The Bag Snatch

Today on  a train going to London's west end , I saw an old , frail lady boarding the train at Silver street , she seemed so old and weak , she could barely carry her self let alone her bag. Then suddenly as she was boarding the train, somebody grabbed her bag.   By this time the old lady had already boarded the train. The one who grabbed the bag then followed her , showed her to her seat and  she handed  the bag  to the old lady:  .There still are many good people about ....

 

Stop-Over ' , a film that made me want to 'stop- over' it , by Iranian director , Kaveh Bakhtiari,

 

 A group of relatively well fed  looking bourgeois Iranians find them selves in Greece .Not intentionally as their planned destination  ,but in transit, to better pastures .
. Apparently the crooked  people smugglers they had hired ,  had promised them  passage to a  Northern European El Dora do ; possibly Denmark or  Switzerland mentioned many times in our protagonists'   aspirational  conversations  .

Yet the hazardous journey described at one point by their only female member was abandoned after passing from Turkish to Greek Islands of the Aegean Sea and they find themselves in this ' stop  over ' point , called Greece. 

Once in Greece , the film is set mostly within a 'boarding house ' known as 'Amir's place'  we are not really sure whether this is an official refugees' centre where they have been dumped or whether is it is a safe house and  that Amir himself is one who helps the illegal immigrants on their way with bed and board philanthropically or for a fee.
 

This over drawn and   quite drab  ' fly n the wall' documentary  ' extensively films the group as one by one  they make  attempts to move on from this dreaded hell-hole portrayed as Greece. They scheme and dream of getting on lorries , jumping on to planes , make false passports etc and constantly look over their shoulders when they spot gestapo like Greek police men. 'They beat us they beat us!' they complained many times after occasions where they fell into the hands of the police .

We watch them in their  basic , slightly overcrowded but reasonable  living conditions , eating drinking , exercising ,  smoking, frolicking and  complaining bitterly    about their plight and much anger seems directed  at Greece and its police .Had  they not mentioned they were in Greece it would be almost impossible for the untrained eye to establish this.
 

Greece is only shown when our heroes  surreptitiously  walk the streets  of Athens . The streets chosen were  sleazy ,  every wall daubed with  graffiti .The limited outdoor scenes filmed  invariably depicted the coldest ,  darkest ,dampest days , quite uncharacteristic  of the Greek climate.

The back drop to the whole story was  bizarrely a Gothic like atmosphere within a Mediterranean land, with  no signs of a vibrant host nation, no sounds ,smells , sights , no signatures , no land marks . The only 'Greek'  person that could really have had a role   was a shabby destitute looking man holding a young baby who joins them as they make a beach fire  to keep warm at  a desolate looking beach . But hard as the director tried, nature asserted itself with a splendorous dusk scene with glowing sea , as  our group of Iranians show their  humanity and dote over the young child.
 

As they continuously scheme to get out of their predicament , some lose heart and return  to their homeland in Iran , one actually got murdered by bandits as he returned to Iran. The others continued with their schemes , of falsifying passports , lying ,stealing , cheating ;doing anything for their noble cause as the  youngest of their troupe stated: 'To become an engineer in the service of Denmark...'Another in desperation sew his lips together in protest for not being given his 'human  rights' , He spent many days on hunger strike with  disappointingly very little publicity that he desperately hoped for. Eventually the hunger striker appeared to have caused enough embarrassment and media attention to earn him  a passport and get  away from that hell hole.

The director  persuades the audience to empathise with this group of ambitious  illegal    immigrants depicted in this film . No indication was given as to what conditions they left and how their lives were in Iran.
 

Considering it is a land where homosexuals are hanged in public from  building contractors' cranes , where  sexually abused women are publicly  stoned to death for adultery and political dissidents languish in jails under barbaric conditions  , it is surprising that they did not find Greece , it's current political and economic problems notwithstanding  , a stark  but positive contrast to their homeland.

 

And what were they doing there ,most of the time ? they did not contribute by rolling up their sleeves or bending down to work, , as working 'illegally ' is rife in Greece, No they seemed to have enough cash to charge their high tech  mobile phones , to surf  the Internet and contact their loved ones with web cams and talk about journeys to Spain and Norway contrived  on false passports costing thousands of  Euros.

 

Thousands of years ago ,Persia's Nemesis  , Alexander the great , kept out hoards of the Persians from
ever invading Greece again. Thus as historians have it ,the  path of western history panned out as it did. It's legacy being the super powers of the modern day western civilisations .
  

His descendants in modern Greece were unable to keep out this band of idle, go-getting  loafers.

But surely Greece could do without their like ,and  more than likely the   Mullahs of modern day Persia  would not be in a hurry to welcome them back either ....

 

A poor , partisan , self -pitying and manipulative  film , destined for the dustbin of  film  making history .

 

 

 

Letter to the President

At the beginning of the year , through an acquaintance,  a friend and I were encouaraged to join and artists' association . 'The United Artists ' And what may one ask is the 'United Society of Artists '?

The United Society of Artists

About our Society:

The United Society of Artists (UA) exhibits high quality works of art at its London Annual Open Exhibition and its Members' Only Satellite Exhibitions held at various sites during the year.
What is the UA?
The UA is an independent, non profit making society. Founded in 1921 it originally gave artists living outside London a chance to exhibit in the capital. Now there are no geographical restrictions to exhibiting and Satellite Exhibitions have greatly increased its range of activity.
What does the UA exhibit?
Figurative and non figurative works in two or three dimensions in any medium are welcome.*
Why should I join the UA?
UA exhibitions attract exhibitors of international quality and provide excellent exposure to the world of affordable and collectable art. Members may each submit up to six works free of charge for selection.

Only UA members can exhibit in UA Satellite Exhibitions.

Well , in the beginning of  2012 , Ari , a friend of mine and I applied to join the 'UA'

We both submitted examples of our work and eventually we were accepted as members. We paid our membership fees which exceeded £100.00 for the year and also  , after not making any contribution to their exhibitions or indeed having reaped any benefits from the organisation , we eventually managed to take part in an exhibition they organised in Carshalton , Surrey , in October 2012.Yes we even had to pay extra for this privilege of exhibiting up to 5 works in a Gallery called 'The  Mine Gallery' in  an quaint Surrey  village , Carshalton .

In mid Ocotber we handed in our works and after some very appealing e-mail messages asking us to 'steward' the exhibition . In good faith we offered our services for one afternoon. of the 12 day show.
On the occasion , we arrived on time after a two hour journey by train and asked the  UA members who we were relieving , to allow us at least 15 minutes to eat something in a local cafe before we come and relieve them.

The exhibition was a complete flop. That afternoon , not one pair of feet walked into the gallery , not even a single  insect  passed by to show some respect to a collection of reasonably interesting and varied works of relatively good standard.

I was quite disillusioned yet again with an artistic opportunity that withered and died ... .But to add insult   to injury , I received a letter from 'The President' . a few weeks after to whole damned  fiasco .

I was quite incensed , after reading it a few times in amazement , I drafted this reply , which I eventually withdrew in favour of a lighter  . more diplomatic version . Yet the sentiment in this letter  was genuine and really felt I should have releasede it:  

'Dear Ann

 I refer to the  identical letter you wrote to  Ari Aresti and myself  dated  20^th November  2012, transcripted below :

 

 

‘Dear Jimmy /Ari  

 

I am writing to you with regard to the incident at the Mine Gallery , Carlshalton.

 

At any  exhibition , if you steward , you are guaranteeing to arrive on time to open up or to relieve other stewards. You should ensure that you have luncheon   or provisions to be eaten on site so as to cause no offence   to other stewards who are dependent on your  attendance .

 

 

I was sorry to see that the work you presented for showing was not of the standard we expect and would therefore recommend that you would gain more experience from joining , perhaps , the Enfield Art Circle  and later re-apply to join the  the United Society of Artists. 

