Going about one’s usual news reading these days is a pest. The web, TV, magazine, newspapers, radio,.... are all filled to the rafters with looking back at the year that was.
Best of... Year in review.... Top 10....
Best quotes. Top stories. Man of the year. Woman of the year. TV dickhead of the year. TV chef of 2010. Radio DJ of the last 52 weeks. Hit of the year. Soap (the TV stuff, not the cleaning type) of the year. Music video of the year. Car of the year. War of the year. Waste of air of the year. TV personality of 2010. Can anybody really understand what a ‘personality’ really is? Best book of the year. Top Amazon sale of the year. Most downloaded track. Most illegally copied DVD. Most bought Apple gadget. Biggest Hollywood blockbuster of 2010. And same for Bollywood in India and Nollywood in Nigeria. Best blog of 2010. Sportsperson of 2010. Champion of 2010. Nutcase of 2010. Freak of the year. Insanity of the year. Marriage of the year. Divorce of the same calendar. Politician of the year. Hacker of 2010. Cartoonist of the year. Top restaurant of 2010. Top porn actress of the year. Biggest criminal of the past 356 days. Richest dude or lady of the year. Top model. Fastest skateboarder. Fattest pig. Weight watcher champion. Gun freak of 2010. Burger of the year. Coldest town of 2010. Most corrupt official. Most earning reborn Christian preacher. Fashion show of the year. Best new ice cream taste of 2010. Cutest dog. Largest stamp collector. Windiest place of 2010. Cactus of the year.
Year reviews are as useful as a Northface arctic jacket in the desert of Sudan.
And some media outlets repeat the same merry-go-round and round on reviews of the first decade of the 21st century.
2010 was all about WikiLeaks. As simple as that. The good, the bad, the ugly.
And the first decade was all about 9/11. That changed the world forever. There is no turning back.
Human behaviour is still going places it hasn’t been before. Mostly darker corners.
Global warming is having an icy revenge on the northern hemisphere. Snow havoc across the UK. Airports closed in many European capitals. Trucks taken off the roads in Belgium. Traditional horse race not happening in England. Sports calendar nightmares. Weather stats in overdrive. Subways stuck. Trains cancelled. Parties unattended. Food distribution threatened. Salt shortages. Xmas on airport benches.
And after Europe it was the American east coast turn for some winter bliss. NYC, Boston, Philly,... under a snowy attack. Air traffic disrupted. Passengers stranded.
Coldest winter since the early 20th Century. Take that!!! Meanwhile cute beach activity in Cape Town and Bondi beach.
The winter harshness is an unwelcome situation for the airline industry whom is already facing an uphill battle against economic recession and ..... remember the volcanic ash cloud earlier this year that seriously disrupted transatlantic and UK air traffic. It’s tough up there in the sky.
Human behaviour is still submitted to nature’s behaviour.
Same old power struggles and Russian roulette with the democratic process in Ivory Coast. Finally the cocoa-nation held presidential elections after 5 failed attempts over the last years. So that already gave it a shaky start. But surprisingly polling day came and went reasonably smoothly. But then the ghosts from the past came back for some old style misery.
The sitting president, Mr Gbagbo, refused to accept the outcome of the vote. Obviously he lost. He called his mate at the country’s constitutional court and the numbers from the independent election commission were thrown in the dustbin. Judicial independency is still a pipedream in Ivory Coast. Just another tool for the power hungry crooks at the top.
But the world reacted angrily and rejected Gbagbo’s political games. The outside world accepted the results declared by the election commission and said that indeed opposition leader Ouattara won the vote and thus would be the new legitimate president of Ivory Coast. Gbagbo and his youth militia refuse to step down and thus a sad stalemate. Demonstrations. Killings. Stand-off. Africa’s road to democracy is once again raped from within. Power games with the average citizen as casualty. Collateral damage. Amazing how power corrupts the mind. It’s the most vicious virus for the human soul. That ridiculous hunger to stay in power. To stay the ruler. The king. The chief. And with that, to remain with the hands in the till. Sad story. Sad xmas for the cocoa nation. Sad xmas for Africa. Sad xmas for democracy.
Human behaviour is a recipe for self destruction.
And as we are about to face 2011, the airwaves and websites and print articles will put aside looking back for looking forward. Every expert and so called smart ass will be called upon for his or her predictions. Every known name in the fashion-, sports-, and - entertainment industry will be asked to predict 2011. Every star gazer or palm reader will be called upon to tell us what 2011 will bring us.
Another waste of time and space and energy. 2011 Will be what it will be. Mostly more of the same with here and then some surprises that might or might not really impact our life’s journey.
As simple as that. No need for predictions and big talking so called analysts. Let it come and deal with it. Or then these so called experts look oh so smart with declaring the obvious as an intellectual brainwave. Go and finish your xmas cake and leave us alone. Of course Iran will be in the news as long as that nuke freak sits in Tehran. Of course Israel vs the Palestinians will be talked about (nearly) daily. Of course Sarah Palin and her tea-lovers will make some headlines with lunatic one-liners. And with the first US primaries kicking off early 2012, we all know that the 2nd half of next year will see increased electioneering in the US. More spin. More lies. More dirty tricks. More waste of money. Of course there will be some freak natural disasters to suck all media attention for a few hours. Be it an earthquake in China, a landslide in Bolivia, or floods in France. For headlines out of Africa, it just needs to be more brutal and the body count in the hundreds.
Human behaviour in 2011 will be as mainly as sad as in 2010. Sparks of hope and floods of madness.
And where it went, and what was said....
Throw out. NY hardcore veterans Agnostic Front have announced a new album for early 2011. Interesting how it goes. Go 20 years back and a new AF album would be highly anticipated and much talked about. Now it’s a small anecdote in the underground music scene. AF was a major driving force in the 80s. Now they nearly have become a painful experience. Like an old-ish sports star refusing to retire. The last AF album, “Warriors” was a very big disappointment. Sad to see that the historic Miret-Stigma tandem dropped so low. And for sure for many the hope remain for a solid AF album, but it seems for the majority it is nothing to really look forward to. Only time will tell. Also early next year Roger Miret will have a new album with his side project The Disasters. The comments so far from the few insiders who heard the new tracks are very positive. Maybe spin. Maybe true. Only time will tell.
C -Ya
collateral – December 2010 is ticking away
Asta la vista
Terminator terminated. California’s Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is finishing up his job. He is out of there early 2011. End of term. Asta la vista.
But to make the exit painful, the Democrats won California’s governorship in the mid-term elections earlier this month. That’s a blow to Arnold. The Austrian muscles who went from Mr Universe to Conan the Barbarian to the Terminator and then Governor. Who knows...., in true Hollywood style there might be a sequel.
Wondering if his Democrat, Kennedy-dynasty wife is happy with Arnold’s end of term and the Democrats take-over in California.
It’s amazing how simple, routine US mid-term elections keeps the globe on the edge. Every political so-called-analyst, and every media outlet from Tokyo to Johannesburg reported and commented on the US ballot battle. It’s often just hype and wagging the dog. It’s Obama mania. It’s the fascination with the Tea Party. It’s the human need for some tragic-comedy on a larger scale and the battle lines for seats in the US Congress and Governorships just ticked the boxes for media fever worldwide.
And of course, as media unfortunately goes these days, it comes with the usual simplicity that kills all explanation. And exaggeration. Overdoses of cream and ketchup on the TV news-show. Stress the show part! The end of Obama. The republican revenge. Right wing take over. Obama lame duck. And on and on. Did any journalists not had a 5 second look at voting history over the last 20 to 30 years in the US? No, that would just be too intellectual and time consuming. Who needs reference points, context and...deeper truth? Well if some of them would do their real job they would have found out that many US presidents’ party lost heavily in mid-term elections in their first terms, and still many bounced back and took a 2nd term. Bill Clinton is just a simple example that comes to mind. And yes things change and times are different,... but for sure the more they change the more they are the same.
The Tea Party populists remain an interesting ‘event’. Still plenty of 1-liners and over-simplistic slogans. But a cattle-like crowd is always hungry for some mind filling crap. The simpler the better so the brain doesn’t need to be activated. Deaf, dumb and dumber. Politics come from all types and sorts, but the Tea Party’s realistic content is just absent. It’s hot air amidst a junk food society. It doesn’t mean they are just evaporating. No on the contrary, unfortunately. Their screams and shouts fit in today’s society and political games. Time will tell but time is a confused thing. But of course, the freedom to be dumb is a constitutional freedom. Guaranteed!
Human behaviour is too often in regress.
Across the Atlantic students went on the rampage in London. The current government wants to increase student fees to help pay off the state’s debt. And that’s just not going down well with the students. They feel education is being turned into a money game and thus the richer your parents are the better an education you can get, and thus the democratisation of education is being slaughtered. Students also clashed with riot police in France recently. Different reason, same anger. France has raised the pension level and thus youngsters feel their entry into the stressed labour market is being made more difficult. And thus Parisian stand offs. And in Marseille and in Lyon,....
Memories of the historic student riots from 1969 filled the air.... for a few days.
So the military junta in Burma held elections. Controlled elections. Just a farce. Nothing free nor fair,... nor democratic. And rightly so has the democratic world rejected the outcome which – haha – was victory for a military associated so-called-political-party. Burma is a basket case. Dictatorship. Corruption. Poverty. Abuse. If the world really wants, these freaks would be toppled within a few days.
Human behaviour is often different from human speech.
Forgotten about them? The Somali Pirates are truly still in action. Still roaming the seas around Somalia, Kenya and Yemen for their next hijack. Some clashes with European naval forces have occurred but nothing to stop the pirates’ threat.
Good news now. First female president elected in Brazil. Viva!
Bad news. More terrorism threats. This time via FedEx parcels. And some suspected ink cartridges too. Cargo transport is now the new target. And thus action taken against cargo handling from suspected sources like Yemen and Somalia. But the cargo and courier business is certainly a weak link. All energy needs to be brought to bear to track down the sources of the explosive packages and then those fuckers need to be taken out. Basta!
Yemen is certainly falling to pieces fast. Failed state. Rotten to the core. Central authority too corrupt and too weak to do what it is supposed to do. Al Queda’s presence growing and across its narrow strait lies the ultimate failed state Somalia. It’s a breeding ground for extremism and religious nutcases.
Good news again. South Africa’s animal welfare activists from LionsRock saved 6 lions from abuse in Europe. One of them was born and raised in a hotel in Bulgaria. How nuts is that!?
Human behaviour towards animals is often just crueler than animals themselves could ever be.
Throw out. OFF! What’s in a name? OFF! is a new, explosive punk band from Keith Morris who made his historic mark with Black Flag and Circle Jerks in the 80s. Morris’ return is an in your face blast of old style fast and furious punkrock. No holds barred.
C -Ya
collateral – November 2010 is progressing at an unwelcoming pace
But to make the exit painful, the Democrats won California’s governorship in the mid-term elections earlier this month. That’s a blow to Arnold. The Austrian muscles who went from Mr Universe to Conan the Barbarian to the Terminator and then Governor. Who knows...., in true Hollywood style there might be a sequel.
Wondering if his Democrat, Kennedy-dynasty wife is happy with Arnold’s end of term and the Democrats take-over in California.
It’s amazing how simple, routine US mid-term elections keeps the globe on the edge. Every political so-called-analyst, and every media outlet from Tokyo to Johannesburg reported and commented on the US ballot battle. It’s often just hype and wagging the dog. It’s Obama mania. It’s the fascination with the Tea Party. It’s the human need for some tragic-comedy on a larger scale and the battle lines for seats in the US Congress and Governorships just ticked the boxes for media fever worldwide.
And of course, as media unfortunately goes these days, it comes with the usual simplicity that kills all explanation. And exaggeration. Overdoses of cream and ketchup on the TV news-show. Stress the show part! The end of Obama. The republican revenge. Right wing take over. Obama lame duck. And on and on. Did any journalists not had a 5 second look at voting history over the last 20 to 30 years in the US? No, that would just be too intellectual and time consuming. Who needs reference points, context and...deeper truth? Well if some of them would do their real job they would have found out that many US presidents’ party lost heavily in mid-term elections in their first terms, and still many bounced back and took a 2nd term. Bill Clinton is just a simple example that comes to mind. And yes things change and times are different,... but for sure the more they change the more they are the same.
The Tea Party populists remain an interesting ‘event’. Still plenty of 1-liners and over-simplistic slogans. But a cattle-like crowd is always hungry for some mind filling crap. The simpler the better so the brain doesn’t need to be activated. Deaf, dumb and dumber. Politics come from all types and sorts, but the Tea Party’s realistic content is just absent. It’s hot air amidst a junk food society. It doesn’t mean they are just evaporating. No on the contrary, unfortunately. Their screams and shouts fit in today’s society and political games. Time will tell but time is a confused thing. But of course, the freedom to be dumb is a constitutional freedom. Guaranteed!
Human behaviour is too often in regress.
Across the Atlantic students went on the rampage in London. The current government wants to increase student fees to help pay off the state’s debt. And that’s just not going down well with the students. They feel education is being turned into a money game and thus the richer your parents are the better an education you can get, and thus the democratisation of education is being slaughtered. Students also clashed with riot police in France recently. Different reason, same anger. France has raised the pension level and thus youngsters feel their entry into the stressed labour market is being made more difficult. And thus Parisian stand offs. And in Marseille and in Lyon,....
Memories of the historic student riots from 1969 filled the air.... for a few days.
So the military junta in Burma held elections. Controlled elections. Just a farce. Nothing free nor fair,... nor democratic. And rightly so has the democratic world rejected the outcome which – haha – was victory for a military associated so-called-political-party. Burma is a basket case. Dictatorship. Corruption. Poverty. Abuse. If the world really wants, these freaks would be toppled within a few days.
Human behaviour is often different from human speech.
Forgotten about them? The Somali Pirates are truly still in action. Still roaming the seas around Somalia, Kenya and Yemen for their next hijack. Some clashes with European naval forces have occurred but nothing to stop the pirates’ threat.
Good news now. First female president elected in Brazil. Viva!
Bad news. More terrorism threats. This time via FedEx parcels. And some suspected ink cartridges too. Cargo transport is now the new target. And thus action taken against cargo handling from suspected sources like Yemen and Somalia. But the cargo and courier business is certainly a weak link. All energy needs to be brought to bear to track down the sources of the explosive packages and then those fuckers need to be taken out. Basta!
Yemen is certainly falling to pieces fast. Failed state. Rotten to the core. Central authority too corrupt and too weak to do what it is supposed to do. Al Queda’s presence growing and across its narrow strait lies the ultimate failed state Somalia. It’s a breeding ground for extremism and religious nutcases.
Good news again. South Africa’s animal welfare activists from LionsRock saved 6 lions from abuse in Europe. One of them was born and raised in a hotel in Bulgaria. How nuts is that!?
Human behaviour towards animals is often just crueler than animals themselves could ever be.
Throw out. OFF! What’s in a name? OFF! is a new, explosive punk band from Keith Morris who made his historic mark with Black Flag and Circle Jerks in the 80s. Morris’ return is an in your face blast of old style fast and furious punkrock. No holds barred.
C -Ya
collateral – November 2010 is progressing at an unwelcoming pace
One by one
And up they came. One by one. Into the light. Back to the surface from the belly of darkness.
From despair, to hope, to hugs and kisses. The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners is an amazing tale. Humanity united worldwide. United in hope. United in suffering. United in joy. A unity also in the rescue operation with advise, technicians, equipment and skills coming from around the globe to the desert planes of Chile. South African drilling techniques, American rock experts, Austrian technology,... And as the binding factor, the ultimate commitment from the Chilean people that these men must be saved by all means necessary. Never surrender!
And so it happened. After 69 days hundreds of meters below the surface, the miners were brought back to their loved ones. It’s the best story in years. And a show of positive attitude and joining hands by the human race.
And amazing tales. From the foreman, who was the last miner to come up. To the worker in his 50s who had caused a family rift while he was stuck underground when as well his wife and his lover came to the mine to pray for better days. Or the one that was planning to quit mining in August,... till disaster struck. Or the teenager who just started going underground weeks ago. All amazing stories from amazing individuals during amazing times. And they all lived to tell it all.
Human behaviour can still inspire greatness.
But then some other human behaviour is just there to stir and rock the boat. To spoil the fun. To upset. To export evil. The Iranian nuke freak president went to Lebanon and addressed a large crowd just a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
How much more can you destabilise a region? It’s pure warmongering. Fuelling the hatred. Undermining fragile efforts within Lebanon to keep a shaky coalition government together and work towards rebuilding the nation. The Iranian dictator is exporting instability and sucking the whole region further away from any hopes of a better future for its citizens. It’s criminal!
