Kevin Ayers "Shouting In A Bucket Blues" For Kenny Sheehan R.I.P

This one for for one of my dearest friends Kenny Sheehan,who passed earlier this week, my lovely boy, soul mate, surrogate dad, poet, painter, magus, beat, raconteur extrordinary, it would be a huge regret that after all this time he did not get a mention on this blog, from time to time he would have a look at my own poems, give me a thumbs up or thumbs down, my finest critic, so goodbye matey, behave yourself you old devil, say hello to all the others, tell Uncle Bill (William Burroughs) and Jane am not ready yet, you will will be missed greatly.

In light and freedom
weightless without a care
following Pans' cloven hoof
weaving among golden sunsets
scenes of painted sorcery
flickering among the stars
among the vicisstudes of breath
fondly will linger
under the influence
near magic tea rooms
rich in intoxication
your wild flame will ignite
in burning embers of time
in  the blaze of  night and day
the lightning lighting up the skies
you will forever brightly glow.

The ongong Nakba of the Palestinian people.

On May 15th each year, Palestinians and their allies around the world mark the Nakba ( Cataclysm)  the time when more than 750,000 Palestiians, about half of the Arab population  in Palestine at that time, were forced out of their homes and lands and saw  Palestinian villages wiped off the map to establish the state of Israel in 1948. Thousands of people were brutally massacred in Deir Yassin, Lydda, Tantura and many other areas, by gangs which later became the Israeli Defence Force.
The vast majority of Palestinian refugees, both those outside the 1949 armistice lines  and those internally displaced, were barred by the newly declared state of Israel from  their right to return to their homes or the reclaiming of their property, and in doing so Israel violated international law. Ii is the defining event that formed and solidified the Palestinian liberation struggle
This period of remembrance also now marks the anniversary of those killed during the Great Return March in Gaza last year. Thousands of Palestinians, stuck in the blockaded Gaza strip, initiated protests that started in Gaza at the end of March as a way to draw attention to the living conditions in Gaza, where currently more than 1,3 million Palestinian refugees live, but more importantly as a march for the right of return. This Great March characterizes the use of peaceful activism by Palestinian citizens since the early 2000s. These mobilizations aim to defend land rights, rights to resources, mobility through non-violence and sometimes innovative actions to attract international attention demanding their right to return to their homes from which they were expelled in 1948. They were also condemning the continued occupation and siege. Hundreds of people have been killed during the marches, including children, disabled protesters, journalists and paramedics.
Photographer Mohammed Zanoun's profiles of Great March of Return participants, picked up by the Electronic Intifada, explained why the March is necessary and why they keep going back every Friday.
One participant, 20 year-old Shireen, commented: "With the Great March of Return, the world has become aware that there is a nation demanding its rights and that we will not stay silent. The world should support us. I want to live in a developed, free society, which has no occupation, killing or destruction. We are looking for freedom and we will seize it."
In the aftermath of an Israeli election in which candidates vied for who could threaten Palestinian lives the most, and in which Netanyahu promised to annex the West Bank and Golan Heights, starting with the 57^th Friday of the Great March of Return and continuing over the weekend of May 4–5, a number of Israeli bombing raids resulted in a devastating number of Palestinian casualties,including at least 25 people killed. The deaths of two Palestinian toddlers and their pregnant mothers were particularly horrific.According to Tareq Baconi from the International Crisis Group, Palestinians were being shot at long before any rockets were fired back. Much has been made of Palestinian responses to the attacks in the international press, whose coverage has repeatedly refused to acknowledge Israel's initiation of the hostilities, or the incomparable force and destructive power it unleashed on the starved and fenced-in population in the Strip.

There is no peace in stolen lands, especially when people still cry for liberation and the right to return to their lands.The fact is the Nakba never ended. It continues every day as Palestinians are evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be replaced by illegal Jewish-only settlements. It continues as Israel’s occupation obstructs and severely restricts Palestinians’ attainment of rights and fundamental freedoms, including: the right to life, the right to liberty and security of person, and their right to an adequate standard of living,amongst others. Notably, Israel also violates Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement within and from the Occupied Palestinian Territories through its closure policy made up of the Annexation Wall and its associated permit-regime in the West Bank, and its prolonged closure of the Gaza Strip, which has made Gaza uninhabitable for Palestinians.

In the Gaza Strip, in particular, Palestinians continue to be severely deprived of their liberty as a result of Israel’s unlawful closure, amounting to collective punishment. In Gaza, Palestinians are trapped in a humanitarian crisis without adequate water or electricity as they are prevented from returning to their lands inside what is now Israel.It continues with sniper attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, encroachment of illegal settlements across the West Bank and extreme limitations placed on Palestinians' movements within and between towns, courtesy of IDF-staffed checkpoints and all in violation of international human rights law and in denial of the fundamental aspirations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sought “the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy … freedom from fear and want”.