 

Do keep developing your art.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

Ann P Keeble'

As new members to the UA we both found your letter unnecessarily   personal , judgemental  and puzzling  . The ‘incident‘ as you call it refers to the fact that when we arrived at the Mine Gallery , on time, after a two and a half hour journey , we requested of the other stewards to allow as at least 15 minutes to go to a café and eat something before we relieved  them, unfortunately we exceeded the 15 minutes and did delay the persons  who had finished their period of stewarding. This was not intentional and was   regrettable.  However we found   the words in your letter quite harsh , we did volunteer after all ,   bearing in mind that not all UA  members  did so.

Secondly the comment concerning   the   standard  of our art work is quite disconcerting  . You made a quality judgement on the standard of the   works we both   exhibited:

 A; It appears that the standard of   our work was of sufficient quality to allow us to join the  UA in the first place and you were happy to accept our membership fees.

B: You also accepted the works offered for the show   at the Mine Gallery  and  again accepted   fees for allowing us the  privilege of exhibiting at the Mine Gallery.

 C: You then stated that our work was  ‘ Not of the standard that you expect’ and furthermore  suggested that we‘ ‘Join the ‘Enfield  Art Circle   to gain more experience  and  later re-apply to join the UA’  , suggesting that you have terminated our membership? 

 

Ann,  with the greatest of   respect  we found the comments in your letter   inconsistent with the decisions made by the UA board and also very  hurtful .

 

Neither Ari or myself are beginners  . We   are both serious artists and have  worked   professionally in the past ,and therefore   have  a realistic evaluation of our own individual worth as artists.

 

After receiving your  letter  we would like to respond   constructively and creatively and  issue you with an artistic challenge:

 

We propose that we arrange an art  exhibition ( outside the auspices of the UA)  with the theme of a competition of quality ( similar to the contest between Zeuxis and Parrhasius of ancient Greece) where the theme of the exhibition would be  to exhibit ten works each, recent or old , on any theme  in any medium or style , and to invite the public to judge whether your work is of  superior to the work exhibited by either of us.

 

We have not had the privilege to view your art work , and issuing this challenge

Without seeing your work  actually puts us at a disadvantage. But  maybe , your are not an artist? and as president your credentials could be as art historian or critic? , if however  you do see your self as an artist , Ari and myself will be willing to arrange the exhibition and share any costs with you . We offer this challenge blindly in expectation, from the comments you made that you are of formidable talent, experience   and ability .

 

The result would be very informative and educational for us , it may be that your point will be proved and we can then take your advice and join  the organisation you suggested to gain more experience. On the other hand it may even   prove otherwise .

 

Either way we think it is an exciting challenge and are already motivated   to arrange this  as soon as we can gain your consent

 

We   eagerly look forward to your reply

 

If however you refuse the challenge or  we do not receive a reply  , we , and  anybody reading this  letter can draw their own conclusions.

 

Kindest regards

 

Sincerely

 

Jimmy  Pellas      Ari Aresti

CC ( as many UA members as we can  find e-mail addresses of)




Eventually  after cooling down and considering it carefully  sent her the following letter and did  not copy it to  the hundred or so members:

                                                                                             

                                                                               Jimmy Pellas    Ari Aresti

    
' Dear Ann
 

I  refer to the  identical letter you wrote to  Ari Aresti and myself  dated  20^th November  2012.  

As new members to the UA we both found your letter unnecessarily   personal , judgemental  and puzzling  . The ‘incident‘ as you call it refers to the fact that when we arrived at the Mine Gallery , on time, after a two and a half hour journey , we requested of the other stewards to allow as at least 15 minutes to go to a café and eat something before we relieved  them, unfortunately we exceeded the 15 minutes and did delay the persons  who had finished their period of stewarding. This was not intentional and was   regrettable and we both sincerely apologise 

However, we found   the words in your letter quite harsh. As  new members who had not previously exhibited in any other UA Show , we did offer to make our contribution by being present at the gallery  .
 

The comment concerning   the   standard  of our art work is intentionally hurtful and appears to be subjectively related to the ‘incident’ . 

Ann,  neither Ari or myself are beginners  . We   are both serious artists and have  worked   professionally in the past ,and therefore   have  a realistic evaluation of our own individual worth as artists regardless of your opinion.

After receiving your letter neither us feel that the UA  has anything to offer us in future  although we did contribute to the organisation and  supported it financially  .

 

Good bye

 

Sincerely '

 

Jimmy  Pellas      Ari Aresti

So glad  to see the back of that pathetic group of 'artists' .What a waste of time and effort , damn them!

'Some people will have different opinions , get over it! '

I saw a banner advertisment on a London bus go by as I was walking Wofgang the dog in my local park. It read :

'Some People are gay , get over it!'

I found it quite amusing as the bus was half full of people looking bored , staring into space and looking out at the world.
This whole campaign by Stonewall , the homosexual activist group has stirred up controversy to the point of a reactionary bus advert by a group called  'Anglican Mainstream' . Which read :

'‘Not gay! Ex-gay,Post-gay and Proud. Get over it!’ .

I had not seen neither of them until now , after I started to look for them . There was much talk about the second one of the two on the chat show radio stations. Funnily the second was banned before being shown, by Boris Johnosn the London mayor. According to some it was his opportunity of capturing the homosexual vote in good time for the May , London mayoral election .Johnson said:

"London is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and intolerant of intolerance. It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses."


So then the homosexual advertising campaign won , the other was banned. What sense can one make of all this. I am in favour and always have been in peoples rights not to be persecuted on grounds of their politics , race , religion , sexual orientation etc even when it was not fashionable, . yet what when two or more of those values clash and freedom of speech is part of the equation that ends up being the casualty?


One must be free to worship and have religious beliefs, not to be persecuted or even criticised for their religious beliefs and practice. Alternatively does not one have the right to think what they want and say what they want , even if this can be offensive to another portion of the population.

Does it not occur to some , that religion itself can be offensive to some atheists or even agnostics? Or that one religion is obviously ,at logger heads with all opposing religions , as the nature of each religion is that its own particular brand owns the monopoly of the truth about life , death and the universe ? Whatever the religious say about accepting the other religion is not true.Have a conversation with a religious person and ask them what they think of the other religion and you will find at one point that:


' Yes Islam is fine , but it is written that only if you accept Christ as your saviour and son of God can you enter the kingdom of heaven...' or

' Christ is okay , respect him as one of the great prophets , but he who came after him , Mohammed , he is the final prophet of God and what he says supersedes all other statements made by those other 'lesser ' prophets ....' and so on ad infinitum .


Some forms of religion teach that to be homosexual is a sin and punishable by eternal damnation , you know the ones : , most of the so called ' great faiths ' ( a term used by the wily politicians ) or mainstream religions at one point make such references , Yet thankfully many of those that subscribe to those religions do not always dwell on such lines of their scriptures and show tolerance ; another concept that is often mentioned in their beloved scriptures.

In fact one can be a faithful follower of any religion and be able , to select , mix and match various tennets of that religion and come to their own conclusions. I think these are the religious people that I respect for having some of their own judgements and interpret things for themselves rather than having a religious 'expert' telling them the 'truth' and interpreting a pile of old manuscripts compiled together and sold as a self contained complete book of everything.

Excellent concept that: a package in the form of a book, a talisman , that you carry around with you and has an answer for everything! I have been looking for that all my life but came to the conclusion , that valuable knowledge can be gleaned from reading many different books , listening to many different philosophies , religions, looking at art etc , but most of all by life exprience , the will to learn and challenge ones own views , accepting that not knowing , and uncertainty is the reality that most of us find difficult to accept . But most of all the ongoing exploration and search for truth or truths whilst doubting whether there is one or many truths and whether this or these truths once understood are purely one's own truths and therefore open to further scrutiny ...That is a philosophical way of life rather than having a fixed belief tantamount to a collective delusion .


So was it right to have one of these opposing views advertised on on a London suburban omnibus ? or both of them or does the fact of offending one group then disallow the other group for expressing their view?

