Why?

WHY SHOULD IT MATTER WHAT I SAY????

==

I take no delight
In being proved right
or wrong.

Just imagine I don't exist.

CALL THAT A JOB!???

I DESERVE ALL YOU HAVE.

MANY PEOPLE COULD DO WHAT YOU DO. EASILY.

NOT MANY PEOPLE NEED TO DO WHAT YOU DO.

Anniversary 1 Year in existence

This blog is now a year old.

Only about a third of what I write gets put up.

"Thank ****", I hear you say.

But sod it. It's going up.

USA Bombed

None of these bombings led to the establishment of humane democracies in any of the countries concerned.

For Reasons of State

For Reasons of State
by Michael Bakunin

"The State is the organized authority, domination, and power of the possessing classes over the masses the most flagrant, the most cynical, and the most complete negation of humanity. It shatters the universal solidarity of all men on the earth, and brings some of them into association only for the purpose of destroying, conquering, and enslaving all the rest….
This flagrant negation of humanity which constitutes the very essence of the State is, from the standpoint of the State, its supreme duty and its greatest virtue….
Thus, to offend, to oppress, to despoil, to plunder, to assassinate or enslave one's fellow man is ordinarily regarded as a crime. In public life, on the other hand, from the standpoint of patriotism, when these things are done for the greater glory of the State, for the preservation or the extension of its power, it is all transformed into duty and virtue…..
This explains why the entire history of ancient and modern states is merely a series of revolting crimes; why kings and ministers, past and present, of all times and all countries---statesmen, diplomats, bureaucrats, and warriors---if judged from the standpoint of simply morality and human justice, have a hundred, a thousand times over earned their sentence to hard labor or to the gallows.
There is no horror, no cruelty, sacrilege, or perjury, no imposture, no infamous transaction, no cynical robbery, no bold plunder or shabby betrayal that has not been or is not daily being perpetrated by the representatives of the states, under no other pretext than those elastic words, so convenient and yet so terrible: "for reasons of state."

MICHAEL BAKUNIN. 19th century Russian thinker.


Introduction.

"
The lessons of history are rarely clear and permit few conclusions of any generality, but among those few Bakunin’s judgments, just cited, must surely rank among the most firm. If they are open to criticism at all, it is that the century that followed has proven them to be banal.
There is a traditional form of sentimentality in the English-speaking world that regards the United States as uniquely immune to such judgements. It is easily documented that such illusions persist. No doubt a Flat Earth society also holds regular meetings somewhere...
"

NOAM CHOMSKY
In the Introduction to “For Reasons of State”, 1970.

The Flat Earth society alluded to above still has very well-attended meetings.

-----

Support for the USA and its actions in the English-speaking world and across the globe continues, because of sentimentality and ignorance. Also because of racism.

29th August 2007.

I had taken this blog down for a few days and it made me feel a lot better.
But then the same things get my goat again and I feel I need to put my side back up to public view.
It's not kicking back at the world.
To me it is nothing more than pointing out the obvious.
Why bother to point out the obvious?
Because no one else does.
I am putting this back up as I have a right to my view.

Against Leaders

The cult of leaders is childish in the extreme.
Leaders are a comparative irrelevance.
Policies are all that really matter.
I support the anti-leader camp in the Green Party.
Leaders are very 20th century.
They are not necessary any more.

The "leaderisation" of politics is an attempt to reduce politics to personality differences as the policy differences become less and less.
It is what capitalism wants. The leaders are its puppets.

Capitalism and Love are Not Compatible

==============================================

Against Crimewatch

Crimewatch is propaganda.

Crimewatch is a truly and awesomely unique programme:

IT IS THE ONLY PROGRAMME ON TELEVISION THAT REPRESENTS REAL LIFE AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE.

A CRIMEWATCH RECONSTRUCTION IS THE ONLY EVER (NON-FICTIONAL AND NON-DRAMATIC) TV REPRESENTATION OF LIFE AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIVED.

What does that say about us?

I never ever watch it. Because it scares the shit out of me.
I can't help thinking that it is supposed to scare the shit out of me.
Which in itself scares the shit out of me.

It divides humanity into two groups: normal people and savage, feral criminals.

......
--------------------------------------
Governments are bigger criminals and wars bigger crimes than anything shown on "Crimewatch."


The inequality of our society is a major crime too.


Programmes like "Crimewatch" are designed to make you forget things like these, amongst other things.

A permanent memorial for Tony Bliar?

As a living memorial to Tony Blair I suggest we make a change to the English language so that we never forget his infamy.