Palestinians still have no state and no equality, Refugee camps still exist all over the world and a majority of Palestinians live in the diaspora. Palestine is occupied  in the most brutal way possible.
For the nearly six million Palestinians who live between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, the nakba remains an ongoing process, as Israel uses a range of tools to restrict their livelihoods.
They remain vulnerable to expulsion, watching an ever-increasing share of their land become off-limits. About half of the occupied West Bank is already inaccessible to Palestinians, designated as military zones or nature reserves, or set aside for future Israeli settlements.The Israeli military control large parts of the West Bank and Gaza is completely sealed and “monitored” by Israeli ships, fighter planes and tanks.
Against their will, the Nakba has divided the Palestinian people between Gaza and the West Bank. Still searching for justice and dignty, rememberance acts as resistance to their occupiers who still try to bury and hide their history. The Trump-Netanyahu alliance has turbocharged the ongoing Nakba, including a recent announcement Netanyahu that a new settlement in the occupied Golan Heights will be built named after Trump.

As  Palestine continues to endure al Nakba, this years commemoration coincides with the Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, during which Israel will parade a supposed normalcy, despite its ongoing military occupation, oppression and blockade. The Israeli government has used Netta Barzilai's win in the 2018 competition as a huge PR opportunity. The singer, who has been described by Netanyahu as the "best ambassador of Israel", has served to art-wash the country's continued oppression of the Palestinian people. Palestinians are unable to attend due to Israel’s apartheid wall, and Israel has said it will deny entry to any activists supporting the BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) campaign.

Israel's dreams for the peerless success of the Eurovision Song Contest have not matched reality. The expected ticket sales and tourism boom have not materialised and the Palestinian call for a boycott of the event has been answered by campaigners around the world, including over 60 queer and trans liberation organisations from over a dozen countries.
There are alternatives to Eurovision  this year' rather than endorse a blatant Israeli propaganda exercise, fans can tune in to Globalvision, which will coincide with Eurovision though it has not  received the  corporate mainstream media coverage being given to the event in Tel Aviv.  Palestinian artists will feature among acts from around the world in an ambitious, live-streamed event. There is also the No to Eurovision: Party for Palestine concert on 18 May in London, as well as protest actions are expected to take place across the world in the lead up and during the airing of the event. https://boycotteurovision.uk/apartheid-free-eurovision/
Despite the international attention that the Nakba has received over the years, especially considering the recent deadly peaceful demonstrations in Gaza, Israel has not yet recognized the Nakba, nor their responsibility in 1948. The right of return for Palestine refugees is a right guaranteed by international law and enshrined in UN General Assembly resolution 194. Knowing that the displacement of Palestinians is still being practiced by Israel today in the West Bank and Gaza, the question of the ongoing Nakba needs to be addressed to achieve justice and peace in the region. The right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land must be the precondition for a dialogue for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine.
Also today an international coalition are demanding that Airbnb delist properties for rent in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.Campaigners are calling on people across the world to deactivate their Airbnb accounts to mark today's Nakba Day in relation  to the international home-renting company,  for reversing its decision to delist properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
The coalition, which includes SumOfUs, Codepink, American Muslims for Palestine, the US Palestinian Community Network, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace, was angered over the global accommodation website’s reversal of its November 2018 decision to delist properties in the illegal settlements.
“If Airbnb wants to continue to allow rental suites on the ruins of Palestinian lives and land then they will continue to get pressured to do the right thing,” the coalition said.“There’s no ‘two sides’ of a so-called conflict in the settlements. It’s stolen land from Palestinians, plain and simple.”