And of course the mad Hezbollah supporters welcome the mad Iranian neighbour. Unity in insanity. Hezbollah has no peaceful plans. It’s an organisation that only exists in its hatred for Israel and only drives on its dream to annihilate its Jewish neighbour. It’s insanity with extra topping. Israel needs to be recognized as a fully independent state that is here to stay. Yes it has plenty of unacceptable foreign policy tactics, but the basis of all humanity is the recognition that Israel exists. So that’s the starter square of all realistic walks towards some kind of peaceful living together in this messed up region where hatred, indoctrination, religious hijackings and populist madness rule.
Human behaviour is too often slaughtered on the altar of blind stupidity.
So Southern Sudan is counting down towards its secession from big brother Khartoum. January 9, 2011 will see a referendum deciding if the south will break away from the mother nation with whom it fought a very bloody civil war for too many years. 2005 Saw a peace deal that stopped the guns and grounded the jets. But the peace deal didn’t solve all the problems. At least it stopped the slaughter.
As part of this 2005 deal, the south will decide its faith early next year. It is widely expected to be a clear vote for independence. A new African state is likely to be born. But there is an oil-rich disputed region where the north-south border still needs to be drawn. And oil, as too often, is a curse. A reason for bloodshed. A reason for war. And skirmishes in that region are on the increase. And the fear that after January 9 there might be an independent Southern Sudan but without an exact and fully agreed northern border with its motherland Sudan. And back there in Sudan’s capital Khartoum sits the butcher of Darfur, President Al Bashir.
So the growing tensions are a bad omen. A dark cloud gathering as the referendum nears. Of course the deadly skirmishes will be underplayed by all sides and their supporters. Khartoum wants to avoid too much publicity on that instability as it is already in the doghouse of international opinion, and Al Bashir has an arrest warrant around his neck from the International Criminal Court for genocide in the sandpit of Darfur. Khartoum needs to spin it loud and clear that it is acting as a respectable nation and only follows non-military tactics in its dealings with it soon-to-break-away southern part. The south as such doesn’t want any negative publicity at this crucial stage in its history. Nothing, and really absolutely nothing, should and will derail its referendum towards independence. So for the hopeful in southern Sudan the mention of any incident are evil thoughts. And Washington certainly doesn’t want any focus on the border fights and the yet-to-be-resolved demarcation. The US is fully behind an independent Southern Sudan. It has oil. It’s Christian, compared to its Muslim motherland. It borders the Nile and water is a sensitive topic in the region. Cairo and Khartoum are already stressed about each others’ plans for Nile irrigation projects. And the US needs allies in the region as Somali Muslim fundamentalist terrorists are spreading their shadows further and further. It is hard for Washington to find trustworthy allies in northern and eastern Africa these days, so an independent Southern Sudan is a welcome need. And , let us not forget, there is oil. With the US trying to be less and less dependent on oil from the volatile Middle East, a foot in the oilfields of Southern Sudan is more than welcome. To say the least. So the US support for self determination for the southern Sudanese is more than just a good feel factor. Much more. It’s pure and cold geopolitics. And that’s the way the world turns. No doubt about it. It’s political realism.
Human behaviour always has extra layers and darker sides.
Throw out. Out of the blue came a new musical project. And it came as a blast. Black Country Communion. A UK-US partnership by 4 very well skilled musicians with very serious rock credentials and brought together by South African music producer Kevin Shirley. Kevin resides in NY and has worked together with most rock greats (Iron maiden, Aerosmith, ....). He brought together blues guitar magician Joe Bonamassa, bass player Glenn Hughes from deep purple and Black Sabbath fame, drummer Jason Bonham, son of legendary Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham (Jason paled with led Zep during their brief reunion in 2007), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian who worked with Alice Cooper. It’s a cracking ensemble. The name BCC comes from the dark, gloomy, broken industrial heartland of England where John and Glenn come from. BCC’s self-titled album was released in September and took the British rock charts like a thunderstorm. It sounds like a perfect mix) with a superb production) of Gary Moore, Led Zeppelin and Audioslave. Amazing tunes!
C-Ya
Collateral - as October 2010 nears its halfway mark
From despair, to hope, to hugs and kisses. The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners is an amazing tale. Humanity united worldwide. United in hope. United in suffering. United in joy. A unity also in the rescue operation with advise, technicians, equipment and skills coming from around the globe to the desert planes of Chile. South African drilling techniques, American rock experts, Austrian technology,... And as the binding factor, the ultimate commitment from the Chilean people that these men must be saved by all means necessary. Never surrender!
And so it happened. After 69 days hundreds of meters below the surface, the miners were brought back to their loved ones. It’s the best story in years. And a show of positive attitude and joining hands by the human race.
And amazing tales. From the foreman, who was the last miner to come up. To the worker in his 50s who had caused a family rift while he was stuck underground when as well his wife and his lover came to the mine to pray for better days. Or the one that was planning to quit mining in August,... till disaster struck. Or the teenager who just started going underground weeks ago. All amazing stories from amazing individuals during amazing times. And they all lived to tell it all.
Human behaviour can still inspire greatness.
But then some other human behaviour is just there to stir and rock the boat. To spoil the fun. To upset. To export evil. The Iranian nuke freak president went to Lebanon and addressed a large crowd just a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
How much more can you destabilise a region? It’s pure warmongering. Fuelling the hatred. Undermining fragile efforts within Lebanon to keep a shaky coalition government together and work towards rebuilding the nation. The Iranian dictator is exporting instability and sucking the whole region further away from any hopes of a better future for its citizens. It’s criminal!
And of course the mad Hezbollah supporters welcome the mad Iranian neighbour. Unity in insanity. Hezbollah has no peaceful plans. It’s an organisation that only exists in its hatred for Israel and only drives on its dream to annihilate its Jewish neighbour. It’s insanity with extra topping. Israel needs to be recognized as a fully independent state that is here to stay. Yes it has plenty of unacceptable foreign policy tactics, but the basis of all humanity is the recognition that Israel exists. So that’s the starter square of all realistic walks towards some kind of peaceful living together in this messed up region where hatred, indoctrination, religious hijackings and populist madness rule.
Human behaviour is too often slaughtered on the altar of blind stupidity.
So Southern Sudan is counting down towards its secession from big brother Khartoum. January 9, 2011 will see a referendum deciding if the south will break away from the mother nation with whom it fought a very bloody civil war for too many years. 2005 Saw a peace deal that stopped the guns and grounded the jets. But the peace deal didn’t solve all the problems. At least it stopped the slaughter.
As part of this 2005 deal, the south will decide its faith early next year. It is widely expected to be a clear vote for independence. A new African state is likely to be born. But there is an oil-rich disputed region where the north-south border still needs to be drawn. And oil, as too often, is a curse. A reason for bloodshed. A reason for war. And skirmishes in that region are on the increase. And the fear that after January 9 there might be an independent Southern Sudan but without an exact and fully agreed northern border with its motherland Sudan. And back there in Sudan’s capital Khartoum sits the butcher of Darfur, President Al Bashir.
So the growing tensions are a bad omen. A dark cloud gathering as the referendum nears. Of course the deadly skirmishes will be underplayed by all sides and their supporters. Khartoum wants to avoid too much publicity on that instability as it is already in the doghouse of international opinion, and Al Bashir has an arrest warrant around his neck from the International Criminal Court for genocide in the sandpit of Darfur. Khartoum needs to spin it loud and clear that it is acting as a respectable nation and only follows non-military tactics in its dealings with it soon-to-break-away southern part. The south as such doesn’t want any negative publicity at this crucial stage in its history. Nothing, and really absolutely nothing, should and will derail its referendum towards independence. So for the hopeful in southern Sudan the mention of any incident are evil thoughts. And Washington certainly doesn’t want any focus on the border fights and the yet-to-be-resolved demarcation. The US is fully behind an independent Southern Sudan. It has oil. It’s Christian, compared to its Muslim motherland. It borders the Nile and water is a sensitive topic in the region. Cairo and Khartoum are already stressed about each others’ plans for Nile irrigation projects. And the US needs allies in the region as Somali Muslim fundamentalist terrorists are spreading their shadows further and further. It is hard for Washington to find trustworthy allies in northern and eastern Africa these days, so an independent Southern Sudan is a welcome need. And , let us not forget, there is oil. With the US trying to be less and less dependent on oil from the volatile Middle East, a foot in the oilfields of Southern Sudan is more than welcome. To say the least. So the US support for self determination for the southern Sudanese is more than just a good feel factor. Much more. It’s pure and cold geopolitics. And that’s the way the world turns. No doubt about it. It’s political realism.
Human behaviour always has extra layers and darker sides.
Throw out. Out of the blue came a new musical project. And it came as a blast. Black Country Communion. A UK-US partnership by 4 very well skilled musicians with very serious rock credentials and brought together by South African music producer Kevin Shirley. Kevin resides in NY and has worked together with most rock greats (Iron maiden, Aerosmith, ....). He brought together blues guitar magician Joe Bonamassa, bass player Glenn Hughes from deep purple and Black Sabbath fame, drummer Jason Bonham, son of legendary Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham (Jason paled with led Zep during their brief reunion in 2007), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian who worked with Alice Cooper. It’s a cracking ensemble. The name BCC comes from the dark, gloomy, broken industrial heartland of England where John and Glenn come from. BCC’s self-titled album was released in September and took the British rock charts like a thunderstorm. It sounds like a perfect mix) with a superb production) of Gary Moore, Led Zeppelin and Audioslave. Amazing tunes!
C-Ya
Collateral - as October 2010 nears its halfway mark
Fidel
Too much booze can harm your health. Too much too fast can harm you beyond repair.
In remote northern Mozambique (the whole nation is remote) five men died during a drinking contest which was part of promoting a new brandy. Instant death. The ridiculous contest was to test who could empty five bottles of brandy the fastest. Drink fast die, die now.
An investigating was launched as there are suspicions that the new brandy might have been poisoned – unintentionally – during the making process.
Humanity is a risky affair.
Down in some part of Flemish speaking Belgium a teacher decided to segregate his Belgian pupils from his students from immigrant origin. The small West European nation has a high number of immigrants with North African roots. The regional authorities reacted in a flash and the teacher got suspended. No apartheid style tactics in Flanders!
Humanity needs better history lessons.
So the elections in Afghanistan passed without too much disturbing events it seems. 19 Deaths can sadly be considered a local success amidst the ongoing killing fields. The caveman of the Taliban had promised an avalanche of death and destruction, but that seemed mainly to have been warnings in the wind. The cavemen don’t like democracy. They want to stick to threats and terror campaigns. They don’t like equality between men and women. They don’t like modern economy, be it Reagonomics or state controlled, They don’t like TV nor cinema. They don’t like education for girls. They don’t like freedom of speech. They don’t like freedom of religion. They don’t like social justice. They don’t like the rule of law. They don’t like rock ‘n’ roll.
The Taliban are the club of ultimate anti-everything. They’ don’t want progress of any kind. Not economically, not socially, not morally, not humanly. They just like their caves!
Humanity is sometimes stuck in dark ages and dark thinking. Darkness is the antipode of light, and light is life.
So some Tea Party freaks got elected here and there across the USA in some fill-the-vacant-seat polls. Interesting and sad. The US nor the world needs the narrow minded numbness of Sarah Palin and her one-brain-cell extremists. Are they the cavemen and -women of the USA? The one-line politicians with an extreme populist approach and lack of sense of reality. The salespeople of pipedreams? But these tactics sadly work in economic hard times. History is the proof of that in many nations across Europe and even spilled over into the former Soviet Union parts. Of course many people like them. It’s like a MacDonalds burger. You got a craving and little cash. So you get a bite from a drive-through and it feels alright there and then. It’s bad for your health and you’re probably hungry again in 2 hours or so, but hey it does the trick for now and doesn’t cost too much (well it’s little money for crap).
Time will tell.
Humanity is responsible for its own demise. Be it just a kick in the teeth or the amputation of an arm.
South Africa’s ruling party ANC wants to nationalise the mines. The southern tip of the old continent is full of gold, iron, platinum,... Nationalisation hasn’t worked anywhere over the last 50 years but the ANC thinks it can beat history. Some even wanna go a step further and nationalise the banks too. They don’t seem to read the news. Leftwing hero Fidel Castro himself even said a few weeks ago that the Cuban economic model didn’t work. And his brother who runs the show now on the island has started a vast campaign of liberalisation. If even Fidel has given up on the idea that the state needs to run everything, then clearly it hasn’t worked. The commie model is dead and in many nations buried for a long time. And the corpse is absolutely not revivable. You maybe can mummify it in some places, but dead is dead. Life’s breath is gone.
So why does the ANC think they can resuscitate the model is a mystery to most. Sadly it feels like a simplistic, populist slogan at a time in history where the frustrations amongst all South Africans are growing as the gap between rich and poor has grown since democracy brought the ANC to power in 1994. Massive poverty is a very hard reality in South Africa despite the ongoing promises by the ANC and in the face of massive self-enrichment by the party’s elite. So the nationalisation slogan seems just an exercise to keep the focus away from the rot. Sad.
Humanity is sometimes adrift.
Bosnia is going to the polls very soon. With war ghosts roaming the minds. Russia’s PM Vladimir Putin said he is probably gonna try another presidential stint. Tough guy Putin did two presidential terms, then stepped aside for his puppet as the constitutional only allows two terms. But power is just too addictive, so Putin is gonna go for it at the next presidential ballot. Mr KGB will soon be back in the Kremlin. Nigeria is going to the polls next year. That’s another tough one. Sadly, the campaign in Africa’s most populated country will likely be bloody. Political emotions turning violent. South Sudan is voting for independence from the north next January. A new African nation is expected to be born. The presidential butcher in Khartoum will feel betrayed. Belgium and Holland still don’t have a government despite having send their people to the polling stations months ago. Iran is still working on its nuke program. Madness has no limits.
Humanity needs a cure to survive its own insanity.
Throw out. Californian punkrockers Bad Religion are still alive and kicking after 30years in the scene and on the stage. Their new album “The dissent of man” is being released any day now and they still sound great (got it already!). Like a solid diesel engine, they just keep going. Full speed ahead and no turning back. No surrender and no defeat.
C -Ya
collateral – September 2010 is doing its final twists and turns
In remote northern Mozambique (the whole nation is remote) five men died during a drinking contest which was part of promoting a new brandy. Instant death. The ridiculous contest was to test who could empty five bottles of brandy the fastest. Drink fast die, die now.
An investigating was launched as there are suspicions that the new brandy might have been poisoned – unintentionally – during the making process.
Humanity is a risky affair.
Down in some part of Flemish speaking Belgium a teacher decided to segregate his Belgian pupils from his students from immigrant origin. The small West European nation has a high number of immigrants with North African roots. The regional authorities reacted in a flash and the teacher got suspended. No apartheid style tactics in Flanders!
Humanity needs better history lessons.
So the elections in Afghanistan passed without too much disturbing events it seems. 19 Deaths can sadly be considered a local success amidst the ongoing killing fields. The caveman of the Taliban had promised an avalanche of death and destruction, but that seemed mainly to have been warnings in the wind. The cavemen don’t like democracy. They want to stick to threats and terror campaigns. They don’t like equality between men and women. They don’t like modern economy, be it Reagonomics or state controlled, They don’t like TV nor cinema. They don’t like education for girls. They don’t like freedom of speech. They don’t like freedom of religion. They don’t like social justice. They don’t like the rule of law. They don’t like rock ‘n’ roll.
The Taliban are the club of ultimate anti-everything. They’ don’t want progress of any kind. Not economically, not socially, not morally, not humanly. They just like their caves!
Humanity is sometimes stuck in dark ages and dark thinking. Darkness is the antipode of light, and light is life.
So some Tea Party freaks got elected here and there across the USA in some fill-the-vacant-seat polls. Interesting and sad. The US nor the world needs the narrow minded numbness of Sarah Palin and her one-brain-cell extremists. Are they the cavemen and -women of the USA? The one-line politicians with an extreme populist approach and lack of sense of reality. The salespeople of pipedreams? But these tactics sadly work in economic hard times. History is the proof of that in many nations across Europe and even spilled over into the former Soviet Union parts. Of course many people like them. It’s like a MacDonalds burger. You got a craving and little cash. So you get a bite from a drive-through and it feels alright there and then. It’s bad for your health and you’re probably hungry again in 2 hours or so, but hey it does the trick for now and doesn’t cost too much (well it’s little money for crap).
Time will tell.
Humanity is responsible for its own demise. Be it just a kick in the teeth or the amputation of an arm.
