon - Imagine

Stop the break-up and privatisation of Network Rail

Conservative Transport Minister Chris Grayling  has unveiled plans for a fully privatised railway line, with track and trains operated by the same company. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/06/new-fully-privatised-rail-line-chris-grayling-plans-oxford-cambridge
Network Rail is a government owned company responsible for maintaining and repairing our rail lines, it was set up after private company Railtrack ballsed it up when they had the contract to do it. Now the UK government is going to privatise it again. The Government hopes this shift of control will incentivise train companies to carry out repairs more quickly and possibly bring in cheaper fares.
The reason for setting up Network rail in the first place was  private companies failed to look after tracks, and were more interested in boosting their  profit than training or safety. This led to  fatal crashes :- Southall (1997) 7 people dead, Ladbroke Grove (1999) 31 people dead, Hatfield (2000) 4 people dead, Potters Bar (2002) 7 people dead. Chris Grayling has obviously forgotten all the lives lost when our railway maintenance was last left to a profit-making company. When will they ever learn!! Grayling  absolutely does not give a fraction of a shit. He's left the prison service in utter chaos with vast private unbreakable contracts everywhere,and he'll do it here too.
 The private companies running the trains are behind on the maintenance of the trains and carriages (who remembers all that footage of how crowded the carriages are these days from earlier this year?), so they will neglect the tracks too! So long as they seek a profit there will be less incentive to repair (not more) and nothing will be done until they are at breaking point. The idea it will reduce ticket prices is insane; ticket prices have risen at a much steeper rate under privatisation and have actually very recently had yet another rise (with no improvement in service.)
We should not forget though that it is the Tory mindset to sell off the family silver to the highest bidder , the rail , Royal Mail , British aerospace , cable n wireless , Britoil , British gas , British steel , British airways , Rolls Royce , water and electricity went the same way . Thatcher sold off council housing stock under the right to buy , most are now owned by private landlords who charge 3-4 times the rent of council rents . Profits were supposed to be ploughed back into building social housing but this never happened and guess what , we have a massive housing shortage, asset stripping of the NHS the list is endless. Some of the train operating companies are now foreign owned , profits help subsidise their own countries rail fares whilst Joe Public  pays the most expensive train fares (by a long way) in Europe .
I for one am not convinced by privatisation of assets.No public service, and railways are a very important public service should ever be in private hands. Decades of evidence show that applying business principles to public services simply doesn't work. It increases prices, decreases choice and drastically lowers quality of service. All the railways need to be nationalised, it should be kept in the hands of the people.For safety's sake, Stop the break-up and privatisation of Network Rail! Please sign the following petition :-

 http://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/networkrail

As G4S, ends most of its illegal business with Israel because of Global BDS Campaign: Time to keep up the Pressure..

 

More good news following hearing yesterday that the Dakota pipe line had been stopped. Security company and long time boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS target G4S has sold, but not all, of its business with Israel, where it was extensively involved in Israel's notorious prisons and provided services to Israel's checkpoints, settlements, and apartheid wall, among others. in Israel within the next two years, but has denied that it is because of a years-long boycott campaign.
G4S made the announcement when it released its end-of-year results last Wednesday, saying that it is selling its interests in Israel as part of a wider assets sale to increase profits. It also said that it would suspend some other controversial projects, such as US youth-justice centres, in a bid to boost profits after shares fell 12 percent in part due to growing costs of providing contract housing for destitute asylum seekers.
This tremendous news comes after years of BDS campaigning worldwide targeting G4S at every level, causing the company which reportedly employs 8,000 people in Israel with a turnover of $143mn, enormous reputational damage and costing it many millions in lost contracts.
Mahmoud Nawajaa, a spokesman for the Palestinian BDS National Committee, said that BDS had undoubtedly pressed G4S into closing shop in Israel. “As at the height of the international boycott of apartheid South Africa, BDS pressure is making some of the world’s biggest corporations realise that profiting from Israeli apartheid and colonialism is bad for business,” he said.
“Investment fund managers are increasingly recognising that their fiduciary responsibility obliges them to divest from Israeli banks and companies that are implicated in Israel’s serious human rights violations such as G4S and HP because of the high risk entailed. We are starting to see a domino effect."
The campaign has resulted in  G4S losing clients  including private businesses, universities, trade unions, and UN bodies, with the Bill Gates Foundation divesting a stake worth $170m from the company following protests. The domination of G4S’ annual general meetings over several years by protests against the company’s involvement in Israeli prisons was undoubtedly a contributing factor in the company’s announcement.
Representatives of Palestinian civil society launched BDS in 2005, calling upon “international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South African in the apartheid era,including embargoes and sanctions against Israel.
As we celebrate we must still keep targetting G4S because despite the the sale of its subsidiary, G4S will  still remain directly complicit in Israel's violations of Palestinian rights through Policity, the flagship national police training centre it co-owns, and the settlement-profiteer Shikun & Binui group. given its ongoing role in Israeli police training and settlement construction in Palestine; guarding the Dakota Access pipeline construction; aiding ICE and Homeland Security with immigrant deportations; running youth detention facilities and providing prison technology as part of the U.S. prison industrial complex; and other repression worldwide, as outlined on the intersectional g4sfacts.org website released by the US Campaign and partners earlier this year
It is validation though that BDS does actually work.It follows other successes.Veolia, a French corporation, came under the spotlight because of their involvement in the development of a tram system connecting West Jerusalem to Israel’s illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
This was met by a seven year campaign to persuade public bodies not to renew their transport or waste management contracts which, cost Veolia more than $20 billion. In September 2015, Veolia sold off all of its businesses in Israel.
Even an Israeli company, Sodastream, moved its factory out of one of Israel’s most notorious illegal settlements, after an advertisement for their product featuring the actor Scarlett Johansson led Oxfam to part company with her as their ‘ambassador’.Other companies based in settlements live in fear of publicity. One company promised a human rights organisation to move their factory in order to avoid being mentioned in a report on companies operating in illegal settlements.
Well done to to activists around the globe who have been a part of the BDS campaign illustrating the tremendous ability of grassroots organizing to make an impact on multinational corporations, sending out the strong message that profiting from apartheid is not so profitable after all. We must continue to hold G4S and other corporations accountable for their ongoing abuses. Maybe occupation profiteer  Hewlett -Packard  could be the next win if we continue to keep the pressure up. .And if Israel wants the ongoing BDS Campaign to end,it must stop its occupation of Palestinian land and end its human rights abuses in compliance with international law and  recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and  respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their land as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Victory at Standing Rock: Permit denied for Dakota Access Piipeline.

