LINK 2005/6 no. 52 CONTACT US ON phone/fax 0113 2268904, 07802 741346, 07818 445678 e-mail info@newsviewslink.co.uk : web www.newsviewslink.co.uk
Editorial/Co-ordination - John Broadhead, Music Link- Ann Marie: Reader- Dorrette M Production - Chris Nriapia Feature Moses Masinde Responses Andy Germaine - Chris Nriapia PLEASE NOTE The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editorial team . Print, Smallprint, Chapel Allerton. Distribution in Town, Frontline LINK works for the community as a wholly charitable oganisation and on a non profit basis.
NEWS VIEWS The Christmas Celebration: New Powers to Teachers: Working with the Muslim community: Bio diesel and New jobs
BODY, MIND, SPIRIT HOW TO GO FURTHER; RESPONSES The Alexander Technique ‘Pause before action’ Quaker Quest
MUSIC LINK KID AFRICA----- Cuba’s Finest
--The Christmas Celebration-----
has eclipsed the city of Nairobi in earnest. The shops 
are
already awash with decorations and messages of Merry Christmas and Happy New
year. But celebrating Christmas festivities in Kenya is not all about buying
and selling. In fact the bigger steak of it is about people travelling upcountry
to celebrate together with their kinsmen and women during this annual festive
moments.During this time of the year, heavy luggages connoting mainly of furniture,
mostly sofa sets and beds dominate the bus carriers as people travel upcountry
to their ancestral homes particularly in Western parts of Kenya. The communities
living in this region are mainly the Luo and Luhya communities who are not only
known for playing soccer and singing but are also good at lavishly feasting
during such times. For these communities Christmas celebrations can only be
memorable if only a few chickens lose their lives - for that is the turkey of
this part of Kenya. Moses Masinde
We wish all our readers a Happy Christmas Season and the very best in the New Year
With interest we note the move to give teachers the right to discipline pupils.
They will be able to use 'reasonable force' to restrain them and their legal
position will be made clear. 'Head and teachers must use these new powers, with
the backing of parents, only then can good behaviour become the norm' says Ruth
Kelly Education secretary. A national behaviour charter with rights and responsibilities
of staff, pupils and parents will be looked at. How wonderful! But surely this
is a classic case of ' too little far too late.' Far more than a behaviour charter
is necessary. Instead an accurate behaviour profile should follow 
pupils
right through their years in education. An ABP, showing development of life
skills and conduct,would give these attributes their real position as often
more important than the number of paper certificates obtained. This profile
would also be meaningful to prospective employers and much influence chances
of work; and better self-discipline and behaviour would follow as pupils strove
to get a good profile. Of course, this would need to be done with sympathy and
understanding - enough has already happened to change, disturb, and upset teachers
who strive to get the best for our children. Yet this fairly simple change to
behaviour profiling could be the turning point, the kingpin, to move Britain
and its schools forward into a brighter future.
WORKING WITH THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY
Benjamin
Wood writes:- When I first heard
about the London bombings on July 7th, I was on the train coming back to Leeds,
and a group of London white-collar types ranted and sighed into their mobile
phones. I looked out the window, feeling sick. I couldn't imagine the kind of
twisted minds that could murder innocent people, certainly not a truly Islamic
mind. The very word Islam means peace and submission in Arabic. So murder in
the name of Islam is a contradiction in terms. These people, if we use such
a gracious word, pervert the goodness of God and turn in to all too human designs.
At least the people responsible payed the price for the horrors they committed,
of course, this is no consolation for the families and friends of the victims.
Let us hope that something good comes out of this tragedy, that people will
continue to find the strength within themselves and in their communities to
tackle the hatred, alienation, fear and ignorance that lie at the root of terror.
Only then can we bring an end to this senseless violence. Thus at this time,
the nation needs a sense of togetherness and in such a spirit, politicians need
to use their power wisely by giving a measured and rational response to this
crisis. Law I agree is one avenue to pursue, but on there own ant-terror laws
achieve little. The defeat of hatred won't be achieved merely by the government
tapping phone-lines, monitoring our computer use or any other piece of totalitarian
action. The solution lies partly in giving Muslims the tools of political empowerment,
so by using the police, government and the courts, they may root out extremism
in their own backyards. Only the Muslim community itself, affirming tolerance
and non-violence, can silence the voices of those who do not respect this country's
democratic values and the rule of law. The Buddha said "Hatred does not cease
by hatred, but only by love".
Protecting Our Environment - Bio diesel and New jobs
Rudolph Diesel lived from 1858 to 1913. He made the first compression ignition
engine, (air and diesel fuel are compressed 
and
explode.) In the late 19th century the only engines then were steam powered
and were about 12% efficient.At the Paris Exhibition of 1898 his diesel engine
ran at an amazing efficiency of 75%! This first engine ran on peanut oil. Diesel
felt strongly that ordinary folk should have energy sources to compete against
the monopoly industries. So up to the 1920s the engines ran on various vegetable
oils - but then the big oil companies took over and the engines were made to
burn fossil oil from oil wells. Obviously damage to the atmosphere now began.
