Never give up hope ( for the children of Gaza and Palestine)

(despite my partner currently being very ill in hospital I can  never give up hope)

The two pictures included here are of Children playing on the beach in Gaza and on the streets of Palestine.
There are close  to 800,000 children currently living in Gaza, they make up more than half the population. 
Despite  the heartbreak they have suffered, it is amazing that these children can still find time to play, smile  and flash peace signs despite of the terror and hatred that no child should ever have to face. They and the people of Gaza, continue  to give us hope and will be forever remembered for their courage and resilience theyhave shown the world in the most trying of times.
Increasingly isolated by a blockade that prevents  anyone rebuilding their homes and their lives.
They remind me, that we should never give up hope.

Hope and Play is an organisation that helps to provide the children in occupied Palestinian territories and refugee camps the chance to  play, live and learn.
You will find a link here:- http://www.hopeandplay.org/

We need to talk about Jeremy

Today  is the last chance to vote  for Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party,  a person that I believe to  be one  of the  most honest people to have emerged  in Britains  frontline politics. A hard working, conscientious  M.P, veteran trade unionist and anti-war activist, a figure  of the real proper left.
A strong voice in opposing Tory austerity, the 2003 Iraq war,  freedom for the Palestinian people,  supporting my views of hope, strongly supporting the causes of the environment, peace and social justice.
constantly standing against the senseless wastes of human life  that have  plagued this country. Genuinely saying it how it is.
It is only £3  to sign up as a supporter, or free if you are  a unison or unite member.  We should not believe  the media's relentless attacks on Jeremy,  they are not watching out for us, Jeremy is a threat to the elite and needs all the support he can get.
On the other hand I have long believed the Labour Party to be dead,  so will not be rushing to rejoin, I left  in the 1980's as they were expelling friends and comrades from it's  ranks, and  turning into  New Labour, under the treacherous direction of the likes of Tony Blair, and that spineless traitor Neil Kinnock.
If Jeremy changes the Labour Party's direction, turns it into a fighting party again, defending the poor, the weak and vulnerable that will be good.  If  he enables  us to keep challenging the status quo, then all will not be lost, if he  allows us  to keep saying no to austerity , by spreading good words of solidarity and hope, that fuel our rightful anger, then  possibly all will not be lost. Hopefully Jeremy will allow us to  restore some faith,  in our minds and hearts.
We must start building alternatives, build a strong social movement , that changes society into a force of good and change, instead of one that is cruel and divided.
Good luck Jeremy Corbyn.  

Gaza Art: Remembering 400 dead children

Palestinian artist Majdal Nateel, painted the following images to commemorate 400 of the  children who died in Gaza last summer - but she is not even permitted  to leave Gaza to see them currently on display in London's King Cross, after they were bought  back by the journalist Jon Snow last month.
Powerful stuff drawn  on cement bag fragments, used to to deliver limited supplies  of cement to families whose homes were bombed. Imaging the dreams and aspirations of the children who died. Ongoing restrictions of cement and other materials means that many children who survived the conflict are still without homes.l I hope the people  of the UK will get to see these pictures and understand the terrible suffering that Israel has inflicted on  innocent  children.
The artist Majdal Nateel is 29. the mother of two young daughters, and lives in Gaza city. This exhibition gives her a rare chance to showcase her work outside Gaza. Respect to Jon Snow for bringing them over. 

Si Mohammed Bel Hassan el Soudani - B, 1959, Rec. by Paul Bowles

In my opinion, a rather wonderful musical interval.
Bye for now..... heddwch/peace.

Remembering Hiroshima

70 years ago  today at 8.15, August 6th, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was destroyed with an atomic bomb. In a  matter of a few minutes, hundreds of thousands of  innocent people lost their lives in this  cowardly attack. Three days later the city of Nagasaki met the same fate. Combined it resulted in the deaths of over 400,000 people.
Today I cry,  no more Hiroshimas, no more Nagasakis, Ban nuclear weapons.
As people across Wales and all over the world will be remembering this devastation.
Sending clear messages to the Welsh government and to governments across the world that nuclear weapons are not needed, here, or anywhere. We should remember that it is a crime to prepare for mass murder. Trident is a crime, it is a criminal weapon.
It should be unthinkable today that the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should ever be repeated. Let us remember today, and continue on our journey today towards peaceful change.
Lets forever give peace a chance.
Heddwch/peace.

No time for tears

another poem for  my  dear Jane.
holding on,  not letting go.

No times for tears, they can wait,
because under it's weight you can sink,
time now to muster some strength,
allow friends to release silent prayers,
powerful chants, in times of distress,
to  lend a hand, of faithfulness,
to  break down and open doors of light.

The brilliance of friendship,
in this present time  is good,
stitches together the continuity of hope,
sprinkles some light among the branches,
into this distracting world of thought,
giving comfort to current spaces of meaning ,
a friendly pulse, a force of good in time's struggle.

Solidarity is  love, gives us strength,
let 's keep on  delivering, it's message,
allow it to run free,
pumping adrenalin into the veins,
of all  those still grappling,
allow it to rescue and restore,
all vestiges of hope.

When then sun goes down,
and the night is long,
solidarity's breath is the master of dreams,
gives us love, harbours strength ,
so keep it protected, with all your hearts,
allow it's presence, to light  the world with change,
to serve and protect every persistent day.

Solidarity with humanity.

At a time  when people should be rising up in solidarity  about the rotten establishment, the reckless bankers, the corrupt politicians, and the greedy, people are  pointing the  finger of blame at those  that don't deserve to be attacked,  people like the unemployed, the underpaid, and  currently  receiving  much vitriol migrants.
The  language of  racism and xenophobia  on full display,  politicians daily  speaking  and inflaming the situation, with voices completely devoid of compassion, using the language of division  and hate on those most undeserving.  The spectre of fascism, once again  is on open display across Europe .
The freedom of movement is a universal  right recognised by international law, but politicians, apart from a few  do not seem to be taking this right seriously.
The crisis in Calais happening right now is a humanitarian crisis, people fleeing injustices in desperation,  we should  not be blaming  them,  or treating them like criminals, or as less than human, we should be treating  them with tolerance and dignity, offering them our hands of friendship.
It is not  by chance  that so many desperate  people try to enter the UK, as well as other rich countries, we must remember  that in their own homelands, they do  not even have  the basic conditions that dives them a means of survival. At the end of the day , they have no choice to try and escape, and try to reach Europe every day.
Collectively we must  oppose migrant detention  and removal measures to protect  these  people's human rights. The continual struggle of migrants, which they have determined  for themselves, must be supported against the daily oppression that they face. It should encourage us to  be more more active, to give  solidarity with all struggling migrants  everywhere.
David Cameron should  be condemned for playing politics  with the situation in Calais, trying to whip up fear and hostility to those that are seeking refuge, start looking  for a more  humanitarian solution to the situation. In the meantime there are thousands  of people across the  continent  who are filling the void left by politicians,  urging them to take responsibility  and solidarity in taking in more migrants.  We should also  be following the   example of   other countries, with a reasonable response,  take Sweden for example, who  are currently  allowing anyone from Syria into their country, who last year alone accepted 30,000 asylum seekers, compared to the UK's meagre pathetic 10,000.
Europe must belong to everyone, not just  profiteers,  we must continue to protect  desperate people trying to flee  imperialist wars, repression and poverty, following dangerous routes across land and sea.
No one is illegal, but solidarity is love.