This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“The Assignment” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but one of my favorites. I give it four stars out of five.
“Trials and Tribble-ations” See this for a plot summary.
Although only about 13 years old, this might be considered a classic ST episode. It not only involves time travel, it uses footage from an episode that was part of The Original Series, and has DS9 characters appearing to interact with characters from TOS.
I give it five stars out of five.
“Let He Who Is Without Sin...” See this for a plot summary.
This episode is kind of about the culture wars, although it seems that the conservative side is not motivated by religion. Instead they’re concerned that the pampered, safe, and sometimes hedonistic lifestyle of Federation citizens has made them weak in the face of external threats. Worf does see it as a moral problem. Even though it doesn’t refer to religion, it still kind of makes a good statement about the culture wars from the liberal side.
I give it three stars out of five.
”Things Past” See this for a plot summary.
Although it was well-established much earlier (in the ST universe) that the Cardassian occupation of Bajor was brutal and very unjust, this episode illustrates that more.
We also learn that Garak is sort of racist towards Bajorans, as he says (while cleaning Quark’s bar) that “the Bajorans were much more suited for this sort of thing than we were- servile work is in their nature.”
Gul Dukat’s racism towards the Bajorans is illustrated when he says that the Bajorans are like his children.
It’s also an episode that contributes to how inspirational the story of the Bajoran resistance is.
Overall a good episode, I give it four stars out of five.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reviews V
This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Body Parts” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but we learn something new about Ferengi capitalism. It has a racist aspect, as contracts with another Ferengi are sacred but contracts with aliens can be broken for any reason. I found that kind of surprising.
Overall, a good episode, I give it two stars out of five.
“Broken Link” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but a good one. I give it three stars out of five.
“Apocalypse Rising” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but a good one, I give it four stars out five.
“The Ship” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but a good one. I especially like the end when Sisko and Dax talk about the minor-very minor Starfleet characters who were killed.
I give it four stars out of five.
“Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode. I give it two stars out of five.
“...Nor the Battle to the Strong” See this for a plot summary.
A very political episode about how horrible war is. Although I believe that sometimes, in this fucked up world, it’s necessary, helpful, and/or justified, to fight, but war is still horrible and this episode does a good job of illustrating that. The more people understand how horrible war is, the more people will see it as an option of last resort.
I give it three stars out of five.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Body Parts” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but we learn something new about Ferengi capitalism. It has a racist aspect, as contracts with another Ferengi are sacred but contracts with aliens can be broken for any reason. I found that kind of surprising.
Overall, a good episode, I give it two stars out of five.
“Broken Link” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but a good one. I give it three stars out of five.
“Apocalypse Rising” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but a good one, I give it four stars out five.
“The Ship” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but a good one. I especially like the end when Sisko and Dax talk about the minor-very minor Starfleet characters who were killed.
I give it four stars out of five.
“Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode. I give it two stars out of five.
“...Nor the Battle to the Strong” See this for a plot summary.
A very political episode about how horrible war is. Although I believe that sometimes, in this fucked up world, it’s necessary, helpful, and/or justified, to fight, but war is still horrible and this episode does a good job of illustrating that. The more people understand how horrible war is, the more people will see it as an option of last resort.
I give it three stars out of five.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reviews U
This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“The Muse” See this for a plot summary.
Overall a fairly non-political episode, but there’s one thing briefly touched on that I’d like to mention. The idea of strictly segregating boys and girls is disgusting (the alien race in question only tells boys and girls about the other sex when they’re 16). Although I get the impression little progress has been made, this is a small part of why I sort of initially supported the invasion of Afghanistan and today have only largely not totally moved from thinking it was a good idea (I lean towards saying we should get out at this point, I'm just not real enthusiastic about it because of the likelihood the Taliban will get back into power, but it's still the right for us to do) (my feelings about this are partly based on the minority statement of the Young Democratic Socialists, here (the page is no longer there)). Anyway, the Taliban treated women horribly and a large degree of segregation was part of it.
I give it two stars out of five.
“For the cause” See this for a plot summary
A fairly non-political episode, except for the politics of the Maquis. I’ve described my thoughts about them here, while discussing the two-parter “The Maquis.”
Eddington talks about how the Federation wants Cardassia to join. That suggests that he thinks no amount of democracy and reform will change Cardassia, although his attitude might make some sense if Cardassia is continuing to attack ex-Federation colonists, but he is still probably under-estimating the ability of Cardassia to change. He also fails to see that if Cardassia did join the Federation, the Federation would be able to stop Cardassian mis-treatment of the colonists.
Eddington also accuses the Federation of being hostile to the Maquis because they left the Federation. I’ve got mixed feelings about the Federation attitude towards the Maquis but I don’t think that’s why there’s hostility.
I give it three stars out of five.
“To The Death” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but a very good one. The idea of Starfleet and the Jem’Hadar working together is a great story. And O’Brien’s statement before they go into battle is great. I give it four stars out of five.
“The Quickening” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but a good one, I give it three stars out of five.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“The Muse” See this for a plot summary.
Overall a fairly non-political episode, but there’s one thing briefly touched on that I’d like to mention. The idea of strictly segregating boys and girls is disgusting (the alien race in question only tells boys and girls about the other sex when they’re 16). Although I get the impression little progress has been made, this is a small part of why I sort of initially supported the invasion of Afghanistan and today have only largely not totally moved from thinking it was a good idea (I lean towards saying we should get out at this point, I'm just not real enthusiastic about it because of the likelihood the Taliban will get back into power, but it's still the right for us to do) (my feelings about this are partly based on the minority statement of the Young Democratic Socialists, here (the page is no longer there)). Anyway, the Taliban treated women horribly and a large degree of segregation was part of it.
I give it two stars out of five.
“For the cause” See this for a plot summary
A fairly non-political episode, except for the politics of the Maquis. I’ve described my thoughts about them here, while discussing the two-parter “The Maquis.”
Eddington talks about how the Federation wants Cardassia to join. That suggests that he thinks no amount of democracy and reform will change Cardassia, although his attitude might make some sense if Cardassia is continuing to attack ex-Federation colonists, but he is still probably under-estimating the ability of Cardassia to change. He also fails to see that if Cardassia did join the Federation, the Federation would be able to stop Cardassian mis-treatment of the colonists.
Eddington also accuses the Federation of being hostile to the Maquis because they left the Federation. I’ve got mixed feelings about the Federation attitude towards the Maquis but I don’t think that’s why there’s hostility.
I give it three stars out of five.
“To The Death” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but a very good one. The idea of Starfleet and the Jem’Hadar working together is a great story. And O’Brien’s statement before they go into battle is great. I give it four stars out of five.
“The Quickening” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but a good one, I give it three stars out of five.
Fetch that Armalite (Lyrics)
Four more songs. They're all "Those Lyrics," see this for an explanation.
For the rest of the poems click on the "lyrics" label at the bottom (there are at least two pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).
I start with the ones that are okay and end with the ones that are good.
“Declaration Of War” based on “Let the Battle Begin” by Celtic Warrior. I can’t find the original lyrics on the internet, but I found a karoke-style Youtube video with the lyrics, here or you can email me and I’ll send them to you.
1. Since Celtic Warrior is Welsh and possibly sympathetic to republicanism or Irish nationalism, I included some elements that are hostile to fascism.