Freedom of speech : where does it start and where does it end?. It is funny how many left wing socialists are so zealous in protecting peoples rights that they are willing to go out and lynch a member of a fascist party for airing their views and they defend this abbhorent action in the name of democracy which by definition makes provision for such freedom of speech.

So the second advert was banned , So  the homosexual has the freedom of expressing his / her views , nature  life style or whatever . The Christian or more generally any religious fundamentalist , has the right to  practise their religion and not to be descriminated against. Yet both have the right to be protected  and both have the right to express their views eventhough  the one's freedom of expression automatically  clashes with the other's right not to be  descriminated against. Therein lies the paradox  of freedom of speech and  the bizarre behaviour of the ' Ant-fascist league'  demonstrators  in   various parts of the country this year ' The anti fascists  ' , who in their altruistic and pathological  love for freedom of speech and democracy were  happy to use over whelming physical force to silence  memebrs of the 'English  Defence League '  fascists from expressing their  views ,It seemed they were even preapared to  severely assault or kill  in the  name of peace , freedom of speech and democracy.

So as I see the one ' acceptable ' banner on the bus roll by :  ''Some People are gay , get over it!' I  smile to  myself as I look at the bored faces looking out at anything that captures their attention away from the dull experience of being driven around on a routine journey by  bus. Even the sight of a bald headed dog walker attracted their attention . Yet as I look back at them caged in  a metallic mobile , freely marketed advertising bill board  , it struck me that the above statement  seemed   to be attributed to or somehow otherwise connected with them. visually it appeared that it was their statement. I don't know if it looked like that to any one else. And I asked my self , did anybody ask the passengers whether they would like to be driven around with such statements attached to them?

'Get over it some people just happen to be riding on a bus  carrying statements that do not necessarily reflect their views'    

Mary , Max And The Human Fox

Yesterday morning ,I was dozing in the living room ,I had just returned from walking Wolfgang , the German shepherd dog in the local park. As usual , he had his characteristic outbursts pulling me toward every fox that had crossed our path, in the pre-dawn darkness.

The rubbish was packed and put out into the pavement the night before, for the dustmen to collect. I usually use very strong grey plastic bags and tie them well to prevent the roaming ,opportunist foxes from helping themselves and leaving a trail of rotting food on the pavement.I even save some tit bits for them when walking the dog and place them in the park as if to tell them to stay away from my front door and snack at their place instead. I know the local mini dictators we call councils and even the do-gooder environmentalists would rebuke me for that .

I could hear the rustling of rubbish sacks. Was that someone interfering with my my rubbish ?,a fox ? or more likely some neighbour putting out their own rubbish.

I continued to wonder as I was lying on the couch half asleep, 6.00 in the morning. The thought interrupted my musings on the cinema show I had seen the night before.

I had gone to the ' Haringey Independent cinema ' the night before and watched 'Mary and Max' an Australian , clay animation film directed by Adam Elliot,2009 .I was so impressed by the film and the cinema . I sat with a bunch of anarchists who apparently run this cinema club. Some of them had huge moustaches and beards in the style of Kropoptin or Bakunin. There was a mixed bag of people , including various militants , disabled people and others that seem to go out of their way to avoid mainstream entertainment and thought. The atmosphere was warm and friendly , with my bowler hat on, I felt comfortable; a misfit amongst misfits.

The animated stop- motion characters made from clay did exactly as I was told they would in the publicity for the film. They had me empathising, laughing and crying with them as they struggled in the big ,bad wicked world.

The story was based on a pen pal friendship made purely by chance as a young Australian , obese school girl wrote to a name she picked out at random from an American telephone directory .
Her letter reached a American Jewish athiesit New yorker who had Asperger's syndrome. He also had problems with obesity and compulsive comfort eating.

Apart from the two main characters who struck up a warm and supportive friendship , the story explored , through other characters and events :the nature of disability , stigmatisation , loneliness, isolation , alienation and many other aspects of the human condition as well as critique of Psychiatry and psychology . And it did this , in my opinion without being patronising to the audience or condescending to the disabled .

Others may disagree , but I thought it was sensitively done and although it could be argued by some that there were scenes and moments where the audience were led to laugh at the characters' imperfectness's and mal adjusted behaviour, or directly at their physical disabilities , I thought it was done in such a way that the viewer would empathise with the characters and laugh more spitefully at the established view of them and those that came up against them.

It was a mini roller coaster of anguish , trial and tribulation with some tragic yet life affirming moments.
I wondered where all these people around me were , were they all members of the 'Haringey solidarity Group' a local anarchist outfit? or were they just people who had taste and sense to attend a decent non mainstream cinema when they saw one?

There was a short film shown after the main one , filmed at the demonstration in central London on 26th March 2011 against the proposed public spending cuts ordered by the government .The film was made by an independent journalist.On the one hand , the film celebrated the richness of costume ,music and creativeness offered by the demonstrators and at the same time carefully showing instances of unprovoked police violence i.e the film maker had got his camera behind the police cordon who possibly from the corporate media's take could be seen gently ushering the crowd away but at the same time from his angle they were discreetly, literally 'sticking the boot in 'to the crowd.

The organiser , after the two films were over , invited discussion , which did not develop much more than one man saying : 'let's all take our money out of the bank on the same day !' and another , who had bruises all over his face telling the crowd that 'enough is enough'...It didn't develop much more and we were all invited to have a drink at the local pub across the road.

At that point I had to leave . I felt that I made a good discovery in this cinema club , I picked a few anarchist publications and made my way.

As I was dozing on the couch I was thinking that I would strongly recommend 'Mary and Max' to anyone who wants to see a really good film.

I also wondered about these anarchist people, I mean those that are 'card carrying anarchists '(contradiction of terms intended ). I wonder what their real goals are and whether they really believe that we can live in a world devoid of our political and economic overlords. I really admire them and how they are against racism and all other forms of bigotry, exploitation , deception and discrimination etc .

But I also fear that their view of human nature , based on their own noble intentions is somewhat flawed.
Of course we should not allow our selves to be ruled by greedy capitalists and governments which are no more than 'political parties of business' as Noam Chomsky calls them . Many altruistic and thoughtful souls would be suited to an anarchist society , yet what of the mob? I am sure many of the people that would be left in this Utopian society without hierarchy, free of police or bosses ,without laws etc would be even worse than they are now.

True Anarchism, this intellectual , angry young man's pipe dream would suit those highly evolved, intelligent and caring individuals who would share and share alike . But what of the majority of us self centred , impatient , egotistical , politically naive, greedy self serving mob rich and poor alike? ; being poor doesn't make one better than the rich.

What would happen?. I just wonder , I am sure many a motorist would run down a cyclist who they think has got in their way and shouldn't be there. And do this with impunity .Unfortunately the Noble Anarchists have a too high esteem of human nature .
Most people would descend into 'anarchy ' in the definition of a cheap and nasty corporate popular newspaper's use of the term.

So the establishment is afraid of the Anarchists , not because they are 'mindless hooligans' as often the mainstream media depicts them, but because they dare to challenge the status quo and offer an alternative ....to those that would listen and have the self discipline and altruism to see it through without allowing themselves to descend into mayhem.

But there is a 'Third way ' to quote that ignominious scoundrel , former prime minister Blair: but not on his terms: The fact that the limited illusion of freedom that we have within the corporate capitalist system , allows for anarchists to live side by side with it . To agitate and influence , using direct action and propaganda against the corporations and their political parties . In this sense , Capitalism and Anarchism go hand in hand , existing together . This is the only way and suggests that any one with an ounce of political awareness or conscience should get involved in their local anarchist group and challenge their 'elected ' business party overlords and strive to achieve at least a fraction of true democracy and justice .


The rustling got louder , I got myself up off the couch . As I got up and looked out of the window I just about caught a glimpse of a young man , whose appearance and complexion , with an educated guess , I can only describe as being an Eastern European Romany . He tore a bag open and pinched something , I do not know what . He moved nimbly as a fox and I called to him to ask him what he was doing. But he had scarpered , possibly on to the next booty .

