Reeltime with Richard: Rapping their way toward Irish solidarity

Two men posing

This article first appeared on Reel Time with Richard.

Kneecap is a movie about Irish rappers who deliver their rhymes in their native Irish. As such, it can be a lot for American viewers to absorb, especially since it unfolds at a take-no-prisoners pace.

Once you get your bearings, though, writer/director Rich Peppiatt’s debut flick is a blast and a hoot.

The title refers to an actual Northern Ireland hip-hop band that took its name from the painful punishment often meted out by republican enforcers during the period of upheaval known as “The Troubles.” Set in 2019 or so, long after relative peace has arrived, the film purports to be the band’s origin story.

I say “purports” because Peppiatt’s clever script no doubt takes massive liberties with reality. If the story still has an air of authenticity, it’s partly because the band members all play themselves, and they do so with panache and conviction.

79th Commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Logo

Columbus Campaign for Arms Control Peace Concert
August 6, 2024 @ 7:00PM
University Baptist Church, 50 W Lane Ave, Columbus Ohio

The Hiroshima for Peace Concert is an annual memorial concert which commemorates the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasoki, and advocates for nuclear de-proliferation and disarmament. The series of memorial gatherings and peaceful protests were founded by Mark Stansbery and Yoshie Furuhashi in 2010, and composer Rocco Di Pietro began collaborating with Mark on a series of peace concerts in 2014.

Performers: Justin T. Swain, Paul Strawser, Alex Burgoyne, Leigha Schumaker, David Tomasacci, Jaryn Danz

Composers: Rocco Di Pietro, Anthony Vine, Eunseok Park, David Tomasacci

Cut the Crap, Kap

The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion Concerning the Occupation of Palestine – A Landmark Decision

Big fancy building

On Friday, July 19, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion requested in 2022 by the UN General Assembly to address the legality of Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories seized in 1967. 

Confirming everything that legal scholars, human rights activists, and people of conscience have been saying for decades, the court found that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal.  Israel is under obligation to end settlement expansion, evacuate all settlers, and remove parts of the apartheid wall that are situated on Palestinian territory.  Israel must provide full reparation for the damage caused by the wrongful acts, including the return of land and assets seized and must allow all Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their original location of residence. And important to U.S. policy, under the ruling, the international community and organizations have an obligation “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by” the occupation.”

Israel Is Excluded From the Ceremony Commemorating 1945 Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

The victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 6, 1945 and Gaza in 2023 and 2024 were civilian population while the criminals and killers were the same students of the American and Western schools of terrorism, capitalism, imperialism, colonialism, racism, and aggression.

There is no difference here between America's atomic bombs and the bombs of destruction and annihilation that "Israel" drops on the people of Gaza which are smart American bombs that have many similarities and bloodiness to those found in successive American administrations which are united by the characteristic that they are inhumane administrations.

In Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the population was exterminated and in Gaza they have been doing the same thing for ten months. Yes, and we do not exaggerate when we mention that the size of the destructive force and the number of bombs that fell on Gaza and as a reminder and so that we never forget, "Israeli" American, German, British, French and Western bombs in general.

Project 2025 and Some Poison Gas for the Future

The right-wing Republicans . . . the Christian nationalists . . . have hoisted their flag: Project 2025, a.k.a., Project Hell on Earth, and it’s coming to a future near you. Or so they believe (and hope).

The Struggle Within

And they searched his chest
But could only find his heart
And they searched his heart
And could only find his people
(Palestinian Poet Mahmud Darwish)

I hope we all continue to post about the ongoing genocide. We will not
rest, we will not stop- because this is the moral and most critical issue
of our time, the test of humanity and the test for all who claim they want
peace.

UN Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian affairs. Update #199!
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-199-gaza-strip
but it is even worse: In Gaza, the Casualty Rate Is a Mere Fraction of the
Death Rate. Starvation. No Food or Medical Supplies are Entering Gaza

You Hit Like A Girl

Josh Shapiro Would Be a Dangerous Choice for Harris Running Mate

Kamala Harris has gained strong support as the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. Putting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on the ticket would likely fracture that support.

 The most divisive issue among Democrats is the U.S.-enabled Israeli war against the civilian population of Gaza. To unify the party and defeat Trump’s MAGA forces, Harris needs to distance herself in a meaningful way from Joe Biden’s Gaza policy. If she does so, she can win back the votes and energy of young activists, progressives, racial justice organizers, Arab Americans and Muslims – many of whom devoted weeks or months of their lives in 2020 to defeating Trump on behalf of the Biden-Harris ticket.

 But a Harris-Shapiro ticket would jeopardize all that.

Tell President Biden: Secure a ceasefire & de-escalate this crisis now

Ceasefire written on the ground

Deadly strikes across the Middle East have set an already volatile situation on edge, Friend.

One thing could stand between this distressing uptick in violence and a new war in the Middle East: The Biden administration.

There are no military solutions to this crisis, only diplomatic ones. The U.S. government will need to use every ounce of its influence to pull the parties away from the catastrophic path they’re on. Today, we need the president to know we support these efforts to de-escalate, but we need him to go further.

Right now, our job is nothing short of saving lives. Sign now to urge President Biden: De-escalate this crisis immediately with a ceasefire that stops the bombing of Gaza, brings the remaining hostages home to their families, and creates the political space necessary to build a pathway to peace for people in Israel, Palestine, and beyond.

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