The Four Fathers

Linking to and discussing my recent, in-depth, one-hour interview with Kevin Gosztola for his “Unauthorised Disclosure” podcast, in which we discussed Guantánamo, with a specific focus on the military commissions, and the recent ruling by the 9/11 trial judge refuting defense secretary Lloyd Austin’s claim that he had the right to revoke plea deals agreed in July with three of the 9/11 co-accused, and on the plight of the 16 men still held who have long been approved for release, and for whom President Biden urgently needs to find new homes before his presidency comes to an end. Kevin also promoted ’Songs of Loss and Resistance”, the new album of protest music by my band The Four Fathers, harking back to the ‘Protest Song of the Week’ feature that he ran on his previous site, Shadowproof, where he publicized our very first release nine years ago.

Announcing the release of The Four Fathers’ new album, ‘Songs of Loss and Resistance’, on Bandcamp, featuring ten original songs — mostly protest songs, nine by me, and one by our guitarist Richard Clare — which is available to listen to for free, or, if you’d like, to buy as a download, or even as a limited edition CD. You can also buy individual tracks as downloads. The album covers tumultuous events in the UK and globally over the last eight years, including the existential threat to humanity posed by climate collapse, the Grenfell Tower fire, the Brexit referendum, the anti-gentrification Tidemill garden occupation in Deptford, the ongoing plight of Guantánamo’s “forever prisoners”, and the unjust imprisonment of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange. It was recorded sporadically, between July 2018 and January this year, with the great Charlie Hart, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, best-known as a member of Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance in the 1970s and ‘80s, who also plays electric piano and accordion on three of the songs.

Promoting the release of ‘Warriors (Freedom Version)’ by The Four Fathers, an amended version of the song ‘Warriors’, which I wrote about Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning, and which we released in February, while Julian was still held in HMP Belmarsh, fighting his proposed extradition to the US in the UK courts. We released the updated song to mark 50 days since Julian unexpectedly regained his freedom as the result of a plea deal at the end of June, and I hope that you have time to listen to it, and that you’ll share it if you like it. Julian hasn’t made any public statements since his release, although last month his wife Stella posted the wonderful photo of the whole family together on a beach in Australia, which we used as the cover image, and I’m sure I’m joined by many other supporters in wishing him the opportunity to enjoy his freedom in peace, as I’m sure it will take him a considerable amount of time to recover from his long ordeal – of nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and then five years in Belmarsh.

The video of my hour-long discussion, with Emmy Butlin and other members of the Julian Assange Defence Committee, about the 13th anniversary of the release, by WikiLeaks, of classified military files about the Guantánamo prisoners, leaked, along with other classified documents, by Chelsea Manning. I was a media partner for the release of the files, along with numerous major newspapers from the US, the UK and the EU, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss my Guantánamo work in general, my work on the files released in 2011 and their significance, and also to provide an update about the sad and shameful situation at Guantánamo today, where 30 men are still held.

Linking to, and discussing my recent interview with Chris Cook of Gorilla Radio, in which we discussed Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the significance of the recent by-election victory in the UK of George Galloway, the continuing plight of the 16 men still held at Guantánamo who have long been approved for release, the global vigils for the prison’s closure, and the continuing plight of Julian Assange, who is still fighting in the British courts to prevent his extradition to the US to face outrageous and unjustifiable espionage charges relating to WikiLeaks’ publication, in 2010-11, of classified US files leaked by Chelsea Manning. Chris also played ‘Warriors’, my recently released song about Julian and Chelsea, recorded with The Four Fathers.

Linking to, and discussing the significance of ‘Warriors’, the new release by The Four Fathers, which I wrote about Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning, and which was released to coincide with Julian’s last UK appeal against his proposed — and grotesquely unfair — extradition to the US to face espionage charges relating to the files that he published, with some of the world’s most significant newspapers, which had been leaked by Chelsea Manning, including the Guantánamo files, on which I worked a media partner.

Promoting, and linking to ‘Guantánamo Voices’, a one-hour show by Alex Fitch, broadcast on Resonance FM, featuring comics creator Sarah Mirk discussing her 2020 graphic novel anthology ‘Guantánamo Voices’, me discussing Guantánamo’s history, and a recording of former prisoner and author Mohamedou Ould Slahi and I discussing Guantánamo at an event in Brighton last March, during Mohamedou’s first UK speaking tour. Alex also opened and closed the show with songs by my band The Four Fathers.

Linking to, and discussing my recent interview with Chris Cook of Gorilla Radio in Canada, about the collapse of Liz Truss’s government, after just 44 days, the baleful influence of the Tufton Street ‘think-tanks’, and the unending agony of Brexit, plus discussion of the plight of Julian Assange and the current situation at Guantánamo. Chris also played the Four Fathers’ anti-Brexit anthem, ‘I Want My Country Back (From The People Who Wanted Their Country Back)’, and my article also includes some post-interview reflections on Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister, and the many challenges he faces, not least on Brexit.

A link to, and discussion of my interview with Andy Bungay of Riverside Radio in Wandsworth, in which we discussed the woefully inept government of Liz Truss, Guantánamo and the plight of Julian Assange, and Andy also played ‘Forever Prisoner’ by my band The Four Fathers.

Following up on the good news that five prisoners at Guantánamo were recently approved for release by Periodic Review Boards, I contrast that story with the monstrous plight of another prisoner, Khaled Qassim, who has been held for nearly 20 years without charge or trial, and who recently had his ongoing imprisonment without charge or trial approved by a PRB, on the basis that he is not compliant enough, even though the authorities acknowledged that, prior to his capture, he had a “low level of training” and a “lack of leadership in al Qaida or the Taliban.”