This angered me as the grey plastic bags which were tied so well together to deter foxes , had been raided by a 'Human Fox ' I have no reservations in calling him that , regardless of what the politically correct would call me.

I still wonder what would any one gain by checking rubbish sacks. Was it that he thought that the sacks' different colour indicated a collection of clothing being donated to some charity which he wanted part of? or just pure dustbin raking in hope of trading anything? Did he find an obsolete computer printer that was chucked ? is he going to strip it down and sell a piece of copper or lead from it? I really don't know but the fact that he had exposed rotten , smelly food really got me angry. The filthy Human fox !, I thought to myself as I secured the rubbish bags one more time to prevent his four legged brethren from finishing off where he started.

There are many people of his back ground living all over this area , they are part of a mass migration from Poland , Romania , Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries that are full card carrying members of the 'European Union ', this ever expanding club of corporate companies and their 'liberal democratic political parties'

The strange thing is that Membership of the 'European Union ' entitles any member to travel to and live in any other member country. That means I can live in Bulgaria and a Bulgarian can live here etc. Yet at the same time It is one of the tenets of the European Union that :


'The European Union sees human rights as universal and indivisible. It actively promotes and defends them both within its borders and when engaging in relations with non-EU countries.

Human rights, democracy and the rule of law are core values of the European Union. Embedded in its founding treaty, they were reinforced when the EU adopted the Charter of Fundamental Rights in 2000, and strengthened still further when the Charter became legally binding with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009.

Countries seeking to join the EU must respect human rights. And all trade and cooperation agreements with third countries contain a clause stipulating that human rights are an essential element in relations between the parties.

The Union’s human rights policy encompasses civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It also seeks to promote the rights of women, of children, of those persons belonging to minorities, and of displaced persons' .
(From 'Europa ', The European Union's Official Website).


Having read that , I was even more perplexed. Let's look at the plight of Romany people . They are known to be discriminated against throughout the world. I have seen it first hand on my journeys to Greece. My favourite singer is a Greek Romany who often sings about the pains of being treated as a second class citizen in the only country he knows . In my day job I have come across Romany people who explained to me that they are being treated badly in various European , former Soviet block countries.

Then hold on a minute! This so called artificial , non democratic, bureaucratically led group of legislators states that it has standards; That in order to join its club , the members must reach a certain standard i.e treating minorities with respect , and giving all citizens equal opportunities....etc.
This is another of the many lies .

If Romanies were treated equally in these countries , how is it that many thousands of them , at first opportunity have come from all over Eastern Europe , to settle into London , many of them without education , without Knowledge of English, without work skills but large extended families to feed. More importantly how the hell did some tin pot countries from Eastern Europe , who have an established record of traditional, cultural , political as well as institutional racism against various ethnic or religious minorities get accession into this club of corrupt political parties of business called the ' European Union'?

I think my case is made . The anarchists are right: This is a huge multinational corporation whose sole interest in human rights is the 'freedom ' to travel as in free movement of labour thereby lowering workers' wages for the big industries to function at their best. A political club that values the right of humans to compete , be divided and ruled .

As I went back to sleep pondering on the quality of the Anarchist cinema club and the the excellence of 'Mary and Max' , I felt I had explored , and come slightly closer to understanding what makes a 'human fox' walk by one's window and raid the rubbish bag: A two legged human fox, up with the rest of the foxes at the crack of dawn , travelled a few thousand miles to achieve this 'privilege' . What does that say about oppressed minorities? , what does it say about the European Union?, its member states and of that young man's choice of choosing England as his first choice?. Maybe it is because internally this country does try harder than others and maybe he hopes that his children will get an equal opportunity to access education and better themselves?

But guess what ? regardless of what claims are made about the importance of filling in your 'Census ' form , and how it is useful for planning the number of public services etc. Well that is another misconception , as I know from first hand knowledge as a public servant , that many children who have recently come into this country have been left at home without the chance of going to school as most of London's primary and secondary schools are over crowded.

Must go and check the rubbish........that we read....

Religious Stampede

I read that there has been yet another religious stampede where many have died an ugly death. Only yesterday , Indian officials said more than 100 pilgrims have been killed in a stampede following a religious festival in southern India.

The stampede occurred on Friday night, 14th January 2011.A jeep filled with pilgrims lost control and smashed into a crowd of worshippers returning from offering prayers at a shrine in the state of Kerala ,Sanjay Kumar.

The tragedy unfolded in a remote, mountainous area of southern Kerala during the evening as pilgrims made their way home from an annual ceremony at the hill shrine of Sabarimala that draws up to four million people every year.



Last year in March At least 63 people were killed and 100 others injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh .
Only a few months before that incident,in January 2010, 10 Hindu pilgrims died in a stampede during a religious festival on the Ganges river in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. The incident took place when hundreds of devotees tried to board a ferry to take them to the festival.

A very worrying trend .This is India , that new powerhouse , 'the fast growing economy ,' lauded by the market-worshipping financiers , political pundits and media moguls of the west.

What drives people to this doom ? what is it with human beings , huddled together in such an unnatural , uncomfortable proximity, hoping to experience some super- natural , superstitious , magical power ? what keeps so many people so desperate ,docile , ignorant and near suicidal? And this is not some thing peculiar to India .

Similar tragedies,it seems regularly befall the faithful of Islam.
There was one stampede in Mecca ,March, Saudi Arabia 2001 .35 lost their lives when crowds from accross the world on their holy pilgrimage or Hajj surged forward during a stoning of Satan ritual .

One of the most deadly stampedes in history was in the same context :
On July 2, 1990, a stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel (Al-Ma'aisim tunnel) leading out from Mecca towards Mina took and estimated toll of 1,426 pilgrims' lives!
In fact there are lists of the regular carnage that goes on in the name of the Islamic pigrimage:

* July 2, 1990 : A stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel (Al-Ma'aisim tunnel) leading out from Mecca towards Mina, Saudi Arabia and the Plains of Arafat led to the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims.
* May 23, 1994 : A stampede killed at least 270 pilgrims at the stoning of the Devil ritual.
* April 9, 1998: at least 118 pilgrims were trampled to death and 180 injured in an incident on Jamarat Bridge.[2]
* March 5, 2001: Thirty five pilgrims were trampled to death in a stampede during the stoning of the Devil ritual.[3]
* February 11, 2003: The stoning of the Devil ritual claimed 14 pilgrims' lives.[4]
* February 1, 2004: 251 pilgrims were killed and another 244 injured in a stampede during the stoning ritual in Mina.[5]
* January 12, 2006: A stampede during the ritual ramy al-jamarāt on the last day of the Hajj in Mina killed at least 346 pilgrims and injured at least 289 more. The incident occurred shortly after 13:00 local time, when a busload of travellers arrived together at the eastern access ramps to the Jamarat Bridge. This caused pilgrims to trip, rapidly resulting in a lethal crush. An estimated two million people were performing the ritual at the time.

So what is it with these devoutly religious folk that makes them persue such dangers for the sake of their spirituality ? And what is spirituality?

Spirituality in a wider sense is that within us in which we define our selves and our place in the universe.It is the essence of our self image and the underlying principle of how we make sense of the world and meaning in life.

Very profound.And on the whole the 'spiritual' aspects of a human being tend to be defined in religious terms .For example, someone dies or sees suffering or simply wonders at the mystery of the cosmos and their own existence.
The faithful, those belonging to a particular religion will press the default button of their religion and off goes the automatic pilot of their reasoning and they will have a stock answer to the question that may have troubled their minds temporarily . The answer being handed down by generations of 'experts', religious scholars , theologians and other indoctrinated , misguided thinkers or arrant charlatans.

So in the case of the thousands of deceased , who died tragically in such stampedes so close to what they so highly valued in their lives, there seems to be some dark dichotomy .

What was so meaningful and vital to them : Hinduism or Islam for that matter , was the cause of their premature deaths. Was this human folly? The fault of bad infrastructure of India being an over populated , developing country ? Or outright negligence of that much richer 'Theocracy' ,or dictatorship of corrupt royal families called Saudi Arabia ?

