Tibet is a country that has been living under China's brutal occupation for over 65 years,.Last year, Free Tibet commissioned major research into public understanding of Tibet. The results were sobering. Many are barely even aware that Tibet exists. It's time to change that.
Free Tibet https://www.freetibet.org/ is currently raising money to fund a brand new animated short film about Tibet, in attempt to bring the Tibetan story to life, and capture the struggle and tenacious spirit of the Tibetan people.
Once completed, they will use Free Tibet's international reach to get this video seen by millions of people; creating a whole new generation of Tibet supporters. Whatever my political allegiances my own feelings of solidarity remain with those who are physically, economically and culturally brutalised Like the Palestinians and the Kurds I support their daily struggle against brutal political repression and will side with those people that are immediately oppressed. There is simply no escaping the fact that China occupies Tibet in much the same way other regimes occupy lands that simply do not belong to them. China’s claims to have “liberated” Tibet continue to ring hollow, and the continuing Tibetan resistance represents an important call for self-determination'
However since the 2008 uprising in Tibet, the situation has been deteriorating with thousands of arrests, and the torture of Tibetans. It is evident that Chinese policies are hampering Tibetans who are driven to drastic acts of self immolation to resist China’s political repression and cultural assimilation. Here is a link to a crowdfunding page to help Free Tibet get their message out to a much wider audience, that these people are simply not forgotten. :-, https://www.indiegogo.co people are not simpltm/projects/animation-for-tibet?mc_cid=c8ad5c5085&mc_eid=4bb4a1c634#/
As was widely expected, Angela Merkel was re-elected to a fourth term as German chancellor on Sunday , but I am currently very saddened and repulsed by the shocking gains of the far right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) who won 13 percent of the vote which could see them securing 88 seats in the Bunbdestag. Which will be the first time chillingly that a far right, neo Nazi party has succeeded in getting into Germany's parliament in half a century. a really surprise result for a far-right party frequently accused of harboring Nazi revivalist ambitions. During the election campaign, the party's leading candidates said that Germans should show pride in its war veterans, including those who fought for Adolf Hitler's Third Reich and claimed that terror is grounded in the Muslim religion.
The AfD which was only founded in 2013 as a party against Germany's use of the 19-nation euro currency rather than the mark and the country's actions in bailing out Greece during the euro crisis. But the party quickly shifted to a nationalist, anti-immigration platform after Merkel's open-door policy was announced.This party's staunch anti-Islamic rhetoric seems to have appealed to pockets of voters who feared that at an influx of muslim refugees could shake the foundations of German society.
The vote has since subsequently been celebrated by France's fascist Marie Le Pen ,"Bravo from our allies from AFd for this historic score." she tweeted. It is a a chilling reminder of the right wing, racist populism that has won electoral success from France and Germany to Donald Trump's victory in the US.
Outside AfD's election party in Berlin after the results were announced thousands of protestors shouted "All Berlin hates the AfD" "Nazi pigs" and other slogans. Major Jewish groups have also expressed dismay , with the World Jewish congress, calling the party " a disgraceful reactionary movement that recalls the worst of Germany's past."
Germany's political situation like the rest of the world , reveals a deeply disturbing mirror of the times that we currently live in, I sincerely hope that the forces of anti-Semitism, fascism, racism and xenophobia will continue to be challenged and countered, wherever these ugly ideas are revealed, this right wing extremism must not be allowed to grow, must not be allowed to triumph , as they fan the flames of fear, and must continually be resisted. Lets continue to show our humanity and promote and grant safe haven to people fleeing war and misery. Don't sit on the fence when fascism continues to rise.
Thoughts are drunk on lemonade
the well is deep, as time drifts,
freedom to reminisce, words to spin
sorting and processing
musings whirl out the door,
another day breeches
dragging visions, as leaves fall,
the river is high, so am I
every layer has a different meaning,
I have no reason to be afraid
I have seen how light flickers,
from the eyes of springtime
the eyes of summer, the eyes of autumn
to the eyes of winter; laughter sizzling,
the ebb and flow of memory
richoceting from every direction,
revolving doors of feeling
trickling through skin and bone.
In the husk of life, among it's hardships
Day and night, at least in balance,
Halfway between Lammas and Samhein
As colored leaves fall in abundance,
We honour the Dark as well as the light
The difficult as well as the easy,
Through shadows of darkness
The good goddess returns,
Breaking through autumns window
To sanctify desires, help fear dissipate,
Existing in the form of time and space
Immortal protector of the human race,
Scattering seeds where dreams sprout
Mortals accept magic into heart,
Journeying on to the chill of winter
Catching nature's loving embrace,
Bidding farewell to long days of light
We return bright blessings and rejoice.