2. The AK-47 is a rifle, the RPG is the Rocket Propelled Grenade.
3. This is set at the beggining of the Troubles, in the early 1970s.
4. The plough is the Starry Plough, the flag of republican socialism.
5. The line about changing the world is a reference to the internationalism of republicans, for example in supporting the Palestinians.
**6. 16% of this version is me, 84% is the original.
7. I give this song three stars out of five.
8. Valhalla is part of Norse mythology, it's a place where warriors go after they die, although there seems to be some debate about exactly who gets in- only people who die in combat? Anyway, the fascists love it and have sort of taken over the concept, but a friend told me that he likes the idea of the left claiming it and specifically said that if such a place exists, Che and others like him are probably there. (Do I believe in Valhalla? You could say I’m sort of an agnostic on that question and am sort of solidly a Christian. The way I see it, this is pretty flexible, don't take it too seriously, and one way to think about it is that if you believe in Heaven and would rather these people went there instead of Valhalla, maybe they can do both, spend some time in Valhalla and some time in Heaven; but my friend and I do like the idea of reclaiming it from the fash)
9. Considering the original, I should say that Irish pride is very different from white pride (most of the time). (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
10. This is overwhelmingly about the IRA, although it would make sense to say that the second half of the last line is more about their fellow republicans in SF.
UPDATE 1/28/11 11. When I say they're anti-fascist soldiers, I am not saying that their enemy is fascist, although a minority of them are. Even though they are not battling fascism, they are both soldiers and anti-fascist, so it makes sense.
UPDATE 3/18/15 12. I added "and mothers."
13. UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
Chorus:
let the battle begin, there’s no time to spare
let the battle begin, war has been declared
in the distance i see the smoke the flames and darkened sky
as we march forward to victory can you hear the battle cry
with AK and RPG we lead the fight our fathers and mothers did before
we’re anti-fascist soldiers, proud to be Irish, we’re fighting a liberation war
Chorus
thunder roars, lightening strikes the bells in hell start to chime
we’ll slay the beast, even the score yeah drive them out this time
blood is spilt, victory is ours, we will never face defeat
but if i die fighting for my people, in valhalla save my seat
Chorus
united we’re strong, united we stand, standing for our nation’s sake
Irish men and women together as one, calling out for Ireland to awake
our destiny awaits, the white flame burns, we march on with the plough unfurled
we take back what’s our’s, reclaim our land and we’re gonna help change the world
Chorus
****
“We are the threat that is red” based on “Red Threat” by Ian Stuart and Stigger, original lyrics are here.
1. Ian Stuart was the leader of Skrewdriver and was a big supporter of the British and Unionist causes in N. Ireland.
2. This takes place in the mid-1990s. At that point N. Ireland was slightly less orange than it had been about 5 years earlier (the UDA, a loyalist paramilitary, was first banned from the airwaves and then banned completely) and much less orange than it had been 30 years earlier, and the re-dawning would mean going backwards to some degree.
3. The RUC were the police in N. Ireland until late 2001.
4. Although my experience reading the BBC web-site and comparing what’s there with what’s reported in Irish/Irish-nationalist/Irish-republican news sources makes me think that the BBC, at least since the late 1990s, has been okay (not good) covering the North there’s still a lot of room for improvement and republicans have often criticized the BBC.
5. When this takes place, probably some small majority of republicans would have called themselves marxists (I'm not sure what I would say about Marxists in the ANC in the mid-1990s, it was probably something similar (this is not the best line I've done, but at the time it seemed like it was the best option I could think of at the time). UPDATE 1/28/11 I just deleted the word Marxist. It says instead, "fighting for freedom."
6. Republicans are generally in favor of religious and racial “mixing” and believe that it is good for society.
7. Bread is a symbol of economic justice.
8. The Dail is the Irish parliament and it has pretty much never shown as much concern about partition as it should.
9. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
10. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and I imagine it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from White pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
**11. 31% of this version is me, 69% is the original.
12. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
13. This is about the IRA although the BBC part could apply to unarmed republicans and to nationalists.
This is a warning, against an Orange day re-dawning
With the RUC trying to bash you in your head
Take on the BBC, we’re fighting for freedom like the ANC
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red
We encourage people mixing, to us it is so fixing
We fight for freedom, for democracy and for bread
Just for one occasion, let the Dail think of our divided nation
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red
We'll fight in the cities, we'll fight in the country
And we'll fight, the Orange peril, our pride we'll not shed
For the strength of the Irish nation, will be our salvation
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red
****
“Fetch That Armalite” based on “Fetch The Rope” by The Klansmen original lyrics are here.
1. The Klansmen was a side project of Ian Stuart Donaldson of Skrewdriver. Ian Stuart was a big supporter of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland, so this is twisting the original.
2. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
3. Although James Connolly (Ireland’s greatest socialist and greatest republican) was killed about 6 years before Ireland was divided, he predicted that the result of partition would be a ”carnival of reaction” which has basically happened, especially in the North.
4. A good description of what kind of state the Catholics were in is here. A longer and better source is the book “Northern Ireland: The Orange State” by Michael Farrell.
5. Armalites are rifles often used by the IRA.
6. Squaddies are British soldiers.
7. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
8. Also, the first line is a reference to how the IRA never or almost never retaliated against civilian people.
9. The line about justice and peace dying is a reference to the early 1970s when Bloody Sunday saw the civil rights movement shot off the streets by the British Army.
**10. 80% of this version is me, 20% is the original (80% is a new record, one I probably won’t break)
11. I give this song three stars out of five.
12. This song is NOT meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
13. This is about the IRA.
14. UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
Them good old Volunteers they held their fire despite the rising hate
Black masks, automatic rifles, they took on the British state
When the nation was cut in two, Connolly had predicted what did ensue
The Catholics were left in a one party state, no democracy, lots of hate
don't give up the fight
your cause is so right
don't give up the fight
Fetch that armalite
Squaddies from across the sea said they were there to keep the peace
But they turned out just as bad as the sectarian police
When justice and peace really died, the volunteers didn't hesitate
They were determined to smash the orange six-county state
*****
“Eamonn Joined The IRA” based on “Johnny Joined The Klan” by The Klansmen original lyrics are here.
1. The Klansmen was a side project of Ian Stuart Donaldson of Skrewdriver. Ian Stuart was a big supporter of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland, so this is twisting the original.
2. Derry is the second largest city in N. Ireland. The West Bank is a new way of referring to what used to be called “cityside.” The area is on the west bank of the River Foyle, and using that term is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinians. The West Bank is almost 100% Nationalist. and had some large nationalist majority during the conflict when this song is set.
3. Eamonn Wright is a made up name for IRA snipers- “Aiming Right.” (I'm not sure who first thought that up, as far as I can tell two song-writers have used it, and that's where I got it from)
4. That’s a reference to sectarian murder of Catholics.
5. I’ve heard that, unsurprisingly, there was a problem with British soldiers harrassing Nationalist women sexually (there was already a reference to going after men who "victimized" “girls” in the original (I put victimized in quotes because Ian Stuart is talking about Black men who he just assumes have done something wrong))
6. Belfast is the largest city in N. Ireland.
7. The hope is that at some point there will be a serious decrease in how widespread sectarianism is among Protestants. Also, that they’ll understand that they have nothing to fear from a United Ireland.
