"They're Killing Off the Journalists of Gaza" - David Rovics

Part of Israel's strategy of destroying Gaza is to destroy the ability of the people of Gaza to tell their story, by explicitly targeting and assassinating journalists.

Lyrics: 

They're Killing Off the Journalists of Gaza

 

Samer Abudaqqa had his camera in his hand 

He was wearing his helmet and his vest

Like Shireen Abu-Akleh and so many others 

He was easily identified as a member of the press

They can call the killing indiscriminate

But this isn’t exactly true 

When they’re specifically targeting certain people

In order to silence the news 

 

They’re killing off the journalists of Gaza

Day after day after day after day 

Hoping they can hide their crimes this way 

 

Ola Atalla was slain last week 

Along with nine members of her family 

They were taking shelter in someone else’s home 

After fleeing Gaza City 

Ayat Khadoura died alongside

An unknown number thus far

Her only dream now was to be killed in one piece 

So they would know who we are 

 

Mohammed Abu Hatab with Palestine TV

Dead with his family of eleven

Mostawa El Sawaf was killed in another 

Along with his wife and two sons

Sari Monsour was killed in an airstrike 

On a refugee camp

Mohamed Abu Hasira along with 42 

Slaughtered with another familicidal stamp

 

They hope that if they kill the messengers 

They can stop the message getting out 

If they can smash all the cameras

Silence everyone trying to shout 

Out to the world that might listen

And see the horrors happening beneath the Palestinian skies

The slaughter that for now 

We can still see with our eyes

kkkkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyU0vzzDz1Y

Bearing Winter

Among intense emotion

States of confusion,

Terror, loss and destruction 

Blowing wishes to the wind,

I try to disengage with the bullshit.

Release some rays of hope,

Where the bombs keep falling

As December stamps with fury,

People struggling to stay alive

Smiles turning into rivers of tears,

Premature babies encased in blood

After being rescued from under rubble,. 

In arms of their mothers found dead

Murdered by targeted explosions, 

While some falsely talk of peace

Holding daggers in hand,

In the shadows of night

Blurred moments of yesterday,

Paint a canvas of thoughts

Release ardent words of yearning,

Bringing colour and light

Into a greying twisted world,

As dreams keep faltering

Try to soften these days of  rage,

Reeling in the forces of love

Beyond these violent times,

Calling for a permanent Ceasefire

An end to fear, siege and occupation,

It's time to start anew, change the tide

Allowing amity to mend wounded souls.

Christmas Celebrations Cancelled in Bethlehem

 

Bethlehem's Lutheran Church decided its Christmas nativity scene would reflect the reality of children living and being born in Palestine today

Like so many, I feel no sense of anticipation about this Christmas. When someone asks if "I'm all set for Christmas ", I just shrug, amd struggle to see any joy thinking about the people of Palestine.where so many innocents are dead and the injured, the grieving and the traumatised, It's impossible to celebrate when there is a genocide taking place in Gaza

Christmas has been  canceled in Bethlehem  In solidarity with the suffering in Gaza due to the Israel-Hamas war, last week Christian leaders and municipal authorities in the West Bank city decided to cancel all public festivities. For the first time since modern celebrations began, the birthplace of Jesus will not decorate the Manger Square tree.where Jesus  was  born in solidarity with Palestinian suffering 

Jesus' birthplace has announced the usual decorations for the city will be taken down and the normal cheery celebrations wont go ahead, Not surprising given how many Christian Palestinians have died in present attacks on Gaza and West Bank, and the difficulty of worship without harassment from the IDF..There is no joy in genocide.

The move means there will be no huge tree put up or many decorative lights in Nativity Square - the exact spot Jesus was said to be born in. Father Francesco Patton of the Custody of the Holy Land church group said: "We will celebrate in sobriety. That means without the fanfare and without too many lights, in the most spiritual way and more (among) families than in the square."

Bethlehem is nextdoor to Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank that's seen devastating airstrikes and been battered in the Israeli-Hamas clashes in recent weeks just 30 miles away.

A spokesman for the Bethlehem municipality confirmed that the normal plans for Christmas have been completely scrapped ahead of December 25.  The spokesman said: “The reason is the general situation in Palestine; people are not really into any celebration, they are sad, angry and upset; our people in Gaza are being massacred and killed in cold blood." 

Due to the rich religious history, Christians from all around the world go on a pilgrimage to the  hallowed  town of  Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity to celebrate the birth of Christ.Typically thronged by countless individuals from across the globe, the hallowed town of Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus by Christians, will this year be veiled in sombreness. How can you celebrate Jesus while his birthplace Palestine, is under genocidal attacks?

The town of Bethlehem is significant to many people for different reasons.Today, approximately 60,000 people live in and around the broader Bethlehem area. The population is divided primarily between Muslims and Christians, the Christians being predominately Orthodox.

Under the control of the Palestinian National Authority since 1995, Bethlehem city has experienced chaotic growth and a constant flow of tourism.  th It is home to one of the most sacred Christian sites in the world. Built by Constantine the Great (circa 330 AD), the Church of the Nativity still stands over a cave believed to be the very spot where Jesus was born. The place of the manger is marked by a 14-pointed silver star, called the star of Bethlehem. 