In either case one is left with the painful meaninglessness of it all. Young and old , many very poor and of course much lesser in numbers but rich also , had lost their lives , there in the very place where they had faith in its very meaning.
For such people the most inportant aspect of their lives is this religion , that binds them together and helps them find meaning to their lives .Many attend such pilgrimages in hope of being ' helped' , or 'protected' by their particular deity of choice.Some , and I have met such people: Some hope that by performing certain religious rituals or just praising their God , can even bring them financial propserity as well as everlasting health and happiness!

Alas , for these ill fated human beings suffering and death was the result of their dedication. This makes the whole foundation of what they held so dear crumble to reveal the meaninglessness of their lives.

It could have been you or me : Meaninglessness? or maybe from the wrought-iron inflexibilty of the doctrines many religious folk hold dear, maybe it was their divine destiny ? The hand of God claiming his beloved to live with him for eternity? Yes of course within the narrative of all the worlds current mainstream and fringe religions , just like the dead religions we now call 'mythology' there is a get-out clause . To explain the inexplicable and make meaningful the meaningless.
Many will say that their souls have gone to heaven . 'It was the will of God and
therefore beyond our lowly human understanding of his scheme of things.'........ .etc. So in effect what would make a rational human being reject such belief systems as flawed only works to reinforce such circular ways of thinking thereby strengthening the resolve of the faithful.

So the meaninglessness of the string of tragedies remains unsolved to the inquiring mind .But of course can be explained away within various religious belief systems thereby allowing the tragedies to repeat themselves.

All in the sake of spirituality .Which, as explained earlier is not the monopoly of the religious institutions and their billions of followers but something bigger and more mysterious.

The fact that life has no meaning , that there is a meaninglessness to all this life is part of the spiritual quest in itself. The very marvel of this mystery which may never be solved ,is the answer: that there may be no answer .All cannot be
explained out of the deciphered verses of ancient tribal, mythological scriptures. No. May be we are alone? Maybe there is no God there for us to open up
insurance policies with ?
To recognise this could be a way to liberation and possible salvation . It would at least prevent many from charging to corners of the Earth only to encounter thousands of similarly desperate souls , huddling together in extremely life threatening conditions. For no one died in a stampede when alone in their sitting room pondering on the meaninglessness of life.........

May Day , Our Great British Election and Democracy

It was May day only last week.The first of May 2010 .I love May day , it is my brother Nick's birthday as well as my mother in -law Anna's birthday. I had a great week end , two feasts one with the mother-in-law on the Saturday 1st of May and one with Nick at our mother's house on the Monday 3rd . It was such a nice bank holiday week end for me The gods had rewarded us with nice sunny weather . What a special day to have a birthday on .It is a day of much history and great importance for today.

Originally the first of May was celebrated as a pagan festival In Britain before the
Christians spread their unconditional love and turned the other cheek to many peoples they conquered with ruthless brutality .'Pagan' by the way being a derogatory term used by the 'Abrahamic religions' for all other ancient religions which they felt threatened by in the past and were determined to crush through organised ,sustained atrocities using military means.

In Britain before the Anglo Saxons and even before the Romans arrived ,the local people,predominately of Celtic stock , celebrated the First of May as Beltaine . This was a festival that acknowledged the beginning of the summer and a time for local people to burn their bedding and floor coverings that they needed to keep warm until it was time to replace them with new ones.This tradition was common in many parts of Europe as well as in Britain and Ireland.When the Romans came to Settle in Britain at about 55BC , they brought with them their particular celebration for the period around the first of May which was known as Floralia celebrating Flora the Roman goddess of flowers. It was in her honour that this five day celebration was held from April 28th and ended on May 2nd. The two festivals were somehow both gradually merged together. With the passing of time other variations added and eventually incorporated into Christian times. So the maypole decorated with flowers, children merrily dancing around it , became accepted and part of the 'Christian ' way of life even though the stark symbolism of a phallus amongst the flowers expressing fertility and new life were still subtly present.

The reason many people around the world celebrate May day as an international workers' day , associated with workers'rights is the following:Something which actually happened on the 3rd and 4Th May 1886 in Haymarket , Chicago , USA.

However on the 1st of May , 80 OOO workers marched in the streets of Chicago supporting industrial strikes requesting an eight hour working day .They were later supported by 350 000 people nationwide who halted work and showed their support for this cause.

On the 3rd of May ,in Haymarkeet , Chicago , during a rally in support of workers striking for better conditions and an eight hour day , there were scuffles between workers in favour of the striking action and those they called 'scabs' who were against the strike. Police opened fire and four people were killed.
The next day On May 4th , a group of militants were speaking at a rally of 2,500 people held to protest against the police massacre when 180 police officers arrived, led by the Chicago police chief. While he was calling for the meeting to disperse a bomb was thrown which exploded, killing one policeman. The police retaliated, killing seven of their own in the crossfire, plus four others of the protesting crowd; almost two hundred were wounded. The identity of the bomb thrower remains unknown.

On June 21st , 1886, eight labour leaders associated with the protests were tried in court for murder .The trial appeared to be a political show of strength rather than a search for justice , there were many reports of false allegations and scant evidence yet the establishment persisted with the witch hunt and On November 11th , 1886, four political activists were hanged and one had committed suicide hours before his execution .


Not many people even know their names .These men are known as the Haymarket Martyrs .The events surrounding the whole affair have given fuel to the those political commentators of the corporate press to use the influence of their privileged position as our scribes to deride socialists , anarchists and other militants that stand up for the rights of workers as mindless bomb throwing anarchists and 'hooligans'. Yet Haymarket martyrs are true heroes , these are martyrs in the true sense.People that were sacrificed for our rights, not for a religious dogma and an afterlife in heaven , but just so that working people can have some time for themselves outside of work to live and do other things like I am doing now.



The names of the victims were cited by a Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano in “A Terrible Drama”
(in his Memories of Fire, vol. II):

'The scaffold awaited them. They were five, but Lingg got up early for death, exploding a dynamite cap between his teeth. Fischer was seen unhurriedly humming the ‘Marseillaise.’ Parsons, the agitator who used the word like a whip or a knife, grasps the hands of his comrades before the guards tie his own behind his back. Engel, famous for his sharp wit, asks for port wine and then makes them all laugh with a joke. Spies, who so often wrote about anarchism as the entrance into life, prepares himself in silence to enter into death.'


It took time and an upward struggle but eventually the eight hour day was official.The United States Adamson Act in 1916 established an eight-hour day, with additional pay for overtime, for railroad workers. This was the first federal law that regulated the hours of workers in private companies.

Working on this computer , I was amazed to see the most well known search engine whose name is now an eponym for any search on the internet , on May 1st, did not make any mention of May Day as it normally does for various other notable dates of commemoration.The leading computer internet search engine will usually transform its quite versatile and unmistakable logo into whatever the company directors feel is important and the graphic design is always something worth looking at : St Patrick's Day , the invention of the Hubble Telescope ,the birthday of the musical composer Tchaikovsky all celebrated on the appropriate day of the calendar , but nothing about the Haymarket Martyrs on the 1st of May ,even though this search engine is an American company and the whole affair forms part of the fabric of the great country's history .

I wonder if this has anything to do with our type of democracy? or big business or even lack of democracy in favour of big business , does that sound familiar? We in Great Briatian , had our political elections very close to the beginning of May as always , this seems to be part of our democratic tradition.

6th May 2010. Yes in our democracy we were torn between the Labour , conservative and liberal democratic political parties .
Hardly worth voting at all , and looking at the number of people that turned out to vote , many people agree with me .For many people throughout the world know democracy is something we have to struggle for continuously.

And what is Democracy ? In its current form it still appears meaningless. It derives from the Greek 'Demos' =people and 'Cratos'= power .i.e Democracy is about people having the power.

Does our democracy where we have a right to vote in a new team of rulers every five years or so ring true? When these rulers are not accountable for their false promises , steal from you directly and indirectly in the most audacious fashion? But if you were to rise up against them to claim your rights they would treat you as a criminal ?. A group of professional political parties that have virtually identical belief systems and objectives?

