Why (The King Of Love Is Dead) — Nina Simone

 

 

After her performance at the Selma to Montgomery March, American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist  Nina Simone had met Martin Luther King onstage. Their exchange highlighted the fundamental difference between the pair’s outlook on the Civil Rights movement: "˜I’m not nonviolent!’, she greeted the doctor, referring to King’s policy of peaceful protest and resistance. She admired King, nonetheless, and on this day in 1968 three days after the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2021/01/honoring-rich-radical-legacy-of-martin.html was assassinated Simone and her band played at the Westbury Music Festival on Long Island, N.Y and used her concert to stage an act of collective mourning and outrage.  They performed the haunting "Why? (The King of Love is Dead)," a song they had just learned, written by their bass player Gene Taylor less than 24 hours after King's death in response to the shocking event. This debut performance lasted around 15 minutes and seemed to encapsulate the feelings of sadness and loss everyone felt around this time.

As Simone says at the outset, the band had had just one day to learn it and the performance subsequently seems to veer between the rehearsed and the improvised. ‘Why?’ has made various appearances on record and CD, initially appearing in edited form on Simone's live album ‘Nuff Said (1968) recorded with violence erupting in more than 100 cities in outrage at King’s assassination  but fueled by longstanding social inequity and discrimination. and later being partially restored to its original version as part of the “Martin Luther King Suite” on the compilations Saga of the Good Life and Hard Times and Sugar in My Bowl. 

The song is enraged, heart wrenching, and catchy. Simone’s voice soars as she sings, “Turn the other cheek he’d plead/ Love thy neighbor was his creed/ Pain humiliation death he did not dread/ With his Bible by his side/ From his foes he did not hide/ It’s hard to think that this great man is dead.” The song managed to sum up the mood of bitterness and despair that had descended on the nation, and remains . a powerful moving eulogy to Martin Luther King. Simone’s music increased attention to racial oppression and also encouraged civil rights activists to keep fighting for freedom that continues to this day.

Why (The King Of Love Is Dead) — Nina Simone

Once upon this planet Earth,
Lived a man of humble birth,
Preaching love and freedom
For his fellow man.

He was dreaming of the day
Peace would come to Earth to stay,
And he spread this message
All across the land.

 “Turn the other cheek,” he’d plead.
“Love thy neighbor,” was his creed.
Pain, humiliation, death he did not dread.
With his bible at his side,
From his foes he did not hide.
It’s hard to think that this great man is dead.

Will the murders never cease?
Are they men or are they beasts?
What do they ever hope to gain?
Will my country stand or fall?
Is it too late for us all?
And did Martin Luther King just die in vain?

But he had seen the mountaintop,
And he knew he could not stop,
Always living with the threat of death ahead.
Folks you’d better stop and think,
Everybody knows we’re on the brink.
What will happen, now that he is dead?

He was for equality,
For all people, you and me,
Full of love and goodwill,
Hate was not his way.
He was not a violent man,
Tell me folks if you can?
Just why, why was he shot down the other day?

But he had seen the mountaintop,
And he knew he could not stop.
Always living with the threat of death ahead.
Folks you’d better stop and think, and feel again
Cause we headed for the brink,
What will happen, now that the King of love is dead?

Broken Britain

Losing control, my temper is boiling

These seas of thought overwhelming,

Failed by politicians, tormented by their policies

Cancer treatment in crisis, NHS on its knees,

Cost of living keeps on rising, 8% inflation

People hungry pushed to the edge of desperation

The system has for far too long been corrupted

By forces out of control that are morally bankrupted,

Goodwill being eradicated, comfort zones aggravated

Hope left sedated, leaving so many frustrated, 

The milk of human kindness slowly sucked dry

Tears falling faster, the land left in disarray,

Above us the grey skies keep on dawning

Rivulets of despair, inequality spawning,

Corruption rife, economy in ruins

A cabal of filth, looting billions,

Vile Prime Minister pulling faces and gurning

While others left empty with hearts burning, 

We must untangle ourselves from the nets cast

Swim away from currents of confusion fast,

Find waves of tranquility and peace to restore

So that this broken, rotten system is no more,

Try to overcome the flowing, churning sadness

Prevent further drift into the turmoil of abyss,

Rise in a new society formed beyond the wreckage

With kisses that heal and forever salvage.

Shellshocked!

We have the biggest decline in living standards since records began  in 1956, and the highest tax burden since the 1940''s . Surging fuel and food prices Inflation approaching the highest  rate in 30 years. Think tanks that have revealed that around 1.3 million will be pushed into absolute poverty.

But meanwhile Transport Secretary Grant  Shapps has had the audacity  to suggest  the way poverty is presented can be 'somewhat misleading' when put to him that rising bills could push 400,000 more children into poverty as the Chancellor refused to raise benefits - which will rise at less than half inflation.Speaking on Sky News' Ridge on Sunday programme this morning  Shapps admitted that rising costs of living are "very substantial", but questioned estimates of how many people could be plunged into severe difficulty.  "I don't want to sort of get us lost in numbers here, but poverty is divided into both absolute and relative (poverty), and sometimes the way it's presented can be somewhat misleading to say the least," 

 

 

Grant Shapps has surpassed himself by making such  inappropriate and insulting comments. It seems he is more concerned with playing down the figures, rather than expressing the slightest concern for cold, hungry children and how they will  actually help people. It  appears that Grant Shapps when not masquerading as multi millionare marketer Michael Green  is in total denial about the level of poverty in this country. Like the rest of the Tory's  has absolutely no idea what is happening out there. They are deluded and entitled. This crisis will only get worse and they do nothing. Compared to Richie-Rich Sunak ad Shapps we are all impoverished.Even before the pandemic, around 4 million children were living in poverty across the UK, the charity Action for Children have noted, with their Director of policy, Imran Hussein. saying "The government is in denial over child poverty which continues to rise and threatens to torpedo its lagshop plans or lvelling up."