Airbnb initially agreed to stop listing properties to rent in the illegally occupied West Bank and Jerusalem after pressure from human rights groups and a global petition that garnered more than 150,000 signatures.
However, in April the multibillion-dollar company backpedalled, saying it would “not move forward with implementing the removal of listings in the West Bank from the platform.”
An Airbnb statement said it understood “the complexity of the issue,” claiming to take “no profits from this activity in the region.”
The statement added: “Any profits generated for Airbnb by any Airbnb host activity in the entire West Bank will be donated to non-profit organisations dedicated to humanitarian aid that serve people in different parts of the world.”
The development of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine is deemed a breach of international law.
“By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb and other international companies are contributing to the economic viability of settlements and are normalising Israeli annexation of Palestinian land,” the coalition said, accusing the company of “directly promoting discrimination, oppression and injustice.”
Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy spokesman Salem Barahmeh said: “International companies are complicit in perpetuating this injustice and must be held accountable.
“Through the #deactivateAirbnb campaign, people can choose whether to be complicit in supporting war crimes or ending them here's no neutrality in situations of injustice. There's no neutrality in situations of injustice. Airbnb cannot simply donate profits they know are contributing to inequality, land theft and discrimination to keep their hands clean of illegal occupation. The fact remains: Palestinians cannot regain their homes and land, whereas settlers can rent out homes built on Palestinian land with the help of Airbnb.
Tell Airbnb to stop listing Israel-occupied Palestinian homes now!
Despite the international attention that the Nakba has received over the years, especially considering the recent deadly peaceful demonstrations in Gaza, Israel has not yet recognized the Nakba, nor their responsibility in 1948. The right of return for Palestine refugees is a right guaranteed by international law and enshrined in UN General Assembly resolution 194. Knowing that the displacement of Palestinians is still being practiced by Israel today in the West Bank and Gaza, the question of the ongoing Nakba needs to be addressed to achieve justice and peace in the region. The right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land must be the precondition for a dialogue for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine.
The Nakba still reverberates today because  Al Nakba is constant and continuing, felt through all aspects of Palestininian life, whether in Israel. the Occupied Territores, the refugees camps, or even in settled Palestinian communities abroad. Today, as we observe  the sad sombre event of the Nakba and it's ongoing resonance, lets be stronger and more determined  than ever to stand up to Israeli policies of apartheid. It is more important than ever that the  international community keep defending Palestinian human rights, support Palestinian protests against forced housing demolitions and land theft and put real pressure on Israel to end its occupation and comply with international law. To take all measures within international law to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing strategy resulting in ongoing human rights violations and international crimes committed against the Palestinian People, including forcible transfer, colonization and apartheid. Today therefore is an occasion to reaffirm the inherent dignity and rights of Palestinians and to assert the right of the Palestinian people, as a whole, to self-determination, which includes the right to permanent sovereignty over natural wealth and resources and the right of return of Palestinian refugees, in order to achieve justice and durable peace for the Palestinian People.
The  ongoing occupation of Palestinian land makes the BDS campaigns all the more urgent and necessary. Palestinians are not going to give up and be content to mourn the ghost of Palestine. Today we remember this. The Palestinian people still belong to their land, where they still remain, in their hearts and spirits, still holding and caring for the keys of their houses for the people who left. Time drifts, but for many memory is never erased, still belonging to the land of their ancestors, where hearts and minds can never leave.  It is time for the leaders of the world to understand that there is no homeland for the Palstinians except Palestine.