A political establishment that invites you to play the the game of the illusion they have created .For they will praise you as an enfranchised citizen of a democracy if you partake in this meaningless ballot but in reality they see you as one of a group of consumers/producers/unemployed people that must be controlled and exploited within a set of clearly defined parameters, outside of which they fear revolution and change.

This principle seems to have remained from time immemorial , through the time of the Haymarket martyrs until the present day .Democracy is about claiming our rights outside the the theatre of our rulers' parliamentary pantomime.

So let's not forget that any rights , justice , equality or even the dignity of working a reasonable amount of hours a day was not handed down by government initiative ,debate or by the benevolence of business moguls.
Slavery of the African people by Europeans in its industrial proportions was not abolished at the whim of a political debate in parliament.

The right for women to vote (or to abstain) did not come about by the thoughtfulness of a politician , neither did the poll tax, implemented in Britain in the 1980's cease because our politicians decided. All these achievements came about when people stood together and challenged the rules imposed from our leaders above.

So the results of our latest election in Britain hang in the balance as the Conservatives won most seats on 6th may but without an over all majority and now have gone to bed with the liberal democrats currently debating(in sectret talks) how to seize power and rule as a coalition government . Mr Brown,current prime minister and leader of the 'labour' party is now squatting in no.10 Downing street secretly praying that these talks do not bear any fruit so that he can again wield power with the blessing of the leader of the liberal democratic party. Such is the hunger of these professional politicians that they feel capable of ruling us so that they can be allowed to continue to declare war and mayhem in distant lands in our name.

Yes ,this political establishment is always one step ahead and has now managed to achieve a meaninglessness to the value or our vote in the current set up. Britain ? we are a much more democratic society than many other countries but is it really true democracy?

Peace Be With You

Peace be with you , Shalom , Salaam alaikum , shanti: These can be the most beautiful words to hear in any language .
What can be better than having peace externally in the form of no interpersonal, criminal or military conflict? . Inner peace also being the ultimate form of personal virtue to strive for . After all when we look at all the great thinkers , mystics , philosophers and spiritual leaders throughout world history the common link was that they sought some kind of inner peace and stability ,having found this for themselves then proceeded to give this to any one who had the ears to listen , eyes to see or nous to comprehend.

Peace , Pax , Eirine (Greek goddess and personification of peace) all represent what most of us at least say that we strive for.

Yet unfortunately like its cousins: Love , justice and Happiness the word Peace has suffered to the point of being cheapened and violated .It has been used and abused to a degree that it barely has any real meaning.

For example only today we hear that President Barack Obama(born August 4, 1961)the 44th and current President of the United States has been awarded the 'Nobel peace prize' .Just what is this peace prize?

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1801-1872) was a Swedish chemist and engineer. Apparently he was also an armaments manufacturer and the inventor of dynamite.In his last will and testament , he used his enormous fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes and Since 1901, the prize has honoured men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, for work in peace and now economics.

So President Obama has been awarded a 'peace prize ' , an award in the memory of an arnaments manufacturer. The meaninglessness of the whole concept of what our society values as peace becomes more unclear as we explore this.Not only for the President's very short record on promoting or maintaining peace but more so when we look at the pantheon of some of the other great and good peace loving individuals standing proudly alongside him on their pedestals that have also been awarded this 'Nobel peace prize ' and other similar prizes or honours.

Henry Kissinger (born May 27, 1923)was , national security advisor and later secretary of state for the USA from 1969-1977 .Along with North Vietnamese Politburo Member Le Duc Tho,Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1973, for their work in negotiating the ceasefires contained in the Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam," signed on the previous January .Mr Tho rejected the award, telling Kissinger that peace had not been really restored in South Vietnam. Kissinger wrote to the Nobel Committee that he accepted the award "with humility." The conflict continued until an invasion of the South by the North Vietnamese Army resulted in the ignominious retreat of the American forces and their allies in the North Vietnamese Pyrrhic victory of 1975 .

During that ugly war , Kissinger spread the mayhem and blood letting chaos as the mastermind behind the secret bombing campaign of Cambodia tastelessy called 'Operataion Menu '.This lasted at least two years from March 1969. The justification for this campaign was onstensibly to prevent units of the North Vietnamese Communist guerillas from using these areas as bases to rest , re arm and continue their attacks on the South of Viet nam.
The most conservative estimates of the death toll reach 100 000 , although many alternative sources claim up to six times that . The people displaced reached several million .The people of Cambodia as a result of this were to suffer much worse fate as the whole country descended into a madness of the Khmer Rouge , a totalitarian regime that took power at the time and was known for the notorious despot , Pol Pot whose reign was responsible for the deaths of over one million of his own citizens.

So kissinger , This ' white Dove' of a man has many more achievements under his belt much much too many to mention here. His influence in the murder On September 11 1973 of Salvadore Allende, the elected president of Chile is well documented as well as the persistent interference and support for murderous dictatorships throughout the Latin American countries for decades after .

A tiny country that he still carries the blood stains of, is Cyprus , where in 1974 , a military coup was arranged from Greece's junta government , backed by Kissinger , the result being , an invasion of the island by Turkey putting to end the fears that the Cypriot government at the time was too friendly to the Soviets and could have turned to communism. Britain , then as today indulged in its characteristic poodle politics and did not perform its legal duty to prevent the invasion by Turkey (of course ) .

Apart from This 'peacenik' other great camaigners for peace include Theodere Roosevelt in 1906 for his role in brokering a peace between the war between Russia and Japan .Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919 ) was the 26th Presdent of the United States.As a military leader before being president , he was known to round up his own volunteer cavalry regiment recruited from cowboys 'The Rough Riders' to fight a war in Cuba in 1898 , which according to many led to the USA bullying that island ever since. At the time he was a keen supporter for American military exploits and had been quoted to say "I should welcome almost any war, for I think this country needs one".

Woodrow Wilson , the 28th President of the USA (December 28, 1856–February 3, 1924)was awarded the Peace prize in 1919 for his part in forming the 'league of nations ' an intergovernmental body which aimed at preventing another world war after the end the first world war. History showing that he failed miserably.Apart from this attempt at peace ,he also bombarded the Mexican coast, sent troops to occupy Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as maintaining troops in Nicaragua :all acts of American imperialism that linger on to this day

Another award of great prestige if not outright meaninglessness is 'The presidential medal of freedom', America's highest civilian honour.This five pointed white star is awarded by American presidents only to people considered to have made an 'Especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States ,or world peace ,or cultural or other significant or private endeavours '.

Yes this medal was awarded to Mr Tony Blair( born 6 May 1953), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007.
It was awarded to him by the 43rd and former president of the United States , George W Bush (born July 6, 1946 ),during the last death throws of Bush's asministration earlier this year.

Tony Blair is known for leading Britain into several wars including Iraq, Yugoslavia , Sierra Leone and Afghanistan .He is no 'Buddha' , he has taken this country to war by literally lying to his people and his cowering subordinates for what seems to many as no other reason than pure 'poodle' like obedience to Bush or even for more sinister reasons of a quasi religious nature and delusions of grandeur.

For this reason maybe his award is appropriate as he has fit the bill in a strange way to the 'contribution to the security of the United States ...' but for 'world peace ...?.' It is difficult to agree as since the invasions of several countries mentioned , internecine violence in those countries lingered on , and international terrorism has increased .

So There we are: Nobel 'peace' prizes, 'The presidential medal of 'freedom' '....
Such is the degradation of language today , masking behind it , its total opposite in its raw brutalilty .

The American film director Michael Moore, on hearing of this award to Obama was heard to say :'congratulations Mr President for receiving the Peace prize , now please go out and earn it!....'Nothing can be closer to the truth , and already Obama is showing signs of perpetuating and intensifying the war in Afghanistan rather than really looking for alternative ways of raching a solution . Perhaps peace is not really sought as sincerely as some of us would like to believe .

