Madness - Bullingdon Boys

The legendary British ska group Madness have returned with their first new music since 2016. As was always the case back in their heyday talking about cultural and social issues at the time, they were  not afraid to get political, and  now have placed Boris Johnson and his Eton cohorts firmly in the firing line with their new song Bullingdon Boys which is marked by a decidedly anti-Tory Rhetoric.
The snap release is a “barbed swipe at the charlatans, rotters and chancers at the top of the tree who have done their best to take the shine off 2019,” according to a press release. Inspired  and puzzled over the fact of how was it possible that in Great Britain with 24,000 Schools 19 of the 54 Prime Ministers all came from Eton... How Remarkable! Apparently a famous statistician from Bern in Switzerland crunched the numbers.. He concluded that the chances of 19 Prime Ministers coming from one and the same class were very close to.... ZERO! "More f*cking chance of being hit by lightning in a nuclear bunker" he said. And yet here we are with 19 (of 54) Prime Ministers coming from Eton. Not even to mention other cabinet ministers. David Cameron for example had 13 classmates in his front bench team! The Bern professor said he had difficulty collating this phenomena within the definition of 'fair play'19 of the 54 UK Prime Ministers have come from Eton.
The cover of the single also mocks the Bullingdon Club and Prime Minister Johnson, featuring the infamous image of the group posing languidly on college steps in Oxford, that summed up privilege and disconnect between society's haves and have nots. Dressed in tailcoated finery, members of Oxford University's exclusive male-only dining club, posed for a picture that became so notorious the copyright owner withdrew permission for it to be republished. Madness however have made changes to the photo adding devil horns and  putting the image of a pig's face over that of Johnson, they've also included the tagline: “Don’t get bullied by the Bully Boys.”
The  exclusive invitation only club that is the Bullingdon Club was founded  in 1780 as a hunting and cricket club,and has been running amok for over two hundred years holding a reputation and a history of excess, sexism, bullying and  elitism, known for the appalling, drunken, destructive and self indulgent tendencies of its members, with rumors they would trash restaurants then casually drop checks covering the damage.David Cameron, George Osborne, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson all of whom were members. In an attempt to stymie the reputational damage, the  Oxford University Conservative Association  listed the Bullingdon Club as a proscribed organization at the end of last year.. The hangover remains, however, with  the Conservative  party as a whole still  being seen by many as being riven with privilege and ostentatious wealth.
The  music video from Madness which accompanies the new song, that you can see below,  features scenes from Clockwork Orange, the Batman TV series and The Riot Club. It's a great timely song, share it and its message, it's Madness , well  voting  for the  Conservatives in the upcoming General Election is.
Madness unlike the Conservatives are still a star attraction and return to London's Roundhouse in December, performing three shows of past, present and future material. They also headline the inaugural  York Festival  next summer.

Its not a pretty sight
The lads are out tonight
They long to give there all
With backs against the wall

The games one upmanship
Be sure they’ll let it rip
We’ll have to have a go
In our comedy horror show

Its not a pantomime
In life one needs to climb
Things can only get much better
Bitter Better Butter Mutter

We are the bully boys
Move late at night don’t make much noise
Up the stairs from the den 
Followed by our Batmen

We's are the chosen few
And we’s are coming thru
And we know’s just what to do
It's Robbin’ to the rescue

The Eton Boys are undefiled
The Bullingdon Boys, running wild
And England slides into the mist
No hope they’ll cease nor desist

We are the chancers brigade
and we’ll have you flogged and flayed
Sadly no room left at the top
Move along back to your sweatshops

Well we's are the chosen few
And we’s are coming thru
And we know’s just what to do
It's Robbin’ to the rescue

Well We worked our fingers to the bone
It's not as if we was alone
There’s people needing to be paid
And there’s booty boys to be made
            ......    All hands on deck


The Eton Boys are undefiled
The Bullingdon Boys, running wild
And England slides into the mist 
No hope they’ll cease nor desist

They're making England Great Again
But make way for the bagmen
When everything’s been sold and bought
We'll soon be off the life support.