Mental Health Awareness Week

 

Mental health awareness week takes place between the 13th-19th of May this year. We all know that our mental health wellbeing is important, or at least we should ! Mental health problems can affect anyone, any day of the year, but this week is a great time to have a chat with a friend, family member or colleague and have think about it.The event is coordinated by the Mental Health Foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ 
The Mental Health Foundation, sets an annual theme each year. The theme this year will be Body Image, how we see ourselves and how that makes us feel.In a UK-wide stress survey in 2018, the Mental Health Foundation found that three in ten people felt so stressed by their body image and appearance at some point in the past year that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
Nearly half (47%) of all 18-24 year olds felt this way about their body image as did almost one in five (18%) people aged 55 and over.
This is an issue that affects us all throughout our lives. Our body image can change as our bodies change, whether that’s in puberty, or in later life. Our sex, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and the way we, and the world sees our diversity can all play a part.
According to the World Health Organisation ;-,
https://www.who.int/whr/2001/media_centre/press_release/en/
roughly 450 million people currently suffer from mntal health conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.
It's no overstatement to say that Britain is living through a mental health crisis. From depression, to anxiety, to eating disorders, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem each year. Many of us increasingly experiencing daily life as a battle. Emotionally, our heads are only just above water.
Sadly despite the efforts of many, the subject of mental illness remains a taboo subject, the fact is that many in your community suffer from a wide of different problems like clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, and anxiety and others. In my community it is hardly ever talked about, many of us are left to face our problems in silence, we have to choose  between societies consensus ways of dealing with things, medication, psychotherapy, counselling etc etc, or simply learning to forget. I don't have clear answers, but I  now no longer bottle up  my feelings or emotions, I have learnt techniques to release them. I refuse to be labelled.
I have also noticed how the press stokes up the fears and anxieties of mental illness, stigmatises people that should be getting some kind of support, in the midst of this the current tory government daily attacking the most vulnerable amongst us with their attacks on welfare claimants, cuts in services that are essential to peoples well beings.
What people with mental illness really need is support and understanding, to be accepted as we are  openly and warmly, not to be used, as scapegoats, to be hidden  and forgotten about. People who live with mental illness are among the most stigmatised groups in society. We are challenged doubly. On one hand with the struggle of our symptoms that result from our illnesses and then by the stereotypes and prejudice that results from peoples misconceptions about mental illness. Many people are robbed of opportunities that help define  a quality life,  jobs, safe housing, health care and affiliation with a diverse group of people, and are left feeling almost invisible and on our own. Prejudice leads to discrimination and so on. Everyone needs to experiences of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' without the resort to crude stereotypes and attacks  that do not help remove stigmatisation. It is time that people change their attitudes and outlook, and for politicians to redress the balance.
I personally have a trusty black dog that  calls regularly that has  made me the  person I am. I unfortunately have no control over it, it just comes and calls when it likes. It suddenly creates sadness, fear, and all those turbulent feelings that drives one to self destruction, and nights with no sleep. I also  get so angst ridden that I cannot leave my house, let alone phone a GP to seek help, because I fear I will be judged and blamed somehow, embarrassed and ashamed for something I have no control over. A tendency to affix blame and leave me  feeling even more unworthy. I don't have clear answers, but I  now no longer bottle up  my feelings or emotions, I have learnt techniques to release them. I refuse to be labelled.
Mental illness scares us and shames us. Those who suffer are often, like me, ashamed to speak of it. Those who are lucky enough to be free of mental illness are terrified of it. When it comes to mental illness, we still don't quite get how it all works. Our treatments, while sometimes effective, often are not. And the symptoms, involving a fundamental breakdown of our perceived reality, are existentially terrifying. There is something almost random about physical illness, in how it comes upon us , a physical illness can strike anyone – and that is almost comforting. Were mental illness to fall into that same category, then it too could strike any of us, without warning. And that is terrifying.
But more than simple fear, mental illness brings out a judgmental streak that would be unthinkably grotesque when applied to physical illness. Imagine telling someone with a broken leg to "snap out of it." Imagine that a death by cancer was accompanied by the same smug headshaking that so often greets death by suicide. Mental illness is so qualitatively different that we feel it permissible to be judgmental. We might even go so far as to blame the sufferer. Because of the  stigma involved  it often leaves us much sicker.
It should be noted  that many  people believe that our Governments policies are actually fuelling the current  mental health crisis. Budget cuts to mental health services combined with no genuine support are driving  many people to the edge. As a result many young people and adults are left isolated facing long waiting lists for mental health therapies and diagnostic assessments. Prime Minister Maggie May herself said   "On my first day in Downing Street last July, I described shortfalls in mental health services as one of the burning injustices in our country.
Despite these gestures the Tories have not delivered on their promise to give mental health the same priority as physical health.They have not offered  no extra funding and have consistently raided mental health budgets over the last eight years. There are now over 6,000 fewer mental health nurses than in 2010. The number of psychiatrists employed by the NHS has fallen by  four percent since 2014 , with a 10 percent drop in those who specialise in children's mental health and a similar drop in those working with older adults. Eight years of Tory Government have left those with mental health problems without the support they need. The only thing that the Tories deliver are empty words and actions  that are shaping a society that does  not help to tackle the injustice of unequal treatment in mental health. Also because of how dire the times are getting: not only are benefit cuts driving people to think of killing themselves, but low wages and welfare sanctions are making people ill, shortening people's lives. For many insecurity  has become the way of  life. You simply can't trust May and co on mental health.
To often mental health is swept under the carpet and ignored ,either because of the stigma and taboo surrounding it, so we have to keep battling to destroy the negative attitudes and stereotypes that is directed towards people with mental health issues that disproportionately affect people living in poverty, those who are unemployed, people living in isolation and those who already face discrimination, so we  have to keep challenging policies that  exasperate these problems. In the meantime lets hope that one day mental health  becomes a genuine Government priority that would treat people in suffering with the respect that they deserve.
Some final thoughts, at the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could today, and that is good enough. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life that lights you up. Don't ever forget that. Try to keep fighting and surviving, despite the odds, if you are struggling to feel positive,  remember you're not alone

If you need to talk to someone, the NHS mental health helpline page includes organisations you can call for help, such as Anxiety UK and Bipolar UK. or call The Samaritans on 116 123.

