Israel Has Already Lost The War in Gaza

After only a few days into this horrific attack on Gaza, I cannot see how Israel can end up claiming that this criminal war will be a success. The Israeli regime claimed that they launched these attacks in order to destroy Hamas and the infrastructure of government in the Gaza Strip. So far, 400 Palestinians have been killed, most of them are not Hamas fighters. The police force in Gaza (which has lost about 200 men) is not Hamas, it is a civil institution. The images shown on our TV screens tell us the true story of what is happening in Gaza. It is not brave to drop bombs onto people, it is the most cowardly way to wage a war.

I cannot see how Israel will win this war. The Palestinians in Gaza are united against the Israeli aggression. What will the Israelis do next? Keep dropping bombs and destroy every citizen and blow up every building before they can claim their "victory"? If they launch a ground invasion they are certain to suffer heavy casualties. These so-called politicians have cynically begun this war in order to win their election at home. What choice do any decent Israelis have to vote for someone now? It's surely not easy to choose between a Nazi candidate, a fascist candidate, a racist candidate and a murderer candidate.

The Arab world is in anger right now and decent people across the globe can see the reality on their TVs or on the internet. Israel has already lost this war morally. Egypt has proved itself to be a collaborator in these war crimes. And Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the so-called leader of the Palestinian people has shown himself to be more interested in settling scores with Hamas than speaking out and organising protests against the Israelis.

Even if Hamas was destroyed, there are already hundreds of thousands of youths in Palestine ready to become martyrs to defend Palestine. After this criminal war against Gaza, the next generation of Palestinians will grow up even more radicalised and have more hate for Israel than the ones now. What hopes for peace will this future bring?

Hezbollah won the 2006 Lebanon war because Israel did not reach their stated objective of destroying Hezbollah. The same result will happen in Gaza. The resistance will become stronger and the people on the street will see that their leaders collaborated in these massacres.

My grandfather was a Jew who came to live in the UK as a refugee. The Jewish people suffered terribly in the Second World War. I regard Jews, Christians and all people as my brothers and sisters. But how a people who suffered the Holocaust can unleash one against another people is beyond me. The end of Israel will come. The separation wall will fall. History will judge Livni, Barak, Sharon, Peres and Olmert as cruel racist murderers. There can only be one solution - one state for all people to live in it. And with each bomb that falls on Palestine, Israel goes one step closer to destroying itself. Palestine has already won this war.

Yorkshire Dales

An ideal way to leave the pressure of Bradistan is to jump in your car and drive for an hour or so into North Yorkshire and explore the fantastic Yorkshire Dales. It's a brilliant place for walking, with its beautiful hills, waterfalls, rock formations and clean air. Yesterday I drove up there, spent some time driving round the winding country roads and enjoyed seeing some beasts perfectly kitted out for the biting cold:


I didn't fancy taking a walk though, for 2 reasons. One, it was far too cold as the temperature hovered just under freezing point (and ended up at -5 degrees at 16.30pm). Secondly, after smashing one of my toes 3 days ago, it has now turned a lovely mix of black and purple. So I decided to drive down to the historic Ribblehead Viaduct. This is a popular spot for visitors, is easily walked to from the main road, and is a sight not to be missed. I decided to take a few shots before I couldn't stand the cold anymore and returned again at sunset to take more pictures after finding some much needed hot refreshments a few miles away in Ingleton.




Despite the freezing cold, I couldn't resist pulling over in the darkness, putting up the tripod and catching this shot of the night sky, before heading back to the warmer climes of Bradistan.

Leeds or is it Baghdad?

I took a small trip to Leeds yesterday afternoon, it's the town that borders onto Bradistan. It's our more prosperous, trendy and pretentious neighbour. But once you look beyond the city centre, you start to find the interesting parts including Harehills, where I ended up on my visit. In Harehills you traditionally found a lot of shops owned by the big immigrant communities - Afro-Caribbeans, Pakistanis, Indians etc. They are all still there of course but now the fabric of the area has changed again. In just the space of 100 metres or so you see shops like "Baghdad Market", "Kurdistan Hairdresser", "Kabul Express" and others run by Iranians and Eastern Europeans. There is also a lovely little Persian Tea House on the main street. It's a fascinating place for a walk. I picked up an amazing 178 track MP3 CD from the Iranian diva Googoosh, some beautiful Iranian dates filled with walnuts and ate a selection of mouth-watering Indian snacks from Bobby's, a legendary Indian cafe. Bradistan is my home but Harehills in Leeds comes a close second for that taste of the East. Here are some shots of yesterday's trip:

Baghdad Market:

Darvish Tea House:

A strange selection of Iranian food, firstly "Sheep Head And Feet":

"Ghormeh Sabzi":

"Khoresbe Fesenjan":

"Kashk Bademjan":

While you are enjoying these delicacies, here is a video from Googoosh in her heyday, way back when:

Fnaire

One of the best acts to come out of Morocco for many years are the hip hop crew Fnaire. Based in the red city of Marrakech, they released their first tune back in 2002 and since then have brought some real originality and creativity to the world of Moroccan music. Hip Hop has taken over from Rai music as the main choice of Moroccan youth nowadays, not surprisingly as very few decent Rai songs are made now (with the exception of France-based legends Khaled, Mami, and the little-known Akim El Sikameya). What makes Fnaire particularly interesting are their deep links to traditional Moroccan musical and social culture. Also, their lyrics are far removed from the gangster & bling nonsense of their American counterparts. Their latest album "Yed El Henna" is a fantastic collection that utlitises rhythms and styles from across the whole Moroccan music spectrum, from Gnaoua to Melhun, from Chaabi to Saharaoui. Unfortunately, this CD is very hard to find outside of Morocco itself, I was lucky enough to pick one up there on my last visit.

Tragedy struck the group in June 2008 when founding member Hicham Belqas lost his life in a car accident when returning home from a concert in Fes. Fnaire are carrying on without him and continuing to record and perform at concerts for their ever-growing loyal fans. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any clips with English translation but hopefully some will appear in the future. Enjoy this great video for Yed El Henna:

Today's Recipe

How to create a "terrorist".

1. Take away people's land.
2. Deprive them of their human rights.
3. Build a wall around them.
4. Starve them.

If you do not get the desired result, then please go to step 5.

5. Drop bombs on their heads.

You should now have successfully created a "terrorist".

Hugh Mundell vs Mavado

My love affair with reggae music began in the early 1980s when I first heard the youth singer Hugh Mundell on his classic Augustus Pablo produced album "Africa Must Be Free By 1983". Apart from the sublime songs and beautiful musicianship, it was the revolutionary message that really stood out for me. Mundell voiced some of those songs at the age of 12, and even though 1983 is 25 years ago now, these tracks have never lost their potency. The rhythm tracks still sound incredibly fresh too. Mundell's life was tragically cut short in 1983, the year he demanded Africa's liberation, and he left behind a slim body of work (of 4 complete albums), including the wonderful "Time And Place" set. Quite a surprise then to see some ultra-rare footage of the youth himself alongside his mentor Augustus Pablo appear on youtube these last days. This is probably the only film that exists of one of reggae's greatest talents and is certainly an enjoyable and intriguing watch.

The biggest dancehall reggae news right now is the clash that took place at Sting, the annual Boxing Day festival held in Portmore, Jamaica. I woke up in the morning to find a free live stream and settled down to watch the last few hours including the much-heralded clash between Vybz Kartel and Mavado. The event itself was enough to almost send me back to sleep and the much-hyped clash turned out to be a shouting fest of immense proportions. Both artists traded insults and bigged up themselves in a quite ridiculous fashion. It was like watching two deluded schoolkids have a pointless shouting match. No-one came out of it with any dignity intact and even though some observers will think it was the best reggae event since I don't know when, it seemed that general consensus on the internet was that it was a big waste of time. Very few of these big dancehall artists have anything interesting or relevant to say, which, by contrast, makes the simplicity of the footage of Mundell and Pablo all the more powerful. In the terrible times, we need the positivity and message of social justice (that reggae used to give us) all the more right now.

Genocide In Gaza

No words can describe the revolting scenes being shown across the world on this day. I am certain that once again the leaders of the world will continue to stand by while Palestinians are massacred. Who is the terrorist?

Raina Rai

One of my favourite groups from North Africa and, in fact, the whole world are the Band Raina Rai. Hailing from Sidi Bel Abbes in Algeria, they appeared in the mid-80s at a time when Rai was at its creative peak. At the time, their sound appeared to be somewhat rudimentary compared to big acts like Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami and Saharaoui & Fadela. Hence, despite having one undisputed Rai classic "Zina", they never got the respect and credibility they deserved. Led by the charismatic guitarist Lotfi Attar they created an almost psychedelic soundscape that is at times is almost cinematic in its intensity. Now 20 years on, listening with new ears reveals the music of Raina Rai to sound actually better than it did at the time. Their first two albums "Hagda" and "Raina Rai" are amazing even though the drum machine and synths sound dated, but paradoxically that is part of what makes these 2 sets sound so fresh. Later albums haven't stood the test of time so well, so if you are tempted to search out any Raina Rai music then go for the first 2 albums. They are not easy to find at all but definitely worth it.