Silent Deities

Every silent god, hears and sees nothing
A drifting emptiness that cannot connect,
Darkly malingering in idleness and deep abyss
Many though still hear their voices calling,
In times of despair, keep on seeking
Open their hearts, give prayers of thanks,
But humanity's prison delivers no light
Hate keeps spreading, walls built to divide,
Blood keeps spilling on streets of torment
Yearning cries screaming to cease,
Invoking daily horror, in places of  captivity
The agony of existence embedded deep,
Across the globe  innocent people hurt
Living in fear, deprived of freedom,
Heartbreak keeps delivering  tears,
Like spears from the thunder-clouds,
People frightened by the news
With  resilience muster up some strength,
While the clap of doom keeps on releasing
Our silent gods carry on sleeping,
On the brink of death and vulnerability
In painful days undawned, give thanks,
As dead leaves blow in in the wind
With our breaths, we whisper amen.

Loose Change of Defiance

Where are we?
In my mind I still see stars,
New worlds, rippling beyond current stone
Towards another possibility,

Here lies, some food for thought
Released  from the fabric of conscience,
While Government breath drags us down
Leaving many with scornful mindsets.

Emerging out of emptiness.
Restless purpose beyond control
Drifting in winter chill,
No longer fearless, unlocked.

Tomorrow's twilight nourishing minds.
Endless drumbeats, echoing masses enraged,
As Grenfell 's tears continue to fall
A hungry quest embraces unity.

Tom with Spina Bifida, incontinent, homeless
Condition precluding a sheltered abode,
Where's the hope left in this bloody land
Time to get off our knees and make a stand.

Let our voices knot together, find some loose change
Untamed, uncorrected, undivided, undiluted.
Beyond the lies of politicians, bankrupt ideas.
Heads held high, people defiant and rising.

With playfulness and imagination
We can rearrange their schemes,
One day soon, fallacies will fall
The present system that fails to satisfy.

Ebbing and flowing, tides of united breath
Inhaling the delicious opium of dreams,
Unafraid to release our truth
Haunting those hiding above.
,
The mighty spirit of resistance
Rejecting those that seek to control us,
Nurturing the changes
Sustaining our empowerment.

Be Like Alan Moore

I know a  lots of my friends and comrades don't like voting,  and have valid reasons not to, but this election I believe is different,  and we have to get those bloody thieving bastard Tories out now. 66-year-old  counter culture legend Alan Moore  who is considered to be one of the most prominent anarchists in Britain, has decided to cast his ballot on 12 December for the first time in nearly 40 years for the Labour Party, The comic book writer, novelist, screenwriter, actor, broadcaster, publisher, songwriter, magician, singer and activist,who is known for his meditations on totalitarianism in the graphic novels Watchmen and Batman. V for Vendetta depicted a Britain in the grip of a fascist dictatorship that treated ordinary people as a commodity to be exploited and subjected people from ethnic and social minorities, the sick and disabled to medical experimentation that most commonly resulted in their deaths.Some may see terrifying similarities with the current Conservative government in such a situation. 
Moore has previously come out in support of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, but has consistently declined to vote in elections because he believes in "direct political action." However, the upcoming General Election has forced him to change his position. He explained why in ,a Twitter statement posted by his daughter Leah Moore.
“Here’s something you don’t see every day, an internet-averse anarchist announcing on social media that he’ll be voting Labour in the December elections. But these are unprecedented times. I’ve voted only once in my life, more than 40 years ago, being convinced that leaders are mostly of benefit to no one save themselves. That said, some leaders are so unbelievably malevolent and catastrophic that they must be strenuously opposed by any means available."
He acknowledged that his vote “...is principally against the Tories rather than for Labour”, but described Corbyn’s manifesto as “the most encouraging set of proposals that I’ve ever seen from any major British party. Though these are immensely complicated times and we are all uncertain as to which course we should take, I’d say the one that steers us furthest from the glaringly apparent iceberg is the safest bet…" 
Moore concluded by imploring his fans to vote, as well. "If my work has meant anything to you over the years, if the way that modern life is going makes you fear for all the things you value, then please get out there on polling day and make your voice heard with a vote against this heartless trampling of everybody's safety, dignity and dreams. A world we love is counting on us. If we’d prefer a future that we can call home, then we must stop supporting – even passively – this ravenous, insatiable Conservative agenda before it devours us with our kids as a dessert.”
Yes, it’s a radical political decision not to vote. but times are literally crazy. The situation is dire. In the U.K. we're on the precipice of something truly disasterous and if you have to compromise principles to try to avoid falling of the cliff, then you should do it. If an old anarchist like Alan Moore can see the danger in not voting to keep Boris Johnson and his clique of hard-right ghouls out of power, what excuse has anyone else got? We have so much to lose if the Tories get in again, so put away your aversion please, be like Alan Moore, for the many not the few we can make a difference. 
The deadline for registering to vote in the general election is tomorrow, Tuesday 26 November at 5pm.  If you haven’t yet registered please please make sure you do. It takes just five minutes. 

