U.S. Obtains Internet Users' Search Records
This is a direct follow-up from my early morning musings. As the above link reports, Google may be resisting calls to hand over information to the Bush imperial database - but Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo seem to have no such qualms. Nor is there any comfort for those of us living outside Amerika - these are global search engines that operate beyond national boundaries.
Just how long Google can battle alone against this conspiracy only time will tell. For now, you can be sure I'll be restricting my searches to a route free of data highwaymen.
Later.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Communication Shakedown
Feds Seek Google Records On Porn
It's gone midnight here in Britain. I was about to annouce a late blog but the witching hour has passed. I was offline most of yesterday so still have to catch up on late news.
This quick link above reports on the Bush government's attempts to get hold of data from Google - a major threat to our privacy that is being "vigourously contested". The issue is not one concerning pornography at all - that is simply the excuse. A precedent here would effectively be a back door to total surveillance. Google need the most support they can get on this - their own business interests are under threat, but in reality our own freedom is under even more threat.
This is hot on the heels of Blair's education secretary finding herself in hot water over sex offenders working in UK schools. As usual, the rabble-rousing breed of press have jumped on the bandwagon and stirred up a load of paranoia about child molesters and the like. One of the teachers in question seems to have done little more than download a packet of pictures, only one of which was remotely suspect and probably accidental. My own spambox is deluged every day with invites to view "hot rabid teens" (or somesuch) in all manner of wholly unattractive activities. Once in a blue moon an odd one gets by the filters and if opened accidently will, of course, copy that content to my cache. Twice infact, since I also connect to the internet via my own proxy server. Browser pre-fetch handlers also mean this stuff can come down the line without my having seen it at all. So - am I guilty of some crime for having been invaded by material I have not even seen and have no want of? If the criteria described can get me a "caution" which itself would put me on a sex offender's register, it would seem so. Frightening.
Since the time of 9.11, I have kept an eye on signs of excessive surveillance by Blair's government. The sad fact is that it is police, security services and civil servants to conduct such mischief and the legacy of such practices will, if allowed to take root, outlive the present government itself. It is a sad fact that activities involving child sex do plague our society. We are right to be outraged and the issue is a highly emotive one. The solution is not, however, to rally around the vigilantee cause promoted by the media in order to give a totalitarian state more ammunition with which to impose draconian measures which affect personal freedom. I have long suspected that the huge public support for catching child sex offenders has provided the government with the approval it needs to build a surveillance infrastructure that is designed to monitor far more that that which this particular excuse provides. The current dilemma simply shows how inept the system is. If such confusion, mismanagement and practical failures can exist where the protection of children is concerned, one can only imagine the false prosecutions, imprisonments and character assassinations that will ensue when that system reveals its full potential as a mechanism for the supression of civil liberties and dissenting voices.
Hey - I said it was way gone midnight. So goodnight.
Later.
It's gone midnight here in Britain. I was about to annouce a late blog but the witching hour has passed. I was offline most of yesterday so still have to catch up on late news.
This quick link above reports on the Bush government's attempts to get hold of data from Google - a major threat to our privacy that is being "vigourously contested". The issue is not one concerning pornography at all - that is simply the excuse. A precedent here would effectively be a back door to total surveillance. Google need the most support they can get on this - their own business interests are under threat, but in reality our own freedom is under even more threat.
This is hot on the heels of Blair's education secretary finding herself in hot water over sex offenders working in UK schools. As usual, the rabble-rousing breed of press have jumped on the bandwagon and stirred up a load of paranoia about child molesters and the like. One of the teachers in question seems to have done little more than download a packet of pictures, only one of which was remotely suspect and probably accidental. My own spambox is deluged every day with invites to view "hot rabid teens" (or somesuch) in all manner of wholly unattractive activities. Once in a blue moon an odd one gets by the filters and if opened accidently will, of course, copy that content to my cache. Twice infact, since I also connect to the internet via my own proxy server. Browser pre-fetch handlers also mean this stuff can come down the line without my having seen it at all. So - am I guilty of some crime for having been invaded by material I have not even seen and have no want of? If the criteria described can get me a "caution" which itself would put me on a sex offender's register, it would seem so. Frightening.
Since the time of 9.11, I have kept an eye on signs of excessive surveillance by Blair's government. The sad fact is that it is police, security services and civil servants to conduct such mischief and the legacy of such practices will, if allowed to take root, outlive the present government itself. It is a sad fact that activities involving child sex do plague our society. We are right to be outraged and the issue is a highly emotive one. The solution is not, however, to rally around the vigilantee cause promoted by the media in order to give a totalitarian state more ammunition with which to impose draconian measures which affect personal freedom. I have long suspected that the huge public support for catching child sex offenders has provided the government with the approval it needs to build a surveillance infrastructure that is designed to monitor far more that that which this particular excuse provides. The current dilemma simply shows how inept the system is. If such confusion, mismanagement and practical failures can exist where the protection of children is concerned, one can only imagine the false prosecutions, imprisonments and character assassinations that will ensue when that system reveals its full potential as a mechanism for the supression of civil liberties and dissenting voices.
Hey - I said it was way gone midnight. So goodnight.
Later.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Al Gore declares constitutional crisis
AlterNet: Rights and Liberties
Yesterday also saw a major speech from Al Gore. For those with short memories, he was Vice President under the Clinton administration and knows what he's talking about.
The above link will take you to a transcript of the full speech.
Later.
Yesterday also saw a major speech from Al Gore. For those with short memories, he was Vice President under the Clinton administration and knows what he's talking about.
The above link will take you to a transcript of the full speech.
Later.
Abuse of freedom's memory
Protesters at King March Oppose Air Force Flyover
Yesterday was Martin Luther King day in the US - a traditional time to celebrate freedom and civil rights. This link tells us that protesters were less than happy about an air force flyby and the suggestion that King would have approved of this excercise of military muscle.
Most ironic of all must be the words of the ape emperor himself, getting in on the act with the following ...
"Dr King roused the dozing conscience of a complacent nation."
One presumes the Bush copywriter in this instance has a wicked sense of humour.
Later.
Yesterday was Martin Luther King day in the US - a traditional time to celebrate freedom and civil rights. This link tells us that protesters were less than happy about an air force flyby and the suggestion that King would have approved of this excercise of military muscle.
Most ironic of all must be the words of the ape emperor himself, getting in on the act with the following ...
"Dr King roused the dozing conscience of a complacent nation."
One presumes the Bush copywriter in this instance has a wicked sense of humour.
Later.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Planetary ecosystem moves beyond point of no return
Independent Online Edition > Environment
The above links leads to a tragic, but not altogether surprising feature on the destruction of Gaia's lifeblood. It's today's headline news in the Uk's Independent newspaper - a worthy editorial choice.
The Galloway TV fiasco has been described by his aide as a "Worst Case Scenario" as the Respect party loses all respect. Also, as Gordon Brown annouces he has another baby on the way (keeping himself in the limelight after the weekend's "British Day" comments) a new poll suggests the English MPs do not want a Scotsman as Prime Minister in the new age of devolution.
"Violence entered my life, destroying what I loved. Because I was a victim of hate, I have dedicated my life to turn that hate into understanding, into tolerance and, why not say it, into love."
The new (female) President Bachelet of Chile.
Bachelet's election represents another move away from Amerikan influence in Latin America. This is becoming a trend, with Peru next on the agenda.
Later.
The above links leads to a tragic, but not altogether surprising feature on the destruction of Gaia's lifeblood. It's today's headline news in the Uk's Independent newspaper - a worthy editorial choice.
The Galloway TV fiasco has been described by his aide as a "Worst Case Scenario" as the Respect party loses all respect. Also, as Gordon Brown annouces he has another baby on the way (keeping himself in the limelight after the weekend's "British Day" comments) a new poll suggests the English MPs do not want a Scotsman as Prime Minister in the new age of devolution.
"Violence entered my life, destroying what I loved. Because I was a victim of hate, I have dedicated my life to turn that hate into understanding, into tolerance and, why not say it, into love."
The new (female) President Bachelet of Chile.
Bachelet's election represents another move away from Amerikan influence in Latin America. This is becoming a trend, with Peru next on the agenda.
Later.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Patriotism is the last refuge ... ?
Brown's flag day divides opinion
And another link to the Scotsman above, though hardly breaking news. With Cameron enjoying the rollercoaster of Tory renewal and the Liberal Democrats deciding on their own new leader, Britain's chancellor pops up to remind us that he also has aspirations to occupy the number ten slot.
It's a nice little diversion, raising issues as it does that do not collide with anything else obvious in the current news agenda. Sadly, it fails in that it stinks of Labour's "Nanny State". In essence, "Thou shalt remember and celebrate" is not really something I want to hear - the approach is all wrong! I also suspect a hi-jacking of Rememberence Sunday to include other things would upset a lot of people, if not myself.
We do not have a constitution that provides focus for such a National Day - nor thankfully do we have the kind of facism that "demands" allegience to the flag. But Brown's reference to the latter does imply one needed change. He wants to reclaim the Union Jack as a symbol of our nation without the current association with the National Front and racist right. This itself is an applaudable quest - extreme damage to Britain's cultural identity has been done by misuse of the flag by football hooligans, right-wing extremeists and others. Given that there are restrictions on the use of the words "British" and "Britain" in the naming of corporations and general promotional excercises, it seems right that similar prohibitions should apply to our flag itself.
Provided Brown does want to reclaim it as a masthead for his own version of the New Labour project, I would support its use as a unifying cultural symbol. Provided too, that it was employed in such a way that ethnic and racial minorities who are part of our culture be able to rally around it too.
Later.
And another link to the Scotsman above, though hardly breaking news. With Cameron enjoying the rollercoaster of Tory renewal and the Liberal Democrats deciding on their own new leader, Britain's chancellor pops up to remind us that he also has aspirations to occupy the number ten slot.
It's a nice little diversion, raising issues as it does that do not collide with anything else obvious in the current news agenda. Sadly, it fails in that it stinks of Labour's "Nanny State". In essence, "Thou shalt remember and celebrate" is not really something I want to hear - the approach is all wrong! I also suspect a hi-jacking of Rememberence Sunday to include other things would upset a lot of people, if not myself.
We do not have a constitution that provides focus for such a National Day - nor thankfully do we have the kind of facism that "demands" allegience to the flag. But Brown's reference to the latter does imply one needed change. He wants to reclaim the Union Jack as a symbol of our nation without the current association with the National Front and racist right. This itself is an applaudable quest - extreme damage to Britain's cultural identity has been done by misuse of the flag by football hooligans, right-wing extremeists and others. Given that there are restrictions on the use of the words "British" and "Britain" in the naming of corporations and general promotional excercises, it seems right that similar prohibitions should apply to our flag itself.
Provided Brown does want to reclaim it as a masthead for his own version of the New Labour project, I would support its use as a unifying cultural symbol. Provided too, that it was employed in such a way that ethnic and racial minorities who are part of our culture be able to rally around it too.
Later.
The television that demanded rescue
TV receiver sparks £20,000 helicopter rescue
A rather extraordinary story is revealed at the link above. A Portsmouth resident's set-top box accidently sent a distress signal to an RAF base nearly 700 miles away in Scotland. The resulting mobilisation cost £20,000 to conduct. In the age of concerns about the spying habits of government, one has to ask exactly what technology in the box was capable of sending such a clearly "outbound" signal.
All the news today concerns the Amerikan imperial incursion into Pakistan. Not only is this country a supposed "ally" in Amerika's phantom wars, but it is so despite the opposition of a great majority of its people. The arrogance of this attack and the subsequent murder of 17 innocent villagers has now provoked nationwide protest and raises the prospect of further isolation for the Bush Oil theft projects.
If you haven't heard, it seems that George Galloway's fee for the big brother debacle will be going to a charity for the homeless in Palestine. Not wishing to be left out on the act, Bush has publicly declared the same charity to be a "terrorist organisation", thus giving Blair more ammunition with which to discredit and maybe penalise Galloway himself. Ever increasing circles in the realm of political juveniles.
Later.
A rather extraordinary story is revealed at the link above. A Portsmouth resident's set-top box accidently sent a distress signal to an RAF base nearly 700 miles away in Scotland. The resulting mobilisation cost £20,000 to conduct. In the age of concerns about the spying habits of government, one has to ask exactly what technology in the box was capable of sending such a clearly "outbound" signal.
All the news today concerns the Amerikan imperial incursion into Pakistan. Not only is this country a supposed "ally" in Amerika's phantom wars, but it is so despite the opposition of a great majority of its people. The arrogance of this attack and the subsequent murder of 17 innocent villagers has now provoked nationwide protest and raises the prospect of further isolation for the Bush Oil theft projects.
If you haven't heard, it seems that George Galloway's fee for the big brother debacle will be going to a charity for the homeless in Palestine. Not wishing to be left out on the act, Bush has publicly declared the same charity to be a "terrorist organisation", thus giving Blair more ammunition with which to discredit and maybe penalise Galloway himself. Ever increasing circles in the realm of political juveniles.
Later.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Asolute control for an absolute ass
Bush could seize absolute control of U.S. government
It may be called "domestic" policy but the guy in charge is not exactly what civilised people would call a domesticated beast. The above link discusses how the ape emporer could impose martial law in his precious homeland itself - even to the extent of employing mercenary troops to do so.
One of the more edifying facts about Bush's aspirations for world domination has been the blatent lack of manpower available for the quest. The imperial military machine may be capable of slaughtering 100s, 1000s or even millions of our fellow men and women, but it is relient on a level of detachment that leaves it ill-equipped to cope with the aftermath or, indeed, any real affairs on the ground. The majority of Amerikans may be apathetic to the huge changes that surround them, but in equally apathetic fashion there is no rush to sign up for the presidential cause - or should I say, follies. Although military recruiters are falling over themselves trying to seduce those in high school and other sources of young blood (emphasis on "blood" and blood to be spilt), a direct return of the draft has so far been avioded - probably because it would signal a level of desparation that might just trigger the kind of social unrest experienced in the 1960s.
There is of course some degree of fallback to the massive corporate conglomerates. Mercenaries can be found through the likes of Blackwater (see link article) and others could be hijacked to serve the war machine by virtue of harnessing existing employees of those companies. Like monetary collapse, that would preserve the illusion for a while, but at the end of the day would become transparent. Abroad, Bush could resort to using nuclear weapons - at home this is hardly an option. That the administration cannot cope with natural disasters or all manner of human concerns on the ground may be its greatest failing. Like so much of commerce and industry in the modern world, it is so dependent on its technological tools that it has forgotten that the art, crafts and skills of people themselves are still essential to the workings of the machine.
In the UK, it seems the Respect party leader, George Galloway, will remain incommunicado for at least another week. One can't help but wonder whether the mindless mass of big brother voters deliberately chose to keep him in the house in order to perpetrate and enjoy the shit flying around outside it. Miow!
Later.
It may be called "domestic" policy but the guy in charge is not exactly what civilised people would call a domesticated beast. The above link discusses how the ape emporer could impose martial law in his precious homeland itself - even to the extent of employing mercenary troops to do so.
One of the more edifying facts about Bush's aspirations for world domination has been the blatent lack of manpower available for the quest. The imperial military machine may be capable of slaughtering 100s, 1000s or even millions of our fellow men and women, but it is relient on a level of detachment that leaves it ill-equipped to cope with the aftermath or, indeed, any real affairs on the ground. The majority of Amerikans may be apathetic to the huge changes that surround them, but in equally apathetic fashion there is no rush to sign up for the presidential cause - or should I say, follies. Although military recruiters are falling over themselves trying to seduce those in high school and other sources of young blood (emphasis on "blood" and blood to be spilt), a direct return of the draft has so far been avioded - probably because it would signal a level of desparation that might just trigger the kind of social unrest experienced in the 1960s.