Morrissey returns with a gloriously pro-idle single called “Spent the Day in Bed” it's classic Moz and includes such subversive lines as “I spent the day in bed, as the workers stay enslaved”, “no bus, no boss, no rain no train” and “stop watching the news!” It's a delightful return to form, a typical blend of melody and the morose as he puts a big middle finger up to the establishment and reflects on the horrors of the modern world presented by the media – choosing to remain in bed rather than get involved. "And I Recommend that you stop watching the news because the news contrives to frighten you , to make you feel small and alone , to make you feel your mind isn't your own."he track is taken from his first new new studio album in three years called Low in high school.
Elsewhere Morrissey has finally taken to social media and has opened up a 'Twitter account. His first post ? " Spent the day in bed." Of course!!
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
As seasons change, with loss and time, some words simply released, from jotted down thoughts, on different pieces of paper, somehow freestyled, pieced back together.Beyond the pain of humanity and the sadness of separation, melodies lift, I hear hope as an echo, where humanity dances, leaving nothing but wonder. .Among times drifting clouds, respite continues, some moments or two of peace and quiet ,to share. To allow thoughts to keep moving on, walking through gardens of truth , with reason and passion.
Lets water the seeds of liberty, as stars above shine, into all our yesterdays and all of our tomorrows, every single second of our steps draws us ever closer still . Overcoming days hollow woes, seizing magic, while it glows, beyond fears containment, the laughing smile comes back and dreams live on.
Immigration detention centres are officially called Immigration Removal Centres, as their stated purpose is to hold people who the government intends to deport from the UK. Around half of people in immigration detention are asylum seekers, and many have family ties in the UK. Over 30,000 migrants are detained in the UK every year.
There are, at present, 11 detention centres in the UK. (This figure includes Short Term Holding Facilities.) Some are run by private security companies, others by the Prison Service. People in detention cannot leave and have very limited freedom of movement within the centres. Security levels are similar to prisons
People are detained for a very long time by the UK Border Agency when they cannot return to countries like Zimbabwe or Somalia because they are too dangerous. Others cannot be deported because they do not have a passport and their Embassy refuses to allow them to return. People are not able to leave Britain but instead of being released, they are kept in detention indefinitely.
Most people find long-term detention intensely traumatic. Not knowing when you will be free is damaging to mental health. People who have been tortured or imprisoned in their home countries are particularly scarred by long-term detention.
Indefinite immigration detention is arbitrary from beginning to end. A person doesn’t know when they will be detained; and when they are picked up, they won’t know where they are being taken. Very often, the only belongings they will be allowed to take with them are the clothes they stand up in. Likewise, they won’t know when, or how, their detention will end. Durations vary, and detention might be only a matter of weeks, but it could just as well be months or years, the whole point being that the person detained doesn’t know. This isn't for committing a crime. It's purely because their applications to be in Britain have been refused, or are still being processed.
The UK is the only country in Europe which locks asylum seekers up indefinitely.How would you feel if you had to flee your home for fear of persecution, risked everything to travel to another country in the hope of safety, only to arrive and be detained, often without explanation or any indication of when you at be released? Would you not agree with me that it would be a completely dehumanising experience.Alternatives to detention are cheaper, more effective and avoid the harm of detention. States that have tried working with migrants in the community to resolve their cases have found that most comply with immigration requirements, for a fraction of the cost of detention.
Please sign the below petition from the Green Party of England and Wales to demand an end to this cruel, unnecessary practice! https://action.greenparty.org.uk/detention
Diolch yn fawr BBC Cymru ,"No drones over Gaza!" was chanted by protesters from Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire at the drones testing airfield, known as Parc Aberporth .
Based in the city of Haifa, Elbit produces military and civilian-use equipment, including drones, aircraft, weapon control systems, and artillery. The company's customers include the Israeli army, US Air Force, and the British Royal Air Force.
Operations at the Elbit owned drone factory at Shenstone near Birmingham was shut for two complete days as protestors called for the closure of the factory and for a complete embargo on arms sales between Israel and the UK. On Thursday 6th July over a hundred people had gathered at the factory and took part in a number of activities to remember the thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Names of those killed, written on hundreds of strips of material,were tied to the fence surrounding the factory and the top of the fence was festooned with Palestinian flags. Small cardboard coffins, each with a photograph and name of a child killed in Gaza, were laid across both entrances to the factory. Palestinians at the protest reminded people that each of the people killed by an Israeli drone is a person, with a name, an age, a family and a story of their life.
