Back in a week....or so!

BBCBNP.

What did we make of the BBC BNP Question Time spectacle? The Licence payers early Christmas Present to the BNP, well Nick Griffin was suitably shown up for the sleazy, sweaty, scumbag he is, and making not a lot of sense, he looked awkward and uncomfortable it was hardly a party political broadcast, more a bullshit one. Jack Straw! What a twat, avoided answering anything about any Labour failings, it was voter dissatisfaction that resulted in Nick Griffin being elected as a MEP and hence his appearance on Question Time. I Thought audience and panel did well in haranguing Mr Griffin, true it might have looked like bullying to the less enlightened viewer but it’s the way the BNP operate, will his appearance have gained him more supporters? True it was a London-centric audience, maybe not a true representation of the people on the streets of places like Hull or Burnley, only time will tell, it could also have lost him support. It’s now up to the Anti-Fascists to keep the pressure on, and the media when they’re not stirring up the immigration issue and the other parties to start listening to the people and responding to their concerns, it may get ugly, but nowhere near as ugly as it would if the BNP ever came to power. Lets hope the present they received was a jumper that your Nan knitted.

UK SUBS - Warhead

Time for some muzak, here’s another one of those cheap and chearful Harry May Record Company compilations, same deal; some studio cuts and some live shit. This time it’s those perennial punks the UK Subs, all the classics are here: Warhead , CID, Stranglehold etc. No self respecting record collection should be without at least one UK Subs release. Whether this one is the one, I dunno I’ll let you good folk be the judges of that. Enjoy!

Mail boxes, Ballot boxes and the BNP at the BBC.

The Christmas Pantomime has started early this year with The Postal Strike; everyone is playing their parts. Unions and management are nailing the lid on the Royal Mail’s coffin while Peter Mandelson stands by rubbing his hands in glee waiting for it’s delivery before he fucks the corpse. Thousands of miles away in Afghanistan they’re gonna have another election, as the results of the first one were declared to be fraudulent. Obama refuses to commit anymore American troops to the theatre until there is some sort of meaningful democracy in the country, double speak for one that the U.S government is happy with. Gordon Brown needs to start British troop withdrawals now, I mean all the terrorists are now in Pakistan anyway and more terror plots have been foiled by security forces at home than they have by bombing the fuck out of Afghanistan, which has just made the situation worse, like they were told it would. Next up on the stage we have BNP leader Nick Griffin appearing on BBC’s Question Time Anti-Fascist groups are playing their part by saying he shouldn’t be allowed to as it legitimises the party and its politics, well unfortunately we are living in a democracy which has allowed and enabled the seeds of fascism to grow through the inactivity of the major parties in addressing and looking for solutions to the issues that the BNP are using to attract voters to their abhorrent political view. Personally at this point in time I think that Griffin should appear on Question Time, lets get this shit out in the open and not have it festering underground. The best way to show people what the BNP are is to show them up for what they are and the only way to do this is through debate, here’s hoping that the rest of the panellists and the audience ask the right questions. Not allowing Nick Griffin to appear would give them just as much publicity. Democracy costs and sometimes the price can be high, it’s all about making sure that people don’t buy into the more unsavoury side of it. There are others speaking out , senior British Army Officials and The British Legion are both unhappy about The British National Party appropriating images such as The Poppy and The Spitfire for their own ends, as I type this protesters have broken into the BBC to try and stop Griffins appearance. Let the show begin, and be prepared for an epic one, cos the curtain aint gonna go down before the election next year, wonder if there’ll be any postal voting?

Hic!

I had all good intentions of posting something tonight, but after a hard and stressfull day at work I cracked open a few bottles of lager and now feel a bit too intoxicated to make much sense of anything. Never mind, tomorrows another day......

TV SMITH - Live @ The NVA (3 Track Promo Download)

This post comes with a “Guess that’ll be OK” from Mr Smith, was hoping he’d choose the 3 tracks, but he declined leaving me the task of choosing (shuffle modes knackered on the stereo) just three out of a mammoth set of thirty songs, recorded live at the NVA, Ludwigsfelde in Germany. The double CD is available from Boss Tuneage and it’s well, , wellworth the £9 it'll cost ya. Over 1hr 40mins of Pure Punk Rock Passion from one man armed with an acoustic guitar and some great words, all the classics are there from his days in The Adverts and Cheap plus his solo career. The 3 tracks I’ve chosen here for you are: Not In My Name, The Lords Prayer and Useless. Brilliant stuff, Enjoy! and Buy!