**8. 76% of this version is me, 24% is the original.
9. I give this version three stars out of five.
10. This is about the IRA, although, I think almost by definition, all nationalists rejected the Crown.
11. UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
Way up North in Derry town
in the West Bank where they reject the Crown
There was a neighborhood where the republican flame burned bright
Where lived an Irish boy named Eamonn Wright
Didn't like Brits patrolling night and day
So, Eamonn went and joined the IRA
Chorus
Go, go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Well Eamonn joined the IRA
He would hide his rifle in the front garden
with every sectarian murder his committment would harden
Aiming for the Brits who harrassed the girls
Eamonn fired his rifle with Irish Flag unfurled
A dozen died at Eamonn’s hand
Eamonn took them out to free his land
Chorus
His mother told him one day we will be free
just like South Africa liberated by the ANC
he was known all over, from Cork to Belfast town
He was feared by those who fought for the Crown
One day the Brits will leave Ireland
And the Protestants will all understand
One last note: Even with the songs that are only about 10% me (and at the upper end, one is 80% me), I have a request, although I don't have strong feelings or expectations about this. First, I want credit for these songs. Second, I'd appreciate it if the notes follow the lyrics around the internet. If you modify the lyrics further, please either make some notes for the changes if you leave some of my changes, or just provide a link to this URL so people can see my version. Although I'm not sure how many people will like what I'm doing with the lyrics, to one degree or another (depending on how much I changed them) I'm proud of these songs- and at the risk of getting a little personal, if people like the songs, I could really use the extra boost of getting credit for them right now (or if you don't like them, they were all written by Sarah Palin- that fascist, what kind of sick person enjoys altering racist lyrics?).
For the rest of the poems click on the "lyrics" label at the bottom (there are at least two pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).
I start with the ones that are okay and end with the ones that are good.
“Declaration Of War” based on “Let the Battle Begin” by Celtic Warrior. I can’t find the original lyrics on the internet, but I found a karoke-style Youtube video with the lyrics, here or you can email me and I’ll send them to you.
1. Since Celtic Warrior is Welsh and possibly sympathetic to republicanism or Irish nationalism, I included some elements that are hostile to fascism.
2. The AK-47 is a rifle, the RPG is the Rocket Propelled Grenade.
3. This is set at the beggining of the Troubles, in the early 1970s.
4. The plough is the Starry Plough, the flag of republican socialism.
5. The line about changing the world is a reference to the internationalism of republicans, for example in supporting the Palestinians.
**6. 16% of this version is me, 84% is the original.
7. I give this song three stars out of five.
8. Valhalla is part of Norse mythology, it's a place where warriors go after they die, although there seems to be some debate about exactly who gets in- only people who die in combat? Anyway, the fascists love it and have sort of taken over the concept, but a friend told me that he likes the idea of the left claiming it and specifically said that if such a place exists, Che and others like him are probably there. (Do I believe in Valhalla? You could say I’m sort of an agnostic on that question and am sort of solidly a Christian. The way I see it, this is pretty flexible, don't take it too seriously, and one way to think about it is that if you believe in Heaven and would rather these people went there instead of Valhalla, maybe they can do both, spend some time in Valhalla and some time in Heaven; but my friend and I do like the idea of reclaiming it from the fash)
9. Considering the original, I should say that Irish pride is very different from white pride (most of the time). (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
10. This is overwhelmingly about the IRA, although it would make sense to say that the second half of the last line is more about their fellow republicans in SF.
UPDATE 1/28/11 11. When I say they're anti-fascist soldiers, I am not saying that their enemy is fascist, although a minority of them are. Even though they are not battling fascism, they are both soldiers and anti-fascist, so it makes sense.
UPDATE 3/18/15 12. I added "and mothers."
13. UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
Chorus:
let the battle begin, there’s no time to spare
let the battle begin, war has been declared
in the distance i see the smoke the flames and darkened sky
as we march forward to victory can you hear the battle cry
with AK and RPG we lead the fight our fathers and mothers did before
we’re anti-fascist soldiers, proud to be Irish, we’re fighting a liberation war
Chorus
thunder roars, lightening strikes the bells in hell start to chime
we’ll slay the beast, even the score yeah drive them out this time
blood is spilt, victory is ours, we will never face defeat
but if i die fighting for my people, in valhalla save my seat
Chorus
united we’re strong, united we stand, standing for our nation’s sake
Irish men and women together as one, calling out for Ireland to awake
our destiny awaits, the white flame burns, we march on with the plough unfurled
we take back what’s our’s, reclaim our land and we’re gonna help change the world
Chorus
****
“We are the threat that is red” based on “Red Threat” by Ian Stuart and Stigger, original lyrics are here.
1. Ian Stuart was the leader of Skrewdriver and was a big supporter of the British and Unionist causes in N. Ireland.
2. This takes place in the mid-1990s. At that point N. Ireland was slightly less orange than it had been about 5 years earlier (the UDA, a loyalist paramilitary, was first banned from the airwaves and then banned completely) and much less orange than it had been 30 years earlier, and the re-dawning would mean going backwards to some degree.
3. The RUC were the police in N. Ireland until late 2001.
4. Although my experience reading the BBC web-site and comparing what’s there with what’s reported in Irish/Irish-nationalist/Irish-republican news sources makes me think that the BBC, at least since the late 1990s, has been okay (not good) covering the North there’s still a lot of room for improvement and republicans have often criticized the BBC.
5. When this takes place, probably some small majority of republicans would have called themselves marxists (I'm not sure what I would say about Marxists in the ANC in the mid-1990s, it was probably something similar (this is not the best line I've done, but at the time it seemed like it was the best option I could think of at the time). UPDATE 1/28/11 I just deleted the word Marxist. It says instead, "fighting for freedom."
6. Republicans are generally in favor of religious and racial “mixing” and believe that it is good for society.
7. Bread is a symbol of economic justice.
8. The Dail is the Irish parliament and it has pretty much never shown as much concern about partition as it should.
9. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
10. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and I imagine it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from White pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
**11. 31% of this version is me, 69% is the original.
12. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
13. This is about the IRA although the BBC part could apply to unarmed republicans and to nationalists.
This is a warning, against an Orange day re-dawning
With the RUC trying to bash you in your head
Take on the BBC, we’re fighting for freedom like the ANC
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red
We encourage people mixing, to us it is so fixing
We fight for freedom, for democracy and for bread
Just for one occasion, let the Dail think of our divided nation
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red
We'll fight in the cities, we'll fight in the country
And we'll fight, the Orange peril, our pride we'll not shed
For the strength of the Irish nation, will be our salvation
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red
****
“Fetch That Armalite” based on “Fetch The Rope” by The Klansmen original lyrics are here.
1. The Klansmen was a side project of Ian Stuart Donaldson of Skrewdriver. Ian Stuart was a big supporter of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland, so this is twisting the original.
2. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
3. Although James Connolly (Ireland’s greatest socialist and greatest republican) was killed about 6 years before Ireland was divided, he predicted that the result of partition would be a ”carnival of reaction” which has basically happened, especially in the North.
4. A good description of what kind of state the Catholics were in is here. A longer and better source is the book “Northern Ireland: The Orange State” by Michael Farrell.
5. Armalites are rifles often used by the IRA.
6. Squaddies are British soldiers.
7. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
8. Also, the first line is a reference to how the IRA never or almost never retaliated against civilian people.
9. The line about justice and peace dying is a reference to the early 1970s when Bloody Sunday saw the civil rights movement shot off the streets by the British Army.
