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."

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.

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.

SHARK

A few posts back, I posted a poem by Dylan Thomas, about how death renders us all to the same point.
The monotheist would disagree, arguing for the existence of an ordered afterlife, with a ruler and a set of rules.
The atheist existentialist might tend to agree with Thomas, that indeed;

"Dead men naked they shall be one",

or was the point perhaps, as made by religionists as well as poets, of an eternal spirit, with his lines:
"Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion."


Well that was then, and now is now.

The above video is taken from the deck of an ocean liner.
Not a passenger liner, but a long-liner, where miles of baited hooks are laid into the ocean, and a few hours later are hauled in, and the catch is killed, gutted and placed on ice.
Here the fishermen capture a shark, there is a poetry to the video.
It mirrors closely, I believe, a scene from "The perfect storm", except that these guys are not actors, and unless they capture and kill the sharks, they will earn no money at all.
The way the shark moves from master of its environment, to helplessly squirming upon the deck, then to be dispatched by a sharp blow to the skull.

I couldn`t help thinking about Bush and Blair.
Are they the sharks that took the bait, have now been hooked, and are now gasping for breath, sensing that soon, they will be nothing more than a corpse on ice?

I have begun to wonder if the internet will somehow diminish the activities and profits of mainstream entertainment.

By the way, the background music to the film is hauntingly beautiful.
Both the video and the music were made by fishermen from the Basque fishing village of Ondourra, for which I thank them. It will take a few seconds to load, but I assure you, that it is
much better than Clooney and Hollywood, and far less expensive.

As my old granpappy used to opine,

"En cuando huele mal el pescado, hay que tirarlo a la basura."
"Si huele bien, tomatelo , y comemos."

'Blair Government police investigation for war crimes' PT1

Press Conference,
Room C, 1 Parliament Street
Tuesday 15th January 2008 3pm

John McDonnell MP, Chris Coverdale: International War Law Expert and Annie Machon of the Campaign to Make War History brief MPs and the media on allegations of war crimes committed against the people of Iraq by Britain's former Prime Minister and former Attorney General.

Officers from Scotland Yard have commenced a criminal investigation into the deaths of Iraqi citizens killed during the armed invasion and occupation of Iraq. The Metropolitan Police are acting in response to crimes reported by peace activists from We Are Change UK and The Campaign to Make War History. In an unprecedented step, the case was handed to the War Crimes division of the Counter Terrorism branch who are now investigating allegations of 14 criminal offences committed by Tony Blair, Lord Goldsmith and others. The offences are under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which came into effect under English common law, just two days before 9/11.


• genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and conduct ancillary to these crimes under Sections 51 and 52 of The International Criminal Court Act 2001.
• a crime against peace and complicity in a crime against peace under Articles 6 and 7 of The Nuremburg Principles.
• murder, incitement to murder and conspiracy to murder under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
• conspiracy to commit genocide, a crime against humanity and war crimes under the Criminal Law Act 1977.


For more information, please contact:

press@wearechange.org.uk

(Reprinted from youtube.)

Ah, nice one.

The wheels of justice turn slow...

...But they do fucking turn.

The British establishment is also slow moving , and moves in mysterious fashions.
Normally, I`m a bit of an sceptic when it comes to faith in the judiciary, remembering a quote from my long-ago errant past, "The more cash you got, the more justice you get".

A few days ago, John McDonnell MP, (Labour _ Hayes and Harlington,)
held a press conference, that has gone without comment from the MSM.
Like many left-wing British politicians , he has a blog, and fair play to the man, he really does talk and listen with his electorate. (The link takes you there.)

It is now confirmed that the British police are currently looking into the case for the arrest and trial of Anthony Blair, and another slippery warmonger pal, Baron Peter Goldsmith, the former attorney general who gave the invasion of Iraq his full and qualified support.

Neither Blair nor Goldsmith appear to have a blog, but I`m sure they have been making many many `phone calls in the last few days.

