Friday, October 24, 2008

Games, greater and lesser.

Work has kept me occupied for the past few months.
Which has been a blessing, particularly in these harder times.
An acquantance in town had a small hotel which needed decorating, so I`ve been "plying the paintbrush",it`s refreshed and rested some parts of the brain, whilst also giving me time to reflect on life.

(Private and commercial premises renovated and decorated, fishing vessels,pleasurecraft... scraped/antifouled/painted. competitive quotations.. trained staff, references available)...

After a small period of introspection, I have figured out, that given my current health, income and investments, I`m probably going to have to work almost until the last moment...
Might have time for a nap, who knows? Best not, I reckon, speculate on such matters.




With respect to pastor Martin Niemoller.

First they took the warriors, and sent them off to war.
Then they took the underclass, the beggars and the poor,
Chained, adjudged, then cast aside, far from light of day,
The bastards taxed the working class,
And built a mighty force,
Then they bombed and burned the world,
Without compassion or remorse.

I shan`t continue, but obviously, the very same corporate and political fruitcakes that brought us WW`s 1&2 are still in business.


For just one small moment, one might have thought Obama would bring change. yup, he brought change, change of socks, underwear and the nametag on the white house desk, and a newer level of indifferent subservience to corporate will....incidentally, one wonders how the people of Forth Worth, Texas are doing this week.
F16`s are their main product, at 30 million$$`s each, or free to Israel.
Then there`s Tucson Arizona, where Raytheon manufacture guided missiles, the very same ones used to kill hundreds of innocent human beings during the "holidays".

What are these people doing, is this the never ending story of Zionist Judaism vs the rest, or is this latest affront "the work of our god".


Everyone needs work, but making or using bombs and warplanes is not a particularly positive effort in the greater scheme of things.


Isn`t it time to say enough?

Monday, October 06, 2008

Non-corporate meals/ "free food."

Most people have possibly not collected food from the sea, or even thought of the notion....., but there are loads of meals around the coast that require only hunger, and the will to survive.




Clicketty click, for technical points....Littorina littorea,


After collecting, from the coast, at low tide, this little snail is soaked in salt water and porridge oats overnight.
Boiled for around 5 minutes, then, after extracting the creature from the shell, with a thin-pointed knife or pin, they can be eaten at once, added to a pasta sauce, or as part of any "fruits de mer"..




Lovely, when left to soak for a few hours, in a mild french dressing, and eaten cold with fresh bread and salads.

Upending the pyramids.


Superficially, school text books tell that the kings of Egypt built the pyramids, glossing over the facts of slavery, that the citizens and tax-payers were the builders, kept in chains and whipped by overeseers and soldiers, who themselves were kept in line by a curious combination of fear and priviledge.
Millions of slaves, unthinkingly consumed , mere chattels, subject to the whims of a self-indulgent overclass.


So what`s new?
Pyramid building by the ruling classes leads to the creation and the inevitable downfall of militarised nations. Happened a thousand times before. Perhaps, it may happen again.





"A real gem", is an oft-used phrase, but here is a piece of writing from the states, that hits the nail on the head, it starts with a M. Moore quote.. ( Hand to "The Hedonistic pleasure seeker".)

CLICKING>>>>The richest 400 Americans — that’s right, just four hundred people — own MORE than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. 400 rich Americans have got more stashed away than half the entire country! Their combined net worth is $1.6 trillion. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, their wealth has increased by nearly $700 billion — the same amount that they are now demanding we give to them for the “bailout.”"

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Cannabis.. The right to produce### for medical use.

Last week in Holland, the Dutch high court ruled that, in cases of medical use, growing one`s own cannabis is a basic right.

The significance of this decision, when held against the market monopolies in so-called legal pharmaceutical drugs is far-reaching.

Many folks are realising that cannabinoids are indeed a major tool in the pharmacological chest.


Here is an extract from Wikipedia, bet that the average person doesn`t know that the capitalists in charge of the corporate pharmacy have discovered that cannabis actually combats cancer....


...Cannabidiol, also known as "CBD", is a major constituent of medical cannabis. CBD represents up to 40% of extracts of the medical cannabis plant.[27] Cannabidiol relieves convulsion, inflammation, anxiety, nausea, and inhibits cancer cell growth.[28] Recent studies have shown cannabidiol to be as effective as atypical antipsychotics in treating schizophrenia.[29] In November 2007 it was reported that CBD reduces growth of aggressive human breast cancer cells in vitro and reduces their invasiveness. It thus represents the first non-toxic exogenous agent that can lead to down-regulation of tumor aggressiveness.[30][31] It is also a neuroprotective antioxidant.[32]...



In fact, anyone with a jot of common sense soon realises that the main reason for it being "illegal" is because the corporate pharmacists want it all for themselves.

As Wall street collapses, along with the pensions and savings of "capitalists", the power and turnover of the pharmeceutical corporations will undoubtedly also wane.



The right to produce for medical use, has a certain mantra doesn`t it.
So there ya go, chew on a few buds, and be safe.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Death of fishes.

Upon occasion, as the tide recedes, old or injured fish are left stranded to flap aimlessly around until they find their place in the food chain.
One might ask, if in their minds, they know they are about to die?
They continue flexing their tails, their belly fins flap into the mud or sand, and their mouths grasp at non-existent water.
Their eyes seek out other fish, but meet the eyes of the gulls and shore crabs that sense a meal has been gifted to their table.

One might say that the U.S. is a fish that has been pulled from the water, a huge monster, a specimen that is taking the efforts of billions of fishermen to capture.
Bolivian president, Evo Morales has kicked out the chief american diplomat, as has Chavez in Venezuela...quick to voice support have been Honduras and Ecuador, Argentina too has indicated that it will not tolerate foreign intervention.
The Latin Americans have stepped up to the front line and stood alongside the Iraquis and Iranians, the Afghans and all those who prefer not to support the one world scenario of Washington.

At first, a stranded fish is frantic enough to repel the beaks and claws of predators, but remorselessly as the tide falls, the fish knows the battle to be lost, and even as the final few tremors of life exit it`s frame, the gulls begin to attack the softest parts.
First the eyes and gills, then the underbelly, beginning with the anal orifice, exposing the main course, the soft and easily digested entrails.
A vociferous and lively feeding frenzy takes place, and in a few short moments it`s all over.
Usually the main skeleton and harder flesh is left to the incoming sea, where larger crabs and lobsters, along with prawns, shrimps and all manner of eels and fish, will pick clean the corpse.



The fish called America is the biggest creature of all , a thick-skinned and deep swimming voracious feeder, that consumes everything in sight, seemingly present across all the oceans of this little planet.
Where ever the fish has surfaced, it has fed relentlessly. No quarter given, murderously ferocious and with no other single creature able to end its` tenure of the oceans.
Having consumed so much, and bloated, with an unsustainable diet, the predator has now become prey, being attacked by millions of little fish, each one becoming a sharp-toothed nemesis , tearing off small pieces, as they trammel themselves into concerted shoals, from hunted to hunter.
Surely stranded now, the fish is too unwieldly to regain the tide, it`s huge mouth gasping for non-existent waters, with fins and appendages making futile motions but no longer moving forward, exposed and weak, with gulls and crabs swarming, feeding and calling out to their fellow creatures with bigger and bigger chunks being torn from a twitching frame.

