R.I.P.s

[Pogues to Niagara]

Day of mourning in Canada

[Frances]

Just made a blood donation appointment at my local Red Cross chapter.
They don't earmark blood donations for Orlando, just add to the supply.

I believe such shootings may actually occur more frequently than one is allowed to donate whole blood.


RIP members (and friends) of the gay community gathered at Pulse.

I can't help but think of my own family member and how utterly cruel such a scenario is.


My condolences to the families and loved ones of all forty-nine victims.<3<3<3<3<3<3

[Low D]

It's fucking horrible, and watching Trump try to make political capital out of it with his anti-immigrant ranting when the shooter was US born is enough to make me cry blood.

Let's remember that this killing has happened less in a context of radical Muslim hatred towards the LGBTQ community, and more in a context of Christian AND other religious bigotry against the community, masquerading as "religious freedom" in acts like Prop 8. Now is the time for all religious folks to stand up and demand their religious groups STOP supporting such propositions. And for everybody, religious or not, tell their elected officials to STOP kowtowing to conservative religious groups'.

Here's a good analysis about how societal misogyny helped create the context of a mass killing of women here in Canada, and how that lesson can be applied to today's events.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/orlando ... -1.3631994

[Low D]

RIP to the Bramble Cay melomys, beleived to be the first mammal to go extinct as a direct result of climate change.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bramb ... -1.3634296

[Tal]

Euro 2016: Northern Ireland fan dies after fall in Nice.....

It is believed Darren Rodgers, who was 24 and from Ballymena, was on his own and fell about 26ft (8m) from a promenade onto a rocky beach in Nice.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-36515775

[Frances]

Christian AND other religious bigotry against the community, masquerading as "religious freedom" in acts like Prop 8.

Yes. When that passed I was shocked, though seeing supporters crammed on overpasses, on street corners, etc. gave us some inkling.
I recall calling my sister and telling her to drive another way when meeting at the movies, knowing It'd upset her, because these people weren't working toward their own good, they were gleefully trying to take a right away from others.

It was weird and creepy and very similar to Trump.

Trump is WrestleMania. Nobody is gonna elect that fat fuck to anything. His limited vocabulary totally freaks me out. He'd test at a fourth or fifth grade level, I think. Just odd.

[Low D]

Irish guitarist Henry McCullough, 72, after a long illness.

Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Wings, Joe Cocker's Grease Band, his own work.... and i never knew it was his voice at the beginning of "Money" on Dark Side Of The Moon saying "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time," and that he appeared on the original cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar.

I think his final recording may actually be with Terry Woods, Eamon Carr and The Radiators From Space on a cover of Thin Lizzy's "Dublin", on Sound City Beat (recorded spring 2011).

A good time to revisit this Sweeney's Men one-off reunion, perhaps:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17632&p=223574&hilit=Terry+%26+Sweeney%27s+Men+on+BP+Fallon+radio+show%2C+1986#p223574

I recently found a unlabeled cassette I have of most of a radio show from 1986 that features Terry. He talks about having just filmed Straight To Hell so it must be from '86. The Fanning Sessions site , dedicated to posting recordings from 1980s/90s Irish radio, have added the recording.

https://fanningsessions.wordpress.com/2 ... orchestra/

[Low D]

Irish guitarist Henry McCullough, 72, after a long illness.

"On this date..." tells me that Rory Gallagher also passed on June 14th (1995), so the two of them must be having quite a jam over there.

[firehazard]

RIP Jo Cox, Labour MP, mother of two small children, a campaigner against poverty and for victims of violence. Shot and stabbed while going about constituency work, by a man who appears to have links to neo-Nazi organisations. The first member of the British Parliament to have been murdered for more than 25 years.

There's a disturbingly poisonous atmosphere in UK politics at present, fuelled by a rampantly right-wing media. Dangerous times.

[Low D]

Shot and stabbed while going about constituency work, by a man who appears to have links to neo-Nazi organisations. The first member of the British Parliament to have been murdered for more than 25 years.

One wonders if he'll be referred to as a "terrorist". Were he Muslim or, say, Irish, I can only imagine we'd hear that word being thrown around alot already.

[Low D]

There's a disturbingly poisonous atmosphere in UK politics at present, fuelled by a rampantly right-wing media. Dangerous times.

And trust Billy Bragg to give us some good commentary on that topic:

Musician Billy Bragg's biting approach to Brexit
Activist musician among British influencers publicly fuming at nasty, uninformed debate
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brexit-debate-billy-brag-eu-referendum-1.3642126

[firehazard]

Shot and stabbed while going about constituency work, by a man who appears to have links to neo-Nazi organisations. The first member of the British Parliament to have been murdered for more than 25 years.

One wonders if he'll be referred to as a "terrorist". Were he Muslim or, say, Irish, I can only imagine we'd hear that word being thrown around alot already.

On his first court appearance, the middle-aged white British suspect gave his name as "Death to traitors. Freedom for Britain". The right-wing media focused on his mental health. Wonder what the focus would've been if he'd been a Muslim, or of a different ethnic origin?

[Mike from Boston]

Shot and stabbed while going about constituency work, by a man who appears to have links to neo-Nazi organisations. The first member of the British Parliament to have been murdered for more than 25 years.

One wonders if he'll be referred to as a "terrorist". Were he Muslim or, say, Irish, I can only imagine we'd hear that word being thrown around alot already.

On his first court appearance, the middle-aged white British suspect gave his name as "Death to traitors. Freedom for Britain". The right-wing media focused on his mental health. Wonder what the focus would've been if he'd been a Muslim, or of a different ethnic origin?

Here in the US, he was referred to as a "Neo-Nazi".

[Mike from Boston]

Pakistan Sufi singer Amjad Sabri shot dead in Karachi

I understand this is the equivalent of John Lennon being murdered. Sounds like the Sunni Muslims didn't like his brand of peaceful Islam.

[DzM]

One wonders if he'll be referred to as a "terrorist". Were he Muslim or, say, Irish, I can only imagine we'd hear that word being thrown around alot already.

On his first court appearance, the middle-aged white British suspect gave his name as "Death to traitors. Freedom for Britain". The right-wing media focused on his mental health. Wonder what the focus would've been if he'd been a Muslim, or of a different ethnic origin?

Here in the US, he was referred to as a "Neo-Nazi".

All these different names for different flavors. I don't understand why we can't just use the catch-all "dickhead." As in:

"A member of the British Parliament was shot and stabbed by a complete dickhead. She is the first member of Parliament assassinated in more than 25 years."

"49 people were shot and killed, and several more remain in critical condition, by a complete dickhead. It is believed that this complete dickhead was acting of his own volition."

"A large group of total dickheads has made everything in the Middle-East even worse than it was before. To further their dickhead cause they are warping and twisting the teachings of a widely observed faith."

"A dickhead, with help from his dickhead friends, improvised a fuel-and-nitrate bomb in the back of a rental truck and subsequently exploded it in Oklahoma City killing and maiming hundreds of innocent people."

"Packs of dickheads have hacked another blogger to death in Bangladesh for the perceived crime of writing opinion pieces that argued for tolerance, non-secular governing, and general rationality."

"A highly opinionated dickhead who feels his opinions justify any action he takes has killed a medical professional who, as part of their job, performs legal abortions."