.https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/media-centre/action-for-children-response-to-new-child-poverty-figures/

Anyway, the distinction between absolute poverty and relative poverty is probably an academic classification created by a group wanting to justify poverty. If you can't afford to eat or heat - that's fucking poverty in the 7th richest Economy in the World and at the end of the day in a civilised society no one should be in relative poverty.

The money is available to save people from hunger, the cold, the poverty, and the despair people are facing, it would only take a few keystrokes on a Bank of England kyboard to create it instantly. So why won't the government do it?

Well in 2019 the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty Philip Alston in his damning condemnation of the Tory Party's callous approach to poverty stricken UK citizens stated that when faced with the facts Tory ministers just reverted to denial & manipulating the figures. It seems nothing has changed.

https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F41%2F39%2FAdd.1&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False

Be prepared for every Tory to now trot out the absolute/relative poverty line. It’s almost like they attend ‘Lie Class’ every morning and establish a new catchphrase for that week. Think they’re taking bets, behind toilet doors, as to who can use it the most.

April 'Gruel ' Day

What an amazing thing – having a whole day designated for celebrating fools and foolishness! April Fool’s Day, April 1, marks the start of a new month, and brings with it motivation to pull little pranks on each other, all in the name of “April fool!”

Some experts historically – or hysterically – trace the origins of April Fool’s Day, also known as All Fools Day, as far back at 1582 in France, upon switching from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.

However, some people were slow to get this news and didn't realise that the start of the year had been switched to January 1.

They continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1, and became the subject of hoaxes and were called “April fool's“

There is also a theory that April Fool' s Day is linked to the Roman festival of Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated at the end of March by the cult of Cybele.

It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.

Regardless of when it formally began, one day a year for a little lighthearted foolery seems fine to me. 

What is not so funny is that energy prices are set to soar from today with  more than a third of homeowners will, or already have,,switched off their heating earlier than usual this year to save on bills. And, after the cold snap earlier this month, this may have left nearly 8 million households braving the cold at home due to increased money worries. The energy price cap is set to rise for those on tariffs who pay by direct debit by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from April 1. Prepayment customers are set to see a bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017. After the energy price cap rise, householders can rest assured that the price rises that will follow are no joke,and they are not likely to go down either.

Energy  companies  are simply taking the piss and ultimately ripping us off, forcing millions into fuel poverty and deprivation, facing the desperate choice of whether to eat or heat  our homes. To complicate things and add further stress to people energy websites appeared to falter yeeterday as customers rushed to submit meter readings before today's price jump.  The issues , which appeared to be an industry-wide problem , came as experts urged householders to submit meter readings for gas and electricity to their supplier on Thursday to show exactly how much energy they have used ahead of Ofgem’s price cap increasing from April 1.This will prevent firms from estimating usage and potentially charging for energy used before April 1 at the higher rate.  It also saw people waiting for over an hour to get through to telephone lines, how could they be so disorganised .or simply uncaring not to anticipate the rush of people who had been urged to contact them as a matter of much urgency is one of deep concern.

Let's not forget the fact either that the bosses of the Big Six energy providers are some of the highest earners in Britain. The biggest energy companies made over £3billion in profit in 2020. The most recent Companies House accounts available for E.ON UK, SSE, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, and Centrica show their profits totalled nearly £100 per second. Energy production and distribution are not based on the needs of the overwhelming majority of the population and the environment, but on the profits of the extraction corporations and energy providers.

The 'cost of living' is such a misleading phrase in the first place, because in reality it's the cost of barely surviving and it's going to get a hell of a lot worse.  It's  the UK in 2022 and people are writing 'Survival Guides' to get through the cost of living.  While I applaud them doing this, what the fuck is going on? Something has to give.

Let’s not get sidetracked too much either by 2020s circumstances; the current war in Ukraine coming straight after a worldwide pandemic has undoubtedly exacerbated the economic problem, but let us not pretend that for some years now there hasn’t been an increasing gap between those at the top of the money tree and the people struggling to put bread on the table while still keeping the heating on.

Sophy Ridge on Sky showed Chancellor Rishi Sunak a chart illustrating tax rises and tax cuts by his various predecessors over decades;https://twitter.com/SophyRidgeSky/status/1505488095491334153 it revealed him to be the one with most tax rises, rising in two years by the same amount that Gordon Brown did in 10 years, for example.

Sunak immediately played the pandemic card.Yes, the effect of the pandemic was major and yes, you would expect a bit of spin from any politician. But there’s something inherently dishonest about this Tory Government when it comes to explaining away their treatment of people on benefits and lower incomes.

Not unexpected, of course, when that Government is headed by Bojo Johnson  for whom lying is a default.mechanism, whose words we simply can't trust at all.

There is, however, one group of people who won’t be hit just as hard by what is happening. Take the afformentioned Chancellor, Rishi Sunak who is believed to be the richest man in the House of Commons, reportedly worth an estimated £200 million, or possibly more if you count his wife’s wealthy background. Then there is .Jacob Rees-Mogg, who casually dismisses the concerns of ordinary people over Downing Street’s partygate as “fluff”, who is worth about £100 million.

As for poor old Bojo  he is virtually on the breadline at only about £3 million but he might just survive when he does the speeches and book-writing rounds after he finishes as PM.

There is  growing fury too as MP' pay is scheduled to rise £2,000 to £84,000 on the very same day the rest of us will be hit by rocketing National Insurance, gas bills and council tax amid a cot of living ' tsumani' the like of which we haven't seen for years.The profound spike in living costs means that half of UK children will have to sacrifice essentials such as food and clothing, according to new research.

1.3 million people including penioners will be forced into absolute poverty. The government has planned to uprate the minimum wage, benefit payments and pension payments in April, cushioning some of the blow to household finances.