Without exception, somehow or another, all fish expire.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Rosie came home.



Indeed, with Wales being such a little land, and Tenby being just a few moments from home, I managed to be there, as Rosie hobbled into the town square.
There were hundreds of folk there, and barely a dry eye amongst us.




The picture shows Rosie with her mother, and here`s a link (CLICK) to a video of her "speech" to the crowd.



I have to say, that what she says is somehow extremely poignant, and straight from her heart.


If you have children, whether boy or girl or both , invite them to watch this video, and tell them the tale, of a little girl who ran around the world, with just hope, faith, and charitable intent.


(Here`s -click- how the Times relates the events.)

Friday, August 29, 2008

A Russian viewpoint.

Meanwhile the Russians are not going to back down. (Click here or on title for source.)

""Despite the apparent strength, the NATO naval group in the Black Sea is not battle-worthy,"
Admiral Eduard Baltin said.


"If necessary, a single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group."

"Within 20 minutes the waters would be clear," he said, stressing that despite major reductions, the Black Sea Fleet still has a formidable missile arsenal.

However, Baltin said the chances of a military confrontation between NATO and Russia in the Black Sea are negligible.

"We will not strike first, and they do not look like people with suicidal tendencies," he said.

***********************************************************************************



One thing is certain though, in the long run, the Russians have got their own oil to supply their war machine, whereas NATO does not.
Much the same as it was at the outbreak of WW1, and WW2.

Here`s a few words from New Zealand..... From Lenora Foerstel,... Just a short page or so, but a big picture.


Same old shit, only this time the Anglo-saxon "allies" might end up as loosers.
Peace.

German intelligence.

Here we are, safely snuggled up in our Anglo-centric blankets. The results and rules of "fractional reserve lending" are not completely clear to all, though I`m sure the phrase will be pored over by students in the future.
The economic situation in Europe, particularly Britain is about to grow teeth and bite a few folks right where it hurts, self included, though I`ve just remembered a long-ago fondness for working in Spain.

"Buenos dias, Come es Usted... hay trabajo aqui?"

However I look at life, it seems more and more like the English-speaking world is living a lie, stuck in some crusade for an unknown cause, wherein all the bad guys have brown skins and/or speak in other languages.



Germany is certainly the "powerhouse" of Europe, their wealth and manufacturing has been at the heart of european unification, I`ve been there once or twice, but now with arthritis and worn-out bones, Spain certainly looks more inviting.
Funny thing, life.. a few decades back, Germany and Spain, indeed most of Europe was the stage of bloody and violent war, now any European can work, live and travel freely, there are still old hostilities simmering beneath the surface.



Here`s (CLICK), what a German writer thinks of the current Georgia-Russia conflagration. I have to say that I`m just amazed at the points made... Is the writer coming from "The left or the right?", or is it just teutonic wisdom.?


By the way, it`s now highly improbable that there are any Germans who are not aware of the links between the U.S. and Hitler`s rise to power, the cat is not only out of the bag on that one, it`s lean, hungry and ready to hunt.



The parent website also offered up this little gem. (CLICK here or on title for link.


This time, the Anglo-American and Saudi financial cabal behind London's Lisbon Treaty scheme for globalization, is playing for keeps. (Representative Barney Frank is not the actual source of a threat of general thermonuclear war.) Either Russia backs down, or globalization is dead. The presently onrushing general breakdown-crisis of the present world monetary-financial system, leaves no other options available to the Anglo-American-Saudi financier partners. If Russia survives as a sovereign nation, the presently onrushing general financial collapse means that "globalization" is doomed. This time, London is not gambling; it sees the crushing of Russia now as its only way of maintaining imperial hegemony over the world at large. Without Russia's capitulation, the United Kingdom becomes the little nations of England, Wales, and Scotland (which is not a bad option for the inhabitants of that Isle, if you think about that in a civilized way).


Ah well,
"A que hora sale el tren..hay asiento?"

One senses that the people of Scotland and Wales might want to press ahead, with speed, any plans for independence.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Paul Robeson, a little more.




Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) rose from being the son of a slave, to become an actor, an opera singer and a campaigner for the equality between all races.
He was much loved here in Wales, visited often during his life, until the American government forbade him to travel , due to the links he had begun to create with trade unionists and other political thinkers.
Unsuprisingly, his visits to Moscow, and the singing of Russian songs wasn`t going in his favour with the right-wing ideologists that controlled the american government of that time.
In the thirties, during the civil war in Spain, he went there to encourage the americans who fought on the side of the anti-Franco brigades.


Paul Robeson and his links with the coal miners of Wales.


C,click below to an article, and also an excellent blog, that socialist thinkers may find to be of interest:


Socialist Unity... The Blog.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Soviet/ USSR Anthem in English [by Paul Robeson]

Interesting little video, anyone else remember Paul Robeson?

Here it comes.



That`s a cartoonist view, courtesy of Carlos Latuff.

Great cartoonist, imho.

Games of chess, and political brinkmanship normally end in a win, a loss, or a draw.

Here from the "Times Online", is an unusually incisive view of the "bigger game" (Click ~~~.)

Could there be a possibility that the Times senses a need to "raise a cap to the winner."

One senses that the american pawns have fallen, the knights and castles have been surrounded or captured, bishops rendered worthless..

The game is over for the "Imperial court of usurious capitalism", and that given the ideologicgal standpoint of the Russian leadership, perhaps for once in the chequered history of the apes on this planet, food, shelter and education are about to become somewhat more important than profit, religion and warfare.

Regretfully, the team behind Bush are quite capable of destroying the board and pieces in a violent tantrum.

So they might yet spark off another conflagration, with Iran being the likely target... and probably the last move they will ever make. Putin still has most of his pieces intact, as does his second and neighbour, Mr Hu. The option and range of counter moves, are in their favour..
Peace.

Monday, August 11, 2008

New links.

Just added two links, Global research, which is a fairly accurate and unbiased viewpoint on world occurences, and a good source for informative articles on the major events of commerce and politics.

Currently publishing an excellent analysis of the Georgian conflict., by Michel Chossudovsky. I`d prefer listening to Ray Charles singing "Georgia on my mind", but then you can`t always get what you want.

Secondly, "Some political pundits", is a list of British blogs whose writers are interested in the politics of this little wind-swept island in the rain.

Thought for the moment, If leftist globalism, with Russia at the helm, is defined as:

"Populist ideologocial policies backed by military force....

Then subsequently, in some perverse yet rational mixture of algebraic semantics, with a squaring of common sense... One might thus describe the opposing right wing version as:

"Military force without ideological or populist backing..."


Ah well, there we are.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Tears, with Django Reinhardt & Stephan Grapelli.



No need to worry if you don`t see a picture, it`s just a tune, a haunting melody that invokes the parts, that other tunes just don`t seem to reach.


Django Reinhardt was a Belgian Gypsy, famous for his two fingered style of playing. He lost the use of the other two, the night his caravan caught fire, Click to read more


Makes you wonder, we complain about all sorts of shit. But to be a guitar player, and loose two fingers, and still go on to make the music that he did, is a humbling lesson.