South Africa’s ruling party ANC wants to nationalise the mines. The southern tip of the old continent is full of gold, iron, platinum,... Nationalisation hasn’t worked anywhere over the last 50 years but the ANC thinks it can beat history. Some even wanna go a step further and nationalise the banks too. They don’t seem to read the news. Leftwing hero Fidel Castro himself even said a few weeks ago that the Cuban economic model didn’t work. And his brother who runs the show now on the island has started a vast campaign of liberalisation. If even Fidel has given up on the idea that the state needs to run everything, then clearly it hasn’t worked. The commie model is dead and in many nations buried for a long time. And the corpse is absolutely not revivable. You maybe can mummify it in some places, but dead is dead. Life’s breath is gone.
So why does the ANC think they can resuscitate the model is a mystery to most. Sadly it feels like a simplistic, populist slogan at a time in history where the frustrations amongst all South Africans are growing as the gap between rich and poor has grown since democracy brought the ANC to power in 1994. Massive poverty is a very hard reality in South Africa despite the ongoing promises by the ANC and in the face of massive self-enrichment by the party’s elite. So the nationalisation slogan seems just an exercise to keep the focus away from the rot. Sad.
Humanity is sometimes adrift.
Bosnia is going to the polls very soon. With war ghosts roaming the minds. Russia’s PM Vladimir Putin said he is probably gonna try another presidential stint. Tough guy Putin did two presidential terms, then stepped aside for his puppet as the constitutional only allows two terms. But power is just too addictive, so Putin is gonna go for it at the next presidential ballot. Mr KGB will soon be back in the Kremlin. Nigeria is going to the polls next year. That’s another tough one. Sadly, the campaign in Africa’s most populated country will likely be bloody. Political emotions turning violent. South Sudan is voting for independence from the north next January. A new African nation is expected to be born. The presidential butcher in Khartoum will feel betrayed. Belgium and Holland still don’t have a government despite having send their people to the polling stations months ago. Iran is still working on its nuke program. Madness has no limits.
Humanity needs a cure to survive its own insanity.
Throw out. Californian punkrockers Bad Religion are still alive and kicking after 30years in the scene and on the stage. Their new album “The dissent of man” is being released any day now and they still sound great (got it already!). Like a solid diesel engine, they just keep going. Full speed ahead and no turning back. No surrender and no defeat.
C -Ya
collateral – September 2010 is doing its final twists and turns
Mental
Some recent evens seem to come from a horror show. A real one,... not from a game station of from some Hollywood series on cable TV.
A German priest has been charged with rape of an underage girl. And not just a one-off (how disgusting that already would be) but ongoing rape for 3 years.
The girl was 14 years old when the pervert violated her for the first time. The priest told her she would not go to heaven (!!!) if she did not comply with his sexual urges. Sick desires. Mental!
Arrest, sentence, jail, throw away the key. Sick fuckers like that do not belong in society. And on top of it all he is a priest. Somebody whom believers think they can blindly trust. A man of God. A man preaching love, forgiveness, respect but then violates for years on the innocence of a young girl. It is sickening. Very sickening. Outrageous. The priest betrayed his own faith. Betrayed his own being. Betrayed humanity.
Human behaviour is sometimes very inhuman.
Down in the sandpit of Saudi Arabia a man has asked for some special operation on his spine which would leave him paralysed forever. Mental?!
It seems the man was in a brawl with another man and stabbed and damaged the spine of that person. The victim is now paralyzed. So the attacker in his state of utter madness and using his Muslim faith as “guidance” is looking for a hospital to make his suffering equal to the suffering of his victim.
What way of seeking justice is this? From way back in the dark ages. Don’t know if any medical doctor would accept to do such a surgery because if so then also that doctor needs urgently be taken to a mental institution and put on sedative drugs. Two mental cases for urgent treatment. Electroshocks might be required. Sick society.
Human behaviour is sometimes a very dark mystery. A labyrinth of insanity.
Staying in Saudi Arabia. A Sri Lankan maid has fled back home because her employer slammed 23 nails into her body when she needed a rest after hard labour in the Saudi’s man mansion. The Saudi claimed his maid needed some punishment. Mental?!
There are many stories of serious abuse of domestic workers in those rich Gulf states. Total racist disrespect for their maids, mainly coming from Asia. It’s a horror show beyond those big walls of those palaces of opulence. And too often the “boss” is not facing justice for his (or her) violent actions against the domestic workers.
Sad.
Human behaviour sucks.
Kick that. It seems that maybe Adolf Hitler had African and Jewish (!!!) descendents. If he would have known this he might have killed himself before kick starting world war two and letting his genocide madness loose on the Jews, gypsies and gays. It would have saved humanity lots of suffering. It’s scary to even think about it.
Some Belgian researcher did DNA testing on 39 relatives of the Fuhrer. The DNA results trace the Hitler-branch back to chromosomes found in the Berbers from northern Africa, as well as in Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.
It’s amazing. Tell that to all the Nazi lovers still around. It’s a Sieg Heil to scientific reality. And DNA doesn’t lie. So here you have it. Hitler should have walked around with his own yellow star of David back in the 30s when his Nazi party started the pogrom against the Jews. He should have put himself on the train to Auschwitz. He should have exterminated himself.
Just can’t imagine what would have happened if the ugly bastard just would have known. He probably would have rejected the scientific results as an evil Jewish plot.
Human history is a scary place.
Australian elections deadlocked. Just as their British family, Australia is just not used to coalition forming and thus a nation in political distress. Obama on holiday. South African President Zuma (and polygamist) in China. Meanwhile one of his wives got a baby back home. But husband Zuma was in faraway Commie-land with another wife. Massgraves in Mexico. Deadly drug wars. Still flooding in China and Pakistan. Fear of looming food crisis in Pakistan once the waters reside. It’s a crazy planet. An angry planet. Angry with itself and its residents.
Human behaviour is listening to the hymns of an angry planet.
Throw out. Eddie Sutton, the singer of NY punkrock-with-a-crossover-metallic-edge band Leeway, is back with a new band called Truth N Rights. He teamed up with some of his friends from the band Agents Of Man (rip) and started a new musical journey. Truth N Rights just released its first tracks on Six Feet Under records and they sound like a mix of Leeway and Agents of Man. No surprises there but still kicking, and still of course with that high pitched vocal cord of Eddie.
C -Ya
collateral – August 2010 is nearing its final moments of reality before becoming history
A German priest has been charged with rape of an underage girl. And not just a one-off (how disgusting that already would be) but ongoing rape for 3 years.
The girl was 14 years old when the pervert violated her for the first time. The priest told her she would not go to heaven (!!!) if she did not comply with his sexual urges. Sick desires. Mental!
Arrest, sentence, jail, throw away the key. Sick fuckers like that do not belong in society. And on top of it all he is a priest. Somebody whom believers think they can blindly trust. A man of God. A man preaching love, forgiveness, respect but then violates for years on the innocence of a young girl. It is sickening. Very sickening. Outrageous. The priest betrayed his own faith. Betrayed his own being. Betrayed humanity.
Human behaviour is sometimes very inhuman.
Down in the sandpit of Saudi Arabia a man has asked for some special operation on his spine which would leave him paralysed forever. Mental?!
It seems the man was in a brawl with another man and stabbed and damaged the spine of that person. The victim is now paralyzed. So the attacker in his state of utter madness and using his Muslim faith as “guidance” is looking for a hospital to make his suffering equal to the suffering of his victim.
What way of seeking justice is this? From way back in the dark ages. Don’t know if any medical doctor would accept to do such a surgery because if so then also that doctor needs urgently be taken to a mental institution and put on sedative drugs. Two mental cases for urgent treatment. Electroshocks might be required. Sick society.
Human behaviour is sometimes a very dark mystery. A labyrinth of insanity.
Staying in Saudi Arabia. A Sri Lankan maid has fled back home because her employer slammed 23 nails into her body when she needed a rest after hard labour in the Saudi’s man mansion. The Saudi claimed his maid needed some punishment. Mental?!
There are many stories of serious abuse of domestic workers in those rich Gulf states. Total racist disrespect for their maids, mainly coming from Asia. It’s a horror show beyond those big walls of those palaces of opulence. And too often the “boss” is not facing justice for his (or her) violent actions against the domestic workers.
Sad.
Human behaviour sucks.
Kick that. It seems that maybe Adolf Hitler had African and Jewish (!!!) descendents. If he would have known this he might have killed himself before kick starting world war two and letting his genocide madness loose on the Jews, gypsies and gays. It would have saved humanity lots of suffering. It’s scary to even think about it.
Some Belgian researcher did DNA testing on 39 relatives of the Fuhrer. The DNA results trace the Hitler-branch back to chromosomes found in the Berbers from northern Africa, as well as in Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.
It’s amazing. Tell that to all the Nazi lovers still around. It’s a Sieg Heil to scientific reality. And DNA doesn’t lie. So here you have it. Hitler should have walked around with his own yellow star of David back in the 30s when his Nazi party started the pogrom against the Jews. He should have put himself on the train to Auschwitz. He should have exterminated himself.
Just can’t imagine what would have happened if the ugly bastard just would have known. He probably would have rejected the scientific results as an evil Jewish plot.
Human history is a scary place.
Australian elections deadlocked. Just as their British family, Australia is just not used to coalition forming and thus a nation in political distress. Obama on holiday. South African President Zuma (and polygamist) in China. Meanwhile one of his wives got a baby back home. But husband Zuma was in faraway Commie-land with another wife. Massgraves in Mexico. Deadly drug wars. Still flooding in China and Pakistan. Fear of looming food crisis in Pakistan once the waters reside. It’s a crazy planet. An angry planet. Angry with itself and its residents.
Human behaviour is listening to the hymns of an angry planet.
Throw out. Eddie Sutton, the singer of NY punkrock-with-a-crossover-metallic-edge band Leeway, is back with a new band called Truth N Rights. He teamed up with some of his friends from the band Agents Of Man (rip) and started a new musical journey. Truth N Rights just released its first tracks on Six Feet Under records and they sound like a mix of Leeway and Agents of Man. No surprises there but still kicking, and still of course with that high pitched vocal cord of Eddie.
C -Ya
collateral – August 2010 is nearing its final moments of reality before becoming history
The rot
Corruption is a worldwide rot. But some countries are more rotten than others. Some have solid control mechanisms in place that cut out the rot before it grows to wide and too deep. Other nations unfortunately are rotten to the core. Terminally ill.
And sadly lots of serious and systematic corruption is happening in African countries. One of the growing worry, according to international organisation that watch these developments, is the downwards spiral in South Africa.
But some light in the tunnel, although the ray of light also exposes the extent of the rot. And thus maybe the ray of light is just a passing train. But at least something is happening somewhere.
The Housing Department, officially called the Ministry of Human Settlements, has gone on the attack.
Because of the legacy of apartheid, the growth of its population and the urbanisation of the country, South Africa faces an enormous housing backlog. Hundreds of thousands of its citizens live in dirty, smelly, sickening, inhuman circumstances. So social housing projects have always been high on the government’s agenda since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
But as the projects grew so also grew the rot. Budgets disappeared. Construction materials disappeared. Houses were built very badly as crap, cheap materials were used and the builders just didn’t care. Builders and material were ‘transferred’ to private residences of municipal officials. And on and on did the rot spread.
But now the housing minister had enough of the shambles and a corruption probe was launched. Is he doing it for PR reasons for self-promotion towards a political (presidential?) career? Or did he really woke up one day and said enough is enough. The future will tell, but in the meantime the pressure is on, dodgy builders blacklisted and corrupt officials taken to court.
7373 Officials were investigated so far. That resulted in 930 arrests of which 762 got already convicted. Justice done. 762 Corrupt officials out of 7373 investigated. That’s about a 10% rot factor. Scary.
On top of that it has now been revealed in South Africa's parliament that whistleblowers on corrupt housing deals are being threatened and murdered while they are in witness protection programmes. The housing rot is clearly in the hands of criminal syndicates who now feel threatned that the corruption investigations is cutting off their cash flow.
Human behaviour is sometimes a crawling decay.
Staying in same African country and on same topic of white collar crime.
Pietermaritzburg is a town in the historically famous Zulu region of South Africa. The city needs every month about US$28.5 million to function. Well, it has just over half a million US$ left in its bank account. The city is currently operating on a 3 day look-ahead basis. After that,.... who knows who will pay what.
Money was just wasted and mismanaged for too long and it took much too long for somebody to raise the alarm bell. The rot has gone to the heart of the matter and thus all is rotten and rotten deep and systematically.
On top of that it seems that 90% of all small and medium sized business in town have tampered with their water meters. The rot is everywhere.
Sad story. Human behaviour is its own demise.
Hope that is what Southern Sudan is living on. Hope that the dawn of being independent will bring a better life. Peace and prosperity after too many years of conflict and poverty.
Southern Sudan is on its way to become a new African nation, cut off from the mother nation Sudan. Next January a referendum will decide on self-determination. And it is widely expected that the Christian south will cut itself loose from the Muslim north. How Sudanese president Al Bashir (and its army) will react is another question. The butcher-of-Darfur doesn’t have too much peace credentials. He already has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court around his neck. That’s for his bloodbath in the Darfur sandpit. Hope that Al Bashir keeps his MIGs grounded.
But hope makes people grow taller. Lots to do in ravaged Southern Sudan and thus hope that the new government will use its oil revenues carefully, wisely and corruption-free. One has to have hope.
A new nation on the banks of the river Nile.
Staying wet. Spotted that Obama (and daughter) took a dive in the Gulf of Mexico. Great PR exercise to lift the spirits in the ocean of despair since the massive oil spill from the BP well. Years of negative impact to follow for sure, but Obama’s splash has brought hope that the worst is over and recovery of destroyed lives and environment can kick start.
Humans need hope.
Tell that to the Pakistanis. An estimated 20 million people affected my ravaging floods. Walls of destructive water rolling down the valleys and taking everything in its swells. People, animals, crops, houses, factories,...
Very sad affair. And the international community is slow in reacting and committing funds. Donor fatigue it’s called. The quake in Haiti earlier this year seemed to have been a “sexier” cause for good deeds. Pakistan is probably also lacking a positive image, which doesn’t help when massive amounts of cash injections are needed. A bad image doesn’t help when the begging bowl is out.
Remember not so long ago, WikiLeaks published some secret US military documents in which American intelligence operators had very clear fears about links between Pakistani intelligence officials and terrorist organisations. And for years Pakistan’s external image was dented by its political chaos, by its political assassinations, by its links to bombings in India, by corruption, by Muslim extremism in its northern regions, by lack of border security with Afghanistan,.... Just too much stains on its image to built an bond of trust with donors and the so called international community.
Hope is what the affected Pakistanis need. Hope that the future can be better. For now it’s pretty dark (and wet) out there.
Never give up. Never surrender!
Throw out. Troops Of Tomorrow is a new punkrock band from Washington DC. Their 3 track demo has clear influences from the early 80s underground punk(rock) scene on America’s east side. Raw, aggressive, uncompromising tunes. And maybe they choose their band name in reference to an early album by punk heroes The Exploited.
C -Ya
collateral – August 2010 is moving on
And sadly lots of serious and systematic corruption is happening in African countries. One of the growing worry, according to international organisation that watch these developments, is the downwards spiral in South Africa.
But some light in the tunnel, although the ray of light also exposes the extent of the rot. And thus maybe the ray of light is just a passing train. But at least something is happening somewhere.
The Housing Department, officially called the Ministry of Human Settlements, has gone on the attack.
Because of the legacy of apartheid, the growth of its population and the urbanisation of the country, South Africa faces an enormous housing backlog. Hundreds of thousands of its citizens live in dirty, smelly, sickening, inhuman circumstances. So social housing projects have always been high on the government’s agenda since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
But as the projects grew so also grew the rot. Budgets disappeared. Construction materials disappeared. Houses were built very badly as crap, cheap materials were used and the builders just didn’t care. Builders and material were ‘transferred’ to private residences of municipal officials. And on and on did the rot spread.
But now the housing minister had enough of the shambles and a corruption probe was launched. Is he doing it for PR reasons for self-promotion towards a political (presidential?) career? Or did he really woke up one day and said enough is enough. The future will tell, but in the meantime the pressure is on, dodgy builders blacklisted and corrupt officials taken to court.
7373 Officials were investigated so far. That resulted in 930 arrests of which 762 got already convicted. Justice done. 762 Corrupt officials out of 7373 investigated. That’s about a 10% rot factor. Scary.
On top of that it has now been revealed in South Africa's parliament that whistleblowers on corrupt housing deals are being threatened and murdered while they are in witness protection programmes. The housing rot is clearly in the hands of criminal syndicates who now feel threatned that the corruption investigations is cutting off their cash flow.
Human behaviour is sometimes a crawling decay.
Staying in same African country and on same topic of white collar crime.
Pietermaritzburg is a town in the historically famous Zulu region of South Africa. The city needs every month about US$28.5 million to function. Well, it has just over half a million US$ left in its bank account. The city is currently operating on a 3 day look-ahead basis. After that,.... who knows who will pay what.