However, universal credit and pensions are going up by just 3.1 per cent. With inflation having risen 6.2 per cent, the cost of living will still be rising at twice the rate of benefits.

While the minimum wage is set to rise 6.6 per cent from April, further inflation could also mean that any gains are simply wiped out by an increase in the cost of living.

Overall, most households will be facing a decline in their standard of living as wages fail to keep pace with increased costs while heartless foolishTory MP's  who are devoid of any morality consider rising poverty a price worth paying, but to be fair to them they have pendulum brains and liquid intelligence.

While this is undoubtedly a stressful time for many and certainly things seem very amiss and maybe jokes will not keep us warm, but some  say that laughter is the best medicine, I for one will not stop laughing at our corrupt incompetent Tory Government  and the profiteers of misery that run amok beside them, because there certainly laughing at us.

We certainly should not be taking all this quietly, and truly wish that what I've written about here was  just a sick joke, As it is not, a series of demonstrations will be held across the country in the coming days over the cost-of-living crisis and  the continued anger about the sacking of 800 P&O workers. The People’s Assembly said it expects thousands of protesters will take to the streets on Saturday at locations throughout the UK to highlight those suffering “real hardships” due to the combination of rising fuel and food prices, inflation, and low pay.

Unions have complained that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring statement last week did nothing to allay fears about soaring fuel bills and rising inflation. Lifting the energy price cap on Friday will create an “impossible choice for many” – to eat or heat, said the campaign group.

A spokesperson for the People’s Assembly said: “Public outrage over the cost of living crisis is growing fast, and our response is gaining momentum.” In London on Saturday, there will be a protest outside Downing Street, with similar events in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Doncaster, Glasgow, Hanley, Hull, Ipswich, Lancaster, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Preston, Redcar, Sheffield, and Southampton::.https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/

At the end of the day public owned energy is a practical clear solution that could ease the pain, that would take the profits being hoarded by private companies snd redistributed to the people in these desperate times.Nobody should be forced to choose between heating or eating, In the meantime would urge you to sign the following petiton: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/rishi-sunak-get-back-to-parliament-and-present-an-emergency-budget?link_id=0&can_id=dc3a87c4b00455c28953a76b1b992301&source=email-rishi-sunak-get-back-to-parliament-and-present-an-emergency-budget&email_referrer=email_1497470___subject_1958409&email_subject=demand-action-to-tackle-the-cost-of-living   

and will end this post with  some resources that are  available if you need help .

 

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice is an independent charity offering offering free, confidential support with legal, consumer, housing, debt and other problems. Its website details what help is available and where your nearest bureau is, for face-to-face advice.

Helpline: 0800 144 8848 (open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday)

The Trussell Trust

The Trussell Trust supports a national network of  more than 1,200 food banks,  providing emergency food for free to those who need it. You can use its website to locate support wherever you live.

Helpline: 0808 208 2138 (open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) 

Turn2us

Turn2us is a national charity providing practical support to people who are struggling financially. Its website includes a benefits calculator and details of schemes and grants in your area, including for energy and water bills.

Helpline: 0808 802 2000 (open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday)

Palestinian Land Day 2022

 

 

Today, 30th March, is Yorn al Ard//Land Day in Palestine and is marked by Palestinians wherever they live. Land Day is held on the anniversary of March 30, 1976,when Palestinian villages and cities across the country witnessed mass demonstrations against the states plans to expropriate 2,000 hectares of land in and around the Arab villages of Araba and Sakhnin as a part of a plan to "Judaise the Galilee".Israel's Galilee region. In coordination with the military, some 4,000 police officers were  dispatched  to quell the unrest. At the end of the day, six Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed, and over one hundred injured by state security forces.

The Day of the land - or Land Day marked the first mass mobilization of Palestinians within Israel against internal colonialism and land theft. It also signalled the failure of Israel to subjugate Palestinians who remained in their towns and villages, after around 700,000 of them were either expelled or forced to flee battles or massacres committed by Zionist armed groups in 1948.It's commemoration is a reaffirmation that the Palestinians who remained in the area on which Israel was declared in 1948, are an inseperable part of the Palestinian people and their struggle.

This important day in Palestinian history commemorates the Palestinians sense of belonging to a people, to a cause and a country, to stand united against racial oppression and rules of apartheid,and the discriminatory practices of the Israeli government, giving continual potency to the Palestinians cause , its quest for justice and Palestinian rights, and its resistance to injustice,who never cease to fight for their land while holding passionately to their history and identity. It is the right of return, recognised in the United Nations Resolution 194, that drives Palestinians to continue with the commemoration of Land Day - regardless of their geographical location. and reveals Palestinians’ unyielding commitment to every single inch of their native land.

The day is celebrate annually by Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and further afield in refugee camps and among the Palestinian diaspora worldwide, with demonstrations, marches and by planting olive and fruit trees, in honor of Indigenous sumud (resilience). 

Sumud  is the concept most frequently employed to describe the daily reality experienced by Palestinians in the occupied territories and those caught up in the ongoing diaspora, translates as steadfastness and refers to a form of everyday resistance, and describes a stubborn insistence on continuing with life despite all obstacles.

 Land Day is typically met with violent Israeli repression, yet  this movement gained a renewed surge in 2018 when thousands of Palestinians — families, people of all ages, and genders — commemorated Land Day by peacefully walking towards the border areas along the Gaza Strip. They dubbed this the Great March of Return and originally intended to highlight the sacrifices of those who resisted and continue to resist land acquisition; it was also a protest against Israel’s 10-year long siege of Gaza. 

 It was land that motived them to start this largely non-violent protest which was met with Israeli fire and snipers. Israel claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians at the Great March of Return, and thousands more lives before and since then. But it is beyond doubt, that Israel has failed to erase the love in the hearts of all Palestinians for their land.

Since the Great March of Return, Palestinians in Gaza have held weekly marches towards a security fence put up by Israel. They mainly attempt to break the siege around their territory and demand their land back as well.