**10. 80% of this version is me, 20% is the original (80% is a new record, one I probably won’t break)
11. I give this song three stars out of five.
12. This song is NOT meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
13. This is about the IRA.
14. UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
Them good old Volunteers they held their fire despite the rising hate
Black masks, automatic rifles, they took on the British state
When the nation was cut in two, Connolly had predicted what did ensue
The Catholics were left in a one party state, no democracy, lots of hate
don't give up the fight
your cause is so right
don't give up the fight
Fetch that armalite
Squaddies from across the sea said they were there to keep the peace
But they turned out just as bad as the sectarian police
When justice and peace really died, the volunteers didn't hesitate
They were determined to smash the orange six-county state
*****
“Eamonn Joined The IRA” based on “Johnny Joined The Klan” by The Klansmen original lyrics are here.
1. The Klansmen was a side project of Ian Stuart Donaldson of Skrewdriver. Ian Stuart was a big supporter of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland, so this is twisting the original.
2. Derry is the second largest city in N. Ireland. The West Bank is a new way of referring to what used to be called “cityside.” The area is on the west bank of the River Foyle, and using that term is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinians. The West Bank is almost 100% Nationalist. and had some large nationalist majority during the conflict when this song is set.
3. Eamonn Wright is a made up name for IRA snipers- “Aiming Right.” (I'm not sure who first thought that up, as far as I can tell two song-writers have used it, and that's where I got it from)
4. That’s a reference to sectarian murder of Catholics.
5. I’ve heard that, unsurprisingly, there was a problem with British soldiers harrassing Nationalist women sexually (there was already a reference to going after men who "victimized" “girls” in the original (I put victimized in quotes because Ian Stuart is talking about Black men who he just assumes have done something wrong))
6. Belfast is the largest city in N. Ireland.
7. The hope is that at some point there will be a serious decrease in how widespread sectarianism is among Protestants. Also, that they’ll understand that they have nothing to fear from a United Ireland.
**8. 76% of this version is me, 24% is the original.
9. I give this version three stars out of five.
10. This is about the IRA, although, I think almost by definition, all nationalists rejected the Crown.
11. UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
Way up North in Derry town
in the West Bank where they reject the Crown
There was a neighborhood where the republican flame burned bright
Where lived an Irish boy named Eamonn Wright
Didn't like Brits patrolling night and day
So, Eamonn went and joined the IRA
Chorus
Go, go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Well Eamonn joined the IRA
He would hide his rifle in the front garden
with every sectarian murder his committment would harden
Aiming for the Brits who harrassed the girls
Eamonn fired his rifle with Irish Flag unfurled
A dozen died at Eamonn’s hand
Eamonn took them out to free his land
Chorus
His mother told him one day we will be free
just like South Africa liberated by the ANC
he was known all over, from Cork to Belfast town
He was feared by those who fought for the Crown
One day the Brits will leave Ireland
And the Protestants will all understand
One last note: Even with the songs that are only about 10% me (and at the upper end, one is 80% me), I have a request, although I don't have strong feelings or expectations about this. First, I want credit for these songs. Second, I'd appreciate it if the notes follow the lyrics around the internet. If you modify the lyrics further, please either make some notes for the changes if you leave some of my changes, or just provide a link to this URL so people can see my version. Although I'm not sure how many people will like what I'm doing with the lyrics, to one degree or another (depending on how much I changed them) I'm proud of these songs- and at the risk of getting a little personal, if people like the songs, I could really use the extra boost of getting credit for them right now (or if you don't like them, they were all written by Sarah Palin- that fascist, what kind of sick person enjoys altering racist lyrics?).
Friday, August 7, 2009
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reviews T
This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Acession” See this for a plot summary.
This episode raises the issue of caste systems and caste discrimination. I don’t think there’s much debate about this so I’ll just say that people should not be discriminated against in that manner and people’s work should not be mandated based on who their parents were.
I give this episode two stars out of five.
“Rules of Engagement” See this for a plot summary.
A fairly non-political episode. One thing I’d say is that Worf is lucky the ship he fired at was full of dead people. As he admitted, he should have identified it before firing.
It’s a good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Hard Time” See this for a plot summary.
For the most part a non-political episode, although it does sort of have something to say about punishment for crimes. The method described in the episode seems very questionable. The upside would be that you don’t lose a lot of your life, but it also means that people who turn out to be innocent can’t be released before their sentence is completed- the memories are there forever. There’s also something wrong with messing with someone’s head like that. There’s also the part where it’s all punishment and no rehabilitation- no counseling, no training, none of that. So, overall I would say it’s a bad way of dealing with crime.
A good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Shattered Mirror” See this for a plot summary.
A fairly non-political episode, although there is one brief statement against torture. Here’s why torture should not used:
1) It’s simply immoral- I think almost everyone would agree, even some of those who say that it’s effective and should be used in some cases.
2) It’s likely to get bad information. People will say whatever they think will end the torture.
3) When news of it gets out to the public it will affect global opinion negatively and will negatively affect morale among most of the American population and much of the American military.
I’m not a huge fan of the mirror universe episodes, so I give this one two stars out of five.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Acession” See this for a plot summary.
This episode raises the issue of caste systems and caste discrimination. I don’t think there’s much debate about this so I’ll just say that people should not be discriminated against in that manner and people’s work should not be mandated based on who their parents were.
I give this episode two stars out of five.
“Rules of Engagement” See this for a plot summary.
A fairly non-political episode. One thing I’d say is that Worf is lucky the ship he fired at was full of dead people. As he admitted, he should have identified it before firing.
It’s a good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Hard Time” See this for a plot summary.
For the most part a non-political episode, although it does sort of have something to say about punishment for crimes. The method described in the episode seems very questionable. The upside would be that you don’t lose a lot of your life, but it also means that people who turn out to be innocent can’t be released before their sentence is completed- the memories are there forever. There’s also something wrong with messing with someone’s head like that. There’s also the part where it’s all punishment and no rehabilitation- no counseling, no training, none of that. So, overall I would say it’s a bad way of dealing with crime.
A good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Shattered Mirror” See this for a plot summary.
A fairly non-political episode, although there is one brief statement against torture. Here’s why torture should not used:
1) It’s simply immoral- I think almost everyone would agree, even some of those who say that it’s effective and should be used in some cases.
2) It’s likely to get bad information. People will say whatever they think will end the torture.
3) When news of it gets out to the public it will affect global opinion negatively and will negatively affect morale among most of the American population and much of the American military.
I’m not a huge fan of the mirror universe episodes, so I give this one two stars out of five.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reviews S
This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Crossfire” See this for a plot summary.
In general a non-political episode, but there’s some tiny elements of politics.
First, there’s one reference to domestic violence, but the good statement is eroded by the idea that a good sex life is a legitimate reason for someone to stay in an abusive relationship. It might seem less offensive to many considering that the victim is male and the attacker is female, but that doesn’t make it okay.
The issue of Bajor applying to join the Federation and some resistance among Bajorans to that is raised. I think I’ve briefly discussed this before. I believe that the Federation is a good thing and should be expanded and would be helpful for Bajor as they get back on their feet after the Cardassian occupation.
I give it two stars out of five.
