So there you go. Bolloxia - the new name for everything.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 December 2006
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.
.....
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