Book of Pain - Tope Ogundare

First things thanks to Book Tasters and Nigerian Poet Tope Ogundare for a free copy of the book The Book of Pain in exchange for a honest review.
As regulars to this blog will know, am a huge fan of poetry and attempt from time to time to release my own, a task that is far from easy, as other practitioners might understand, anyway that aside, there are 38 poems in all, in this fine collection, from a poet I confess had not heard of previously .
It's a rather inspiring tome that touches on many universal themes,staying true to its title this collection of poetry inclues all shades, types and degrees of pain encompassing love, loss, heartbreak,  hopelessessness and death, tales of abuse, doors forced open, scenes painted of desolation ,filled with anguish and pity. With well crafted writing and imagination  Tope subtely manages to delicately capture it all, underlaid with raw emotion. What he offers us is not always pretty, but that's poetry for you, it's real, and certainly does not need to follow any  particular rules for form, after all the world of poetry is vast and varied, and that is what for many makes poetry so bloody liberating.
I believe Tope to be a poet of real depth, a psychiatrist by trade apparently, he shows a real flair for medical terms, and certainly displays a scientist eye for detail while at the same time allowing you into his own mind. Powerfully creating echoes of raw reality that most of  us have at some stage had to endure. A book riddled with intensity and passion. I personally can relate to the unigue messages contained within it's pages, and it's been a cathartic experience reading it. I especially enjoyed the fact that Tope utilises elements of free verse, that do not rhyme, and thus is not boringly rigidly structured like many a mediocre poet.
My only regret is that  I had to read it via a laptop, I like to hold a book, turn it's pages, carry it lightly to spaces where I need to go, wandering freely, I find it difficult to do so on devices.  nevertheless I would still strongly recommend this book, it's been a joy and privilege to amble my way through it.
I believe that many a reader could relate to this collection, simply for its lyrical dexterity and yes out of the pain, the beauty released. We all carry our own pain,some of it we choose to share, some we keep hidden,  this collection can at least offer some respite from it, and whether your into poetry or not, I feel there's something here that could touch many with it's courageous honesty of vision, so cheers Tope, all power to your pen, thanks for allowing me to share your world.
The following gives a glimpe of what lies within it's pages.

A Place Called Sadness - Tope Ogundare

There is a place called sadness
It is within me
The clouds of depression hang low
Chilly winds blow
Particles of pain
Sting watery eyes

Brimming with unshed tears
Seas cry out in agony
It is high tide
And islands of Happiness
Are submerged
The sun shines brightly
In monochromatic hues
It is a world of black and white
Dull, drab, dreary
Devoid of warmth

Rains empty into
Rivers of misery that swell
And spill over in chaotic thoughts
The waters are murky
Muddy sediments of
Memories left for dead
Interred in the river bed
Float on the surface

The land is rich
In loam Perfect
for seeds of despair
To grow into a dense
Forest of verdant boughs
Gallows of death
Canopies of darkness
Home of unseen creatures

Lurking in shadows of sorrows
Pouncing on weary souls
Feeding off their agony.

It is a place of quiet
And loud silence of marooned
Souls washed ashore
Lost at sea.

Anatomy of Pain - Tope Ogundare

My pain is a naked nerve ending
Bare and raw
Bleeding from
Burnt epidermis.
It traverses column of white matter
To grey cerebral ridges that Undulates
Unlike my pain
A constant surge
Of high voltage electricity
Carried under tension.
My wire snaps,
My brain hurts
I curl
I cry
I die

The Book of Pain is available at the links below

https://okadabooks.com/book/about/the_book_of_pain/23906

httgups://www.amazon.com/Book-Pain-Tope-Ogundare-ebook/dp/B07MHP2B12

One can follow Tope Ogudare on Twitter

https://twitter.com/_topazo_

For Her Ears ( Dedicated to Jane Elizabeth Husband; the mighty furbster; 9/5/60 - 8/1/17 )

I pay homage today to someone no longer here
Far away in the infinite, in the galaxy of stars
Though moving on, will not simply press delete
While holding on to other magical things
Finding kindness near, that can comfort my tears
Making it so much easier to progress
But a memory ever present
Especially on a day like this
Still poignant and precious.

I remain grateful, this is my truth
To a love that did not judge
Encouraged my deep convictions
Shared music and the gift of friendship
Will not canonise, after all was only human
Cherised, treasured, like the flowers that return
The rains that fall, allowing gardens to grow
Love that continues, intimate and within reach
Releasing lips alive, full of understanding,

I watch leaves now in blossom
Listen to orchestrated choruses of the day
On the edge of the world, clinging on
Sowing seeds instead of sadness
In the distance hear her gentle laughter
See a smile that still gives strength and meaning
Ears listening I hope, but hiding
All our breaths will one day be taken away
Ghosts of time, our echoes will linger
For now I offer this gift, from which all can inhale.

