“Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defense”. This is the opening paragraph from a recent column in CounterPunch by Binoy Kampmark. In the same piece Dr. Kampmark includes this statement by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, “The American position is aggressive and immoral, a flagrant violation of all humanitarian principles and values, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people in the Gaza Strip”. We call upon Binoy frequently to not only steer us through the headlines of national and international issues but to also hear his often controversial opinions. In another example we reluctantly recalled that before the 2016 US general election, Kampmark was adamant that the outcome would be hard to comprehend and scare many people. As Binoy says, “Things in America were very odd then, so Trump won”. Not that he is in the business of predicting but Binoy does have a startling opinion as to the outcome of the looming 2024 election. More topics are covered in this edition, including Binoy’s clarification of how the royalty works in the UK, “The distinction between reigning and ruling is the Monarch reigns but does not rule – the actual rule lies in Parliament”. And, a look at the Machiavellian goings on behind the curtain in British politics, plus how does the rest of the world view America’s disconcerting feud over abortion?

We close the program with an exceptional piece of music from singer-producer, Guy Baron who presents as Semi Precious. This creative London-based artist says he makes, “Intimate dreamy lo-fi minimalist bedroom pop”. Of course, Mr. Baron appears far too modest to proclaim his EP, Sun Is Out stunning! I had a difficult time selecting just one cut to share with you. The Weight got the most votes from my one-person, unscientific poll. This is haunting music soaked in the anguish of a failed love affair – or is it the pain of a longing, never to be realized? The instrumentation, the vocals, the production, everything is original. Quite simply, Semi Precious’ music gives me chills on each listen and I’ve had this beauty on repeat play recently. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Guy and perhaps I can have a chat with him and discover the real story behind, Sun Is Out.

The artwork is a montage by The Cryptic Pixies