 

The US Army Corps of Engineers have announced  today they will no longer allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under  lake Oshe near the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota, marking a huge victory for Native Americans and protesters who had long opposed the construction.
They say they are going to reroute it. The pipeline was intended to pass through North Dakota's Lake Oahe, which is a burial site sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux. The tribe voiced concerns the pipeline would threaten the community’s drinking water and would also damage sites of sacred significance and threaten water sources and cultural sites.
Military veterans joined activists, who call themselves water protectors, at Standing Rock this week, with more than 3,500 pledging to join the demonstration.In a statement, Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II said the tribe welcomed the decision, but he also sounded a note of caution saying he hoped the incoming Donald Trump administration would "respect this decision and understand the complex process that led us to this point." Archambault II went on :"When it comes to infrastructure development in Indian Country and with respect to treaty lands, we must strive to work together to reach decisions that reflect the multifaceted considerations of tribes. Treaties are paramount law and must be respected, and we welcome dialogue on how to continue to honor that moving forward. We are not opposed to energy independence, economic development, or national security concerns but we must ensure that these decisions are made with the considerations of our Indigenous peoples."
I am glad that the water protectors were able to divert the path of the pipeline. I feel saddened though that it took so long after months of violence and brutality by the state to get a basic easement off land that the oil companies had no legal right to be on in the first place. Some 26 activists were injured in a November 20 confrontation when police fired water cannon in below-freezing temperatures. Rubber bullets and tear gas were also reportedly used against the water protectors on site.Around 564 people were arrested during the protests, according to the Morton County Sheriff's Department for simply trying to peacefully defend this sacred land from  pillage.
I hope they stay true to their word.The people I fear will have to remain ever vigilant until all traces of the pipeline are removed. The World is still watching.Some good news for the time being, a huge victory for the thousands of demonstrators across the country who flocked to North Dakota in protest, standing firm  against corporations willful  destruction of our planet, and for the many concerned individuals across the world who have been in solidarity trying to raise awareness about this ongoing fight. People before profit.

Frank Zappa ( 21/12/40 - 4/12/93) - Social Commentator

 

