Lovebites - Golden Destination: New single/EP

Despite the lock-down it's still possible to get new releases via mail-order and I was pleased to finally get a copy of Lovebites new single/EP from JPU Records yesterday. The main track Golden Destination is taken from their album Electric Pentagram which I also added to my collection recently.

There are however two new tracks Spellbound & Puppet On Strings plus an orchestral version of Thunder Vengeance (the original version is also on their recent album). This makes for some 20 minutes of cracking metal music from the girls.

More info: jpurecords.com



Official website lovebites.jp

Aldious - Evoke New Album

One of my favourite Metal bands from Japan is Aldious and this is the third of their releases that I've picked up and the first to feature their new lead singer. The material consists of 14 tracks from 2010 to date re-recorded to feature R!N plus the one new song I Wish for You.

Plans had been made for a UK tour but like everything else at them moment has been put on hold.

Further information and updates can be obtained from: jpurecords.com



Official website: aldious.net

Attempt to hijack the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band foiled

Whilst all our attention is mostly on the current pandemic and subsequent lock-down one small story of interest to some may have passed by without notice.

It seems that a company Anglo Atlantic Media had claimed (and already lost)they owned the rights to the name of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. No idea who this company are but it seems that that the ageing members of the band (ranging from 76 to 89) they founded back in the sixties tried not just pinching the band (which they lost last year) but attempted to claim other "wrong-doings" including slander and Trademark Infringement.

These bogus claims were dismissed without merit by the Judge and were ordered to pay the bands costs which The Times quoted as being in the region of £60,000. Serves the shysters right!

Well done lads!

GMB: Labour Party staff union statement

This is text of the statement from the GMB London Region branch for staff at the Labour Party issued Wednesday 15th April 2020 in response to an internal Labour Party report leaked over the weekend of 11th April:

GMB Labour Party staff branch welcomes the statement from Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, committing to commissioning an urgent independent investigation into the recent leaked internal report into the work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism.

The branch also welcomes and agrees with the 3 areas which the investigation will focus on, namely:

1) The background and circumstances in which the report was commissioned and the process involved.
2) The contents and wider culture and practices referred to in the report.
3) The circumstances in which the report was put into the public domain.

We believe the independence of this investigation is absolutely critical, and we thank the Leader and Deputy Leader for acting swiftly to commission it. We will also be requesting a meeting between GMB representatives and the leadership team at the earliest convenience to discuss the matter prior to the commencement of the investigation.

We would urge any internal investigation to support and complement this independent investigation rather than competing against it.

We are deeply concerned with the report, and the means by which it was commissioned, created, and made public. It is also disappointing that much of the report diverts from the scope of its declared intention, which was to look into the Labour Party’s response to antisemitism. It is also extremely worrying that the report contains transcripts of private conversations between staff on private accounts, using personal equipment.

We agree some of the selected comments attributed to senior staff are absolutely indefensible, it is worth noting that they are not being seen within context and some comments attributed are being flatly denied.

It is also unacceptable that staff members across all levels have had their private communication accessed and their names leaked publicly. The Labour Party would rightly not accept this level of surveillance and intrusion into private conversations of staff in any other workplace, and we believe it therefore should never countenance such practices in the party - let alone authorise them.

This is causing immense stress for those workers, as well as colleagues who are not named but now feel a deep sense of mistrust toward their employer, and the GMB is available to provide support for any of those staff members that require it.

The report has led to a number of people publicly questioning the commitment of Labour Party staff. As a branch, we condemn these suggestions in the strongest terms and would encourage elected representatives and senior figures within the party to behave with restraint when engaging on social media. We consider the mental and physical wellbeing of our members who have no right of reply to be of the utmost importance at this time.

Labour Party staff work extremely hard to deliver a functioning, campaign-ready organisation, and, particularly during elections, give way over and above what is expected of them to help Labour win. Staff regularly put their lives on hold to work for the party, sacrifice time with their families and friends, and push their mental and physical well being to the limit.

They do this work regardless of the politicians they are working directly with and for, and regardless of who leads the party at any given time, because they are dedicated to Labour winning elections and creating a fairer, more just society.