Lotfi Attar is still touring with Raina Rai although I'm not sure how much of the original classic line-up remains. A cursory glance through youtube can turn up a number of fairly recent live clips of varying quality but with one common theme - the ecstatic reaction of the crowd. So good to see so many young North Africans throughout the disapora enjoying one of their finest acts ever. Enjoy this classic piece of classic old school Rai (complete with shots from pre-civil war Algeria), the wonderful "Zina":

Christmas Day in Bradistan

Not being someone who celebrates Christmas and wanting something practical to do on Christmas Day morning, I took a walk around the city centre of Bradistan to take some photographs. The streets were almost completely deserted so this was a once-a-year opportunity to see the streets looking completely empty, almost abandoned even, except for the detritus from the previous night's revellers.


No buses today, only foot or car is possible:

Just a few lone individuals were out and about - some elderly folks, a few Muslims, a couple of homeless alcoholics and some who looked like they hadn't even gone home to sleep yet.



And one young man appears to be lost:

Driving home after bearing over an hour in the cold air, I was surprised to stumble on a group of young Asian men enjoying a game of cricket. Such a strange sight to see such a summer sport played out in the cold winter of Bradistan.


Seasons Greetings from Bradistan!

Remember The People Of Gaza

Today is Christmas Day, the day where Christians and many others celebrate and remember those less fortunate than themselves. As a Muslim, I don't celebrate Christmas but I do respect this part of the Christian tradition and it represents (away from the rampant materialism) a positive thing in our increasingly faith-less British society.

Spare some thoughts on this day for the poor oppressed people of Palestine, especially those left to rot in the vast prison called the Gaza Strip. Deprived of their human rights and dignity, let alone any of the essential things all humans need to make their existence on earth bearable, each day for the citizens of Gaza is a struggle to simply survive.

I believe that the Zionist Israeli occupation cannot last forever and peace, justice and freedom will be achieved by the Palestinians insha'allah. Let us all pray, regardless of our religious faith, for an swift improvement in the miserable lives of the people of Gaza and ask Allah (God) to bless them and ease their suffering.

Here's a brilliant track from Palestinian hip hop group DAM:

Marhaban! Welcome! Bienvenue!

Welcome to Tales From Bradistan. My blog will contain stories and observations of life here as well as various other subjects I am passionate about - music, film, politics, football, travel. I will also use my blog to publish my photographs. As I am somewhat a beginner with digital SLR photography, I am rapidly trying to learn fast as well get some fairly decent results. But my city provides a wealth of interesting subjects as well as the diverse population that lives here.

Look out for plenty of music comment and recommendations. Reggae is my chosen specialist subject but I am a big fan of the music and culture of North Africa and the Middle East. This area of the world has an amazingly vast musical culture but for people who don't live there it can be very difficult to access these sounds or even know where to look to find some essential CDs to own.

Right now I am enjoying a brilliant modern Rai album called "Introducing Akim El Sikameya" released on World Music Network. Rai has suffered a lot from cheesy keyboard sounds and a lack of inspiration for many years now. Akim is someone who is not only writes good songs but the production is great too. Check out his website to hear his music. I hope he will make to the north of the U.K. at some point so I can get to see him live. Enjoy this short clip where he pays tribute to the great Jewish artist Salim Halali:



A fantastic new CD production that has come out of Casablanca in Morocco is the CD "Lhssad" from "Malek". I picked this up in Morocco on the Platinium Music label but I think it is completely unavailable outside the Maghreb. Big shame too if that is the case. He sings mainly in French and was around the famous Freres Bouchenak boys back in the 80s. Heavily influenced by Jacques Brel, the album is a very effective mix of French chanson, Rai and Moroccan vibes. For the most part it works really well and is all the better for not being overproduced or any use of the infamous Antares Autotune that has been single-handedly responsible for destroying many a good song. The CD contains a few duets, the best being "M'chate" with the rising Moroccan star Said Mosker:



Speaking of the autotune phenomenon, there is nothing more depressing than wandering in the sensous souks of Morocco and hearing traditional vocals being desecrated by such a machine. Luckily, there still exist some good producers out there who realise that such a device is nothing more than a nasty fad and avoid it altogether. Similarly depressing is its continuing use on modern reggae tracks, contributing to the growing stagnation of one of the world's greatest musics. Even poor old Mykal Rose, formerly of Black Uhuru, is using it now. His hit tune "Shoot Out" is a modern reggae killer, if only the producer John John could have released a cut without autotune on it.

More grumpy old man music moanings to come! ;-)