Go to https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Ancient Refuge

Gors Fawr, Mynachlog-ddu , Wales

Throughout human history
Woman and man has sought,
Places to harbour sadness
To offer comfort and protection,
Solid alters of ingrained sanctuary
Magic power rich in potency,
Rooted energies to help heal world
In the cycle of transcending seasons,
Casting mystery, delivering focus
On sacred paths of consciousness,
Our temples releasing surrender
Forever in our reach,
Under every setting sun
Forces of good,
Resonating, vibrating
With necessary power,
Windows of time
Releasing yearnings of our being,
Confidence and sustenance
To all that set their minds free,
Before hatred was planted
And man delivered shame,
Divisions  became bathed
Between light and darkness.

Men of Gwent - President of Wales

Woke up this morning to find  the second release from Jon Langford's the Men of Gwent had arrived through my letter box,  and very good it is too. Four years on from their warmly received debut, “The Legend of LL”the new one  is called the President of Wales  and it's a looking like a serious contender for my annual end of year musical  highlights.
Born in Wales, now resident in Chicago, Langford has had a long and illustrious musical journey with the likes of The Mekons, https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-mekons-deserted_22.html Three Johns and the Waco Brothers.  A true living legend with such a prolific output  summarizing Jon Langford’s contributions to punk rock and all of its permutations, as well as his career-long obsession with American roots music, is liable to overwhelm anyone. Langford has grit in his voice and melody in his soul. A punk-rock pioneer, a troubadour for our times,, a singer-songwriter who writes with the authority of having lived a life rather than imagined it, who was once dubbed by one critic as “the spiritual brother-in-arms of Dylan Thomas  and Johnny Cash”
The new album continues with themes around the bands home city of Newport and across Wales, in what could be described as psycho-geography, tapping into the veins of our unknown  rich history. Album opener  "Grave Alexandra" documents the 1909 Docks Disaster that killed 46 workers.

Men of Gwent - Grave Alexander

 
"Bulmore Lido" covers the closure of an open air swimming pool in Caerleon where Jon Langford "nearly  drowned" and "Home of the Vote"  outlines the recent new developments in the city centre while referring back to the legacy of the Chartists. The song "London to Llanelli Line" records a chance meeting with the late Deke Leonard of the band Man, The sadly departed local crooner has a song where he is mentioned alongside the legendary Alan Vega (singer of the American Band Suicide). The album includes a wonderful cover of Joe Strummer’s ‘X-Ray Style’ which more than honours the memory of one of Newport’s most prestigious former residents.Elsewhere Joe  is found digging  graves in "Bassaleg Road Earthquake" while the title track "President of Wales" gives Jon the opportunity to let the world know"he can never go home"...
All in all fine quality stuff, awash with fine musicianship, I strongly recommend, Jon Langford delivers the goods once again, sadly his  Men of Gwent are yet to receive the recognition they truly deserve,  hope this changes soon, get their new record  here :- Country Mile Records

Removing the Stains

In days splintered playgrounds
Whether poor or filthy rich
Find happy spaces
Draw the curtains
Turn off the lights
In this numbing age
Whether meandering alone
The jiggles of life's libation
Keep on chanting
Beyond the darkness
Let the dawn soak you
Allow you to hurl a punch or two
Chasing shadows in the dark
Let the light in, learn to be free
Spinning wildly,treading cautiously
Super souls live in our hearts
Allow your enemy to be afraid
No bargaining,weaken them with spirit
Fists are useful, but bullies are blind
Despite their poison, try and be kind.