There is of course some degree of fallback to the massive corporate conglomerates. Mercenaries can be found through the likes of Blackwater (see link article) and others could be hijacked to serve the war machine by virtue of harnessing existing employees of those companies. Like monetary collapse, that would preserve the illusion for a while, but at the end of the day would become transparent. Abroad, Bush could resort to using nuclear weapons - at home this is hardly an option. That the administration cannot cope with natural disasters or all manner of human concerns on the ground may be its greatest failing. Like so much of commerce and industry in the modern world, it is so dependent on its technological tools that it has forgotten that the art, crafts and skills of people themselves are still essential to the workings of the machine.
In the UK, it seems the Respect party leader, George Galloway, will remain incommunicado for at least another week. One can't help but wonder whether the mindless mass of big brother voters deliberately chose to keep him in the house in order to perpetrate and enjoy the shit flying around outside it. Miow!
Later.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Will Oil abandon the dollar?
The Story About Oil You Need to Hear
I've been going on about that worthless almighty dollar for some time and have just been sent this link above. It explains a lot in far plainer language than yours truely is prone to indulge, plus it gives a few new revelations on unreported Bush administration actions to hide the coming damage from public view. A must read.
In the house of big bothers, it seems George Galloway is going to regret his last career move. Forgetting the fuss about his being incommunicado and absent from both his constituants and the serious houe of debate, he has unwittingly played into the hands of those who would discredit him anyway.
I don;t care a damn about whther he wants to crawl around on all fours pretending to be a cat in an attempt to bring his political views to the masses - I'm more concerned that this behaviour will actually give cause for many to ridicule his views rather than the man himself. Labour's orchestrated campaign to discredit him in his absence is just the start of it.
The producer of the big brother programme has revealed what Galloway may not realise, especially has be was not exactly familiar with the situation he was getting into. Sure, he'll get a substantial fee for the "job" and considerably more in the unlikely event he wins. This keeps him in the house and stops him walking out deliberately to both ridicule and financial loss. The problem is he has no political platform here at all
It would be easy to discount those in the house with him as having no interest in politics, but he has tried to open conversions of interest. Unfortunately, we don;t get to hear them. Under UK law, any political comment made by him in the house has to be censored - yes, censored - simple because there is nobody else on hand to give "a fair and balanced" counterpoint. If indeed Galloway went in the place to promote his views, he clearly didn't bother to investigate the legal restraints that obviously defeat that object.
In isolation as he is, he probably still doesn't even know it yet either. More the fool. More the shame. Whether he is evicted tonight or somehow last a few weeks more, he is likely to be the butt of a thousand jokes in the real debtaing chamber for a considerable time to come.
Saddest of all is that with both Galloway and Charles Kennedy discredited, I can think of no strong anti-war spokesperson remaining sitting in the House of Commons. Whover wins the leadership election, I predict the Liberal Democrats will tone down on the issue in order the address the cventre ground. We'll see.
Later.
I've been going on about that worthless almighty dollar for some time and have just been sent this link above. It explains a lot in far plainer language than yours truely is prone to indulge, plus it gives a few new revelations on unreported Bush administration actions to hide the coming damage from public view. A must read.
In the house of big bothers, it seems George Galloway is going to regret his last career move. Forgetting the fuss about his being incommunicado and absent from both his constituants and the serious houe of debate, he has unwittingly played into the hands of those who would discredit him anyway.
I don;t care a damn about whther he wants to crawl around on all fours pretending to be a cat in an attempt to bring his political views to the masses - I'm more concerned that this behaviour will actually give cause for many to ridicule his views rather than the man himself. Labour's orchestrated campaign to discredit him in his absence is just the start of it.
The producer of the big brother programme has revealed what Galloway may not realise, especially has be was not exactly familiar with the situation he was getting into. Sure, he'll get a substantial fee for the "job" and considerably more in the unlikely event he wins. This keeps him in the house and stops him walking out deliberately to both ridicule and financial loss. The problem is he has no political platform here at all
It would be easy to discount those in the house with him as having no interest in politics, but he has tried to open conversions of interest. Unfortunately, we don;t get to hear them. Under UK law, any political comment made by him in the house has to be censored - yes, censored - simple because there is nobody else on hand to give "a fair and balanced" counterpoint. If indeed Galloway went in the place to promote his views, he clearly didn't bother to investigate the legal restraints that obviously defeat that object.
In isolation as he is, he probably still doesn't even know it yet either. More the fool. More the shame. Whether he is evicted tonight or somehow last a few weeks more, he is likely to be the butt of a thousand jokes in the real debtaing chamber for a considerable time to come.
Saddest of all is that with both Galloway and Charles Kennedy discredited, I can think of no strong anti-war spokesperson remaining sitting in the House of Commons. Whover wins the leadership election, I predict the Liberal Democrats will tone down on the issue in order the address the cventre ground. We'll see.
Later.
The legless of Whitehall
Can a lush run the country?
They may make a big hue and cry about maintaining the prohibtion of a herb like marijuana, but the lifeblood of the UK parliament seems to depend on one of the most dangerous drugs we know - namely, alcohol. Westminster's status as an den of inebriation is legendary. Ironic then that the fate of Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy be the result of his having been seduced by the mind-altering pursuits of his colleagues.
Today's headline link above leads to an interesting retrospective.
There is of course one other thing that fuels the British government. Find it here.
Later.
They may make a big hue and cry about maintaining the prohibtion of a herb like marijuana, but the lifeblood of the UK parliament seems to depend on one of the most dangerous drugs we know - namely, alcohol. Westminster's status as an den of inebriation is legendary. Ironic then that the fate of Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy be the result of his having been seduced by the mind-altering pursuits of his colleagues.
Today's headline link above leads to an interesting retrospective.
There is of course one other thing that fuels the British government. Find it here.
Later.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
"What began as a miracle substance subsequently became a youth cult drug, and thus a political danger for America."
LSD Chemist Wants Drug Ban Eased
The words of Albert Hofmann as he celebrates his 100 birthday in Switzerland today. See link yesterday for a full profile. See link above for today's take at CBS.
Hofmann used the occasion to speak out against the continuance of LSD prohibition for medical purposes. He believes its use in psychoanalysis can be a therapeutic experience and that outlawing its use was a result of the political motivations of a paranoid government unable to cope with a generational shift in the 1960s.
Also, for a different take on the making of the evil empire, click here. Op-Eds also ask Why do Christians need so much "Saving" anyway? and Whatever happened to the Bush "integrity" thing? Not that we really need to ask.
HEALTH WARNING: The author suggests you use extreme caution before considering the use of LSD whilst also under the influence of bush. It may seriously damage your perceptions.
Later.
The words of Albert Hofmann as he celebrates his 100 birthday in Switzerland today. See link yesterday for a full profile. See link above for today's take at CBS.
Hofmann used the occasion to speak out against the continuance of LSD prohibition for medical purposes. He believes its use in psychoanalysis can be a therapeutic experience and that outlawing its use was a result of the political motivations of a paranoid government unable to cope with a generational shift in the 1960s.
Also, for a different take on the making of the evil empire, click here. Op-Eds also ask Why do Christians need so much "Saving" anyway? and Whatever happened to the Bush "integrity" thing? Not that we really need to ask.
HEALTH WARNING: The author suggests you use extreme caution before considering the use of LSD whilst also under the influence of bush. It may seriously damage your perceptions.
Later.
Toward the fall of imperial resources
2006: The Year of Oil Collapse?
There has been a theme to some of my recent blogs, although not wholly intentional. It is the pending collapse of the Amerikan economy and the effect it will have on the rest of the world. The data keeps coming - and so do the opinions. The above link leads to an in-depth article at Alternet and should be taken seriously whether you live in the dying empire of consumerism or not.
Admidst all the holiday programming on TV, there was a countdown of the most significant events of the last century. The 9.11 attacks, the creation of the world wide web - you name it. My own choice was not included.
In science-fiction there is an intruiging and popular theme that concerns the notion of parrallel universes or timelines. It is the idea that if, at a given point in our perception of linear time, events had taken a different course then our entire history would be different. Some contend that maybe such diversions really took place and that for each of these there exists a parallel universe. In choosing the most significant event I would apply this concept to my choice - in other words, what would life be like without that event.
In every scenario I've been drawn to events before my birth - mostly to the late 1930s and the Second World War. It would be easy eliminate the rise of Hitler from history or alternately muse upon a world where he rose and achieved his goals. In both instances, one has to question whether the US would have ever interfered in Europe or elsewhere, whether the state of Israel would ever have emerged and whether the Soviet Union would have risen to provide the only power-bloc to counter that of Amerika. It is the stuff of stories I will never write.
So my own choice of crucial event is actually the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Amerika, formerly a refuge for the disaffected of the world had pursued its own isolationist path until that moment. Then, for the first time, it was attacked on its own soil. Then, in shock, it entered the war. It also made sure everyone else knew it was in charge - largely by virtue of providing the manpower and resources needed by the ailing combat machine at work in Africa, Europe and Asia. Their involvement almost certainly helped win the war, but the help came at a very high price.
The war cost Amerikan lives and affected its economy, but unlike the fate of those on other continents, its infrastructure was barely dented. Amerikan soil remained very distant from the conflict itself. Post-war, the threat was over but the rest of the world had to rebuild itself and in the chaos, Amerika appointed itself as a supervisor of global affairs. It exported is wayward, mercenary culture around the planet, held in check only by the communist bloc and the highly ambiguous "cold war" with Russia and its satellites. So innocent and benevolant did it look that even the newly formed United nations adopted it as a safe home.
The decades that followed were a time of what we Brits call "one-up-manship" as the two superpowers taunted each other in the race for scientific advancement, idealogical prominence and military prowess. Every territory was ripe of colonisation and almost every subsequent conflict involved one or both of these two superpowers. By appealing to baser human instincts, namely greed and self-comfort, Amerika ultimately won the "cold war"and found itself dominant in world affairs, but without an "enemy" to justify continued imperial pursuits. Even the likes of "commie" China had adopted the idea of a market-driven economy and the planet's trade revolved around Amerika's almighty dollar.
By the end of the century there was a big hole in the super-structure. Capitalism was in firm control of the superficial side of world trade, but was (and is) dependent on an underlying hierarchy of winners and losers. In Amerika and other so-called "rich" nations, the increasing polarisation of those living in wealth and those living in poverty had become acute and is only hidden from view by ensuring a majority live in the illusion of "comfort". Television has become the usual opiate whilst cheap petrolium is offered as a kind of subsidised freedom. The myth of this false reality is maintained less by the political elite than the vast corporate interests that control them. For the increasingly disenfranchised and the ignorant, the same corporate mindset has repackaged mythology and religion to the point of a total distraction. Money flows, yet the continually recycled "capital" grows stale. "Buy" and "Sell" have become like binary code - the sole functions behind the ryhthm of western lifestyles. Profit is all as the civil and civic obligations of government are abandoned because they fail to "recycle" that treasured capital.
As capital is the new lifeblood of everything, so it needs to replenish itself. Having wasted the resources to regenerate its own, it is forced to become a "vampire" preying on others to survive. It pays little heed to the time when even its prey become extinct. This is Amerika today. It is also to a lesser or greater extent, the fate of all nations tied to the insidious web of Amerikan dependency. The imperial vampire will now engineer any excuse to drain the lifeblood of others - and when "enemies" are exhausted it will turn on its "friends". No wonder it want to hide the science that gives evidence to "survival of the fittest" - it is desparate to survive but unfit to do so.
So I return to Pearl Harbour. Without Amerika's intervention there is no doubting today's world would be a very different place indeed. Maybe one far worse than we can know. Yet it is worth considering what North America might have become. Unattacked it may well have purused its own course and grown into a society that better reflected the ideals expressed in its constitution. Without the cold war it may not have developed the vast military complex which costs it so much and wastes its resources. Without the Soviet Union and the state of Israel it may never have taken upon its the meddle too much in foreign affairs. Without the intent of cultural colonialism and military imperialism, it may not have wasted its huge continent-wide natural resources and may have developed a self-sustaining ecostructure. Without its involvement in WW2 it would not have the scientific pre-eminence it gained by providing a home for ex-Nazis and those in the later economic "brain drain" for the UK and elsewhere. Nor would it have gained dominion over technologies developed by others and simply stolen in the aftermath of war. Would we even be living in a world without nuclear weapons scattered around the globe?
Then again, maybe Amerika would not have been the nation that pioneered civil rights. Maybe mankind would not yet have set foot off this planet. Horror of horros, we may not even have had Rock & Roll. Too many things that actually form our known history, too many things we can never know. What is clear is that we have reached a time where the US needs to put its own house in order again. Until then, the rest of the world will increasingly seek to survive without it.
Later.
There has been a theme to some of my recent blogs, although not wholly intentional. It is the pending collapse of the Amerikan economy and the effect it will have on the rest of the world. The data keeps coming - and so do the opinions. The above link leads to an in-depth article at Alternet and should be taken seriously whether you live in the dying empire of consumerism or not.
Admidst all the holiday programming on TV, there was a countdown of the most significant events of the last century. The 9.11 attacks, the creation of the world wide web - you name it. My own choice was not included.
In science-fiction there is an intruiging and popular theme that concerns the notion of parrallel universes or timelines. It is the idea that if, at a given point in our perception of linear time, events had taken a different course then our entire history would be different. Some contend that maybe such diversions really took place and that for each of these there exists a parallel universe. In choosing the most significant event I would apply this concept to my choice - in other words, what would life be like without that event.
In every scenario I've been drawn to events before my birth - mostly to the late 1930s and the Second World War. It would be easy eliminate the rise of Hitler from history or alternately muse upon a world where he rose and achieved his goals. In both instances, one has to question whether the US would have ever interfered in Europe or elsewhere, whether the state of Israel would ever have emerged and whether the Soviet Union would have risen to provide the only power-bloc to counter that of Amerika. It is the stuff of stories I will never write.
So my own choice of crucial event is actually the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Amerika, formerly a refuge for the disaffected of the world had pursued its own isolationist path until that moment. Then, for the first time, it was attacked on its own soil. Then, in shock, it entered the war. It also made sure everyone else knew it was in charge - largely by virtue of providing the manpower and resources needed by the ailing combat machine at work in Africa, Europe and Asia. Their involvement almost certainly helped win the war, but the help came at a very high price.
The war cost Amerikan lives and affected its economy, but unlike the fate of those on other continents, its infrastructure was barely dented. Amerikan soil remained very distant from the conflict itself. Post-war, the threat was over but the rest of the world had to rebuild itself and in the chaos, Amerika appointed itself as a supervisor of global affairs. It exported is wayward, mercenary culture around the planet, held in check only by the communist bloc and the highly ambiguous "cold war" with Russia and its satellites. So innocent and benevolant did it look that even the newly formed United nations adopted it as a safe home.
The decades that followed were a time of what we Brits call "one-up-manship" as the two superpowers taunted each other in the race for scientific advancement, idealogical prominence and military prowess. Every territory was ripe of colonisation and almost every subsequent conflict involved one or both of these two superpowers. By appealing to baser human instincts, namely greed and self-comfort, Amerika ultimately won the "cold war"and found itself dominant in world affairs, but without an "enemy" to justify continued imperial pursuits. Even the likes of "commie" China had adopted the idea of a market-driven economy and the planet's trade revolved around Amerika's almighty dollar.
By the end of the century there was a big hole in the super-structure. Capitalism was in firm control of the superficial side of world trade, but was (and is) dependent on an underlying hierarchy of winners and losers. In Amerika and other so-called "rich" nations, the increasing polarisation of those living in wealth and those living in poverty had become acute and is only hidden from view by ensuring a majority live in the illusion of "comfort". Television has become the usual opiate whilst cheap petrolium is offered as a kind of subsidised freedom. The myth of this false reality is maintained less by the political elite than the vast corporate interests that control them. For the increasingly disenfranchised and the ignorant, the same corporate mindset has repackaged mythology and religion to the point of a total distraction. Money flows, yet the continually recycled "capital" grows stale. "Buy" and "Sell" have become like binary code - the sole functions behind the ryhthm of western lifestyles. Profit is all as the civil and civic obligations of government are abandoned because they fail to "recycle" that treasured capital.