Money was just wasted and mismanaged for too long and it took much too long for somebody to raise the alarm bell. The rot has gone to the heart of the matter and thus all is rotten and rotten deep and systematically.
On top of that it seems that 90% of all small and medium sized business in town have tampered with their water meters. The rot is everywhere.
Sad story. Human behaviour is its own demise.
Hope that is what Southern Sudan is living on. Hope that the dawn of being independent will bring a better life. Peace and prosperity after too many years of conflict and poverty.
Southern Sudan is on its way to become a new African nation, cut off from the mother nation Sudan. Next January a referendum will decide on self-determination. And it is widely expected that the Christian south will cut itself loose from the Muslim north. How Sudanese president Al Bashir (and its army) will react is another question. The butcher-of-Darfur doesn’t have too much peace credentials. He already has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court around his neck. That’s for his bloodbath in the Darfur sandpit. Hope that Al Bashir keeps his MIGs grounded.
But hope makes people grow taller. Lots to do in ravaged Southern Sudan and thus hope that the new government will use its oil revenues carefully, wisely and corruption-free. One has to have hope.
A new nation on the banks of the river Nile.
Staying wet. Spotted that Obama (and daughter) took a dive in the Gulf of Mexico. Great PR exercise to lift the spirits in the ocean of despair since the massive oil spill from the BP well. Years of negative impact to follow for sure, but Obama’s splash has brought hope that the worst is over and recovery of destroyed lives and environment can kick start.
Humans need hope.
Tell that to the Pakistanis. An estimated 20 million people affected my ravaging floods. Walls of destructive water rolling down the valleys and taking everything in its swells. People, animals, crops, houses, factories,...
Very sad affair. And the international community is slow in reacting and committing funds. Donor fatigue it’s called. The quake in Haiti earlier this year seemed to have been a “sexier” cause for good deeds. Pakistan is probably also lacking a positive image, which doesn’t help when massive amounts of cash injections are needed. A bad image doesn’t help when the begging bowl is out.
Remember not so long ago, WikiLeaks published some secret US military documents in which American intelligence operators had very clear fears about links between Pakistani intelligence officials and terrorist organisations. And for years Pakistan’s external image was dented by its political chaos, by its political assassinations, by its links to bombings in India, by corruption, by Muslim extremism in its northern regions, by lack of border security with Afghanistan,.... Just too much stains on its image to built an bond of trust with donors and the so called international community.
Hope is what the affected Pakistanis need. Hope that the future can be better. For now it’s pretty dark (and wet) out there.
Never give up. Never surrender!
Throw out. Troops Of Tomorrow is a new punkrock band from Washington DC. Their 3 track demo has clear influences from the early 80s underground punk(rock) scene on America’s east side. Raw, aggressive, uncompromising tunes. And maybe they choose their band name in reference to an early album by punk heroes The Exploited.
C -Ya
collateral – August 2010 is moving on
River runs red
So the oil and gas rich sandpit of Abu Dhabi (an exploding glass and concrete metropolis near Dubai) is planning to maybe ban the use of Blackberry phones.
Yes indeed. It is busy building a high tech, super modern, no-taxes-paid, international business hub in competition to its better-known neighbour Dubai, but doesn’t like it that Blackberry technology stores all data on servers outside the country as such.
Meaning, in difference to regular cell phone operation systems, all Blackberry data operations are transferring through a US-based server. And so the Abu Dhabi authorities are afraid that state secrets are passing through this US server.
Can’t have it all I guess. Busy promoting yourself as the new, have-to-be-based-in, hi-tech, flashy, international biz hub..... but then having issues with the main communication tool that all CEOs, COOs, MDs, executives, conglomerate bosses, managers, directors, lobbyists, advisors, consultants, financial gurus, board members, company presidents, VPs,... have these days. Can’t be the new biz hub but blocking the main communication tool of the ones that keep the hub flipping and tripping and rock ‘n’ rolling. Something’s gotta give.
Human behaviour sometimes struggles with its own development speed.
As Abu Dhabi is busy building its high-tech future but struggles with high tech comms, South Africa seems to be considering taking its future two steps back.
The ruling party ANC under president Jacob Zuma is planning to introduce a far-reaching Information Bill, and is also thinking of setting up a media tribunal.
Steps back to apartheid era tactics? The victims learned tricks from their oppressors?
It is without a single doubt very important for every state to protect its sensitive information. Be it military secrets, diplomatic background notes or sensitive industrial plans. But leaving the description of what exactly falls under ‘state secrets’ as vague and broad as possible, makes it in fact impossible for most information to be scrutinized, printed in newspapers, ... even openly discussed in parliament. It’s a serious attempt to cover up and hide government affairs as much as possible from daylight. Sounds like censorship.
Same with the intention to set up a media tribunal. The plan has been lurking around in the darker corners of the ruling party’s policy documents for some time, but came to the forefront recently when several South African newspapers criticized ministers of wasting millions on very long stays in 5-star hotels, buying top of the top range luxury cars, splashing out on thousands of soccer world cup tickets,.... A sea of luxury amidst a pool of poverty. South Africa is the world ‘leader’ when it comes to the gap between rich and poor.
So it seems the Zuma cabinet is reviving the evil ghost of the oppressive apartheid regime’s tactics when it comes to media freedom and free flow of information. A flourishing, free, strong media is a cornerstone of a solid democracy. That’s key anywhere in the world. North or south. Rich or poor. White or black.
Look at the nations around the globe where press freedom is under threat or nonexistent or very restrictive. Zimbabwe, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Morocco,.... Remember China and its Google conflict. Is this the path South Africa wants to take only 16 years after it became free of minority rule and apartheid oppression and finally got democracy? It sucks.
Human behaviour is sometimes crawling around in dark corners. Spinning in its own vomit.
Sticking to the same topic. So the spill-the-beans website WikiLeaks put out about 19000 US military and diplomatic documents that were classified.
That’s not a little leak of some secretive info, that’s a whole tidal wave. A tsumani of classified documents. It’s a two sided coin. It is great for trying to understand the unspoken truths/lies and hidden agendas - in this case the US (NATO) operation in Afghanistan and the tense relationship with chaotic neighbour Pakistan. It’s great to bring some of the issues raised – f.i. civilian death count, relations between Pakistan’s secret service and the Taliban – into the open and known to the public. The public that is ending its sons and daughters to the killing fields of Afghanistan (and Iraq). And it is pretty clear since a long time that the US military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq are mired in secrets, hidden agendas, spin, double-speak, commercial goals, historic backdrops, murky geopolitical perspectives,...
But the other side of the coin is that maybe some of these leaked documents can be used by terrorists and fellow cavemen to kill or maim NATO soldiers or Afghan politicians or members of international aid organisations, or even terrorize local communities. So there is some aspect of national security at stake here probably.
From official and unofficial military operations in and around the mountains of Afghanistan to the dirty waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The BP boss has been moved aside to save the oil giant’s image and US operation (and it’s falling share value). The old BP boss was a Brit who wasn’t always the smartest in his statements about the environmental disaster in the Gulf. He famously once said that he wanted the oil spill to stop as he wanted his life back,... without mentioning the vast devastation the BP f*up caused on the livelihood of the many communities in the area. So BP put a Yank at the helm this time. Should smooth the way with the White House and Congress. The old BP boss is likely to be moved to BP’s Russian operations. So it’s not like the old boss will be joining the unemployed queue and ask for social benefits.
From thick, smelly, sticky oil slicks to crushing killings in a tunnel. All in a week’s global events.
The massive Love Festival in Germany turned into a tragedy. From love to death. From techno beats to cries of pain and final breaths.
The crowd was just too big to handle and when crowd control and crowd flows get out of hand disasters are sadly often lurking and that’s what happened in the festival tunnel entrance/exit.
Sad but true. How a musical afternoon can so easily and so fast turn into a grim reaper’s fury. 20 Killed.
News flashes.
Belgium went to the polls last June 13 but still no government formed in its complex multi-party political landscape.
Mass graves were found in northern Mexico. It seems it was a dumping ground for the victims of Mexico’s druglords. Bullet in the head.
The tiny but super-rich Arab nation of Qatar wants to bid to host a soccer world cup. Strange but true. No soccer tradition at all. Geographically very small with hardly any city development outside the ever growing capital Doha. But too much cash to handle and thus it can throw billions and build new everything. They might aim for the first soccer worldcup with all stadiums enclosed and air-conditioned because their summer is very very very hot.
Qatar has been throwing tons of cash to host big sporting events like Asia Games, ATP tennis, cycling, swimming,... It’s all about prestige and nothing else. And money spins the globe....
But something went ugly wrong recently. The Emir’s TV station Al Jazeera had the TV rights to show the soccer world cup (held in South Africa) live across the Middle East. But as the soccer showpiece kicked off on June 11, and thousands of people gathered around the Middle East to watch it, there was only a black screen. No picture. Nothing. Something went wrong technically. And again for part of the US-England game. The money throwing Qataris were ashamed but couldn’t face reality so they blamed so called ‘saboteurs’ for the mishap. The real truth about why the image stayed black was never made public.
From the South African worldcup in the Middle East to.... South Africa.
Serve & Protect. That’s the slogan for many police services around the world. But for some South African cops the Serve & Protect meant Help Yourself first.
5 Cops have been arrested for stealing chocolate and alcohol from accident scenes. And not just from the backseat of a private car, or just once. No, when you Help Yourself, do it for real. Firstly the cops stole alcohol to a value of US$88000 from an overturned truck on one of the country’s highways. Then 5 days later the same men stole chocolate (!!!) from the wreckage of a crashed truck. This time the value of the goods was US$41000.
But the men in uniform were caught and are facing justice. So when you are unlucky and are involved in a traffic accident in South Africa and you see a cop coming to help you, be aware he might not be there to Serve & Protect, he might just be there looting your car or truck or van or caravan. And maybe afterwards, just maybe, he might come and save you from your wreckage.
It’s all about priorities!
Throw out. So Brooklyn’s punkrockers Life Of Agony just released a commemorative live album called “20 Years. River Runs Red live in Brussels”. The release celebrates the 20th anniversary of this NY underground band. In 1990 LoA recorded its first demo tape. Then 3 years later the band released its debut album “River Runs Red” and made history. Tight riffs, pounding bass, stand out vocals,... and deep, depressing lyrics. The album became a milestone of the underground punkrock scene. After that it went kind of downhill. Or call it ups and downs but the peak of “River Runs Red” was never reached again. LoA broke up, re-united, broke up and re-united again. But here it is. Life Of Agony’s commemorative gig in Brussels back in April 2009 during which it played the whole 1993 album.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2010 is exiting soon
Yes indeed. It is busy building a high tech, super modern, no-taxes-paid, international business hub in competition to its better-known neighbour Dubai, but doesn’t like it that Blackberry technology stores all data on servers outside the country as such.
Meaning, in difference to regular cell phone operation systems, all Blackberry data operations are transferring through a US-based server. And so the Abu Dhabi authorities are afraid that state secrets are passing through this US server.
Can’t have it all I guess. Busy promoting yourself as the new, have-to-be-based-in, hi-tech, flashy, international biz hub..... but then having issues with the main communication tool that all CEOs, COOs, MDs, executives, conglomerate bosses, managers, directors, lobbyists, advisors, consultants, financial gurus, board members, company presidents, VPs,... have these days. Can’t be the new biz hub but blocking the main communication tool of the ones that keep the hub flipping and tripping and rock ‘n’ rolling. Something’s gotta give.
Human behaviour sometimes struggles with its own development speed.
As Abu Dhabi is busy building its high-tech future but struggles with high tech comms, South Africa seems to be considering taking its future two steps back.
The ruling party ANC under president Jacob Zuma is planning to introduce a far-reaching Information Bill, and is also thinking of setting up a media tribunal.
Steps back to apartheid era tactics? The victims learned tricks from their oppressors?
It is without a single doubt very important for every state to protect its sensitive information. Be it military secrets, diplomatic background notes or sensitive industrial plans. But leaving the description of what exactly falls under ‘state secrets’ as vague and broad as possible, makes it in fact impossible for most information to be scrutinized, printed in newspapers, ... even openly discussed in parliament. It’s a serious attempt to cover up and hide government affairs as much as possible from daylight. Sounds like censorship.
Same with the intention to set up a media tribunal. The plan has been lurking around in the darker corners of the ruling party’s policy documents for some time, but came to the forefront recently when several South African newspapers criticized ministers of wasting millions on very long stays in 5-star hotels, buying top of the top range luxury cars, splashing out on thousands of soccer world cup tickets,.... A sea of luxury amidst a pool of poverty. South Africa is the world ‘leader’ when it comes to the gap between rich and poor.
So it seems the Zuma cabinet is reviving the evil ghost of the oppressive apartheid regime’s tactics when it comes to media freedom and free flow of information. A flourishing, free, strong media is a cornerstone of a solid democracy. That’s key anywhere in the world. North or south. Rich or poor. White or black.
Look at the nations around the globe where press freedom is under threat or nonexistent or very restrictive. Zimbabwe, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Morocco,.... Remember China and its Google conflict. Is this the path South Africa wants to take only 16 years after it became free of minority rule and apartheid oppression and finally got democracy? It sucks.
Human behaviour is sometimes crawling around in dark corners. Spinning in its own vomit.
Sticking to the same topic. So the spill-the-beans website WikiLeaks put out about 19000 US military and diplomatic documents that were classified.
That’s not a little leak of some secretive info, that’s a whole tidal wave. A tsumani of classified documents. It’s a two sided coin. It is great for trying to understand the unspoken truths/lies and hidden agendas - in this case the US (NATO) operation in Afghanistan and the tense relationship with chaotic neighbour Pakistan. It’s great to bring some of the issues raised – f.i. civilian death count, relations between Pakistan’s secret service and the Taliban – into the open and known to the public. The public that is ending its sons and daughters to the killing fields of Afghanistan (and Iraq). And it is pretty clear since a long time that the US military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq are mired in secrets, hidden agendas, spin, double-speak, commercial goals, historic backdrops, murky geopolitical perspectives,...
But the other side of the coin is that maybe some of these leaked documents can be used by terrorists and fellow cavemen to kill or maim NATO soldiers or Afghan politicians or members of international aid organisations, or even terrorize local communities. So there is some aspect of national security at stake here probably.
From official and unofficial military operations in and around the mountains of Afghanistan to the dirty waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The BP boss has been moved aside to save the oil giant’s image and US operation (and it’s falling share value). The old BP boss was a Brit who wasn’t always the smartest in his statements about the environmental disaster in the Gulf. He famously once said that he wanted the oil spill to stop as he wanted his life back,... without mentioning the vast devastation the BP f*up caused on the livelihood of the many communities in the area. So BP put a Yank at the helm this time. Should smooth the way with the White House and Congress. The old BP boss is likely to be moved to BP’s Russian operations. So it’s not like the old boss will be joining the unemployed queue and ask for social benefits.
From thick, smelly, sticky oil slicks to crushing killings in a tunnel. All in a week’s global events.
The massive Love Festival in Germany turned into a tragedy. From love to death. From techno beats to cries of pain and final breaths.
The crowd was just too big to handle and when crowd control and crowd flows get out of hand disasters are sadly often lurking and that’s what happened in the festival tunnel entrance/exit.
Sad but true. How a musical afternoon can so easily and so fast turn into a grim reaper’s fury. 20 Killed.
News flashes.
Belgium went to the polls last June 13 but still no government formed in its complex multi-party political landscape.
Mass graves were found in northern Mexico. It seems it was a dumping ground for the victims of Mexico’s druglords. Bullet in the head.
The tiny but super-rich Arab nation of Qatar wants to bid to host a soccer world cup. Strange but true. No soccer tradition at all. Geographically very small with hardly any city development outside the ever growing capital Doha. But too much cash to handle and thus it can throw billions and build new everything. They might aim for the first soccer worldcup with all stadiums enclosed and air-conditioned because their summer is very very very hot.
Qatar has been throwing tons of cash to host big sporting events like Asia Games, ATP tennis, cycling, swimming,... It’s all about prestige and nothing else. And money spins the globe....
But something went ugly wrong recently. The Emir’s TV station Al Jazeera had the TV rights to show the soccer world cup (held in South Africa) live across the Middle East. But as the soccer showpiece kicked off on June 11, and thousands of people gathered around the Middle East to watch it, there was only a black screen. No picture. Nothing. Something went wrong technically. And again for part of the US-England game. The money throwing Qataris were ashamed but couldn’t face reality so they blamed so called ‘saboteurs’ for the mishap. The real truth about why the image stayed black was never made public.
From the South African worldcup in the Middle East to.... South Africa.
Serve & Protect. That’s the slogan for many police services around the world. But for some South African cops the Serve & Protect meant Help Yourself first.