On Friday 7th July activists returned once more to the factory, where the Palestinian flags and ribbons of names of those killed continued to surround the factory. All three entrances to the factory were blocked, forcing its closure for a 2nd day. Five protestors were subsequently arrested but as they were taken away the names of those killed in Gaza were still fluttering from the fence and 50 or so flags were flying defiantly. The protesters believed that the factory is complicit in illegal activity and that they were preventing a crime,"
The chanting in Aberporth was heard loud and clear in the background as Bethan Williams of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (pictured below on far right) spoke to BBC Wales reporter Matt Murray who happened to be there in connection with the Telegraph report about the two drones that had crashed into the sea off Aberporth http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/army-grounds-1bn-drone-fleet-…/. Bethan's excellent clear, cogent interview was broadcast on Radio Cymru's "Post Prynhawn": http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b094hx7h#play. @ 37.41 The references to the drones' impact over Gaza were not edited out of Bethan's interview the way they were from the other interview with my comrade Harry Rogers. Harry of Bro Emlyn Peace and Justice and also of the Drones Campaign Network Cymru (far left in photo above waving Palestinian flag ) in a greatly shortened interview, omitted any mention of Gaza, but was at least broadcast in the evening news on BBC Wales http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/bbc-wales-today-evening-news-13092017 @ 6:45
And well done to Elizabeth Morley for coming up with the idea for us to go to Aberporth.. Incidentally I try not to smile for camera on occasions like this. But charges were dropped against 3 defendants. The trial of the remaining 2 will be on 24 November. Palestine will be free.
Kevin Carter was an award winning South African photojournalist whose image of a starving female Sudanese toddler, alone and severely emaciated, attempting to crawl to an aid station for food made hi internationally famous. A vulture is standing on the ground behind her, waiting for her to die so that it can eat her. Thanks to this memorable photo, the famine in Sudan became internationally known. Carter left an indelible mark on the planet's consciousness. At this point Carter was probably not aware that he had shot one of the most controversial pictures in the history of photojournalism.
Sold to the New York Times ,the photograph first appeared on 26 March 1993, and was carried in many newspapers around the world. Hundreds of people contacted the Times to ask the fate of the girl. The paper reported that it was unknown whether she had managed to reach the feeding center. . Carter left an indelible mark on the planet’s consciousness. At this point Carter was probably not yet aware that he had shot one of the most controversial photographs in the history of photojournalism
Sold to the New York Times, the photograph first appeared on 26 March 1993 and was carried in many other newspapers around the world. Hundreds of people contacted the Times to ask the fate of the girl. The paper reported that it was unknown whether she had managed to reach the feeding center. On May 23, 14 months after capturing that memorable scene, Carter walked up to the platform in the classical rotunda of Columbia University's Low Memorial Library and received the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.
However when the picture gained international prominence people started asking what had happened to the girl. It emerged that Carter had apparently done nothing to help the girl. He received heaps of criticism for his “inhumane” actions. Questions were raised about the ethics of taking such a photograph. An article printed in 1994 in the St Petersberg Times commented on the morality of Carters actions, ‘the man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene,’
The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) have a ‘Code of Ethics’ which sets out certain ethical responsibilities when carrying out journalistic work, one reads as thus, ‘while photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.’ Considering this, one can say Carter was objective and documented what he saw, capturing the severity of the situation in Sudan.
Carter was working in a time when photojournalists were told not to touch famine victims for fear of spreading disease. He witnessed masses of people starving to death. Carter estimated that there were twenty people per hour dying at the food center. This child was not unique. Regardless, Carter often expressed regret that he had not done anything to help the girl, even though there was not much that he could have done. Carter defended himself and claimed that he waited 20 minutes for the vulture to spread its wings, which he thought would make a better picture, and when it didn’t, he took the picture,scared the vulture away, then left the girl to continue crawling on her own.
Carter's goal was to spread awareness of the violence and famine plaguing sub-Saharan Africa. Often, after taking photographs, Carter was so deeply affected that he would sit alone for hours, crying and smoking cigarettes. He was unable to escape the terrible scenes he witnessed.
To this day no one knows what became of the Sudanese girl, but the picture remains one of the most powerful images of our time.