“Return to Grace” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode. There’s some discussion of bigotry- about how a half-Cardassian, half-Bajoran woman is unwelcome in both societies.
Overall a good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Sons of Mogh” See this for a plot summary.
This episode is largely non-political but includes one reference to the limits of multi-culturalism. Although there might be some exceptions on either side of this, customs which violate a nation’s laws should not be tolerated- there might be some customs which violate laws and should be respected anyway (the laws should be modified), and some customs which should be banned with new laws. One good example I can think of is female circumcision. I haven’t read about it in a long time, but I believe that it is wrong and should be banned.
I give it two stars out of five.
“Bar Association” See this for a plot summary.
A very political episode and one of the most progressive ST episodes made. It’s explicitly pro-union. There’s also reason to believe that the Federation and Starfleet are pro-union, as Sisko orders Odo to not interfere with the strikers and pressures Quark to negotiate with them. We also learn more about how raw Ferengi capitalism is.
The Ferengi Commerce Authority, which arrives to help Quark break the strike, is apparently able and willing to go very far. They threaten the strikers with fines against their relatives and the seizing of their financial accounts and also with death. They also openly use physical intimidation of the strikers with notorious Nausicaans and beat up someone the strike leader cares about and seem on the verge of killing the strike leader when the strike is resolved.
On the other hand, the Ferengi staff indicate that they still have a lot of respect for capitalism, talking about how they want to BECOME the exploiters and how they want to increase their profits (it wasn’t a reference to profit sharing). But that’s because they’re Ferengi.
Overall it’s very pro-labor. As usual whatever is considered “normal” for Ferengis is portrayed negatively and as in conflict with the Federation. The strikers seem to get a lot of popular support from the station’s population.
I give it four stars out of five.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Crossfire” See this for a plot summary.
In general a non-political episode, but there’s some tiny elements of politics.
First, there’s one reference to domestic violence, but the good statement is eroded by the idea that a good sex life is a legitimate reason for someone to stay in an abusive relationship. It might seem less offensive to many considering that the victim is male and the attacker is female, but that doesn’t make it okay.
The issue of Bajor applying to join the Federation and some resistance among Bajorans to that is raised. I think I’ve briefly discussed this before. I believe that the Federation is a good thing and should be expanded and would be helpful for Bajor as they get back on their feet after the Cardassian occupation.
I give it two stars out of five.
“Return to Grace” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode. There’s some discussion of bigotry- about how a half-Cardassian, half-Bajoran woman is unwelcome in both societies.
Overall a good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Sons of Mogh” See this for a plot summary.
This episode is largely non-political but includes one reference to the limits of multi-culturalism. Although there might be some exceptions on either side of this, customs which violate a nation’s laws should not be tolerated- there might be some customs which violate laws and should be respected anyway (the laws should be modified), and some customs which should be banned with new laws. One good example I can think of is female circumcision. I haven’t read about it in a long time, but I believe that it is wrong and should be banned.
I give it two stars out of five.
“Bar Association” See this for a plot summary.
A very political episode and one of the most progressive ST episodes made. It’s explicitly pro-union. There’s also reason to believe that the Federation and Starfleet are pro-union, as Sisko orders Odo to not interfere with the strikers and pressures Quark to negotiate with them. We also learn more about how raw Ferengi capitalism is.
The Ferengi Commerce Authority, which arrives to help Quark break the strike, is apparently able and willing to go very far. They threaten the strikers with fines against their relatives and the seizing of their financial accounts and also with death. They also openly use physical intimidation of the strikers with notorious Nausicaans and beat up someone the strike leader cares about and seem on the verge of killing the strike leader when the strike is resolved.
On the other hand, the Ferengi staff indicate that they still have a lot of respect for capitalism, talking about how they want to BECOME the exploiters and how they want to increase their profits (it wasn’t a reference to profit sharing). But that’s because they’re Ferengi.
Overall it’s very pro-labor. As usual whatever is considered “normal” for Ferengis is portrayed negatively and as in conflict with the Federation. The strikers seem to get a lot of popular support from the station’s population.
I give it four stars out of five.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Six new songs
I have six more songs. They're all "Those Lyrics," for an explanation see this. I might have a new source of non-offensive material for altering, but if not from now on it'll probably be something like 90% "Those Lyrics."
Also, two of these songs are SHARP/RASH songs, you might want to read the introductory portion of the first post I did with that sort of song/poem.
For the rest of the poems click on the "lyrics" label at the bottom (there are at least two pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).
The ones towards the top are okay, the ones towards the bottom are good.
1. We Fly the Starry Plough. Republican Socialists in Ireland.
2. The Hate Froze. The Eastern European part of WWII.
3. When Partition Falls. Partly about a vision for a United Ireland.
4. SHARP Skinheads. Anti-racist skinheads.
5. Slan Abhaile. N. Ireland.
“We fly the Starry Plough” based on “we fly the swastika” by No Remorse. Original lyrics are here.
1. The Starry Plough is the flag of republican socialism.
2. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and in N. Ireland I imagine it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from White pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
3. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
**4. 25% of this version is me, 75% is the original.
5. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
6. I'm not sure if I should have retained the bit about an era of darkness in my version. But "era of darkness" is basically in the right neighborhood- even today, with the economic situation and the continuation of British rule (albeit less so than before).
7. This poem is not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
8. No Remorse was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
9. This is about republican socialists, but only 1-2 lines are about those who use arms.
it’s a symbol of power, it’s a symbol of pride
in the hands of the Irish republican it evokes something deep inside
Chorus
we fly the starry plough, to London we won’t submit
we ain’t never going to take it down for no unionist or Brit
in this era of darkness, it’s a symbol of light
it’ll make a thousand strong Volunteers raise their fists and fight
Chorus
when you see our banners high, rally ‘round and cheer
only the crown forces have something to fear
Chorus
*****
There used to be a poem here called "Real Skinhead." It might be back soon.
*****
“The Hate Froze” based on “The Snow Fell” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.
1. The original is about, from a pro-Nazi perspective, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union which was dealt a fatal blow early on by the Russian Winter.
2. I skipped the first verse, which was about Stalin. I don’t like him, which is why I couldn’t flip it and I wasn’t going to leave it, so I’m ignoring it.
3. As the war went bad for the Nazis, there were more and more plots against Hitler.
4. The red flag in Berlin warms my heart because it represents the defeat of Nazi Germany.
**5. 15% of this version is me, 85% is the original.
6. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
7. I inspired someone on the Southern Poverty Law Center's blog to alter this song, and he did an even better job than I did. You can see his song in the comments.
UPDATE 11/27/10 8. I just realized that I'm pretty sure almost no one points to the Winter just outside Moscow as the moment when the defeat of the Nazis began. I might change that line.
8. UPDATE 12/24/10 I just added "there" to the 2nd line of the 2nd verse.
9. UPDATE 1/28/11 I am not a fan of the Soviet Union, but considering what they went through during the War, it's appropriate here and there to remember their contribution to the Allied victory.
They took the old roads that Napoleon had taken before.
They fought as a force of hate against the world in a fascist war.
One day they were looking around and the sun was shining on the cold flowers.
The next day they were freezing to death in the sleet and the ice cold showers.
(chorus)
And the snow fell
covering the hate of their ideals.
And the snow fell
freezing the blood and the wheels.