5 Cops have been arrested for stealing chocolate and alcohol from accident scenes. And not just from the backseat of a private car, or just once. No, when you Help Yourself, do it for real. Firstly the cops stole alcohol to a value of US$88000 from an overturned truck on one of the country’s highways. Then 5 days later the same men stole chocolate (!!!) from the wreckage of a crashed truck. This time the value of the goods was US$41000.
But the men in uniform were caught and are facing justice. So when you are unlucky and are involved in a traffic accident in South Africa and you see a cop coming to help you, be aware he might not be there to Serve & Protect, he might just be there looting your car or truck or van or caravan. And maybe afterwards, just maybe, he might come and save you from your wreckage.
It’s all about priorities!
Throw out. So Brooklyn’s punkrockers Life Of Agony just released a commemorative live album called “20 Years. River Runs Red live in Brussels”. The release celebrates the 20th anniversary of this NY underground band. In 1990 LoA recorded its first demo tape. Then 3 years later the band released its debut album “River Runs Red” and made history. Tight riffs, pounding bass, stand out vocals,... and deep, depressing lyrics. The album became a milestone of the underground punkrock scene. After that it went kind of downhill. Or call it ups and downs but the peak of “River Runs Red” was never reached again. LoA broke up, re-united, broke up and re-united again. But here it is. Life Of Agony’s commemorative gig in Brussels back in April 2009 during which it played the whole 1993 album.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2010 is exiting soon
The spill
The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico keeps being a depressive reality. British Petroleum thought some clever engineering would solve its bad handling, but it sadly didn’t and oil keeps coming to the surface. Still...
With disastrous consequences for nature and local communities around the Gulf. Those communities’ lives depend on the sea, and thus those people’s future is in serious jeopardy. Sad, sad, sad.
BP needs to realize and recognize they did not handle this drilling and the spill well. On the contrary. It started with a shortcut on some needed security valve. And now it’s a manmade disaster with long term consequences for man and animal and plants. Very sad affair.
Human behaviour is slick.
The Taliban freaks in Afghanistan have refused any talks with NATO. A British General had suggested that a chat with the cavemen might be useful.
One must seriously wonder what any talks with the extremist Taliban might be good for. What level of trust is there? The Taliban don’t like democracy, male/female equality, education for girls, human rights, social development,... so one wonders what is the point of talking if the opposite players in any talks have vastly opposing views on life and society. There is no use to talk to the cavemen as they are not interested in honest civilisation.
Human behaviour can be backwards.
Meanwhile a pregnant woman somewhere in South Africa wanted to deliver her baby in a hospital. But the hospital refused any assistance and the baby was born on the streets. And it died. A South African government official called it “unfortunate”.
Understatement of the year!! Outrageous, unacceptable, brutal, disgusting,... would be better used. Find the one who refsued to help and sack him/her!
Reality is tough.
Human behaviour is sickening.
So Obama is signing into law a new set of sanctions against Iran. No choice really than to go that route. Iran keeps pushing the international community against the wall. And the presidential nuke freak in Tehran keeps uttering outrageous comments. He is really a destabilising factor in the region and the world. Words of a madman. Delirium.
He is set on destroying Israel as he does not recognize its right of existence. And that is without a single drop of doubt totally unacceptable. The civilized world cannot talk serious business and politics with a nutter like that. Without a doubt one has to criticize Israel loud and clear on some of its actions and policies, especially towards the Palestinians. But it is also without a doubt obvious that Israel is living with crazy neighbours. Neighbours who don’t even believe you have the right to breath. Now that’s an insane situation as a starter.
And on top of it the recent Iranian elections have been far from free and fair. It’s a farce. A dictatorship with a nuke program. Nothing good about that.
So the only way for the civilised world is to isolate Iran. Close down trade, finances, assistance,... French oil giant Total announced a halt to its business with Tehran. Right move. Sad thing is that not so fair-playing nations like China will maybe enter the void. But a democratic, lawful nation like the US and the Europeans need to act like a democratic, lawful nation and thus sanctions and turning the screw on Tehran are respectable options. Something’s gotta give.
A region and a world cannot keep being hostage to a madman with nuke-phobia.
From nutter to sports fever. It’s all about human emotions.
The soccer worldcup in South Africa is reaching its climax. Quarter finals up next.
The Latin American nations are in full swing while Europe is a mixed bag. Half of the quarter finalists are from South America. Disgraceful France and current world champions Italy did not even make it through the group stage. The French players even went a day on strike because the coach had sent one of the players home after some tough words were spoken. England is another disappointment. Lots of hype and bold tabloid headlines before the world cup, but the overpaid stars went home after a crushing 4-1 defeat against Germany. And yes the game was killed by a massive error from the linesman disallowing a perfectly legal goal from England, but the English defence was nowhere to be seen during the whole game. So home they went.
And before the June 11 kick off there were high hopes that the first world cup on African soil might see the glory of African soccer. But the hope turned into a sad dream. Only 1 of the 6 African nations made it through the group stages. Africa’s broken expectations now fully lie on Ghana’s shoulders. Host South Africa was a mixed bag, but super-egos Nigeria did not even win a single game. Not even a draw.
It was so bad that the Nigerian president announced a 2 year ban on any Nigerian international football. A move that outraged the world’s football body FIFA as they, rightly so, are massive opposed against political interference.
And anyway, honestly, how can you get better as a soccer team if you don’t play serious games?! So Nigeria’s presidential, emotional reaction makes it even worse to turn Nigerian soccer around. Sure there is more to come from that corner....
Throw out. Californian old timers Bad Religion have released a free downloadable album called “30 Years Live” that brings a collection of 3 decades of on stage punkrock action. An amazing achievement. 30 years on non-stop, fast-paced tunes. Keep it up boys!
C -Ya
collateral – July 2010 is here
With disastrous consequences for nature and local communities around the Gulf. Those communities’ lives depend on the sea, and thus those people’s future is in serious jeopardy. Sad, sad, sad.
BP needs to realize and recognize they did not handle this drilling and the spill well. On the contrary. It started with a shortcut on some needed security valve. And now it’s a manmade disaster with long term consequences for man and animal and plants. Very sad affair.
Human behaviour is slick.
The Taliban freaks in Afghanistan have refused any talks with NATO. A British General had suggested that a chat with the cavemen might be useful.
One must seriously wonder what any talks with the extremist Taliban might be good for. What level of trust is there? The Taliban don’t like democracy, male/female equality, education for girls, human rights, social development,... so one wonders what is the point of talking if the opposite players in any talks have vastly opposing views on life and society. There is no use to talk to the cavemen as they are not interested in honest civilisation.
Human behaviour can be backwards.
Meanwhile a pregnant woman somewhere in South Africa wanted to deliver her baby in a hospital. But the hospital refused any assistance and the baby was born on the streets. And it died. A South African government official called it “unfortunate”.
Understatement of the year!! Outrageous, unacceptable, brutal, disgusting,... would be better used. Find the one who refsued to help and sack him/her!
Reality is tough.
Human behaviour is sickening.
So Obama is signing into law a new set of sanctions against Iran. No choice really than to go that route. Iran keeps pushing the international community against the wall. And the presidential nuke freak in Tehran keeps uttering outrageous comments. He is really a destabilising factor in the region and the world. Words of a madman. Delirium.
He is set on destroying Israel as he does not recognize its right of existence. And that is without a single drop of doubt totally unacceptable. The civilized world cannot talk serious business and politics with a nutter like that. Without a doubt one has to criticize Israel loud and clear on some of its actions and policies, especially towards the Palestinians. But it is also without a doubt obvious that Israel is living with crazy neighbours. Neighbours who don’t even believe you have the right to breath. Now that’s an insane situation as a starter.
And on top of it the recent Iranian elections have been far from free and fair. It’s a farce. A dictatorship with a nuke program. Nothing good about that.
So the only way for the civilised world is to isolate Iran. Close down trade, finances, assistance,... French oil giant Total announced a halt to its business with Tehran. Right move. Sad thing is that not so fair-playing nations like China will maybe enter the void. But a democratic, lawful nation like the US and the Europeans need to act like a democratic, lawful nation and thus sanctions and turning the screw on Tehran are respectable options. Something’s gotta give.
A region and a world cannot keep being hostage to a madman with nuke-phobia.
From nutter to sports fever. It’s all about human emotions.
The soccer worldcup in South Africa is reaching its climax. Quarter finals up next.
The Latin American nations are in full swing while Europe is a mixed bag. Half of the quarter finalists are from South America. Disgraceful France and current world champions Italy did not even make it through the group stage. The French players even went a day on strike because the coach had sent one of the players home after some tough words were spoken. England is another disappointment. Lots of hype and bold tabloid headlines before the world cup, but the overpaid stars went home after a crushing 4-1 defeat against Germany. And yes the game was killed by a massive error from the linesman disallowing a perfectly legal goal from England, but the English defence was nowhere to be seen during the whole game. So home they went.
And before the June 11 kick off there were high hopes that the first world cup on African soil might see the glory of African soccer. But the hope turned into a sad dream. Only 1 of the 6 African nations made it through the group stages. Africa’s broken expectations now fully lie on Ghana’s shoulders. Host South Africa was a mixed bag, but super-egos Nigeria did not even win a single game. Not even a draw.
It was so bad that the Nigerian president announced a 2 year ban on any Nigerian international football. A move that outraged the world’s football body FIFA as they, rightly so, are massive opposed against political interference.
And anyway, honestly, how can you get better as a soccer team if you don’t play serious games?! So Nigeria’s presidential, emotional reaction makes it even worse to turn Nigerian soccer around. Sure there is more to come from that corner....
Throw out. Californian old timers Bad Religion have released a free downloadable album called “30 Years Live” that brings a collection of 3 decades of on stage punkrock action. An amazing achievement. 30 years on non-stop, fast-paced tunes. Keep it up boys!
C -Ya
collateral – July 2010 is here
Hate for hate
Pirates on the high seas. Not Somalis this time, but representatives from the state of Israel. Official pirates.
Israeli soldiers stormed an aid ship in international waters and killed 19 people. The ship was on its way to the Gaza strip which has been blocked by Israel. Gaza is like a big prison for Palestinians as Israel controls all access and often restricts access of goods (including petrol) and people.
Outcry around the world but be guaranteed that after a couple of heated days, Israel will get away with it once again.
Israel is the master of tactics and spin. The Israeli army have taken the aid ship into an Israeli harbour and claims the ship was carrying weapons. By taking the ship into custody any neutral checking of that ship has become impossible. And thus any claims of whatever might be found on that ship is now already null and void. Nothing stops the Israelis to plant weapons on that ship now and then “proof” their claims to the world. Nothing says too that indeed amidst the aid there were weapons on that ship. Weapons for mad boys Hamas. But if the Israelis indeed thought there are weapons on that ship why not block the ship on the high seas and ask for an urgent UN inspection of the ship?
All very sad and stupid and ridiculous. And where is Nobel peace price winner Obama? The US just said sorry for the loss of life and wants an investigation into the deadly matter. Is that all Obama and his team can say?!? Nothing to say louder and bolder?
The sad thing is that US politics are a big cash event and too often Israeli lobbies and companies are funding election campaigns of candidates. And keep in mind there are US Congressional elections coming up later this year. And Israel also gets away with it because it is surrounded by hostile Arab nations, especially the nuke freak in Iran. And also, and let us be open and honest about that too, it still plays often on his world war 2 victimhood. The Nazi holocaust was indeed without a drop of doubt the ultimate form of hatred and insanity. But often Israeli authorities, and especially Zionist extremists, play on their victimhood to get away with murder. Cold blooded murder. Officialised assassinations. And that too, without a drop of doubt, is unacceptable.
Actions like this high seas killing spree and the too soft US response can only fuel the flames of hatred across the Arab world. And the Arab world that also likes to use the Palestinian cause to shift attentions away from their won issues and often undemocratic behaviour. Let us also not forget and be honest about it that Palestinians are too often also considered 2nd class citizens in Arab nations. That too is often swept under the carpet. Obviously the apartheid style politics by the government of Israel through the years is unacceptable and despicable.
Hate for hate.
The blocking of the Gaza strip is the cause this current madness and terror attack by Israel. A democratic state like Israel cannot block a whole community from the outside world. Gaza is similar to caging humans and let them rot slowly. What Israel is doing to the people of Gaza is torture. You cannot condone terrorist attacks by groups like Hamas while at the same time you fool around with international law and principles. That brings you down to criminal level. That turns you into a criminal state.
Sad. Very sad. Moment like this need bold leadership. Courage and vision. Not politics of hatred and politics of sell-out. Obama we are waiting to hear some real words from you now!
Human behaviour is sickening.
Obama is also facing tough times at home. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is still not contained and all efforts by the BP culprits have failed so far. Very sad indeed. All these communities living of fish, oysters, tourism, sailing, diving..., are facing very very hard times. Big oil companies are in the spotlight.
The US maybe might have been too soft of oil giants pumping in the Gulf of Mexico as Washington has been for years trying to be less dependent on Arab oil and thus wanted more US oil. But more drilling and pumping in your own backyard is indeed raising the prospects of more accidents and carelessness buy the oil giants because those big business know very well that Washington is desperate top increase US oil production.
Obama needs to act decisively and tough. Make sure those oil giants are controlled severely and regularly.
Meanwhile fish is dying. Pollution expanding. Communities facing bankruptcy.
It’s a sea of despair.
Throw out. At least some good feelings around. Melissa Etheridge’s new album “Fearless love” is rocking. The lady ahs been around for a long time and has produced some very memorable songs. With “Fearless love” she prove sin the best way possible that she ain’t ready to stop yet. Pure rock in its simple, enjoyable form. Etheridge is here, loud and clear.
C -Ya
collateral – June 2010 is in town
Israeli soldiers stormed an aid ship in international waters and killed 19 people. The ship was on its way to the Gaza strip which has been blocked by Israel. Gaza is like a big prison for Palestinians as Israel controls all access and often restricts access of goods (including petrol) and people.
Outcry around the world but be guaranteed that after a couple of heated days, Israel will get away with it once again.
Israel is the master of tactics and spin. The Israeli army have taken the aid ship into an Israeli harbour and claims the ship was carrying weapons. By taking the ship into custody any neutral checking of that ship has become impossible. And thus any claims of whatever might be found on that ship is now already null and void. Nothing stops the Israelis to plant weapons on that ship now and then “proof” their claims to the world. Nothing says too that indeed amidst the aid there were weapons on that ship. Weapons for mad boys Hamas. But if the Israelis indeed thought there are weapons on that ship why not block the ship on the high seas and ask for an urgent UN inspection of the ship?
All very sad and stupid and ridiculous. And where is Nobel peace price winner Obama? The US just said sorry for the loss of life and wants an investigation into the deadly matter. Is that all Obama and his team can say?!? Nothing to say louder and bolder?
The sad thing is that US politics are a big cash event and too often Israeli lobbies and companies are funding election campaigns of candidates. And keep in mind there are US Congressional elections coming up later this year. And Israel also gets away with it because it is surrounded by hostile Arab nations, especially the nuke freak in Iran. And also, and let us be open and honest about that too, it still plays often on his world war 2 victimhood. The Nazi holocaust was indeed without a drop of doubt the ultimate form of hatred and insanity. But often Israeli authorities, and especially Zionist extremists, play on their victimhood to get away with murder. Cold blooded murder. Officialised assassinations. And that too, without a drop of doubt, is unacceptable.
Actions like this high seas killing spree and the too soft US response can only fuel the flames of hatred across the Arab world. And the Arab world that also likes to use the Palestinian cause to shift attentions away from their won issues and often undemocratic behaviour. Let us also not forget and be honest about it that Palestinians are too often also considered 2nd class citizens in Arab nations. That too is often swept under the carpet. Obviously the apartheid style politics by the government of Israel through the years is unacceptable and despicable.
Hate for hate.
The blocking of the Gaza strip is the cause this current madness and terror attack by Israel. A democratic state like Israel cannot block a whole community from the outside world. Gaza is similar to caging humans and let them rot slowly. What Israel is doing to the people of Gaza is torture. You cannot condone terrorist attacks by groups like Hamas while at the same time you fool around with international law and principles. That brings you down to criminal level. That turns you into a criminal state.
Sad. Very sad. Moment like this need bold leadership. Courage and vision. Not politics of hatred and politics of sell-out. Obama we are waiting to hear some real words from you now!
Human behaviour is sickening.
Obama is also facing tough times at home. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is still not contained and all efforts by the BP culprits have failed so far. Very sad indeed. All these communities living of fish, oysters, tourism, sailing, diving..., are facing very very hard times. Big oil companies are in the spotlight.
