Legitimacy through Resistance:The Spiritual Baptist Faith in T&T. [Video]

Uploaded by matthew280811 ..............................................................................................................................
"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Where Calypso Went? [Song]

Uploaded by IsDePanInMe
WHERE CALYPSO WENT?
By Brother Valentino

In 1912 in New York City, they record the first calypso
By Lovey's Orchestra, a band from Trinidad, the record could show
This orchestra was led by George Bailey, the musician, not the mas' man
The tune was entitled "Mango Vert", so Calypso recordings began
In 1914, two years later, Julien Whiterose and one Jules Sims
Gave to Calypso its first vocal recordings
In 1921, Railway Douglas opened the first Calypso tent
And from then to now I keep asking where the hell the Calypso went.

'Cause since in the early 20's, Sa Gomes sponsored Lion and Tiger
Our Calypso music was attracted by a recording company they called Decca
It was recorded before all that jazz and so much other music
But somewhere along the way, Calypso has lost its magic
Just when they feel the Calypso would skyrocket all over the continent
It took a nosedive in the Savannah and then back to the frigging tent.

In the early thirties Calypso reach Harlem's black community
Pioneered by Sir Lancelot, the Duke of Iron and Houdini
Sam Manning, Bill Rogers, the Duke of Marlborough
Not forgetting Gerald Clarke and Lionel Belasco
Look how long the Calypso was on the international scene
Until a man name Morley Amsterdam brought it where the pasture was green
"Rum and Coca Cola" the Andrew Sisters said it all
The tune sold seven million copies and Lord Invader, he had a ball.

A hundred and fifty US thousand dollars, he got for this calypso
And for composing the melody, Belasco, he got something also
Through Amsterdam and the Andrew Sisters, Calypso made the hit parade
Now today the same Calypso ketching its arse to make the grade.
'Cause everyday now the people keep complaining, Calypso is dying slow
But is all them Calypso judges and promoters that have it so.

Calypso reach in Greenwich Village, Calypso reach all over Broadway
Calypso sold its first million albums through Harry Belafonte
Nat King Cole recorded "Calypso Blues" in 1948
Chuck Berry recorded "Havana Moon", that calypso was really great
Robert Mitchum, Rosemary Clooney, the Kingston Trio, Louis Farrakhan
All these people sang the Calypso, Lionel Richie and Bob Dylan
Calypso, it was acknowledged, had an influence on the Motown Sound
Jamaicans could say, thanks to Calypso, Reggae music is still around.

A calypsonian told me a story about Bob, Peter and Bunny
Recording his calypso, "Where Sammy Gone", they sang background vocals for he
Our first Independence Calypso King, Lord Brynner, who they send loco
Told me that Bob Marley and the Wailers pick up some vibes from we Calypso
After all these people and places, "Where the hell did Calypso go?"
End up in some cheating competition on some blasted Dimanche Gras Show.

The first woman to enter a tent to sing Calypso
Lady Trinidad was her sobriquet, the first to cut a record also
Thelma Lane was her name. I want them female calypsonians know
About a feminist in the art, a trail blazer and fighter of long ago
And then enter Harold Phillips, a man who would create history
A calypsonian and a pannist, a concert promoter from Laventille
In his Colony Club in England where he promote his calypso show
These white boys would walk with their guitar and together they jam the tempo.

And then Woody told me a true story, them white boys used to gig with he
About a historic concert they pull off in Hamburg, Germany
John, Paul, George and Ringo is Lord Woodbine made me to know
The famous Beatles from in Liverpool pick up some vibes from we Calypso
After all these explorations, how much further did Calypso went?
End up in all kinds of competitions and then back to the frigging tent.

Source: The lyrics posted on this blog are often transcribed directly from performances. Although it is my intention to faithfully transcribe I do not get all the words and I have a knack for hearing the wrong thing. Please feel free to correct me or to fill in the words that I miss by dropping me a message via e-mail. I'd be forever grateful. Thanks in advance!
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A Note From The Gull

Thank you, Brother Valentino! I have been thinking about this. I have to say that this year's Dimanche Gras calypso competition left me cold. I waited for Singing Sandra to sing her second song and then hurriedly left the house [Internet]. I am probably biased but Singing Sandra was my choice for Monarch...even though as I watched her perform, I was bothered by a feeling that something was bringing her spirit down. Singing Sandra, I hope that you do not allow anything to discourage you and that you are blessed with health and strength to continue singing. Stay strong, stay true!

I think that there should be a people's choice for People's Calypso Monarch, a decision that is not reached by appointed judges but just a mechanised system for tallying phoned in votes.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

A Synopsis Of The Israel/Palestine Conflict

I found this pamphlet recently and I am reproducing it here for those fellow Trinbagonians who might find the subject confusing and might have an interest in knowing the facts. For those who want more, "The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict." by If Americans Knew is a much more detailed account and I also found the UN's brochure "The Question of Palestine & The United Nations" informative.

Source: A SYNOPSIS OF THE ISRAEL/PALESTINE CONFLICT

Click on image above to see larger version.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE ISRAEL/PALESTINE CONFLICT

For centuries there was no such conflict. In the 19th century the land of Palestine was inhabited by a multicultural population – approximately 86 percent Muslim, 10 percent Christian, and 4 percent Jewish – living in peace.