The original Church of the Nativity structure was partially destroyed by the Samaritans in 529 A.D. and then rebuilt by the Byzantine Roman emperor Justinian. It is one of the oldest surviving Christian churches in existence today. It is also home to 25,000 Palestinians who live in the shadow of a massive concrete sep​a​ra​tion wall, that zig zags around Bethlehem, who cannot move freely, who struggle to maintain a livelihood, who cannot return to their ancestral villages.,

Israel began building the separation barrier. in parts concrete, with other stretches consisting of fencing,in 2002 during the Palestinian uprising, or intifada. Built mostly inside the West Bank, Israel says it is necessary to prevent attacks, but Palestinians label it an apartheid wall,  a symbol of their ongoing oppression, separating them from Jerusalem. The Palestinians consider the barrier illegal and call it an Israeli land grab, noting that it has engulfed large chunks of the West Bank onto the Israeli “side.”

It is 8 meters high - twice the height of the Berlin Wall - with armed watchtowers and a “buffer zone” 30-100 meters wide for electric fences, trenches, cameras, sensors, and military patrol. Aside from dominating the landscape, the barrier separates Bethlehem from much of the land owned by its people, and, crucially, it also severs it from  from its urban twin city Jerusalem (5 miles from city centre to city centre)  The structure, has been ruled illegal by the UN's International Court of Justice.

Since 7 October, Israeli bombings targeted three churches in Gaza, including the Orthodox Saint Porphyrius church in Gaza city, one of the oldest churches in the world. The bombing killed 18 Palestinians who were taking refuge in the church. Israeli forces have also bombed 31 mosques in the Gaza Strip. 

Amidst the tumultuous conflict, the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem has undertaken momentous transformations in its traditional holiday festivities. Pastor Munther Isaac courageously declared the cancellation of merry celebrations, opting instead for fervent prayers. "In light of the heart-wrenching genocide unfolding in Gaza, where innocent children are ruthlessly massacred, it is inconceivable to partake in merriment," he emphasised.  Uniting with unwavering solidarity, the West Bank church erected a poignant display. A heap of debris, symbolising the desolation in Gaza, stands adjacent to a humble sapling within the sacred walls. Swathed in a Palestinian kuffiyeh, the infant Jesus serenely rests upon the ruins, evoking profound imagery of children salvaged from utter devastation.  

Tis the season of Nativity scenes. But here’s a question to consider:Would Joseph and Mary even have been able to reach Bethlehem if they were making that same journey today?  How would that carpenter and his pregnant wife have circumnavigated the Kafka­esque network of Israeli settlements, roadblocks and closed military zones in the occupied West Bank? Would Mary have had to experience labor or childbirth at a checkpoint?

The ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza has killed over 16,200 Palestinians  in 65 days of genocide including including over 7000 children and has displaced more than three-quarters of the region's 2.3 million inhabitants, leaving them bereft of secure havens according to Gaza's ministry of health. An unknown number of Palestinians are still missing under the rubble as the israeli regime intensifies yet another atrocious assault on Khan Younisat, 

This comes as Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza's south, where the Israeli military has committed what is being called a massacre in Khan Younis, hitting a school sheltering displaced people and killing at least 30 people. 

Israeli tanks have also besieged the Kamal Adwan hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory. The assault on Khan Younis, southern Gaza's main city, suggest a new and bloody phase of Israel's war. Israel had previously ordered civilians in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to flee to the south of the territory but is now committing large scale attacks on them there.

Christmas is the last thing on the minds of the nearly two million forcibly displaced Palestinians in their homeland, Homes reduced to rubble and entire families wiped-out in their sleep, at dinner or prayers, at United Nations (UN) shelters or major hospitals in north, central and southern Gaza, over 1.9 million have more to think about at the start of the traditional Advent of the Christmas season. 

Millions of Palestinian children left to mourn for martyred parents, relatives or friends are growing up in constant fear of not seeing tomorrow, or the next minute, and can’t even think of playing with toys in a land where they get shot and killed while playing football.  Palestinians lucky-enough to have had loved ones released from Israeli prisons cannot celebrate having them home for the holidays this year, lest they be rearrested and jailed again indefinitely.

Instead of planning for Christmas, Palestinians are praying for peace through a ceasefire that will allow them to count their losses and pay deserving tribute to their lost loved ones, before the year ends.

My heart and soul continues to ache for the people of Palestine. The impact of occupation daily bringing it's heavy burden.

All I want  for Christmas is a permanent ceasefire. But that’s only the beginning  Palestinians will never be safe while Apartheid Israel exists  The Occupation of Palestine must end and all peoples, regardless of ethnicity or religion, must have the same rights and responsibilities. There is nothing calm, nothing bright about  genocide  or  apartheid,History though  teaches us that injustice cannot last long especially when so many people join the struggle.Lets.draw inspiration from the people of Bethlehem, and of Palestine as  they  face ongoing  oppression who remain unified and steadfast in their struggle.Sending solidarity and love to the like minded, and may 2024 bring us closer to peace with justice.