The US maybe might have been too soft of oil giants pumping in the Gulf of Mexico as Washington has been for years trying to be less dependent on Arab oil and thus wanted more US oil. But more drilling and pumping in your own backyard is indeed raising the prospects of more accidents and carelessness buy the oil giants because those big business know very well that Washington is desperate top increase US oil production.
Obama needs to act decisively and tough. Make sure those oil giants are controlled severely and regularly.
Meanwhile fish is dying. Pollution expanding. Communities facing bankruptcy.
It’s a sea of despair.
Throw out. At least some good feelings around. Melissa Etheridge’s new album “Fearless love” is rocking. The lady ahs been around for a long time and has produced some very memorable songs. With “Fearless love” she prove sin the best way possible that she ain’t ready to stop yet. Pure rock in its simple, enjoyable form. Etheridge is here, loud and clear.
C -Ya
collateral – June 2010 is in town
British mathematics
So the UK elections came and shocked the Brits. They are so used to very simple situations and thus when one party doesn’t get the overall majority it’s all shock and horror and stress and nervousness.
The Mother of all Parliaments is shaken. And stirred too.
The main parties need to talk about forming a coalition government now, and that is so uncommon for the simplistic UK politics. Shock and horror once again. Traditions on the rocks.
But take an honest look at the basic numbers and the unfairness of the UK election system will slap you in the face. On both cheeks. It is so undemocratic that it looks close to a dictatorship of the two traditional parties – Conservatives and Labour – than real and honest and representative democracy.
The 1-person-1-vote issue; the basis of any democracy anywhere; is being raped here in a brutal way. It’s tainted democracy. Fabricated. Manipulated.
Stick with the following numbers and you’ll be shocked. Guaranteed. Just looking at the numbers for the three biggest parties (Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats) and you will see how the system is being screwed in favour of Labour and the Conservatives. Massively screwed.
Here we go.
The Conservatives got 307 seats in the House of Commons, out of a total of 650 seats. They got 36% of the total vote which in numbers mean 10,706647 Brits voted for the blue party.
Just do some simple arithmetic and you get that the Conservatives got 1 seat (equalling 1 Member of Parliament) for every 34875 votes they got.
And their 307 seats out of a total of 650 equals 47% of seats. Meaning that with 36% of the total vote, they got 47% of the total seats. Mmh! Kick that. But hold your breath.
The Labour party of outgoing Prime Minister Gordon Brown got 29% of the total vote. Meaning 8,604358 Brits marked the X for the red party on the ballot paper. Labour gets 258 seats in the newly elected parliament.
Take out the calculator once again. So 1 Labour seat for every 33350 votes. And their total of 258 seats (out of the 650 available to fill) represents 39% of the number of seats in the House of Commons. Meaning with 29% of the votes across the UK, Labour gets 39% of the seats. Mmh. Hold on some more because the real dirt is coming.
Then the 3rd biggest party. The Liberal Democrats, coming after the old traditional suits of Labour and the Conservatives. The yellow LibDems, as they are called, got 23% of the total votes across the UK, representing 6.827938 people that voted for them.
They got 57 seats in the House of Commons. Only 57 seats. So take the calculator and get shocked. So that’s 1 LibDem seat for every 119788 votes. That is nearly 4 times more votes for 1 seat than the 2 oldies!! Kick that for fairness.
Take a closer look and it really smells bad. Stinking stuff. So the Liberal Democrats’ 23% of the total votes casted only gives them 57 seats. 57 Out of a total of 650 seats equals 8%. So the LibDems get 23% of the votes but only 8% of the seats. How in your face unfair is that?!?
This is not democracy. This is fabricated, controlled, manipulated so-called democracy.
It sucks!
It has that same taste of disgust as when Al Gore got more votes than George Bush Jr but still George got the keys to the White House. It’s when democracy goes wrong.
It institutionalised theft. It’s holding big speeches about democracy and the right of voters and free and fair political system, but at the same time openly hijacking and screwing the system so the two old parties keep the cake for themselves. A stiff middle finger to that.
And then the Brits, especially the conservative traditionalists on the (extreme) right side of life, say that they favour a two party system because it brings stability. Well no it doesn’t because now the UK is in political turmoil (and this instability) as neither the Conservatives nor labour got a majority. And now Brown is bunkering himself in his office in famous Downing Street awaiting to see if rivals LibDems and Conservatives can make an agreement to govern. And the Brits are just not used to collation talks. And thus fear for the unknown. And fear is the ultimate conservative emotion. Basic instincts.
Those traditionalists point out they don’t like the continental European way of coalition politics. They never like anything from the continent anyway. It’s their arrogance drenched in emotions from the former Empire. Former! Continental Euro-politics are without a doubt sometimes a bit messy and coalition talks can take some weeks here and there. But Germany, France, the Scandinavian nations, the Benelux trio,... all have very high standards of socio-economic development. And that is what it should be all about. Politics (and the political system in place) at the service to built a better world to live in for all the citizens. And continental Europe certainly has high living standards; be it roads, schools, hospitals, public transport,... So what’s wrong then with coalition politics? It clearly hasn’t brought continental Europeans a bad life.
So the Brits need to re-focus and get real. There are plenty of mechanisms in place to avoid that full blown and honest democracy turns into a quagmire of too many small parties. Continental Europe proofs it.
If the United Kingdom wants to keep spinning of being the Mother of all Democracies, it better gets honest with itself and adjusts its corrupt political system and start walking the talk on the path of real, representative democracy.
Human behaviour needs to walk up sometimes.
From a screwed election system to screwed minds. Just a stone throw away.
Morocco’s islamists want to ban Elton John from doing a gig in their kingdom. It’s pretty simple. The extremists just don’t want a gay performer on their soil. So an islamist party is pushing authorities in the capital Rabat to ban Elton.
Cultural fascism from the Muslim kind. Narrow mindedness is never a friend of the arts. Never has and never will.
Recently the South African Culture Minister stormed out of the opening of an exhibition because there were some photos of naked ladies holding each other. Nothing sexual. Just sensual. She ordered an investigation on who within her department authorised the funding for such an evil event.
Back to the bunker! Sandbags and barbed wire. The outside world and its creative thinking is evil. Pure evil. Needs to be killed. Exterminated. Exorcism required urgently.
Human behaviour is often limited to basic instincts within a narrow dark tunnel of limited brainpower.
Throw out. NY’s Eddie Sutton from Leeway-fame has joined forces with some ex Agents of Man members to form a new punkrock-with-a-metallic-edge band called Truth N Rights. The tunes are hard-hitting with Eddie and his AoM mates come with plenty of experience and underground-music credentials.
C -Ya
collateral – May 2010
The Mother of all Parliaments is shaken. And stirred too.
The main parties need to talk about forming a coalition government now, and that is so uncommon for the simplistic UK politics. Shock and horror once again. Traditions on the rocks.
But take an honest look at the basic numbers and the unfairness of the UK election system will slap you in the face. On both cheeks. It is so undemocratic that it looks close to a dictatorship of the two traditional parties – Conservatives and Labour – than real and honest and representative democracy.
The 1-person-1-vote issue; the basis of any democracy anywhere; is being raped here in a brutal way. It’s tainted democracy. Fabricated. Manipulated.
Stick with the following numbers and you’ll be shocked. Guaranteed. Just looking at the numbers for the three biggest parties (Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats) and you will see how the system is being screwed in favour of Labour and the Conservatives. Massively screwed.
Here we go.
The Conservatives got 307 seats in the House of Commons, out of a total of 650 seats. They got 36% of the total vote which in numbers mean 10,706647 Brits voted for the blue party.
Just do some simple arithmetic and you get that the Conservatives got 1 seat (equalling 1 Member of Parliament) for every 34875 votes they got.
And their 307 seats out of a total of 650 equals 47% of seats. Meaning that with 36% of the total vote, they got 47% of the total seats. Mmh! Kick that. But hold your breath.
The Labour party of outgoing Prime Minister Gordon Brown got 29% of the total vote. Meaning 8,604358 Brits marked the X for the red party on the ballot paper. Labour gets 258 seats in the newly elected parliament.
Take out the calculator once again. So 1 Labour seat for every 33350 votes. And their total of 258 seats (out of the 650 available to fill) represents 39% of the number of seats in the House of Commons. Meaning with 29% of the votes across the UK, Labour gets 39% of the seats. Mmh. Hold on some more because the real dirt is coming.
Then the 3rd biggest party. The Liberal Democrats, coming after the old traditional suits of Labour and the Conservatives. The yellow LibDems, as they are called, got 23% of the total votes across the UK, representing 6.827938 people that voted for them.
They got 57 seats in the House of Commons. Only 57 seats. So take the calculator and get shocked. So that’s 1 LibDem seat for every 119788 votes. That is nearly 4 times more votes for 1 seat than the 2 oldies!! Kick that for fairness.
Take a closer look and it really smells bad. Stinking stuff. So the Liberal Democrats’ 23% of the total votes casted only gives them 57 seats. 57 Out of a total of 650 seats equals 8%. So the LibDems get 23% of the votes but only 8% of the seats. How in your face unfair is that?!?
This is not democracy. This is fabricated, controlled, manipulated so-called democracy.
It sucks!
It has that same taste of disgust as when Al Gore got more votes than George Bush Jr but still George got the keys to the White House. It’s when democracy goes wrong.
It institutionalised theft. It’s holding big speeches about democracy and the right of voters and free and fair political system, but at the same time openly hijacking and screwing the system so the two old parties keep the cake for themselves. A stiff middle finger to that.
And then the Brits, especially the conservative traditionalists on the (extreme) right side of life, say that they favour a two party system because it brings stability. Well no it doesn’t because now the UK is in political turmoil (and this instability) as neither the Conservatives nor labour got a majority. And now Brown is bunkering himself in his office in famous Downing Street awaiting to see if rivals LibDems and Conservatives can make an agreement to govern. And the Brits are just not used to collation talks. And thus fear for the unknown. And fear is the ultimate conservative emotion. Basic instincts.
Those traditionalists point out they don’t like the continental European way of coalition politics. They never like anything from the continent anyway. It’s their arrogance drenched in emotions from the former Empire. Former! Continental Euro-politics are without a doubt sometimes a bit messy and coalition talks can take some weeks here and there. But Germany, France, the Scandinavian nations, the Benelux trio,... all have very high standards of socio-economic development. And that is what it should be all about. Politics (and the political system in place) at the service to built a better world to live in for all the citizens. And continental Europe certainly has high living standards; be it roads, schools, hospitals, public transport,... So what’s wrong then with coalition politics? It clearly hasn’t brought continental Europeans a bad life.
So the Brits need to re-focus and get real. There are plenty of mechanisms in place to avoid that full blown and honest democracy turns into a quagmire of too many small parties. Continental Europe proofs it.
If the United Kingdom wants to keep spinning of being the Mother of all Democracies, it better gets honest with itself and adjusts its corrupt political system and start walking the talk on the path of real, representative democracy.
Human behaviour needs to walk up sometimes.
From a screwed election system to screwed minds. Just a stone throw away.
Morocco’s islamists want to ban Elton John from doing a gig in their kingdom. It’s pretty simple. The extremists just don’t want a gay performer on their soil. So an islamist party is pushing authorities in the capital Rabat to ban Elton.
Cultural fascism from the Muslim kind. Narrow mindedness is never a friend of the arts. Never has and never will.
Recently the South African Culture Minister stormed out of the opening of an exhibition because there were some photos of naked ladies holding each other. Nothing sexual. Just sensual. She ordered an investigation on who within her department authorised the funding for such an evil event.
Back to the bunker! Sandbags and barbed wire. The outside world and its creative thinking is evil. Pure evil. Needs to be killed. Exterminated. Exorcism required urgently.
Human behaviour is often limited to basic instincts within a narrow dark tunnel of limited brainpower.
Throw out. NY’s Eddie Sutton from Leeway-fame has joined forces with some ex Agents of Man members to form a new punkrock-with-a-metallic-edge band called Truth N Rights. The tunes are hard-hitting with Eddie and his AoM mates come with plenty of experience and underground-music credentials.
C -Ya
collateral – May 2010
10.000
Red seats. These are now available to sit on in busses in the Danish capital Copenhagen. A few per bus.
These red seats have a symbol to it. A gesture. A message. When you – the bus traveller – decides to take a seat on/in the red seat you indicate to fellow commuters that you are open to communication with strangers. As simple as that. It’s like “Yo! I’m sittin’ here so ya can talk to me!”
A chat room on the bus. A mobile chat room. Chat on the go. Indeed, a red seat passenger gives the green light for any stranger to come and chat to him/her. And because these random chats sometimes can / could lead to something more, the red seats have informally been called ‘love seats’.
Martin Wex from the Copenhagen bus operator said that the aim is to attract more commuters. He added that the red seats offer passengers a chance to talk, chat, converse, laugh and maybe even to fall in love. How a bus ride in a red seat can change your life.... for the better or sadly for some for the worse.
As simple as that. From former warmongering Vikings to love-matchmaking public transport. Public blind dating. Love on wheels. Getting up to go to work is just looking a bit more brighter and more fun in Copenhagen.
From love bugs to corrupt cops. Lots of them! Human behaviour remains an unlimited source of adventure. Kisses and sleaze.
More than 10.000 cops are serving jail time in South Africa. Yes, ten thousand police officers broke the law themselves. Serve & Protect!!
General Bheki Cele, the national police commissioner, made this nearly surreal statement at a funeral of a cop. K.I.A.
That’s 10.000 crooked cops out of a total of 150.000 men and women in blue. Kick that! Wondering if they are trying to get into the Guinness Book of records, cause it’s pretty insane. The rot within. The stench coming from the police stations.
So that means that 6.66% of South African cops are dirty. Corrupt. Helping criminals. Part of gangs themselves. Fraudulent. Murdering. Stealing. Raping. Dealing dope. Forging legal documents. Pimping. Trading in weapons. Smuggling. You name it, some South African cop is doing it.
Did some Google search. This 6.66% is 20 times more than the likelihood that the average South African citizen is a criminal. Serve & Protect indeed.
Some more numbers to crunch. In 2008 South Africa had 340 prisoners for every 100.000 citizens. That was back then the 7th highest rate in the world. The police ratio comes to 6600 per 100.000. Insane. Abuse of power?
But put that against the background of total population and it’s more frightening. In 2008 South Africa had 166.267 jailbirds for a population of 47 million. Mexico had 217.436 inmates, but against a population of 104 million. Puts a hell of a different perspective on some numbers.
But sticking to these dirty cops. Soon there will be the need to built prisons just for cops. The blue prison. And free access 24/7 to episodes of CSI on TV. Or the Crime Channel. Ten thousand cops that just could not resist the temptation to abuse the badge and the gun. They just could not stick to their pledge to serve and protect. They took a dirty side road. Serving the community as just too good to stick to, so 10.000 flicked the switch and went rogue. From serve & protect to kill, maim, steal, rape,...and so much other crap. Cops playing bad guys should get double sentence cause besides becoming criminals they also abused trust and dirtied a profession where many die in the line of duty,... especially in crime-ridden South Africa. Kick that.
Human behaviour sometimes just stinks.
And oil on the shores of Louisiana stinks too. Obama got some headaches at home. A very ugly oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico because oil giant BP didn’t install some kind of special emergency cap as was needed. Saving money to make a bigger profit. The environment can go to hell and so thus the livelihood of the fishermen in Louisiana. The arrogance of big companies. Sue the hell out of them!
And then Times Square escaped a bloodbath. On the edge of purgatory! A nutter with insane views on how to solve his disagreements filled his Nissan Pathfinder with a homemade killing machine. Thanks to the vigilance of a t-shirt selling army veteran, the carnage was avoided. And the nutter from the Pathfinder will now find his path to jail. Caught and handcuffed he will face justice! What a sad story. How hatred and narrow-minded dumbness can lead to innocent deaths.
New Yorkers are surely a bit edgier again. Let’s hope the Bush and Cheney lovers don’t play political gutter-games and use this near-disaster to score ugly political points for the upcoming Congress elections. But something tells me they will.... Scum remains scum.
And the Iranian nuke-freak was in Zimbabwe meeting mad Bob. That’s a pair from the freak show of insanity. A mentally unstable dictator who turned his beautiful African nation from breadbasket into starvation, and an Iranian extremist who wants to wipe Israel of the map. Nice duo. A meeting of minds. Troubled minds. Short-circuited minds. Dictators always come together for champagne and caviar. Alcohol free champagne for the man from Tehran I guess. Anyway, the handshake smells of a dirty deal of Iranian cash for the bankrupt Zimbabwe against Zimbabwean minerals (uranium??) for the angry Iranian.
Human behaviour always has a price.