Stefan Grapelli was born in France, in 1908, with his parents being Italian. Life was no fun for him, his mother died when he was four, and he grew up in an orphanage, taking his violin to busk on the streets from the age of twelve, he was soon playing professionally, and went on to meet Reinhardt and together they formed the
Quintette du hot club de France, which doesn`t exactly roll off the tongue, but there you are...



Bless `em both.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

A Celt by any other name.



So many people erroneously believe that the Celts are a people native to Ireland and mainland Britain.
Which is quite untrue, the Celts came from central Europe, and began to arrive in Britain in the pre-christian millenium.
The yellow portion of the map shows the extent and homeland of the Celts, 600 years "before christ", and the light green shows their expansion over the next 300 years, after which began the rise of the Romans, and the "fall of the Celts".

As can be seen, the Celts were principally Germanic, just like the Saxons, who invaded Britain after the Romans had left, which is another tale for another time.

They were certainly neither monotheistic, nor monogamous, nor particularly peaceful.

Here`s how Wikipedia relates the tale of the Celtish folk.

In battle, as warriors...

"They cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle and attach them to the necks of their horses. The blood-stained spoils they hand over to their attendants and striking up a paean and singing a song of victory; and they nail up these first fruits upon their houses, just as do those who lay low wild animals in certain kinds of hunting. They embalm in cedar oil the heads of the most distinguished enemies, and preserve them carefully in a chest, and display them with pride to strangers, saying that for this head one of their ancestors, or his father, or the man himself, refused the offer of a large sum of money. They say that some of them boast that they refused the weight of the head in gold".

Their sexual mores...

The remark is reported to have been made by the wife of Argentocoxus, a Caledonian, to Julia Augusta. When the empress was jesting with her, after the treaty, about the free intercourse of her sex with men in Britain, she replied:
"We fulfill the demands of nature in a much better way than do you Roman women; for we consort openly with the best men, whereas you let yourselves be debauched in secret by the vilest."
Such was the retort of the British woman.

Their laws, which incidentally saw women as equal to , and even as better than men.


Under Brehon Law, which was written down in early Medieval Ireland after conversion to Christianity, a woman had the right to divorce her husband and gain his property if he was unable to perform his maritial duties due to impotence, obesity, homosexual inclination or preference for other women...

Naturally, when the Romans came with their militaristic empire of patriarchal mono-theism, the Celtic lifestyle retreated to the peripheries of the mind.
However, it must be said that the "old ways" are certainly making a welcome return.
Monogamous lifestyles, and unquestioning monotheism are no longer seen as the prevailing factors in our social structure.
I suppose in olden days one would thank the Gods, today, an inward smile must suffice.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Who needs what., according to Abraham Maslow.




For "M", who was asking about the triangle.

Clicking the title will link to the Wikipedia page with more about this premise, and the gentleman who authored it....(Quoted from Wikipedia.)

"......Maslow was born and raised in Brooklyn, the eldest of seven children. His parents were uneducated Jewish immigrants from Russia. He was smart but shy, and remembered his childhood as lonely and rather unhappy, because, as he said, "I was the little Jewish boy in the non-Jewish neighborhood. It was a little like being the first Negro enrolled in the all-white school. I was isolated and unhappy. I grew up in libraries and among books, without friends." In later life he was a confirmed atheist....."


A Jewish Atheist?? Wie so ist `n Dass?......




Maybe one day, more people will get to the first base in the struggle for life.

Peace.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Balance sheet.

What is life `cept pleasure and pain,
Wherein all loss is anothers` gain.

As the Arabs, Chinese and Russians continue to expand their economies, the finances of the U.K./U.S. contract and stumble.

From the Times of London. (Click to link to full piece.)


The Dow Jones closed down 106.90 points last night, or nearly 1 per cent, to 11,346.50, just shy of a 20 per cent decrease from October’s stock market peak. Economists classify a bear market as one that has lost a fifth of its value from a bull market’s peak.
................
The US economy, the world’s biggest, is already believed to be in recession, with the unemployment rate at about 5.4 per cent. About 380,000 Americans are losing their jobs each week. The surging oil price, the rising cost of food, deteriorating credit conditions and a housing slump are combining to put Americans under pressure.


There will be a lot of searching this weekend, among rich and poor alike. Those who have recently lost their jobs will be looking for new employment, which may not be there.
The wealthier ones will be looking to find other places to invest their rapidly shrinking capital.
Here in Wales, the roads and towns seem quieter than usual, with fuel now having passed £5 per gallon, peoples` income has been "taxed" by the oil merchants.
The price of electricity and gas is set to rise considerably, as is the cost of corporate food.



Just a few miles from here, in Newport Pembrokeshire, is a small development, "Brithdir Mawr", which is self sustaining and eco-friendly, an alternative lifestyle that so many would love to build, but just never seem to have the time.
The project was drawn from both local Celtic influences, and from North American Indian traditions.
Click for link to site.


The non-corporate Amero-Celtic home!!?



Priceless, isn`t it, but if you were wondering, it cost £3,000 to construct.

Follow the money....

Haven`t had much time to blog, however, the old saying, follow the money seems to be holding true.
Whilst we in the West are facing recession, unemployment and war, the Chinese have increased their imports of iron ore by a little over 15% in Q1 of this year, and not only that, have agreed to an 80% rise in price.
The price of scrap metal is rising fast, as is the price of oil, and food.

Not because there are shortages, but because simply put, there are greedy "traders" who produce nothing except invoices.
Between the oil fields and the vehicles, between the farms and the homes, there are those who do nothing except buy and sell.
The bankers and brokers are not involved in transportation or packaging, nor in extraction, production or cultivation, they however are making more money than anyone else in the game.

Like a game of monopoly, where one player holds all the properties and utilities, the situation becomes a predictable, boring waste of time.

Our politicians do nothing, they bow, scrape, and tug their forelocks, and hope to be remembered when soliciting campaign funds.
Or they, and their compliant media acolytes tell us to beware of the terrorists, and the immigrants, and the moslems, and the young people, bogeyman politics in the most childish of senses.

Strangely enough, or not, the Chinese (and Russians)do not seem to be in such chaos as we with our "capitalist free-market".
Both nations have large budget surpluses, and seem to be using these reserves to affect the balance of industrial power, and with Russia now the number one producer of oil, in the greater game, the "Godless ones" are certainly ahead on points.

Here`s a short piece from China, Click on title for link to original.


Jun. 27, 2008 (China Knowledge) - In the first four months this year, China's iron ore imports increased by 15.1% year-on-year to 150 million tons, as importers were concerned about the probability of a further rise in prices in the near term.

The average price rose to a record high of US$129.5 per ton, up 80%. Value of total imports reached US$19.87 billion.

In the period, imports from Australia surged 10.3% to 56.18 million tons, while imports from India increased 19% to 38.23 million tons, and imports from Brazil surged 8.6% to 33.07 million tons. Australia, India and Brazil are the three largest exporters of iron ore to China, making up 83% of China's total imports.

Imports from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were up 110%, to 4.28 million tons.
Baosteel, China's largest iron and steel maker, said Monday it has agreed to a 96.5% price increase for imports from Australian mining group RioTinto.

Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton is looking for price increases higher than of its rival Rio Tinto, according to reports in South China Morning Post. The Chinese government and steel industry officials are considering a boycott of iron imports from BHP Billiton, in order to containing prices from rising too much.
******************************************

Of course, if the Chinese are willing to pay, without quibble, near double in price for iron ore, then what hope for the other industrialised nations?
Ah well, interesting times!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Rosie returns.



What can be said, but last night the word was out.
In the bars and shops, in the cafes, and throughout our little land, the news that Rosie landed in Scotland on Wednesday, and was met by her family and welcomed by her friends, as she just kept running.

It`s really good to have someone like Rosie.
In a world that seeks to create heroes for our future, we owe her more than mere words could ever speak.
The illustrious "Times of London" has run an article, full of interesting "facts", including a reference to the time that Rosie sailed single-handed around the world, and a good part of that was done completely naked...(Ah, meanwhile, as the waves roll infinitely toward the shore..;)

Click here for link...

The BBC have also run a good article, with several video clips, unfortunately, whilst they don`t charge to link, the videos seem not to be "embedable".


If you`d like to see and hear "Grandma Rosie", then Click `ere


Here`s the incredible woman herself, passing through the United States....


If you`d like to learn more, her website is in the links section, and she also has a "guest book"....
Here.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

We won`t back down.

Now,over by `ere in the lands of wild West Wales, the men have had e-fucking-nough.

The greed of a tiny minority of capitalists is forcing thousands out of work, and even out of their homes.
We all work and take a little profit, but those in the oil supply chain are not just taking a profit, they are taking the piss.

So a group of independent truckers have set up pickets at the local oil refineries.
For those of you who might not understand the difference, a blockade "blocks" all movement of traffic, goods and people. (Illegal, and brings huge police response.)

A "Picket", allows the passage of people and goods, but politely and respectfully asks that other working class people do not cross "the line". (Legal, but still attracts police, just in case...)
It`s a British tradition!!

Here`s the latest, (Click for link to original source..Daily Post.)

Up to 70 lorries and their drivers, including from Newtown, parked up outside the Chevron refinery in Pembroke Dock and the Murco refinery in Milford Haven.

Alan Greene, chairman of the Mid and West section of the Road Haulage Association in Wales, predicted picketing would spread across the UK.

He said the message behind the campaign of peaceful picketing is getting through – “fuel taxes in the UK are far too high.”

As a prominent regional spokesman for the fuel protests which brought Britain to a standstill in 2000, he claims the situation for hauliers today is worse.

“The rising cost of petrol is affecting everyone across the world but the UK is being hardest hit as usual,” said Mr Greene.

“No other country in Europe is facing the sort of crippling fuel taxes which Brown has imposed in the UK – it is making the current situation much worse.

“We are being led like lambs to the slaughter. One haulier business a week in the UK is going to the wall at the moment.

“The haulage business I spent my working life building up has been passed over to my sons and I don’t want to see it ruined.

“Every country in Europe subsidies fuel for hauliers, commercial diesel is the equivalent of just 60p a litre in Ireland. In the UK they subsidise f-all.”

He said hauliers from Llandrindod Wells, Newtown, mid Wales, and all over west Wales had answered the call to protest.

“We are convincing tanker drivers not to take to the road.

“This is going to spread to other parts of Wales and right across the UK. The type of price rises we are seeing now nobody can absorb any more.”


The truckers are in the front line, looking straight at the government, who prattle on about "supply and demand", and "free markets", the reality is that they are doing nothing.
Every month this year has seen job losses, with forecasts of hundreds of thousands of redundancies to come.
These guys are not giving in, and with these two West Wales refineries processing over 200,000 barrels per day, this picket is going to hit the UK right between the eyes.

Monday, June 16, 2008

fuel protest

Staying with the theme of motorcycles and rebellion, the short clip shows what the Bikers of Britain are thinking about the fuel prices.
Last night, several hundred pickets took up position in front of a local oil refinery at Pembroke, that too remains unreported as of this morning.
Mostly truck drivers, but also farmers and regular folk.
There are protests continuing all across Europe, the media are focusing on football and golf.
Tennis too, seems popular as the banks and corporations are experiencing declines in revenue that are setting off a massive recession.
Without doubt, the Western world has enough politicians and "experts", none of whom it seems are going to curb the greed of those who are selling fuel.
The protests and pickets are gathering strength, and something has to give.

Prison break.

The media have not covered much about the prison break in Afghanistan, where the Taliban stormed the prison in Kandahar, a town under Canadian control.
Control? you must be fucking joking.

32 talibs on motorcycles, and 2 suicide bombers entered the town, and blew the doors off the jail, they even had mini-buses laid on around the town to escort the 1,000 plus prisoners away to their homes and families.

The morale-boosting effect of this attack, will without doubt, elevate the spirits of the Taliban.

Freedom fighters or terrorists? Perhaps some Canadians .)need to think outside the box, and seriously find a new career.

Click here for link to story, unsuprisingly, a few Arab sites seem to be experiencing "technical difficulties", and youtube aren`t showing any videos...yet..

When the Afghans get around to telling stories to their children, this one will be the clincher of all time.
"....Listen carefully children, " says the gaunt old woman, as they gather around the family table. "I will tell you the most beautiful tale of granpapa Sidi Amin."
"Many years ago, your grandfather became the hero of all Afghanistan, when he rode his motorcycle throught the prison gates, on and on through clouds of dust, with flames and smoke all around him....with one arm firing his Kalishnikov, and with the other he scooped up his little brother, who had been held by the contemptible invaders .."
The eyes of those children will shine bright wide, with fervour and love, and yet is it not a sad indication of human stupidity, that these things are actually happening, and that we in the West are paying for it with our taxes.
A stupid and non-fucking-constructive waste of taxes.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

The fishermen are not content.



The strikes and protests continue across Europe. Click the title to see video and BBC report.of attacks on the parliament in Brussels.
This strike is turning ugly, broken windows, fires, water cannons, and the enthusiasm of the riot police is definitely. not a positive step towards reconciliation.


Not just the fishermen, but the farmers and truck drivers too.


Even the Germans are getting annoyed....

The oil companies are coming towards the end of their reign, as new fuels and technologies are emerging, perhaps too, the political system is being shaken a little, we will have to see what emerges over the next few months.

Capitalism has inserted itself between the consumer and the producer, whether it is fish or milk or oil, the bankers and brokers are there, with their bedfellows the politicians and capitalists, all trying to grab the biggest share.

Me personally , I`m not getting too close to the front line in this, I`ve taken a break from work, in support of my co-workers, and the principle that without labour, there will be no capital.
So I`ve tidied the flat, done the gardening, and have been eating fish for the last three days.
Crabs and lobsters that should have been sold in Paris and Brussels are now feeding the local fisherfolk.