So Peace, being such a rare and valuable commodity is quite difficult to attain as well as illusive to define judging by the decisions made by these committees that dish out the awards .

I wonder if these dead presidents of the USA - that received such peace awards after lives of sabre rattling and 'rough riding ' are really sleeping in eternal peace? Or if that killer Kissinger or the uncouth clot GW Bush Junior
or that wily wastrel Blair live with any innner peace? I can only wish them Shalom , Salaam Alaikum , Pax , peace be with you ...........And may that be what they themselves mean by peace.

A Pop Star Dies As War Intensifies ,

A strange world we live in .And to struggle to find meaning in this life is not
helped when we look at some recent events and the bizarre responses to those events that unfold.

Personally, although never a conscious fan or devotee of the performer I was shocked at the news and cannot deny how important his music has been to me for the main reason that he was of the same generation , He was only ten months my junior and hence I literally grew up with seeing him on TV especially when he was growing up as a child star.And there could be no denying that the boy had talent and could sing and dance , and that many of his early, as well as later tunes were ones that I loved to listen to even though I rarely ventured out to buy them for my collection .

Last week was the memorial service of Michael Jackson the great pop star who died on June 25Th 2009 after what was described as a 'cardiac arrest' the correct clinical term for a heart attack yet us in Britain, more used to not hearing this term that the American media used.

Apparently Michael Jackson was planning on a return to performing his last fare well concerts . We were told by the corporate media that he had up to 50 concerts to perform in Britain alone.......Other news sources stated that his needs for this return where financial due to the costs of his court cases having been accused of Paedophilia in 2005 .

The case of 'The People against Michael Jackson 'where various under aged guests to his home had turned against him and made allegations of being molested.This case lasted for five months and eventually Jackson was acquitted on all charges . One can imagine the emotional strain this can have had on a person who knows that billions of people know what he looks like and in a bizarre and superficial way know him deeply, as he has bared his soul for decades publicly . On a man whose visual appearance and over all demeanor did betray some element of extreme fragility. The many stories of his abused childhood by his father not withstanding.His unconventional attire and physical make up / plastic surgery , reclusiveness , ambivalence of gender and race etc all fed into the untouchable , unreachable , unknowable figurehead of many a music lover's worship . Hence He was a 'star' in the full sense that our shallow twenty first century with its love of celebrity status beyond all else has acknowledged.

Unfortunately, poor Michael died before he could bow out on stage. That is the saddest thing in my opinion.He cleared his name in a law court whatever his enemies may think , unless we have evidence ,it is only fair to have given him the benefit of the doubt. But the satisfaction he sought through the stage, the only means he really knew how to express himself was denied.

His funeral ceremony , or 'Memorial concert'was watched by millions on tv throughout the world on 7th July 2009 ,and many were there at the 'Staples centre ' Los Angeles to witness the tribute by many other shining stars who were close to him and some who performed.
It was difficult to avoid the ceremony. I heard parts of it on the radio as I was driving and commentators were describing a coffin lined with gold as some heartfelt tributes were made by his closest relatives whilst other performers performed and made eulogies which bordered onto to the scriptures of Messianic prophets...I must admit , with the greatest of respect to Jacko himself , I couldn't bear any more of it and had to switch it off. Am I bitter and twisted and unable to accept the glorified and great deserve this? or is it a matter of principle and the opposition to the deification of a person ,the very mixed blessing that could have led to his isolation and what seems to have been a lonely, miserable life?I don't know but after maximum tolerance had to use the off-button and switched it off.

I am sure that many will begin to do pilgrimage to where he is eventually buried and others will all but pray to him etc : this is the ultimate destiny of the celebrity status especially such a prominent celebrity : a replacement of old religions for new. And the inspiration to many more to strive to be that God or his Messiah at least .

By coincidence the same day that Michael Jackson was laid to rest with a golden coffin send off amongst a panoply of shining 'stars' , it was also the commemoration of the the London tube train bombings.

These took place on 7 July 2005 and are also known as the 7/7 bombings, a series of coordinated suicide bomb attacks on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour. The bombings were carried out by 4 British Muslim men who were motivated by Britain's involvement in the Iraq War.

A permanent memorial in the form of 52 metallic anonymous pillars of steel was unveiled in Hyde Park on the 7 July 2009, the fourth anniversary of the bombings, as a tribute to the 52 murder victims.Some radio programme presenters mentioned that this memorial was overshadowed by memorial for Michael Jackson , and indeed the news of the monument was totally blotted by the interest in Michael Jackson.

The memorial was unveiled in Hyde Park on the 7 July 2009.This is no disrespect for Michael but because of his memorial event watched by millions on live TV on the same day , the commemoration of the London Bombings did sink quietly into the back ground and sadly almost to total oblivion.

The tragic irony and the apparent meaninglessness of life and promotion of death in all of this ,is, that amidst the subdued remembrance of the victims of terrorism in London , the war raging three and half thousand miles away in Afghanistan approaches its eighth year without any 'success', whatever that really means to the architects of this war.Not only has it intensified with up to fifteen British service personnel killed in the same week of both above memorials but the spurious arguments in favour of the war continue to duck and dive , the current mantra being that these poor servicemen ,victims of our rulers and their sponsors' ambitions whether military, strategic , egotistic or economic have died for a good and noble cause.

Prime minister of Britain ,Mr Brown, when pressed about this bad news made mumbling noises about the good purpose of this war and continued to back it on the grounds that it is preventing a “chain of terror” stretching from the Afghan plains to the streets of Britain.

So this war , we are told is to prevent terrorism from reaching us. Even though one of the suicide bombers of the London bombings ,Shehzad Tanweer himself , stated very clearly on his pre-recorded suicide video tape that that motivation behind the bombings was the very presence of British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq at the time. So if we attempt to apply some logic it would go like this :

' The war in Afghanistan must continue and intensify because in so doing our forces will keep terrorism away from London and prevent people like Shehzad Tanweer and others from blowing people and themselves up in London in reaction to this war.....'

What can be more inconsistent and philosophically flawed than this statement?
Even the Great American President of 'Change ' Obama himself has said recently:
"The mission in Afghanistan is one that the Europeans have as much, if not more, of a stake in than we do. Certainly the Afghans as well as the Pakistanis have more of a stake than we do. The likelihood of a terrorist attack in London is at least as high, if not higher, than it is in the United States. And that's the reason why Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and others have made this commitment."

So here we are, eight years after the bombings of the twin towers and four years after the bombings of London and we are told that this war , formerly called 'The war against terror' is preventing terrorism.

Yet while writing this , terrorists attacked Indonesia .Friday 17th July there were bombings of the luxury JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta which killed at least nine people — including at least two presumed suicide bombers — and wounded more than 50 others.

In fact there have been possibly dozens of terrorist attacks throughout the world since September 11th 2001. So maybe the 'war against terror' has 'changed' again to the war of keeping terrorists out of The USA and its satellite, Britain. But even in this case as argued above the 'success' gauged by the number of 'foiled ' plots cited by the government , and that is only part of it.For as the war rages the casualties to Britain are sustained three and a half thousand miles away in British military uniforms! Things are very complicated and made even more frustrating to analyse when the fiction prevails.

So a pop star dies and this war intensifies. Even not being a great fan of Michael Jackson's I still believe he was a great loss and more important to many peoples' lives than these arm chair warriors , the Leaders of Britain and The USA who send people to die for the interests of the few rich and powerful and have the audacity to argue that their motives are moral and humanitarian rather than colonial.For if we look at history as a guide or template, the latter is a more canny , tried and tested reason for many a military intervention.

Money & How The Naked Emperor Has Lost His Musical Chair

What is money ? This is something that appears a meaningless question , after all we all use it , need it and the world somehow gets by with smooth functioning of money being used and exchanged .

There is currently a panic and alarmist chorus coming from the Cabal which we call governments that 'represent' people of the rich part of the world and more indirectly rule the poorer parts too. The refrain heard is also sung by the ubiquitous outlets and instruments of the corporate news merchants and other means of communication controlled by Media Moguls .

