May you never lay yer head down

John Martyn, the eclectic Scottish singer/songwriter, has died aged 60. An inspiration to many artists, and a delight to the ears of millions. May he never be forgotten. John Martyn, RIP.

Left for dead

Is this what Bush meant when he said,"In order for there to be peace, Hamas must be dismantled"(Bush, 2003)?
Peace will not come by raining down rockets on helpless families. All this will do is incite people to exact revenge upon the perpetrators. I hope the new administration will act to put a stop to the brutality, which 16 year old, Ahmed, was subjected to, before more innocent families are destroyed.

CNN.2003.Bush: Hamas must be dismantled . Retrieved January 27, 2009 from http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/06/25/bush.hamas/

Helen go bragh!

Not one to be carried away on the tide of politico fever sweeping the nation, Helen Thomas sticks to her guns, and fires a volley at the newly appointed press secretary, Robert Gibbs. At the press corp question time, this afternoon, Helen asked Gibbs why President Obama was sending more American troops into Afghanistan "to kill people"?

Gibbs glibly replied, that the "terrorists reside in Afghanistan". Coming down with a touch of 'Bushitis', Robert?

A, B, C, or Declassified?

In England and Wales the governments have decided to increase the penalties for Cannabis possession. The Home Secretary of England decided that Cannabis has an 'impact on young people's mental health'. I am no expert on the mental health of the youth of England and Wales, but take one look at the Sunday papers, or the police reports of any given weekend, and the amount of alcohol related crimes, including stabbings, beatings, car crashes, murder, spousal abuse, family breakups, and alcohol abuse, there you will find overwhelming evidence that alcohol, and not marijuana should be made illegal.

Once again I am not an expert, but in all my years I have never heard of any marijuana related crimes that are covered by the above list. One of the most prolific, peace promoting, reggae artists of all time, Bob Marley, was an advocate of marijuana use, and I would just ask the english Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, if she thought that Bob Marley's ideas, and visions of world peace, and unity were the ravings of a person whose mental health was damaged through his use of marijuana?

In America, the so called 'war on drugs' has seen many young men, mainly black men, imprisoned for small amounts of marijuana possession. Is this england's future vision for its ethnic population; to imprison its young black, and asian men on misdemeanor drug charges?

I know one thing based on englands prior history concerning its 'ethnic problems' that imprisonment is the least of the weapons in its arsenal. Consider the following:
Slavery, internment, concentration camps, shoot-to-kill, starvation, plantations, and ethnic cleansing, need I go on?

One Love,
PastyBap

Viva la Quinta Brigada

"No Pasaran, the pledge that made them fight
Adelante was the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight"


Irish Volunteer, Bob Doyle, who fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil war, alongside the 50,000 brave men of the International Brigade, died today aged 93. Imprisoned by Italian facists in the San Pedro prison, Mr Doyle's story was retold in his autobiography 'Brigadista', an account of the fight against facism in pre-World War II Spain.

Infants stabbed at Belgian creche

I thought I should share this story with you. The crazed attack on helpless children is one of the most shocking news items I have read in a while. My condolences go to the families of the children who were harmed in this cowardly attack.

Letter from America

I was wondering what you all thought about someone, who doesn't live on the Falls anymore, writing a blog about the Falls. Should I just shut up, forget about where I'm from, and let the people who live there have exclusive rights to what goes on down the road? Or should I continue rambling about whats going on over there?

Although memories make life harder being away from the road, I can never forget my roots, and the main reason I started first with the old Lowerwack website, and now the blog. I hope the blog will continue the camaraderie that exists in the site, and that my contribution with this blog will make the transition a little easier.

West Belfast fundraising drive for Palestine to continue this weekend

The funding drive for medical aid to Palestine is hoping to raise more money for the embattled citizens of the Gaza strip. Representatives from Sinn Fein will once again be on the streets of West Belfast collecting money to provide 'medicine, bandages and important equipment needed to treat the thousands upon thousands of injured men, women and children in the Gaza strip'(SF, 2009).
Any thoughts about the Israeli offense on Palestine and/or the fundraising by Sinn Fein?

Failte an t-Uachtaran nua Obama

I hope the members of the Lowerwack will join me in welcoming the new President of the United States: President Barack Obama

Welcome!

Failte gach duine go dti an blog nua Lowerwack!

Welcome everyone to the new Lowerwack blog!

The New Year is a time of transition, and as many of you may know, the Lowerwack forum is closing down. I am in the process of implementing a new site, and while that is taking place, I thought the members of the Lowerwack should have a place where they can continue conversing together. Many friendships have been made over the years since the site began, and I start this blog in the hope that the Lowerwack will continue.