Where will it end? The cost of fuel has to go down, but the governments are desperate for the tax revenues, which rise with the price, however, all over Europe, businesses are failing, and house prices are falling.
What hope for the next few years? Well instead of investing in shares and property, maybe a small parcel of land, some goats, sheep, vegetables, and a few recipes for kebabs and stews.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Moroccan Hash Crossing The Straith Of Gibraltar

The use of drugs is an ingrained part of our lifestyles.
Has been since time began, and fortunes have been made and lost, empires and dreams built and broken.
Centuries ago, no doubt, silent through the night sailed the old salts with their hidden barrels of opium, balls of hashish, with eager customers amongst the gentle apothecaries and physicians of their times.
Nowadays, a new and noisier, faster type of transport is here.
Thanks to technology, tonnes of drugs can be brought from Africa to Europe in just minutes, and not only that, the event can be recorded on a mobile `phone.
The gentleman who captained the vessel, and filmed this rather bizarre 60 second film, is now serving time rather than pot.
I`ll stick to fishing, ...less stress.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Three Sides of an argument.

There are, it is said, at least three sides to an argument. First, there is the truth, followed by several variations on that truth.
Things were almost going good, the weather has been warm and dry, and the export and home market demand for shellfish has been high, allthough I haven`t bothered much going out to sea, there has been plenty of work ashore.

Rather than stand in young mens boots, out at the sharp and wet end of the business, I seem to have gravitated to that place where old sailors go. Grading and cleaning fish for market, repairing nets and pots, just "potching about". Even been out picking cockles, a great therapy for the muscles and bones that work the spine.....musn`t grumble though, work is work!
Until Monday morning, all was plodding along, the bills were getting sorted, and each day brought a new culinary treat...crabs, cockles and prawns etcetera, and the local farmers are just harvesting the first of their potato and salad crops.


Then came the news that the French fishermen were going on strike, due to the ever rising costs of fuel. (Klik for link.)


De la France (Klik.)

They were also protesting at the amount of imported fish that comes from "other countries".
That`s me! As it happens, most of the shellfish caught in Wales gets exported to France and Spain. (So fucking what...it`s a free market, and if you want to sell me your wine and fruit, surely I can sell my fish to the good folks in France, at a cheaper price too, for better quality!), well, c`est la vie, mon petit canard.

But when the French strike, they strike hard, and with great accuracy, the fishermen and indeed other sailors, moved their boats to blockade the ports of Marseille, and Boulogne, Calais, Dieppe, Bordeaux...
In fact for the last few days, France has been shut down, but little news of this fact is being broadcast on the news outlets.

A few thousand militant fishermen have shut down the grand republic, a big fuck off to the government of France, who are offering millions of Euros in subsidies to the fishermen to return to work.


Of course, when the French farmers heard the phrase "fuel subsidy", they too wanted a part of the plot, so they are joining in the blockades, not across the ports, but on the motorways. (Klik)


Trucks and cars are backed up around the channel ports, again, little or no mention in the British press. Seems like the media hate it when working class people show power and strength to the government.

I guess, in some ways, I have to support my fellow fishermen and workers, irrespective of nationality, in this instance, concerning the price of fuel, which seems to be rising due almost entirely to commodity speculation.
A few billionaire capitalists taking a cut from the endeavours of every person on the planet, because they can, and will continue to do so, as long as they can.
As the strike continues, there are hundreds of tonnes of shellfish sitting here in tanks and keeps, and the price is falling, Lobster is down from £10 per kilo on Monday, through £9 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and could fall further, unlike fuel oil, it has a "sell-by" factor.
Any British readers want a cheap few tonnes of crab, or how about some succulent lobster?
Of course, closing the cross channel ferry ports because of an argument over fish and fuel, also means that no other goods are leaving Britain for France.

Interestingly , the price of oil, in dollars hit $134 this morning, and seems set to rise infinitely.
Unless of course, other working class people around the world are forced to stop working, and take to the streets and ports to shut down the system, which denies income to the speculators.


In respect to the French strikes, they have forced upon me a few days of leisure and given "food for thought", but in the long run, I guess I have to support them.

There is an saying that life copies art, clicking on the title takes you to a clip from the old movie "Casablanca", the scene is at Rick`s bar, the Germans, ever steadfast in their march to conquer the world are singing songs in praise of their little schemes, when Humph decides that enough is enough.
The scene is for me one of the best, from Bogart, and indeed, from the history of cinema.

The tune, "The Marseillaise" became famous not only for France, but as the signature song of socialism...

Then raise the scarlet standard high.
Within its shade we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here.

.

Of course, any one buying oil from the Iranians, or the Russians, or the Venezuelans won`t be paying in dollars, so their contract prices remain unmoved.
France, like most of Europe still has contracts with the big american oilcos, whose prices remain firmly tied to the falling buck.
The Americans no longer export oil of course, and many of their supply contracts are filled by purchasing on the open market.
Which is supplied by surplus from the Russians and Iranians etc..
Who no doubt, are laughing all the way to the bank, as the price of oil ratchets higher, those with oil in the ground can call the tune.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Who is running the World?


Rosie is, the good woman is now in Iceland, and will be arriving back in Britain next month.
After Europe and Russia, she hitched across the Bering sea, ran through Alaska, and Canada, and into the United States
Rosie ran through Chicago, and New York, back again up into Canada, and onto Newfoundland, where she persuaded a chap with an aeroplane to fly her to Greenland.
After running through the ice and snow, she hitched a flight to Iceland, where she`s been running and living wild, or should that be living and running wild, "A heck of a girl", is how most might see her.


She is back next month, she`s already arranged a lift aboard a boat, over to Scotland, and then she will run through Scotland, then England, and back to Wales.

Just what does this woman use to persuade grown men to give her lifts in aeroplanes and ships? (Best not think about it for too long!)
Upon her return, we might just have a little show of flag-waving, a hint of the patriotic pride.


Of course, the Bilderbergers got excited again this past few days.
Sneaky little sods got into Greece and had another of their meetings.(Click the text to read full report.)


I`d rather think about Rosie running the World, than even contemplate what the triumvirate of of Kissinger, Rockerfeller and Rothschild might have as goals.
However, rather like Hitler in his bunker, fighting phantom battles with imaginary divisions, as the Russian machine guns and mortars crushed his soldiers into dust, these fools think that they are invincible.

This time, (Cli--ck) the Chinese and Russians have not fired a shot, but nevertheless, the fascists are once again in the bunker, with their plans in tatters.

There is an old Welsh song, that goes....


I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.

Chorus

A pure heart full of goodness,
It is more beautiful than the lovely lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day, sing in the night.

(Click to listen to Cerys Matthews, singing in Welsh.)


But there you are then that`s the Welsh for you, always writing poetry and running round the bloody World, when they could be off fighting wars for the christian neighbours up in London.
Fuck the wars, I`d rather a bit of poetry and a sing song.
Peace, and thanks for calling in.

Monday, April 21, 2008

The Call.




The call came a month ago. A friend needed a hand for a day, fishing locally for crustaceans. One of the crew was unavailable, and allthough I retired some years ago from fishing, I thought one day out wouldn`t be so bad, and the thought of a few crabs or a platefull of prawns was the clincher.
So we set off singing, around 3 am, sailing down the Cleddau, and out into the sea around the Western coast of Wales , the weather was cold, and whilst we were but four or fives miles from the shore, the wind was strong enough to throw the boat around a little.

The day passed without accident, and we showed ourselves a few baskets of brown crab, an odd few velvet crabs and prawns, and a handfull of lobsters.
Trouble was, fishing , as all fishermen know is a habit that is hard to relinquish.
So, a few days later, I went fishing again, and then it was back upon me, the fresh wind cutting to the bones, the salt swelling the cuts and grazes that infect the hands, and once again, fish for tea, fish for supper, and fish for market.

