Musicians come out in support of Palestine
Over 600 musicians are standing in solidarity with Palestine, signing a letter pledging to boycott performing in Israel.
The open letter, Musicians for Palestine, is signed by famous musicians including Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, Rage against the Machine and Patti Smith.
31 May 2021 8am Zedlines
Your 8am Zedlines with Imogen, Shreya and Sitara.
Image Credit: Queensland Government / Translink
Biden faces pressure over conflict in Ethiopia
United States President Joe Biden faces pressure from abroad, after more than 10,000 people attended an anti-US rally in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
The protesters denounced President Biden’s call for a ceasefire to the conflict in the country's northern region of Tigray, now in its seventh month.
Golden Go Card opportunity
Four lucky commuters will win a Golden Go Card, giving them free public transport for a year, under the state government’s new competition.
Transport minister Mark Bailey says a commuter must travel on public transport any Friday in June to enter. A winner will be randomly selected each Monday.
Anti-military Protests Ahead of Defence Expo
In a weeklong “Festival of Resistance” anti-militarism activists are disrupting work at the Rheinmetall and DB Schenker warehouse in Redbank.
The arms manufacturers are set to participate in this week’s controversial Land Forces Defence Expo.
$8 Million grant to create job opportunities
Minister for Employment Di Farmer is announcing an $8 million grant to help create jobs over the next two years.
The Social Enterprise Jobs Fund aims to help the sector to grow, scale-up activities and create more training and employment opportunities for vulnerable and disadvantaged Queenslanders.
Victorian Lockdown Continues
Victoria’s fourth lockdown continues, following the mystery COVID-19 case of a person working in aged care.
People who are vulnerable to COVID-19 were meant to have been vaccinated by Easter, but not all have been.
Victorian industry groups call to bring back JobKeeper
The Victorian industry groups are calling on the Prime Minister to bring back JobKeeper amid the state’s 4th lockdown.
It is reported that 90,000 businesses have been affected by the current lockdown.
Canadian PM comments on Indigenous Children remains found
Content warning: This story mentions the death of Indigenous Canadians.
Sachém - Part of The Picture
North Stradbroke Island local Sachém is an artist whose intellect and creativity reaches new levels. With his name being a title given to the Native American chief from the Mohegan tribe in the North East of the USA, it was prophetic that frontline First Nation/African American leader Sachém would become a talented writer and orator. The rapper, singer, and spoken-word poet has combined his greatest works into his debut EP Part of the Picture.
Most of the collection was recorded with Mules Mecca at District Studios, with "Take It Off" and his latest single "Chasin" recorded with Papertoy in Gadigal and "Gemini" with K Rasta in Meanjin. The EP's guest artist appearances include RMC, Grand Master Absent and Sol Chld. "This is a collection of music gathered from significant parts of my life over the last 18 months," Sachém explained of the art piece.
As expected, the powerful songwriter manages to give a perfect snapshot of his intersectional experience of life in the EP. "I would like the listener to gain a better understanding of the complexities of a young Indigenous person living in this colonised world. The many emotions, thoughts and struggles that come up within our lives as a result of our history and current experience, challenge the morals and values of our cultural lens. So we are forced to sit in this weird space that lies between the two worlds. This is a space that not many people outside this experience would understand. And despite this we still manage to survive, create and express. This EP is only Part of the Picture that makes up the Blak experience in Australia."
Having played at Yonder Festival in 2020 and Mountain Goat Valley Crawl 2021, fans who see Sachém live can expect to be enamoured by a "young indigenous man, conflicted and exhausted, amidst a turbulent battle of ego, monetary gain and self-discovery" which manifests in a theatrical and emotive performance. The artist also won the 2017 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize through Queensland Poetry Festival and 2020 Brisbane City Council Best Original Song Award. Sachém laces rhymes with personal stories, while touching on poignant social & cultural issues that have and continue to impact his life.