None of them would want to be embroiled in this internal argument during a time like this, when other very serious matters are occupying everyone’s thoughts – indeed, many of them will be working hard in their communities to help with the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

We await the authoritative outcomes of the independent investigation, and hope that people refrain from drawing their own conclusions until it is concluded, and also refrain from attacks, in public and in private, against staff members.

Labour Pains

Photo -CC:SA

The loss of the general election, the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn, and the defeat of the left in the NEC elections, together constitute a major setback. But we are not defeated.

Red Labour, Jewish Voice for Labour, Labour Representation Committee Statement

While the world is rightly focusing it's attention on dealing with and having to live with the Coronavirus pandemic the Labour Party has entered into yet another cycle of  internecine warfare led by Corbyn's former comrades.

Momentum was first up to put pressure on Sir Keir Starmer who became the new Labour leader during the lock-down, voting continuing despite attempts by rabid supporter of Corbyn the keep their Dear Leader in power despite his failures and firm rejection by the electorate.

As the lock-down started causing economic casualties press Kerry-Anne Mendoza of The Canary ,a vicious pro-Corbyn propaganda website gloated the demise of not just the Jewish Chronicle but also Jewish News showing the vile politics of the so-called anti-Zionists. Clearly despite her own origins she betrays her community along with likes of Gild Atzmon and the so-called Jewish Voice for Labour communist cheerleaders for Corbyn.

The far left have compounded the anti-Semitism problem by leaking the internal and quite flawed Labour Party investigation. It shows that those responsible for compiling it were seeking to exonerate Corbyn and themselves from accusations by trying to claim the crisis was all down to procedures and of course trying to deflect the problem by attacking "factionalism" by which they mean their oppnents.

Given the first attempt by Corbyn and his cronies to cover their supporters tracks was a complete white was overseen by  a fawning ally of his in the form of Shami Chakrabarti. The Baroness obtained her pieces of silver in the form of being elevated to the House of Lords as a Baroness which given Corbyn's long standing opposition to the Lords can only be seen as hypocrisy on his part.

As for the Baroness she is is now joined  by the current General Secretary Jenny Formby political concubine of Corbyn's paymaster Len McCluskey a hard line Marxist in charge of Unite one of Britain's largest and most abused unions.

The left seek to blame the Blairites (whatever that defunct term really means and of course the Jews themselves for the problem. In leaking the report the comrades have put many Jewish activists personal details on-line and of course breached the data protection act in doing so.

Labour Against Anti-Semitism  many of whose activists have been found their details on hard-right websites a result of the leak are threatening legal action and rightly so. It seems that the far-left are carrying out a scorched-earth policy as they find themselves in retreat.

Ever since the arrival of the hordes from the fringes of politics into the Labour Party along with pre-existing malcontents the left has pursued a campaign of hate using all forms of bullying and discrimination they have to hand. From the duplicitous and misnamed Jewish Voice of Labour through the "Labour Representation Committee, The Labour Party Marxists and Momentum amongst others the party became a by-word in intolerance.

The moderates who have backed Starmer must now realise that a broad church containing the likes of Corbyn and the others is no longer possible and seek to proscribe the various bodies that operate as parties within parties to promote Marxist style socialism. Momentum, Socialist Appeal the Labour Party Marxists and their members must now be purged if Labour is ever to regain the nations trust and be electable.

The left are going to fight an unpleasant rear action so there is a long way to go. When the lock-down is over the on-line infighting will inevitably spill into the constituencies.

Will the real Labour Party be reborn?
  

Labour First and Progress to form new Alliance

The election of Kier Starmer as leader of the Labour Party has opened new opportunities for moderates, social democrats and others to rebuild the organisation as a democratic and mainstream organisation. There is a long way to go as the real legacy of Corbynism was poisonous to the core encouraging intolerance, hate, misogyny and anti-Semitism.

Already the left are spitting venom as Momentum tries to retain influence. In particular the hard-left groups such as those around The Clarion, Socialist Appeal, Labour Against the Witch Hunt all made up of entrists with revolutionary Marxist credentials are preparing what they call a "fightback".