International Human Rights Day: Dignity and equality for all

Seventy-five years ago today, in 1948, following the traumatic events of World War II, in  which many atrocities had taken place during the war including mass killings, atomic bombings, torture cases and genocides. In a bid to never repeat such “barbarous acts which […] outraged the conscience of mankind”,48 countries  of the newly -formed United Nations agreed that  the world must do more to protect the rights and freedoms of all people and declared a set of universal principles that reflected the basic needs of all human beings.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a day also  now known as Human Rights Day outlines 30 rights and freedoms that belong to everyone on this planet, that nobody can take away from us. These rights unite us all and remind us of the one thing we share in common: our humanity.A day for attending to global justice, equality, and a reminder of the fundamental values that underpin a just society.

Today it seems unimaginable that the world could ever have existed in a time where human rights were not the foundation of the social contract. The Declaration set out, for the first time in history, those fundamental human rights that Governments all over the world undertook to respect, protect and promote.

And ever since that auspicious day it has stood as the first major stride forward in ensuring that the rights of every human across the globe are protected. From the most basic human needs such as food, shelter, and water, all the way up to access to free and uncensored information, such has been the goals and ambitions laid out that day.

The Declaration proclaims a simple, yet powerful idea :

 "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,"  "They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

These rights are the birthright of all people: it does not matter, what country we live in and even who we are. Because we are human, we have these rights; and Governments are bound to protect them. They are not a reward for good behaviour, nor they are optional or the privilege of a few- they are inalienable  entitlements of all people, at all times- regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. And because they are universal, they are also matters of legitimate concern; and  standing  up for them is a responsibility that binds us all.

It is the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages.  When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in favor and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations", towards which individuals and societies should "strive by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance".

Although the Declaration .https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights with its broad range of political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights is not a binding document, it inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. It has helped shape human rights all over the world.

Today the general consent of all United Nations Member States on the basic Human Rights laid down in the Declaration makes it even stronger and emphasizes the relevance of Human Rights in our daily lives.The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main United Nations rights official, plays a major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observation of Human Rights Day.

Human Rights Day reminds us that there is much to be done  and around the world to protect those who cannot voice or respond to perpetrated discrimination and violence caused by governments, vigilantes, and individual actors. In many instances, those who seek to divide people for subjective means and for totalitarian reasons do so around the globe without fear of retribution. Violence, or the threat of violence, perpetrated because of differences in a host of physical and demographic contrasts and dissimilarities is a blight on our collective humanity now and a danger for our human future.

Human Rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life No matter who you are or where you are from, everyone is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration. These human rights don’t change based on race, religion, sex, gender or nationality. 

Every one of us has the right to life and liberty. Every one of us has the right to live with freedom from fear. They should never be taken away, these basic rights are based on values such as dignity, fairness, equality, respect and independence. Human rights are not just abstract concepts, they are defined and protected by law.The  theme for  Human  Rights  Day  this  year  is Dignity, Freedom and Justice for all,

This powerful theme emphasises the three fundamental pillars of human rights, highlighting their interconnectedness and the importance of achieving them for all individuals.  

The specific ways Human Rights Day is celebrated may vary from place to place, depending on local context and resources. However, the core purpose remains the same: to raise awareness about human rights, promote their protection, and inspire action to create a world where everyone enjoys freedom, equality, and justice.

But in a stark reflection of reality,The Universal Day of Human Rights comes this year when human rights violations persist around the world, and violence and conflict remain a reality for millions of people. Suffering and inhumane conditions continue in occupied Palestinian territories, Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan, and many regions across the globe. 

The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) is continuously deteriorating, and the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the rules international human rights law derived from it and international humanitarian law are violated. As the death toll continues to mount in Gaza, we  must  continues to call for a permanent  cease-fire.

2023 also marks 75 years since al-Nakba. 75 years on from their expulsion, the suffering and displacement of Palestinian refugees are ongoing realities. Today, when Palestinians are remembering the ongoing Nakba that in 1948 uprooted more than 750,000 from their homelands, eradicated more than 650 villages, and killed thousands, lets are pay homage to those who have harnessed the power of the UDHR during unimaginable struggles for liberation, equality and independence. To those who have spoken up against violations of rights and disrupted historical injustices. 

Today for the Palestinians, there is no peace, security or justice. There is limited access to basic necessities, and there is no safe place for a child. For the 6 million Palestinian Refugees around the World, and their descendents, Nakba isn’t over - it never ended. 

Lets echo the sentiment of Secretary-General António Guterres, who on Thursday invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter - a rare diplomatic step in influencing the international community to prevent further escalation of ‘utter, deepening horror’, by demanding an end to this crisis. 

“I reiterate my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared. This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared from greater harm.” 

As members of the international community, we all have a role to play in calling on our leaders to act now. On this global day of empowerment intended for all of humanity, it is clear that our work is now more critical than ever. Human Rights Day must be a call for action – to continue fighting for dignity and equality for all and demand the end of armed conflict and suffering of innocent civilians and children around the world.

Rest in Power Benjamin Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023)

 

Heartbreaking  news."An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all."   Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal  Zephaniah the beloved. trailblazing dub poet, vegan anarchist. cultural revolutionary, public intellectual and inspiration to so many. has died age 65 today after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.  💔. 