On March 29, 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada, Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield, a devastating military assault that killed nearly 500 Palestinians, wounded over 1400, and left over 17,000 Palestinians homeless.  Though these events all happened years apart, they serve as a great representation of the realities of ongoing Israeli settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing, occupation, and apartheid today.

Today many of the Land Day protests  against the theft of their lands focus on the Negev region, since much of the land that has been marked for appropriation in the Galilee has already been confiscated. The Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel also now face the appropriation of 800,000 dunams of the Negev by the Israeli state.The housing situation for the Bedouin remains dire. Settlements that house 160,000 people are deemed "illegal" by Israel, and risk demolition. The issue of land allocation and housing for Palestinian citizens of Israel has now reached crisis point.

Land seizures remain an essential part of Israeli policy that can be seen regularly applied in area ‘C’ within the West Bank, that is under the full Israeli control. As a result of such measures, and the continued attacks on these lands, and inaccessibility to basic services provided to the people living there, most of the Palestinians have been forced to leave the area that is now considered de facto annexed to the occupying state of Israel.

Seizing land over the last 55 years by the Israeli military occupation has squeezed the Palestinian population, of some 5.3 million, to live in less that 9% of Mandate Palestine. Land seizures also brought to an end the two-state solution that was always supported by the world community as the only possible solution to the Palestinian Question.

Land Day therefore  continues to be poignantly relevant as Israel continues to confiscate land, expand their colonies, and continue to build their illegal settlements in flagrant violation of all international conventions, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.Land day  has come to symbolise the struggle of the Palestinian people for their legitimate rights to their own land, homes and property; indeed, their legitimate right to their homeland and for its people to  proudly declare that they are one from the River to the Sea.

 As we commemorate the Palestinian Land Day, let us  continue to  strongly condemn Israel’s policies and practices of seizing the Palestinian land. It is worth noting that while some 10 million Palestinians live in refugee camps struggling and demanding to return to their land since they were displaced starting in 1948 with the Nakba, the State of Israel opens its doors to Ukrainian refugees. A quarter of a million are expected to arrive from Ukraine to Palestinian land, not because of solidarity, but as a way to deepen colonization and change the ethnic composition in the region. 

Whilst not forgetting the people of Ukraine's terrifying ordeal at the present time, it's important  that we do not forget the Palestinian people either .The daily  attack on the people of Palestine just like the people of Ukraine is deeply saddening which sees  occupation practices, depriving people of their basic human rights as articulated under international Law. 

Today, the Israeli occupation continues its dispossession of lands, most recently with the announcement of the forced expulsion of 38 Palestinian families from the occupied East Jerusalem village of Al-Walaja. 300 Palestinian residents of Al-Walaja await the Israeli  court’s ruling on the demolition of their homes.  

According to the United Nations, al-Walaja has lost more than 85 percent of its lands since 1948, while 90 percent of the residents of the village and their descendants were forced out, many of them ending up in nearby refugee camps. International outrage can stop these demolitions. Harnessing today’s mass movement, it is crucial that we work to defend Palestinians’ rights to remain in and return to their homes. 

Israel’s apartheid regime has consistently displaced Palestinians from their native lands, simultaneously destroying their ecosystems. This Land Day, Palestinians across the board are resisting ethnic cleansing from al-Walaja, Jerusalem, to Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, to Al-Naqab desert in what is known as Israel today, to the Jordan Valley, to Gaza, and beyond.  This Land Day, Palestinians and non-Palestinians across the world resist settler colonialism and call for long-overdue sanctions on apartheid Israel.

On Palestinian  Land Day we can express our solidarity through our deep commitment to continue working towards ending the prevailing violations and work towards bringing about a just peace. Against a backdrop of furtehr desctruction  of land by Israel we must promote the Palestinian right to access and use their land and Properties. Write to your MPs on the need to defend the rights of the Palestinian People and hold Israel accountable to its obligations under international humanitarian Law. I would also urge you to support, promote and sponsor the Keep Hope Alive – Olive Tree Campaign, to help Palestinian farmers, access, maintain and save their land. Olive trees and harvests have an exceptionally important place in Palestinian culture, especially in villages where farming is the main source of income for Palestinian families. Palestinians and especially farmers have always looked at olive trees as a national symbol that should be kept and protected as it speaks of the thousands of years of their history in Palestine. This special importance has been expressed in the Palestinian culture, through oral history, songs, and poetry.

As Palestinians renew their commitment to the struggle for freedom , justice and  return, strength must be drawn from the resistance that has not ceased since1976. You can join in celebrating Palestinian cultural resistance through the arts, food and the myriad ways Palestinians resist attempts to sever the connection they have to their land rights here: :https://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/land-day-cook-along/

The Land Day strike  inspired the following powerful poem by Tawfiq Zayyad, Palestinian poet, writer, scholar and politician, that continues to resonate across the Palestinian generations.

Here we will stay - Tawfiq Zayyad ( 7/5/ 29 - 5/7/ 94)

In Lidda, in Ramla, in the Galilee,
we shall remain
like a wall upon your chest,
and in your throat
like a shrad of glass,
a cactus thron,
and in your eyes
a sandstorm.
We shall remain
a wall upon your chest,
clean dishes in your restaurants,
serve drinks in your bars,
sweep the floors of your kitchens
to snatch a bite for our children
from your blue fangs.
Here we shall stay,
sing our songs,
take to the angry streets,
fill prisons with dignity.
In Lidda, in Ramla, in the galilee,
we shall remain,
guard the shade of the fig
and olive trees,
ferment rebellion in our children
as yeast in the dough.

Link to poem by Mahmoud Darwish on the same theme :-

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/to-our-land-mahmoud-darwish-13309.html

 'if the olive trees knew  the hands that planted them, their oil would become tears.'