Boris Johnson - Commoners Choir

Johnson  has been defending the Duke of York,  showing that he's really got his finger on the public mood, knowing what to say to appeal to ordinary people.

Besides this,  it has long been clear that Johnson is unfit for any kind of public office, let alone the nation's highest.

As Heathcote Williams put it, “there’s a German word for people like Johnson: Backpfeifengesicht.

It means ‘a face that needs to be punched’."

Written  by Boff Whalley and performed by Commoners Choir.

A radical choir that combines political activism with singing – and hope, and my goodness we need  a barrel loads in days like these.

 http://www.commonerschoir.com/

Operation:West Wales Tory Free Zone

Click image to enlarge

There is currently  a campaign in Pembrokeshire to oust the sitting Tory MP Stephen Crabb, which is part of a wider campaign which  theme is, Operation:West Wales Tory Free Zone, where the aim is to oust  two local Conservative MP's in the upcoming General Election.
Over the past 6 years the campaign has been building a hugely effective activist network  comprising of a powerful  collaboration between activists of all parties and campaigns. Working closely with Momentum where progressives have joined forces, across Party Lines and have been effective in reducing both Stephen Crabb's and Simon Hart's vote shares in the 2017 General Election.
Operation, West Wales Tory Free Zone aims to finish the job and unseat Crabb and Hart for good. Crabb's current majority is just 314 meagre votes so we know we can take him down on December 12th and take Hart with him. Pembrokeshire's Peoples Assembly hve been working tirelessly for years towards achieving this objective and are appealing to all Pembrokeshire citizens to support in this final push. Years of Tory Austerity have decimated or society causing huge rises in homelessness and child poverty. Two million (often working) families forced to use foodbanks. With many public services already privatised, underfunded or destroyed, the Tories now want to shred our human rights, workers rights and sell our NHS to Trump under a hard right and racist'Tory Brexit. Whether people voted leave or remain a Tory style Brexit of this type would be a devastation for Britain. It's make or break time for a Corbyn Government is unthinkable.Unseating Crabb and Hart puts us tow seats closer to a Corbyn led Government. Please join us for the mass rally on Sat 16th and help us put an end to years of vicious Tory rule.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2338317266498126/?active_tab=discussion

Crabb by the way has doggedly supported policies that are designed to make poorer people poorer, against support systems for Britain's most vulnerable people, he has consistently backed welfare cuts, tax breaks for the rich, and a trade union crackdown, who despite carping on about  his Christian values, and being  the son of a single parent, who was bought up on a council estate, is no friend of the working class or disadvantaged communities, whilst finding time to sex text a married woman half his age on Whatsapp..
At the end of the day a typical Tory, a hypocrite of the first order, who simply does not care a toss about the lives of ordinary people, it is more than time that the good people of West Wales, wipe the inane smile of his face, unseat him for good and show him the door.
I will add that if the Tories do manage to get in again, aided by their tight wing media, they will continue their relentless attacks on those that least deserve it. We owe it to our children, our grandchildren and ourselves to confine the rotten Tories to the dustbins of history. They are a party of the elite only serving a few, whilst making the rest of us suffer. We can not afford another five years for them to savage us with their cruel policies.It is time for a fundamental change in society. Tories out for Christmas, for the many not the few.