A statement shared on his social media profiles reads: “It is with great sadness and regret that we announce the death of our beloved Husband. Son, and Brother in the early hours of this morning (7 December). Benjamin was diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.”

The post continued: “Benjamin’s wife was by his side throughout and was with him when he passed. We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this new. Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator, he gave the world so much.” 

 “Through an amazing career, including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television, radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy,” the statement concluded. 

My heart is truly  heavy  with his  loss. I  was fortunate  to  meet  him on  three occasions.  a  man  of  gentleness  and  deep integrity. If there were more people with the integrity of Benjamin Zephaniah, the world would be a much better place.His poetry influenced me enormously, especially his pro-Palestinian, anti-monarchy, radical stance..

Benjamin Zephaniah  one of the UK’s most renowned poets, novelists, playwrights and activists  was born was born in Handsworth, Birmingham on 15 April 1958. The son of Barbadian and Jamaican parents, his dyslexia meant he left school at  the  age  of  14 unable to read or write. This never held him back from his love of poetry and by his mid-teens, he was already well known for his poetry within the local community.

Zephaniah moved to London in his 20s, where he published his first poetry collection ‘Pen Rhythm’ in 1980. Over his life, he went on to publish 14 poetry collections, among  them The Dread Affair: Collected Poems, Rasta Time in Palestine, Too Black, Too Strong and We Are Britain! alongside five novels, a non-fiction biography of Mona Baptiste, five children’s books, seven plays,and in 2018, he released his autobiography The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah. His poetry was hugely influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he previously called "street politics".

Alongside his writing work, Zephaniah has recorded extensive music, including seven studio albums. He also acted, most notably as recurring character Jeremiah Jesus in the BBC series ‘Peaky Blinders’. 

Zephaniah broke boundaries with his work,and throughout his life, Zephaniah used his poetic voice for the good of society. He has campaigned extensively for antiracism, animal rights, against homophobia  colonialism.and injustice. And as s a writer, activist he always stood steadfast with the Palestinian people.who had previously expressed his wish to see Palestine’s liberation in his lifetime.Solidarity  was at  the core of  all of  his  work. 

Within Benjamin Zephaniah’s commitment and conviction to social justice came  his refusal of the OBE three years ago.due to its reverence of the British Empire and its cruel history of slavery and racism.  explaining: “Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire.”  

Outside of writing, Zephaniah released seven albums, with his final LP, Revolutionary Minds, arriving in 2017.essential listening for the times we live in, a solid piece of creativity that drives on home messages of hope, liberation, economic and political corruption rampant racism, fascist patriarchy in this world of struggle and desperation. 

His poetry, books and plays have captivated hearts and minds, fuelling imaginations and winning him a legion of fans all over the world.His poems packed a powerful punch for social justice, but always so gently and humorously delivered, they never preached.

Nelson Mandela also requested that he host his Two Nations Concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1996. Notably, he collaborated with The Wailers in 1982 on the album Rasta, which marked the group’s first release since the death of Bob Marley.

His voice was one of reason and hope when Britain looked to sink below the abyss, as it is now. A unique  and inspired voice for peace, a real  genuine radical  who  will  truly be  missed. An icon whose impact and  legacy will  resonate forever.What a fabulous role model he was in so many ways and all round bloody brilliant person who  freed so  many  with  the power of his  pen. Zeph was a hero on  many levels, loved so dearly by so many of us. Brilliant, blazing, beautiful with  such a glorious mind.  How brutally unfair. He should have had years more. We'll miss you bother. 

"If you didn't have troublemakers, most women wouldn't have the right to vote, a black person wouldn't be talking to a white person & I'd be back in slavery. We need troublemakers to challenge the establishment. I want to be one of those people" 

Rest in Power Benjamin Zephaniah

 

The British Poem  - Benjamin Zephaniah

 

Take some Picts, Celts and Silures

And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese.

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat.

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add to the melting pot.

Leave the ingredients to simmer.

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish
Binding them together with English.

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,
Serve with justice
And enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.

We Refugees - Benjamin  Zephaniah

I come from a musical place
Where they shoot me for my song
And my brother has been tortured
By my brother in my land.

I come from a beautiful place
Where they hate my shade of skin
They don't like the way I pray
And they ban free poetry.

I come from a beautiful place
Where girls cannot go to school
There you are told what to believe
And even young boys must grow beards.

I come from a great old forest
I think it is now a field
And the people I once knew
Are not there now.

We can all be refugees
Nobody is safe,
All it takes is a mad leader
Or no rain to bring forth food,
We can all be refugees
We can all be told to go,
We can be hated by someone
For being someone.

I come from a beautiful place
Where the valley floods each year
And each year the hurricane tells us
That we must keep moving on.

I come from an ancient place
All my family were born there
And I would like to go there
But I really want to live.

I come from a sunny, sandy place
Where tourists go to darken skin
And dealers like to sell guns there
I just can't tell you what's the price.

I am told I have no country now
I am told I am a lie
I am told that modern history books
May forget my name.

We can all be refugees
Sometimes it only takes a day,
Sometimes it only takes a handshake
Or a paper that is signed.
We all came from refugees
Nobody simply just appeared,
Nobody's here without a struggle,
And why should we live in fear
Of the weather or the troubles? 