- Mahmoud Darwish

Palestinian  planting olive Trees on Land Day

 

  

 

Massive solidarity for Lowkey as pro-Israel group tries to get him banned from Spotify

  

People are standing in solidarity with the ouspoken British-Iraqi rapper, and Palestine solidarity campaigner Lowkey whose real name is Kareem Dennis. after he became the latest target for a British pro-Israeli group We Believe in Israel. that is trying to get the performer banned from Spotify.  

 It's been reported that  the  group "Will be campaigning for Spotify to remove 'dozens of instances of problematic material,' including Lowkey's [2010 track] Long Live Palestine - Part 2."which they consider most problematic.

 

 

But it isn’t going well for the pro-Zionist group, because people are showing they will not be silenced in their support for Lowkey and the Palestinian struggle. I believe that Israel's call to ban Lowkey's music from the streaming giant spotify is the latest salvo in an escalating war by the Israel lobby against the rapper - seemingly in revenge for his political stances in support of Palestinian liberation.

Lowkey is a passionate and eloquent defender of Palestinian rights, and is well versed in the history of the region. This video shows him speaking at the Oxford Union in 2019:

 

 

Cambridge Palestine Society was forced to postpone a talk by Lowkey after a smear campaign by the Israel lobby on campus. The talk went ahead a week later. But the lobby wasn't done. Recently an event by Lowkey planned for the National Union of Students conference was canceled altogether, after another smear campaign by the Union of Jewish Students - an anti-Palestinian group which has been directly funded by the Israeli embassy.

 Lowkey's three "Long Live Palestine" tracks have become anthems for the Palestine solidarity movement in the UK. The video for part three alone has had more than 1.1 million views on YouTube since it was released in 2019: 

 

 

Lowkey has worked with some of the biggest names in the British music industry and is widely respected in the UK rap scene.

His music has featured other artists such as Wretch 32, Akala, the Arctic Monkeys, Reverand and the Makers and Babyshambles.

Spoken word artist Potent Whisper released a video about what’s happening with Lowkey. He sums up the situation:

This group of people are British based lobbyists. They use their influence to support Israel. Lowkey is a rapper who talks about the wrongs they do. He isn’t scared to speak about the things they won’t put on the news. Now they want to get revenge because he gets a lot of views. They want to lobby Spotify to try and get his songs removed.

He continues:

Israel drops bombs on streets but wants to call his songs extreme. I mean, I guess in a way you can kind of see why. Like if you were them, you’d be extremely worried. The people were exposing your killing of civilians – that’s why you spend so much on the MPs you lobby, so you can try legitimising killing Palestinians.

And as he asserts:

But ultimately what it comes down to is this: if they’re alleging that his music is violent, that defending Palestine is hateful incitement, they should have to prove it facts before they can remove his tracks. If they can’t, then it proves they just want him silenced.

Responding to threats to ban his music, Lowkey stated:

This coordinated campaign is an extension of the brutalisation of the Palestinians. Palestinians are routinely arrested by Israel for posts on social media, even children. Dareen Tatour spent almost a year in occupation jail for posting a poem to her Facebook.

He continued:

Artists and musicians should never have to fear threats to their livelihood or person for the music they make. We will not be silenced on Palestine, not now, not ever.

The response on social media has shown that Lowkey is right.with musicians and celebrities coming out in support of the rapper, and numerous artists putting their names to an open letter defending him.

The letter, has been signed by rappers Wretch 32 and Ghetts, model Anwar Hadid, actor Michael Malarkey, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and hip-hop DJ Charlie Sloth.

The signatories are calling “on Spotify and all other platforms not to buckle to pressure groups who would rather see his music removed than grapple with the issues he highlights.”

The letter describes Lowkey as “the target of a coordinated smear campaign to demonize, defame and deplatform him.”

“Lowkey’s music has inspired and energized millions around the world and ignited an interest in many about the issues he raises in his work,” the signatories explained. “As a relentless  advocate for Palestinian human rights, he is a target for many who would rather his message not be heard."

The others signatories on the letter are:

Award-winning filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, comedian and actor Guz Khan, boxer Billy Dib, award winning musicians Ana Tijoux and FredWreck, artist and music producer Bu Kolthoum, singer Maverick Sabre, rappers Avelino, K Koke and Styles P, musicians Narcy, Mr Hudson, Khxled Siddiq and Blay Vision, record producer Dexplicit, directors Charlie Sarsfield and Chirolles Khalil, actor Aymen Hamdouchi, broadcaster and actor Mim Shaikh and creative directors and photographers Zekaria al-Bostani and Elliot Hensford.

Since news broke last week of the latest Israel lobby campaign against Lowkey, there has been an outpouring of support for the rapper and campaigner on social media.

"The apartheid regime’s counter-measures are increasingly desperate. They know the game is up. Long live @Lowkey0nline," tweeted Matt Kennard, investigator at Declassified UK.

"@Lowkey0nline is one of the very few who exposes their colonial settler project in occupied #Palestine. His work is essential & invaluable," campaigner Abier Khatib tweeted.

"British Israel lobby is pressuring Spotify to remove the music of rapper @Lowkey0nline, because they don't like the lyrics of 'Long Live Palestine'. There's no limit to Zionist zeal to bully, punish and censor," tweeted journalist Ali Abunimah.

"Solidarity with @Lowkey0nline - an immensely gifted lyricist who uses his art and profile to highlight and fight injustice - it’s because he makes a difference that they want to silence him," UK-based academic Paul O'Connell tweeted.

Previous campaigns by the pro-Israel lobby groups have called on Go Fund Me to remove Palestine Action from their fundraising page, and condemned Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International for using the term "Israeli apartheid".

The furor around Lowkey underscores the fact that this has very little to do with antisemitism and far more to do with his steadfast support for Palestinian liberation. He is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and brings its people’s struggles to a global audience of millions through his music.

The power of music to reach and radicalize a new generation is well understood by pro-Israel groups. In 2011, The Jewish Chronicle described Lowkey’s increasing influence and recognition as one of the most gifted lyricists in hip hop as a “potential nightmare” for their side. Hence the desire to demonize, defame and deplatform him from Spotify.

Nevertheless, despite the best efforts of pro-Israel groups, public sympathy for Palestine and identification with its cause is on the rise at universities and among the public more generally. A February poll conducted by YouGov showed that more than two-and-a-half times as many Britons (27%) now sympathize with Palestine more than with Israel (11%) – a figure that continues to rise.

The tireless work of activists exposing its crimes has led to organizations as diverse as the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Harvard Law School identifying Israel as an Apartheid regime.

The attempt to de-platform Lowkey is part of a growing phenomenon which social commentators refer to as cancel culture. With its threat to free speech, the UK Tory government is seeking to introduce new legislation to combat its rise. 

However despite their best efforts Lowkey's music is now reaching  even more people. Their plan has perfectly backfired.We will not be silenced. We will continue speaking out against the apartheid Israeli state. And we will unapologetically continue to defend the lives of Palestinian people. Attacking freedom of speech and expression has been a tool used by the Israeli Occupation to control the narrative and silence the oppressed. Much respect too to all those that are showing Lowkey and the Palestinians their support and solidarity. I stand with Lowkey too and the Palestinian people against Israel apartheid, as Lowkey said " Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza,"

Here is the pettition to Spotify,, please  sign :-

https://www.change.org/p/spotify-do-not-buckle-to-pressure-from-the-israel-lobby-to-deplatform-lowkey?signed=true

Beyond Imperious Forces

The virus of austerity is sweeping through the land 

Infected by fear, racism, and hate, seeking to expand

Guided by autocracy, hypocricisy and kleptocracy

Exploitative system, leaders with no morality,

Capitalist manifestations weighing us down

A dreary flood of gestures making  us drown,

" That which we are, we are" billionaire chancellor said

Him and his chums supping fine wine, choices of bread, 

With arrogant pomposity, offering no light

We have to get off our knees now and fight,

Against a system that daily delivers anxiety

A carnivourous beast, with force of impeity,

That tightens it's claws, consuming  hearts

Suffocating hope, leaving disdainful marks,

These malignant forces want us to be compliant

Restrict our voices of protest, be quiet and silent,

The longer they stay in power, think we are indispensable

Our minds kept in place by their irresponsible tentacles,

Beyond this merryground of  coercive controlled pestilence

Punctuate their darkness, release angry defiance,

Rising like red roses, together we must stand

Build a fairer society, beyond deepening  quick sand.

Rishi Sunak's Spring Budget Statement

Absolutely shameful Spring budget for the rich from  Rishi Sunak the Chancellor who this afternoon boasted of giving “security for working families as we help with the cost of living”.However, in reality, there is little to help those who are at the sharpest end of the growing cost of living crisis. By definition, his cut to basic income tax will not help the poorest families for the simple reason that they do not pay tax on their income in the first place.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said the Spring Statement “has failed families who need help now” and highlighted that the “small print shows that pay packets are now expected to fall in value by £11 a week this year”.

“After 12 years of Tory government, Britain needs a pay rise. But this Chancellor has no plan to get wages rising and give working people long-term financial security,” she said. 

Unite’s Sharon Graham argued the Spring Statement “just tinkers around the edges” of the cost of living crisis, saying: “Workers will still be facing sleepless nights worrying about how to make ends meet, overwhelmed by rocketing prices.”  

Who had a good Budget today? Big business. The best off. Landlords. Who had a bad day? Those earning less than £30,000 a year, who have been abandoned. Pensioners. Those struggling on benefits . Anyone needing healthcare, or just care. Public employees.No help for the thousands queuing up at FoodBanks.mo extr mony for health, schools or other public services, and no help for those who can't heat their homes. While wages and benefits are going down, and a complete collapse of society is happening right before our eyes,we get more austerity,thrust upon us,  but that;s Tory priorities for you, and when  Martin Lewis financial pundit is getting into fight mode whilst simultaneously  running out of advice for the public you know things are bad. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/my-head-sunk-martin-lewis-23477991

By far the most important announcement was the one Sunak didn't make. Faced with an energy cost crisis which will plunge 10 million into fuel poverty, Sunak provided nothing to low income households on benefits and pensions. On the contrary: by uprating benefits and pensions only by the 3.1% which was last October’s inflation rate, not the 7% + which will be the inflation rate over the next few months, Sunak has directly made 9 million of the poorest people around £500 poorer. 

And this huge income cut comes on top of the £1000 a year Sunak took from Universal Credit recipients in the autumn when he withdrew the £20 a week pandemic uplift. So this is a total £1700 hit to the incomes of the UK’s poorest households. 

Sunak trumpeted his raising of the threshold at which National Insurance contributions begin to be paid. But remember, most benefit recipients do not pay NI as their incomes are too low. Neither do pensioners. So they do not benefit from this at all. Most benefit recipients do not own a car. So they do not benefit from the fuel duty cut. They do not pay income tax, so will not benefit from the 1p cut in 2024. We have no idea if they will benefit from the £500m Sunak gave local councils. 

Sunak’s statement  was obviously aimed at Tory MPs whose support he wants in a future leadership election. But if this callous treatment of people on low incomes - by a Chancellor who happens to be the wealthiest chancellor in history with a joint wealth with his wife of over £630m, if this what will attract their support, they should be ashamed. Ther complete failure to do anything meaningful to tackle the cost of living crisis , coupled with inflation and high taxation, means people are facing the biggest fall in living sandards since records begun in 1956, and highlights how out of touch with reality.our Government is. 