There is a video of the press conference, a part of which I have also posted above, it is well worth watching, I was moved by the tone of the announcement, which refers to the number of children killed by the American and British forces, as being a war crime.
The video is a ten minute one, but it is really really worth watching, if only to capture the tone of the announcement.

It seems perhaps, that with America on the back foot, both financially and militarilly, and with the British army "half-way up the hill", the police are not going to be deterred or hampered in their quest to find evidence of the crime.
Tens of thousands of dead children, hundreds of thousands of injured , now homeless and crying their fucking eyes out , bombed, shot at and mutilated, exploited , raped and robbed.
Evidence enough of serious war crimes I trust, and wish the officers concerned all success in their investigation.


What I do find to be "strange", is that not one newspaper or MSM has picked up on this story, just You-tube and a few bloggers thus far, and the american politician , Ron Paul.

You heard it by here, Scotland Yard is on the trail of Tony Blair.

Peace.

No more movies.

Seen the perfect storm? How much was the ticket?
Were the actors good? Was it realistic? Did it taste of salt and blood and did the cold wind bite into the bones?




And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

The poem is of course by Dylan Thomas, the film clip was taken by a fisherman, on board one of the trawlers, who spend up to three months in the North Atlantic, over a thousand miles from home.

Makes me think, about the price of fish.

Nothing new under the sun.

A month without posting, and here we are, the days are getting longer, in the more sheltered parts, there are a few early daffodils nodding towards the solitary, stationary solar panel.


Over in the States, a new hero, Obama... promises to track down his evil nemesis...Osama, and Hilary, like Obama and George and slick Willie before her, promises change and uh, freedom.



The middle east is still in "The hands of the Americans", though it could be that their grip is loosening.
Or as the tabloids might put it..
"Oil fields turf wars in murderous turmoil."
Add in a few Kurds and Turks, Sunnis, shi-ites, dog fights and late nights, and it`s easy to see why newsreaders rehearse their lines.



The price of oil just hit $100, and the price of everything seems to be rising. Fuel, electricity, gas, foodstuffs, where ever the corporate cog is turning, it seems that the rich are ratcheting up their share of the take.

Over here, the British army remains abroad/surrounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gordon Brown, the Prime minister of Britain, says he is proud of them, as does his fellow Scot, Des Browne, the defense minister.
Known colloquially as "Too Broons, an` na guid banch o` wee khaki clad bairns."

The momentum is increasing to restrict the recruitment practices of the militaries, who now target teenagers whilst still at school. The schemers have been making films that show soldiers, not bandaged and broken, but skateboarding and parachute jumping.

Conveniently ommiting the numerous suicides, the limbless, the homeless, the dead and the patently mad, the films and posters target low income families whose children are financially deprived and socially immobile.

Thankfully, there are voices of reason, from the Guardian

Further afield, the item has been picked up.. Counterpunch


Are we seeing an end to the insiduous practice of war?
Are the militaries and their manipulative conjuring tricks going to be consigned to the pages of some history book, as a facet of society that was explored, then discarded as being totally destructive and useless, except to the tiny minority who garner the proceeds.

It would seem that the British appetite for aggressive warfare is being tempered by reason and civilised exposure of the true nature of recruitment and training.

Or is it that the British were a little slow in the 21st century race for oil and gas. There is an almost incessant global market demand for oil and gas, the Italians have cut to the chase, and without military invasions , they "Went straight to the organ-grinder."

The Germans too are using money and sense instead of munitions. They have teamed with the Russians, and have secured sufficient supplies to keep their nation warm, for quite a reasonable amount.


Perhaps I should be less critical of Britain, as one group of energy suppliers has gone to the next stage, whereby fosill fuels are old hat , the solar panel manufacturers are getting to think big time. Banks of panels situated in the Sahara, linked to a pan-european system.
Saharan sense.

A future without oil...

From dry tinder and flint, to constant light.




Peace.

Infections, and infestations.

Old wounds sometimes open up, during times of stress, just as a cancer can sit benign for years, then suddenly, for the remotest of reasons, erupt and kill the host.
The attack on the WTC buildings in New York was indeed such a wound, and now it is opening, and as a complication, there appears to be a cancerous growth within.