We all came from somewhere

Revolutionary Minds -  Benjamin Zephaniah

Palestine - Benjamin Zephaniah

Your not not alone this Christmas

'

Christmas can be a happy and joyous time, but it can also be an incredibly sad, lonely and difficult time for  many  of  us,.it could  be your first Christmas, your third Christmas, your tenth Christmas without someone close to you.

Christmas can be a daunting time for many, especially to those of us who are prone to depression. It’s known as 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year' but for many, myself included, it’s filled with anxiety and depression. 

It's not uncommon for mental illnesses to be exacerbated at this time of year.Christmas can intensify feelings of grief and sadness.During a difficult cost of living crisis, difficult times globally, and anger and dismay at politics, it might feel especially difficult to resist getting lost in our own thoughts and ending up feeling disempowered and unmotivated.

Many experiencing feelings of isolation, financial pressures or increased family conflict that make the season a very stressful time of year For people without a significant other, who don’t have family or who live far from family, the holidays can be especially tough. While longing for company, lonely people may isolate even more, leaving them feeling even worse. At  same time  this  Christmas the scale of injustice and inequality in world  is  clearly in plain sight, 

Lots of  us will not  be full of  Christmas cheer,  some of  us  near the edge of  black holes and will  not  be counting our  blessings. instead feeling  rather  anxious and trying to  find  ways  to cope..In  light  of  all  this. try and  look after your mental health over Christmas  and if  you  are feeling anxious or hopeless  try  not  to  forget that there  are lots of  helplines and chat services to support your mental health over the festive season if you need it..

If there’s one thing you should always keep in mind: it’s OK not to be OK. Mental health struggles impact each and every one of us in different ways. If you're feeling down at Christmas, don’t feel you need to put on a brave face for those around you, or join in with the festive cheer just for the sake of it.  Be honest about how you're feeling, and reach out to someone if you need to. That could be a friend, family member, or a professional counsellor. It’s much better to embrace how you feel rather than ignore it or pretend you’re OK.

I acknowledge too  that NHS mental health services are under increasing “unsustainable pressure” as demand far outstrips the capacity of overstretched services to provide adequate care, with  Health service leaders from the mental health sector  calling on the government to “do more” to alleviate “skyrocketing pressure” on mental health services.

The importance of looking after your wellbeing doesn't stop at Christmas though either. in  the  longer  term. It's crucial that we come together as people who want a livable future to support the values we hold dear and invest in the change we want to see in the world. that  prioritizes people, planet and peace! Lets continue  to  fill  the hearts of humankind with the desire to ensure justice for all..

Please share this for everyone who might be struggling this December. Try and  be  kind  to yourself. . Don't hesitate to reach out to anywhere that can provide a listening ear and a safe space for you to express your emotions..You are not alone. Please  don't  suffer in silence. 

So Long to Legendary Singer Songwriter Shane Macgowan

Devastating news Shane Macgowan, the legendary singer-songwriter and frontman of brilliant"Celtic Punk" band The Pogues, died this  morning, his family said. He was 65.although many would have been forgiven for wondering how he made it that far. I was still shocked and utterly saddened though.I really  loved his music and songwriting and it has meant a lot to me over the years,

His wife Victoria Mary Clarke broke the news today (30th November), sharing a post on Instagram, which read: "I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love ❤️ of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese. I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love ❤️ and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures. There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world. Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your presence in this world you made it so very bright and you gave so much joy to so many people with your heart and soul and your musicYou will live in my heart forever. Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ You meant the world to me.. "https://www.instagram.com/p/C0RN60nstwc/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=67b6de40-1339-40fe-bf04-c634d6d06d25 The singer died peacefully with his family by his side.

Tributes  have  since  flooded  in with celebrities and public figures taking to social media to pay their condolences. 

Irish President Michael D Higgins described his “great sadness” at hearing of Shane MacGowan’s death. “Shane will be remembered as one of music’s greatest lyricists,” he said. “So many of his songs would be perfectly crafted poems, if that would not have deprived us of the opportunity to hear him sing them.” 

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said MacGowan told “the Irish story” like no other.  “Shane was a poet, a dreamer and a champion of social justice. He was a dedicated Republican and a proud Irishman.  “Nobody told the Irish story like Shane – stories of emigration, heartache, dislocation, redemption, love and joy. 

Musician Nick Cave called him “a true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation.”

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan was actually born in Pembury Kent on Christmas Day 1957 to Irish parents and was raised in Tipperary, Ireland,  from  the  age of six  before the family moved back to London. Ireland remained the lifelong center of his imagination and his yearning. He grew up steeped in Irish music absorbed from family and neighbors, along with the sounds of rock, Motown, reggae and jazz. He claimed that as a five year-old he was given two bottles of Guinness a night.

The young MacGowan was noted for his literary gifts and received a scholarship to  the elite Westminster School in London, but  was expelled after being caught in possession of drugs.and spent time in a psychiatric hospital after a breakdown in his teens. MacGowan embraced the punk scene that exploded in Britain in the mid-1970s. In 1970s London, he became a well-known face on the punk scene.Aged 18, he graced the cover of the local papers after his ear was bloodied during a concert by the Clash. and soon found a role as frontman for the band The Nipple Erectors, later rebranded as The Nips. performing under the name Shane O'Hooligan,.