Diesel died in 1913. He was crossing the English Channel to arrange the use
of his bio diesel engine by the British Navy. He fell over the side of the ship
and was never found. Now the Diesel engine is much lighter than in 1898. The
first heavy engines could only be used factories and ships. Today they are also
used in cars, lorries and trains and today they greatly add to pollution. Running
on bio diesel there is little or no pollution, introducing it again is vital.
Bio diesel is now available but with excise duty it is scarcely cheaper than
normal fossil diesel and the cost to market it is therefore prohibitive. Government
must take its responsibilities to safeguard our atmosphere seriously and reduce
this duty. The growth of suitable crops, e.g. rapeseed, must be assisted and
set aside land used for this. Obviously lots of new employment would grow from
this 'initiative' - could it be the power of oil companies over government holding
this back? ALSO SEE http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html
BODY, MIND, SPIRIT HOW TO GO FURTHER
So we 'battle' through life --- In this struggle we can go it alone, or work
together. BMS is for those who want to share 
experiences
and make the trip as pleasant as possible! A good starting point is to get body,
mind and spirit, our basics, in harmony. How to go further with this? We print
relevant articles, receive and share ideas. It's a tall order but as we move
on we'll check out and establish what we have discovered. Most important to
this work is LINKS 'special approach.' Simply this means looking out for others.
When you can put them first. Often people will respond warmly to this. Let’s
go further still. It's a lot more than one good turn brings another back - it's
more like putting energy in STORAGE. Then, unexpectedly, and when you really
need it, this energy returns to help you. You may have noticed this effect,
or you may say ' sounds a bit strange, do you mean a sort of spirit or power?'
Let me explain how it works - 'this energy you store away is solid and reliable.
It is as if it is set up in the very science of creation. It's difficult to
explain in words. It is best to discover it through a sort of DIY experiential
process. Take the 'risk', put others first, and this energy will build up. It
will become your personal strength and reserve. Still sounds strange?- but so
is life without something to be certain of. Did you hear the story? 'There was
a man (a carpenter) who said and did a lot of very wonderful things. After this
time some of his approach, his special energy, was embedded in life, in creation.'
This energy is always available for those prepared to take the 'risk' to try
it out - it is always solid and reliable. I have tried this method for a long
time and it works very well. Others at LINK are interested and are beginning
to see it work. John Broadhead
RESPONSES From Andy Germaine I liked the sound of this as I read through it and was thinking to myself: “This is great. It’s a benevolent philosophy that isn’t supported by religious nonsense”….and then I got to the bit about Jesus. Fair enough, I suppose, as your message is a Christmas one, but you need to decide whether you are trying to build links between different communities or trying to convert them all to Christianity. Sharing the same old religious faiths is only going to lead to more Jihads, impositions of democracy and other such sabre-rattling nonsense. Not necessarily in Chapel A but on a global scale, for sure.
From Chris Nriapia I found your Body, Mind & Spirit piece very interesting. I was especially interested in the STORAGE approach which you mention and I do agree with. I have taken the DIY approach to this and have too found that it does work. Sometimes when you do things for free, or spend time on something where there is no direct return or even financial reward, its quite funny how for some reason it seems to come back in a different way when not expected. I do however think that this is the same in all walks of life, not just Christianity or Buddhism (karma) but in all religions and even just to uphold the ‘love thy neighbour’ way towards life. To close, the STORAGE system I do live by and even when I say to myself ‘this isn’t working, I’ve done loads for this person or organization and to date they haven’t returned any favours, …something happens. This can be from another person who is not directly linked to the favour but it really is strange how it works….I think, if I could sum it up in words, it would be ‘what goes around, comes around’.
The Alexander Technique 2 ‘Pause before action’
Last issue we looked at poor posture and how this could be improved by the
Alexander technique. Now we look at Inhibition,
one of the fundamental principles of the Alexander Technique. Without it we
can't change any of our bad habits even when we recog-nize them. Inhibition
is simply when we pause before reacting instinctively. Inhibition is associated
with the suppression of feelings and is thought of as bad. Freud used the word
associating it with fear and the inability to be spontaneous and so it has gained
this reputation. But the actual meaning of inhibition is the restraint of the
direct expression of an instinct. If the mental act of inhibition is done consciously
and for a particular reason then the result can have great advantages for the
way in which we behave. From this pause before action we can gain much greater
self-control. This positive inhibition helps us stop reacting in a stereotyped
manner: instantaneous and conditioned responses that we have learned throughout
our lives are delayed and, if harmful can be gradually corrected. Today numerous
events bombard our senses. Walking through town there is so much noise and visual
move-ment to cope with. We do this without a second thought, yet our nervous
system is often under excessive strain. A moment of pausing gives us the opportunity
to act with greater consciousness and provides a chance to act appropriately
to the situation, rather than unconsciously reacting with unnecessary muscular
tension. So true spontaneity can emerge. John B.