The Torys long term plan appears to be about  re-creating a master-servant relationship between the monied few and the impoverished millions. Every single thing they do takes more from the poor to further enrich the wealthy. This Spring budget is just further confirmation  that Sunak and the Torys are unwilling and fundamentally unable to support the vulnerable in our society at a time when they need it most, Remember people if we were living in France, we;d be taking to the streets, We have to get rid of them before they starve us all  to death,

Israeli Apartheid Week 2022

 Israeli Apartheid Week,(IAW) is an international week of action that has taken place for the last 16 years in over 200 universities and cities around the world. It aims to raise public awareness about Israel’s racial discrimination against all parts of the Palestinian people, which amounts to the crime of apartheid under international law. This week allows us to amplify Palestinian voices, build The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement campaigns works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law and allow us to show our solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for justice.

In 2022, the theme of Israeli Apartheid Week is ‘Art Against Apartheid’: aiming to highlight the role of culture and art in the Palestinian struggle against oppression. Israeli Apartheid Week also using the  theme of United Against Racism, links up the Palestinian anti-apartheid struggle with all those fighting racism, oppression and discrimination across the globefrom Palestine to Black Lives Matter.

Here in Britain, Israeli Apartheid Week is a chance for university campaigns to raise awareness about their work, launch new campaigns, and link with other organisations to fight to kick #ApartheidOffCampus.

 IAW provides an opportunity to network and strengthen the links between the Palestinian liberation struggle and other struggles against racism, oppression, and discrimination. In 2022, as in every year since 2005, we will once again join our voices to denounce apartheid and celebrate Palestinians diversity. This year, we plan to shed light on the role of culture, and art in particular, in decolonizing our minds in our collective struggles against cultural appropriation and oppression. From March to April, communities around the globe will come together to organize inspiring actions and events to show that now, more than ever, we are #UnitedAgainstRacism.

Calling the Israeli regime as one of apartheid is not rhetoric, nor is it an exaggeration or a propaganda tool. This is the reality in modern day Palestine, where the Israeli regime  through laws, practices and most aspects of life and the policies instituted by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people meets the UN definition of Apartheid. This apartheid regime is not only imposed on the people in Palestine, but also on millions of Palestinian refugees denied their right to return to their homes and lands..Under Israeli law, and in practice, Jewish Israelis and Palestinians are treated differently in almost every aspect of life including freedom of movement, family, housing, education, employment and other basic human rights. Dozens of Israeli laws and policies institutionalise this prevailing system of racial discrimination and domination.

The occupation Wall is also another element of the wider system of severe restrictions on the freedom of movement imposed by the Israeli authorities on Palestinian residents of the West Bank. There are over 600 closure obstacles blocking Palestinian movement within the West Bank. In addition, the system of roads is segregated: travel on hundreds of kilometres in the West Bank is restricted or prohibited outright for Palestinians, whereby Israelis are able to travel about freely. About one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is completely prohibited to Palestinians without a special permit issued by the Israeli military.

These severe restrictions violate not only the right to freedom of movement,they also effectively prevent Palestinian residents from exercising a wide range of fundamental human rights because of their identity, including their right to work, to health, to education and to an adequate standard of living. Farmers are stopped from assessing their fields and thus from exercising their right to sustain their livelihood. Many Palestinians are also prevented from seeking work outside their locality. Children are prevented from accessing schools and students face restrictions in choosing their university of choice. Patients are prevented from assessing hospitals, blocking them from exercising their right to the highest sustainable standard of health.  Israel has in effect created a system of seperation in the West Bank which fits the textbook definition of apartheid. Segregation is also carried out by implementing separate legal regimes for Jewish Israelis and Palestinians living in the same area. For example, Jewish Israeli settlers living in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are governed by Israeli civil law, while Palestinians also living in the occupied West Bank are governed by Israeli military law.

As awareness across the world of all of this continues to increase  campaigns to boycott, divest and sanction this regime provide a very effective and natural response. The world witnessed a similar response transpire and bare fruit in the case of South Africa, and there are very good reasons to believe that it will do the same in the case of Palestine. 

 In 1966 the United Nations called for an International Day of remembrance for the 69 Africans who were killed and the 189 injured by the Apartheid Police in Sharpeville, South Africa. The Police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid "pass laws" on March 21 1960.

 The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a splinter group of the African National Congress (ANC) created in 1959, organized a countrywide demonstration for March 21, 1960, for the abolition of South Africa’s pass laws. Participants were instructed to surrender their passes and invite arrest. Some 20,000 Blacks gathered near a police station at Sharpeville, located about 30 miles south of Johannesburg. The police opened fire on them with submachine guns without warning.

 Following the dismantling of apartheid, South African President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the site at which, on December 10, 1996, he signed into law the country’s new constitution.  Since then, the Apartheid System in South Africa has been dismantled but Apartheid in Israel has only been 

 only been strengthened. In 2018 Israel officially declared itself an Apartheid State with the passage of the Jewish Nation State Law which removed Arabic as an official language and designated ‘Jewish Settlement’ as a national goal.

 What happened at Sharpeville, horrific though it was, pales into comparison with the thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered for the crime of being Palestinian. In 2018 Israeli troops shot thousands of Palestinians deliberately disabling peaceful protestors at the Gaza fence and killing hundreds in the process.

 The IAW observes that “the recognition of Israel as an apartheid state is becoming increasingly mainstream”. There are visible signs of exceptional support for the cultural and academic boycott of Israel. IAW makes the pertinent conclusion: “Apartheid Israel is realizing that its South Africa moment is nearing”.

In the past year three major human rights organisations have declared that Israel is an Apartheid State. The first was B’Tselem which, on January 12 2021, declared that:  The Israeli regime enacts in all the territory it controls… an apartheid regime. One organizing principle lies at the base of a wide array of Israeli regime enacts in all the territory it controls… an apartheid regime. One organizing principle lies at the base of a wide array of Israeli policies: advancing and perpetuating the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians. https://www.btselem.org/publications/fulltext/202101_this_is_apartheid

 The next human rights organisation to describe Israel as an apartheid state was Human Rights Watch in April 2021. It declared that:  For the past 54 years, Israeli authorities have facilitated the transfer of Jewish Israelis to the OPT and granted them a superior status under the law as compared to Palestinians living in the same territory when it comes to civil rights, access to land, and freedom to move, build, and confer residency rights to close relatives.