After the original line-up of The Nips broke up in 1980, Macgowan formed Pogue Mahone, fusing fused punk's furious energy with traditional Irish melodies and instruments including banjo, tin whistle and accordion. They  were  named named after the Irish Gaelic phrase "póg mo thóin" ("kiss my arse")  

The singer changed his early punk style for a more traditional sound when founding The Pogues in 1982, drawing upon his Irish heritage. The new group, then known as Pogue Mahone, played their first gig at The Pindar of Wakefield on October 4, 1982. Many of the Celtic punk band's songs are influenced by Irish nationalism, Irish history, the experiences of the Irish diaspora (particularly in England and the United States), and London life in general.

They drew the attention of the media and Stiff Records when they opened for The Clash on their 1984 tour.The Pogues debut  album, "Red Roses for Me," was released in 1984 and featured raucous versions of Irish folk songs alongside originals including "Boys from the County Hell," "Dark Streets of London" and "Streams of Whisky."  MacGowan wrote many of the songs on the next two albums, "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" (1985) and "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" (1988), ranging from rollicking rousers like the latter album's title track to ballads like "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and "The Broad Majestic Shannon."

The band also released a 1986 EP, "Poguetry in Motion," which contained two of MacGowan's finest songs, "A Rainy Night in Soho" and "The Body of an American." The latter featured prominently in early-2000s TV series "The Wire," sung at the wakes of Baltimore police officers.  "I wanted to make pure music that could be from any time, to make time irrelevant, to make generations and decades irrelevant," he recalled in his memoir.

But it was The Pogues collaboration with Kirsty MacColl at Christmas that year that gave them eternal fame.  "Fairytale of New York" a bittersweet Christmas classic that opens with the decidedly unfestive words: "It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank." 

The Pogues reinvigorated folk music in the early 80s and their success came in the midst of "The Troubles" sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland and as an upstart punk group, The Pogues had a distinctly political edge. Their 1988 song "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six" recounted the plight of six Irishmen wrongly imprisoned for deadly bombings at two pubs in the central English city.  The Irish Republican Army (IRA) were widely suspected of perpetrating the 1974 attack that killed 21 and left scores more injured.  "They're still doing time/For being Irish in the wrong place/And at the wrong time," MacGowan sang.  The tune fell foul of a UK government ban that covered the broadcast of the voices of pro-Irish republican paramilitaries and their political representatives. However the band was vindicated in 1991 when all six men saw their convictions quashed on appeal, in what remains one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice.

Their legendary bacchanalian antics, on and off stage, were as much a part of the band’s philosophy as the music. As MacGowan told Melody Maker in 1991, “The most important thing to remember about drunks is that drunks are far more intelligent than non-drunks. They spend a lot of time talking in pubs, unlike workaholics who concentrate on their careers and ambitions, who never develop their higher spiritual values, who never explore the insides of their head like a drunk does.”

The Pogues were briefly on top of the world, with sold-out tours,I was blessed to  see some fiery  performance  by  them  back  in  the  day. but the band's output and appearances grew more erratic, due in part to MacGowan's struggles with alcohol and drugs. He was fired by the other band members in 1991.In 2004, MacGowan said he "was glad to get out alive". 

In 2016, MacGowan's wife Victoria reported he was finally sober, if a shadow of his former self, and even had his trademark rotten teeth restored.  The dentist responsible, Darragh Mulrooney, gave the singer 28 teeth on a titanium frame in a procedure that took nine hours and was dubbed "the Everest of dentistry".

As lead singer of The Pogues and as a solo artist, Shane MacGowan was s a defining figure of modern Irish music. Among the greatest songwriters of his generation, he infused traditional Irish folk with the spirit of punk and a bleary-eyed romanticism to create a compelling and unique intoxicating musical brew,.sometimes sad, sometimes wonderful, and often soaked in a mixture of alcohol and genius. MacGowan became as famous for his sozzled, slurred performances as for his powerful songwriting.  His songs blended the scabrous and the sentimental, ranging from carousing anthems to defiant ballads  of  the  downtrodden and the  doomed to unexpectedly tender love songs. A man of great talent and humanity as well as being a wild, creative and  talented maverick. .

"It never occurred to me that you could play Irish music to a rock audience," MacGowan recalled in "A Drink with Shane MacGowan," a 2001 memoir co-authored with Clarke. "Then it finally clicked. Start a London Irish band playing Irish music with a rock and roll beat. The original idea was just to rock up old ones but then I started writing."  

He continued performing with a new group as Shane MacGowan and The Popes, before reuniting with The Pogues in 2001 for a series of concerts and tours.He also enjoyed a minor career as an actor, appearing in the films Straight To Hell and Eat The Rich..However his public reputation remained sealed as a heavy-drinking, drug-using rebel.

MacGowan had years of health problems and used a wheelchair after breaking his pelvis a decade ago.In 2016, MacGowan's wife Victoria reported he was finally sober, if a shadow of his former self, and even had his trademark  broken rotten teeth restored.  The dentist responsible, Darragh Mulrooney, gave the singer 28 teeth on a titanium frame in a procedure that took nine hours and was dubbed "the Everest of dentistry".