Whenever we say "liar" we should instead from now on say "bliar".
So instead of saying "you fecking liar!", we should now say "you fecking bliar!".

In fact, we could even get carried away and change the verb "lie" to "blie", as in "don't you fecking blie to me!".

Or we could invent a different type of lie. A "white lie" is a harmless, inconsequential lie.
A "blie", on the other hand, could be a momentous falsehood used to justify terrible deeds.

I am a scientist

A friend said to me "I can't comment on climate change as I am not a scientist."
I said "Well I can because I am a scientist."
He said "What? You're not a scientist!"
I said "Yes I am. I have a B in GCSE Physics and I can tell you that if you put Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere it will warm the atmosphere. That is what we are doing in exponentially increasing amounts so the atmosphere is warming on a very large scale.
I can also tell you that if you warm the atmosphere it will rain."

"Economy" reprise.

I said in a previous blog "there is no such thing as an economy."

I stand by it.

"Economy" has been defined as:

"The fair distribution and wise use of RESOURCES. The antithesis of what most politicians and industrialists call "the economy.""

Global warming

When you add carbon to the atmosphere it will warm.

When you heat the atmosphere it will rain.

Serious and dangerous global warming has already happened.

Monday 13th August 2007

Not everyone on the planet has a rich consumerist lifestyle.
People die every day from war and starvation.
They might as well have disappeared for all the leaders of the rich world care.

Important Headline?

Important Headline?:

MADDIE: ALIEN ABDUCTION NOT RULED OUT.

Iraq and genocide

Why do I say the genocide perpetrated against Iraq is anti-Semitic?
Because it is at least in part targetted at Iraqi Arabs and I believe it is a result of sometimes overt, sometimes latent, even subconscious (anti-Arab) racism.

There were many overt examples of anti-Arab racism in the English and American media at the time of the first Gulf "War", as well as among the US and English military at the time of the first Gulf "War".
Why Iraq? That's the question that I have asked myself for 18 years. Why Iraq?
There have been many terrible regimes across the globe during the last 18 years.

Why have we not bombed their countries, bombed their civilians, starved their people, destroyed their countries?
Why Iraq?

Everyone says it's about oil.
I think that's a load of bollocks to be frank. I have scorn for that view.
They are bombing, starving and destroying Iraq - for oil? Cock!
What precisely has killing loads of people got to do with oil?

Fred Halliday concurs that it has little or nothing to do with oil.
Fred Halliday says it is power politics.

There's a simple and in my view correct answer: racism and anti-Arab anti-Semitism, and Anglo-American insecurity and triumphalism.

Is it a coincidence that the countries attacking this country are the USA and England?
Is it a coincidence that this country is a cradle of civilisation?

------
Other reasons have been given for the destruction:
"Another factor to consider is that the destruction of Iraqi civilian life means a much more compliant working class when Iraq's oil returns to the open market.
As Chomsky explains: "So, if the population of Iraq were reduced or marginalized, maybe even reduced to such a level that they are barely functional, then when the time comes to bring Iraqi production back on line, they will be less of an impediment" (quoted in Iraq Under Siege, p.53)."
Source:http://www.worldsocialism.org/articles/iraq_the_continuing_war.php
So the destruction of Iraq is to "soften up" the people?
What is left to be "an impediment"?
......
------------------------------------------------

Albert Ellis - CBT - REBT

"There are three 'musts' that hold us back," he wrote. "I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy."

We upset ourselves with the grandiose requirement that we should perform perfectly, and that others should be nice to us. But in fact we are imperfect: we fail, in love and in work, all the time. And other people, often enough, "act like jerks"."

Albert Ellis.

I very much like R.E.B.T. and C.B.T. and think they are philosophically correct.
They are of course similar to Stoicism and also other ancient philosophies.

There are those who accuse REBT/CBT of being pro-capitalist and stuff like that.

And they are accused of encouraging conformity and acceptance of circumstances that are adverse and which are adverse but could be changed.

Well they are pretty much the same thing as Stoicism anyway.

And Stoicism is not pro-capitalist per se obviously.

Thought is not language: Sceptical reflections on language.

Sceptical reflections on language.

Thought is not language.

Thought is not language and language is not necessary for thought.

....

"Rational Human Being"

What do I mean when I say I am a "rational human being"?

Diagnosed as being my major problem, being a rational human being is hard.

I just mean as a human I like to think I am capable of at least trying to be rational.


This belief may be totally mistaken. I think it is not mistaken.
When I was mocked for calling myself "a rational human being",
I assume that it was from the perspective that obviously humans aren't always rational - look around you or read a history book. Also that terrible deeds were done by people who thought they were being totally rational.
--------------------
But we are capable of being reasonable. It is part of our nature.

You may say "one man's reason is another man's folly" and there is no agreement as to what is objectively rational or reasonable. And that what is rational is just what the speaker says is rational. It's an opinion.

Well, I would dissent, along with Richard Dawkins I would hope, from this view.


All the same, any belief may be totally mistaken.
....

-----

Just take a look at this:


"The sickness of secularism: The threat to tolerance and coexistence no longer comes from religion."
Soumaya Ghannoushi

"We are witnessing the rise of an arrogant secularist rhetoric founded on belief in the supremacy of reason and absolute faith in science and progress, dogmas which arouse ridicule in serious academic and intellectual circles nowadays."
Soumaya Ghannoushi

Hmmmmm....

For a start:
Secularism does not mean "no religion" or "anti-religion" it means "any, all or no religion."
..... to be continued.

OBE? - No thanks!

If a miracle happened and I was offered an OBE for services to something I would simply say to her:

I do not want a fecking Order of the fecking British Empire because there is no such fecking thing as the fecking British Empire end of fecking story, ya hoor sor!

The British Empire does not exist.
Therefore it is apart from anything else highly silly to award people with awards called Orders of the British Empire, or with any awards referring to this non-existent institution.

When Spile Milligan was offered an OBE he said, "I would rather have got the OMK - The Order of Milton Keynes. Because at least Milton Keynes exists."

Open Veins - The Pillage of Continents

"Open Veins of Latin America: 5 Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent." 

Eduardo Galeano.

It continues.

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It is exciting, readable and interesting.

It makes interesting points about economics as well.

Are these books possible? :-

"Open Veins of Africa: 5 Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent."

It continues.

"Open Veins of Asia: 5 Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent."

It continues.

Dictionary of Green Ideas.

Here are some more entries from my prize possession,

A Dictionary of Green Ideas by John Button. (1988).

(Words in capitals refer to other entries)

Nationalism


[1844. L natio, birth, tribe]


While it can be taken to acknowledge a shared cultural heritage and the right of a people with a common culture to political autonomy (see NATION), nationalism today relates more often to the (frequently arbitrary) area within the borders of a nation state (see STATE), and the engineered patriotism created by politicians and generals to control its citizenry.


"We cannot discuss nationalism without first defining the word "nation", and the only definition which covers the ground is "a community organised for war". A nationalist is thus a person who wishes to surround himself, and those who can be induced to conspire with him, with a closely and aggressively guarded military frontier, and incidentally to prevent as far as possible that cross-fertilization of ideas which always has been and always must be the sole insurance against the relapse into barbarism which perpetually threatens all human communities".


Aldous Huxley, 1937.


"Nationalism is a tough political power to replace. Throughout the twentieth century we have watched grudging efforts to modify the cruder forms of nationalism, and the continuing resistance to this process. This may explain the decade of UN conferences, where over a hundred governments have repeatedly voted in favour of resolutions on international action, but signally failed to do much to implement them. There is a curious tension between what governments subconsciously know to be the international realities and what they are prepared to accept in limitation of their own sovereign interests." (Barbara Ward, in Erik Eckholm, 1982)


Nation


[14c. L nation, birth, tribe]


Usually used as a synonym for STATE, though it is important to recognise that the inhabitants of culturally homogenous areas which are not recognised as states may consider themselves to be part of a nation, albeit a nation which is considered second-rate because it is not a state, such as Scotland and Wales within the UK, or Quebec within Canada.


State

[16c in this sense. L status, manner of standing]

(also "country", NATION, "nation state")

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. Yet the very notion of the state is antithetical to green thinking. "The nation-state makes us less human. It towers over us, cajoles us, disempowers us, bilks us of our substance, humiliates us - and often kills us in its imperialist adventures" (Murray Bookchin, 1986). The idea of arbitrary division and rigid boundaries is totally unecological, the concept of centralised elitist control contrary to individual empowerment, yet every aspect of our lives is controlled by the fact of our citizenship of one of the world's 229 nations........


[incomplete]


Self-determination

[1911 in this sense]


The belief that a NATION or cultural group should decide its own policies without pressure from outside. See COLONIALISM, NEOCOLONIALISM.




Anarchism


[16c. anrchia, without a ruler]


The refusal to accept forced AUTHORITY, especially governmental authority. From its very earliest use, the term was subverted by those in authority to mean a state of disorder and chaos, thought to result from the failure or absence of government. "Anarchism, if it means anything at all, is trying to remove coercive authority from human relationships." (Alan Albon, Green Anarchist, June/July 1986).

..... [incomplete]


Whether or not it is called anarchism, a belief in individual FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY and the right not to be coerced by arbitrary authority is central to green thinking.


Mental Illness

[c 1950]

A creation of professional psychiatrists from the mid-nineteenth century onwards to explain rebellious or anti-social behaviour, usually called 'hysteria' until the 1950s and thought of as a predominantly female "disorder". In the last twenty years many people have questioned the legitimacy of the label mental illness, and have criticised the way that those given the label are treated as second-class human beings. Green-thinkers prefer to take mental health or mental wellness as their starting-point, rather than framing the issue within the conventional and limiting terms of mental illness, disease or handicap. Some humanistic psychologists use the term 'mental distress': "Humanistic psychology does not attach very much importance to diagnostic categories, and does not see mental distress as a medical problem". (John Rowan, 1976).

Economy
[c.1530 Gk oikonomia, household management]
The fair distribution and wise use of RESOURCES. The antithesis of what most politicians and industrialists call "the economy." Some green thinkers, following Donald Worster's example (Nature's Economy: The Roots of Ecology, 1977), see ecology as "nature's economy", thus stressing that economic sustainability must be based on ecological sustainability. See ECONOMICS.

Economics
[1792 Gk oikonomos, household manager]
The exploration of WEALTH, VALUE and the distribution and management of resources.
...
"Conventional economics is a form of brain damage." (Hazel Henderson, quoted in John Elkington, 1987).
...


[to be completed]

Fair Trade v. "Free" Trade

There is no such thing as Free Trade.
There is only fair trade and unfair trade.
Discuss.

What goes by the name of free trade certainly constitutes the opposite of freedom for some people.

The Second Oldest Profession

The Second Oldest Profession - the philosopher.

The Greatest Quote of All Time?

"My country is the world.
My religion is to do good."

Thomas Paine.


-----------------------------------------------------

This is a good candidate for being the greatest quote or "motto" ever in my opinion.

If you like quotes and mottoes, proverbs and adages etc.

The thing is - everyone can relate to it and try to enable and live up to it - even though they may be nationalist or religious in whatever way.

--------------------------------------------------------------

He is indisputably an "English Che Guevara" figure.

Though at the moment Che Guevara is more well known than him in England. Probably.

Why should a lawyer have to say things like this?

Straight from the horse's mouth. Couldn't have put it better myself:

"Lord Hoffmann, ruled that there is no

"state of public emergency threatening the life of the nation"- the only basis on which Britain is entitled to exercise its opt-out from article five of the European convention, the right to liberty."

It was the anti-terror laws introduced by Mr Blunkett which posed a threat, he declared.

"The real threat to the life of the nation, in the sense of a people living in accordance with its traditional laws and political values, comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these." "

Lord Hoffmann,

regarding NewLabourUSDemocrat PartyofEngland Terrorism/AntiTerrorism Policies.

Why should a lawyer have to say things like this?

Perhaps a constitution would help.

Kenan Malik

"Neither a culture, nor a way of life, nor yet a language, has a God-given right to exist."


Kenan Malik, in "Let Them Die".

-----------------------

Kennan Malik is an excellent and interesting writer.

His arguments are worth engaging with.

www.kenanmalik.com

"Nationalism requires too much belief in what is patently not so".

"Finally, I cannot but add that no serious historian of nations and nationalism can be a committed political nationalist, except in the sense in which believers in the literal truth of the Scriptures, while unable to make contributions to evolutionary theory, are not precluded from making contributions to archaelogy and Semitic philology. Nationalism requires too much belief in what is patently not so."

E.J. Hobsbawm. "Nations and Nationalism since 1780."

"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."
Albert Einstein.

"Nationalism is the hand maiden of racism".....

Hmmmm....

As someone who would have called themself a "committed political nationalist" I need to think about this.....
Hobsbawm is comparing belief in nationalism or a nation to belief in a religion.
I just reckon that the bottom line is that if there is a group of people who share a culture, then this group should be allowed self-determination.
----
We all have our foibles: Hobsbawm himself is, or was, a Marxist, Leninist, Marxist-communist and maybe a Trotskyist too (?).
All of these things are fantasies as well.
----
Most conventional historians of nationalism, including Hobsbawm, more or less insist that nationalism as an ideology roughly began in 1789 along with the French Revolution.
My first reaction is "How can this be so?"
[to be continued]
....
Hobsbawm's contention seems to be that before about 1789, the ethnic or cultural group was never necessarily identified with or associated with a source of political power.
Once again I say, "How can this be so?".
Intuition says "How can this be so?".
....
Can nationalism ever be progressive and left-wing?
....

-----------------

"...the....assumption, that national identification is somehow so natural, primary and permanent as to precede history, is...widely held..."

Top Marksist Apostle - Eric Hobsbawm.

"Nationalism requires too much belief in what is simply not so."

Eric Hobsbawm.

This must ultimately mean something like -

LES NATIONS SONT DES FANTASIES.....

"Milosevic can stop it now"

During the 1999 NATO (North American Terrorist Organisation) "50th Anniversary Air Show" bombing of Serbia - Tony Blair made the ridiculous and idiotic statement "Milosevic can stop it now!" in order to add justification to the bombing.

Logically the only person who could have stopped the bombing was the person doing the bombing - a certain Tony Blair.

There was no intention of stopping the bombing whatever Milosevic did anyway.

Lies and propaganda - Blair all over.

During the same bombing Blair said (something along the lines of) that he had no alternative but to do what he was doing. Utter bollocks obviously.

I am not saying that the bombing was not justified but I found such statements by Blair to be particularly barbaric and absurd.
If you are the person who is giving the orders to bomb then you are obviously the only person who can stop it.

This is related to the constant mantra that we are fed about so many things: "There is no alternative." TINA.

This is also self-evidently false. If you are free to do it you must be free not to do it. Surely?

TATA to TINA.

There Are Thousands of Alternatives.

Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth

"Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth" is one of my favourite websites.

It's excellent.

It's what the internet is all about IMHO, if you ask me.

It is to be found here:

http://pocm.info/index.html

-----

The Sun Glorifies Terrorism!

The Sun has on many occasions glorified (state) terrorism.

This fact should be assimilated.

In other words it does exactly what others are not allowed to do.

There are other reasons why I don't like The Sun.

One is that it thinks it speaks for the average English person and that it's finger is on the pulse of the nation. I won't even bother discussing this.

They say there is a demand for the type of news coverage they provide.

Now if The Sun did not exist there would not be armies of people banging on the doors of Fleet Street demanding that a dirt rag sheet be produced for them without delay.

T S Eliot: “Those who aim to give the public what the public wants begin by underestimating the public taste, and end by debauching it.”

As for Page 3. It's not the fact that there is a pair of tits every morning on Page 3 that's the problem. This could even get boring.
It is, as has been pointed out by others, the utter sexism inherent in the whole package that is Page 3 and what it entails.

The Sun seems to want to debase and degrade; it wants us to celebrate our boorishness and ignorance; to be a slob and proud of it.

To be the perfect thoughtless automaton consumer.

Mind you The Sun is very funny sometimes.

Found the headline to the story about Brian May of Queen fame getting his Ph.d. very amusing: "Is thesis the real life or is thesis just fantasy?" Very droll. Maybe they should rename the newspaper The Pun.

But everything is a joke to them.
And the degenerates who write for the rag spout such quasi-fascist childish shite.


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. The English people aren't inherently right wing.
If The Sun thinks it speaks for England I think it's wrong.
I don't recognise the English people's views in it's view of the world.
......

The Sun exudes English cheekiness and quirkiness and humour. Maybe so.
England has always had that element in its press. Maybe so.
But The Sun in particular often has a vicious streak in its coverage that I don't recognise as English, and that is not English.

......

There are two things to be said in The Sun's defence:

i) It's persual of Nazi war criminals and
ii) It's attack on Islamofascism.

Zamyatin quote

"True literature can exist only where it is created, not by diligent and trustworthy functionaries, but by madmen, hermits, heretics, dreamers, rebels, and skeptics."

Yevgeny Zamyatin.

Musings on "Anti-psychotic" Drugs

"Anti-psychotic" drugs?

Can there be such a thing as an "anti-psychotic" drug?
Psychosis means "a break with reality".
This involves mistaken beliefs.
Therefore the effect of an anti-psychotic drug must surely include the changing of beliefs.
Is there a drug that can actually change a belief?
Surely there cannot be any drug that can actually in and of itself change a belief.

"The mode of action of olanzapine's antipsychotic activity is unknown.
It may involve antagonism at serotonin receptors."
Wikipedia.

This is not science!

Even if Olanzapine did cause suppression of serotonin, how would this actually affect the ideas of the person?

It has no direct effect on ideas or behaviour or distress.

It may have the effect of calming the patient (victim) a great deal and this may hence calm the intensity of the patient (victim)'s thoughts and behaviour but surely it cannot in any way affect the content of his/her thoughts.

It is effectively poisoning.