Gary Snyder (b,8/5/30) - Revolution In The Revolution In The Revolution

Happy Birthday Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, ecologist, teacher, steward of the earth, Beat hero and Zen master who is 89 today. Despite his reluctance to identify with the Beat title, he has been an undeniable influence on the Beat gneration and its writers. He was fictionalised as the character Japhy Ryder in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums and helped initiate the San Francisco Renaissance by organising poetry readings with his close friend Allen Ginsberg among others, thus ushering in the Beats as a recognised social force.
His numerous books have engaged with so many different subjects, covering the various intricate intimacies of life, bringing together ecology and spirituality, who also draws on social anarchism in developing his perspective and philosophical orientation.
His collection Turtle Island which won the Pulizer prize in 1975, has sold over a hundred thousand copies. ' Turtle Island swims/ in the ocean -sky -swirl void / biting its tail / while the worlds go/ on-and-off/  winking.' Here is a link to a previous post related to him:-

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/09/stand-up-for-earth-gary-snyder-b-8530.html

The following poem is from his 1970 collection Regarding Wave. Cheers Gary Snyder, such a wise individual, who has had  huge impact on my own reasoning.

Revolution In The Revolution In The Revolution

The country surrounds the city
The back country surrounds the country

"From the masses to the masses" the most
Revolutionary consciousness is to be found
Among  the most ruthlessly exploited classes:
Animals, trees, water, air grasses

We must pass through the stage of the
"Dictatorship of the Unconscious" before we can
Hope for the withering-away of the states
And finally arrive at true Communionism

if the capitalists and imperialists
          are the exploiters, the masses are the workers.
                     and the party
                     is the communist

if civilzation
         is the exploiter, the masses is nature.
                    and the party
                    is the poets.

if the abstact rational intellect
          is the exploiter, the masses is the unconscious
                    and the party
                     is the yogins.

& POWER
comes out of the seed-syllables of mantras.


Reprinted from 
REGARDING WAVE
New Directions 1970.

After Gaza ceasefire reached.

After Palestinian militants have said a cease-fire with Israel has been agreed, some words  of context especially that next week will be the anniversary of the deadliest day of protests along Gaza's boundary fence with Israel, and as Palestinian Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadam.
The undertanding was brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, and includes measures to ease the acute economic criisis in the impoverished Gaza Strip, home to two million people.
Shortly before the cease-fire came into effect, Abdul Latiif Al-Kanno, a Hamas spokesman said, ref, " Any truce thar does not obligate the occupation to lift the seige on our people in Gaza will be fragile and collapse once again."
Since the protets broke out along the border on 30 March, at least 145 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. The majority of those killed were non -violent protstors, as well as journalits, bystatander an a nurse, no Israelis had been killed.
Let's not forget that  Gaza is besieged by Israel by land, sea and air on a daily basis, it's inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are refugees, trapped in an area of land, just 60 kilometres long and 9.5 kilometres wide,  in what may see is an open air prison.
Due to fuel shortages,damaged anddestroyed infrastructure, thre are power shortages for up to 16 hours per dayr in most areas of Gaza. 70% of households in Gaza recive running watr fror only 6 to 8 hours once every two or four days. Over 90% of the war extracted from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption. Nearly 90 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage is dumped into the sea of Gaza everyday. Due to the economic blockade, education, medical car, agricultural and fishing indutries are in a state of near collapse.
Gaza's wealth is largely unreachable , access to traditional fishing ground is restricted, while the movement of people into and out of Gaza is severely limited, as is the import and export of goods.  this all amoints to collective punishment  of it's people  which is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Palestinian rockets  were symbolically fired from the Gaza Strip on Saturday (4 May) in response  to Israel air strikes, in response Israel carried out waves of retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strp on Sunday, in a deadly escalation that seemed to show no signs of slowing and raised fears of war.
It has been  reported  that 25,Palestinians  have been killed and many injured, includng the deaths of two pregnant woman and a baby, and four Israeli  civilians. The deliberate targeting of civilans must be condemned as it undermines every moral, legal and human standards. The international community  must continue to pressure Israel to end it's stiflling blockade that it has imposed on the residents of the Gaza Strip which is the root cause of this violence. Whilst Hamas is criticised for it's own actions  and " Israel can tell both ttself and the world any story it wants, it can talk about escalation only when rockets fal on the  south or about terrorsm only when its citzens pay the price. It can erase the brbaric blockade on Gaza, th endlss starvation of its population, the snipers who kill unarmed protestors, the shooting of fishermen, the lack  of potable water, the electricity, the infrastructure, the economy and the unemployment.
Yet none of these will cease being part of the history in the making of occupation an violence. With all due respect, a narrative cannot replace reality, and in reality, Israel has been abusing two million beseiged Gazans for over a decade. What did we think would happen? That because the strong have the power to tell the story the weak would simply vanish?"
https://972mag.com/no-escalations-do-not-begin-with-rockets-on-israel/141302/?fbclid=IwAR2scvTm4od4T5c5U7ScdOCBLyJvBBDZKBwgDbKltaKveHVlJt2fhGJdupY
It is more than time for the illegal blockade and siege of the citizens of Gaza to come to an end, as a fragile casfire is reached, the Israeli occupation continues, and carries on inflicting misery on the Palestinian population.The Eurovision song contest takes place from 14-18th in Tel Aviv, Israel despite the whitewashing and the 'so called spirit of togetherness; the oppression of the Palestinians and the citizens of Gaza will go on, for that reason some would argue they have the right to resist, for their dignity and survival, their right to exist. . .