Carter's friend and fellow photographer Ken Oosterbroek was killed just few months before 27 July 1994 when Carter drove to the Braamfontein Spruit river, near the Field and Study Centre, an area where he used to play as a child, and took his own life by taping one end of a hose to his pickup truck’s exhaust pipe and running the other end to the passenger-side window. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning, aged 33. He had spiraled into a depression, to which many things were a factor, his vocation as a photojournalist in 1980s South Africa is believed to be a huge part of it. Carter is the tragic example of the toll photographing such suffering can take on a person
Though he will forever be remembered by that harrowing picture and the fact that he committed suicide 14 months after winning the highest accolade in his field of art, Carter played an important role in ending Apartheid in South Africa through his craft.
Kevin Carter was born in 1960, the year Nelson Mandela's African National Congress was outlawed and the year of the Sharpeville massacre when South African police opened fire on peaceful demonstrators, killing 60 people and leaving ore than 300 wounded.Descended from English immigrants, Carter was not part of the Afrikaner mainstream that ruled the country. Indeed, its ideology appalled him. Yet like many others he was caught up in its historic injustices. Later he was conscripted into the south african defense forces which he despised.One day he shielded a black waiter against other soldiers they called him a kaffir-boetie (nigger lover)which struck him severely. in 1980, he went absent without leave, he rode a motorcycle to durban and became a dj but he lost his job and returned to the army to finish his service in Pretoria. In 1983, while on guard duty, he was injured by a bomb that killed 19 people , he survived and finished his service .He found a job at a camera repair shop and slowly drifted into photojournalism and started working for the johannesburg star in 1984 , along with his friends Ken Oosterbroek, Greg Marinovich, and Joao Silva longed to expose the brutality of Apartheid to the world. Risking imprisonment and death they captured the violence of South Africa so vividly that a Johannesburg magazine dubbed them "The Bang-Bang Club." The title stuck. Carter and his friends were fearless and put themselves in harm's way for what they believed in.
Along with his famous photograph, Carter had captured such things as a public necklacing execution in 1980s South Africa, along with the violence of the time, including shootouts and other executions.
Carter spoke of his thoughts when he took these photographs: “I had to think visually. I am zooming in on a tight shot of the dead guy and a splash of red. Going into his khaki uniform in a pool of blood in the sand. The dead man’s face is slightly gray. You are making a visual here. But inside something is screaming: ‘My God!’. But it is time to work. Deal with the rest later. If you can’t do it, get out of the game”.
Kevin Carter in action
Carter's story was subsequently depicted in the 2010 feature film, The Bang-Bang-Club in which he was played by Taylor Kitsch.
Carter's friend and fellow photographer Ken Oosterbroek was killed just few months before. Kevin Carter wound up developing a serious substance abuse problem. He used cocaine to give him the energy he needed to be hyper-vigilant at all times while in combat zones. He used marijuana and alcohol to try to calm himself down at night, haunted by the things he'd seen. Carter also felt constant guilt as a white person when he witnessed the atrocities committed against black South Africans, as well as between various tribes. Carter felt responsible for the deaths that he saw and tried to atone for the violence committed by the hands of white South Africans. He would at least live to witness the election of Nelson Mandela and the fall of apartheid South Africa.
However a cloud of guilt haunted his eye, tormented by the human tragedy that he had witnessed.
Portions of Carter's suicide note read as this:"I am depressed ... without phone ... money for rent ... money for child support ... money for debts ... money!!! ... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners ... I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky."
If truth be told some photographs are beyond words, deeds or actions. Kevin Carter's memory and contribution to ending oppression and exposing the suffering of Africans by releasing it to the world with his pictures lives on.
Manic Street Preachers - Kevin Carter
Hi Time magazine hi Pulitzer Prize
Tribal scars in Technicolor
Bang bang club AK 47 hour
Kevin Carter
Hi Time magazine hi Pulitzer Prize
Vulture stalked white piped lie forever
Wasted your life in black and white
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
The elephant is so ugly he sleeps his head
Machetes his bed Kevin Carter kaffir lover forever
Click click click click click
Click himself under
I heard the crying of the birds
as music sailed into tragic sky,
passing lonely figures with express
ionless gaze, sitting sightless and mute,
their only comfort a strong weatherproof can
almost naked in their cages, neglected and worn,
faces stained with sadness and bitter pills
the marks of battered existence,
sheltering among cardboard in open view
broken and torn, losing sense of hope,
with aching belly's, empty pockets
flicker of dreams slowly evaporating,
struggling, drifting on streets of anguish
the pavements they sleep, not laced with gold,
as rain poured down, to lash skin and souls
others rushed on by in search of entertainment;
troubles they will keep as another world turns
and politicians walk on paths of indifference.