MacGowan received a lifetime achievement award from Irish President Michael D. Higgins on his 60th birthday. The occasion was marked with with performers including Bono, Nick Cave, Sinead O'Connor and Johnny Depp.

The musician was hospitalised in Dublin in December 2022 with encephalitis - a condition in which the brain becomes inflamed and often needs urgent treatment - and taken into intensive care again in July 2023, but had returned home shortly before his death. Shane MacGowan would have celebrated his 66th birthday this Christmas Day.

Thank  you Shane for  your  songs  maestro, your  genius and  sensitivity, I''ve been  playing  your  fine timeless  records  today and long I hope  will  continue to  do  so and  have  been  raising  a  few glasses  in  your  honour. The  likes  of  you  we  will  not  see  again. My deepest sympathies go  out  to  your  wife and family.  Taisteal go maith dul milis / Travel  well  go  gentle.. Rest in Peace.

The Pogues live at the Town and Country Club London '88

The Pogues - Misty Morning Albert Bridge

Shane MacGowan and the Popes - Church of the Holy Spook

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2023

Today  is International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People; a platform and a poignant reminder of the ongoing Palestinian struggle for human rights, peace and self-determination.Called for originally in 1977 by the UN General Assembly as a commemoration of the day the UN adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine in 1947. 

“The resolution on the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People also encourages Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the Day of Solidarity." UN official statement reads. 

The day reaffirms solidarity with the steadfast people of Palestine and helps keeping the Palestinian cause live and present in the international events and the global conscience,

The UN has organised an exhibit to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba  a deeply traumatic event which took place during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war  https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people

During this time more than half of the Palestinian people were expelled from, or fled their homes and became refugees. The Nakba, which means “catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Before the Nakba, Palestine was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society.

However, the conflict between Arabs and Jews intensified in the 1930s with the increase of Jewish immigration, driven by persecution in Europe, and with the Zionist movement aiming to establish a Jewish state in Palestine.  As early as December 1948, the UN General Assembly called for refugee return, property restitution and compensation.and has also  said that the Nakba serves as a reminder that close to 6 million Palestinians remain refugees to this day, scattered throughout the region. 

Now, 76 years after partition, Israel has violated international law despite countless UN resolutions relating to Palestine, and has slowly attempted to occupy all of Palestinian land while the rights of the Palestinian peoples continue to be denied.

Today, Israel is also waging one of the most violent wars on Palestine in decades,with the aim to ‘eliminate’ Hamas. Israel announced war against Hamas after it launched an attack on Israel on October 7 and killed about 1,200 people. In retaliation Israel has killed at least 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza , the vast majority being women and children. and tens of thousands injured, while homes, schools, hospitals and basic infrastructure across Gaza have been flattened..unprecedented brutal aggression, in which humanity has been slaughtered every day for more than fifty-four days.

The 2.1 million residents of Gaza. a tiny enclave wedged between Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea . have previously suffered through four previous wars, and this fifth one is the most devastating yet. The grim death count continues to grow. The UN has strongly condemned the killing of civilians and has repeatedly called for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in the densely populated enclave.  According to UNICEF, people under the age of 18 — which the organisation classifies as children — make up almost half of the Palestinian population in Gaza.  "Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children," UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has said. 

Τhe massacre in Palestine, the brutal and unacceptable bombing of the hospitals, the killing of a child every 10 minutes, are crimes which are committed with the provocative tolerance and support that Israel receives from the USA, the Uk the European Union and the rest of their allies. 

The root cause of this situation is the occupation and illegal settlement of the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel and the continuous, daily crimes and the blockades of Gaza that have been committed against the Palestinian people for decades.

The massacre of Gazans, as well as their steadfast resistance to occupation, has generated a global movement in solidarity with Palestine,with millions around the world  organising to show they reject this mass murder and challenge the complicity of our governments and institutions in the Israeli war machine and the apartheid regime which powers it. and is on many fronts is trying to end worldwide support by politicians and corporations for Israel, especially in the West.

Although the circumstances of Palestinians have changed over the years, their core demands for liberation and return – and the need for resistance and solidarity to achieve this – have not.The tenacity of Palestinians in struggling for their most basic of rights, and the continued solidarity of people across the world in response, offer a ray of hope that neither alarming rightward drift of Israeli politics nor the bleak geopolitical landscape can diminish. The ongoing challenge for Palestinians, and those engaged in their struggle, this 29 November, is to translate this sentiment of hope into tangible structures capable of moving towards a different political reality. Today and everyday  lets  re-affirm our solidarity with all Palestinians in historic Palestine and their right to self-determination' with Palestinian political prisoners (women, men and children) in Apartheid Israel's jails, and with the millions of refugees struggling to make their legally guaranteed right of Return a reality.

This Wednesday November 29, groups around the world will hold actions in solidarity with the Palestinian people, Now, more than ever, we should be standing in solidarity and allyship with the Palestinian community to support them in their enduring fight for freedom and justice.