When child asylum seekers are wrongly classified as adults - BBC Newsnight

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Since January, 2018 Newsnight has found a shocking 90 cases where child asylum seekers have been incorrectly classified as adults.
In the above report, Helen Johnson  OBE, of The Refugee Council 's Head Of Children's Service, explains how children whose age is not believed are  locked up by immigration officers in adult detention centres in breach of Government policies and legal guidelines.. This  has a devastating impact on vulnerable and traumatised young people who came to the UK in the hope of finding safety. Children experience severe physical and emotional effects of detention, which is traumatic and  can last a lifetime.
The mistakes continue to happen. Government records show that at least five children have been detained in the notorious Yarl’s Wood centre in Bedfordshire since the start of 2015. Three of them were eventually classified as between 12 and 16 years old.
Procedures at Yarl’s Wood have also been criticised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons. In 2013, official inspectors wrote in a report on the centre that “some young detainees were age assessed by a chief immigration officer, rather than social services”.
Once inside an adult detention centre, children have struggled to challenge the Home Office’s decision. Many have been left waiting for months to be seen by councils’ child experts.
Holding children under the same conditions as adults are held is inhumane, and must come to an end, they should all be afforded appropriate care and protection they truly deseve.
To find out more, read Navid's story below or discover  how the Age Disputes Project is helping these chidren get the support they desperately need.

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/case-studies/navids-story/

The Origins of May Day

May Day, the 1st of May  marks an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and a traditopnal speing festival in many cultures around the globe. With the earliest May Day celebrations appearing with the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. During the Roman Republic era, this was held on April 27 and with the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane, which is most commonly held on April 30.The day was originally a traditional summer holiday in many European pagan cultures, as February 1 used to mark the first day of spring, therefore May 1 celebrated the first day of summer, thus the summer solstice in June 25 was Midsummer.
When Europe became Christianised, May Day changed into a popular secular celebration and the secular versions observed both in Europe and North America incorporated the traditional dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May.
The giving of ‘May baskets’, small baskets of sweets or flowers which were usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps, were also a traditional part of May Day, but have now faded in popularity since the late 20th century. Today also marks a neo-pagan festival, Beltane, the Celtic festival of Summer's beginning a time to dance under a Maypole, a time of cleansing and renewal,drink and be merry, follow Jack in the Green, the mystical Green Man of legend.
Although the secularisation of May Day was due to the pagan holidays losing their religious character, during the late 20th century many neopagans began reconstructing traditions and began again celebrating May Day as a religious pagan festival.
May Day traditions in the UK also involve crowning a May Queen and dancing around a maypole, where traditional dancers circle around with brightly coloured ribbons. Historically, Morris dancing has also been linked to May Day celebrations.
May Day May Day has been a traditional day of festivities for many centuries, usually in small towns and villages, with people celebrating springtime fertility of the soil, livestock, and people.
May Day is also  now recognised symbolically all over the world as International Workers Day or Labor Day. It is a day for the working class to down tools and take to the streets in protest against capitalism and wage slavery. We should not  forget Chigago , Haymarket either, where on May 4, 1886, demands for an eight hour working week became particularly intense. Where a labour demonstration caused a crowd of some 1,500 people to gather. When policemen tried to disperse the meeting, a bomb exploded and the police opened fire on the crowd. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day and more than 100 people were injured. Eight leading Chicago anarchists were subsequently arrested, and charged with the bombing, despite no evidence of their involvement, five were sentenced to be hanged, two were given life sentences and the last was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The trial is now known by legal historians as one of the worst miscarriages of American history and spared an international wave of protest,.