The tune is one preaching of impending doom and economic recession , depression and painstakingly irritating phrases such as ' credit crunch' and 'economic meltdown' .
We hear this everyday and and it is somehow 'real' in the sense that all of a sudden , only in the past few months we see businesses closing down , money institutions become 'penniless ' banks emptied of their lending capabilities etc. And all this following a financial boom where a current prime minister of Britain whilst riding on the crest of this wealth's wave declared in his wisdom : 'No more boom and bust... ' implying not only that the buoyant economy would last but that the wretched individual himself was somehow instrumental in defeating once and for all this capitalistic self fulfilling prophecy.

Yet even such an erudite boardroom bandit as the current prime minister of this great country , Mr Brown was wrong. As if over night, we hear that banks are going bust and are not lending to each other.

So one minute they are money shops ,loaded and lending at a profit then we hear that they have nothing...and businesses too.

So this 'money ' is a very elusive substance if we can call it such . Now , many years ago there was no money. Some people believe that this was a better period as the cliche goes: 'money is the root of all evil' , although partly true let's look at those golden days where before money was around or in isolated places where it was not even necessary ,people still got by with bartering.

So if for example ,if I was the owner of a few sheep and thus was able to trade them for other goods ,I would have to find someone who has what I want to purchase before I can part with a single sheep, moreover I have to find something of at least equal value. So , fancying a chicken curry or two , I meet somebody who has twenty chickens and swap my one sheep for twenty of his chickens, sounds about right. So now I have made a deal. But after a while I fancy some tomatoes , I find someone who has baskets full of tomatoes...yet I reckon that one of my sheep can earn me at least thirty baskets full of those, I don't want that many to start with ,they would rot by the time I got to eating them ,also the trader who has the tomatoes happens to be a vegetarian and doesn't fancy the sheep or chicken . This tomato sales man is looking for a machete or sickle to help with his work. In this case I must search for a person who has farming tools and actually wants to buy meat , make a deal with that person then return to the tomato producer and swap at a fair rate tomatoes for a machete . I fail to do this,as the person with the machete was looking for a cucumber so eventually found a cucumber grower that wanted meat, exchanged one of my sheep for ten cartons of cucumbers kept some of them then struggled to take some over to the man with machete , made a deal with him , two cartons for one machete. I then ran over to the tomato man , gave him one machete for two baskets of tomatoes...phew! but th en I realised t hat the surplus of cucumbers I was left with were rotting and that the effort wasn't worth it , I could have settled for cucumbers with my meal that week ! ........and so it gets more complicated as it goes.

For the above reason , people arrived at a more common sense way of making deals and commodity money was developed . A particular commodity such as dried corn or animal skin; pelts such as a sheep's or Bear's skin were used . Both were valued by people and could be preserved for a period of time, hence these commodities became a currency , someone wanting something could pay by this type of currency which would be accepted by all , who can again use it .It had value that most people believed in and was durable and portable. A further development from this was the issuing of money which was paper notes . This money was equivalent to the amount of gold reserve. Countries would have a reserve of gold which was in effect a guarantee of the paper money circulated, Gold , something that most people value, inspires confidence in a money supply. Yet money in a thriving economy in essence is a matter of faith or what people believe in . It is believed that in a strong economy where a state is producing sought after products and services for itself and being generally self sufficient as well by exporting these products and services abroad, can even do away with the gold reserve , which is in a sense symbolic . Gold is difficult to find anyway. Also it is good to sell. I believe the last gold ingots where flogged by the present regime. The USA also no longer has a gold reserve if I am not mistaken.

So now we have arrived at Fiat money : that is paper money that is not equivalent to reserve of Gold but representative itself of a buoyant economy. This fiat or paper money then is valued by the public of a country by its own people and other people abroad. So there putting it crudely is what money is . It is an idea .
Yet as an idea it can be quite meaningless. We are told by various economists who know about these things that the paper money we have has value as long as we believe in it and have confidence in its value.

Many of us did as we were told , yet in the past year or so with frequency, reports were heard from America that there was a crisis looming that was going to hit the world economy. This we were told was all to do with 'Sub prime mortgages' a term to denote money lent to a person on a low income or one that cannot on paper really fulfil the agreement of paying back the mortgage. ( I always thought most people came under this category ,especially on their first home).
The sub prime mortgage lenders were not getting their money back and many were going bust , this in turn affected other companies in the money business eventually cascading to major banks and financial institutions which were hitherto regarded as holy ,immortal god like entities.

This spread throughout the world like wildfire and whereas only a year or so ago we were told that things have never been so good and that it is all the work of our beloved government's shrewd fiscal policies , yet now we are told things are going to be very gloomy and alas it is all due something global and beyond our control.


So now beyond belief we see large well known banks and other money lending institutions closing down ,summarily dismissing staff in large numbers and scared, refusing to lend money to each other . Large industrial manufacturers of motor vehicles and consumer items ,closing down , laying workers off in their
thousands . High street chains of shops collapsing. ..how can we make any meaning of this?

Let's look at this more closely . We were encouraged to borrow money and buy property ,also on a larger and more frequent scale so were companies who by their very nature are constantly borrowing , waiting to get paid by a customer as they simultaneously spend on other obligations. Yet all this at one point comes to a halt.

So if we stop and look at what is going on in an instant , it becomes like a paradox of Zeno of Elea , the ancient Greek philosopher who explored movement or lack of it.

So one bank has assets of X billions , yet it is lending so much to others , who in turn are doing the same and the same again ad infinitum. Obviously as we were taught to believe 'The Market ' will sort itself out and will solve everything , the 'market' being some kind of holy self- sustaining god- like entity which can be relied on to answer all the prayers of the rich and also give some crumbs to the poor . But what happens when we freeze this frame like Zeno would ?

It becomes something like 'musical chairs' the party game where a group of people , say six or so are dancing to music and circling around a group of chairs that they previously sat on. Only that one of the chairs has been taken out of the equation and there are only five chairs .So long as the music and the movement around the chairs continues , everyone is in the game and has a chair.Once the music stops , all compete to sit on the limited number of chairs and one individual ends up without a chair and is out of the game. It continues in this manner .

Similarly all these greedy banks and other corporations lending money which they themselves probably lent from other institutions who lent from other people etc ad infinitum have found that they don't have any money during this instant : no chair to sit on! So what they do is to refuse to lend and then other banks get into trouble and then companies including chains of high street shops , major manufacturers etc etc , and hey ! we have a so called 'recession ' which we are warned is becoming a fully bown 'Depression ' .So where was all this money?
It seems to have had no meaning after all? whether we believed in the holy prophets of the church of free market capitalism or not , the truth seems to be that value of money seems to be disappearing like a mirage , yet , people are still there , still living in houses still willing to work , raw materials are still available ,cabbages are still growing in abundance within the green and pleasant land, people still want to buy products and services, physical wealth has not vanished`..


So what does that mean in relation to money? in its present form;, fiat money , paper notes? and figures on a bank statement. It makes it look like there has been a lack of confidence.

Very much like the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale: ' The emperor's new clothes' the story of an emperor of a prosperous city who cares more about clothes than military pursuits or entertainment hires two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime. The Emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new "clothes". During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, "But he has nothing on!" The crowd realizes the child is telling the truth. The Emperor, however, holds his head high and continues the procession.

So this faith we have in money seems to have vanished and our great countries , economies , our leaders our captains of industries, what have they amounted to? One thing is for sure it is now fashionable to blame rich bank chiefs for all the economic disaster , even the politicians who backed this religion of the 'free
market ' are sticking the boot into the poor bankers as the bank chieftans quietly retire with their colossal pensions after a career of mischief which the politicians encouraged in the first place .

Money is possibly a shape shifting alien illusion but a powerful one .And the collective wealth we had (at least nominally by virtue of living in a rich
country )is not really there and the archetypal capitalist, the white collar criminal, the emperor , continues to dance mindlessly around the chairs hoping that the music will not stop and that none of us will realise that he was stark naked from the outset.