Throw out. The lads from New Jersey have done it again. The Gaslight Anthem has released a new album called “American Slang”. And it’s another great collection of fine, rocking tunes. Maybe a bit more polished than their previous stuff, but still sounding great and fresh. They still have that New Jersey, underground-ish Springsteen feel to it. Some tracks on “American Slang” explore a bit wider musical avenues but The Gaslight Anthem lads are still going for it a 100%. A great listening pleasure.
C - Ya
collateral – May 2010
These red seats have a symbol to it. A gesture. A message. When you – the bus traveller – decides to take a seat on/in the red seat you indicate to fellow commuters that you are open to communication with strangers. As simple as that. It’s like “Yo! I’m sittin’ here so ya can talk to me!”
A chat room on the bus. A mobile chat room. Chat on the go. Indeed, a red seat passenger gives the green light for any stranger to come and chat to him/her. And because these random chats sometimes can / could lead to something more, the red seats have informally been called ‘love seats’.
Martin Wex from the Copenhagen bus operator said that the aim is to attract more commuters. He added that the red seats offer passengers a chance to talk, chat, converse, laugh and maybe even to fall in love. How a bus ride in a red seat can change your life.... for the better or sadly for some for the worse.
As simple as that. From former warmongering Vikings to love-matchmaking public transport. Public blind dating. Love on wheels. Getting up to go to work is just looking a bit more brighter and more fun in Copenhagen.
From love bugs to corrupt cops. Lots of them! Human behaviour remains an unlimited source of adventure. Kisses and sleaze.
More than 10.000 cops are serving jail time in South Africa. Yes, ten thousand police officers broke the law themselves. Serve & Protect!!
General Bheki Cele, the national police commissioner, made this nearly surreal statement at a funeral of a cop. K.I.A.
That’s 10.000 crooked cops out of a total of 150.000 men and women in blue. Kick that! Wondering if they are trying to get into the Guinness Book of records, cause it’s pretty insane. The rot within. The stench coming from the police stations.
So that means that 6.66% of South African cops are dirty. Corrupt. Helping criminals. Part of gangs themselves. Fraudulent. Murdering. Stealing. Raping. Dealing dope. Forging legal documents. Pimping. Trading in weapons. Smuggling. You name it, some South African cop is doing it.
Did some Google search. This 6.66% is 20 times more than the likelihood that the average South African citizen is a criminal. Serve & Protect indeed.
Some more numbers to crunch. In 2008 South Africa had 340 prisoners for every 100.000 citizens. That was back then the 7th highest rate in the world. The police ratio comes to 6600 per 100.000. Insane. Abuse of power?
But put that against the background of total population and it’s more frightening. In 2008 South Africa had 166.267 jailbirds for a population of 47 million. Mexico had 217.436 inmates, but against a population of 104 million. Puts a hell of a different perspective on some numbers.
But sticking to these dirty cops. Soon there will be the need to built prisons just for cops. The blue prison. And free access 24/7 to episodes of CSI on TV. Or the Crime Channel. Ten thousand cops that just could not resist the temptation to abuse the badge and the gun. They just could not stick to their pledge to serve and protect. They took a dirty side road. Serving the community as just too good to stick to, so 10.000 flicked the switch and went rogue. From serve & protect to kill, maim, steal, rape,...and so much other crap. Cops playing bad guys should get double sentence cause besides becoming criminals they also abused trust and dirtied a profession where many die in the line of duty,... especially in crime-ridden South Africa. Kick that.
Human behaviour sometimes just stinks.
And oil on the shores of Louisiana stinks too. Obama got some headaches at home. A very ugly oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico because oil giant BP didn’t install some kind of special emergency cap as was needed. Saving money to make a bigger profit. The environment can go to hell and so thus the livelihood of the fishermen in Louisiana. The arrogance of big companies. Sue the hell out of them!
And then Times Square escaped a bloodbath. On the edge of purgatory! A nutter with insane views on how to solve his disagreements filled his Nissan Pathfinder with a homemade killing machine. Thanks to the vigilance of a t-shirt selling army veteran, the carnage was avoided. And the nutter from the Pathfinder will now find his path to jail. Caught and handcuffed he will face justice! What a sad story. How hatred and narrow-minded dumbness can lead to innocent deaths.
New Yorkers are surely a bit edgier again. Let’s hope the Bush and Cheney lovers don’t play political gutter-games and use this near-disaster to score ugly political points for the upcoming Congress elections. But something tells me they will.... Scum remains scum.
And the Iranian nuke-freak was in Zimbabwe meeting mad Bob. That’s a pair from the freak show of insanity. A mentally unstable dictator who turned his beautiful African nation from breadbasket into starvation, and an Iranian extremist who wants to wipe Israel of the map. Nice duo. A meeting of minds. Troubled minds. Short-circuited minds. Dictators always come together for champagne and caviar. Alcohol free champagne for the man from Tehran I guess. Anyway, the handshake smells of a dirty deal of Iranian cash for the bankrupt Zimbabwe against Zimbabwean minerals (uranium??) for the angry Iranian.
Human behaviour always has a price.
Throw out. The lads from New Jersey have done it again. The Gaslight Anthem has released a new album called “American Slang”. And it’s another great collection of fine, rocking tunes. Maybe a bit more polished than their previous stuff, but still sounding great and fresh. They still have that New Jersey, underground-ish Springsteen feel to it. Some tracks on “American Slang” explore a bit wider musical avenues but The Gaslight Anthem lads are still going for it a 100%. A great listening pleasure.
C - Ya
collateral – May 2010
Rocked to heaven (or hell)
Sometimes surprise reaction follows once action.
Street justice. Revenge of the brutal kind. Served hot there and then.
Three men tried to rob school kids at their school in South Africa. The men had knifes and a gun. They wanted the cellphones of the students. And the little cash the kids had on them.
But that’s where the thieves miscalculated. The school kids fought back and stoned to death one of the robbers. The two others escaped.
Death by rocks. Very likely those thieves didn’t even dream of such a reaction from the kids as they woke up that morning and decided to go and steal some stuff from youngsters. Kick that. Those two surviving losers wont try that again. At least not at that school. Live and learn, and sometimes die by the sword if you live by the sword. In this case, die by the rock if you live like a criminal. Deadly fighting back by the school kids! Rocked to death.
Surprisingly human reactive behaviour can be the end for some.
The fakeness of political campaigning exploded in the open in the UK. Prime Minister Brown was out and about on the campaign trail for the May 6 general elections. You know, meeting people on the streets of the former empire and having chit chats about education , healthcare and immigration. All hot potatoes in 2010 in the UK (as in so many countries in fact).
So Brown meets this woman and has a chat with her. He then walks backs to his car and forgets he is still wired with a microphone from one of the British channels. Once inside the car he has a frank discussion with his aid about “that woman” and “who put her there” and calls her a “bigot”.
Later that day as he sits in a BBC radio studio, but with cameras rolling, he is confronted with the sound recording of that backseat chat. And you see Brown putting his head in his hands. He just knew there and then his world was coming down. Like a jumbo jet crash. And this so close to election day. He quickly summoned his team and off he rushed back to the woman to apologize.
Speaking of a PR disaster! But it also brutally exposed how fake these campaign walkabouts are. All set up and prefabricated. All fake. Brown didn’t expect that woman there and then asking those questions. It wasn’t part of the script and that’s why he asked his aid, when back in the car, “who put that woman there?”. And it showed the weakness and depth-less of political leaders these days. If it’s not part of a meticulously scripted campaign then they are taken by surprise and exposed for the fakes they are. The smiles, handshakes, comments as the cameras are rolling and the snappers snapping and the microphones capturing all the hot air, are just all fake. Like fast food. No substance. Not for real. Not openly honest and from the heart. Pre-cooked. Pre-heated. Pre-planned. Pre-scheduled. Pre-spinned. Pre-faked. Pre-lies.
So it’s a blessing, whoever the politician and his/her views are, that the fakeness was exposed so brutally and directly. It’s a heavyweight punch in the face in the 10th round. And there rings the bell.
Politicians are a specific breed. A breed apart. Detached from reality and living in a bubble of fake.
Political behaviour is a pre-cooked meal with no energy content nor creative composure and straight out of the microwave oven. So déjà vu...
It’s colourful chaos in Thailand. Have seen the images passing by on the TV screen. Political opponents of the current Prime Minister dressed up in red. The colour of anger. But also of blood. The Red Shirts’ protests in the capital Bangkok seem soon to turn into full scale revolt and turmoil. The UK government has already warned its citizens to avoid the touristic attractive Asian nation.
It’s red Shirts battling it out with blue-scarf wearing soldiers. Gun battles. A soldier killed. In other parts of the town Yellow Shirts are gathering to support the government.
Red versus yellow versus blue. Colours of uprising and resistance. Political disagreements and stalemates turned violent onto the streets of Bangkok. Season of trouble. And probably more trouble ahead. The standoff seems only to get worse. The clash of colours will spill more blood,... and all blood is red. Pools of life pouring out of protesters, soldiers, supporters, bystanders,... For now it all looks like a spiral downwards. Political disagreements spilled out of parliament and onto the streets. Dark clouds over Bangkok.
Throw out. “I thought that you were joking when you said you could not breathe”, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba sings on the track “Dead End Road” from their “Remains” album. Gloomy punkrock. Alkaline Trio originates from Illinois and was formed in the mid 90s. They released a whole series of albums and many of its members have been involved in side projects, other bands and have done guest appearances on other bands’ albums (like for instance Matt on a track on NY’s H2O’s “Nothing To Prove” album).
C -Ya
collateral – as April 2010 is coming to its end
Street justice. Revenge of the brutal kind. Served hot there and then.
Three men tried to rob school kids at their school in South Africa. The men had knifes and a gun. They wanted the cellphones of the students. And the little cash the kids had on them.
But that’s where the thieves miscalculated. The school kids fought back and stoned to death one of the robbers. The two others escaped.
Death by rocks. Very likely those thieves didn’t even dream of such a reaction from the kids as they woke up that morning and decided to go and steal some stuff from youngsters. Kick that. Those two surviving losers wont try that again. At least not at that school. Live and learn, and sometimes die by the sword if you live by the sword. In this case, die by the rock if you live like a criminal. Deadly fighting back by the school kids! Rocked to death.
Surprisingly human reactive behaviour can be the end for some.
The fakeness of political campaigning exploded in the open in the UK. Prime Minister Brown was out and about on the campaign trail for the May 6 general elections. You know, meeting people on the streets of the former empire and having chit chats about education , healthcare and immigration. All hot potatoes in 2010 in the UK (as in so many countries in fact).
So Brown meets this woman and has a chat with her. He then walks backs to his car and forgets he is still wired with a microphone from one of the British channels. Once inside the car he has a frank discussion with his aid about “that woman” and “who put her there” and calls her a “bigot”.
Later that day as he sits in a BBC radio studio, but with cameras rolling, he is confronted with the sound recording of that backseat chat. And you see Brown putting his head in his hands. He just knew there and then his world was coming down. Like a jumbo jet crash. And this so close to election day. He quickly summoned his team and off he rushed back to the woman to apologize.
Speaking of a PR disaster! But it also brutally exposed how fake these campaign walkabouts are. All set up and prefabricated. All fake. Brown didn’t expect that woman there and then asking those questions. It wasn’t part of the script and that’s why he asked his aid, when back in the car, “who put that woman there?”. And it showed the weakness and depth-less of political leaders these days. If it’s not part of a meticulously scripted campaign then they are taken by surprise and exposed for the fakes they are. The smiles, handshakes, comments as the cameras are rolling and the snappers snapping and the microphones capturing all the hot air, are just all fake. Like fast food. No substance. Not for real. Not openly honest and from the heart. Pre-cooked. Pre-heated. Pre-planned. Pre-scheduled. Pre-spinned. Pre-faked. Pre-lies.
So it’s a blessing, whoever the politician and his/her views are, that the fakeness was exposed so brutally and directly. It’s a heavyweight punch in the face in the 10th round. And there rings the bell.
Politicians are a specific breed. A breed apart. Detached from reality and living in a bubble of fake.
Political behaviour is a pre-cooked meal with no energy content nor creative composure and straight out of the microwave oven. So déjà vu...
It’s colourful chaos in Thailand. Have seen the images passing by on the TV screen. Political opponents of the current Prime Minister dressed up in red. The colour of anger. But also of blood. The Red Shirts’ protests in the capital Bangkok seem soon to turn into full scale revolt and turmoil. The UK government has already warned its citizens to avoid the touristic attractive Asian nation.
It’s red Shirts battling it out with blue-scarf wearing soldiers. Gun battles. A soldier killed. In other parts of the town Yellow Shirts are gathering to support the government.
Red versus yellow versus blue. Colours of uprising and resistance. Political disagreements and stalemates turned violent onto the streets of Bangkok. Season of trouble. And probably more trouble ahead. The standoff seems only to get worse. The clash of colours will spill more blood,... and all blood is red. Pools of life pouring out of protesters, soldiers, supporters, bystanders,... For now it all looks like a spiral downwards. Political disagreements spilled out of parliament and onto the streets. Dark clouds over Bangkok.
Throw out. “I thought that you were joking when you said you could not breathe”, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba sings on the track “Dead End Road” from their “Remains” album. Gloomy punkrock. Alkaline Trio originates from Illinois and was formed in the mid 90s. They released a whole series of albums and many of its members have been involved in side projects, other bands and have done guest appearances on other bands’ albums (like for instance Matt on a track on NY’s H2O’s “Nothing To Prove” album).
C -Ya
collateral – as April 2010 is coming to its end
DJs on the run
The sound of silence. Well not really. Better would be the sound of Muslim prayers and I guess here and there some propaganda.
The powerful Islamists that are fighting against the Somali government and the African Union peacekeepers (peace??) have banned all music on the radio in the areas they control with an iron fist.
So it’s a bad time for radio DJs there. DJs on the run.
Another step in the madness of religious zealousness. We’ve seen how extreme Islamic rulers can get in regions they violently control. Girls not allowed going to school. No cinemas. No DVD stores. No bars. No fun at all. Strict control over every inch of life. The claustrophobia of extreme-Muslim life. Tunnel vision. Bunker mentality.
So Somalia’s Islamists are just advancing their cause and insanity a step further. No more Jailhouse Rock across the sands. No more Springsteen shouting “War! What is it good for?”, nor sexy Shakira tunes or the Sex Pistols drunkenly screaming “God save the Queen”! That’s all gone. No more of that disgusting liberal cultural for the devoted Somali Islamists. Just more brainwash to keep the abused sufferers across Somalia in line and under their thumb.
Outrageous. Mad. Insane. Brutal. Inhuman. Religion as torture.
And to keep full speed ahead on this narrow path of ridiculousness, the same Islamist extremists have now also banned the school bell in the Somali parts they control. They say the school bell is a Christian invention and thus evil and thus banned. As simple as that. Maybe they wanna replace the start and ending of classes with whip lashes! And keep in mind that classes are any way only for boys! Girls don’t get education under their mad rule!
Narrow-minded freaks amidst a destroyed country where people die of hunger and war every day.
Human behaviour is sickening. Some people just don’t deserve air.
And sometimes very strange. Nearly extra terrestrial.
In Croatia a 13 year old girl came out of 24 hour coma but that coma seemed to have deleted all knowledge of her mother tongue. Scary. Instead she spoke fluent German, a language she hardly knew before her come. Even more scary.
The doctors are the hospital in the coastal town of Split are baffled. Doctors have now ordered urgent paediatric, psychological, psychiatric and neuro tests. A mystery!
Is there a German bio-warfare bug flying around the Balkan? Escaped for a top secret military lab? A new bio-program to rule the world? The 4th Reich? Scary stuff. Or maybe ET really exists and has taken possession of this girl’s brain. Scary monsters, super creep.
Alien invasion. Galactic encounters. Attack of the body snatchers. Revenge of the brain suckers. The human race on the brink of annihilation. 2010 As the end of us. Crazy virus on the loose? Fill the churches, reborn-Christian-halls, mosques, temples, cathedrals and all other places of worship and pray for salvation cause the creepy brain bugs are here!
Salvation is what all these stranded tourists, businesspeople, best men heading to weddings, mourning uncles en route to funerals, .... need. And salvation is what the airline industry needs too. They’ve already had sp pretty touch economic times recently and now nature just kicked them in the stomach. Amazing how volcanic activity on the tiny island of Iceland totally freezes European airspace and grounds thousands and thousands of flights around the world. Europe is cut off. And the amazing ripple effect of the global planet. People stranded in Florida that needed to get to Scotland. People stranded in Hong Kong that should have taken their kids back to school in Amsterdam today. Journalists stuck in Paris that should have been in South Africa by now to report on the final preparations for the upcoming football/soccer world cup. Wives and kids stuck in London that should have been reunited with their fathers and husbands in Cairo yesterday. Dubai, normally a big hub for global passengers, losing millions of US$ per day. It’s a brutal domino effect. Amazing how in the 21st Century a prehistoric-old, natural event still is almighty. The human race might have invented thousand of amazing things and progressed living life (and in many cases also unfortunately so called ‘progressed’) but volcanic power is still above all that. Nature can still rule everything.