As capital is the new lifeblood of everything, so it needs to replenish itself. Having wasted the resources to regenerate its own, it is forced to become a "vampire" preying on others to survive. It pays little heed to the time when even its prey become extinct. This is Amerika today. It is also to a lesser or greater extent, the fate of all nations tied to the insidious web of Amerikan dependency. The imperial vampire will now engineer any excuse to drain the lifeblood of others - and when "enemies" are exhausted it will turn on its "friends". No wonder it want to hide the science that gives evidence to "survival of the fittest" - it is desparate to survive but unfit to do so.
So I return to Pearl Harbour. Without Amerika's intervention there is no doubting today's world would be a very different place indeed. Maybe one far worse than we can know. Yet it is worth considering what North America might have become. Unattacked it may well have purused its own course and grown into a society that better reflected the ideals expressed in its constitution. Without the cold war it may not have developed the vast military complex which costs it so much and wastes its resources. Without the Soviet Union and the state of Israel it may never have taken upon its the meddle too much in foreign affairs. Without the intent of cultural colonialism and military imperialism, it may not have wasted its huge continent-wide natural resources and may have developed a self-sustaining ecostructure. Without its involvement in WW2 it would not have the scientific pre-eminence it gained by providing a home for ex-Nazis and those in the later economic "brain drain" for the UK and elsewhere. Nor would it have gained dominion over technologies developed by others and simply stolen in the aftermath of war. Would we even be living in a world without nuclear weapons scattered around the globe?
Then again, maybe Amerika would not have been the nation that pioneered civil rights. Maybe mankind would not yet have set foot off this planet. Horror of horros, we may not even have had Rock & Roll. Too many things that actually form our known history, too many things we can never know. What is clear is that we have reached a time where the US needs to put its own house in order again. Until then, the rest of the world will increasingly seek to survive without it.
Later.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
The true cost of Bush Con Jobs
Paul Craig Roberts: Counterpunch
The author of this link muses on whether Amerika will need the International Monetary Fund to bail them out of a debt crisis. One might wonder what would happen if the IMF refused. In the free world, most are disgusted with Bush's imperial pursuits and some might question the wisom of financing the bankrupt dollar anyway.
The article also reveals that the true cost of the war in Iraq is almost 30 times more than Bush's own estimate, with dark implications for an already shakey economy.
One thing about all this does scare the shit out of me. Were we all to stop buying dollars for trade and subsequently force Amerika to face the reality of having less income than its expenditure, it is all too comfortable to predict that without available funding its military muscle would go limp. This, however, does not solve the problem an it having an existing nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the planet several times over. Were Bush forced to consider using the weapons of last resort to get his way, I would not trust him to hesitate for a second.
If the IMF or other world bodies ever needed to come to the aid of the US, then Amerika should be forced to give up both state terrorism, foreign occupation and its own weapons of mass destruction. After all - isn't that just what they are demanding of the rest of the planet! Hypocrisy is just not acceptable and if it takes the fall of their wasteful consumerist charade to ram the message home - so be it.
Later.
The author of this link muses on whether Amerika will need the International Monetary Fund to bail them out of a debt crisis. One might wonder what would happen if the IMF refused. In the free world, most are disgusted with Bush's imperial pursuits and some might question the wisom of financing the bankrupt dollar anyway.
The article also reveals that the true cost of the war in Iraq is almost 30 times more than Bush's own estimate, with dark implications for an already shakey economy.
One thing about all this does scare the shit out of me. Were we all to stop buying dollars for trade and subsequently force Amerika to face the reality of having less income than its expenditure, it is all too comfortable to predict that without available funding its military muscle would go limp. This, however, does not solve the problem an it having an existing nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the planet several times over. Were Bush forced to consider using the weapons of last resort to get his way, I would not trust him to hesitate for a second.
If the IMF or other world bodies ever needed to come to the aid of the US, then Amerika should be forced to give up both state terrorism, foreign occupation and its own weapons of mass destruction. After all - isn't that just what they are demanding of the rest of the planet! Hypocrisy is just not acceptable and if it takes the fall of their wasteful consumerist charade to ram the message home - so be it.
Later.
Hofmann at 100 and tripping toward reappraisal
Independent Online Edition > Profiles
LSD - the chemical discovery that changed Psychiatry forever and influenced the perception of generations from the 1950s through the hippie era and beyond. Advocates like Tim Leary are well known, but its discoverer, Albert Hofmann, less so. Tomorrow Hofmann will be 100 years old and this link to the Independent gets in early with an excellent profile of the man.
In the 21st century world of propaganda, mind-control and thought manipulation, the world of medicine is increasingly geared to the supression of individuality and the sedation of independent thought. Anything that enhances the senses or encourages intellectual self-examination is strictly off limits in the robot society.
Hofmann didn't just discover LSD - he experienced its effects with a large accidental dose. It was the trip of a lifetime that now spans an entire century. Hardly what they call an acid casualty. As with most drugs, it is the user not the chemical itself that should be the focus. As this profile points out, the is now some serious reappraisal of LSD in the area of psychiatry and therapy - maybe the human quest for a degree of higher consciousness is not dead yet.
Later.
LSD - the chemical discovery that changed Psychiatry forever and influenced the perception of generations from the 1950s through the hippie era and beyond. Advocates like Tim Leary are well known, but its discoverer, Albert Hofmann, less so. Tomorrow Hofmann will be 100 years old and this link to the Independent gets in early with an excellent profile of the man.
In the 21st century world of propaganda, mind-control and thought manipulation, the world of medicine is increasingly geared to the supression of individuality and the sedation of independent thought. Anything that enhances the senses or encourages intellectual self-examination is strictly off limits in the robot society.
Hofmann didn't just discover LSD - he experienced its effects with a large accidental dose. It was the trip of a lifetime that now spans an entire century. Hardly what they call an acid casualty. As with most drugs, it is the user not the chemical itself that should be the focus. As this profile points out, the is now some serious reappraisal of LSD in the area of psychiatry and therapy - maybe the human quest for a degree of higher consciousness is not dead yet.
Later.
Pulpit to Nowhere
Independent Online Edition > UK Politics
One might be forgiven for thinking that, with George Galloway incarcarated in television's on-air lunatic asylum, Tony Blair has taken up the job of leading his party.
"Thou Shalt RESPECT!"
"Thou Shalt RESPECT!"
"Thou Shalt RESPECT!"
Sadly not - he's simply trying to repeat a sermon delivered too many times before. For the catalogue of failures resulting from the same, Click Here.
Plus - exactly why would US house democrats keep quiet about Bush spying when they knew about it 4 years ago. The stench of corruption and self-interest in Washington continues here.
Later.
One might be forgiven for thinking that, with George Galloway incarcarated in television's on-air lunatic asylum, Tony Blair has taken up the job of leading his party.
"Thou Shalt RESPECT!"
"Thou Shalt RESPECT!"
"Thou Shalt RESPECT!"
Sadly not - he's simply trying to repeat a sermon delivered too many times before. For the catalogue of failures resulting from the same, Click Here.
Plus - exactly why would US house democrats keep quiet about Bush spying when they knew about it 4 years ago. The stench of corruption and self-interest in Washington continues here.
Later.
"You're Arab, I'll bomb ya!" - Is this Dubya?
Did Bush propose to take out Al Jazeera?
I first covered this a few weeks back, only the find the UK government imposed a reporting blackout almost the moment the leak broke. Obviously, such restrictions can only apply in the UK so its good to least reporting on the matter kept alive at this link to Slate at the Washington Post.
Published yesterday by our timing, it tells nothing particularly new but does reveal that the two persons being prosecuted for the leak are in court to defend their case today. Although British media have restrictions on publishing the contents of the leak itself, in so far as I can tell only standard reporting restrictions would apply to the court case itself. It will be interesting to see if the trial's progress and verdict are even mentioned in our homegrown news sources.
Later.
I first covered this a few weeks back, only the find the UK government imposed a reporting blackout almost the moment the leak broke. Obviously, such restrictions can only apply in the UK so its good to least reporting on the matter kept alive at this link to Slate at the Washington Post.
Published yesterday by our timing, it tells nothing particularly new but does reveal that the two persons being prosecuted for the leak are in court to defend their case today. Although British media have restrictions on publishing the contents of the leak itself, in so far as I can tell only standard reporting restrictions would apply to the court case itself. It will be interesting to see if the trial's progress and verdict are even mentioned in our homegrown news sources.
Later.
Monday, January 09, 2006
On that which never happened
The Quiet Death of Freedom
Turning aside from Amerika, this link leads to an article about Britain from the acclaimed journalist, John Pilger. The erosion of freedom suggested is insidious and he has some harsh words about recent BBC reporting. Read it.
Later.
Turning aside from Amerika, this link leads to an article about Britain from the acclaimed journalist, John Pilger. The erosion of freedom suggested is insidious and he has some harsh words about recent BBC reporting. Read it.
Later.
Fall of the Red Dollar
Strangleholds on the Dollar
OpEd News are rapidly becoming my first choice of the day for political comment (Alternet now second and Counterpunch in third place) and this link proves the point with some coverage I haven't seen elsewhere.
In real times (if you disregard false manipulation of the global economy), Amerika's currency is today a pretty worthless commodity. If Suadi Arabia and China cash were to cash-in their dollar reserves for for a more stable currency, the United States economy would crumble. I recently mentioned that one of the first actions Amerika took after the Iraq invasion was to restore the local oil transactions to a system pegged to the dollar, thus artificially boosting their own currency and effectively controlling the global market for Iraq's oil production. (Saddam had favoured the increasingly strong Euro.)
Last Thursday, China took the first steps toward shifting away from the dollar as the anchor for its exchange rate mechanism. A week or so ago Iran did the same. It will be a slow decline, but if this trend continues, Amerika will be facing a real threat to its current way of life. It's military machine and consumer economy would become impotent if they could no longer afford the resources required. The fall of the Amerikan empire could come as a consequence of their own devise.
For readers in the US, check out this link, also at OpEd. You have two weeks left to protect your freedom! Also - do you know what "Echelon" is? No? Click here.
Later.
OpEd News are rapidly becoming my first choice of the day for political comment (Alternet now second and Counterpunch in third place) and this link proves the point with some coverage I haven't seen elsewhere.
In real times (if you disregard false manipulation of the global economy), Amerika's currency is today a pretty worthless commodity. If Suadi Arabia and China cash were to cash-in their dollar reserves for for a more stable currency, the United States economy would crumble. I recently mentioned that one of the first actions Amerika took after the Iraq invasion was to restore the local oil transactions to a system pegged to the dollar, thus artificially boosting their own currency and effectively controlling the global market for Iraq's oil production. (Saddam had favoured the increasingly strong Euro.)
Last Thursday, China took the first steps toward shifting away from the dollar as the anchor for its exchange rate mechanism. A week or so ago Iran did the same. It will be a slow decline, but if this trend continues, Amerika will be facing a real threat to its current way of life. It's military machine and consumer economy would become impotent if they could no longer afford the resources required. The fall of the Amerikan empire could come as a consequence of their own devise.
For readers in the US, check out this link, also at OpEd. You have two weeks left to protect your freedom! Also - do you know what "Echelon" is? No? Click here.
Later.
Google the good or google the bad
This editorial is copied from the latest newsletter from Info Economy as is worth reading. For longer artcicle, follow the link.
"Big bad Google
In the technology industry, only the unpredictable is predictable. In 1985, IBM dominated the IT industry and Microsoft barely registered; in 1995, Microsoft, now dominant, was scrabbling to stave off the threat from the newly emerged Netscape; in 2005, it was Google, a company that does not sell computers and gives away almost all of its software, that began to deeply trouble the major players in both the technology and the media industries.
Google grabbed the first technology industry headlines of 2006 with the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that it will soon begin selling video content over the Internet. Using the Google search service, visitors will be able to search for commercial video content and then download it for a small fee.
The move means that Google can now include the cable and satellite TV companies, and the innovative video serving companies, such as Apple, among those with whom it is now in direct competition.
And it confirms the fears of these and other media companies that their distribution mechanisms - such as TV channels - may soon be bypassed as viewers simply search the web for the programmes they want and download them.
Google - now with sales of more than $5 billion and growing at nearly 100% a year - is managing to freak almost everyone out. Newspaper and magazine publishers, for example, are losing vast swathes of advertisers to Google, who pick up the visitors on their way to visiting the actual content producer's site. Book publishers are suing Google over its plans to digitise their content and allow some searching and display of these texts without paying royalties; eBay, Amazon and others are worried about Google's move into transaction services; telecom services providers are concerned about Google's move into Voice-over-IP services; Microsoft and Dell are worried by rumours of a Google Cube - a low cost box that searches, finds, displays and plays but does little else.
There is, reportedly, much more to come. Insiders say Google is preparing a big move into local content, taking on the likes of Yell.com and local newspapers; there are also reports of more advanced, contextual information management services that users will be able to subscribe to. Even governments - including the European Commission - are worried that Google seems to have taken on the role of global archivist and information manager.
The extent to which all these threats will materialise is as yet unclear - but Google is unique in one key respect. Unlike Microsoft, for example, it has no constituency to protect, no installed base that it must service, no network of dealers who must be protected. Only its advertisers need to be kept happy, but there are so many of these, and Google's proposition is so strong, that their fears do not represent a major constraint on Google's expansion. History suggests that the anti-trust authorities are already watching, will no doubt start an investigation in the coming year or two, but will do little or nothing of real consequence.
What happens next? That is almost certainly likely to be the technology industry's biggest discussion point of 2006: the world of Google, competing with Google, living with Google, controlling Google, forecasting Google. The only certainty is that almost all of the analysts will fail to foresee the really next big thing - if it happens at all, that is."
Personally, I love Google - they even host this blog. There is of course a warning here, but their maverick approach and commitment to freedom of information currently shows no real sign of fading.
Later.
"Big bad Google
In the technology industry, only the unpredictable is predictable. In 1985, IBM dominated the IT industry and Microsoft barely registered; in 1995, Microsoft, now dominant, was scrabbling to stave off the threat from the newly emerged Netscape; in 2005, it was Google, a company that does not sell computers and gives away almost all of its software, that began to deeply trouble the major players in both the technology and the media industries.
Google grabbed the first technology industry headlines of 2006 with the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that it will soon begin selling video content over the Internet. Using the Google search service, visitors will be able to search for commercial video content and then download it for a small fee.
The move means that Google can now include the cable and satellite TV companies, and the innovative video serving companies, such as Apple, among those with whom it is now in direct competition.
And it confirms the fears of these and other media companies that their distribution mechanisms - such as TV channels - may soon be bypassed as viewers simply search the web for the programmes they want and download them.
Google - now with sales of more than $5 billion and growing at nearly 100% a year - is managing to freak almost everyone out. Newspaper and magazine publishers, for example, are losing vast swathes of advertisers to Google, who pick up the visitors on their way to visiting the actual content producer's site. Book publishers are suing Google over its plans to digitise their content and allow some searching and display of these texts without paying royalties; eBay, Amazon and others are worried about Google's move into transaction services; telecom services providers are concerned about Google's move into Voice-over-IP services; Microsoft and Dell are worried by rumours of a Google Cube - a low cost box that searches, finds, displays and plays but does little else.
There is, reportedly, much more to come. Insiders say Google is preparing a big move into local content, taking on the likes of Yell.com and local newspapers; there are also reports of more advanced, contextual information management services that users will be able to subscribe to. Even governments - including the European Commission - are worried that Google seems to have taken on the role of global archivist and information manager.
The extent to which all these threats will materialise is as yet unclear - but Google is unique in one key respect. Unlike Microsoft, for example, it has no constituency to protect, no installed base that it must service, no network of dealers who must be protected. Only its advertisers need to be kept happy, but there are so many of these, and Google's proposition is so strong, that their fears do not represent a major constraint on Google's expansion. History suggests that the anti-trust authorities are already watching, will no doubt start an investigation in the coming year or two, but will do little or nothing of real consequence.
What happens next? That is almost certainly likely to be the technology industry's biggest discussion point of 2006: the world of Google, competing with Google, living with Google, controlling Google, forecasting Google. The only certainty is that almost all of the analysts will fail to foresee the really next big thing - if it happens at all, that is."
Personally, I love Google - they even host this blog. There is of course a warning here, but their maverick approach and commitment to freedom of information currently shows no real sign of fading.
Later.
Updates
President Bush at Recess - New York Times
By popular request, click above link for more on those sneaky appointments Bush made during the reccess.
As I write, news has just broken that Dick Cheney has been hospitalised due to breathing difficulties. He is known to have heart problems but whether this is serious enough to knock him off the stage like Sharon is unclear.
Labour political Tony Banks' stroke has now proved fatal, so we say goodbye to an ardent animal rights supporter and strong voice in the British parliament.
Later.
By popular request, click above link for more on those sneaky appointments Bush made during the reccess.
As I write, news has just broken that Dick Cheney has been hospitalised due to breathing difficulties. He is known to have heart problems but whether this is serious enough to knock him off the stage like Sharon is unclear.
Labour political Tony Banks' stroke has now proved fatal, so we say goodbye to an ardent animal rights supporter and strong voice in the British parliament.
Later.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
A "Case" soon to be "Heard"
The Bush Administration vs. Salim Hamdan
Ah, Sunday. Well the weekend here starts like any other day really. Having fallen, stumbled or otherwise extricated myself from bed or whatever other location and position I've fallen asleep in, I head first for the coffeee filter and than the "inbox". Or rather, the "spambox".
I subscribe to an ever-increasing number of newspapers, magazines, newsletters and links pages. Since many are mailed in bulk, I have to check the spam folder to make sure something genuine hasn;t slipped into it. Only then to I delete.
The sad fact is that, starting Friday midnight, the profusion of spam continues all weekend with junk arriving almost non-stop. 3 to 5 times the amount I get on weekdays and it is highly frustrating to sort it.
That done I move to the real inbox. Normally I read headlines and synopses rather than full articles, but since a lot of my regulars go dormant at the weekend it is when I take some time to read in more depth. Now and then there is a longer story that departs from the worldview whilst being whooly relevent at the same time and this link leads to one such.
Salim Hamdan is a detainee in Guantanamo Bay. His case will be a first for those incarcerated in the Cuban outpost and may become a test-case for Bush/Rumsfeld policy. This is his story and well worth reading. Some tangental issues, such as the nature of "Jihad" also give pause for thought. Lying somewhere between evangelism and crusade it is a notion not easily perceived in the west despite bearing an uncanny resemblence to Christian and Jewish fundamentalism. Less obvious still its that its rise is clearly the result of the western world's interference with and betrayal of Islamic cultures and their values.
In learning Hamdan's history, it was impressed on me that, despite its loose-knit and widespread structure, Al Qaeda seems to operate using a very familiar hieracharchial system of command and class divide. Hamdan may have been as physically close to Bin Laden as it's possible to be, but at the end of the day he held the lowliest rank, was concerned only about his paypacket as a driver and was also intellectually ignorant of his position in place and time. This is like penalising a chauffeur for the crimes of a missing passenger.
I hate war and violence and have nothing but contempt for those that promote it. Nonetheless, and as I've said before, "terrorism" has always been a method of warfare and not a finite thing in itself. Witness some of the activites of both ourselves and the French resistance during World War 2. The war against Amerika and its allies in the west is not at all welcome or to be condoned, but is is the end by-product of imperial interference and betrayal.
A quote in the artice reads:
Bin Laden was clear about the goals. "He would say over and over again that we must carry out painful attacks on the United States until it becomes like an agitated bull," al-Bahri recalled, "and when the bull comes to our region, he won't be familiar with the land, but we will."
Therein is the quandry. Amerika is indeed behaving like an agitated bull and has quite literally stampeded into the lion's den. Worse still, it taken half the western world in with it! The task ahead is not just withdrawl, it is to make reparations that will be both understood and beneficial to those who will otherwise be the next generation of conscripts for "Jihad". If the footsoldiers of this hidden army are given hope and the motivation to direct their energies elsewhere, the command structure of dissent will fall and a peaceful accomodation might be in sight.
That won't happen if we abandon them to the festering ruins of a raped and pillaged infrastructure - democracy and freedom are meaningless without hope and the foundation on which to build them. If Hamdan versus Rumsfeld ends in defeat for Rumsfeld, it may just send the smallest of signals that justice and conscience can still prevail in the empire of fear.
Later.
Ah, Sunday. Well the weekend here starts like any other day really. Having fallen, stumbled or otherwise extricated myself from bed or whatever other location and position I've fallen asleep in, I head first for the coffeee filter and than the "inbox". Or rather, the "spambox".
I subscribe to an ever-increasing number of newspapers, magazines, newsletters and links pages. Since many are mailed in bulk, I have to check the spam folder to make sure something genuine hasn;t slipped into it. Only then to I delete.
The sad fact is that, starting Friday midnight, the profusion of spam continues all weekend with junk arriving almost non-stop. 3 to 5 times the amount I get on weekdays and it is highly frustrating to sort it.
That done I move to the real inbox. Normally I read headlines and synopses rather than full articles, but since a lot of my regulars go dormant at the weekend it is when I take some time to read in more depth. Now and then there is a longer story that departs from the worldview whilst being whooly relevent at the same time and this link leads to one such.
Salim Hamdan is a detainee in Guantanamo Bay. His case will be a first for those incarcerated in the Cuban outpost and may become a test-case for Bush/Rumsfeld policy. This is his story and well worth reading. Some tangental issues, such as the nature of "Jihad" also give pause for thought. Lying somewhere between evangelism and crusade it is a notion not easily perceived in the west despite bearing an uncanny resemblence to Christian and Jewish fundamentalism. Less obvious still its that its rise is clearly the result of the western world's interference with and betrayal of Islamic cultures and their values.
In learning Hamdan's history, it was impressed on me that, despite its loose-knit and widespread structure, Al Qaeda seems to operate using a very familiar hieracharchial system of command and class divide. Hamdan may have been as physically close to Bin Laden as it's possible to be, but at the end of the day he held the lowliest rank, was concerned only about his paypacket as a driver and was also intellectually ignorant of his position in place and time. This is like penalising a chauffeur for the crimes of a missing passenger.
I hate war and violence and have nothing but contempt for those that promote it. Nonetheless, and as I've said before, "terrorism" has always been a method of warfare and not a finite thing in itself. Witness some of the activites of both ourselves and the French resistance during World War 2. The war against Amerika and its allies in the west is not at all welcome or to be condoned, but is is the end by-product of imperial interference and betrayal.
A quote in the artice reads:
Bin Laden was clear about the goals. "He would say over and over again that we must carry out painful attacks on the United States until it becomes like an agitated bull," al-Bahri recalled, "and when the bull comes to our region, he won't be familiar with the land, but we will."
Therein is the quandry. Amerika is indeed behaving like an agitated bull and has quite literally stampeded into the lion's den. Worse still, it taken half the western world in with it! The task ahead is not just withdrawl, it is to make reparations that will be both understood and beneficial to those who will otherwise be the next generation of conscripts for "Jihad". If the footsoldiers of this hidden army are given hope and the motivation to direct their energies elsewhere, the command structure of dissent will fall and a peaceful accomodation might be in sight.
That won't happen if we abandon them to the festering ruins of a raped and pillaged infrastructure - democracy and freedom are meaningless without hope and the foundation on which to build them. If Hamdan versus Rumsfeld ends in defeat for Rumsfeld, it may just send the smallest of signals that justice and conscience can still prevail in the empire of fear.
Later.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
An animal trapped is at its most dangerous
YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN...
From the same source as the previous items, this article notes how Bush has been summoning heavyweights from various previous administrations to ffer "advice" on how to extract himself from the current foreign policy. It is suggested he doesn't actually give a damm for any such advice - rather he wants to pretend co-operation with individuals on whom he can later "pass the buck". Given all his troubles, the fact that he used the holiday reccess of the senate to (legally for once) bypass approval of new political appointments and the creation of the new national police force heralded by many as an "Amerikan Gestapo", suggests he is following an agenda that has no intention of compromise. The totalitarian madness is so transparent that one is almost tempted to call him honest, save for that being a serious misnomer where intentions are concerned.
Scariest of all, though not considered by the writer of this link, is that now the ape emperor has no way to back out of his self-imposed prison, he is possibly at his most dangerous. Those who are finally waking up and demanding withdrawl from Iraq, his impeachment for high crimes, war crimes and other myraid misdemeanours must act quickly. Most of all, they must convince their representatives in the senate and congress to give up their financial sedatives long enough to fix a machinery of state that has entered terminal decline. The people of the USA need champions who address their needs, not the entrenched corruption of the Washington elite and their corporate paymasters.
So too to an extent here in Britain. One of the saddest aspects about the current hounding of the Liberal Democrat party leader, Charles Kennedy, is that it looks set to throw the one political force that opposed our partaking in the Bush wars into turmoil and a temporary uncertainty of direction. As a supporter of that party, I have long felt we needed a stronger personality at the head of the party, but this turn of events has all the hallmarks of a secret agenda to discredit the party and halt its ambitions on the eve of forthcoming local elections. This article holds some information that might give us a clue as to what's really up behind the scenes and suggests certain media may be complicit in the affair.
The supreme irony too is that Britain's other anti-war party, Respect, is currently disabled too. Its leader (and only MP), a certain George Galloway, has returned from extensive touring engagements in the USA only to enter the confines of the "big brother" television house. Whatever the folly (or otherwise) of this move in itself, those familiar with the programme will be aware that he has no contact with the outside world. He is thus oblivious all this Whitehall intruige and absent from the fray when his voice might be useful. Co-incidence probably, but one never knows.
Back in the US, religious mouth Pat Robertson has declared that the fate of Ariel Sharon is "god's will". Bush won't be happy about that one! The Palestinians must be very confused - a couple of decades back it was the Christians who moved in to slaughter them while Sharon directed the proceedings.
My view is that the absence of Sharon on the political stage may be no bad thing. His new centre-party has never seemed like more than a sham to give him the personal authority he needed to engineer an expaned, highly-fortified Israel to the detriment of a Palestine still struggling to achieve statehood. Withdrawl from Gaza was simply a ploy to get rid of a small unwanted region whilst grabbving more territory where he did wanted. That is served as a bit of good well-spun international PR was an added bonus. Given that his new party (without him) will probably not have enough support to form a government, the Israeli electorate will most likely end up with another coilition government. No exactly the best for stability, but preferable to one party following a criminal's agenda.
More interestingly, the departure of Sharon represnts the end of an era. His credentials have always been tied to the perpetration of a non-secular jewish state - a cause he fought for even in days preceding its formation. Whether post-war Britain had the right to cede Palestinian land to what became an expansionist occupational force is now ancient history. That land, and that land only, is now accepted by most Palestinians to be Israel's own and the future lies in co-operation not dictation. Sharon and his generation are ancient history too and the region needs new voices and new attitudes for a new era.
Israel was also one of the sadder failing of the United Nations. Not only did they fail to stop new new state illegally stealing neighbour's territory, but also turned a blind eye to the state's development of nuclear weapons. To this day, no action has been taken - yet all manner of sqawking is going on when Iran is thought to be doing the same. Even as the western world jumps back on the bandwagon to promote nuclear power, we have the audicity to prevent less developed nations doing the same. But I digress.
This link is more bad news for the future of the UN and indeed NATO. As if you hadn't guessed - Bush is withdrawing support for both.
Later.
From the same source as the previous items, this article notes how Bush has been summoning heavyweights from various previous administrations to ffer "advice" on how to extract himself from the current foreign policy. It is suggested he doesn't actually give a damm for any such advice - rather he wants to pretend co-operation with individuals on whom he can later "pass the buck". Given all his troubles, the fact that he used the holiday reccess of the senate to (legally for once) bypass approval of new political appointments and the creation of the new national police force heralded by many as an "Amerikan Gestapo", suggests he is following an agenda that has no intention of compromise. The totalitarian madness is so transparent that one is almost tempted to call him honest, save for that being a serious misnomer where intentions are concerned.
Scariest of all, though not considered by the writer of this link, is that now the ape emperor has no way to back out of his self-imposed prison, he is possibly at his most dangerous. Those who are finally waking up and demanding withdrawl from Iraq, his impeachment for high crimes, war crimes and other myraid misdemeanours must act quickly. Most of all, they must convince their representatives in the senate and congress to give up their financial sedatives long enough to fix a machinery of state that has entered terminal decline. The people of the USA need champions who address their needs, not the entrenched corruption of the Washington elite and their corporate paymasters.
So too to an extent here in Britain. One of the saddest aspects about the current hounding of the Liberal Democrat party leader, Charles Kennedy, is that it looks set to throw the one political force that opposed our partaking in the Bush wars into turmoil and a temporary uncertainty of direction. As a supporter of that party, I have long felt we needed a stronger personality at the head of the party, but this turn of events has all the hallmarks of a secret agenda to discredit the party and halt its ambitions on the eve of forthcoming local elections. This article holds some information that might give us a clue as to what's really up behind the scenes and suggests certain media may be complicit in the affair.
The supreme irony too is that Britain's other anti-war party, Respect, is currently disabled too. Its leader (and only MP), a certain George Galloway, has returned from extensive touring engagements in the USA only to enter the confines of the "big brother" television house. Whatever the folly (or otherwise) of this move in itself, those familiar with the programme will be aware that he has no contact with the outside world. He is thus oblivious all this Whitehall intruige and absent from the fray when his voice might be useful. Co-incidence probably, but one never knows.
Back in the US, religious mouth Pat Robertson has declared that the fate of Ariel Sharon is "god's will". Bush won't be happy about that one! The Palestinians must be very confused - a couple of decades back it was the Christians who moved in to slaughter them while Sharon directed the proceedings.
My view is that the absence of Sharon on the political stage may be no bad thing. His new centre-party has never seemed like more than a sham to give him the personal authority he needed to engineer an expaned, highly-fortified Israel to the detriment of a Palestine still struggling to achieve statehood. Withdrawl from Gaza was simply a ploy to get rid of a small unwanted region whilst grabbving more territory where he did wanted. That is served as a bit of good well-spun international PR was an added bonus. Given that his new party (without him) will probably not have enough support to form a government, the Israeli electorate will most likely end up with another coilition government. No exactly the best for stability, but preferable to one party following a criminal's agenda.
More interestingly, the departure of Sharon represnts the end of an era. His credentials have always been tied to the perpetration of a non-secular jewish state - a cause he fought for even in days preceding its formation. Whether post-war Britain had the right to cede Palestinian land to what became an expansionist occupational force is now ancient history. That land, and that land only, is now accepted by most Palestinians to be Israel's own and the future lies in co-operation not dictation. Sharon and his generation are ancient history too and the region needs new voices and new attitudes for a new era.
Israel was also one of the sadder failing of the United Nations. Not only did they fail to stop new new state illegally stealing neighbour's territory, but also turned a blind eye to the state's development of nuclear weapons. To this day, no action has been taken - yet all manner of sqawking is going on when Iran is thought to be doing the same. Even as the western world jumps back on the bandwagon to promote nuclear power, we have the audicity to prevent less developed nations doing the same. But I digress.
This link is more bad news for the future of the UN and indeed NATO. As if you hadn't guessed - Bush is withdrawing support for both.
Later.
A timely quote and a bit of newspeak
As huge gatherings for the "out of Iraq" movement take place today across Amerika (some even with republican support) this quote from the ape emperor's daddy (circa 1990s) shows just how extreme the Washington mind-shift has become.
"Trying to eliminate Saddam .. would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible ... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq ...there was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."
And you can forget the Orwellian dictionary. Here's the latest bit of newspeak ...
Bush (boosh) adj. 1. of or relating to George W. Bush. –n. 1. a person elevated by money and powerful interests to a position far above his abilities. 2. an amoral, deceitful, self-righteous hypocrite: COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE 3. an inarticulate nincompoop, who believes himself to be amusing. 4. a corrupt, scheming demagogue, ruling an Orwellian world using Machiavellian principles. –v. 1. To screw up everything—completely. 2. to use the vast resources of the government to attack and malign those who oppose you.
Be sure to use it in a sentence today. (e.g., He is a real Bush.[or] Anybody that Bush ought to be in jail.)
Both the above thanks to items at Op Ed News.
Later.
"Trying to eliminate Saddam .. would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible ... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq ...there was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."
And you can forget the Orwellian dictionary. Here's the latest bit of newspeak ...
Bush (boosh) adj. 1. of or relating to George W. Bush. –n. 1. a person elevated by money and powerful interests to a position far above his abilities. 2. an amoral, deceitful, self-righteous hypocrite: COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE 3. an inarticulate nincompoop, who believes himself to be amusing. 4. a corrupt, scheming demagogue, ruling an Orwellian world using Machiavellian principles. –v. 1. To screw up everything—completely. 2. to use the vast resources of the government to attack and malign those who oppose you.
Be sure to use it in a sentence today. (e.g., He is a real Bush.[or] Anybody that Bush ought to be in jail.)
Both the above thanks to items at Op Ed News.
Later.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
A hidden side to Oil profits
IRAN WILL BE CHENEY'S NEXT TARGET
This link leads to a very interesting article indeed - raising also a question about the invasion of Iraq that had, I admit, totally excaped my attention before today. In essence, it relates to the fact that all international oil trading is conducted in US dollars, which means traders have to buy that currency in the first place in order to do business. With its huge debts, Amerika's money is no longer of any value in the real sense, so the Middle East suppliers were looking to do business using the newer Euro as a common currency.
Having wasted its own huge natural resources through excessive consumption, Amerika's interest can only be served by raping resources elsewhere in the world. Controlling the financial infrastructure under which such deeds are conducted obviously gives tham a lot of additional leverage in getting their way. It seems that prior to invasion, Iraq switched its exchange currency to Euros. More currently, Iran has just done the same. After the invasion, Amerika forced Iraq to return to dollar-based trading. Unknown is how they will make Iran do the same.
Here in the UK the status of cannabis legislation has popped up yet again and the government wants to reverse previous reforms after scares about the link to mental illness. Typically, they are only reading from one biased textbook. For every allegation of users suffering mental health problems, there are others of the herb being a curative for the same. As with Alcohol, different individuals react in different ways to mind-altering substances. Campaigns to repeal cannabis prohibition (its illegality is comparitively new and was only an accidental byproduct of opium legislation anyway) have been prominent since the late 1960s and in not needed them, successive governments have allowed a huge underground industry to grow. This industry has of course become entangled with other illegal trafficing and the unscrupulous behavior of some of those to conduct it.
Any significant rise in mental health problems is more than likely due to the gentically-modified variations now on the market and other (truely criminal) tampering with the product by those who do not advise consumers accordingly. It is hardly surprising either - they are only mimicing the corrupt market model used by so-called respectable industries. More here.
All this on the same day that GW Pharma, producers of the medinical pot product Sativex, get approval to conduct research in, of all places, the USA. See here. It's a weird world.
Later.
This link leads to a very interesting article indeed - raising also a question about the invasion of Iraq that had, I admit, totally excaped my attention before today. In essence, it relates to the fact that all international oil trading is conducted in US dollars, which means traders have to buy that currency in the first place in order to do business. With its huge debts, Amerika's money is no longer of any value in the real sense, so the Middle East suppliers were looking to do business using the newer Euro as a common currency.
Having wasted its own huge natural resources through excessive consumption, Amerika's interest can only be served by raping resources elsewhere in the world. Controlling the financial infrastructure under which such deeds are conducted obviously gives tham a lot of additional leverage in getting their way. It seems that prior to invasion, Iraq switched its exchange currency to Euros. More currently, Iran has just done the same. After the invasion, Amerika forced Iraq to return to dollar-based trading. Unknown is how they will make Iran do the same.
Here in the UK the status of cannabis legislation has popped up yet again and the government wants to reverse previous reforms after scares about the link to mental illness. Typically, they are only reading from one biased textbook. For every allegation of users suffering mental health problems, there are others of the herb being a curative for the same. As with Alcohol, different individuals react in different ways to mind-altering substances. Campaigns to repeal cannabis prohibition (its illegality is comparitively new and was only an accidental byproduct of opium legislation anyway) have been prominent since the late 1960s and in not needed them, successive governments have allowed a huge underground industry to grow. This industry has of course become entangled with other illegal trafficing and the unscrupulous behavior of some of those to conduct it.
Any significant rise in mental health problems is more than likely due to the gentically-modified variations now on the market and other (truely criminal) tampering with the product by those who do not advise consumers accordingly. It is hardly surprising either - they are only mimicing the corrupt market model used by so-called respectable industries. More here.
All this on the same day that GW Pharma, producers of the medinical pot product Sativex, get approval to conduct research in, of all places, the USA. See here. It's a weird world.
Later.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Last exit closes for Guantanamo victims
Dismissal Of Gitmo Lawsuits Sought
This link to CBS News is distressing in that it suggests those detained without trial by Amerika in Guananamo Bay will no longer have any method at all to contest their imprisonment. In other words - "abandon hope all ye who enter" - whether guilty or not.
Maybe one day this godforsaken place will get a new use - a place of exile for the corrupt and criminal elite now infesting Washington.
Later.
This link to CBS News is distressing in that it suggests those detained without trial by Amerika in Guananamo Bay will no longer have any method at all to contest their imprisonment. In other words - "abandon hope all ye who enter" - whether guilty or not.
Maybe one day this godforsaken place will get a new use - a place of exile for the corrupt and criminal elite now infesting Washington.
Later.
Pay-Per-View for Freedom of Information
UK news from The Times
... and get it if you're lucky!
Yes - no sooner have we British got the right to obtain information about ourselves and those who supposedly serve us, than the Blair Bitch Project decides to take the "free" out of "freedom" and to charge us for the privilage. Regardless, it seens, whether or not they even decide to impart the requested data to us or not. The reality of the situation is that the disenfranchised who are likely to need information access the most are the very people will will not be able to afford it.
Given that the beaurocrats already seen incapable of finding answers to comparitively simple questions, one also wonders about the value of the service anyway. Maybe those who can afford to access will find themselves paying good money for what in practice will be disinformation anyway. In an age where information can be stored in databases and the cost of retrieval is virtually non-existant, these plans are absurd.
The link leads to a report in The Times.
Later.
... and get it if you're lucky!
Yes - no sooner have we British got the right to obtain information about ourselves and those who supposedly serve us, than the Blair Bitch Project decides to take the "free" out of "freedom" and to charge us for the privilage. Regardless, it seens, whether or not they even decide to impart the requested data to us or not. The reality of the situation is that the disenfranchised who are likely to need information access the most are the very people will will not be able to afford it.
Given that the beaurocrats already seen incapable of finding answers to comparitively simple questions, one also wonders about the value of the service anyway. Maybe those who can afford to access will find themselves paying good money for what in practice will be disinformation anyway. In an age where information can be stored in databases and the cost of retrieval is virtually non-existant, these plans are absurd.
The link leads to a report in The Times.
Later.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Amerika will reap what its sown
AlterNet: Iraq - Civil War in 2006?
A link to AlterNet where the former UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter debuts with what promises to be a regular blog. Here he argues that 2005 will be remembered less for the elections in Iraq than for sowing the foundations for what will this year turn into a bloody civil war. With repurcussions that will be the exact opposite of what Amerika intended, this article articulates what for many should have been instinctively obvious and reminds us of the folly in following the dictates of leaders incapable of foresight.
Would that we could exile Bush and Blair to Bagdad so they can personally reap what they've sown.
Later.
A link to AlterNet where the former UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter debuts with what promises to be a regular blog. Here he argues that 2005 will be remembered less for the elections in Iraq than for sowing the foundations for what will this year turn into a bloody civil war. With repurcussions that will be the exact opposite of what Amerika intended, this article articulates what for many should have been instinctively obvious and reminds us of the folly in following the dictates of leaders incapable of foresight.
Would that we could exile Bush and Blair to Bagdad so they can personally reap what they've sown.
Later.
40 lessons from the new millenium
Secret Webs, Scared Bullies and a Global Mind Shift
It's always good to find someone re-affirming my own thoughts. This link leads to Richard Neville who gives us 40 things to consider for the coming cycle - precise, concise and very much to the point!
It's always good to find someone re-affirming my own thoughts. This link leads to Richard Neville who gives us 40 things to consider for the coming cycle - precise, concise and very much to the point!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Hindsight and Blindsight
AlterNet: Excerpt: Feet to the Fire
So the party's over and we get back slowly to serious news analysis. This link leads to an interesting journalistic take on the falsehoods perpetrated as a prelude to the Amerikan war on Iraq. Most notable is, whatever else you might say about Saddam Hussein, he presided over a secular government and was just as worried about Bin Laden and other religious extremeists as anyone else.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. "In retrospect, we might have ..." - the perfect excuse to those unwilling to offer any real apology for their errors. This is the time when the media fill their pages and airwaves with retrospectives. For the most part this is simply the recent news repackaged and condensed in chronological order as seasonal fodder for those with short attention spans. In some cases however, serious journalists are able to use the hindsight analogy to give us an overview of events without the immediate political bias with which they were presented at the time. I would dearly like to see the likes of Blair and Bush forced to present such a summary to their nations themselves - I suspect they'd be tripping over themselves so fast that they would be reduced to measuring their time left in office to mere hours.
Here in Britain we have something called the "30 year rule" under which classified documents are finally released to the history books. As I've said before, one of the more fascinating advantages of reaching a certain age is that one finally finds out the truth about events that have occurred during one's own lifetime. There are sad exceptions - anything too sensitive can be witheld for an additional 20 years or even until after the death of persons concerned. In the case of misadventures involving the Royal Family, the entire rule is extended to 100 years. Nonetheless, we do obtain a glimmer of the real history we've lived. Strangely there hasn't been much of intruige revealed yet this this time round, but I'm about to go searching just in case. Watch this space.
It will be another seven or eight years before this rule reveals more facts about Britain's 1980's war in the Falklands - especially the suggestions that the whole sequence of events were engineered by the Thatcher government to justify fortification of the supply routes to our oil and mineral resources in Antarctica. However, given that we are now immersed in a worldwide economic war for energy reserves, one has to wonder if certain rumours have real basis in fact. Yesterday we heard that Russia cut off gas supply to a customer that refused to pay the same price as other customers. In a world where commerce dictates everything, it is hard to see what the fuss is about. The detail is in the contract. Russia needs to pay a decent rent for the land under which its pipelines run, but the real message is they are no longer handing out favours to those who have left the fold. The danger is that the move will send signals that unduly affect the forthcoming democratic elections in the Ukraine.
The whole affair seems to be making Russia's other European customers nervous. Given that they are paying the full market price for the gas, there hardly seems to be any real cause for panic. So long as they pay the bills required by the same consumer-driven economy they themselves promote, there should be no threat. The paranoia comes from addiction to the product - it may not be opium, but oil and gas dependency makes the so-called "civilised" world behave like any other junkie. There's a problem with that - upset the dealer and your life becomes a very cold turkey indeed. When and if Iraq gets its own act together again, this could be a lesson that comes back to haunt us. The supplier doesn't usually respond well to blackmail.
A closing note. Yesterday I posted this link about Britain's planned energy cuts in the "Latest Clicks" section. It was published before the Ukraine business happened. As Europe reacts to Russia's move with similar restrictions, one wonders if the whole affair is being hyped up and over-played simply to hide cuts that were on the agenda anyway.
Later.
So the party's over and we get back slowly to serious news analysis. This link leads to an interesting journalistic take on the falsehoods perpetrated as a prelude to the Amerikan war on Iraq. Most notable is, whatever else you might say about Saddam Hussein, he presided over a secular government and was just as worried about Bin Laden and other religious extremeists as anyone else.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. "In retrospect, we might have ..." - the perfect excuse to those unwilling to offer any real apology for their errors. This is the time when the media fill their pages and airwaves with retrospectives. For the most part this is simply the recent news repackaged and condensed in chronological order as seasonal fodder for those with short attention spans. In some cases however, serious journalists are able to use the hindsight analogy to give us an overview of events without the immediate political bias with which they were presented at the time. I would dearly like to see the likes of Blair and Bush forced to present such a summary to their nations themselves - I suspect they'd be tripping over themselves so fast that they would be reduced to measuring their time left in office to mere hours.
Here in Britain we have something called the "30 year rule" under which classified documents are finally released to the history books. As I've said before, one of the more fascinating advantages of reaching a certain age is that one finally finds out the truth about events that have occurred during one's own lifetime. There are sad exceptions - anything too sensitive can be witheld for an additional 20 years or even until after the death of persons concerned. In the case of misadventures involving the Royal Family, the entire rule is extended to 100 years. Nonetheless, we do obtain a glimmer of the real history we've lived. Strangely there hasn't been much of intruige revealed yet this this time round, but I'm about to go searching just in case. Watch this space.
It will be another seven or eight years before this rule reveals more facts about Britain's 1980's war in the Falklands - especially the suggestions that the whole sequence of events were engineered by the Thatcher government to justify fortification of the supply routes to our oil and mineral resources in Antarctica. However, given that we are now immersed in a worldwide economic war for energy reserves, one has to wonder if certain rumours have real basis in fact. Yesterday we heard that Russia cut off gas supply to a customer that refused to pay the same price as other customers. In a world where commerce dictates everything, it is hard to see what the fuss is about. The detail is in the contract. Russia needs to pay a decent rent for the land under which its pipelines run, but the real message is they are no longer handing out favours to those who have left the fold. The danger is that the move will send signals that unduly affect the forthcoming democratic elections in the Ukraine.
The whole affair seems to be making Russia's other European customers nervous. Given that they are paying the full market price for the gas, there hardly seems to be any real cause for panic. So long as they pay the bills required by the same consumer-driven economy they themselves promote, there should be no threat. The paranoia comes from addiction to the product - it may not be opium, but oil and gas dependency makes the so-called "civilised" world behave like any other junkie. There's a problem with that - upset the dealer and your life becomes a very cold turkey indeed. When and if Iraq gets its own act together again, this could be a lesson that comes back to haunt us. The supplier doesn't usually respond well to blackmail.
A closing note. Yesterday I posted this link about Britain's planned energy cuts in the "Latest Clicks" section. It was published before the Ukraine business happened. As Europe reacts to Russia's move with similar restrictions, one wonders if the whole affair is being hyped up and over-played simply to hide cuts that were on the agenda anyway.
Later.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Not just cold, but also ...
Hunstanton, Norfolk, UK. Geriatric seaside resort maybe, but not the place to spent winter. It still can't receive Channel 5 terrestial television, can't get a decent mobile phone signal if indeed one at all, has only a couple of stone-age public computer terminals and just has to be the only place with dangerous hills in an otherwise flat country. All this is mainland UK and I guess the only claim to fame is its proximity to the royal palace at Sandringham. More pictures here.
eTV Picture Post
New cycle
So after a few days of silence I'm back to wish you a good new year - or a fine forthcoming 365 days if perchance you subscribe to a calender other than the one here in Britain.
No links today (and I've got 5 days of news to catch up on) but the radio reports that last night's celebrations here in London involved an unprecedented number of knife attacks on otherwise innocent party-goers. A sad sign of the times and I didn't escape unscathed myself.
After a nightmarish few days stranded snow-and-icebound without communications in a remote village on the North Norfolk coast (where I'd been called on false pretenses at short notice and some cost anyway) , I arrived back in London only to be forced to navigate through all manner of intoxicated drivers in an attempt to cross town from the station to home. Since my bike was parked at the station and the tube system was out on strike for the evening I really had no choice but to cycle it. Fine until a big red London Bus came barging by and used a diagonal route to push me out of the cycle lane and into the fencing protecting pedestrians.
Thanks to some hasty halting by the car behind I have survived with just some nasty bruises, but when even public service vehicles are driven by people behaving like lunatics one despairs. My thanks to the decent people that picked me up off the road and rescued most of the bike too.
So I'll probably need a new cycle for the new cycle, but that's a minor worry given what could have happened.
Back in the less personal news I also read that the UK government is planning for a worse Winter than predicted and will probably cut power usage by industry in order to maintain the illusion that there is no energy crisis by maintaining supplies to our homes. Presumably it will be Spring before any cost to the greater infrastructure will be noticed? See here.
Later.
No links today (and I've got 5 days of news to catch up on) but the radio reports that last night's celebrations here in London involved an unprecedented number of knife attacks on otherwise innocent party-goers. A sad sign of the times and I didn't escape unscathed myself.
After a nightmarish few days stranded snow-and-icebound without communications in a remote village on the North Norfolk coast (where I'd been called on false pretenses at short notice and some cost anyway) , I arrived back in London only to be forced to navigate through all manner of intoxicated drivers in an attempt to cross town from the station to home. Since my bike was parked at the station and the tube system was out on strike for the evening I really had no choice but to cycle it. Fine until a big red London Bus came barging by and used a diagonal route to push me out of the cycle lane and into the fencing protecting pedestrians.
Thanks to some hasty halting by the car behind I have survived with just some nasty bruises, but when even public service vehicles are driven by people behaving like lunatics one despairs. My thanks to the decent people that picked me up off the road and rescued most of the bike too.
So I'll probably need a new cycle for the new cycle, but that's a minor worry given what could have happened.
Back in the less personal news I also read that the UK government is planning for a worse Winter than predicted and will probably cut power usage by industry in order to maintain the illusion that there is no energy crisis by maintaining supplies to our homes. Presumably it will be Spring before any cost to the greater infrastructure will be noticed? See here.
Later.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Beyond telephony - Here comes Radio Tracking
AlterNet: Are You Being Tracked?
This news is hardly new, but today's story goes into some depth about the future of Radio Frequency Identification. It was originally the idea of developing businesses who wanted to track their products and utility companies wanting a way to remotely read their meters. It was also seen as a workable method of bypassing the web to deliver software upgrades for fixed hardware devices. But in an age where every downstream is also an upstream, it is another gift to the big brother mindset.
Tomorrow's fashion accessory could be a shirt with an electronic fabric. Or maybe just a tie. You will simply download the pattern you want to wear that day. There'll be a whole industry born for a new kind of garment design. Eventually the patterns will move and respond to your enviroment. Lastly, they'll be accompanied by a compulsory advertising logo which may indeed become a "must-have" emblem in it's own right. Any originality will simply be re-packaged as conformity and the lowest common denomiator will prevail as everyone tried to keep up with everyone else. The commerce wars of today's sportwear makers are but a hint of what may come. Your new uniform will be your marketing subscription.
Some will love it and for a while the novelty value will make it great fun. The question is not how long it will take the consumers to realise that the same technology is tracking their every move - it is how long it will take for the wearers to accept and forget that their every move is being tracked. It is then that big brother will have made us complete pawns in some mysterious greater game.
As the multi-day binge concludes and we all embrace the wonder of whatever technological gadgets we have acquired, maybe it would be wise to think more closely about their potential for abuse. And just why does that MP3 player, so cheap at the price, insist on trying to connect to the internet when you don't need it to? Maybe the Bush "wire-tap" mentality is already obselete - the future is the craft of "wireless-tap".
Later.
This news is hardly new, but today's story goes into some depth about the future of Radio Frequency Identification. It was originally the idea of developing businesses who wanted to track their products and utility companies wanting a way to remotely read their meters. It was also seen as a workable method of bypassing the web to deliver software upgrades for fixed hardware devices. But in an age where every downstream is also an upstream, it is another gift to the big brother mindset.
Tomorrow's fashion accessory could be a shirt with an electronic fabric. Or maybe just a tie. You will simply download the pattern you want to wear that day. There'll be a whole industry born for a new kind of garment design. Eventually the patterns will move and respond to your enviroment. Lastly, they'll be accompanied by a compulsory advertising logo which may indeed become a "must-have" emblem in it's own right. Any originality will simply be re-packaged as conformity and the lowest common denomiator will prevail as everyone tried to keep up with everyone else. The commerce wars of today's sportwear makers are but a hint of what may come. Your new uniform will be your marketing subscription.
Some will love it and for a while the novelty value will make it great fun. The question is not how long it will take the consumers to realise that the same technology is tracking their every move - it is how long it will take for the wearers to accept and forget that their every move is being tracked. It is then that big brother will have made us complete pawns in some mysterious greater game.
As the multi-day binge concludes and we all embrace the wonder of whatever technological gadgets we have acquired, maybe it would be wise to think more closely about their potential for abuse. And just why does that MP3 player, so cheap at the price, insist on trying to connect to the internet when you don't need it to? Maybe the Bush "wire-tap" mentality is already obselete - the future is the craft of "wireless-tap".
Later.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Eve of Disruption
Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove
It is of course the eve of the western world's big hoohaa and most of the editorial press have retreated for the holidays. Not the New York Times who here reveal more about domestic spying in Amerika. NYT have been getting some flack of late for having anti-Bush sentiments - odd, given that they are part of the Murdock media empire and some of the items in question have been with-held from publication until recently.
Here's a quote -
"One outside expert on communications privacy who previously worked at the NSA said that to exploit its technological capabilities, the American government had in the last few years been quietly encouraging the telecommunications industry to increase the amount of international traffic that is routed through American-based switches."
This gets ever more worrying. First Bush admits spying on domestic/international calls. Then they admit this may have included domestic/domestic calls due to a glitch in the way the empire's computer systems operate. Then we find they've been spying on both Islmic and other foreign organisations to the extend of monitoring their offices for traces of radiation. Lastly, we find they have actively been encouraging the routing of international telecoms traffic through the USA - presumably to spy further. This must be a collosal operation.
It has been pointed out that were any former president have have engaged in even a hint of such activity they would have denied it since the over-riding duty of the White House incumbant is to preserve and enforce the constitution. Since such activities go against the constitution itself, they would have been considered to have betrayed the entire nature of their office. Impeachment would not nearly be enough for commiting such crimes. We all know about Nixon's little jaunt and one suspects that no President will have totally clean hands in this area, but Bush is certainly the first to admit this kind of thing publicly. He not only admits it, but proclaims his divine right to do it and challenges anyone to argue the point. To date, there have been pathetically few takers.
That look set to change, but one still has to worry about the spying infrastructure that must now exist. If those of us living elsewhere are taking advantage of cheap international call services, how likely is it that they are being routed through a US government subsidised hub for surveillance purposes. It is not just we individuals who should be worried, but our governments themselves. The prospect of commerce wedded to a particular government and that government itself wedded to both fundamentalism and trans-national robbery hardly sits comfortably with the notion of freedom - be it for the individual or governments themselves.
This weekend there will be more international phone calls between individuals than at any other time of year. So as you enjoy the holidays, spare a thought for those poor eaves-dropper no doubt working overtime.
Later.
NEWSFLASH
Reports are coming of a possible terror alert. Homeland security are said to have detected several imposter flights masquerading as the reindeer-powered craft, Santa Force One. Officials are currently believed to be trying to locate the authentic one before blasting the fakes out of the sky. The public are warned to be careful what comes down their chimney tonight. If in doubt - shoot to ... (killjoy)
It is of course the eve of the western world's big hoohaa and most of the editorial press have retreated for the holidays. Not the New York Times who here reveal more about domestic spying in Amerika. NYT have been getting some flack of late for having anti-Bush sentiments - odd, given that they are part of the Murdock media empire and some of the items in question have been with-held from publication until recently.
Here's a quote -
"One outside expert on communications privacy who previously worked at the NSA said that to exploit its technological capabilities, the American government had in the last few years been quietly encouraging the telecommunications industry to increase the amount of international traffic that is routed through American-based switches."
This gets ever more worrying. First Bush admits spying on domestic/international calls. Then they admit this may have included domestic/domestic calls due to a glitch in the way the empire's computer systems operate. Then we find they've been spying on both Islmic and other foreign organisations to the extend of monitoring their offices for traces of radiation. Lastly, we find they have actively been encouraging the routing of international telecoms traffic through the USA - presumably to spy further. This must be a collosal operation.
It has been pointed out that were any former president have have engaged in even a hint of such activity they would have denied it since the over-riding duty of the White House incumbant is to preserve and enforce the constitution. Since such activities go against the constitution itself, they would have been considered to have betrayed the entire nature of their office. Impeachment would not nearly be enough for commiting such crimes. We all know about Nixon's little jaunt and one suspects that no President will have totally clean hands in this area, but Bush is certainly the first to admit this kind of thing publicly. He not only admits it, but proclaims his divine right to do it and challenges anyone to argue the point. To date, there have been pathetically few takers.
That look set to change, but one still has to worry about the spying infrastructure that must now exist. If those of us living elsewhere are taking advantage of cheap international call services, how likely is it that they are being routed through a US government subsidised hub for surveillance purposes. It is not just we individuals who should be worried, but our governments themselves. The prospect of commerce wedded to a particular government and that government itself wedded to both fundamentalism and trans-national robbery hardly sits comfortably with the notion of freedom - be it for the individual or governments themselves.
This weekend there will be more international phone calls between individuals than at any other time of year. So as you enjoy the holidays, spare a thought for those poor eaves-dropper no doubt working overtime.
Later.
NEWSFLASH
Reports are coming of a possible terror alert. Homeland security are said to have detected several imposter flights masquerading as the reindeer-powered craft, Santa Force One. Officials are currently believed to be trying to locate the authentic one before blasting the fakes out of the sky. The public are warned to be careful what comes down their chimney tonight. If in doubt - shoot to ... (killjoy)
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Consolidation of Big Brother
Transport to Surveillance
This link leads to the Independent's headline article and suggests yet another reason for giving up those cardon-spewing four-wheeled affrontations to planetary respect. Drive one and you become another statistic in that mother of population control - the state database. Exactly why the snoops of Whitehall can't employ such technology to ensure the health and welfare of tax-paying citizens is another question. If the police, welfare, benefits and social service agencies talked to each other and shared information to the same extent as these proposals, maybe the big brother mentality could be vindicated by giving us a society free of child neglect, domestic abuse and the violence of dis-enfrachisement.
At least we can now link two trains of thought. To protect your civil liberties you will have to abandon use of private motor vehicles. Take to foot or bike, even trains and buses - anything that doesn't involve an individual license-plate or purchase of petrolium. We should not be subscribing to a surveillance agenda, we should insist on living as free individuals. Maybe then, those we elect to do so will finally start shaping a social structure that adapts to our needs rather than their own. We are not pawns - we should be demanding the "service" of politicians in the same way we demand that of jurors in the administration of law.
Also, a great new toon today from Mark Fiore - as always.
Later.
This link leads to the Independent's headline article and suggests yet another reason for giving up those cardon-spewing four-wheeled affrontations to planetary respect. Drive one and you become another statistic in that mother of population control - the state database. Exactly why the snoops of Whitehall can't employ such technology to ensure the health and welfare of tax-paying citizens is another question. If the police, welfare, benefits and social service agencies talked to each other and shared information to the same extent as these proposals, maybe the big brother mentality could be vindicated by giving us a society free of child neglect, domestic abuse and the violence of dis-enfrachisement.
At least we can now link two trains of thought. To protect your civil liberties you will have to abandon use of private motor vehicles. Take to foot or bike, even trains and buses - anything that doesn't involve an individual license-plate or purchase of petrolium. We should not be subscribing to a surveillance agenda, we should insist on living as free individuals. Maybe then, those we elect to do so will finally start shaping a social structure that adapts to our needs rather than their own. We are not pawns - we should be demanding the "service" of politicians in the same way we demand that of jurors in the administration of law.
Also, a great new toon today from Mark Fiore - as always.
Later.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Amerika Convenes Anti-Castro Panel
CBS News
One might think that the with the current scrutiny of the Amerikan administration's behaviour at home and abroad they might take time to pause for thought before embarking on any new escapades. Not so it seems - as this link points out, Condi has now taken charge of the group planning regime change in Cuba. Missile Crisis it is not and one has to ask what it will take to keep the US from meddling in other countries' affairs.
The irony is that the preaching of so-called "democracy" is back-firing with a venegence. Bolivia is the latest Latin American example of a people more than willing to use the ballot box to democratically elect a government - only to produce a regime that disagrees with Amerika on just about everything. If democracy were to be forced on Cuba, who is to say the result would be any more to US liking than Castro's government. Changing the power structure will not change the culture.
It is also the obvious lesson of Iraq. It will now be January before all the votes of their recent ballot can be counted, but they too embraced the actual democratic process to a greater degree than expected. Whilst rumours of Amerikan "fixing" of the process in some places abound, early results indicate massive support for religious parties which means the new "democracy" will not only be rife with sectarianism, but also united in distrust of Britain and Amerika. If we do manage to get out, it will be no surprise if local divides being Iran back into the equation and all the meddling will have backfired again.
Democracy by decree is an absurd mismangement of foreign policy. It is not even absolute - as the western world's relationship with and dependency on China exemplifies. We don't actually give a damn about democracy when market forces and the economy are favourable to us. Self interest rules as the impotence of the Hong Kong trade negotiations proved. The only thing that might make us wake up is if Latin America and the Middle East used their "democracies" to deny us access to the Oil and Gas reserves we are so keen to swindle out of them. The urgency of change needed to our own lifestyle would then become starkly transparent and the charade of our own elected governments' ability to cope with future reality exposed.
Later.
One might think that the with the current scrutiny of the Amerikan administration's behaviour at home and abroad they might take time to pause for thought before embarking on any new escapades. Not so it seems - as this link points out, Condi has now taken charge of the group planning regime change in Cuba. Missile Crisis it is not and one has to ask what it will take to keep the US from meddling in other countries' affairs.
The irony is that the preaching of so-called "democracy" is back-firing with a venegence. Bolivia is the latest Latin American example of a people more than willing to use the ballot box to democratically elect a government - only to produce a regime that disagrees with Amerika on just about everything. If democracy were to be forced on Cuba, who is to say the result would be any more to US liking than Castro's government. Changing the power structure will not change the culture.
It is also the obvious lesson of Iraq. It will now be January before all the votes of their recent ballot can be counted, but they too embraced the actual democratic process to a greater degree than expected. Whilst rumours of Amerikan "fixing" of the process in some places abound, early results indicate massive support for religious parties which means the new "democracy" will not only be rife with sectarianism, but also united in distrust of Britain and Amerika. If we do manage to get out, it will be no surprise if local divides being Iran back into the equation and all the meddling will have backfired again.
Democracy by decree is an absurd mismangement of foreign policy. It is not even absolute - as the western world's relationship with and dependency on China exemplifies. We don't actually give a damn about democracy when market forces and the economy are favourable to us. Self interest rules as the impotence of the Hong Kong trade negotiations proved. The only thing that might make us wake up is if Latin America and the Middle East used their "democracies" to deny us access to the Oil and Gas reserves we are so keen to swindle out of them. The urgency of change needed to our own lifestyle would then become starkly transparent and the charade of our own elected governments' ability to cope with future reality exposed.
Later.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
US Judge Expels 'Intelligent Design'
CBS News
Some rather good news for once. Evolution returns to the Amerikan classroom as a judge rules that "intelligent design" cannot be part of the curriculum. No doubt the religious right will be wetting their underwear.
Parallels are also being drawn between the Bush domestic wiretapping and what Richard Nixon did at Watergate. By all reports and frantic discussion in the blogsphere, this means there are solid grounds for Dubya's impeachment. Forget that campaign to give him a blow job - it seems some good old fashioned skullduggery may to the trick just as well. See here.
Later.
Some rather good news for once. Evolution returns to the Amerikan classroom as a judge rules that "intelligent design" cannot be part of the curriculum. No doubt the religious right will be wetting their underwear.
Parallels are also being drawn between the Bush domestic wiretapping and what Richard Nixon did at Watergate. By all reports and frantic discussion in the blogsphere, this means there are solid grounds for Dubya's impeachment. Forget that campaign to give him a blow job - it seems some good old fashioned skullduggery may to the trick just as well. See here.
Later.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Contracts for Coupling
Western Isles poised for showdown over council's gay marriage ban
I've chosen this absurd little story as today's link because it leads in to what may turn out to be a real headache for the UK goverment.
Today saw the first formal endorsement of a long-term gay relationship in the UK. It was in Northern Ireland. Scotland follows tomorrow and England itself on Wednesday. None other than Sir Elton John will make sure we don't forget the latter as he will undoubtably provide the day's headlines. The whole legislative machine that has finally brought all this about has been cranking away slowly for years and today simply marks the endgame of that process. Why therefore, all the hue and cry from regressive types across the land? It is hardly an unannounced revolution.
The media have naturally become obsessed with the topic and, although the technical definition of what's going on is "civil partnerships", radio, TV and newspapers are insisting on refering to them as "gay marriages". This, of course, is just aggravating the controversy by using terminology that has other associations for backward religious types.
I've never had much truck with even the idea of marriage. My bone of contention is not people choosing the two partner (and usually two parent) family unit as a base for their lifestyle, but the formalisation that binds an inter-personal relationship to both the unknown future and a social norm dictated by the state. Whilst clearly a long-needed acknowledgement of same sex couples and the rights they should be allowed to subscribe to, this new recognition has more to do with social integration, fiscal planning and the eventual supression of something that otherwise stood out like a sore thumb in the routines of big brother's robotic society.
I have never seen any problem with gay and lesbian relationships, or any same-sex activities that do not involve rape or sexual slavery. The same applies to conventional male-female relationships. The problem is the contract for coupling itself. Many long-term heterosexual partnerships go awry after the contract is signed - whether a natural consequence of the march of time or the un-natural consequence of one or other party re-interpreting the relationship to conform with their own notion of the contract itself. Thousands of indiviuals end up "trapped" in circumstances they did not forsee and only if they are lucky is it possible to escape through the nightmarish drama of official divorce. There is no reason to assume that formalised gay partnerships will not ultimately fall into the same kinds of trap.
Marriage itself went into steep social decline around the 1960s as people realised it was an un-necessary restriction on personal freedom. It didn't however prevent non-formalised relationships from prospering and indeed, raising children. Issues of love and companionship do not require state or religious intervention to survive. Marriage is a relic of religious doctrine - although it is one ritual that is to a great extent shared by many different religions. As such, it suggests human beings have a tendency toward the lesser pack as opposed to the greater collective one. Proscribing it however is wholly regressive and in the modern world it has become a tool for population control, taxation and common-denominator marketing. To be "normal", you must be the nuclear family!
In a world where the likes of Bush and Blair have corrupted the notion of wholly secular government, it should be no surprise that the newly empowered, if somewhat retarded, faith-based groups are squawking in reactionary harmony. To the civilised mind it is, to quote a certain bard: "Much Ado About Nothing". If marriage is on the increase again these days, it has more to do with celebrity, pre-nuptial agreements and the pursuit of consumer credit than anything else. The hitherto maverick nature of the gay community has helped bring it into the open over recent decades. It would be a shame if having emerged from "the closet" they are seduced by the ritual of living in another tpe of cupboard.
Also in the news, the share price of GW Pharmaceuticals, the makers of the medical cannabis product "Sativex" have risen on the news they have negotiated an export contract with a distribution comany in Spain, on top of the recent one with Canada. This distributor will in turn be supplying it to other countries throughout Europe, with the notable exception of Britain itself!
Later.
I've chosen this absurd little story as today's link because it leads in to what may turn out to be a real headache for the UK goverment.
Today saw the first formal endorsement of a long-term gay relationship in the UK. It was in Northern Ireland. Scotland follows tomorrow and England itself on Wednesday. None other than Sir Elton John will make sure we don't forget the latter as he will undoubtably provide the day's headlines. The whole legislative machine that has finally brought all this about has been cranking away slowly for years and today simply marks the endgame of that process. Why therefore, all the hue and cry from regressive types across the land? It is hardly an unannounced revolution.
The media have naturally become obsessed with the topic and, although the technical definition of what's going on is "civil partnerships", radio, TV and newspapers are insisting on refering to them as "gay marriages". This, of course, is just aggravating the controversy by using terminology that has other associations for backward religious types.
I've never had much truck with even the idea of marriage. My bone of contention is not people choosing the two partner (and usually two parent) family unit as a base for their lifestyle, but the formalisation that binds an inter-personal relationship to both the unknown future and a social norm dictated by the state. Whilst clearly a long-needed acknowledgement of same sex couples and the rights they should be allowed to subscribe to, this new recognition has more to do with social integration, fiscal planning and the eventual supression of something that otherwise stood out like a sore thumb in the routines of big brother's robotic society.
I have never seen any problem with gay and lesbian relationships, or any same-sex activities that do not involve rape or sexual slavery. The same applies to conventional male-female relationships. The problem is the contract for coupling itself. Many long-term heterosexual partnerships go awry after the contract is signed - whether a natural consequence of the march of time or the un-natural consequence of one or other party re-interpreting the relationship to conform with their own notion of the contract itself. Thousands of indiviuals end up "trapped" in circumstances they did not forsee and only if they are lucky is it possible to escape through the nightmarish drama of official divorce. There is no reason to assume that formalised gay partnerships will not ultimately fall into the same kinds of trap.
Marriage itself went into steep social decline around the 1960s as people realised it was an un-necessary restriction on personal freedom. It didn't however prevent non-formalised relationships from prospering and indeed, raising children. Issues of love and companionship do not require state or religious intervention to survive. Marriage is a relic of religious doctrine - although it is one ritual that is to a great extent shared by many different religions. As such, it suggests human beings have a tendency toward the lesser pack as opposed to the greater collective one. Proscribing it however is wholly regressive and in the modern world it has become a tool for population control, taxation and common-denominator marketing. To be "normal", you must be the nuclear family!
In a world where the likes of Bush and Blair have corrupted the notion of wholly secular government, it should be no surprise that the newly empowered, if somewhat retarded, faith-based groups are squawking in reactionary harmony. To the civilised mind it is, to quote a certain bard: "Much Ado About Nothing". If marriage is on the increase again these days, it has more to do with celebrity, pre-nuptial agreements and the pursuit of consumer credit than anything else. The hitherto maverick nature of the gay community has helped bring it into the open over recent decades. It would be a shame if having emerged from "the closet" they are seduced by the ritual of living in another tpe of cupboard.
Also in the news, the share price of GW Pharmaceuticals, the makers of the medical cannabis product "Sativex" have risen on the news they have negotiated an export contract with a distribution comany in Spain, on top of the recent one with Canada. This distributor will in turn be supplying it to other countries throughout Europe, with the notable exception of Britain itself!
Later.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Just who's handling who here?
Sinn Fein expels British spy
A link to the Scotsman's take on the latest Northern Ireland fiasco - news that broke too late for this morning's print editions.
The last time Britain's Labour party were elected into office it was under the leadership of the late Harold Wilson. Like Blair, he too retired whilst still in office (one presumes Blair intends keeping his word on this of course!) but sensibly only told the Queen about his departure date. It was only some time after his exit from the political stage that we learned that the British Intelligence services had been involved in a campaign to de-stabilise his government for reasons of their own.
This latest news has a peculiar and slighty familiar stink about it. The peace process in so far as the Northern Ireland assembly is concerned fell apart a while back because of spying allegations against Sinn Fein. Now we find that the spy in question was a UK special branch operative. In other words, Sinn Fein themselves did nothing to justify the dissolution of the fledgling parliament.
Blair's government, whatever its other faults, can hardly be said to have engaged in any activity designed to hinder conciliation in the long-standing troubles. Thanks largely to the impartial attitude of the late Mo Mowlan and possibly the presence of catholicism in Blair's own marriage, it could rather be said to have made unprecedented progress in resolving the issues. For this reason, I can hardly believe they would have had knowledge of any agenda to subvert the process.
So the question is - exactly who was handling this agent and why? The thought of powers in Whitehall and beyond that can bypass the authority of government is bad enough. The possibility that they could be driven by a religious bias is more disturbing still.
Later.
A link to the Scotsman's take on the latest Northern Ireland fiasco - news that broke too late for this morning's print editions.
The last time Britain's Labour party were elected into office it was under the leadership of the late Harold Wilson. Like Blair, he too retired whilst still in office (one presumes Blair intends keeping his word on this of course!) but sensibly only told the Queen about his departure date. It was only some time after his exit from the political stage that we learned that the British Intelligence services had been involved in a campaign to de-stabilise his government for reasons of their own.
This latest news has a peculiar and slighty familiar stink about it. The peace process in so far as the Northern Ireland assembly is concerned fell apart a while back because of spying allegations against Sinn Fein. Now we find that the spy in question was a UK special branch operative. In other words, Sinn Fein themselves did nothing to justify the dissolution of the fledgling parliament.
Blair's government, whatever its other faults, can hardly be said to have engaged in any activity designed to hinder conciliation in the long-standing troubles. Thanks largely to the impartial attitude of the late Mo Mowlan and possibly the presence of catholicism in Blair's own marriage, it could rather be said to have made unprecedented progress in resolving the issues. For this reason, I can hardly believe they would have had knowledge of any agenda to subvert the process.
So the question is - exactly who was handling this agent and why? The thought of powers in Whitehall and beyond that can bypass the authority of government is bad enough. The possibility that they could be driven by a religious bias is more disturbing still.
Later.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Straw of Rendition
Independent Online Edition > UK Politics
Forgetting for a moment the fires and Arnie's re-invention of his role as "terminator", this link to today's Independent tells us the UK foriegn secretary Jack Straw did indeed approve a couple of "rendition" flights by the CIA here in Britain. It seems like a minor confession designed to distract attention from the current issue. The flights in question were approved back when Staw was home secretary, well before 9/11 and the subsequent so-called "war on terrorism". Well before the advent of the Bush imperial initiative - full stop!
As the article points out, this revelation may indeed raise additional questions. If we accept that requests were made and granted in the past, surely the complete absence of any such official requests by the Bush regime in the newer climate is suspicious in itself. It suggests the arrogance of the ape emperor is such that he would not have bothered to ask permission anyway - probably in the full knowledge that the intent would be criminal. Not that I believe for one minute that our government, via British intelligence services, would not have been entirely aware of such activities. Simply off the record - of course!
Sad news is that Bush's popularity ratings have increased again slightly. Probably because he's shut up for a while and hunkered down for the holidays. Whilst her European tour may have shocked Condi Rice into a re-assessment of the Amerikan position, there is no indication whether her reservations have registered in the dubious "brain" of Dubya.
Later.
Forgetting for a moment the fires and Arnie's re-invention of his role as "terminator", this link to today's Independent tells us the UK foriegn secretary Jack Straw did indeed approve a couple of "rendition" flights by the CIA here in Britain. It seems like a minor confession designed to distract attention from the current issue. The flights in question were approved back when Staw was home secretary, well before 9/11 and the subsequent so-called "war on terrorism". Well before the advent of the Bush imperial initiative - full stop!
As the article points out, this revelation may indeed raise additional questions. If we accept that requests were made and granted in the past, surely the complete absence of any such official requests by the Bush regime in the newer climate is suspicious in itself. It suggests the arrogance of the ape emperor is such that he would not have bothered to ask permission anyway - probably in the full knowledge that the intent would be criminal. Not that I believe for one minute that our government, via British intelligence services, would not have been entirely aware of such activities. Simply off the record - of course!
Sad news is that Bush's popularity ratings have increased again slightly. Probably because he's shut up for a while and hunkered down for the holidays. Whilst her European tour may have shocked Condi Rice into a re-assessment of the Amerikan position, there is no indication whether her reservations have registered in the dubious "brain" of Dubya.
Later.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Pryor Concerns
Independent Online Edition > Americas
A quick link to this morning's UK Independent with a short tribute to Richard Pryor who passed away yesterday. See also below.
Congratulations to Britain's deputy prime minister, John Prescott. Following a visit to the oil fire site, he has warned us that the emissions may contain something called "hydrocarbanoms". I'm not quite sure what these are but it is is surely a good sign that our government supremos are keeping themselves informed on the issues.
Later.
A quick link to this morning's UK Independent with a short tribute to Richard Pryor who passed away yesterday. See also below.
Congratulations to Britain's deputy prime minister, John Prescott. Following a visit to the oil fire site, he has warned us that the emissions may contain something called "hydrocarbanoms". I'm not quite sure what these are but it is is surely a good sign that our government supremos are keeping themselves informed on the issues.
Later.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Fallout Continues
channel4.com - News
As darkness falls the pictures from the burning site are awsome. Amidst new explosions in the last hours, we see enourmous flames and one can almost feel the heat. The clouds of filth have now expaned eastwards and cover much of London.
I was curious to hear the public health spokeswoman. In an attempt to convince us that the clouds are not toxic, she told us "they're only an irritant - just hydrocarbons!" That's no comfort for those with asthma or other breathing difficulties - especially when the temperature drops tonight and the air pollution gets worse. But I'm more intruiged by the reference to hydrocarbons.
This may be the worst such incident in peacetime Europe but the source is only one small part of the supply infrastructure. And that in turn is only one small part of the production process via oilfields and refinaries. Watching the sheer volume of visible hydrocarbon spewing out of Hemel Hempstead, it is easier than ever to comprehend the far greater amount of invisible hydrocarbons we methodically emit every day. This highly opaque disaster is small change compared to the slow transparent death we are inflicting on the planet every moment.
If there is any benefit to be had in the legacy of this event, it should be in the memory of the clarity shown to us by this exhibition and its vivid illustration of the harm we do ourselves. Sadly, it is a message lost on the myriad arseholes whose reponse has been to barrage the petrol pumps in the misguided belief that this will somehow have an effect on their precious fuel supply. I rather hope they do choke on it.
Later.
As darkness falls the pictures from the burning site are awsome. Amidst new explosions in the last hours, we see enourmous flames and one can almost feel the heat. The clouds of filth have now expaned eastwards and cover much of London.
I was curious to hear the public health spokeswoman. In an attempt to convince us that the clouds are not toxic, she told us "they're only an irritant - just hydrocarbons!" That's no comfort for those with asthma or other breathing difficulties - especially when the temperature drops tonight and the air pollution gets worse. But I'm more intruiged by the reference to hydrocarbons.
This may be the worst such incident in peacetime Europe but the source is only one small part of the supply infrastructure. And that in turn is only one small part of the production process via oilfields and refinaries. Watching the sheer volume of visible hydrocarbon spewing out of Hemel Hempstead, it is easier than ever to comprehend the far greater amount of invisible hydrocarbons we methodically emit every day. This highly opaque disaster is small change compared to the slow transparent death we are inflicting on the planet every moment.
If there is any benefit to be had in the legacy of this event, it should be in the memory of the clarity shown to us by this exhibition and its vivid illustration of the harm we do ourselves. Sadly, it is a message lost on the myriad arseholes whose reponse has been to barrage the petrol pumps in the misguided belief that this will somehow have an effect on their precious fuel supply. I rather hope they do choke on it.
Later.
Fallout
BBC NEWS | UK | Massive explosions hit fuel depot
I don't need to tell UK readers the latest news. The fuel explosion at 6am this morning has dominated the agenda for the last eight hours and one might be forgiven there is no other news at all. As far as the BBC is concerned - this isn't. Like the hurricane of a couple of decades back, I managed to sleep through the initial event, but by all reports it was heard in Northern France and Holland.
Watching the images, it is fascinating. There is something rather grand about witnessing this - surreal too in that looking westward we see a beautiful sunny winter's day whilst looking to the east we see a nightmare of pollution. Sitting here in leafy Kensington, there is little evidence of the fallout, but just a few miles eastward the London Docklands are covered in the smog.
Exactly how something of this magnitude could happen will be the subject of many questions. The fires will apparantly be burning for days and if tonight's rains come as predicted, the pollution in the air will be washed down to earth and infect everything. It will not however be enough to extinquish the fires. Just why such a huge amount of volatile material was kept in such close proximity is disturbing to say the least.
If such an event concerning our handling of fossil fuels can happen, it bodes poorly for an energy industry who now have their eyes on the nuclear option. If this is the kind of care afforded to the safety of our infrastructure, can Britain one day be expected to experience another Chenobryl? As I watch all this unfold and the fumes spread, I thank my lucky stars that, this time at least, it is not a radioactive spill. If it were, I would not be here to write this.
Later.
I don't need to tell UK readers the latest news. The fuel explosion at 6am this morning has dominated the agenda for the last eight hours and one might be forgiven there is no other news at all. As far as the BBC is concerned - this isn't. Like the hurricane of a couple of decades back, I managed to sleep through the initial event, but by all reports it was heard in Northern France and Holland.
Watching the images, it is fascinating. There is something rather grand about witnessing this - surreal too in that looking westward we see a beautiful sunny winter's day whilst looking to the east we see a nightmare of pollution. Sitting here in leafy Kensington, there is little evidence of the fallout, but just a few miles eastward the London Docklands are covered in the smog.
Exactly how something of this magnitude could happen will be the subject of many questions. The fires will apparantly be burning for days and if tonight's rains come as predicted, the pollution in the air will be washed down to earth and infect everything. It will not however be enough to extinquish the fires. Just why such a huge amount of volatile material was kept in such close proximity is disturbing to say the least.
If such an event concerning our handling of fossil fuels can happen, it bodes poorly for an energy industry who now have their eyes on the nuclear option. If this is the kind of care afforded to the safety of our infrastructure, can Britain one day be expected to experience another Chenobryl? As I watch all this unfold and the fumes spread, I thank my lucky stars that, this time at least, it is not a radioactive spill. If it were, I would not be here to write this.
Later.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
And a happy wotsit to you too
Independent Online Edition > Americas
This link points to one of many articles on a new dilemma for Bush. For once, he has mercifully taken a secular approach to the party season and upset his evangelical constituency in the process. Somehow it's not quite as laughable as it should be.
Even if you believe in christian mythology, history has it that the so-called messiah was actually born in October and the celebration of his birth was shifted way back in the dark ages to accomodate and ultimately subvert the traditional festival of Yuletide. The lie has prevailed as an institution in the annual rhythm of western society, these days used as a last-ditch attempt to bolster the consumer economy for the year's end. Were it a solely religious festival, I suspect it would generate little interest in the modern world.
The lie in our calender is all the more absurd given that the calender itself uses the death of the same character as it's starting point. When we refer to the date, it is an arbitary notion derived from centuries-long habit. It is easy to forget that completely different calenders are still used in other parts of the world - especially the middle-east where so much contemporary conflict is focused. As we absent-mindedly follow the routines embedded in our calender, we are subconsciously imposing its dictates on the rest of the planet. It has become an imperial definition of time, a callous imposition of out-dated theology and a cold-blooded marketing tool for the armies of consumerism.
Everyone strives to have faith in themselves. We also look to have faith in others - be they individuals or organisations. Even governments. It is when that faith fails that the vampires of organised religion descend to corrupt self-determination and rally us to the cause of their own agendas. Sucessive political generations of recent times have failed in the faith we put in them to manage our communities, our nations and our planet itself. Hence the re-ascendency of crusading Christianity and militant Islam. Worst of all, our leaders themselves then start to subscribe to the the same regressive tendencies that are infecting the population at large.
For once, Bush may have done the right thing - albeit accidently and for all the wrong reasons. It remains to be seen whether he'll drink himself into a black hole by the time the season is over. Especially as his own "flock" are increasingly losing their own faith in him.
Later.
This link points to one of many articles on a new dilemma for Bush. For once, he has mercifully taken a secular approach to the party season and upset his evangelical constituency in the process. Somehow it's not quite as laughable as it should be.
Even if you believe in christian mythology, history has it that the so-called messiah was actually born in October and the celebration of his birth was shifted way back in the dark ages to accomodate and ultimately subvert the traditional festival of Yuletide. The lie has prevailed as an institution in the annual rhythm of western society, these days used as a last-ditch attempt to bolster the consumer economy for the year's end. Were it a solely religious festival, I suspect it would generate little interest in the modern world.
The lie in our calender is all the more absurd given that the calender itself uses the death of the same character as it's starting point. When we refer to the date, it is an arbitary notion derived from centuries-long habit. It is easy to forget that completely different calenders are still used in other parts of the world - especially the middle-east where so much contemporary conflict is focused. As we absent-mindedly follow the routines embedded in our calender, we are subconsciously imposing its dictates on the rest of the planet. It has become an imperial definition of time, a callous imposition of out-dated theology and a cold-blooded marketing tool for the armies of consumerism.
Everyone strives to have faith in themselves. We also look to have faith in others - be they individuals or organisations. Even governments. It is when that faith fails that the vampires of organised religion descend to corrupt self-determination and rally us to the cause of their own agendas. Sucessive political generations of recent times have failed in the faith we put in them to manage our communities, our nations and our planet itself. Hence the re-ascendency of crusading Christianity and militant Islam. Worst of all, our leaders themselves then start to subscribe to the the same regressive tendencies that are infecting the population at large.
For once, Bush may have done the right thing - albeit accidently and for all the wrong reasons. It remains to be seen whether he'll drink himself into a black hole by the time the season is over. Especially as his own "flock" are increasingly losing their own faith in him.
Later.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The acclaimed playright and author Harold Pinter, who today delivered an insightful speech on the occaision ofhis Nobel Literature prize. Of particular note were is angry comments about US foreign policy since 1945 and his sharp rebuke of Blair's involvement with the same. Follow the link below - it's no yellow brick road!
eTV Picture Post
A Pinter Peace Polemic
I've just finished watching Harold Pinter's speech in acceptance of the Nobel Pirze for Literature. He didn't make it to Stockholm but did leave hospital for long enough to record the hour-long monologue which delivered incisive comments on Bush, Blair, post-1945 US policy and the state of mass-illusion in western society. If you missed the broadcast, follow this link to Channel 4 television's Pinter page where an online transcript will be posted shortly.
Britain's traditional right-wingers now have a generational shift with new champion David Cameron. His winning the Conservative leadership race was hardly unexpected but the novelty of a new opponent facing Blair over the dispatch box today was still cause for curiousity. Blair himself seemed more rattled by the lack of confrontation than by the verbal sparring he got from Cameron's predeccesor, Micheal Howard. He won't get my vote but I hope a change of face and attitude might start ruffling the feathers of this government's Blair-faced complacency.
Cameron may well prove a match for the now beleagured Blair, but whether he'd come out as well against Gordon Brown remains to be seem. With all the signs of a severe economic downturn in the wind, Brown's legacy as chancellor may be sorely tested anyway. If New Labour and Modern Conservatism can balance each other out, the stage may be set for Liberal Democrats to increase their strength. Here's hoping.
In one of the oddest twists to the endless debate on cannabis legality, it seems home secretary Charles Clarke reckons that 500 joints worth counts as "personal supply". I decline to comment save to say that it also sounds like a go-ahead for a small herb garden too. Cameron would be wise to keep mum on this one! More on that suject here as always.
Later.
Later.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
23 year sentence for Ecology Activist
Free Jeff Luers (Schmoo)
Sniffling a bit here. Probably due to spending Saturday outside the US Embassy here in London photography the climate change protest and getting to meet the prolific and inspired David Rovics. As the one and only photo of us both shows, the weather had gotten to me by the end of the gig.
Excellent speeches from Micheal Meacher and George Monbiot amongst others, plus David's fine songs. Best guess is around 8000 turned out to make themselves heard, but a shame that the George Best funeral got most of the media attention that night.
On a related subject, today's link came to me last night. It tells of the harsh penalties that can be expected if you take radical ecological action in Bush's Amerika. Such is the fate of Jeff Luers and there is now a campaign to overturn the sentence. I wish it (and him) luck.
Later.
Sniffling a bit here. Probably due to spending Saturday outside the US Embassy here in London photography the climate change protest and getting to meet the prolific and inspired David Rovics. As the one and only photo of us both shows, the weather had gotten to me by the end of the gig.
Excellent speeches from Micheal Meacher and George Monbiot amongst others, plus David's fine songs. Best guess is around 8000 turned out to make themselves heard, but a shame that the George Best funeral got most of the media attention that night.
On a related subject, today's link came to me last night. It tells of the harsh penalties that can be expected if you take radical ecological action in Bush's Amerika. Such is the fate of Jeff Luers and there is now a campaign to overturn the sentence. I wish it (and him) luck.
Later.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Slow Thaw & The Big Freeze
Independent Science & Technology
30 miles or so off the west coast of Cornwall, here in England, there is a small cluster of islands known as the Scilly Isles. It's elderly and backward population live in a community several steps behind that of the mainland and given that one can walk anywhere on the largest island in less than hald an hour, it is horrifying to see carbon emissions from vehicles that would be barely legal elsewhere. Neither have the few shops serving the locals exactly cottoned on to energy efficiency and ecologically sound products. There is a derth of everything and what there is costs too much. The economy centres on fishing, spring flowers and summer tourism. Plus a few Autumn birdwatchers who don't spend enough for the locals to like them much! The fisherman can't sell to the locals - it gets bought en-masse by the meg-corps and does a tour of the country before arriving back frozen for retail.
Long-hailed for their outstanding beauty, the islands have attracted visitors wanting to benefit from the climate. Why? Well, like some parts of Ireland, this is a part of Britain that traditionally experiences sub-tropical weather conditions. The lagoon-like outcrop provides shelter from the Atlantic forces whilst the warm currents of the Gulf Stream travel right through their epicentre. Or rather they did! As locals increasingly moan about the weather, few of them seemed to even know that the position of the Guld Stream itself has shifted in the last decade or so. The change is a sad loss but somehow fitting for a population who market their environment whilst taking little care of it. Without the long hot summers, one wonders exactly how the community will survive.
Mass awareness of pollution and its effects becaome commonplace in the 1960s, but rather than act to protect the future, western consumerist culture chose largely to block it from their minds. And now it is too late! Today's link leads to one of many covering the now official news about the Gulf Stream - it's not just shifted but is now slowing down and could halt completely. Places like Britain could experience arctic conditions and have their climate changed forever - despite warming and desertification in other parts of the planet. The lack of foresight by sucessive governments means we are now having problems reaching sustainable energy levels based on current demands - just how we would get the resources to maintain today's lifestyles in an even harsher climate beggars belief. Canada's recent "Son of Kyoto" summit was once again scuppered by Amerikan self-interest and here in the UK, Blair thinks in nuclear terms - the most costly and least sustainable option of all. It's not at all clean when considered over the whole production cycle, it still not anything like safe and it is also a limited-lifespan, short-term fix. It is also unworkable economically without financial support, so we will end up paying not only higher power charges but will also be subsidising the operation through general taxation.
If the government were really concerned about long-term sustainability, they would make it compulsory for new homes and offices to incorporate solar collection panels and domestic wind generators. In combination they should provid enough power whatever the weather. There should also be a fixed term plan to covert existing premises. Many properties could also be adapted to recycle waste and produce more fuel in the form of methane. Methane and hydrogen cells can also be used to power motor vehicles. It would be a costly exercise but it would protect the future. Nor need the petrolium and utility industries lose out - they could be the ones charged with manufacturing and installing eco-friendly systems in return for giving up their rape of our increasingly scarce planetary resources. Indeed, there would be whole new areas of the economy emerging, with employment opportunities that could be addressed locally all over the country. As an island itself, Britain could be a planetary showpiece by 2050. We could also be a lot safer by dis-engaging from the imperial plunder of other nations, cultures and their property. If we have to preach - let it be by example.
Later.
30 miles or so off the west coast of Cornwall, here in England, there is a small cluster of islands known as the Scilly Isles. It's elderly and backward population live in a community several steps behind that of the mainland and given that one can walk anywhere on the largest island in less than hald an hour, it is horrifying to see carbon emissions from vehicles that would be barely legal elsewhere. Neither have the few shops serving the locals exactly cottoned on to energy efficiency and ecologically sound products. There is a derth of everything and what there is costs too much. The economy centres on fishing, spring flowers and summer tourism. Plus a few Autumn birdwatchers who don't spend enough for the locals to like them much! The fisherman can't sell to the locals - it gets bought en-masse by the meg-corps and does a tour of the country before arriving back frozen for retail.
Long-hailed for their outstanding beauty, the islands have attracted visitors wanting to benefit from the climate. Why? Well, like some parts of Ireland, this is a part of Britain that traditionally experiences sub-tropical weather conditions. The lagoon-like outcrop provides shelter from the Atlantic forces whilst the warm currents of the Gulf Stream travel right through their epicentre. Or rather they did! As locals increasingly moan about the weather, few of them seemed to even know that the position of the Guld Stream itself has shifted in the last decade or so. The change is a sad loss but somehow fitting for a population who market their environment whilst taking little care of it. Without the long hot summers, one wonders exactly how the community will survive.
Mass awareness of pollution and its effects becaome commonplace in the 1960s, but rather than act to protect the future, western consumerist culture chose largely to block it from their minds. And now it is too late! Today's link leads to one of many covering the now official news about the Gulf Stream - it's not just shifted but is now slowing down and could halt completely. Places like Britain could experience arctic conditions and have their climate changed forever - despite warming and desertification in other parts of the planet. The lack of foresight by sucessive governments means we are now having problems reaching sustainable energy levels based on current demands - just how we would get the resources to maintain today's lifestyles in an even harsher climate beggars belief. Canada's recent "Son of Kyoto" summit was once again scuppered by Amerikan self-interest and here in the UK, Blair thinks in nuclear terms - the most costly and least sustainable option of all. It's not at all clean when considered over the whole production cycle, it still not anything like safe and it is also a limited-lifespan, short-term fix. It is also unworkable economically without financial support, so we will end up paying not only higher power charges but will also be subsidising the operation through general taxation.
If the government were really concerned about long-term sustainability, they would make it compulsory for new homes and offices to incorporate solar collection panels and domestic wind generators. In combination they should provid enough power whatever the weather. There should also be a fixed term plan to covert existing premises. Many properties could also be adapted to recycle waste and produce more fuel in the form of methane. Methane and hydrogen cells can also be used to power motor vehicles. It would be a costly exercise but it would protect the future. Nor need the petrolium and utility industries lose out - they could be the ones charged with manufacturing and installing eco-friendly systems in return for giving up their rape of our increasingly scarce planetary resources. Indeed, there would be whole new areas of the economy emerging, with employment opportunities that could be addressed locally all over the country. As an island itself, Britain could be a planetary showpiece by 2050. We could also be a lot safer by dis-engaging from the imperial plunder of other nations, cultures and their property. If we have to preach - let it be by example.
Later.
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