ZIONISM

In the late 1800s a group in Europe decided to colonize this land. Known as Zionists, they represented an extremist minority of the Jewish population. Their goal was to create a Jewish homeland, and they considered locations in Africa and the Americas, before settling on Palestine.

At first, this immigration created no problems. However, as more and more Zionists immigrated to Palestine – many with the express wish of taking over the land for a Jewish state – the indigenous population became increasingly alarmed. Eventually, fighting broke out, with escalating waves of violence. Hitler's rise to power, combined with Zionist activities to sabotage efforts to place Jewish refugees in western countries, led to increased Jewish immigration to Palestine, and conflict grew.

UN PARTITION PLAN

Finally, in 1947 the United Nations decided to intervene. However, rather than adhering to the principle of “self-determination of peoples,” in which the people themselves create their own state and system of government, the UN chose to revert to the medieval strategy whereby an outside power divides up other people’s land.

Under considerable Zionist pressure, the UN recommended giving away 55% of Palestine to a Jewish state – despite the fact that this group represented only about 30% of the total population, and owned under 7% of the land.

1947-1949 WAR

While it is widely reported that the resulting war eventually included five Arab armies, less well known is the fact that throughout this war Zionist forces outnumbered all Arab and Palestinian combatants combined – often by a factor of two to three. Moreover, Arab armies did not invade Israel – virtually all battles were fought on land that was to have been the Palestinian state.

Finally, it is significant to note that Arab armies entered the conflict only after Zionist forces had committed 16 massacres, including the grisly massacre of over 100 men, women, and children at Deir Yassin. Future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, head of one of the Jewish terrorist groups, described this as “splendid,” and stated: “As in Deir Yassin, so everywhere, we will attack and smite the enemy. God, God, Thou has chosen us for conquest.” Zionist forces committed 33 massacres altogether.

By the end of the war, Israel had conquered 78 percent of Palestine; three-quarters of a million Palestinians had been made refugees; over 500 towns and villages had been obliterated; and a new map was drawn up, in which every city, river and hillock received a new, Hebrew name, as all vestiges of the Palestinian culture were to be erased. For decades Israel denied the existence of this population, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once saying: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian.”

1967 WAR & USS LIBERTY

In 1967, Israel conquered still more land. Following the Six Day War, in which Israeli forces launched a highly successful surprise attack on Egypt, Israel occupied the final 22% of Palestine that had eluded it in 1948 – the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since, according to international law it is inadmissible to acquire territory by war, these are occupied territories and do not belong to Israel. It also occupied parts of Egypt (since returned) and Syria (which remain under occupation).

Also during the Six Day War, Israel attacked a US Navy ship, the USS Liberty, killing and injuring over 200 American servicemen. President Lyndon Johnson recalled rescue flights, saying that he did not want to "embarrass an ally." (In 2004 a high-level commission chaired by Admiral Thomas Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, found this attack to be “an act of war against the United States,” a fact few news media have reported.)

CURRENT CONFLICT

There are two primary issues at the core of this continuing conflict. First, there is the inevitably destabilizing effect of trying to maintain an ethnically preferential state, particularly when it is largely of foreign origin. The original population of what is now Israel was 96 percent Muslim and Christian, yet, these refugees are prohibited from returning to their homes in the self-described Jewish state (and those within Israel are subjected to systematic discrimination).

Second, Israel's continued military occupation and confiscation of privately owned land in the West Bank, and control over Gaza, are extremely oppressive, with Palestinians having minimal control over their lives. Over 10,000 Palestinian men, women, and children are held in Israeli prisons. Few of them have had a legitimate trial; Physical abuse and torture are frequent. Palestinian borders (even internal ones) are controlled by Israeli forces. Periodically men, women, and children are strip searched; people are beaten; women in labor are prevented from reaching hospitals (at times resulting in death); food and medicine are blocked from entering Gaza, producing an escalating humanitarian crises. Israeli forces invade almost daily, injuring, kidnapping, and sometimes killing inhabitants.

According to the Oslo peace accords of 1993, these territories were supposed to finally become a Palestinian state. However, after years of Israel continuing to confiscate land and conditions steadily worsening, the Palestinian population rebelled. (The Barak offer, widely reputed to be generous, was anything but.) This uprising, called the "Intifada" (Arabic for "shaking off") began at the end of September 2000.

U.S. INVOLVEMENT

Largely due to special-interest lobbying, U.S. taxpayers give Israel an average of $7 million per day, and since its creation have given more U.S. funds to Israel than to any other nation. As Americans learn about how Israel is using our tax dollars, many are calling for an end to this expenditure.

TOLL OF THE CONFLICT
Israelis and Palestinians killed: September 29, 2000 - December 31, 2007

Source: A SYNOPSIS OF THE ISRAEL/PALESTINE CONFLICT
Click on image above to see larger version

Source: A SYNOPSIS OF THE ISRAEL/PALESTINE CONFLICT
Click on image above to see larger version

Source: A SYNOPSIS OF THE ISRAEL/PALESTINE CONFLICT
Click on image above to see larger version

Recommended Reading: "The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict."