Just to prove to myself that I can write something non-ranting I will attempt to do so.
There is a nice tree in the garden.
There.
26 December 2006
Excellent Quotes by Chomsky
Here are some interesting words of Noam Chomsky that I particularly like.
"How does one recognize propaganda? What are some techniques to resist it?
There are no techniques, just ordinary common sense. If you hear that Iraq is a threat to our existence, but Kuwait doesn't seem to regard it as a threat to its existence and nobody else in the world does, any sane person will begin to ask, where is the evidence?
As soon as you ask this, the argument collapses.
But you have to be willing to develop an attitude of critical examination toward whatever is presented to you....
The Italian socialist Antonio Gramsci wrote, "A main obstacle to change is the reproduction by the dominated forces of elements of the hegemonic ideology. It is an important and urgent task to develop alternative interpretations of reality."
How does someone develop "alternative interpretations of reality"?
I deeply respect Gramsci, but I think it's possible to paraphrase that comment - namely, just tell the truth. Instead of repeating ideological fanaticism, dismantle it, try to find out the truth and tell the truth.
It's something any one of us can do. Remember intellectuals internalise the conception that they have to make things sound complicated. Otherwise what are they around for? It's worth asking yourself what's really so complicated?
Gramsci is a very admirable person but take that statement and try to translate it into simple English. How complicated is it to understand the truth or to know how to act?"
Noam Chomsky.
"How does one recognize propaganda? What are some techniques to resist it?
There are no techniques, just ordinary common sense. If you hear that Iraq is a threat to our existence, but Kuwait doesn't seem to regard it as a threat to its existence and nobody else in the world does, any sane person will begin to ask, where is the evidence?
As soon as you ask this, the argument collapses.
But you have to be willing to develop an attitude of critical examination toward whatever is presented to you....
The Italian socialist Antonio Gramsci wrote, "A main obstacle to change is the reproduction by the dominated forces of elements of the hegemonic ideology. It is an important and urgent task to develop alternative interpretations of reality."
How does someone develop "alternative interpretations of reality"?
I deeply respect Gramsci, but I think it's possible to paraphrase that comment - namely, just tell the truth. Instead of repeating ideological fanaticism, dismantle it, try to find out the truth and tell the truth.
It's something any one of us can do. Remember intellectuals internalise the conception that they have to make things sound complicated. Otherwise what are they around for? It's worth asking yourself what's really so complicated?
Gramsci is a very admirable person but take that statement and try to translate it into simple English. How complicated is it to understand the truth or to know how to act?"
Noam Chomsky.
21 December 2006
Monday 27th November 2006 - 6 tinnies -The Sun
Monday, November 27, 2006
Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Can of panda pop. Pasty.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Stick a burger in themicrowave.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.I know people who have lived like this.It may be an improvement on my life in some ways.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. oops.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Smoke a joint. oops no. trying to give that up. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.
I know people who live like this. For years. Bit of an improvement on my life in some ways though.
Been thinking about forgiveness.
I believe in forgiveness of everything for everyone.
There is nothing that cannot be forgiven.
I think vengefulness is the worst thing in the world.
Apart from anything else it legitimises the original offence by repeating it.
I believe in forgiveness even when the person has committed a serious offence.
That's precisely what forgiveness is for.
What's the point in forgiveness if you don't forgive serious offences and only less serious ones?
Justice not vengeance.
I don't believe in the death penalty in any circumstances.
Blair's eqivocation on this is very revealing.
Utterly incredible as well.
The only position he can take if he opposes the death penalty is to oppose Saddam Hussein's execution. That's the only position.
But with Bliar we have "doublethink" in action.
Blair is a liar. And an idiot.
I can't work him out to be honest.
I do believe that suicide is a civil right and that Ian Huntley for example should be allowed to end his life if he wants to.
I believe that no one has the right to so much as lay a finger on Ian Huntley.
I believe that that is also the attitude that a civilised society should inculcate in people.
Not the attitudes reflected in what goes for news in the rags we have. I find the tabloid press to be the most evil element in our society not people like Ian Huntley who are portrayed as monsters by the press. The press makes them into more than what they are.
I have contempt for "news" papers like The Sun and The Star.
No country in the world has such childish shite that passes for news.
Not even the USA.
The two most disgusting words in the English language aren't "Gerry Adams" as the scummy rag once claimed - they are "The Sun".
The Sun claims to have a dear place in the nation's heart etc...Bullshit. "The Sun - We Love It" they claimed in their sexist adverts about tits. "No We Fucking Don't" :)
The Sun in its present form is a few decades old and is in no way a national institution.It's a load of right wing shite.
They say they are reflecting society's views and giving people what they want.
Most definitely wrong on both counts.
"The Sun" and "The Star" have glorified (state) terrorism on many occasions:-
"GOTCHA!"
"BANGDAD!"
"SERBS YOU RIGHT!"
"TALIBAN TERMINATOR".....
In other words The Sun glorifies terrorism - something that other people are not allowed to do. But if The Sun or The Star do it then it is OK.
Despicable.
The headline of The Sun on 16th January 1991 was indeed "Bangdad!".
This headline alone will always make me think of this newspaper as the lowest of the low.
But of course I forgive them.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Sun 26 Nov 06....
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Sat 25th November 2006
Hello. Worked quite hard today. Quite knackered.
Deleted because I do not feel that I can say what I really feel and think.
Why should that be?
Why should it matter what I say or think?....
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thursday 23rd November 2006.
Had to delete it because it was too sensible.
Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Can of panda pop. Pasty.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Stick a burger in themicrowave.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.I know people who have lived like this.It may be an improvement on my life in some ways.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. oops.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Smoke a joint. oops no. trying to give that up. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down. Get up. Six tinnies. Lie down.
I know people who live like this. For years. Bit of an improvement on my life in some ways though.
Been thinking about forgiveness.
I believe in forgiveness of everything for everyone.
There is nothing that cannot be forgiven.
I think vengefulness is the worst thing in the world.
Apart from anything else it legitimises the original offence by repeating it.
I believe in forgiveness even when the person has committed a serious offence.
That's precisely what forgiveness is for.
What's the point in forgiveness if you don't forgive serious offences and only less serious ones?
Justice not vengeance.
I don't believe in the death penalty in any circumstances.
Blair's eqivocation on this is very revealing.
Utterly incredible as well.
The only position he can take if he opposes the death penalty is to oppose Saddam Hussein's execution. That's the only position.
But with Bliar we have "doublethink" in action.
Blair is a liar. And an idiot.
I can't work him out to be honest.
I do believe that suicide is a civil right and that Ian Huntley for example should be allowed to end his life if he wants to.
I believe that no one has the right to so much as lay a finger on Ian Huntley.
I believe that that is also the attitude that a civilised society should inculcate in people.
Not the attitudes reflected in what goes for news in the rags we have. I find the tabloid press to be the most evil element in our society not people like Ian Huntley who are portrayed as monsters by the press. The press makes them into more than what they are.
I have contempt for "news" papers like The Sun and The Star.
No country in the world has such childish shite that passes for news.
Not even the USA.
The two most disgusting words in the English language aren't "Gerry Adams" as the scummy rag once claimed - they are "The Sun".
The Sun claims to have a dear place in the nation's heart etc...Bullshit. "The Sun - We Love It" they claimed in their sexist adverts about tits. "No We Fucking Don't" :)
The Sun in its present form is a few decades old and is in no way a national institution.It's a load of right wing shite.
They say they are reflecting society's views and giving people what they want.
Most definitely wrong on both counts.
"The Sun" and "The Star" have glorified (state) terrorism on many occasions:-
"GOTCHA!"
"BANGDAD!"
"SERBS YOU RIGHT!"
"TALIBAN TERMINATOR".....
In other words The Sun glorifies terrorism - something that other people are not allowed to do. But if The Sun or The Star do it then it is OK.
Despicable.
The headline of The Sun on 16th January 1991 was indeed "Bangdad!".
This headline alone will always make me think of this newspaper as the lowest of the low.
But of course I forgive them.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Sun 26 Nov 06....
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Sat 25th November 2006
Hello. Worked quite hard today. Quite knackered.
Deleted because I do not feel that I can say what I really feel and think.
Why should that be?
Why should it matter what I say or think?....
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thursday 23rd November 2006.
Had to delete it because it was too sensible.
Bolloxia
So there you go. Bolloxia - the new name for everything.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 December 2006
Pontifications. December 2006
December 2006.
Pontification
I reckon at the moment I would describe myself as pacifistIC and anarchistIC.
Not tout court pacifist and anarchist.
In other words I TEND TOWARDS pacifism and anarchism.
The reason I am not sure if I am an anarchist or not is simple.
Anarchism is opposed to the state, government and coercive authority.
The essential principle of anarchism, according to Emma Goldman, is "individual autonomy".
Anarchism is not opposed to organisation.
If the organisation is consented to by those it affects.
Now what if the state is nothing more than an organisation?
I am not really sure about all this.
If it is an organisation that involves coercive authority then anarchism objects. But what if it does not?......
------------------
America
First written by me in 1992:
Still applies in 2009:
AMERICA MUST BECOME A TRUE FRIEND OF THE EARTH BEFORE SHE EVEN CONSIDERS TRYING TO REACH MARS.
MARS, THE GOD OF WAR, IS A GOD SHE MUST NO LONGER WORSHIP.
-----------------------------------------------
The Soda and Lime Think Tank
Welcome to what used to be called the Soda and Lime think tank.
So named because (whilst this may sound counter-intuitive) you can in fact think just as well while sober as while pissed.
You see it was originally called the Five Pints of Guinness Think Tank.
Which..sounds better than Compass or Civitas or Ecclesia or Bolloxia.
Incidentally I claim to have coined the word "bolloxia - the new name for everything". (c)
I mean why shouldn't I hawk my intellectual wares. I mean look at what goes by the name of intelligent commentary.
It is almost exclusively right wing/pro-capitalist/pro-business.
I don't think like that. I am against capitalism. I think it is a wrong direction.
I mean Melanie Phillips? ....text deleted...
Claire Fox from the Institute of Ideas... text deleted....
They all seem to be ex-communists turned general right wing/let's buy a property in Bulgaria/let's abandon centuries of thought/..bland rightwing types...
Can I have a job at a thinktank please? I think I'd be good. I can't?
Why not? Because you are far too sensible and leftwing.
Haven't you heard all think tanks are pretty much right wing.
Why should that be?
Dunno.
I am thinking of writing a blog about my experience of internet dating.
If it qualifies for the word "experience".
-------
"A reasonable man adapts himself to his environment. An unreasonable man persists in attempting to adapt his environment to suit himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
George Bernard Shaw.
--------------------------------
I seriously cannot see how anyone can reasonably accept things as they are right now...
Monday, December 04, 2006
It is the season of peace and good will to all men.
So what is Tony Blair's message to the world this Advent? :
"The bombs we've got at the moment aren't big enough.
Let's build a big feck off bomb. Happy Christmas!"
----------
Basically it's a bit tricky to say to other countries "Hey we don't want you to have nuclear weapons" when we have them ourselves.
I believe in nuclear disarmament.-
--------
Once again I am thinking of putting up all the old blogs, yes even those ones.
And then going public in the international blogosphere with them.
--------------
I support freedom of speech. Even for myself.
==========
I am reading and greatly enjoying "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins defines "theism" but does he define "religion"?
He seems to allow a form of religion - what he seems to call Einsteinian religion.
Is it mystical or spiritual this sort of awe at the natural world as revealed by science?
I don't think religion can only be explained in a Darwinian way as Dawkins says because it is a feature seemingly universal to the species.
Maybe it's just a case of a characteristic of our species is that we can attempt explain things and have philosophies. Surely that is what a religion is - just a philosophy, an interpretation of the world.
I did not feel that this book proves beyond reasonable doubt that God does not exist. I know that it doesn't pretend to do so.
I know of an anarchist pamphlet called "May the farce be with you: A light-hearted look at why God does not exist". I found this pamphlet has a far more convincing case for atheism than even Dawkins. Must dig it out. It was much stronger on why God cannot by definition exist...
[The best literature available is usually to be found among anarchists.]
God if he/she/it exists at some point gave us a reason which compels us to conclude that atheism is the correct position.
One thing you come slap up against is that a religion is not just a set of propositions but a cultural phenomenon, an institution, a part of social dynamics.
It is also a thought pattern and an ideology.
Hence it is the province of study for psychology and social science as much as for natural science.
There is no evidence for God. And there is no possible way that the supernatural can exist. Therefore God cannot exist.
I am most definitely on the side of Enlightenment and reason and not superstition and other bullshit.
I can tell Richard Dawkins right now why people prefer astrology to astronomy etc. Because it rocks and is fun apart from anything else.
Is a world without theism/religion possible? Are humans religious animals?
Believing that you are the sole aribter of what constitutes reason is maybe dangerous.
But making the effort to be reasonable and deliberately trying to be rational and reasonable is a good thing.
I will say more about all this later.
God this sounds pompous. Can't be helped.
9 December 2006
Alistair G Student Profile
=========================================================================
Happy
Monday 11th December 2006.
This is my new locale.
I have suddenly realised that all of this blog might be bullshit.:)
Anyway.
I am sort of stuck here:
ALI G: I is here with none other than me main man Tony Benn. So Mr.Benn you keep banging on about the right to work? What about the right NOT to work? ....What if you just want to chill?
MR. TONY BENN:.....
What is the answer to this question?
Is there a right not to work:)?
Everyone is free and they are free to chose not to work but this pretty much goes against human nature and will obviously have some kind of implications for the person who choses not to work.
I think Mr Benn said that people want to work and have the right to a job.....
Yeah but.... do you have the right to work? or the right not to work?
I suppose what happens in real practice is what ought to happen in a funny kind of way:
i.e.
I suppose the only work you have to do is what needs to be done for you to survive....
But surely that's the whole point. Surely it is the case that if the only work done was the work that needed to be done in order for us to survive then surely there would be a great deal less work to be done...... ??
------
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Sat 09 Dec
Right well where were we.
er.
flipping heck lighten up.
anyway
Here's something I texted to Question Time the other day with great urgency.
I don't think anyone really answered it.
"If Iraq is now a sovereign democracy then surely it is up to their government whether our forces stay or go."
Does Iraq have the constitutional right to ask the US and England to leave?
That's the question I want answered. There's certainly an answer but I'm not likely to hear it on the news.
Anyway. My hibernation is in full swing.
....
I am trying to work out why the government is laying into benefit thieves.
It's a drop in the ocean compared to tax fraud. But rich people are powerful so we don't want to stop them dodging tax.
They want to get people off benefits to save money.
Because socio-economic power is moving from the state to businessmen basically and so the state needs all the money it can get.
?
More likely that they don't want anyone getting the idea that rich people don't deserve or didn't earn their fortunes. And that you have to work and get a job and that you don't get something for nothing in this world... etc.
-----
Someone said to me the other day "caffeine bleeds the body of nutrients."
Now if that is 100% true why can't I find anywhere that says it on the internet?
What's the truth about caffeine? Why all the confusion?
I read a leaflet in the doctor's surgery saying coffee in moderation is not bad for you. 3 or 4 strong cups a day is fine, it says. I thought, "Great". I love it thought it makes me feel a bit shite in some ways. Anyway on closer inspection this leaflet was made by the Coffee Organisation of Britain or whatever. Kerching etc. Hmm...
...
Universities June 17 2006.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Universities
"If students are making calculations about what degree is going to get them the best job and the best opportunity in life this is "no bad thing.""
Bill Rammell, MP.
Minister for lifelong learning, further and higher education.
The Guardian, Feb 18th 2006.
It seems that this man doesn't understand the significance of a thousand years of civilisation.
A degree is not and never was ABOUT getting a job. A degree does not "get you a job".
A degree is about getting a degree. It is about education. It is about education for its own sake. Universities are not about getting people jobs. They are about learning, gaining skills, and research for its own sake.
If I so desired I should be allowed to study mediaeval theology and then become a monk and hence earn no money.
If I so desired I should be able to study philosophy and then work in a kebab shop for the rest of my life and hence earn only a small amount of money.
How much money does someone need to study philosophy? Books, paper, pens, time.
Nothing very expensive there.
You say who will pay for the degree? Well, if I were to study medicine with the intention of becoming a doctor then society would benefit and hence society should pay.
The argument that is put forward for "tuition fees" even by "left-wingers" is that IF your degree enables you to get a job that earns a lot of money, then you should be asked to "put something back in".
This argument falls down because there is NO causal link between degree and income. It is too big an if.
Well there is no if.
We very often hear about "entrepreneurs" or "self-made men" who by some miracle:) have made vast sums of money without ever having been to university (wow!) or even nursery school:).
Should these people "put something back in"???
It is of benefit to society that universities exist that study, teach and research all kinds of knowledge. Hence society should pay for it.
That's basically how it has been for a thousand years or so.The real reason for the introduction of "tuition fees" is rampant capitalism and money-worshipping and the relentless commercialisation of absolutely everything.Universities are no doubt now seen as an "industry" like everything else.
They exist for profit and not for the search for knowledge for its own sake.
Civilisation stands in peril. :)
.......And what about all those people whose courses are paid for by the state - NVQs, so I am led to believe, for example plumbing - and whose qualifications help get them what can be very well paid jobs, for example as plumbers?
Universities
"If students are making calculations about what degree is going to get them the best job and the best opportunity in life this is "no bad thing.""
Bill Rammell, MP.
Minister for lifelong learning, further and higher education.
The Guardian, Feb 18th 2006.
It seems that this man doesn't understand the significance of a thousand years of civilisation.
A degree is not and never was ABOUT getting a job. A degree does not "get you a job".
A degree is about getting a degree. It is about education. It is about education for its own sake. Universities are not about getting people jobs. They are about learning, gaining skills, and research for its own sake.
If I so desired I should be allowed to study mediaeval theology and then become a monk and hence earn no money.
If I so desired I should be able to study philosophy and then work in a kebab shop for the rest of my life and hence earn only a small amount of money.
How much money does someone need to study philosophy? Books, paper, pens, time.
Nothing very expensive there.
You say who will pay for the degree? Well, if I were to study medicine with the intention of becoming a doctor then society would benefit and hence society should pay.
The argument that is put forward for "tuition fees" even by "left-wingers" is that IF your degree enables you to get a job that earns a lot of money, then you should be asked to "put something back in".
This argument falls down because there is NO causal link between degree and income. It is too big an if.
Well there is no if.
We very often hear about "entrepreneurs" or "self-made men" who by some miracle:) have made vast sums of money without ever having been to university (wow!) or even nursery school:).
Should these people "put something back in"???
It is of benefit to society that universities exist that study, teach and research all kinds of knowledge. Hence society should pay for it.
That's basically how it has been for a thousand years or so.The real reason for the introduction of "tuition fees" is rampant capitalism and money-worshipping and the relentless commercialisation of absolutely everything.Universities are no doubt now seen as an "industry" like everything else.
They exist for profit and not for the search for knowledge for its own sake.
Civilisation stands in peril. :)
.......And what about all those people whose courses are paid for by the state - NVQs, so I am led to believe, for example plumbing - and whose qualifications help get them what can be very well paid jobs, for example as plumbers?
15 October 2006
A Key Idea? - Life is not a competition
Sunday 15th October 2006
The one key idea that is a mistake, yet which still rules our society is that life is a competition. That the guiding principle is survival of the fittest, that there is no such thing as a free lunch, that the world owes no one a living, that you have to look after number one, that this is the self-preservation society, that you have to do what everyone else does and try to make your way in the world, that it cannot be any other way.
That you have to get a job, get a profession, risk all in business ventures.
That everyone has to earn a living.The idea that life is a competition pervades our life in every possible way. It is basically the same idea that Hitler believed in. It is the foundation principle of European and American capitalism. It is the basic law of our life. It is also a mistake and a lie.
The idea is a mistake and a very costly one. The idea that life is just a competition is not just morally wrong; it is also economically impractical and unsustainable. The cost of the idea in human, environmental and economic terms is massive. It needs to be replaced with another older and far more enduring idea, an idea that was natural to our species for most of its existence. It is the idea that life is to some degree sharing, co-operation, altruism, community; that society can provide and does owe us as a community at least our basic needs.......
To be continued.
The one key idea that is a mistake, yet which still rules our society is that life is a competition. That the guiding principle is survival of the fittest, that there is no such thing as a free lunch, that the world owes no one a living, that you have to look after number one, that this is the self-preservation society, that you have to do what everyone else does and try to make your way in the world, that it cannot be any other way.
That you have to get a job, get a profession, risk all in business ventures.
That everyone has to earn a living.The idea that life is a competition pervades our life in every possible way. It is basically the same idea that Hitler believed in. It is the foundation principle of European and American capitalism. It is the basic law of our life. It is also a mistake and a lie.
The idea is a mistake and a very costly one. The idea that life is just a competition is not just morally wrong; it is also economically impractical and unsustainable. The cost of the idea in human, environmental and economic terms is massive. It needs to be replaced with another older and far more enduring idea, an idea that was natural to our species for most of its existence. It is the idea that life is to some degree sharing, co-operation, altruism, community; that society can provide and does owe us as a community at least our basic needs.......
To be continued.
29 August 2006
Irvine Welsh
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
I think Irvine Welsh is a serious writer
I think Irvine Welsh is a serious writer. He can also be funny.
What I mean is I think you could do him at A-level. Imagine that.
All the class comedians would be stumped.
I just think he's good thematically and linguistically.
He has a few ideas.
------------------
And to all the yanks slagging him I have two words to say in reply.
Henry James.
Welsh is better than loads of other stuff around.
He might stand the test ae time likesay.
Anyway I'm not sure about what makes a "classic" or
whether there are "cannons" of literature.
I suppose there do have to be "cannons" if only to make study easier.
There have to be "cannons" because I think there are such things as standards.
There are such things as classics.
But I suppose that they are opinions......Not sure about all this.
St. T.S. Eliot wrote an essay about what makes a classic. Must dig that out.
Anyway.......I think I will just go and have a drink.
Plonker Oscar Wilde said ----
"There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are either well written or badly written. That is all."
I disagree. I genuinely think the exact opposite.
I think that ultimately, and in a way that needs a little explanation, there is no such thing as a well-written or badly-written book.
Books are either moral or immoral. That is all.
I agree with George Orwell when he says:
"The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude."
Hang on isn't Irvine Welsh decadent and cynical? Yes maybe to a point.
And I certainly don't like that about his writing. But maybe he's expressing a view...
BY THE WAY: DRUGS ARE INDEED SHITE. :D
I think Irvine Welsh is a serious writer
I think Irvine Welsh is a serious writer. He can also be funny.
What I mean is I think you could do him at A-level. Imagine that.
All the class comedians would be stumped.
I just think he's good thematically and linguistically.
He has a few ideas.
------------------
And to all the yanks slagging him I have two words to say in reply.
Henry James.
Welsh is better than loads of other stuff around.
He might stand the test ae time likesay.
Anyway I'm not sure about what makes a "classic" or
whether there are "cannons" of literature.
I suppose there do have to be "cannons" if only to make study easier.
There have to be "cannons" because I think there are such things as standards.
There are such things as classics.
But I suppose that they are opinions......Not sure about all this.
St. T.S. Eliot wrote an essay about what makes a classic. Must dig that out.
Anyway.......I think I will just go and have a drink.
Plonker Oscar Wilde said ----
"There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are either well written or badly written. That is all."
I disagree. I genuinely think the exact opposite.
I think that ultimately, and in a way that needs a little explanation, there is no such thing as a well-written or badly-written book.
Books are either moral or immoral. That is all.
I agree with George Orwell when he says:
"The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude."
Hang on isn't Irvine Welsh decadent and cynical? Yes maybe to a point.
And I certainly don't like that about his writing. But maybe he's expressing a view...
BY THE WAY: DRUGS ARE INDEED SHITE. :D
27 August 2006
Sunday August 27 2006 - One Big Pop Concert
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Sunday 28th August
It won't be climate change that gets us.
I think it will be because in a few weeks time the world will just be one big pop concert.
Everyone will be in a band and giving a live concert all the time so no one will man the buses and trams and human civilisation will collapse as everyone launches into their drum solo or guitar solo. The audience will dwindle until they too are all in a band.
And no one will notice.
The whole idea of a band or pop group or whatever is a product.
The Beatles pretty much patented it and the Monkeys tried to imitate it.
A hundred years ago many people played music just FOR SOMETHING TO DO and enjoy not as a "job" or quasi-religious mission to fame, fortune and influence. You played the fiddle, guitar or piano because there was no telly. And because there was no telly you got pretty good at it. Even here in Essex there are pictures from the 1890s of men sitting in the road with fiddles.
If you'd asked one of them if he was in "a band" when he had finished his melodies, he wouldn't necessarily have known what you meant.
Right that's the rant out of the way. Actually it has potential I think. It's exaggerated but I think it has something.But I should avoid ranting. I will talk about my life maybe.
None of which is meant to slag anyone.
Went to a gig the other night really enjoyed it. And appreciated all the work that had gone into it. The bands were all great.
My ears are recovering quite well.
If anything else was making that amount of noise you would run away or regard it as a hostile act.
It would be nice to hear the lyrics. I'm sure they're excellent.
------
I rarely if ever see a view in any of the media that I entirely agree with or that expresses my views.
I am sure I am not alone in this.
I do however see things I agree with in the blogosphere. If I were allowed to write a column in the Guardian or make a television programme, I would spend most of the time explaining how insane I think our society is, and the degree to which I feel the need to express rejection of our society. I don't know if you can do that and get away with it in the mainstream media.
Sunday 28th August
It won't be climate change that gets us.
I think it will be because in a few weeks time the world will just be one big pop concert.
Everyone will be in a band and giving a live concert all the time so no one will man the buses and trams and human civilisation will collapse as everyone launches into their drum solo or guitar solo. The audience will dwindle until they too are all in a band.
And no one will notice.
The whole idea of a band or pop group or whatever is a product.
The Beatles pretty much patented it and the Monkeys tried to imitate it.
A hundred years ago many people played music just FOR SOMETHING TO DO and enjoy not as a "job" or quasi-religious mission to fame, fortune and influence. You played the fiddle, guitar or piano because there was no telly. And because there was no telly you got pretty good at it. Even here in Essex there are pictures from the 1890s of men sitting in the road with fiddles.
If you'd asked one of them if he was in "a band" when he had finished his melodies, he wouldn't necessarily have known what you meant.
Right that's the rant out of the way. Actually it has potential I think. It's exaggerated but I think it has something.But I should avoid ranting. I will talk about my life maybe.
None of which is meant to slag anyone.
Went to a gig the other night really enjoyed it. And appreciated all the work that had gone into it. The bands were all great.
My ears are recovering quite well.
If anything else was making that amount of noise you would run away or regard it as a hostile act.
It would be nice to hear the lyrics. I'm sure they're excellent.
------
I rarely if ever see a view in any of the media that I entirely agree with or that expresses my views.
I am sure I am not alone in this.
I do however see things I agree with in the blogosphere. If I were allowed to write a column in the Guardian or make a television programme, I would spend most of the time explaining how insane I think our society is, and the degree to which I feel the need to express rejection of our society. I don't know if you can do that and get away with it in the mainstream media.
12 July 2006
August '06 - Quotearama
Friday, August 18, 2006
All right septics?
Gizajob!
About me: I get up, watch "Neighbours" and go back to bed.
(Well that was me for a few years until I was saved by the Duchess of Kent Day Centre)
If they brought back Jo Mangle I would consider redefecting to "Neighbours."
I've actually met Mark Little (who played Jo Mangle in "Neighbours" back in the halcyon days of the 1990s) and I said to him: "You were the only reason I watched that shite, mate."
He is a bonzer geezer - an awesome bloke - a peace campaigner and stuff!
Why Jo Mangle? He was the only credible character ever to appear on Neighbours. Feckless, questioning, confused, a bit of a rebel, unlike the advert glossy magazine world of the other characters. More like real life. In my view. And I fancied his girlfriend, Sky - can't remember who played her.
---------
"Don't conform, won't conform, can't conform??
Then we will persecute you, poison you, incarcerate you, mutilate you, electrocute you." :
This is one possible interpretation of psychiatry's message to the world.
-----------
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Cornflakes
I was watching television last night, like I do most nights.
In fact television seems to be my drug of choice at the moment and has been all my life really. I used to watch "Why don't you!" all through the school holidays and we never ever did as we were told and switched the fecking thing off. Now I feel like smashing the thing up really like my Dad has several times. Anyway. I was watching television last night and there was this chap visiting Copenhagen and in the context of visiting a group of people that made bikes he said "You're just like everyone really, you want to make money."
Now the thing that I want to say about this is that this general accepted belief that everyone wants to be rich and have a mansion, a swimming pool, fame, a chelsea tractor etc. is a lie. a) Many people do want to be rich and have wealth and houses and all that but that is principally because they are TAUGHT to want that. b) Many people believe that everyone thinks like that to the point that they almost think it is human nature to desire more and more wealth and things. This too is as a result of propaganda. All the desires are created. Both belief a) and b) are bollocks.
I will come back to this.
---------------------------
Cultural Christian at an Atheist Church
I think the concept of a cultural christian might be useful.
There are a lot of things I like about Christian culture and even one or two things I like about Christian belief but there are some things I just can't subscribe to.
And an atheist church is a useful idea because atheists need community too! And atheists might like singing too! Yes folks we're the atheist tabernacle choir!...
No one should have to believe anything. That's the only church I ever want to go into. One where I don't have to believe anything to receive a little bit of human kindness.....
That's enough sex, religion and politics.
Time for something else.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Flower Arranging
I suppose that I could try and write about something ....well less "strong". Well, what am I up to other than ranting or having political views etc.?
Er well I am reading a book about er Iraq..scratch that then!er I love flowers but I have never tried flower arranging maybe I shouldtry it
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Non Ranting Blog
I have decided to try and write a blog where I don't rant. Now here is an interesting observation. You know how (or you may not know) that there are porn/sex chat lines advertised in a great deal of publications in the UK - even in the Guardian.
I saw an advert for a similar thing in a French publication and it advertised itself as being genuinely non-vulgar and friendly. Guaranteed friendliness and niceness. This was regarded as a major bonus.
The English ones stress EXACTLY the OPPOSITE to induce a call - GUARANTEED no holds barred filth. Says so much about well I'll leave it at that... Shit! I've ranted yet again!
Anyway I am thinking of putting up all my blogs again. No holds barred. Guaranteed XXXX ranting.---------------
My politics haven't changed since the age of about 15.
I am Green. If there was proportional representation I would vote Green every time.
I have had left / socialist / anarchist / Green beliefs since the age of about 15.
I will write more about my politcal beliefs.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Song
I have decided to add Jarvis Cocker's latest offering.
I think it's quite funny.
It's a bit too negative to fit into my world view but it's quite funny anyway.
I think it's true as well.
I think these are the lyrics:
Well did you hear, there's a natural order.
Those most deserving will end up with the most.
That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top,
Well I say: Shit floats.
If you thought things had changed,
Friend you'd better think again,?
C*nts are still running the world,
Now the working classes are obsolete,
They are surplus to societies needs,
So let 'em all kill each other,
And get a maid overseas.
That's the word don't you know,
From the guys thats running the show,
Lets be perfectly clear boys and girls,
C*nts are still running the world,
Oh feed your children on
Cray fish and Lobster tails,
Find a school near the top of the league,
In theory I respect your right to exist,
I will kill ya if you move in next to me,
Ah it stinks, it sucks, it's ?_______?
unjust,But the takings are by a third,
Oh So C*nts are still running the world,
The free market is perfectly natural,
Do you think that I'm some kind of dummy?,
It's the ideal way to order the world,
Feck the morals, does it make any money?
And if you don't like it? Then leave.
Or use your right to protest on the street,
Yeah, use your rights but don't imagine that it's heard,
Oh no no,
CUNTS are still running the world!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Peasant Life
It's a hard life being a peasant.
Today I spent the whole day chewing a blade of grass.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
More B(ol)logs
I have decided to put up some more b(ol)logs. I had put some up and then taken them down.
Part of me says "Put up what you feel. Let it all hang out!"
Then another part says "Take the whole lot down. Everyone on the planet can see that cack. Never mind everyone on the planet, your granny can see it!"
But on balance like everyone I do have views and thoughts. And I do believe I have the right to express them. It's something to do as well. And helps me work out what I really think.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Peasant Interlude
Peasant interlude
"The peasants are the great sanctuary of sanity, the country the last stronghold of happiness. When they disappear, there is no hope for the race".
Virginia Woolf.
Another favourite quote of mine is:
"All reduction of people to objects, all imposition of labels and patterns to which they must conform, all segregation can lead only to destruction."
Maureen Duffy.
Another thing I like is
"Politics isn't everything; but everything's political."
I think I made this one up myself.
It just means... well I I'll explain another time
Maybe you get it anyway.
"You need know nothing of me but my song
And it's meaning knows no right or wrong."
Basically what I want to think about is:- ECONOMICS IS POLITICS. DISCUSS.
"Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice; and socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality."
Michael Bakunin.
"MY COUNTRY IS THE WORLD. MY RELIGION IS TO DO GOOD."
Thomas Paine.
"For this is the vital litmus test; no intellectual society can flourish where a Jew feels even slightly uneasy."
Paul Johnson.
Very interesting quote that one, I thought as I downed my 15th pint of liquid valium.
"IT AIN'T WHAT YOU SAY IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU SAY IT".
BANANARAMA.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Community?
Community? Community? er.. what community is that?
Oh for the last 34 years I have been part of an anarchist commune it's just that no one ever got round to telling me?
No? You're joking?
Yes er you are.
Community? what fecking community is that then?
Only joking.
Just exaggerating for effect. Don't know if that works though.
No I am not joking actually. What community????
I think it's better to be moderate from the outset.
But do I ever learn?
Maybe I take up an extreme position to see where it leads and if it makes sense.
"The white man is mad, as every man without a tribe is mad."
Native American saying.
----
All right septics?
Gizajob!
About me: I get up, watch "Neighbours" and go back to bed.
(Well that was me for a few years until I was saved by the Duchess of Kent Day Centre)
If they brought back Jo Mangle I would consider redefecting to "Neighbours."
I've actually met Mark Little (who played Jo Mangle in "Neighbours" back in the halcyon days of the 1990s) and I said to him: "You were the only reason I watched that shite, mate."
He is a bonzer geezer - an awesome bloke - a peace campaigner and stuff!
Why Jo Mangle? He was the only credible character ever to appear on Neighbours. Feckless, questioning, confused, a bit of a rebel, unlike the advert glossy magazine world of the other characters. More like real life. In my view. And I fancied his girlfriend, Sky - can't remember who played her.
---------
"Don't conform, won't conform, can't conform??
Then we will persecute you, poison you, incarcerate you, mutilate you, electrocute you." :
This is one possible interpretation of psychiatry's message to the world.
-----------
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Cornflakes
I was watching television last night, like I do most nights.
In fact television seems to be my drug of choice at the moment and has been all my life really. I used to watch "Why don't you!" all through the school holidays and we never ever did as we were told and switched the fecking thing off. Now I feel like smashing the thing up really like my Dad has several times. Anyway. I was watching television last night and there was this chap visiting Copenhagen and in the context of visiting a group of people that made bikes he said "You're just like everyone really, you want to make money."
Now the thing that I want to say about this is that this general accepted belief that everyone wants to be rich and have a mansion, a swimming pool, fame, a chelsea tractor etc. is a lie. a) Many people do want to be rich and have wealth and houses and all that but that is principally because they are TAUGHT to want that. b) Many people believe that everyone thinks like that to the point that they almost think it is human nature to desire more and more wealth and things. This too is as a result of propaganda. All the desires are created. Both belief a) and b) are bollocks.
I will come back to this.
---------------------------
Cultural Christian at an Atheist Church
I think the concept of a cultural christian might be useful.
There are a lot of things I like about Christian culture and even one or two things I like about Christian belief but there are some things I just can't subscribe to.
And an atheist church is a useful idea because atheists need community too! And atheists might like singing too! Yes folks we're the atheist tabernacle choir!...
No one should have to believe anything. That's the only church I ever want to go into. One where I don't have to believe anything to receive a little bit of human kindness.....
That's enough sex, religion and politics.
Time for something else.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Flower Arranging
I suppose that I could try and write about something ....well less "strong". Well, what am I up to other than ranting or having political views etc.?
Er well I am reading a book about er Iraq..scratch that then!er I love flowers but I have never tried flower arranging maybe I shouldtry it
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Non Ranting Blog
I have decided to try and write a blog where I don't rant. Now here is an interesting observation. You know how (or you may not know) that there are porn/sex chat lines advertised in a great deal of publications in the UK - even in the Guardian.
I saw an advert for a similar thing in a French publication and it advertised itself as being genuinely non-vulgar and friendly. Guaranteed friendliness and niceness. This was regarded as a major bonus.
The English ones stress EXACTLY the OPPOSITE to induce a call - GUARANTEED no holds barred filth. Says so much about well I'll leave it at that... Shit! I've ranted yet again!
Anyway I am thinking of putting up all my blogs again. No holds barred. Guaranteed XXXX ranting.---------------
My politics haven't changed since the age of about 15.
I am Green. If there was proportional representation I would vote Green every time.
I have had left / socialist / anarchist / Green beliefs since the age of about 15.
I will write more about my politcal beliefs.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Song
I have decided to add Jarvis Cocker's latest offering.
I think it's quite funny.
It's a bit too negative to fit into my world view but it's quite funny anyway.
I think it's true as well.
I think these are the lyrics:
Well did you hear, there's a natural order.
Those most deserving will end up with the most.
That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top,
Well I say: Shit floats.
If you thought things had changed,
Friend you'd better think again,?
C*nts are still running the world,
Now the working classes are obsolete,
They are surplus to societies needs,
So let 'em all kill each other,
And get a maid overseas.
That's the word don't you know,
From the guys thats running the show,
Lets be perfectly clear boys and girls,
C*nts are still running the world,
Oh feed your children on
Cray fish and Lobster tails,
Find a school near the top of the league,
In theory I respect your right to exist,
I will kill ya if you move in next to me,
Ah it stinks, it sucks, it's ?_______?
unjust,But the takings are by a third,
Oh So C*nts are still running the world,
The free market is perfectly natural,
Do you think that I'm some kind of dummy?,
It's the ideal way to order the world,
Feck the morals, does it make any money?
And if you don't like it? Then leave.
Or use your right to protest on the street,
Yeah, use your rights but don't imagine that it's heard,
Oh no no,
CUNTS are still running the world!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Peasant Life
It's a hard life being a peasant.
Today I spent the whole day chewing a blade of grass.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
More B(ol)logs
I have decided to put up some more b(ol)logs. I had put some up and then taken them down.
Part of me says "Put up what you feel. Let it all hang out!"
Then another part says "Take the whole lot down. Everyone on the planet can see that cack. Never mind everyone on the planet, your granny can see it!"
But on balance like everyone I do have views and thoughts. And I do believe I have the right to express them. It's something to do as well. And helps me work out what I really think.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Peasant Interlude
Peasant interlude
"The peasants are the great sanctuary of sanity, the country the last stronghold of happiness. When they disappear, there is no hope for the race".
Virginia Woolf.
Another favourite quote of mine is:
"All reduction of people to objects, all imposition of labels and patterns to which they must conform, all segregation can lead only to destruction."
Maureen Duffy.
Another thing I like is
"Politics isn't everything; but everything's political."
I think I made this one up myself.
It just means... well I I'll explain another time
Maybe you get it anyway.
"You need know nothing of me but my song
And it's meaning knows no right or wrong."
Basically what I want to think about is:- ECONOMICS IS POLITICS. DISCUSS.
"Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice; and socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality."
Michael Bakunin.
"MY COUNTRY IS THE WORLD. MY RELIGION IS TO DO GOOD."
Thomas Paine.
"For this is the vital litmus test; no intellectual society can flourish where a Jew feels even slightly uneasy."
Paul Johnson.
Very interesting quote that one, I thought as I downed my 15th pint of liquid valium.
"IT AIN'T WHAT YOU SAY IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU SAY IT".
BANANARAMA.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Community?
Community? Community? er.. what community is that?
Oh for the last 34 years I have been part of an anarchist commune it's just that no one ever got round to telling me?
No? You're joking?
Yes er you are.
Community? what fecking community is that then?
Only joking.
Just exaggerating for effect. Don't know if that works though.
No I am not joking actually. What community????
I think it's better to be moderate from the outset.
But do I ever learn?
Maybe I take up an extreme position to see where it leads and if it makes sense.
"The white man is mad, as every man without a tribe is mad."
Native American saying.
----
Civilisation and Economic Growth
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Some more from the sofa
Re: "Like it or not, Europe is paying the transaction costs of diversity"; article in The Guardian
Some more from the sofa
Re: "Like it or not, Europe is paying the transaction costs of diversity"; article in The Guardian
by T. Garton Ash.:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1782551,00.html
CitizenSofa
May 25, 2006
Oh no!
We aren't "dynamic" enough to "compete" with the growing "economies" of China and India.
Is that really all we have to say?
Ganhdi didn't question the existence of "Western Civilisation" just as a joke, you know.
China and India are following us on the road to "economic growth".
Look at our history and the destruction we in Europe have brought upon each other and on the planet. And we continue the destruction.
Is Europe really something to be that proud of?
Is our model of consumerism really something we want others to emulate?
China and India are only doing exactly what we did over the last 200 years.
Is that necessarily such a good idea?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1782551,00.html
CitizenSofa
May 25, 2006
Oh no!
We aren't "dynamic" enough to "compete" with the growing "economies" of China and India.
Is that really all we have to say?
Ganhdi didn't question the existence of "Western Civilisation" just as a joke, you know.
China and India are following us on the road to "economic growth".
Look at our history and the destruction we in Europe have brought upon each other and on the planet. And we continue the destruction.
Is Europe really something to be that proud of?
Is our model of consumerism really something we want others to emulate?
China and India are only doing exactly what we did over the last 200 years.
Is that necessarily such a good idea?
------------------------------------------------------
Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli.
All lauded here as the great products of civilisation by TGA.
What is regarded as the great product of a civilisation now?
The meaningless *kerching* of GDP and the absurdity of so-called "economic growth."
TGA doesn't say of 15th century Florence "they produced all these great artists but in the 1430s their GDP went through a very poor patch", does he?
Why not?
To answer my own question.
GDP didn't exist as a figure in the 1430s.
Not because they were backward but because they were civilised if you ask me.
They didn't have nations or economies or other such absurdities as such.......
CitizenSofa June 8, 2006 05:33 PM
"The over-rigid French economy is unlikely to create that many new jobs any time soon"
Same old simplistic neo-liberal bullshit.
Are there really that many more paid jobs in England or anywhere for that matter?
There's 40 per cent "unemployment" in Morocco, mon ami.
What do you suggest the "solution" is there?
Make the "economy" less rigid?
Conventional economics and capitalism?
The whole question of employment needs re-thinking.
Bonne chance!
But I mean really I mean just look at it:-
"The over-rigid French economy is unlikely to create that many new jobs any time soon."
The only way ANY country has ever developed or gained wealth is through PROTECTIONIST ECONOMICS.
But ignoring that I mean.... is that it?
I will come back to this.
Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli.
All lauded here as the great products of civilisation by TGA.
What is regarded as the great product of a civilisation now?
The meaningless *kerching* of GDP and the absurdity of so-called "economic growth."
TGA doesn't say of 15th century Florence "they produced all these great artists but in the 1430s their GDP went through a very poor patch", does he?
Why not?
To answer my own question.
GDP didn't exist as a figure in the 1430s.
Not because they were backward but because they were civilised if you ask me.
They didn't have nations or economies or other such absurdities as such.......
CitizenSofa June 8, 2006 05:33 PM
"The over-rigid French economy is unlikely to create that many new jobs any time soon"
Same old simplistic neo-liberal bullshit.
Are there really that many more paid jobs in England or anywhere for that matter?
There's 40 per cent "unemployment" in Morocco, mon ami.
What do you suggest the "solution" is there?
Make the "economy" less rigid?
Conventional economics and capitalism?
The whole question of employment needs re-thinking.
Bonne chance!
But I mean really I mean just look at it:-
"The over-rigid French economy is unlikely to create that many new jobs any time soon."
The only way ANY country has ever developed or gained wealth is through PROTECTIONIST ECONOMICS.
But ignoring that I mean.... is that it?
I will come back to this.
-------------------------------------------------
Also it must be emphasised because surprisingly few people realise it:
India was very rich and developed (by the standards of the world at the time)
before it was a colony.
The same applies to other parts of Asia and parts of Africa.
Also it must be emphasised because surprisingly few people realise it:
India was very rich and developed (by the standards of the world at the time)
before it was a colony.
The same applies to other parts of Asia and parts of Africa.
...............
10 July 2006
The "booming economies" of India and China.
The "booming economies" of India and China.
BBC1 News: "the booming economies of India and China"!
all the fecking time !
Pretty much propaganda, really...
I mean maybe - it is just possible - that some people could have a different model of development or of what a society is and should be.
The conventional economic way of looking at the world is not the only way of looking at the world.
"the booming economies of India and China"!!?
(Please refer to previous blogs).
Kerching kerching kerching!
KERCHING MEANS NOTHING
----
India and China are undergoing their transformation into wasteful, destructive, consumerist societies that mimic the USA.
They are imitating us in their enthusiasm to destroy and deplete the planet.
This is not something to celebrate. This something to get depressed about in my opinion.
----
P.S. 14th May 2008.
Just listened to Nigel Lawson on Radio 5 saying that economic growth in such poorer countries is what assures them an end to poverty and disease.
Er. No.
Economic growth is not the same thing as development and achievement of basic needs and services.
Ending poverty and disease is relatively easy and has nothing in itself to do with economic growth.
Economic growth and its effects are in fact destroying these countries.
.....
BBC1 News: "the booming economies of India and China"!
all the fecking time !
Pretty much propaganda, really...
I mean maybe - it is just possible - that some people could have a different model of development or of what a society is and should be.
The conventional economic way of looking at the world is not the only way of looking at the world.
"the booming economies of India and China"!!?
(Please refer to previous blogs).
Kerching kerching kerching!
KERCHING MEANS NOTHING
----
India and China are undergoing their transformation into wasteful, destructive, consumerist societies that mimic the USA.
They are imitating us in their enthusiasm to destroy and deplete the planet.
This is not something to celebrate. This something to get depressed about in my opinion.
----
P.S. 14th May 2008.
Just listened to Nigel Lawson on Radio 5 saying that economic growth in such poorer countries is what assures them an end to poverty and disease.
Er. No.
Economic growth is not the same thing as development and achievement of basic needs and services.
Ending poverty and disease is relatively easy and has nothing in itself to do with economic growth.
Economic growth and its effects are in fact destroying these countries.
.....
23 June 2006
THE WARLEY MEDAL - "For Valour"
-------------------------------------------------------
Awarded to myself. Four times.
Proud survivor of two unnecessary and criminal 5-month "tours of duty"/imprisonments in a so-called hospital in confined conditions where I was unnecessarily imprisoned without trial against my will and fed poisonous substances against my will.
I was also seriously assaulted by another detainee and on another occasion by a member of staff/jailor who faced no punishment for the crime of assaulting me. I lived in confined spaces with 20 other people and this could often lead to confrontation.
All these things are a crime. It may be hard to recognise this but it's true.
---------------------
Psychiatry's Electro-Convulsive Shock "Treatment" ("ECT") is also wholly unnecessary, totally pointless, totally bogus scientifically and a crime against humanity.
It is also very damaging.
---------------------
Psychiatry is currently not scientific.
So alternative and homeopathic medicine is not to be funded by the NHS because it is not scientific enough?
When are they going to admit that psychiatry is also non-scientific? This is 2006 not 1006.
Quackery was all the rage at the mediaeval fair. But we can now get to the moon.
We are supposed to have science at our disposal to solve problems.
How deluded we are if we think that science has been allowed to pervade all areas of human life.
"..some doctors still think that a person with depression needs ongoing antidepressants, in the same way that a person with diabetes needs insulin. This is a poor comparison. Diabetes is a physical condition with clear causes that are well understood. Insulin is natural hormone with a very specific role in the body, and shouldn't be considered a drug. Taking it by injection causes few side effects. The same is not true of ANY psychiatric drug."
"Experts are still not sure about the role of psychiatric drugs in controlling moods, emotions and other aspects of the life of the mind. We don't know how they interact with life events and other environmental factors. The most problematic group of psychiatric drugs, the anti-psychotics, developed simply because they were seen to work.
On the basis that these drugs seemed to have a helpful effect, a key theory about psychosis - the "dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia" - was constructed. In other words, the drugs were not developed to meet an error of chemical activity in the brain that was already identified and there is still argument about whether this theory is correct."
This is the antithesis of science.
A cursory examination of psychiatry reveals it to be non-scientific at the present time.
Let's hope someone somewhere is working on this. It needs to be re-thought as a medical speciality. Mental problems should be solved by those who study "the mind" and they are psychologists. The mind is at the least a concept. It is entirely dependent on the brain a physical organism. The links between "the mind" and the physiology of the body should be studied by human biologists and when these links are established progress can be made.
Someone needs to speak out for the millions of victims of psychiatry because they are often very marginalised.
Psychiatry can sometimes serve the function of mopping up those who unsurprisingly continue to be unable to cope with an insane society.
That's one reason why the victims keep coming. The "medication" that psychiatry dispenses which is almost always toxic is often nothing other than a "chemical cosh." How far we still have to come.
Psychiatric medication always works by impairing bodily function, never by curing an imbalance or anything else. The medical and scientific equivalent of cutting off your leg because you have grazed your knee.
"I sumbit that the traditional definition of psychiatry, which is still in vogue, places it alongside such things as alchemy and astrology, and commits it to the category of pseudo-science."
Thomas Szasz.
"The Myth of Mental Illness". 1962.
Are we heading in the right direction?
The current emphasis on therapy of some kind is definitely most welcome in my view.......
------------
There is even a case for abolishing psychiatry as a medical specialism.
It's conception of "mental illness" is profoundly mistaken and it is a mistake that we are exporting around the globe with the usual arrogance of the "West."
--------------------
I think that there is no such thing as a "mental illness."
Strictly speaking there cannot be a "mental illness", there can only be a physical illness.
It is a logical and semantic error like a "square circle."
To describe thoughts and/or behaviour of a person as exhibting a "mentally illness" is essentially the same as saying "I disapprove of the thoughts and/or behaviour of that person.".
You can have a mental condition, mental distress, psychological condition and psychological distress.
And you can use the terms "mental illness" and "mental health" as metaphors but they can lead to muddled thinking.
The mind cannot be "ill" or "healthy" as it is not a physical organism.
The mind has no physical existence since it is a just a CONCEPT.
It therefore cannot be sick or ill (except metaphorically).
What we call the mind is entirely sustained by the biological system of the body.
However it is not a physical system.
The mind can be spoken of as "ill" but only as a METAPHOR.
Only physical organisms can be "ill" and "healthy".
To be continued.
---------------------------------------------------
Some lies of our time:
"i) Schizophrenia is a brain disease."
"ii) Schizophrenia exists in all cultures."
These are lies presented as facts. There is no evidence whatsoever to sustain these assertions.
Both found in a publication from around the year 2000 by UK psychiatrists.
The simple truth is that schizophrenia does not exist, and that at the present time conventional psychiatry is non-scientific.
These lies are effectively propaganda for what is amongst other things a system of social control. "Schizophrenia" is an ethnocentric concept if it is a concept at all.
In scientific terms the term "schizophrenia" is comparable to the term "phlogiston", except that the invention of the term "phlogiston" was based on better logic.
The term "schizophrenia" evolved as another term for "dementia praecox" - which literally means premature dementia - something that it no longer means.
It is a relic of early 20th century pseudo-science. A bit like the "Labour Theory of Value" is 19th century quasi-mystical pseudo-science.
"The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation.” R.D. Laing.
The idea that "schizophrenia" - something that does not exist - can be called a "disease" represents a dishonesty and illogicality that is hard to comprehend.
Unless, perhaps, we are talking about oppression, labelling and social control. And maybe pharmaceutical profits. Or maybe just inertia and authority.
A psychiatrist has the power to imprison, poison and electrocute any individual.
Including you.
-----
In my opinion, there is no specific condition, disease, disorder or illness whether psychological, biological or of any kind called "schizophrenia".
Psychiatry is still in the early twentieth century.
------
"Prozac: How it works. Prozac stimulates the brain's production of the enzyme serotonin, which can cause loss of libido. The enzyme also boosts self-esteem and helps people overcome negative and obsessive emotions..."
"The Independent On Sunday", 25th June 2006.
Well I never!
An enzyme that "boosts self-esteem"?
Hmmm....If there truly were an enzyme that directly boosted self-esteem then well er... we would be fine wouldn't we? :)
The idea that there is an enzyme that boosts self-esteem is obviously patent nonsense.
Does cocaine "boost self-esteem"?
It has been said that unhappiness is not a medical problem.............
If depression has been called "malignant sadness", the normal emotion of sadness gone haywire, then maybe what sometimes gets labelled "schizophrenia" could be "malignant imagination" the normal and fundamental mental faculty of imagination gone haywire.
After all maybe in a sense our entire mind is made up by imagination since we re-create almost every sense perception in our brain to make it a sense perception.
Who has had a "delusion", a "hallucination" and "an inappropriate emotional response" (whatever that is?) (all descriptions that have been used to describe what "schizophrenia" involves)? I would say probably everybody.
In my case I know there are reasons why I feel upset/depressed/negative whatever you want to call it. There are reasons. And these reasons involve things in my life. Not chemicals.
I think that's the case for most people.
In real terms, at the present time in the UK "schizophrenia" is a catch-all term for people who are regarded as "seriously mentally ill". And even the latter term is perhaps the same as little more than "very distressed."
-----------
I heard Dorthy Rowe speak at the Anarchist Bookfair and, amongst other things, she said that there is strictly speaking no such thing as a lie-detector. It is incorrect science. Obvious really.
I wish she spoke more and carried on the pro-psychology cause within the psychiatric establishment. She spoke about power. I sometimes feel very powerless. She said we all have power. I suppose she has a point of a kind. She spoke about how governments and religions manipulate us by using fear. She is a great inspiration.
-------------------------
Some people think they can do anything to animals.
The RSPCA don't.
Psychiatrists do.
--------------------------
"Don't conform, won't conform, can't conform??
Then we will persecute you, poison you, incarcerate you, mutilate you, electrocute you." :
This is one possible interpretation of psychiatry's message to the world.
---------------------------
REMEMBER LIVES RUINED BY PSYCHIATRY.
21 June 2006
Religion is indeed bullshit.
Religion is bullshit.
Religion is bullshit.
Religion is bullshti
Er... that's it.
or is it? :)
to be continued.
Well. Yes, religion is bullshit.
http://www.religionisbullshit.com/
http://www.religionisbullshit.net/
There might be the odd positive philosophical insight within religious cultures.
But basically.
Religion is bullshit.
------
Whether it's bullshit or not we should have the freedom to criticise it profoundly.
There are many instances of religion leading to absurd and immoral beliefs and acts.
....
------
Thursday, June 08, 2006
One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read
I have just read "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. It is one of the best books I have ever read because of its keen understanding of religion. The history of the biggest wild goose chase ever, like A.N. Wilson says.
It has given me what I think is a more complete understanding of Kabbalah, William Blake and many others things. Whether Kabbalah and William Blake are of any significance to me is another thing.
I think that she may have a slightly romanticised view of what a "true" religion is. She has said that "terrorism" or "war" is not compatible with the essence of any religion. Yet religion or more accurately tribalism and (religious) dogma have been factors or even causes of war.
......
She says that humans are perhaps a religious species, man a homo religiousus that cannot but create religions.
I am not so sure.
Religion is a subject that really interests me.
She does not seem to acknowledge enough the truth of the harm that is done by religion.
"Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum" ("So potent is religion in persuading to do evil deeds." Lucretius, "De Rerum Natura".)
She would no doubt say that it is only a perversion of true religion that causes people to do harm.
This may be true but there has been a lot of it in history.
To be continued.
--------------------
(Maybe any rigid ideology or dogma can persuade us to commit great evil....)
------------------
There is an absolutely fantastic speech by Karen Armstrong here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJMm4RAwVLo
Religion is bullshit.
Religion is bullshti
Er... that's it.
or is it? :)
to be continued.
Well. Yes, religion is bullshit.
http://www.religionisbullshit.com/
http://www.religionisbullshit.net/
There might be the odd positive philosophical insight within religious cultures.
But basically.
Religion is bullshit.
------
Whether it's bullshit or not we should have the freedom to criticise it profoundly.
There are many instances of religion leading to absurd and immoral beliefs and acts.
....
------
Thursday, June 08, 2006
One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read
I have just read "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. It is one of the best books I have ever read because of its keen understanding of religion. The history of the biggest wild goose chase ever, like A.N. Wilson says.
It has given me what I think is a more complete understanding of Kabbalah, William Blake and many others things. Whether Kabbalah and William Blake are of any significance to me is another thing.
I think that she may have a slightly romanticised view of what a "true" religion is. She has said that "terrorism" or "war" is not compatible with the essence of any religion. Yet religion or more accurately tribalism and (religious) dogma have been factors or even causes of war.
......
She says that humans are perhaps a religious species, man a homo religiousus that cannot but create religions.
I am not so sure.
Religion is a subject that really interests me.
She does not seem to acknowledge enough the truth of the harm that is done by religion.
"Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum" ("So potent is religion in persuading to do evil deeds." Lucretius, "De Rerum Natura".)
She would no doubt say that it is only a perversion of true religion that causes people to do harm.
This may be true but there has been a lot of it in history.
To be continued.
--------------------
(Maybe any rigid ideology or dogma can persuade us to commit great evil....)
------------------
There is an absolutely fantastic speech by Karen Armstrong here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJMm4RAwVLo
12 May 2006
Education in "Utopia"
Education Education Education
"In his great work Equality [1931], R. H. Tawney pointed out that the English educational system "will never be one worthy of a civilised society until the children of all classes in the nation attend the same schools . . . The idea that differences of educational opportunities among children should depend upon differences of wealth represents a barbarity.""
England is perhaps unique in Europe in the sense that it is still fully in the grips of the utter barbarity described above.
It's not that private schools should be abolished (though that might help things). It is that they should not be necessary!
The idea that an education system in England that is different to the current one represents a "utopia" is false.
"Utopia" means "nowhere."
And a different educational system to the English one exists "everywhere in Europe except England".
This is hardly "nowhere"!
"Education! Education! Education!" says TB.
There will never be a solution to the problems of English education until New Labour fully addresses the crux of the problem as expressed by Tawney above.
I remember feeling annoyed at the age of 9 when I realised that the school I was going to was far better than the schools of other children in terms of the quality of the education and the facilities; and that my parents were nearly bankrupting themselves to send me there. It made me feel angry at the injustice even at that age. Also there was the pressure for exam results. The place was just an exam factory where your parents bought you a ticket to keep you in the middle classes.
------------------------
"England is the most class-ridden country under the sun. It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and silly."
George Orwell.
-------------------------
I don't think semi-privatised academies are the answer either.
http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/
...
----------------------------------------------------
It is contended that there is no reason why education should not be provided as a supposed charitable good.
Why not let health or transport be run by charities as well?
Ridiculous isn't it?
Health and transport could be run by charities.
But what kind of society would tolerate that the best transport and the best health was provided by so-called private "charities"?
Education is just as important as health and transport provision.
The bottom line remains that (very) rich people should never have a (much) better education than (very) poor people.
"In his great work Equality [1931], R. H. Tawney pointed out that the English educational system "will never be one worthy of a civilised society until the children of all classes in the nation attend the same schools . . . The idea that differences of educational opportunities among children should depend upon differences of wealth represents a barbarity.""
England is perhaps unique in Europe in the sense that it is still fully in the grips of the utter barbarity described above.
It's not that private schools should be abolished (though that might help things). It is that they should not be necessary!
The idea that an education system in England that is different to the current one represents a "utopia" is false.
"Utopia" means "nowhere."
And a different educational system to the English one exists "everywhere in Europe except England".
This is hardly "nowhere"!
"Education! Education! Education!" says TB.
There will never be a solution to the problems of English education until New Labour fully addresses the crux of the problem as expressed by Tawney above.
I remember feeling annoyed at the age of 9 when I realised that the school I was going to was far better than the schools of other children in terms of the quality of the education and the facilities; and that my parents were nearly bankrupting themselves to send me there. It made me feel angry at the injustice even at that age. Also there was the pressure for exam results. The place was just an exam factory where your parents bought you a ticket to keep you in the middle classes.
------------------------
"England is the most class-ridden country under the sun. It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and silly."
George Orwell.
-------------------------
I don't think semi-privatised academies are the answer either.
http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/
...
----------------------------------------------------
It is contended that there is no reason why education should not be provided as a supposed charitable good.
Why not let health or transport be run by charities as well?
Ridiculous isn't it?
Health and transport could be run by charities.
But what kind of society would tolerate that the best transport and the best health was provided by so-called private "charities"?
Education is just as important as health and transport provision.
The bottom line remains that (very) rich people should never have a (much) better education than (very) poor people.
In England, uniquely and barbarously, this is very much the case.
It is utterly disgusting and intolerable.
And it quite simply would not be tolerated were England in any way a civilised entity.
-------------
It also must be pointed out that many so-called "public" schools in England were founded in the late medieval period with the explicit intention of educating the poor or the general populace....
------------------------------------------------------
All education should be secular and non-denominational.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Utopia" etymologically either means "good place" or "no place"/"nowhere".
"A good place" is not necessarily something that should not be strived for in my view.
Or at least "a better place".
Calling it "nowhere" is also conducive to being realistic. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and improve things.
"Utopia" etymologically either means "good place" or "no place"/"nowhere".
"A good place" is not necessarily something that should not be strived for in my view.
Or at least "a better place".
Calling it "nowhere" is also conducive to being realistic. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and improve things.
11 May 2006
"Disillusionment" with Politics.
Stop Press! Rant
The current supposed disillusionment and disengagement with politics is in reality the direct and desired result of capitalism.
Saw Stephen Fry on telly last night and I can be silent no longer. He seemed to say "Our government is corrupt because we are. Our government is vermin because we are."
Bollocks.
New Labour is not the party of the people. New Labour/ The US Democrat Party of England is the party of business.
On shows like "This Week" and "The Daily Politics" politics is presented as entertainment. Issues are presented along with pop music and graphics which trivialise the issues and distance them from the viewer. Above all nothing is serious in this view. And even if it were serious there is nothing you or I or anyone can do about it. According to the "This Week" view, politics is out of the reach of ordinary people and has it's own coterie of political celebrities who we must worship. It was always thus, and always will be.
Politics is not serious. It's just the way it is. The only parties worth hearing from are the main parties. And who are the main parties? The ones we say are the main parties. Is it government by, for and of the media??
Politics is just parliament, politicians, celebrities and the media.
It is not allowed to be anything else.
(I exaggerate of course. It is supposed to be for effect :)
"A vibrant political culture needs community groups, libraries, public schools, neighbourhood organizations, cooperatives, public meeting places, voluntary associations, and trade unions to provide ways for citizens to meet, communicate, and interact with their fellow citizens. Neoliberal democracy with its notion of the market uber alles, takes dead aim at this sector. Instead of citizens, it produces consumers. Instead of communities, it produces shopping malls. The net result is an atomized society of disengaged individuals who feel demoralized and socially powerless."
Robert W.McChesney.
===================================================
The current supposed disillusionment and disengagement with politics is in reality the direct and desired result of capitalism.
Saw Stephen Fry on telly last night and I can be silent no longer. He seemed to say "Our government is corrupt because we are. Our government is vermin because we are."
Bollocks.
New Labour is not the party of the people. New Labour/ The US Democrat Party of England is the party of business.
On shows like "This Week" and "The Daily Politics" politics is presented as entertainment. Issues are presented along with pop music and graphics which trivialise the issues and distance them from the viewer. Above all nothing is serious in this view. And even if it were serious there is nothing you or I or anyone can do about it. According to the "This Week" view, politics is out of the reach of ordinary people and has it's own coterie of political celebrities who we must worship. It was always thus, and always will be.
Politics is not serious. It's just the way it is. The only parties worth hearing from are the main parties. And who are the main parties? The ones we say are the main parties. Is it government by, for and of the media??
Politics is just parliament, politicians, celebrities and the media.
It is not allowed to be anything else.
(I exaggerate of course. It is supposed to be for effect :)
"A vibrant political culture needs community groups, libraries, public schools, neighbourhood organizations, cooperatives, public meeting places, voluntary associations, and trade unions to provide ways for citizens to meet, communicate, and interact with their fellow citizens. Neoliberal democracy with its notion of the market uber alles, takes dead aim at this sector. Instead of citizens, it produces consumers. Instead of communities, it produces shopping malls. The net result is an atomized society of disengaged individuals who feel demoralized and socially powerless."
Robert W.McChesney.
===================================================
10 May 2006
Loyal to Lovely
Friday, May 19, 2006
Loyal to Lovely
Another (in my view:) interesting blog from the sunny cyber land of Lovely.
I am a citizen of Lovely. Why don't you join up too at:
www.citizensrequired.com/
From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:-
"Article 15.(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Adopted and proclaimed by UN General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948 "
Are the UN denying King Danny and Lovelians their human rights?
The country of Lovely has no more nor no less right to exist than any other country or state.
Countries or, more accurately perhaps, states, are completely arbitrary and, ultimately, an absurdity.
Countries and nationalism are in a sense an absurdity. We're all humans.
"My country is the world; my religion is to do good."
Tom Paine.
Long live King Danny!
"A STATE [is] An arbitrarily-defined part of the earth's surface, occasionally having a human population with a common culture and language, which is more or less cut off from all other parts of the world and forms the geographical base for centralised and hierarchical control of its human population by powerful elites. The division of the world into states is a condition so much taken for granted that we almost never stop to think why we have states at all, why we need them, and what the world might be like without them..."
John Button, Dictionary of Green Ideas, 1988.
---
---
The lovely cyberland of Lovely is also where I picked up my internet name, CitizenSofa.
Lovely - King Danny's country - is in fact a flat. So my thought process was that some of the furniture might be citizens of Lovely.
Then one of my proposals for the name of the country was "Union of Sofa Socialist Republics" which, even though I say it myself, is quite funny.
Armchair Anarchists and Sofa Socialists abound on these kind of sites after all.
So that's how I came up with my name.
I was briefly Citizen Bidet on the message boards because I believe in bidets as opposed to the disgusting English invention of toilet paper.... Don't get me started.
Then I changed to Citizen Sofa.
I don't really like it anymore but I am sort of stuck with it.
I am not sure if I want to be a "citizen" of anywhere. I am an anarchist.
I suppose I could still change it. Might well do.
Loyal to Lovely
Another (in my view:) interesting blog from the sunny cyber land of Lovely.
I am a citizen of Lovely. Why don't you join up too at:
www.citizensrequired.com/
From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:-
"Article 15.(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Adopted and proclaimed by UN General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948 "
Are the UN denying King Danny and Lovelians their human rights?
The country of Lovely has no more nor no less right to exist than any other country or state.
Countries or, more accurately perhaps, states, are completely arbitrary and, ultimately, an absurdity.
(Maybe states are to a point a necessary evil and a necessary absurdity. I am not so sure.)
Countries and nationalism are in a sense an absurdity. We're all humans.
"My country is the world; my religion is to do good."
Tom Paine.
Long live King Danny!
"A STATE [is] An arbitrarily-defined part of the earth's surface, occasionally having a human population with a common culture and language, which is more or less cut off from all other parts of the world and forms the geographical base for centralised and hierarchical control of its human population by powerful elites. The division of the world into states is a condition so much taken for granted that we almost never stop to think why we have states at all, why we need them, and what the world might be like without them..."
John Button, Dictionary of Green Ideas, 1988.
---
---
The lovely cyberland of Lovely is also where I picked up my internet name, CitizenSofa.
Lovely - King Danny's country - is in fact a flat. So my thought process was that some of the furniture might be citizens of Lovely.
Then one of my proposals for the name of the country was "Union of Sofa Socialist Republics" which, even though I say it myself, is quite funny.
Armchair Anarchists and Sofa Socialists abound on these kind of sites after all.
So that's how I came up with my name.
I was briefly Citizen Bidet on the message boards because I believe in bidets as opposed to the disgusting English invention of toilet paper.... Don't get me started.
Then I changed to Citizen Sofa.
I don't really like it anymore but I am sort of stuck with it.
I am not sure if I want to be a "citizen" of anywhere. I am an anarchist.
I suppose I could still change it. Might well do.
8 May 2006
A Myth About the Middle East
Thursday, May 25, 2006
A Myth About the Middle East
"...Arab society and much of the Muslim world are not dictatorial or intellectually paralysed because of religion, but the other way around - it is the existence, for other reasons, of such states and societies that itself produces a paralysed religion."
(Myth 86, p.165, "100 Myths about the Middle East", 2005, by Fred Halliday.)
-----
Destruction and deprivation lead to a more primitive religion; development of all kinds can lead to reform and cultural development.
This general principle obviously does not just apply to the Middle East and Islam.
-----
In the Middle East and Afghanistan American policy was a major cause of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
A Myth About the Middle East
"...Arab society and much of the Muslim world are not dictatorial or intellectually paralysed because of religion, but the other way around - it is the existence, for other reasons, of such states and societies that itself produces a paralysed religion."
(Myth 86, p.165, "100 Myths about the Middle East", 2005, by Fred Halliday.)
-----
Destruction and deprivation lead to a more primitive religion; development of all kinds can lead to reform and cultural development.
This general principle obviously does not just apply to the Middle East and Islam.
-----
In the Middle East and Afghanistan American policy was a major cause of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
7 May 2006
Discussion of "The Sane Society" by Eric Fromm.
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Interesting Book - "The Sane Society" (1955) by Eric Fromm.
I read "The Sane Society" by the psychologist Eric Fromm a few weeks back.
Even though it was written in 1955, I think it is still relevant today, maybe even more so.
That was near the beginning of the sort of period we're in and he diagnosed some of the problems at the outset.
It was a great relief to find someone saying what is obvious. Our society is basically unhealthy, insane. :)
He spends the first two thirds of the book saying why this is so and slagging off capitalist society of the last couple of centuries and then in the last third he tries to come up with an answer to the vitally important question: "It's all very well you slagging everything off but what would you do and how would you do it?"
He sketches out some answers and they are quite convincing. I don't think they are utopian. I think they're only natural.
One thing that he stresses and that J.K. Galbraith and E.F. Schumacher (for example) stress is that the conventional economic way of looking at the world is relatively new and complete bollocks.
I also read "The Economics of Innocent Fraud" by J.K. Galbraith, one of the greatest economists who ever lived and he seemed to be saying that his whole subject was bullshit:) .
I wish the style of this little book was less ironic and elusive. I wish he'd been more concrete in it.
I can't help thinking he was reluctant to spell it all out.
The conventional view of work, employment and unemployment is questioned by Galbraith in this book, his last and in his view his best.
Eric Fromm also believed that a component of a sane society was a basic guaranteed income for all, as explained in the book. So I am not the only one. E.F. Schumacher also makes the point that work must come to be regarded as work and not just as paid work. I will put up a quote about this.
Andre' Gorz, another Green philosopher, also believed in some kind of basic income.
I think Eric Fromm is a sensible psychologist, and an excellent thinker.
---------------------------------------------------------
Another thing to ask, which is relevant to the question of cultural lag, is :
Why should people be encouraged more to read "The Communist Manifesto" of 1848 - also why should more people have heard of it? - than "The Sane Society" of 1955??
In the year 2048 - if we are still here - will people find "The Communist Manifesto" more relevant than "The Sane Society"?
And will it still be the case that far more people will have heard of "The Communist Manifesto" than "The Sane Society"??
--------------------------------------------------
BASIC INCOME
EARTH NETWORK:
BASIC INCOME
EARTH NETWORK:
http://www.basicincome.org/bien/
6 May 2006
"The Everything Industry" - a poem
The Everything Industry - a poem
The Everything Industry
Why today is everything an industry?
Is it just a new hyper-logical use of language?
Or conspiracy of ideology?
Or neither?
Just the result of the profit motive ruling
For the last few decades?
Industrial relations
Crushed by the wheels of industry
Industry Shmindustry
Everything's an industry
There is no room for anything that
Doesn't make money now.
It's here or brought near
the time when everything
Has a price.
And nothing is a service
No one serves
Industry is a technical term for economists and geographers
Not a way of life
We used to Say the X trade
the trade
now it's more
There is something wrong about these words
There is something wrong here
I can't put my finger on it
But I know there is something wrong
It has jarred in my ears
For at least a few years
Which sound strange to you now?
The media industry
The health industry
The mental health industry
The football industry
The mental health industry
The holocaust industry
The parking industry
The food industry
The pornography industry
The travel industry
The train industry
The postal industry
The teaching industry
The knowledge industry
The religious industry
The church industry
The defence industry
The war industry
The funeral industry
The baptism industry
The academic industry
The university industry
The monsastery industry
The biology industry
The music industry
The film industry
The money industry
The leisure industry
The idleness industry
The health industry
The industry industry
The politics industry
The art industry
The poetry industry
The gaming industry
The gambling industry
The sex industry
The charity industry
The hope industry
The faith industry
The space industry
The service industry
The devotion industry
The justice industry
The truth industry
The birth industry
The death industry
The love industry
The life industry
The Everything Industry
Why today is everything an industry?
Is it just a new hyper-logical use of language?
Or conspiracy of ideology?
Or neither?
Just the result of the profit motive ruling
For the last few decades?
Industrial relations
Crushed by the wheels of industry
Industry Shmindustry
Everything's an industry
There is no room for anything that
Doesn't make money now.
It's here or brought near
the time when everything
Has a price.
And nothing is a service
No one serves
Industry is a technical term for economists and geographers
Not a way of life
We used to Say the X trade
the trade
now it's more
There is something wrong about these words
There is something wrong here
I can't put my finger on it
But I know there is something wrong
It has jarred in my ears
For at least a few years
Which sound strange to you now?
The media industry
The health industry
The mental health industry
The football industry
The mental health industry
The holocaust industry
The parking industry
The food industry
The pornography industry
The travel industry
The train industry
The postal industry
The teaching industry
The knowledge industry
The religious industry
The church industry
The defence industry
The war industry
The funeral industry
The baptism industry
The academic industry
The university industry
The monsastery industry
The biology industry
The music industry
The film industry
The money industry
The leisure industry
The idleness industry
The health industry
The industry industry
The politics industry
The art industry
The poetry industry
The gaming industry
The gambling industry
The sex industry
The charity industry
The hope industry
The faith industry
The space industry
The service industry
The devotion industry
The justice industry
The truth industry
The birth industry
The death industry
The love industry
The life industry
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