In Britain, the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Youth Front for Palestine are organizing shut downs of Fisher German offices across the country. Fisher German is the landlord for the Shenstone and UAV Engines’ factory site, which they rent to Elbit Systems, an Israel-based weapons company which is supplying weapons for the genocide in Gaza. “The weapons manufactured on Fisher German’s premises are the very same weapons being used to carry out the zionist genocide against our siblings in Gaza,” state the organizers.https://www.instagram.com/p/C0LhUfzgF7f/

We must \also urgently advocate for the extended pause in  the conflict  in  Gaza to evolve into a sustained ceasefire, a crucial step towards a just and lasting solution to the conflict. The four-day long humanitarian pause, extended for two days just hours before hostilities were due to resume, has seen more than 60 hostages freed who were taken to Gaza after Hamas’ 7 October attack, and more than 150 Palestinian prisoners freed from detention in Israel. The pause is set to expire tomorrow, amid reports of mediators negotiating a further extension. Now, among widespread fears for the people of Gaza that this pause will only be brief, a sustained humanitarian ceasefire is the only option to end bloodshed. 

In drawing attention to the struggle of the Palestinian people we cannot but remember the firm stand that the United Nations took against racism, against the evil of Apartheid and supported the liberation struggle of the people of South Africa. 

At the time his people were liberated, the celebrated leader of the liberation struggle for South Africa Nelson Mandela made a profound statement, which resonates around the world to this day.  He said: “For many years the United Nations stood firm against racism. Because of that a worldwide consensus was built against this unfair system. We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” 

Today on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People wherever you are in the world you can activate your solidarity by joining and sharing existing campaigns that can put an end to Israel;s impunity. Apartheid is still a crime against humanity. 

The international community must take serious and decisive action to stop the grave Israeli violations against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the entire occupied Palestinian territory and work on lifting the injustice and suffering of the Palestinian people. From the rivers to the sea, Free Palestine!

Pulsating Forces

Beyond the pain and sorrow

Let our hearts keep beating,

Seizing sources of hope

Allow your soul to awake,

Inhaling  the breath of poets

Whether they be living or dead,

Destroy the days of dread

Feelings of madness in head,

Remember the revolution 

Only survives if we are one,

Away from the killing fields

The daily horrors endured,

In gentle ripples of anger

Allow faith to be restored,

Laced together with humanity

Quiet rivers running free,

Shivas breath reaching

Allah's truth teaching,

As a silent god keeps glancing

Gleaming through the windows,

While the pipes of pan soothing

Softly whistles through the trees,

And the thirst of the universal  

Gasping, reaches upwards to the sky,

Epiphanies of love keep delivering

In essences of truth and justice,

Tear away fatuous fibres of division

Let all things be bright and beautiful,

Comprehending the extremes,

Finding brand new beginnings,

Remembering existence is resistance 

Silence can make us complicit,

With every second, every minute

Every hour, of every day,

In every act of survival

Keep absorbing your truth.

'Don't be a Sucker' Anti-Fascist film from 1947

In 1943, the Army Signal Corps produced Don’t Be A Sucker. Containing anti-racist and anti-fascist themes. this short 17-minute film was intended to boost the morale of U.S. soldiers by helping them understand the dangerous appeal of fascism. Four years later, the U. S. War Department shared the film with the general public, hoping to explain the ways that fascism might take root in the United States.

Created as a warning against creeping fascism and racism in the United States, the movie illustrates the divide-and-conquer method employed by German Nazis. 

The movie begins by profiling a young man named Mike who has just arrived in the big city. Noticing a crowd of people gathered around an angry middle-aged man standing on a soapbox, Mike stops to listen to the man’s speech. 

 “I happen to know the facts. Now, friends, I am just an average American. But I’m an American American. And some of the things I see in this country of ours make my blood boil. I see people with foreign accents with all the money. I see Negroes holding jobs that belong to me and you. Now I ask you, if we allow this thing to go on, what’s going to become of us real Americans?”  “What are we real Americans going to do about it? You’ll find it right here in this little pamphlet. The truth about Negroes and foreigners. The truth about the Catholic church.”  

Mike follows along with the speech, nodding his head with each rhetorical beat, saying “it makes pretty good sense to me.” But the speaker continues to rant.  “I tell you friends, we’ll never be able to call this country our own until it is a country without… Without Negroes and foreigners. Without Catholics. Without Freemasons.”  

At this point, Mike hesitates. “What’s wrong with Masons? I’m a Mason.” 

The rest of the film dissects the speaker’s arguments, discussing the history of fascism, the need to preserve the rights of the minority, and the value of liberty.

In August 2017, the short film went viral on the internet in the aftermath of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and various copies have been uploaded to video-sharing sites since then

This film is not propaganda. To the contrary, it teaches how to recognize and reject propaganda, as was used by the Nazis to promote  bigotry and intimidation. It shows how prejudice can be used to divide the population to gain power, and attacked racial and nationalist stereotypes, stressing human features that united rather than divided different peoples..

Though  this video is over 75 years old, the cautionary tale is more important than ever and feels strangely timely today, serving  as a prescient warning. for us here  in the UK,  and perfectly explains Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman, Tommy Robinson and the right wing  mentality. Please Don't Be a Sucker: don't fall for fascism ·