As fragile calm is reached in Gaza, Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Am writing this after hearing  heartbreaking accounts from friends in Gaza following latest round of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.Reminding  me yet again, that nowhere is safe for the Palestinians.
Currently a fragile cease-fire is holding out  after two days of aerial bombardment on the citizens of Gaza.in the heaviest escalation of violence for months  .
It is important to emphasize that Israel's recurring attacks on the Gaza Strip are part of its daily violence against Palestinians everywhere.This systematic  violence includes the theft of Palestinian land and resources, mass incarcernation ,and the apartheid system that tears through all their lives. Over eleven years of blockade and conflict has seriously damaged Gaza’s infrastructure.Gaza’s chronic energy crisis has left essential services in Gaza barely able to function, and approximately two million inhabitants with power cuts of up to 20 hours per day, and limited access to electricity, clean water and medicine that.has pushed this this tiny territory to the brink of collapse,Conditions have become so extreme that the United Nations has stated that by 2020 the Gaza Strip could become uninhabitable.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 34 people in Gaza, including civilians and children have been killed by Israeli strikes. At least 69 have been injured according to the Gaza based health ministry. All of them are said to be civilians, innocent people not militants with nothing to do with politics. Palestinian civilians across the occupied Palestinian territory are subject to threats to their lives and physical safety from conflict related violence, and from policies and practices related to the Israeli occupation, including settler violence on a daily basis.  These  recent deaths and injuries are in addition to those resulting from  the Great March of Return demonstrations at the Gaza Strip. These weekly demonstrations have led to many deaths and thousands of injuries.
Israel’s renewal of bombing follows the extrajudicial assassination of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Commander Baha Abu Al Ata at his home in Gaza, in which his wife was also killed, and the targeting of a home belonging to another PIJ official in Damascus. This clearly premeditated killing is in violation of international law. In carrying out the killing the IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi made Israel’s attentions clear in a televised address, stating “we are preparing for escalation from the ground, air and sea.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to justify the extra judicial killing and the bombing campaign as acts of self defence. 

These attacks also come in a week where Israeli soldiers have been filmed shooting dead a 22 year old Palestinian from Hebron, a killing condemned by Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special coordinator for The Middle East Peace Process, who called for an investigation given that the victim, Omar A Badawi, was clearly posing no threat when he was shot. An occupying force is using advanced weaponry against two million besieged people in Gaza in what amounts to collective punishment. 
The violence has drawn international calls for calm.Ben Jamal, Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “The failure of the international community, including the UK government, to hold Israel to account results in Israel believing it can carry out extra judicial killings and bombing assaults with impunity. Whilst the UK continues to arm Israel despite its violations of human rights and contraventions of international law, we are made complicit in these acts. We call upon all UK citizens committed to respect for human rights and the rule of law to join us in our campaigns to pressure the UK government and companies to end this complicity.”https://www.palestinecampaign.org/press-release-palestine-solidarity-campaign-responds-to-bombing-in-gaza/
Palestine Solidarity Campaign is calling on the UK Government to: 
Condemn Israel’s latest escalation, including its policy of targeted assassinations, and to demand that Israel ends its bombing campaign.Call on Israel to end the siege of Gaza which amounts to collective punishment, illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.Fulfill its duties under international law to hold Israel to account for its ongoing illegal occupation that it is only able to sustain through such acts of illegitimate violence, In this regard PSC reiterates its call for an end to the UK's sale of weapons to Israel that are used to violate Palestinian human rights and for the UK to ban the import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements.
As yet another brutal assault on the Gaza strip happens, we must continue, to show our solidarity and keep demanding justice for the Palestinian people against their systems of oppression and support their struggle for liberation. My thoughts go out the people of Gaza, the need for solidarity with its their struggle against Israeli militarism, apartheid and occupation, has never been greater. As a result of the latests attacks on gaza, the already overburderned and fragile health system faces an even deper crisis. Even before Tuesday, almost 50 %  of  medicines were already running at zero stock with less than one months supply on the shelf, now hospitals are at a risk of running out completely. Please consider contributing to the following emergency appea.l. 

https://www.map.org.uk/donate/donation-details/167?utm_source=MAP+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b0d5d9ab70-20191004_Sept-E-Appeal-Malnutrition-AD-1_COPY_01&utm_medium=email