However many on the hard left (who were never real Labour Party supporters) have cut up their membership cards and are walking out. Something that should be encouraged if Labour is to be a party that can not just achieve political power and do things for those it was set up to represent but be a party that can also be trusted to act in the National Interest and not just the ideological aims of the activists who tried to take it over.

Labour First and Progress have begun the task of reclaiming the party. However there remains a very long way to go as the leadership election results showed. There is a need for unity but the party needs to be radically changed.

Those who entered the the party with ill intent like the far-left groups and individuals like Mark Serwotka, the PCS General Secretary simply to take over and purge must themselves face the consequences of their actions. Labour cannot survive with these hostile anti-democratic and Marxist forces inside.

-------------------------


Labour First & Progress Statement

Labour has elected a new leader, Keir Starmer. He has our 100 per cent support. His election is a historic turning point in Labour’s fortunes: the opportunity, step by step, to bring about the radical changes necessary to rebuild the party as a credible and successful party of government.

In response to Keir’s call for unity, Progress and Labour First are today announcing the creation of Labour to Win, a new umbrella organisation that has as its aim to bring together the various groups within the Labour party that share our conviction that the party has now to change – and change radically if we are to regain our ability to win elections and attain power so we can build a fairer society.

The past four and a half years have been a miserable experience for many of us who have committed their lives to the advance of democratic socialism and social democracy. Many long-standing members and supporters fell away as they could no longer stomach the factionalism brought by the hard-left, the abusive – sometimes vicious – behaviour, antisemitism, and denigration of Labour’s past achievements that have poisoned the party and made it unelectable in the country.

In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, Labour must provide compelling and effective leadership, working across the breadth of the Labour movement, within our local communities and across the political divide. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Keir in our commitment to work with government – at all levels, of all political persuasions, and in all parts of the country – to beat this and protect our fellow citizens.

Despite the bleak context of a global public health emergency, there is fresh hope that Labour can play the role it is supposed to. We greet Keir’s election with a huge sense of relief that what has been a lost decade in our party’s history is coming to an end. We must now all focus on ensuring Labour is once again seen as a party of government.

We now need to help him seize the initiative and shape British politics for the decade ahead. We failed to renew ourselves sufficiently in opposition after 2010, allowing the coalition government to pursue increasingly extreme austerity policies untrammelled and unchecked. We cannot repeat this mistake in 2020. We are committed to working with everyone of good will – inside the party and beyond – who believes that a new future is possible for the party and, crucially, for the country.

Our aims are simple:

• To rally support within the party for its new leadership and support them in the mammoth effort now required to bring about fundamental change in the party’s culture and organisation so as to defeat this populist and nationalist Tory government at the next general election;

• To provide our supporters with the information, arguments and organisational support they need to win internal party debates;

• To create a forum for the debate and dissemination of new ideas and policies essential to demonstrate that the party has a new popular and winning policy platform to offer the country;

• To build networks for a new and diverse generation of activists, councillors and parliamentary candidates to gain experience and learn from each other;

• To provide a space in which old members, new members, rejoiners and those let down by Jeremy Corbyn can find support and encouragement.

Go to: www.labourfirst.org for further information

Zuzu - Skin And Bone EP Out Now!

The latest EP from the Liverpudlian artist known as Zuzu was released yesterday and thanks to courier arrived today so is now playing away as I write a quick over view. This Indy artist caught my attention by chance and I had picked up her excellent last single Beauty Queen which is still available as a 10" release.

The title song Cool To Me sets the tone for for the record which as a vinyl release does help set the artist firmly in the "Indy" scene that I was once into back in the eighties/early nineties and doesn't seem to have much of an impact these days. Zuzu is a refreshing change.

This 12" EP contains 6 songs some of which will be familiar to her fans including the featured track Skin and Bone (below) my personal favourite and addresses a difficult subject, domestic abuse. Women's Rights have always been one of the main issues that I have supported both on this blog and elsewhere on social media. Readers will find suitable websites for further reading on my recommended blog list.

Worth adding to your record collection.



More information:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisiszuzu

Website: www.thisiszuzuofficial.com