And the snow fell
it was the beginning of their defeat
And the snow fell
soon it would be complete
Then came the deadly roads back from the steppes of their retreat.
The cold racked their bodies but even better, there was the pain of defeat.
Many people who had hailed them once now turned and looked away.
These people now knew that Berlin’s defeat was on it's way.
(chorus)
they were finally pushed back to the borders of their fatherland.
Now assassins came heroes everywhere at hand.
Many Soviets had fought and died knowing that they had to win.
It still warms my heart to see the picture of the red flag in Berlin.
(chorus)
****
“When Partition Falls” based on “When The Hammer Falls” by Bound for Glory, original lyrics are here.
0. Partition is the division of Ireland.
1. The SDLP are the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Fein’s moderate rival in the nationalist community. I explain what’s wrong with them here.
2. Chinooks are UK military helicopters and are used here as a symbol of the British military.
3. The crooked cross is the swastika.
4. The red, white and blue are the colors of the British flag.
5. The ending of partition will strengthen various left, progressive, liberal and working-class movements in Ireland. I go into that more in the last 1/5 of this post.
6. There’s not a bad chance that when Ireland is united, a republican organization will be in a government with other parties of the Left.
7. There’s some large minority of republicans who support legalizing marijuana (dope is meant as a reference to marijuana, not drugs in general) (you could say this song is about that minority). (there's also a similar situation regarding abortion)
**7. 71% of this version is me, 29% is the original (a new record).
8. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
9. Since the original is American, I DID include some anti-hate stuff, see this for why that's important.
10. Initially this poem had some problems because it was kind of about Sinn Fein. I have now corrected that, and it is about a left-wing element of the republican family overall.
11. UPDATE 1/28/11 As far as I can tell, there's probably some small minority of republicans who are VERY Catholic, probably another small minority who are fairly Catholic, and probably a large minority who are atheist. And this poem is about the left-wingers, so it makes even more sense since there's probably not many republicans who are both very Catholic and left-wing.
12. UPDATE 1/28/11 Obviously republicans have been marching on the street for a long time, but more mass struggle will probably-definitely be part of republicans uniting Ireland and/or forming a republican-left government.
13 UPDATE 5/9/20 I deleted the last two "the" in the last line of the first verse.
SDLP fools and Unionist tools
We all live by London’s rules
Take a better look, up at the Chinooks
how many lives have they took?
Those of the crooked cross, in 1945 they lost
We’ll defeat them at any cost
we’re turning the screws, and we do refuse
to submit to the red, white and blue
Chorus:
From the visions that we saw, there will come new laws
When partition falls
With the power of pride, she’ll take a bride
When partition falls
for the women of Ireland, abortion on demand
When partition falls
For the working-class, justice at last
When partition falls
The future looks bleak, for those who think we are weak
the truth we will always speak
We have hope but no not from the Pope
We do support legalizing dope
we won’t Surrender, retreat, or cower in defeat
What will you do when we march on the streets?
We are what’s coming, our victory will be stunning
in a left coalition, the government we’ll be running
******
“SHARP Skinheads” based on “OC Skinhead” by Final War original lyrics are here.
1. Lincoln Brigade refers to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the group of American volunteers who fought fascism in Spain’s Civil War.
2. SHARP is SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice.
**3. 39% of this version is me, 61% is the original.
4. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
5. The class I refer to is the working-class.
6. 10/31/10 I just replaced the word "march" with the word "live" in the 5th line of the first verse.
We were born for anti-fash crusades
to follow the steps of the Lincoln brigade
born to fight and born to win,
we are all anti-racist Skins
we are the ones who live on the streets
our voices loud and never discreet
it's our battle in a people’s war
we are stronger than before
SHARP....Skinheads
Steel capped boots, fisted hands
an anti-racist scene and anti-racist bands
carry our banners hold ‘em above,
we'll fight for the class that we all love
drink some beer and hit the town,
find some Nazis and beat them down
comrades united across the states
we fight together against the hate
SHARP...Skinheads
yeah, We were born for anti-fash crusades
we all remember the Lincoln brigade
we've said it before let the battle begin
victory is ours you know we'll win
Fists and boots and our brains
we’ll defeat those who want fascist reign
shaven heads and opposition to hate
nazis better fuck off before it's too late
SHARP ...Skinheads
****
“Slan Abhaile” based on “When the Boat comes in” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.
1. The title is an Irish farewell to someone traveling home. There’s a republican mural that shows a British army soldier walking away towards (I think) the sunset (there's a sign saying that England is that way), with those words at the top. It’s sort of a friendlier spin on the slogan “Brits out.” My version of this song is a bit less friendly, but I like that republican mural and wanted to use that phrase.
2. Historically there’s been a left-wing analysis that British business operating in Ireland benefit from the way that partition (and in the North the sectarianism that goes with partition) weakens organized labor and the left.
3. This is set in the 1980s and 1990s when the republican strategy of the “Ballot and the armalite (rifle)” was being used.
4. Squaddie is a term for British Army soldier.
5. Special Branch is a part of the police in Britain and Ireland, sort of comparable to the FBI. The SB of the N. Ireland police during the conflict was involved in collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. I explain that more around 2/5 the way through this post.
6. The Red Hand is a loyalist symbol.
**7. 56% of this version is me and 44% is the original.
8. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
9. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
10. Except for the last five lines, this could include nationalists and of course unarmed republicans, but those last 5 lines are about the IRA.
we won’t take shit, from the Brits, cause Ireland does rule
We will fight the tories, 'cos tories are all fools
Try to run our nation, and give it to fat cats
We won't take it anymore, we're taking our nation back
(Chorus)
Squaddie, Squaddie, get on that boat
Squaddie, Squaddie, row
Squaddie, Squaddie, get out of here
Squaddie, Squaddie, go, go, go...
They patrol the Irish streets, they're dividing our Irish land
And the bigots in Special Branch give aid to the Red Hand
Give them guns, give them info, ignore our human rights
We won't stand and watch our people be slaughtered without a fight
Chorus
We've got to love this land of ours, and fight to make it free
One day we’ll win just like our comrades in the ANC
And if we have to we will fight all the way to the end
between the ballot and the armalite we’ll make them comprehand
One last note: Even with the songs that are only about 10% me (and at the upper end, one is 75% me), I have a request, although I don't have strong feelings or expectations about this. First, I want credit for these songs. Second, I'd appreciate it if the notes follow the lyrics around the internet. If you modify the lyrics further, please either make some notes for the changes if you leave some of my changes, or just provide a link to this URL so people can see my version. Although I'm not sure how many people will like what I'm doing with the lyrics, to one degree or another (depending on how much I changed them) I'm proud of these songs- and at the risk of getting a little personal, if people like the songs, I could really use the extra boost of getting credit for them right now (or if you don't like them, they were all written by Sarah Palin- that fascist, what kind of sick person enjoys altering racist lyrics?).
Also, two of these songs are SHARP/RASH songs, you might want to read the introductory portion of the first post I did with that sort of song/poem.
For the rest of the poems click on the "lyrics" label at the bottom (there are at least two pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).
The ones towards the top are okay, the ones towards the bottom are good.
1. We Fly the Starry Plough. Republican Socialists in Ireland.
2. The Hate Froze. The Eastern European part of WWII.
3. When Partition Falls. Partly about a vision for a United Ireland.
4. SHARP Skinheads. Anti-racist skinheads.
5. Slan Abhaile. N. Ireland.
“We fly the Starry Plough” based on “we fly the swastika” by No Remorse. Original lyrics are here.