  HRW described Israeli Apartheid as a crime against humanity ‘which stands among the most odious crimes  in international law.’ https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution

The third organisation to describe Israel was Amnesty International this January. In a damning report calling for Israeli authorities to be held accountable for committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians, which includes Palestinians living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), as well as displaced refugees in other countries.It described Israeli apartheid as ‘a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity.’ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/ 

While Israel has been accused of perpetrating apartheid before, this is the first time an international organisation at the level of Amnesty International has gone as far as accusing the state of Israel of perpetrating apartheid against Palestinians as a whole.

"Our report reveals the true extent of Israel's apartheid regime," said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary General.

"Whether they live in Gaza, East Jerusalem, Hebron, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights.

"We found All of the above leads to a growing acceptance that Israel is an Apartheid state, or that its policies are Apartheid policies. This strengthens calls to expose such behaviour as well as demands to impose appropriate measures that deal with Israel as an Apartheid state, one that should be boycotted and censured until it ends its racist Apartheid policies.d that Israel’s cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion across all territories under its control clearly amount to apartheid.

"The international community has an obligation to act," Ms Callamard said.

"There is no possible justification for a system built around the institutionalised and prolonged racist oppression of millions of people.

"Apartheid has no place in our world, and states which choose to make allowances for Israel will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

"Governments who continue to supply Israel with arms and shield it from accountability at the UN are supporting a system of apartheid, undermining the international legal order, and exacerbating the suffering of the Palestinian people.

"The international community must face up to the reality of Israel's apartheid, and pursue the many avenues to justice which remain shamefully unexplored."

 All of the above leads to a growing acceptance that Israel is an Apartheid state, or that its policies are Apartheid policies. This strengthens calls to expose such behaviour as well as demands to impose appropriate measures that deal with Israel as an Apartheid state, that continues to deprive millions of Palestinians, refugees included  of their basic rights, and ,as long as Israel maintains its apartheid regime, we must refuse to artwash its brurl oppression against Palestinians, and  should be boycotted and censured until it ends its racist Apartheid policies.

The dates provided for the Israeli Apartheid Week 2022 are: Europe and North America 21 – 28 March; Africa from 21 March – 4 April; Asia-Pacific 28 March – 4 April; Latin America and Arab World (incl. Palestine) 11 – 18 April.

 A Global Rally Against Israeli Apartheid will take place on March 26th in which arenas of our collective resistance to Israeli apartheid and all forms of racism and oppression. From dance, to music, to poetry, the rally will highlight the critical role that culture and art play in decolonizing our minds against cultural appropriation and oppression and highlighting culture as a weapon of resistance.

 Some of these artists, speakers and creatives include: Saana Moussa, Rana Nazal. Radiodervish, Kayda Aziz, Badiaa Bourezi, Estrefania Vega, El Funoun, Palestinian Dabke Troupe and more!

You can register for the event here :https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NkZjN90PRMG4l20jHj6fsQ

 “One has to keep telling the Palestinian story in as many ways as possible, as insistently as possible, and in as compelling a way as possible, to keep attention to it, because there is always the fear that it might just disappear.” ( Edward Said, 2003)

https://bdsmovement.net/iaw 

Together With Refugees

 

Horrified by the last few weeks events? Feeling helpless ? 

Here are some things you can do to show your support for victims of war and terror.  In this particular time of crisis in Europe it is more important than ever that we draw together to support each other and help those in need. In spite of the public outcry that the UK should be doing more to help refugees, our government is continuing with plans to introduce the new Nationality and Borders Bill, which is expected to pass into law later this month. that, according to most of the organisations involved with refugees and asylum seekers, will actually make reaching sanctuary in our country more difficult and more dangerous.

The Nationality and Borders Bill is not for the protection of society, but is a potential threat to the helpless refugees who travel through the jaws of death to reach Britain, a place that they believe to grant them safety. Despite the Ukraine crisis, the Bill is  being brought forward.

The plans outlined in the bill will have grave consequences for people fleeing conflict, and that they are unlikely to stop people attempting to reach safety, but will instead punish and criminalise  the most vulnerable.This bill will see people fleeing war and persecution, like those fleeing Ukraine right now, criminalised, detained and deported. We need to say it loud and say it clear “Refugees are welcome here” 

Today is Anti-Racism day  there are Stand Up to Racism national demos  taking place which will have a strong focus on the Anti-Refugee Bill. and on Sunday 20 March Cardiff STAR and Stand Up to Racism have organised a  rally will be meeting at City Hall at 12 and marching to a rally  the Senedd from 2:30pm.

‘Together With Refugees’ www.togetherwithrefugees.org.uk - an umbrella organisation uniting many of the different support groups - is calling for us to highlight the need and the response to people fleeing for their lives, and  for a better approach to supporting refugees in the UK no matter how they came here and ensuring people can live in dignity while they wait for a decision on their asylum application. 

March 21st is the official start of Spring, a time of rebirth and hope for the coming year.

So, at 4pm my local Amnesty and refugee support groups will be on the beach at Poppit Sands near St Dogmaels and, Cardigan, West Wales, where local sand artist Rachel will create one of her wonderful designs, featuring the orange heart symbol of Together with Refugees. Come and watch, or take part . Wear orange ! Fly a kite ! Wave a flag ! Build a sandcastle ! Bring a picnic! And take a few minutes to stand together as a community sending our thoughts and prayers to those who do not have the luxury to enjoy all these things. Rachel will create a space within the heart for musicians, silence and contemplation. Stay for as little or as long as you wish..Hopefully  you can join us, you will be most welcomed.Together we can spread a message of hope and solidarity.