Not sure, how, that in the years I've been writing this blog, I have not touched on the work of the late Frank Vincent Zappa, I have been an admirer of his work for a while, having numerous records, dvds by him. Anyway on this day in 1993 this musician and iconclast, who rode to fame in the late 1960s as leader of the eccentric Mothers of Invention and kept on breaking the musical rules, died in Los Angeles, CA of prostate cancer aged 53.
In his 33-year musical career, Zappa proved to be one of the most prolific musician-composers of his era, releasing over 60 albums during his lifetime, almost all of which consisted of original compositions.His work was a frothy stew of '50s doo-wop, rhythm 'n' blues,straight edged rock serious experimental jazz,free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and avant-garde classical strains, often heaped high with perverse, often scatological, lyrics.In albums with such far-out titles as "Freak Out," "Lumpy Gravy," "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" and "Weasels Ripped My Flesh," and "Sheik Yerbouti," Over the years, Zappa, whose albums were never huge sellers, sustained a cult following and was admired by legions of  fans worldwide that  ensured the marketability of a seemingly endless stream of eclectic recordings.Best remembered for the mark he made on the experimental rock counter-culture of the late 1960s, his influence extended into the worlds of jazz, classical and electronic music, and his love of experimentation was present in all of them.
His anarchic demeanor, and occasionally juvenile antics, accusations of misogyny were counterbalanced by an increasingly strong sense of social commitment, an individual  who shirked rampant commercialism and embraced nonconformity.In addition to being one of the most prolific and versatile composers of the rock idiom of his time,an incredible artist who produced an insane body of work Zappa he was also an astute and outspoken social and political commentator., a acerbic, prolific agent provocateur beyond categorisation. His music dealing with weighty subjects commenting on societal norms, politics and religion that still resonate in todays social and political climate.
An atheist, who grew up in a religious Catholic household. He said that by the time he was 18, he had “escaped the bondage of being a devout believer.” But the rebellion against religion started long before that. He said,"[My parents] tried to make me go to Catholic school, too. I lasted a very short time. When the penguin came after me with a ruler, I was out of there."He certainly did not have kind words to say about religion, especially the Abrahamic traditions. Just look at some of his  song titles: “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,” “Jesus Thinks You’re a Jerk,” “Heavenly Bank Account,” “Dumb All Over.” Zappa’s disgust of religion was rooted in the belief that religion is anti-intellectual, that it promotes ignorance. He said about the story of Adam and Eve,
"What was it that Adam ate that he wasn’t supposed to eat? . . . it was the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The subtle message? “Get smart and I’ll fuck you over–sayeth the Lord.” God is the Smartest–and he doesn’t want any competition.^"
He was especially critical of religious leaders who he viewed as hypocritical, preaching one thing and practicing another, those who became wealthy off the donations of their followers, and those who use religion to influence political change.Zappa described himself as a Practical Conservative, meaning he wanted small government and lower taxes. He said he understood that there were certain large services that only the federal government could provide, like national defense and large infrastructure projects, but that these services should be administered with the most efficiency and at the lowest price possible. He advocated for elimination of income taxes and a greatly reduced role for the federal government.
He was especially critical of the Reagan administration for, among other things, what he saw as its pandering to the Christian right. he was a libertarian in many ways.Zappa was skeptical of authority and indoctrination, and was critical of the mainstream media.He was also fierce defender of free speech and waged a public battle against the Parents Music Resource Center and its proposed ratings system, he testified before a congressional committee in 1985, voicing his opposition to legislation that would require labeling of music to warn parents of explicit content. In his prepared statement, about how such regulations are a threat to the First Amendment, Zappa said, " The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of Moral Quality Control Programs based on “Things Certain Christians Don’t Like.” What if the next bunch of Washington Wives demands a large yellow “J” on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine?^"
Zappa clearly wanted government out of all business except that which only government can provide, and he was willing to attack both political parties when he thought the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights were threatened. But his faith in the political machine wasn’t exactly resolute. As Zappa put it,"Government is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex"
In 1986, Frank Zappa engaged in a fiery debate about dirty lyrics and censorship based on religious morality in this classic clip from CNN’s “Crossfire.”Debating with John Lofton, conservative columnist for the Washington Times, Zappa noted that:The biggest threat to America today is not communism. It’s moving America toward a fascist theocracy. Everything that’s happened under the Reagan Administration is steering us right down that pipe.
Asked later in the interview to give “one example of a fascist theocracy” by co-host Tom Braden, Zappa replied: When you have a government that prefers a certain moral code derived from a certain religion, and that moral code turns into legislation to suit one certain religious point of view, and if that code happens to be very very right wing, almost toward Attila the Hun…
Lofton responded: “Well then you are an anarchist. Every form of civil government is based on some kind of morality Frank,” but Zappa set him straight, curtly remarking: “Morality in terms of behavior, not in terms of theology! You can watch the exchange, below,

Zappa defines Fascist theocracy
 

 For more of this stuff, I recommend checking out Thorsten Shutte’s new documentary, Eat that Question: Frank Zappa in his own words, an intimate encounter with the iconoclastic composer and musician  with rare archival footage revealing a provocative 20th-century musical genius and fierce public intellectual whose worldview resonates into the present day and beyond.Frank Zappa’s diverse work throughout his career as a musician and activist all combine to form an image of Zappa as a confirmed iconoclast who used his talents as composer, guitarist, entertainer, band leader, and social commentator to skew the status quo, illuminate hypocrisy, and slaughter sacred cows. The legacy of Frank Zappa will long be remembered.However for a nonconformist composer, so vehemently opposed to commercialization, it is kind of ironic though that Zappa’s image is now preserved in brand-name aspic by the strenuously protective Zappa Family Trust.

 Eat that Question: Frank Zappa in his own words, Official trailer 2016

Frank Zappa - Absolutely Free