1. The Starry Plough is the flag of republican socialism.
2. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and in N. Ireland I imagine it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from White pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
3. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
**4. 25% of this version is me, 75% is the original.
5. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
6. I'm not sure if I should have retained the bit about an era of darkness in my version. But "era of darkness" is basically in the right neighborhood- even today, with the economic situation and the continuation of British rule (albeit less so than before).
7. This poem is not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
8. No Remorse was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
9. This is about republican socialists, but only 1-2 lines are about those who use arms.
it’s a symbol of power, it’s a symbol of pride
in the hands of the Irish republican it evokes something deep inside
Chorus
we fly the starry plough, to London we won’t submit
we ain’t never going to take it down for no unionist or Brit
in this era of darkness, it’s a symbol of light
it’ll make a thousand strong Volunteers raise their fists and fight
Chorus
when you see our banners high, rally ‘round and cheer
only the crown forces have something to fear
Chorus
*****
There used to be a poem here called "Real Skinhead." It might be back soon.
*****
“The Hate Froze” based on “The Snow Fell” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.
1. The original is about, from a pro-Nazi perspective, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union which was dealt a fatal blow early on by the Russian Winter.
2. I skipped the first verse, which was about Stalin. I don’t like him, which is why I couldn’t flip it and I wasn’t going to leave it, so I’m ignoring it.
3. As the war went bad for the Nazis, there were more and more plots against Hitler.
4. The red flag in Berlin warms my heart because it represents the defeat of Nazi Germany.
**5. 15% of this version is me, 85% is the original.
6. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
7. I inspired someone on the Southern Poverty Law Center's blog to alter this song, and he did an even better job than I did. You can see his song in the comments.
UPDATE 11/27/10 8. I just realized that I'm pretty sure almost no one points to the Winter just outside Moscow as the moment when the defeat of the Nazis began. I might change that line.
8. UPDATE 12/24/10 I just added "there" to the 2nd line of the 2nd verse.
9. UPDATE 1/28/11 I am not a fan of the Soviet Union, but considering what they went through during the War, it's appropriate here and there to remember their contribution to the Allied victory.
They took the old roads that Napoleon had taken before.
They fought as a force of hate against the world in a fascist war.
One day they were looking around and the sun was shining on the cold flowers.
The next day they were freezing to death in the sleet and the ice cold showers.
(chorus)
And the snow fell
covering the hate of their ideals.
And the snow fell
freezing the blood and the wheels.
And the snow fell
it was the beginning of their defeat
And the snow fell
soon it would be complete
Then came the deadly roads back from the steppes of their retreat.
The cold racked their bodies but even better, there was the pain of defeat.
Many people who had hailed them once now turned and looked away.
These people now knew that Berlin’s defeat was on it's way.
(chorus)
they were finally pushed back to the borders of their fatherland.
Now assassins came heroes everywhere at hand.
Many Soviets had fought and died knowing that they had to win.
It still warms my heart to see the picture of the red flag in Berlin.
(chorus)
****
“When Partition Falls” based on “When The Hammer Falls” by Bound for Glory, original lyrics are here.
0. Partition is the division of Ireland.
1. The SDLP are the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Fein’s moderate rival in the nationalist community. I explain what’s wrong with them here.
2. Chinooks are UK military helicopters and are used here as a symbol of the British military.
3. The crooked cross is the swastika.
4. The red, white and blue are the colors of the British flag.
5. The ending of partition will strengthen various left, progressive, liberal and working-class movements in Ireland. I go into that more in the last 1/5 of this post.
6. There’s not a bad chance that when Ireland is united, a republican organization will be in a government with other parties of the Left.
7. There’s some large minority of republicans who support legalizing marijuana (dope is meant as a reference to marijuana, not drugs in general) (you could say this song is about that minority). (there's also a similar situation regarding abortion)
**7. 71% of this version is me, 29% is the original (a new record).
8. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
9. Since the original is American, I DID include some anti-hate stuff, see this for why that's important.
10. Initially this poem had some problems because it was kind of about Sinn Fein. I have now corrected that, and it is about a left-wing element of the republican family overall.
11. UPDATE 1/28/11 As far as I can tell, there's probably some small minority of republicans who are VERY Catholic, probably another small minority who are fairly Catholic, and probably a large minority who are atheist. And this poem is about the left-wingers, so it makes even more sense since there's probably not many republicans who are both very Catholic and left-wing.
12. UPDATE 1/28/11 Obviously republicans have been marching on the street for a long time, but more mass struggle will probably-definitely be part of republicans uniting Ireland and/or forming a republican-left government.
13 UPDATE 5/9/20 I deleted the last two "the" in the last line of the first verse.
SDLP fools and Unionist tools
We all live by London’s rules
Take a better look, up at the Chinooks
how many lives have they took?
Those of the crooked cross, in 1945 they lost
We’ll defeat them at any cost
we’re turning the screws, and we do refuse
to submit to the red, white and blue
Chorus:
From the visions that we saw, there will come new laws
When partition falls
With the power of pride, she’ll take a bride
When partition falls
for the women of Ireland, abortion on demand
When partition falls
For the working-class, justice at last
When partition falls
The future looks bleak, for those who think we are weak
the truth we will always speak
We have hope but no not from the Pope
We do support legalizing dope
we won’t Surrender, retreat, or cower in defeat
What will you do when we march on the streets?
We are what’s coming, our victory will be stunning
in a left coalition, the government we’ll be running
******
“SHARP Skinheads” based on “OC Skinhead” by Final War original lyrics are here.
1. Lincoln Brigade refers to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the group of American volunteers who fought fascism in Spain’s Civil War.
2. SHARP is SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice.
**3. 39% of this version is me, 61% is the original.
4. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
5. The class I refer to is the working-class.
6. 10/31/10 I just replaced the word "march" with the word "live" in the 5th line of the first verse.
We were born for anti-fash crusades
to follow the steps of the Lincoln brigade
born to fight and born to win,
we are all anti-racist Skins
we are the ones who live on the streets
our voices loud and never discreet
it's our battle in a people’s war
we are stronger than before
SHARP....Skinheads
Steel capped boots, fisted hands
an anti-racist scene and anti-racist bands
carry our banners hold ‘em above,
we'll fight for the class that we all love
drink some beer and hit the town,
find some Nazis and beat them down
comrades united across the states
we fight together against the hate
SHARP...Skinheads
yeah, We were born for anti-fash crusades
we all remember the Lincoln brigade
we've said it before let the battle begin
victory is ours you know we'll win
Fists and boots and our brains
we’ll defeat those who want fascist reign
shaven heads and opposition to hate
nazis better fuck off before it's too late
SHARP ...Skinheads
****
“Slan Abhaile” based on “When the Boat comes in” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.
1. The title is an Irish farewell to someone traveling home. There’s a republican mural that shows a British army soldier walking away towards (I think) the sunset (there's a sign saying that England is that way), with those words at the top. It’s sort of a friendlier spin on the slogan “Brits out.” My version of this song is a bit less friendly, but I like that republican mural and wanted to use that phrase.
2. Historically there’s been a left-wing analysis that British business operating in Ireland benefit from the way that partition (and in the North the sectarianism that goes with partition) weakens organized labor and the left.