I`d given it all up, a few years ago, and decided to earn a crust on land, "doing up" small old houses, and any odd jobs that came along, but thanks to the profligate bankers and politicians, the price of houses is dropping fast, unlike the price of fish, which remains stable.

I have to say, it`s great to be back in touch with the sea, without exception, the tide floods, then ebbs, then floods again. The ocean currents always run in the same direction, and the migration patterns of birds and fish never falter.

Unlike politicians.

Strange too, being away from the television and internet, catching just glimpses , and small items of news.
The goon show continues, as the olympic torch passed across the globe, surrounded by uniformed "employees of state."
Goons in track suits, goons on bicycles, in helicopters, on motorcycles, in jeeps and cars, with pistols and rifles, machine guns and billy-clubs.
Showing us all that through sport, peace and harmony will prevail, with instant death for any dissenters.

More than anything the last few weeks have been like a holiday of sorts, meeting up with old acquantances, re-visiting the sea and it`s haunts, a cruel mistress she is .
But I musn`t grumble, `cos no bastard will listen.



More to come, tide falling, time ebbing.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Mario Savio: An American Hero.


The Odious Machine

"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

Mario Savio
Sproul Hall Steps
University of California, Berkeley
December 3, 1964
*****

Now then, here is an American who made an emotional, and historic speech, just a few decades ago.
He was and is, an inspiration.
A proper gentleman, and a real hero.
The FBI harried him, and one might believe that perhaps such stresses were instrumental in his death at the age of just 53, in a California hospital from heart disease.

(Edit/addition, Friday AM.).)

Here is another of his "short & subtle* speeches, reading it here, on a stormy friday morning, allow me to quote... (Or click to see full transcript, it is unique, humble and an inspiration.

"...Fortified by the peasant wisdom of my great-grandfather, perhaps, I never could become a thorough-going Marxist. But a Socialist of sorts, a gentle Socialist, I became, and remain..."

This a line from a speech he made at his sons` graduation in 1988.


Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Milestones and Millstones.






Milestones and millstones,
Hanging `round your fucking neck.
You marched and murdered to save your nation,
But have cursed yourselves instead,
You die to serve your leaders whims,
Who wave your bloodstained burning flag,
Walk away, ignore the bastards,
Afore their curses devour your souls.

Cartoons from Latuff,
Poem from an opencast poet/ mine.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

the maa.a.a.a-a-a-a-chi-n-uh. (An American Hero.)





The Odious Machine

"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

Mario Savio
Sproul Hall Steps
University of California, Berkeley
December 3, 1964

Click title to see Wiki entry for Mario Savio.
*****

Monday, March 17, 2008

My Lai, and the consequences.






Most people over 50 remember the massacre at My Lai, which took place 40 years ago, on the 16th of March .
American soldiers, spent the day raping and murdering around 500 Vietnamese civilians.
Lined them up, raped them, then killed them.

It was played down as an excess of war, and just one of the soldiers was punished, their leader, a lieutenant William Calley spent four and half months in a military prison, where he was allowed regular and unsupervised visits from his girlfriend.
Initially he had been sentenced to life, but the president of that time Nixon, shortened the sentence.
Without doubt, that leniency has affected the attitude of todays` troops.
But chickens do come home to roost...
More here,

What goes around comes around, why, I don`t know, but it always comes around.
So whilst today, there probably won`t be mass killings across America, it seems like almost a stroke of Karma, that after exactly four decades, the greenback is in free fall.

America has nowhere near enough natural resources to feed and productively employ the population, or at least not with their present rate of consumption, when it comes to global resources, as did the brits before them, the U.S. has relied on military might and a sheer mass of printed currency to ensure a place at the front of the queue.

Is it over? Most people think so,the question being not if, or when, but how?

How will Americans react to being told that there is no more cheap fuel? No more cheap imported food and clothes?
Some are predicting internment camps for the homeless and for those who dissent.

Will there be riots, for dwindling supplies of food? Will the government use paramilitaries such as blackwater to quell unrest, and will the civilian population use armed force to resist?

One thing is certain, the pace is quickening, and unlike the world of the 1960`s, the spread of information and the consequences thereof are moving at an unprecedented speed, no-one wants to see violence, but when it occurs, the least we can hope for is that those responsible meet a just fate.

It took six months before news of the massacre reached the USA, today, such an event would be exposed across the globe within just a few minutes.

Are there sufficient Americans who could maintain civil order without the use of firearms?
Will America fracture into distinct geographical and politico/social areas?

How will the military react, when they realise that their wages won`t even feed their families?
Will they obey orders, if asked to shoot at American citizens? I think not, but based on previous actions, I could be wrong.
Peace, and particularly to those who suffered at My Lai..

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Body language.

In order to have an ordered society, we need law and order. Should we want a society that is based on equality and fairness, then we need to instill within ourselves, the ethos that open-hearted kindness and good manners should always triumph over arrogance and force.
There haven`t always been the best of relations between Germany and Russia, nor indeed between Germany and America, but at least the Russians seem to be making an attempt, with a traditional gesture, to present a picture of harmonious relations.
Of course, the Russians can afford to smile, they currently produce/control around
15% of the global oil trade, and around 25% of the global gas production.



Anyway, I just thought the snaps were sort of representative of a somewhat "bigger picture".

The Bush approach..... from the rear..... unnanounced placing both hands on the ladies shoulders, grips tightly enough to instill panic, his cold, empty eyes to one side, with a facial expression best described as arse-like and puckered.

The new Russian president, Medvedev, communicates, non-threatingly from the side, presents flowers, smiles and drops open-palmed hands to hip level.





The former Russian president, Putin, having presented flowers, maintains smile, and stands to the side, and slightly behind Mrs M.

Edited/adding,
In some of the English-speaking parts of Wales, there are vernacular expressions of contentment that use the word glow, as in:

"A fine glow",
"Having a glow",
"Getting the glow-on".

"Glowing up",
"Giving out the old glow".
Doesn`t Mrs Merkel look like she gets a glow from her Russian counterparts.

Monday, March 10, 2008

One little princess.




The cartoon is by Ben Heine,*****CLICK HERE***** to visit an actively creative part of the blog-sphere.


Please Click here, or on the title to move to the source.

No trial, no evidence, nothing. Just a fusilade of bullets, fired face to face in contempt and rage at an unarmed woman and child.

Not a ricochet, not mistaken idendity, not even self-defence, her killer stood right next to her in her own home, took careful aim at her head, and fired the gun. An innocent child murdered in cold blood by an arrogant bastard.


She is gone, another sweet little princess, her last moments close to her mothers` breast, who was also wounded, as jewish soldiers stormed a house in Gaza, shooting and killing an alleged Palestinian militant, and then, without pausing for breath, took away her father.


Her name is Amira Abu Asri. She is dead. Shot through the head at point-blank range. Killed by a jewish gun. She was born 20 days ago, unlike the jew who killed her, she had not yet begun to think about religion or law.