In December 1888 the American Federation of Labour called a protest for 1 May 1890 and in 1889 the founding meeting  in Paris by what is known as the congress of the Second International Workingman's association took up the call  for a "great international demonstration" to take place the following year, The call was a resounding success. The International had already decided to begin a campaign for the 'three eights'--eight hours work, eight hours leisure and eight hours sleep. The causes of the eight hour day and the Chicago Martyrs were tied together, and May Day was launched.
The Second International meant business. It called not just for protests, but for international strike action on 1 May 1890. It was decided that the day would symbolise not just the struggle for an eight hour day, but the international power of the organised working class.
That first May Day in 1890 thousands of workers stopped work and took to the streets in Germany, there were mass strikes in Italy, and in Cuba the cigar workers struck. In Britain 10,000 workers marched behind a temperance band in Northampton, and in London there was a huge demonstration of 500,000 people. Observing it, Engels commented that he had heard 'for the first time in 40 years, the unmistakable voice of the English proletariat'.
May Day soon developed into a truly international workers' day. At the Hyde Park celebrations in 1904 German, Polish, Yiddish and Russian speakers were heard, reflecting the diversity of the working class movement., attracting thousands and thousands of people. On May Day 1909 the march was led off by 2,000 children from Socialist Sunday Schools singing socialist hymns and 300 Clarion cyclists wearing red roses. It  has continued to this day. Since then,  May Day has become established as an annual event to commemorate all the workers who have died in the struggle against those who exploit them. A celebration of international struggles and our solidarity. As workers have emerged from tyranny and repression in whatever country, they have adopted May Day as theirs. With these acts of solidarity we also lay down the foundations of a future world.
In Britain we even have a Bank holiday now close to the day, which was  created in 1978, this year in the UK it will be May 7th. In February 2011 it was reported that the Tories were considering scrapping the bank holiday associated with May Day in favour of replacing it with a bank holiday in October, possibly in order to coincide with Trafalgar Day,  which thankfully failed.
I see no reason why not to celebrate all of the above.
Happy May Day
Heddwch/peace

A Garland for May Day

1895, Walter Crane 

 
The Internationale

Stand up all victims of oppression
For the tyrants fear your might
Don't cling so hard to your possessions
For you have nothing if you have no rights
Let racist ignorance be ended
For respect makes the empires fall
Freedom is merely privilege extended
Unless enjoyed by one and all

So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race

Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We'll live together or we'll die alone
In our world poisoned by exploitation
Those who have taken now they must give
And end…

Ustad Sammi - God Is Not A Terrorist

The  75 year old Ustad Naseerudin Saami  is a master of the unigue Pakistani vocal style known as  Surti which is characterised  by its use of microtonals, and is widely regarded as the very last master of the khayal (Arabic for "imagination"), a pre-Islamic predecessor of Pakistani qawwali music which has been handed down by his ancestors for over a thousand years, but currently on the brink of extinction. It is multilingual (Farsi, Sanskrit, Hindi, the ancient and dead language of Vedic, gibberish, Arabic, and Urdu) music.
But because his style of music is regarded as blasphemous and considered haram, impure and resented, as they do anything else pre-dating Muhammad, and have made threats on his  life for simply performing the ancient art. This has seen in Pakistan many musicians being murdered since the turn of the century. notably the assasination of the famous qawalli Anjad Sabri in a hail of bullets in 2016 and the numerous attacks  on Sufi Pakistanis. Sadly, like in  in Mali,this distrust has seen a violently imposed break from anything outside the doctrine and history of Islam which has resulted in the ritual burning of instruments and a ban of most musical forms.
Master Ustad Naseeruddin Saami's however  has spent his entire life mastering the nuances of every given note, in order to keep Surti alive, and it is important to acknowledge, that when he passes, the music may die with him. While many others would be  cowed into silence, Saami remains defiant, literally risking his life daily in Pakistan.
I have finally managed to get hold of a copy of  ' God Is Not A terrorist '  which was produced by acclaimed Tinariwen producer and Grammy Award winner Ian Brennan. Vol.5 of Glitterbeat’s  Hidden Musics series and was recorded in one single night session during which the musicians present continuously chewed paan (a preparation combining betel leaves with areca or betel nuts found in South Asia, South-East Asia and Taiwan and chewed for its stimulating and psychoactive effects) until their teeth turned a fiery red. The session yielded 5 tracks, all featuring the harmonium or pump organ (an instrument introduced in Asia by Christian missionaries and banned on the Indian and later Pakistani radio for the longest time) in the leading role.
The record is a delight, the music is dense and rich and full of wailing that bends and weaves throughout, hypnotising, raw and haunting, powerfully carrying a contemporary message celebrating peace and diversity that is truly universal. You do not need to understand the lyrics to enjoy the singing, with his soaring voice it's a truly electrifying listening experience. I especially  love the message in the title track, "to sing is to listen" The highlight for me has got to be the almost twenty-minute long closing track 'Longing'.  A truly mesmerizing homage to a disappearing musical tradition! Long may this music live on freely. As the Sanskrit proverb says;" If one has a diamond in their chest, it will shine on their face."Despite opposition, Master Ustad Naseeruddin Saami  chooses the light.

Tracklist
1, God Is
2. My Beloved Is On The Way
3. Twilight
4. Hymn
5.War Song
6. Longing

Get it here :-  https://glitterbeat.com/product/god-is-not-a-terrorist-by-ustad-saami/

God Is Not A Terrorist (Trailer)

Ustad Saami - Longing