3. This is set in the 1980s and 1990s when the republican strategy of the “Ballot and the armalite (rifle)” was being used.
4. Squaddie is a term for British Army soldier.
5. Special Branch is a part of the police in Britain and Ireland, sort of comparable to the FBI. The SB of the N. Ireland police during the conflict was involved in collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. I explain that more around 2/5 the way through this post.
6. The Red Hand is a loyalist symbol.
**7. 56% of this version is me and 44% is the original.
8. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
9. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
10. Except for the last five lines, this could include nationalists and of course unarmed republicans, but those last 5 lines are about the IRA.
we won’t take shit, from the Brits, cause Ireland does rule
We will fight the tories, 'cos tories are all fools
Try to run our nation, and give it to fat cats
We won't take it anymore, we're taking our nation back
(Chorus)
Squaddie, Squaddie, get on that boat
Squaddie, Squaddie, row
Squaddie, Squaddie, get out of here
Squaddie, Squaddie, go, go, go...
They patrol the Irish streets, they're dividing our Irish land
And the bigots in Special Branch give aid to the Red Hand
Give them guns, give them info, ignore our human rights
We won't stand and watch our people be slaughtered without a fight
Chorus
We've got to love this land of ours, and fight to make it free
One day we’ll win just like our comrades in the ANC
And if we have to we will fight all the way to the end
between the ballot and the armalite we’ll make them comprehand
One last note: Even with the songs that are only about 10% me (and at the upper end, one is 75% me), I have a request, although I don't have strong feelings or expectations about this. First, I want credit for these songs. Second, I'd appreciate it if the notes follow the lyrics around the internet. If you modify the lyrics further, please either make some notes for the changes if you leave some of my changes, or just provide a link to this URL so people can see my version. Although I'm not sure how many people will like what I'm doing with the lyrics, to one degree or another (depending on how much I changed them) I'm proud of these songs- and at the risk of getting a little personal, if people like the songs, I could really use the extra boost of getting credit for them right now (or if you don't like them, they were all written by Sarah Palin- that fascist, what kind of sick person enjoys altering racist lyrics?).
Debunking the Birthers
Occassionally I'll do something like this (it's the second time) where I'll do a brief post offering a piece of information that doesn't seem to be in wide circulation but is crucial to understanding something in the news.
You've heard of the people who believe that President Obama wasn't born in America. I recently heard that a small majority of GOP members believe this nonsense. Besides the obvious, one reason I don't believe it is that World Net Daily did a story on it during the campaign that 99% dismissed this nonsense and 110% discredited the Birthers.
WND is a right-wing source and thus this cannot be dismissed as liberal propaganda.
The article is here.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reviews R
This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“The Sword of Kahless” See this for a plot summary
A very non-political episode, but a good one, I give it two stars out of five.
“Our Man Bashir” See this for a plot summary
A very non-political episode, but a good one. I give it four stars out of five.
“Homefront” and “Paradise Lost” See this and this for a plot summary
A very political two-parter. It’s largely about preserving democracy and freedom while a nation battles an external enemy.
I think the methods adopted early in the two-parter are okay. The sweeping of certain areas with phaser fire seems like a good idea, although as Sisko’s dad pointed out, the blood tests were not worth the trouble. I have mixed feelings about soldiers on the streets in that situation, although they were thinking a Jem’Hadar invasion could be imminent, so that kind of justifies it.
The admiral’s belief that Starfleet should take over is obviously undemocratic- his claim that it wouldn’t be a dictatorship is ridiculous. Democracy makes nations stronger, it motivates the people to do their best when they’re fighting for democracy.
It’s important to avoid destroying a democracy in order to save a democracy. There are reasonable measures depending on the context that I would support even though they erode democracy and/or freedom. Even better, there are measures that can be taken when a threat increases that don’t erode democracy or freedom at all- many of the measures taken in relation to air-travel security since 9/11 are in that category, as was the suspension of flight for a brief period after 9/11. But many others, including much of the Patriot Act have significantly eroded democracy.
(I can't remember exactly what I was thinking when I wrote the second sentence of the paragraph above. I sort of want to walk it back some and offer as an example, how during WWII the British should have had at least one general election and didn't have any between 1936 and 1944. But they DID have a government of national unity including both Labour and the Tories)
Overall a good two-parter, I give it four stars out of five.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“The Sword of Kahless” See this for a plot summary
A very non-political episode, but a good one, I give it two stars out of five.
“Our Man Bashir” See this for a plot summary
A very non-political episode, but a good one. I give it four stars out of five.
“Homefront” and “Paradise Lost” See this and this for a plot summary
A very political two-parter. It’s largely about preserving democracy and freedom while a nation battles an external enemy.
I think the methods adopted early in the two-parter are okay. The sweeping of certain areas with phaser fire seems like a good idea, although as Sisko’s dad pointed out, the blood tests were not worth the trouble. I have mixed feelings about soldiers on the streets in that situation, although they were thinking a Jem’Hadar invasion could be imminent, so that kind of justifies it.
The admiral’s belief that Starfleet should take over is obviously undemocratic- his claim that it wouldn’t be a dictatorship is ridiculous. Democracy makes nations stronger, it motivates the people to do their best when they’re fighting for democracy.
It’s important to avoid destroying a democracy in order to save a democracy. There are reasonable measures depending on the context that I would support even though they erode democracy and/or freedom. Even better, there are measures that can be taken when a threat increases that don’t erode democracy or freedom at all- many of the measures taken in relation to air-travel security since 9/11 are in that category, as was the suspension of flight for a brief period after 9/11. But many others, including much of the Patriot Act have significantly eroded democracy.
(I can't remember exactly what I was thinking when I wrote the second sentence of the paragraph above. I sort of want to walk it back some and offer as an example, how during WWII the British should have had at least one general election and didn't have any between 1936 and 1944. But they DID have a government of national unity including both Labour and the Tories)
Overall a good two-parter, I give it four stars out of five.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reviews Q
This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Indiscretion” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but a good one. I give it two stars out of five.
“Rejoined” See this for a plot summary.
“The lesbian kiss that wasn’t” I can’t find where I read that, but I like how it describes part of this episode. Two women kiss each other, but it’s actually heterosexual since they’re motivated by feelings that their symbiants have for each other from earlier hosts when one host was male and they were married.
As I’ve described elsewhere, aside from the issue of non-heterosexual characters, ST has a fairly good record of being anti-homophobic.
UPDATE 3/24/22 When I watched this recently, I decided that it WAS anti-homophobic. Not the kiss really, but something else. Although I don't consider same-sex relationships to be "taboo," historically the word "forbidden" might be appropriate. The two Trill women wrestle with doing something (starting a new romantic relationship when their symbionts have a past together as a couple) forbidden by their society, because they love each other. They talk about pursuing that love even though they will be disowned by their society. In THAT sense it kind of IS anti-homophobic.
Overall a good episode, I give it two stars out of five.
“Starship Down” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, although there’s one minor thing I’ll address. I’m not going to say something every time Ferengi greed is displayed, it happens something like every other episode.
A good episode, I give it three stars out of five.
“Little Green Men” See this for a plot summary.
There’s some good political commentary about Earth history (and our present)- the greed, bigotry, war, nuclear fission, and tobacco.
The story is pretty creative and well-done, I give it four stars out of five.
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