Should we label her killer as a jew, or as an israeli? Will it make a difference? Will the "good" jewish people feel better?
Oy-veh, they cry, the poor israelis are defending the land given to them by their god.
Well I say, either produce this imaginary god, with all the relevant paperwork, in a court of law, or get the fuck out of the middle east.



Bollocks with religious obedience and political correctness, these murdering jews have killed and killed, they have subjugated, tortured and maimed the Palestinians, and have had the gall to call themselves persecuted, they are beneath contempt, they squirm murderously, knowing their end is well overdue.
Maybe by calling them jewish, rather than Israeli, then other jews may be less inclined to continue financial and social support for an extremely racist and violent group of ghouls.

The Israelis need help, that is without doubt, in fact they need an incredible amount .
Instead of arms and warplanes though, how about....
Group therapy?
Behavioural adjustment programmes?
Relocation ?
Disarmament?
Atheism?


One way or another, they have, in sixty short years, shown nothing but utter contempt for all other races and creeds, has it always been thus?
Perhaps one should think back to when they first came to Britain, and how their behaviour got them kicked out, Click here for an interesting historical perspective.

Twenty days of life, and as the world announces an "An International day for Women.", an empty -headed putz, a bupkis-brained schmuck with a gun, decides to kill a little girl, an innocent angel , for the "protection" of Israel.
Did s/he go home that evening and hug friends, maybe laughed , joked, had supper, thought of his own mother, and muttered a few incantations to an imaginary god...
It is time for the jewish people to accept that in the fallacious and farcical quest for their so-called spiritual homeland, they have exceeded the bounds of moral behaviour, and unless they rein in their people, they will be collectively blamed for these displays of murderous arrogance.

History cannot be changed, it must however, serve as an education.

Click to see a "hidden history, Hiding history is an affront, whilst we should be cautious in the interpretation thereof, and even more cautious in our actions towards religion, it should be time for the jewish people to realise that their beliefs and conduct has for a long time, been met with somewhat less than a wholehearted welcome.



Amira Abu Asri, February 2008, - March 2008. Shot and killed on "International Womens Day". May She Rest in Peace.


Wednesday, March 05, 2008

End of Empire. September 2008..


It is said that the right-wing ideologists and pro-israeli interests control much of the message in the mainstream media. For them, news is on the sports field, or in the private lives of celebrities. News is always about muslim terrorists, and immgrants who want to steal from the working class.

Labouring away in Europe, behind the scenes, is a lesser-known news organ. Known as GEAB, the Global European Anticipation Bulletin issues regular newsletters and predictions on matters economical and political.

There is no mention of this report in the mainstreasm media, but it would be easy to understand that the national press would not carry these reports, for fear of instilling panic in the masses.
Personally, I won`t be buying any stocks and shares in the near future.

A few basic facts about the portal.

There is much speculation and angst about the future of the United States. Some are predicting and calling for a hundred years of war. Others anticipate mass civil unrest and the forced detention of citizens.
One thing is certain, the "American" empire, for a number of reasons, is done, finito
, gekocht.


The picture is of the old Roman empire, interesting how modern political geography has re-forged the old Roman state into the new "Union of Europe".
Perhaps the same will happen to the U.S. and the rest of the Americas, after the collapse of the empire, they too will eradicate borders and nationalities to become just one people, let`s hope so.
As for Israel, who knows, but being the most heavily armed nation on earth must be a hell of a burden, I reckon it would be best for them they lay it down .. and all that silly nonsense about hearing voices and burning bushes, and that never-ending obsession with slaughtering the goyim and ruling the whole world. F*$king fruitcakes..

The Iranians and Turks circle Iraq like lions stalking a tired beast, knowing that eventually with patience they will eat.
Colombia, and the right-wing government of Uribe, the last remaining friend of the U.S. in Latin America, is floundering, gasping for breath as Ecuador and Venezuela increase their anti-american rhetoric.
The Russians and Chinese have healthy budget surpluses, and are both now trading oil in currencies other than the US dollar, as are the Iranians.

Anyway, here are a few paragraphs that predict a fall of the American state around September 2008.

In the United States, this new tipping point will translate into a collapse of the real economy, final socio-economic stage of the serial bursting of the housing and financial bubbles (1) and of the pursuance of the US dollar fall. The collapse of US real economy means the virtual freeze of the American economic machinery: private and public bankruptcies in large numbers, companies and public services closing down massively (2),...

Concerning stock markets, our team has anticipated since October 2007 that international stocks would plummet by 20 to 60 percent according to the region in the course of the year 2008. Today, we must re-evaluate our anticipations as we estimate that losses will be even greater than that. Indeed, on the one hand, stock markets have already lost between 10 and 20 percent since the beginning of the year (10), and, on the other hand, the collapse of the real economy in the US by the end of Summer 2008 will drag down all stock markets. According to LEAP/E2020, international stock markets will probably drop by 50 percent in average compared to 2007 (including in the emerging countries) (11).

In this 22nd issue of the Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin, with the alert we sound about a collapse of US real economy from September 2008 onward, we are trying again to warn those concerned that this major event will generate many very severe socio-political troubles in the United States (13) whose economy is truly on a tumbling course (14), a situation extremely likely to entail very heavy consequences for the financial and monetary markets, and for the world's economy. We have not yet reached the heart of the crisis. According to LEAP/E2020, we will be there in the second semester of 2008.


The language is a bit "civil servant", it seems to have been written by a committee, which it actually was, but it resonates with facts.

The full report can be read here:
GEAB No 22.

The details will no doubt be less than pleasant for some, particularly those who live solely from the benefits of dollar investments, on the upside, it seems like the rest of the world is going to have a few years of quiet peace.
I have no doubts that in a few years, it will all be over, and a new world order will be in place. Not what Israel and Washington had in mind a few years back, when the PNAC began "Marching as to war", but I see an American continent moulding itself as one, with free trade and open borders, one currency even.

Before that happens, there will no doubt be a few minor, yet fiery adjustments to the American dream and the nightmare of Israel.









Monday, March 03, 2008

TALES OF IRAQ WAR by LATUFF: Gaza: Spread the word, share this art!

TALES OF IRAQ WAR by LATUFF: Gaza: Spread the word, share this art!

Gaza,

It isn`t right, is it? Killing women and children, stealing land from those who are poorer and less able .
The Israelis claim self-defence, but so did Bush when he invaded Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Carlos Latuff is the artist who penned the cartoon. He asks that if you could show it around your community, friends, your workplace even.
Thankyou. His blog, "Tales of Iraq war", (dritte links:) is always worth a moment of time, you may not always like his style, but his eye for truth is unwavering.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Prisons.

So, you think prison is where the good guys put the bad guys? Sometimes, maybe there are those who need to be off the block for a while, but by and large, history shows that prisons are often used by the rich and powerful to ;
Dispose of foes.

Most people probably think that prisons are run by the government. Well, they used to be, but there is a new phase in the evolution of incarceration.
This is where the "stock market" gets involved, and the corporateers move in to that gap between the taxpayer, and the infrastructure of their state.

Bridgend, here in Wales is a town that feeds the balance sheet of a company known as group 4 securicor.
They have an institution known as PARC PRISON.