So by all means join a group - for we need human company, we are human enough! In this issue LINK looks at FRIENDS, a very different way to discover life:-
Quaker QuestQuaker Quest is run by the Friends or Quakers, the names are inter changeable. It's an effort to find out more about life; and the hope is that visitors will like what they see and come along again. Gerald explained why he was a member 'Someone said to me I would find many at Quakers who were not Christians, certain Christian meetings I cannot stand.' I think he meant those with sermons, lots of hymns, prayers and where you say 'thank you Jesus' all the time. Discussions followed eg. 'does what you believe affect your life.' And to finish, a short Friends meeting. Simple enough, you sit, in a rough circle, in silence. Anyone who finds a strong feeling to speak what's on his or her mind may do so. It's not easy to stand up in the silence of the meeting and to speak out! But if you do here is a mix of people who will listen patiently and , if guided to do so, may add to what has been said. Usually helpful and orderley debate at a deep level comes from this. Many Friends would not call it a 'debate', but might accept this in the sense of weighing up what's 'going on' in the many spheres that affect us all. This meeting is different, and can make a difference to how you are, how you think. It's not just passive. Here you may put something in, and you will receive something back. Do try it out. Dress is quite casual and you don't need to wear one of those hats like the man on the Quaker Oats packet. Also there is time to meet and talk after the meetings.
MUSIC LINK KID AFRIKA ----- Cuba’s Finest
by Ann Marie Broadhead
If
you like to dance - especially all you Salsa devotes - you will love Kid Afrika!
His last Leeds gig was at DJ Lubis weekly Salsa night held at the Atrium in
October and his high energy live performance made it virtually impossible to
leave the dance floor! Kid's music infuses Hip Hop and Reggaeton (a mix of Reggae
/ Latin music) with Cuban beats and Salsa rhythms. All this is combined with
an infectious, commercial pop sound that makes tracks catchy and easy on the
ear! After 13 years in the industry, it is now that Kid’s career is taking off.
His tracks are being released on compilation albums such as the Beginner’s Guide
to Latin (Nascante) and he is currently making a debut album.
With this in mind, I recently tracked Kid Afrika down and interviewed the artist on everything from Cuban traditional music to his world wide appeal.
You're originally from Havanna in Cuba. What is the hip hop scene like there? It's Blowing Up! It mainly started in '93 and is now internationally promoted. 'Orishas' was the first band to break out of Cuba and into the mainstream worldwide market.
Who were the artists and which were the sounds that influenced you? I mainly listened to Bhusta Rhymes and Bones Thugs and Harmony. Other influences come from Rhumba and Repentistas the traditional music of Cuba. Repentistas is similar to hip hop as lyrics are spoken.
What do you have to offer that other Cuban artists may not? My rapping style is tight. I give advice in my lyrics and encourage people to keep on working, to ‘jump up’ and stay happy. I also talk about life on the street back home and tell other rappers to keep focused.
How long have you been performing in England? I started when I arrived here in 2003 by singing live at a friend's salsa class. I had previously been working with my band in Cuba 'Orchestra Salsa de la Caridad' so the transition was pretty straight forward.
One of the favourite tracks for your fans is 'Machaka'. Tell us more….. The track mixes many different music types including Reggaeton and Salsa and can be found on the compilation CD Toma Reggaeton 2 by Spanish Label Blanco y Negro. The track basically encourages listeners to keep on dancing.
Your vocals will be on the soundtrack for a new short film called Transit. It premieres on M.T.V on 1st of December and aims to teach young people worldwide about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. Why were your vocals chosen and how do the tracks reflect the theme of the film? Initially, I was brought in to the studio to give advice on melodies and lyrics for the films soundtrack. However, the producer and I got on so well that I ended up recording three tracks - 'Summer Time,' 'Repella' and 'Don't Know Who You Are'. Summer time is a feel good song and talks of boys and girls having fun on the beach enjoying the sun and sea. There's a lot of partner swapping and the film highlights the dangers that can come from doing so.
You have also recently been part of 50 Cents new video - Hustlers Ambition which is soon to be released. Yes! Whilst filming, the director liked my energy and gave me a pair of trainers to wear. There's an illegal fight scene between two guys. The camera shot zooms between the fight and my trainers. I'm standing on the stairs behind the boxing ring so look out for me there!
To find out more about Kid Afrika, his future gigs and to listen to sample tracks check out www.kidafrika.com. We also have a free copy of the Beginners Guide to Cuba CD with compliments from its compiler DJ Lubi. For a chance to win make sure you’re the first person to email LINK with the correct answer to this question. Where is Lubis weekly salsa night held? Send answers to info@newsviewslink.co.uk