English Defence League?!

The English Defence League! What do we make of these characters? A single issue group of people who’s objective is to “Peacefully protest against millitant Islam“ Why then have all their demonstrations ended in violence? Before I answer this lets look at a couple of things.
Muslims across Britain are not happy with radicals operating within their communities, and the bodies of British soldiers are still being flown home in boxes as a result of ‘the war on terror’, so then is it any surprise that some people feel resentful and angry when messages of hate are continued to be preached in our green and unpleasant lands. But lets not get seduced by this and the message on the EDL website that claims they don’t want “Innocent Muslims being victimised and abused”
There was a recent news report were the EDL denied that they were Racists and had anything to do with the BNP, well they aint exactly gonna admit to it are they. A group of EDL members were shown, all dressed in balaclavas burning a Swastika, while standing in front of their banner that read “English Defence League. Black and White Unite” A reasonable statement? or the start of something wicked? Especially in the light of the recent Court ruling that has compelled the BNP to look at their membership criteria, as legaly they have been defined a racist party for not exepting members with a different skin colour who’s nationality is British.
Groups like the EDL spring up when politics are in crisis and people are dissatisfied with a system that they feel doesn’t listen to their views, they look for alternatives to fill this vaccum and it’s easy for people to get seduced by the spin, but Lest we forget that “First they came for the gypsies and then they came for the Jews” The anti racist groups know this, which is why all the EDL marches have ended in violence. Paranoia is awareness but violence breeds violence.

IT’S A FUCKED UP WORLD! A while back I posted an appeal to help find a mate of mines missing daughter. Well she was found, but it wasn’t good news. My respect and sympathy goes out to Jem and Samantha Wrights mum, and families, for their loss. STAY STRONG!!

BLITZ - Warriors (CD-Rip)

Today’s musical offering comes from the heavy and heady days of the early 1980’s A divided nation in the grip of Thatcherite economic policies with either unemployment or a dead end job on offer for the kids on the streets, No Future indeed! By 1981 inner city Britain was burning with riots in Brixton, Toxteth and Bristol and Punk was now onto it’s third wave, thanks in some part to Gary Bushell and his Oi scene, a collection of skinhead/punk bands, that unfortunately became a target for the far right to infiltrate. One band that captured the aggression and frustration of the times, with songs like Someone’s Going to Die Tonight, Nation On Fire and Razors in The Night were BLITZ, 2 Punks and 2 Skinheads from New Mills in Derbyshire. For a couple of years they were the voice of a generation. This recording from The Harry May Record Company includes 6 live tracks from a gig at The Lyceum and alternative versions of Youth and Warriors amongst others, once again scant info is provided. So if yer feeling a bit pissed off, and angry and fancy blasting out something a bit rough’n’raw you know what to do. It’s just a click away!

It's Sunday again! Time for another sermon! Same shit! Same day!

To hear the Tory Party say they’re the party of the poor is frankly bizarre but predictable when there are voters to win over. All they have ever done is make the poor poorer or fill their heads with aspirations that are unattainable and unsustainable. A party that represents privilege is never going to understand what it’s like to be poor and what the poor need. They can con them into thinking that they know what will make their lives better, just like they did in the 80’s when the council houses were sold off, and the working class sold out. The ’social breakdown’ we may or may not be living in now is a direct result of this and other Thatcher policies that tore apart values of community and replaced them with the ‘cult of the individual’ Free market economics created wealth for the ‘deserving poor’ and consolidated the wealth of the undeserving rich. The public services became private and standards dropped as profits rose. Everyone was offered shares in the new society. New Labour have just carried on with this ‘mandate’ because the people have been compliant and complicit so long as they’ve got a few quid in their pockets, high interest bank accounts or money tied up in the value of their houses, now when all of a sudden everything has gone bust, they aint happy and will be prepared to vote for whoever and whatever restores their bank balances. The ones that bought into it all are the very same people that are now unhappy with the present situation and the Conservatives are gonna be targeting these voters and gaining support from a new generation to young to remember the Tory party of the past and what it did. All they know is the culture of commodity and the cult of the individual in a disposable world. This is the society their parents voted for. I’ve got one thing to say to these people. Think long and hard, because 30 years ago people voted for ‘change’ now look at how things have changed, for the better? No I didn’t think so, having to work till you’re nearly dead to support the lifestyle choice you are being conned into, just like your parents did way back. What sort of a world do you want your children living in? One where they’re having kids when their 16? and their grandparents get beaten and mugged on the street.
I agree something needs to be done, for example: Labours problem has been that all the money they have put into the public sector has been eaten up by quangos and bureaucracies many well paid jobs have been created in order to manage the services, but the actual public services have suffered as a result of this.
The Tories talk of cuts in public spending, well they would, better than Taxing the rich, after all that’s the sort of party they are; a Conservative party, conserving the values of individual freedoms at the cost of collective liberty.
To quote that old saying “Can a leopard change its spots?” I don’t think so, and I for one aint prepared to take a chance, because it could prove more costly than before. Think about all those new anti-terror laws in place and then remember Thatcher’s velvet glove and iron fist.
It’s all about a view on human nature as to what sort of society we live in; controlled or out of control Just or unjust. Can you have one without the other? Because a just society does not come from an unjust economic system. A controlled economy would infringe on peoples rights to make money is what the Conservatives would say. Fuck ‘em, that’s what I say, since when was it a right to profit from others? since Thatcher that’s when, who’s also responsible for the growth of the Media as a political tool to shape and control the peoples opinion. She made Murdoch the man he is today with the power to sell his media organisations to the highest bidder.
So what do we do about it then when none of the parties offer a total solution. I have no faith in the present political system, never have done. We need one that values and rewards Co-operation and Mutual Aid as much as it does Profit and Property, not one that penalises people like those two police ladies sharing childcare who were told they couldn’t, because the state didn’t allow it. The only way things would ever change would be to take bits of this ism and that ism, put them all together and start shaping them into some new sort of politics. Until then I’ll stick with the new enemy rather than have the old one back, but who ever it is though, it won’t have been my choice!

Words: THE WALL-New Way

Contradictions in Terms.

Barrack Obama’s been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize……………What!…………..Why? He’s only been in the job for 10 minutes. Yes he is trying to push through change at a global level; a reduction of Nuclear arsenals, an understanding of Islam, But let’s not forget he’s still presiding over a country at war. It’s all come a bit to soon if you ask me. Talking of come, here’s another thing I can’t get my head around: The latest in a series of Racist comments made by television presenters. This one concerns someone from BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing (so called because it’s a load of wank) who referred to someone as being a “Paki” not only did they keep their job, unlike another presenter on another show who used the word “nigger” and got sacked, also when the story appeared on the BBC News, the newscaster said the word “Paki” in their reporting of the incident. This contrasts with the reports of when the presenter who had been sacked for using the word “Nigger“ the newscaster then just said that the person had used the “N” word. What the fuck is that all about! Racist language is Racist language, and Peace doesn’t mean war!

An Observation.

Lets talk £1 Shops; you know the ones, everything on sale costs a pound, are a regular sight on the High Street, there are even 99p Shops. Today I saw a shop called 9TP, were everything costs, yes you’ve guessed it…90p. For fucks sake!, more like…… We can’t give this shit away shops. “Let them buy crap”

Third Way / Fourth Reich

So Ireland voted yes to the Lisbon Treaty, second time lucky for the powers that wanna be, but hey that’s democracy; if you lose the first vote you can have another one. This now leaves the way open for Tony Blair to become the unelected ‘President Of Europe’ but hey once again that’s democracy for ya, where if you’ve got enough power you can get away with anything. President? More like Dictator, with a capital DICK! Because this seems like some sort of Fascism to me. I’m no Euro-sceptic, but I am sceptical about how this European ’super state’ is coming about and its purpose in the world, and I’m even more sceptical about having someone like Tony Blair leading it, I mean this is the man that sent his country to war based on a bunch of lies, ignoring the concerns of some of his own MP’s as well as the public, in another shining example of democratic values

THIS MAN HAS BLOOD ON HIS HANDS! DO WE EUROPE TO BE IN THEM?

THE VIBRATORS - Public Enemy Number 1

A rather cheap yet interesting compilation (i.e. scant info as to where/when these songs were recorded) of alternative versions and live recordings from those old faves of mine The Vibrators. Released in 1999 by The Harry May Record Company. It’s not listed in the bands discography on their web site. The quality of the packaging might be cheap, but the quality of the songs isn’t. Top band with some top tunes, you know where to click if you wanna vibrate!

More ramblings and rantings about the same old shit.

So it’s been the political party conference season. The 3 major parties faithful gather and listen to their leaders con them and us. We’ve had the Liberal and Labour ones and as I type this the biggest con merchants the CONservatives are holding court in Manchester. The Liberals talked of taxes on £1 million pound homes, Labour talked of taking away benefits from households earning £43,000 or above. Expect something similar from the Tories. Labour talked of getting tough on Hoodie Hoodlum Britain, err yes but weren’t they talking getting Tough on crime and the causes of crime 10 years ago? And what’s happened….things appear to have got worse if you believe what you read in the press.
The conservatives are gonna be trying to win back the middle England voters, so they’re gonna have to be careful about taxation, but one thing they aint gonna worry about and that’s about getting tough with Welfare Benefits, Anti-social behaviour, etc. There’s gonna be no more right to work or not, it’s gonna be you will work.
Labour talk about state sponsored nurseries and Hostels for single mothers, err yes but we had homes for single mothers but Labour shut them all down when the buzz word was ‘Empowerment’ and it was felt that it would be better if certain sections of society we able to look after themselves with a little support. Care in the community! When the community didn’t care and neither did the government, despite funding these programs.
Care in the Community, were bad behaviour got rewarded, and why not when Bankers and Bosses receive payouts for failure and Politicians have been on the take for years. Lead by example, if things have got worse under Labour that’s because Labour have become worse and so far removed from their grass routes they don’t know what working class is because everyone has become middle class. Thatcher said there was no such thing as society, and Brown and Blair have made sure of that.
The IMF have now got involved in Britain’s recession, by telling the Labour Government have got to reform Health care and Pensions, in order to ease global financial crisis. What happened the last time the IMF became involved in Britain’s economy? It opened the door to Thatcher’s Neo Conservative policies after another Labour Government fucked it all up. Under Thatcher it wasn't long befor workers sold out and became middle class.
Some sections of society have got rich quick while society has got poorer. There are gonna be tough times a head for those of us trying to stay free.
The electoral system is rigged so that any parties other than Labour and Conservatives stand no chance of gaining power. Hey I thought New Labour were gonna be reforming the system. No! Just another lie and broken promise.
They’re all a bunch of con artists. Lessers of the same evil. The Sun has now turned away from the New Labour Project, all Rupert Murdoch ever won was more readers with stories about the mugged and the murdered.
Targets kill. A cash strapped NHS has paid out £807million pounds in negligence claims last year. Chasing targets means patient care is compromised.
Unless both houses of parliament are engulfed in flames before the next election, or there’s some serious subversion and civil disobedience We will see the political wheel turn again pushed by the will of the people , because the public gets what the public wants. X marks the spot. The thing is the public doesn’t know what it wants so they’d vote for anyone who offers a solution to things they’ve read or heard in the media. What the public needs is a rocket up its collective arse to see that politicians and parties don’t provide solutions to problems, they just create the problems, with a little help from the people themselves, who just behave in the ways they’ve been programmed to behave in and believe everything they hear and see second hand through the filter of the media. See through the lies. The only truth we need to know is our own, and what we see with our own eyes.

THE FALL - BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert (CD-Rip)

Probably one of the most consistently inconsistent but brilliant bands to emerge from the 1977 ‘Punk Rock Scene‘, also one of the most prolific; with numerous John Peel sessions and albums on numerous record labels under their belt, I say their, but the reality is The Fall = Front man Mark E Smith who’s volatile nature has meant the band has also had numerous line-ups over the years, I think there’s a book out were the author has tracked down many of the bands members over the years and spoken to them about their experiences in The Fall. The line-up on this here recording included Marks wife at the time Brix Smith, who gave the band a 60’s Garage Punk/Pop vibe with her keyboards. It was recorded at Nottingham Rock City in May 1987 for the BBC Radio One’s In Concert series. Enjoy!