Now most folks would sooner not know the ins and outs of prison life, understandable, there are some rather nasty characters therein.
But it turns out that the management at Bridgend prison have strong links with another group, Wackenhut, whose most nefarious project perhaps, is the jail at Guantanamo bay.
Oh, and some of the prisons in Iraq are under the control of this group...

Here is a quote from a report, which catalogues some of the excesses carried out by these privatised prisons....

"..There is a particularly disturbing theme in their custodial institutions; brutality including sexual abuse. At the New Mexico prison, a 17 year old youth was beaten so badly his intestines leaked into his colostomy bag. While in another Wackenhut establishment, the State of Texas indicted twenty guards for sexually abusing prisoners..."

More here.

In prisons, as many as 90% of the prisoners are suffering from mental disorder. Which often means that the crime they have committed may well be a manifestation of their illness.
Drunken behaviour, use of drugs, teenage high jinx.


Report here.

Today, Parc prison houses around 1,000 young prisoners., who if the statistics hold true, will mostly be suffering from mental disorders and are generating profits for a less than socially constructive corporation.

The local politician, himself a former criminal lawyer, (aren`t they all?)
has a website, and speaks highly of this enterprise, ...

"....Prisons are noisy, claustrophobic institutions where personal privacy counts for nothing. That’s not a criticism but a statement of fact. They are not after all meant to be cushy. Our prison service is professional, and has within it many people who have the welfare and rehabilitation of prisoners at heart while maintaining a necessarily strict regime within the walls.

To me, that’s the way prison has to be..."


Mr Jones`s Jail.

He seems not to see a thousand young people, mostly with mental illnesses, serving sentences for menial crimes, but most of all .. "doing time, making money for the rich."
Either Mr Jones is unaware of the actualities of mental health within the prison, or he does know, and chooses to ignore the issue, whichever the reason, the lives of those inside the jail should not be wasted in the name of corporate profit and political point-scoring.

Taking the train from here in West Wales to Cardiff, always involves a few moments waiting at Bridgend. If you`d like to see the railway station, on a depressingly drunken and violent afternoon then click the title, "Prisons".
Sometimes I wondered if any of those who alighted and boarded had been at the jail, all those young prisoners would have families, from all parts of Wales.
Most would be unaware that the incarceration of their loved ones was considered an asset on a balance sheet.
Indeed, even Deutsche bank reaps a part of the profits, 11%, to be exact.
CORPWATCH

Bridgend, as many here in Wales are painfully aware, has its` fair share of troubles, could the prison, and the personal stories of heartache and suffering possibly be a part of the problem, rather than the solution?

Friday, February 15, 2008

Changing of face.


Obama, or Obie , as his friends might call him has certainly got some interesting faces.
At least two, according to Bill Van Auken, a writer with Global Research.

He has picked up on the statement from Obie, that if elected, he will increase military spending, recruit over 60,000 new soldiers, plus 27,000 more marines and a promise to increase "the war on terror.."
Seems like war, war, more more war.


How wonderfull. A pox upon him and his intentions.
No intention of "change", just more of the same?

The picture is from Leftpost.,

The website, with the original article is Global Research.

My appreciation to them both.

Obama is shouting "change", but just what does he mean? Is he begging for coins? Or perhaps he wants to keep his campaign simple and uncluttered , and no words above two syllables.

So is Obama interested in changing America, or does he just fancy a change of adress, and a new job for himself?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Economics of comics.


Saw this earlier, as the sun was rising, and I was " surfing".

Click the title for a link to the blog/biography of the cartoonist, Jen Sorensen.

The cartoon really cuts away at illusions the of captalism, mainstream media and religion, all in one little strip.
As an aside, and as I "publish" her work; When bloggers and others publish, is the item copyrighted, or is the world at a stage when copyrights and patents are "not what they used to be".
So, for now, I`ll just be thanking Ms Sorensen for her work , and trust that she won`t be sending lawyers over to examine my wallet.
"Thankyou."

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Axis of trade.




From the New York Times.....

........ In these days of overburdened, frustrating transportation systems and drop-of-a-hat delays, it’s a headline to stun and gladden the heart: On the maiden voyage of a new cross-continental direct rail service between China and Germany, the first trainful of freight containers made it to their destination in Hamburg five days ahead of schedule.

Click to rest of the article here.

So what might this occasion mean to the rest of the world. The Chinese and the Germans have made a pact, to henceforth trade in peace.

Isn`t that nice now, that in this age of terror, at least the Chinese and the Germans are not interested in waging war.

The peoples of Marx and Mao, finally united by a band of steel, with the land of Lenin enabling the union.

It doesn`t take long to realise that if the Germans manage to operate this railway with their typical teutonic efficiency, then the journey of 10,000 kilometers will soon be done in a lot less than 15 days.
It will also mean upheavals in the current migration and trading patterns around the globe. China, and indeed most of Asia, will be just a train journey from Europe, and vice versa.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Upon whose orders?


During wars, orders are given, and contrary to the thoughts of most people, they are not to be obeyed without question.
In fact, service personel are by law required to examine and quantify every single order.

A terrible story is emerging from Iraq, about british soldiers said to have been involved in the torture and killing of prisoners in their care , most of whom may have been just ordinary civilians. Not so frequently as the americans perhaps, but for the families of those they killed, there can be no rest, until these men, and their commanding officers are tried in court.

Click on the title, for a link to the guardian.

So who gave the order that Iraqui prisoners should be strangled to death , or have their eyes gouged from their heads.
Who was it who ordered that young Iraquis should be beaten about the testicles and killed, or was it just another day in the story of Blair, Bush and the barrels of crude.



No doubt all senior officers will claim that they knew nothing, in which case they too should be tried for negligence and professional incompetence.

It was a terrible day, when Blair sent the british army into Iraq. He assured the nation that he had sound reasons to go into war, and the soldiers who went, for the most part, may have believed him.




After this debacle it is surely time for the british people to consider an inquiry into the size and purpose of the british armed forces.
Are they serving to defend us , or to impose contractual control upon the mineral deposits of other nations.

We have now reason for shame, are we going to find and punish the guilty ones? Or once again will the pressure of war be given as an excuse?


"War is a profession by which a man cannot live honorably; an employment by which the soldier, if he would reap any profit, is obliged to be false, rapacious, and cruel." — Niccolo Machiavelli.


Is there really any need for an army? Is it time to emulate the Swiss, and to give every home a rifle and ammunition? Is the military no more than a bunch of psychos who without a war to fight would have no reason to live?

Would we, the "british" tolerate soldiers from another nation, coming here, detaining protesters, and then torturing them to death? No, of course not.
Even less then, should we allow British soldiers to behave in such a foul and murderous manner.

The soldiers concerned are said by the Guardian to have come from a regiment known as "The princess of Wales".
If these are Welsh soldiers, then I am more than ashamed to say that I too am from Wales.

The restrictions on reporting the case have been lifted. One has to ask, how much more shame will be heaped upon us by the time the Iraquis are left to manage their own affairs.

It turns out that the regiment involved is known as "The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment".
Except that she resigned, and the regiment now is commanded by the queeen of Denmark. (Seriously, I`m not making this up!)
The regiment has little to do with Wales, and recruits mainly in the Southern counties of England.

"WIKIPEDIA " Click >

Of no comfort to the Iraquis involved, nor to myself or anyone else.