With severe cancers, sometimes it is necessary to operate, even to remove entire limbs and organs.
When it comes to a cancer of the brain, or the lungs, little can be done, the vital organs are notoriously fine-tuned, and do not always survive surgery. Recovery is long and post-op function is often limited, but preferable to no function at all.

What then, if the attack really was a false flag operation, carried out with the aforeheld knowledge, compliance and direction of those at the very heart of American government.

Is there now a split between the generals, are they not all singing from the same score?
Were there military figures involved in the attack on the towers?

If those allegations are correct, then it would at least explain why some of the Admirals and Generals no longer seem to be in the command of the white house. There is dissent over the issue of attacking Iran, which seems to be delayed for some reason.


The Times of London reports on "The revolt of the Americans.".

But why would the Admirals and Generals not follow orders? Well the first and most obvious answer is that they would get their arses roasted and toasted.
The Iranians saw them coming, with their fleet of 40 knot battleships and carriers. Instead of building their own carriers and ancilliaries, they took advice from their neighbours, the Russians, and built up an arsenal of anti-ship rockets, including the Russian designed "Sunburn/Sunburst,", which travels at Mach 2-2.5, or just under 2,000 mph.
The US carrier fleet, compared to the weapons of Iran, has not much chance, and the senior officers know that if they start shooting, that the the sharks of the Arabian sea will be feasting on crisp and well-fried american sailors, not only the lower ranks, but also the braided ones.

The Iranians have missile capacity to eradicate completely the "Green Zone",( Details) which explains why the generals are reluctant to engage with Iran.

In fact, whilst America has spent billions on carriers and aircraft, Iran has spent millions on missiles to destry such weapons, one step ahead, at a fraction of the cost.
Asymetrical warfare, rather like the Iraquis. When the Americans arrived with million dollar tanks, they were promptly destroyed by hundred dollar roadside bombs.
Not just the weapons, but the actual cost...

In fact, the Iranians have been investing in missiles for many years, and have a "Missile for every moment and enemy movement."



Returning to the theme of 9/11, the division within the United States military is now coming into the light of day, with even more former ministers and officers calling for a further investigation.
"I find the facts against the official story of the [WTC] buildings' collapse more compelling than the case that has been made in behalf of the official story. I would like to see the issue debated by independent scientists and engineers,"
---Paul Craig Roberts, who was a Reagan Treasury man.

Then there is an experienced investigator of airplane accidents, a former Air Force colonel, George Nelson, who openly writes The Bush administration has provided no public evidence to support its claim that the terror attacks were the work of Muslim extremists or even that the aircraft that struck their respective targets on September 11 were as advertised. As I will show below, it would be a simple matter to confirm that they were - if they were. Until such proof is forthcoming, the opposite claim must be kept in mind as a precaution against rushing to judgment: the 911 hijackings were part of a black operation carried out with the cooperation of elements in our government.

In this day and age of Cellphones and e-mails, I would hope that there is a growing cabal of military plotters who are preparing the regime change that is so desperately needed in the United States.
Who knows, all those new detention centres built by Bush and Cheney might yet be filled, but with neocons and their fellow conspirators.

Bush and Cheney, and their fellow lunatics want war, maybe they hope that with perpetual war, their own crimes will go unpunished.
Maybe that is what they think. But the tide seems to be ebbing, and the shipwreck that was 9/11 is beginning to show itself.

Meanwhile, they continue to wage war, with weapons that are obsolete and with warriors, who once they find out just who really did bring down the Twin Towers, will surely follow the example of their superior officers, and tell the White House to simply go f^^k themselves.

Peace.

(Oh, yes, I finally got it, technically challenged I surely am, but it seems to be ......."The Links"..... so, to celebrate, I can now show just how the Russian soldiers cope with the downturn in the arms race. They have hobbies, one of which is choral singing, which can be infectious.

Gipsy Kings - Volare

A fine version.