Amazing.
From the purity and natural power to the silliness of humans. Just a step away.
Sue Mills is mayor of Torrington, somewhere in England. And she couldn’t keep her racist braincells silent.
Sue went on Facebook and posted a comment saying that illegal immigrants are like sperm. Millions enter but only one really works.
Kick that.
As always with politicians, after being caught out she apologized and said she was misunderstood. So deja-vu! So predictable! And so stupid. If you put something controversial on Facebook and you are a politician and the UK is in election fever, of course it’s gonna get noticed. It’s obvious. Some politicians are clearly too stupid to be in the position that they are are. And she is a mayor on top of it all. Vote her out!
Sticking with human stupidity. Brain errors.
From the UK down under to its former prison colony Australia.
A cook-book publisher has to recall thousands of its “Pasta Bible” and burn them all into history. The recipe for tagliatelle with sardinnes had the unusual advice to add “freshly grounded black people”.
A cannabilistic error from note! The “people” should have apparently been “pepper”. But that’s more than just a quick, slippery finger on a keyboard.
Recipe of stupidity.
Throw out. Discovered The Great St Louis. The GSL is a band from the UK. Indie-punkrock. Great tunes. They just released their 2nd album, “In your own time”. 10 Quality tracks. No clue why they chose that band name but they know how to rock.
Check them out!
C - Ya
collateral – 2nd half of April 2010
The powerful Islamists that are fighting against the Somali government and the African Union peacekeepers (peace??) have banned all music on the radio in the areas they control with an iron fist.
So it’s a bad time for radio DJs there. DJs on the run.
Another step in the madness of religious zealousness. We’ve seen how extreme Islamic rulers can get in regions they violently control. Girls not allowed going to school. No cinemas. No DVD stores. No bars. No fun at all. Strict control over every inch of life. The claustrophobia of extreme-Muslim life. Tunnel vision. Bunker mentality.
So Somalia’s Islamists are just advancing their cause and insanity a step further. No more Jailhouse Rock across the sands. No more Springsteen shouting “War! What is it good for?”, nor sexy Shakira tunes or the Sex Pistols drunkenly screaming “God save the Queen”! That’s all gone. No more of that disgusting liberal cultural for the devoted Somali Islamists. Just more brainwash to keep the abused sufferers across Somalia in line and under their thumb.
Outrageous. Mad. Insane. Brutal. Inhuman. Religion as torture.
And to keep full speed ahead on this narrow path of ridiculousness, the same Islamist extremists have now also banned the school bell in the Somali parts they control. They say the school bell is a Christian invention and thus evil and thus banned. As simple as that. Maybe they wanna replace the start and ending of classes with whip lashes! And keep in mind that classes are any way only for boys! Girls don’t get education under their mad rule!
Narrow-minded freaks amidst a destroyed country where people die of hunger and war every day.
Human behaviour is sickening. Some people just don’t deserve air.
And sometimes very strange. Nearly extra terrestrial.
In Croatia a 13 year old girl came out of 24 hour coma but that coma seemed to have deleted all knowledge of her mother tongue. Scary. Instead she spoke fluent German, a language she hardly knew before her come. Even more scary.
The doctors are the hospital in the coastal town of Split are baffled. Doctors have now ordered urgent paediatric, psychological, psychiatric and neuro tests. A mystery!
Is there a German bio-warfare bug flying around the Balkan? Escaped for a top secret military lab? A new bio-program to rule the world? The 4th Reich? Scary stuff. Or maybe ET really exists and has taken possession of this girl’s brain. Scary monsters, super creep.
Alien invasion. Galactic encounters. Attack of the body snatchers. Revenge of the brain suckers. The human race on the brink of annihilation. 2010 As the end of us. Crazy virus on the loose? Fill the churches, reborn-Christian-halls, mosques, temples, cathedrals and all other places of worship and pray for salvation cause the creepy brain bugs are here!
Salvation is what all these stranded tourists, businesspeople, best men heading to weddings, mourning uncles en route to funerals, .... need. And salvation is what the airline industry needs too. They’ve already had sp pretty touch economic times recently and now nature just kicked them in the stomach. Amazing how volcanic activity on the tiny island of Iceland totally freezes European airspace and grounds thousands and thousands of flights around the world. Europe is cut off. And the amazing ripple effect of the global planet. People stranded in Florida that needed to get to Scotland. People stranded in Hong Kong that should have taken their kids back to school in Amsterdam today. Journalists stuck in Paris that should have been in South Africa by now to report on the final preparations for the upcoming football/soccer world cup. Wives and kids stuck in London that should have been reunited with their fathers and husbands in Cairo yesterday. Dubai, normally a big hub for global passengers, losing millions of US$ per day. It’s a brutal domino effect. Amazing how in the 21st Century a prehistoric-old, natural event still is almighty. The human race might have invented thousand of amazing things and progressed living life (and in many cases also unfortunately so called ‘progressed’) but volcanic power is still above all that. Nature can still rule everything.
Amazing.
From the purity and natural power to the silliness of humans. Just a step away.
Sue Mills is mayor of Torrington, somewhere in England. And she couldn’t keep her racist braincells silent.
Sue went on Facebook and posted a comment saying that illegal immigrants are like sperm. Millions enter but only one really works.
Kick that.
As always with politicians, after being caught out she apologized and said she was misunderstood. So deja-vu! So predictable! And so stupid. If you put something controversial on Facebook and you are a politician and the UK is in election fever, of course it’s gonna get noticed. It’s obvious. Some politicians are clearly too stupid to be in the position that they are are. And she is a mayor on top of it all. Vote her out!
Sticking with human stupidity. Brain errors.
From the UK down under to its former prison colony Australia.
A cook-book publisher has to recall thousands of its “Pasta Bible” and burn them all into history. The recipe for tagliatelle with sardinnes had the unusual advice to add “freshly grounded black people”.
A cannabilistic error from note! The “people” should have apparently been “pepper”. But that’s more than just a quick, slippery finger on a keyboard.
Recipe of stupidity.
Throw out. Discovered The Great St Louis. The GSL is a band from the UK. Indie-punkrock. Great tunes. They just released their 2nd album, “In your own time”. 10 Quality tracks. No clue why they chose that band name but they know how to rock.
Check them out!
C - Ya
collateral – 2nd half of April 2010
Death of the ghost
You gotta fight for your rights! That’s what some workers at the Carlsberg beer factory near the Danish capital Copenhagen thought. Firmly thought. A matter of principle!
They went on a 5 day strike because management had reduced their daily ration of 3 free beers to only 1. And that was just unacceptable! Those damn capitalist bosses and cutting costs all the time!!
Those Carlsberg-Vikings got their priorities clearly in order. Reducing their access to free quality lager was just a declaration of war. That’s plain abuse! And so they went on strike to fight for their right to 3 free bottles of Carlsberg per day.
You wont have that labour issue in Sudan. Certainly not in the Muslim north, but probably not even in the Christian south.
The south is very conservative in that freakish reborn-Christian kind of way. Rap music is a no-go. Any alternative music in fact is the incarnation of pure evil. Ladies in pants are just not accepted (and sometimes even get attacked as a “corrective measure”), and forget any modern art. In fact any liberal, free thinking can end up being a dangerous lifestyle in southern Sudan. So probably no worker there will strike over eventual reduced free alcohol access at the beer factory. On top of that jobs are not a luxury in the poor, post-war southern Sudan. And thus that labourer wont lay down tools over free beer because it’s very likely that that would be his or her last day at the factory. The replacements are already queuing outside the factory gates.
So Sudan is in election mode. Putting that X down for several layers of government, including the almighty presidency. And remember current president Al Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in the Darfur onslaught. Wanted – dead or alive, as cowboy George Bush Jr would say proudly.
But the voting didn’t start well in the vast country because of plenty of logistical troubles, and also because many opposition parties had withdrawn before the voting stations even opened. They claim the vote is already rigged before the first Sudanese citizen even puts down the X.
It’s all a bit chaotic. Voting is set for several says. Remote voting stations opened with hours delay. Some registered voters didn’t find their name back on the voting roll. And then so many parties withdrew days before polling day, but after the ballot papers were already printed. So in fact on the ballot paper that voters get as they walk into the voting stations are many parties that have in the meantime withdrawn from the race. Confusing.
Al Bashir will just be re-elected easily in such circumstances. The pariah will remain in his palace.
And then in the south this is all a warming-up exercise for the referendum for independence that is scheduled for early 2011. Wondering how a re-elected Al Bashir will react when the south votes – as is expected - to break away from Sudan. Will his jets fly over south Sudan? Will the war-torn south feel the pain of a new conflict with the north? It’s going to be a tense countdown till that referendum. Will the birth of the new nation, called Southern Sudan, be drenched in blood or will the secession be reasonably smooth? And once again, oil is a core factor in the stand-off between north and south. Black gold fuels the flames of war.
From the sandpit of Sudan southwards to South Africa. Hope of Africa. Host of the soccer world cup in less than 2 months.
Easter Saturday saw white-supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche being slaughtered to death by 2 of his black farm workers. A very brutal affair. Racial tensions got a spike. Suspected killers will face their trial and meanwhile Terre’Blanche has been buried on his farm. Ashes to ashes, dirt (oh yes) to dirt.
His party, the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, first claimed revenge but then quickly put water on the flames of hatred. But tensions remain. But his party is a spent-force. A ghost of the dark past. Last October Terre’Blance wanted to revive, relaunch his party but only 200 or so fellow narrow-minded whites showed up at the party. He really had lost most of his attraction and the vast majority of whites have moved on. Either they emigrated to Australia. Either they never believed in white supremacy. Either they decided to stay within the democratic playground and marked their X behind the name of democratic opposition parties (or some for the ruling party of the African National Congress).
Terre'Blanche, himself from a French bloodline traced back to the French port of Toulouse, kept believing in the dream of the rebirth of a white, Afrikaner homeland.
But now it seems that there might be a very dark secret to his brutal death. The slaughter by his 2 farm workers (a teenager and a young man in his 20s) might follow years of sexual abuse. Indeed, white supremacist Terre’Blanche might have been involved in gay activities. The white supremacist with firm Christian beliefs might have sodomised a black, teenage farm worker. Kick that! If it wouldn’t be so damn sad it would make a great Hollywood script.
In his views blacks were the lesser race,... but just maybe good enough for a gay s**k and a gay f**k. The ultimate treason to his own beliefs and speeches and arguments and views and opinions. His community is in shock and hates the outside world even more. Reality is hard to accept. The first black president in 1994 was already a crude shock to their system, but now this possibility that their proud, horse-riding leader had this dark, evil, sick secret is really pushing his followers to the bottle.
Pharmacies and bottle stores will do booming business. Pills and booze for the betrayed.
The trial of his 2 killers should bring out some interesting revelations. And not those of the bible-kind. Ashes to ashes, dirt to dirt.
Human behaviour needs a drink to wash away the vomit.
Throw out. The hard-hitting lads from Queens, NY are still pounding. Sick Of It All is about to release a new album – “Based On A True Story”. And once again it’s full of energy, in-your-face rhythms and lots of power. The band has been releasing demos, singles, albums since 1986 on a very regular basis. And although age is catching up unavoidably, after nearly 25 years Sick of It All still rules and rules hard. “Based On A True Story” has 14 tracks that simply proof these 4 lads are far from finished. Kick that. Respect.
C -Ya
collateral – somewhere near the middle of April 2010
They went on a 5 day strike because management had reduced their daily ration of 3 free beers to only 1. And that was just unacceptable! Those damn capitalist bosses and cutting costs all the time!!
Those Carlsberg-Vikings got their priorities clearly in order. Reducing their access to free quality lager was just a declaration of war. That’s plain abuse! And so they went on strike to fight for their right to 3 free bottles of Carlsberg per day.
You wont have that labour issue in Sudan. Certainly not in the Muslim north, but probably not even in the Christian south.
The south is very conservative in that freakish reborn-Christian kind of way. Rap music is a no-go. Any alternative music in fact is the incarnation of pure evil. Ladies in pants are just not accepted (and sometimes even get attacked as a “corrective measure”), and forget any modern art. In fact any liberal, free thinking can end up being a dangerous lifestyle in southern Sudan. So probably no worker there will strike over eventual reduced free alcohol access at the beer factory. On top of that jobs are not a luxury in the poor, post-war southern Sudan. And thus that labourer wont lay down tools over free beer because it’s very likely that that would be his or her last day at the factory. The replacements are already queuing outside the factory gates.
So Sudan is in election mode. Putting that X down for several layers of government, including the almighty presidency. And remember current president Al Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in the Darfur onslaught. Wanted – dead or alive, as cowboy George Bush Jr would say proudly.
But the voting didn’t start well in the vast country because of plenty of logistical troubles, and also because many opposition parties had withdrawn before the voting stations even opened. They claim the vote is already rigged before the first Sudanese citizen even puts down the X.
It’s all a bit chaotic. Voting is set for several says. Remote voting stations opened with hours delay. Some registered voters didn’t find their name back on the voting roll. And then so many parties withdrew days before polling day, but after the ballot papers were already printed. So in fact on the ballot paper that voters get as they walk into the voting stations are many parties that have in the meantime withdrawn from the race. Confusing.
Al Bashir will just be re-elected easily in such circumstances. The pariah will remain in his palace.
And then in the south this is all a warming-up exercise for the referendum for independence that is scheduled for early 2011. Wondering how a re-elected Al Bashir will react when the south votes – as is expected - to break away from Sudan. Will his jets fly over south Sudan? Will the war-torn south feel the pain of a new conflict with the north? It’s going to be a tense countdown till that referendum. Will the birth of the new nation, called Southern Sudan, be drenched in blood or will the secession be reasonably smooth? And once again, oil is a core factor in the stand-off between north and south. Black gold fuels the flames of war.
From the sandpit of Sudan southwards to South Africa. Hope of Africa. Host of the soccer world cup in less than 2 months.
Easter Saturday saw white-supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche being slaughtered to death by 2 of his black farm workers. A very brutal affair. Racial tensions got a spike. Suspected killers will face their trial and meanwhile Terre’Blanche has been buried on his farm. Ashes to ashes, dirt (oh yes) to dirt.
His party, the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, first claimed revenge but then quickly put water on the flames of hatred. But tensions remain. But his party is a spent-force. A ghost of the dark past. Last October Terre’Blance wanted to revive, relaunch his party but only 200 or so fellow narrow-minded whites showed up at the party. He really had lost most of his attraction and the vast majority of whites have moved on. Either they emigrated to Australia. Either they never believed in white supremacy. Either they decided to stay within the democratic playground and marked their X behind the name of democratic opposition parties (or some for the ruling party of the African National Congress).
Terre'Blanche, himself from a French bloodline traced back to the French port of Toulouse, kept believing in the dream of the rebirth of a white, Afrikaner homeland.
But now it seems that there might be a very dark secret to his brutal death. The slaughter by his 2 farm workers (a teenager and a young man in his 20s) might follow years of sexual abuse. Indeed, white supremacist Terre’Blanche might have been involved in gay activities. The white supremacist with firm Christian beliefs might have sodomised a black, teenage farm worker. Kick that! If it wouldn’t be so damn sad it would make a great Hollywood script.
In his views blacks were the lesser race,... but just maybe good enough for a gay s**k and a gay f**k. The ultimate treason to his own beliefs and speeches and arguments and views and opinions. His community is in shock and hates the outside world even more. Reality is hard to accept. The first black president in 1994 was already a crude shock to their system, but now this possibility that their proud, horse-riding leader had this dark, evil, sick secret is really pushing his followers to the bottle.
Pharmacies and bottle stores will do booming business. Pills and booze for the betrayed.
The trial of his 2 killers should bring out some interesting revelations. And not those of the bible-kind. Ashes to ashes, dirt to dirt.
Human behaviour needs a drink to wash away the vomit.
Throw out. The hard-hitting lads from Queens, NY are still pounding. Sick Of It All is about to release a new album – “Based On A True Story”. And once again it’s full of energy, in-your-face rhythms and lots of power. The band has been releasing demos, singles, albums since 1986 on a very regular basis. And although age is catching up unavoidably, after nearly 25 years Sick of It All still rules and rules hard. “Based On A True Story” has 14 tracks that simply proof these 4 lads are far from finished. Kick that. Respect.
C -Ya
collateral – somewhere near the middle of April 2010
Blood stained shoes
Shoes kill. Or say, shoe-fetish kill. Shoe-madness. Shoe-insanity. How shoes let the beast out of the cage.And kill....
A 46 year old woman got stabbed to death in South Africa during a fight over shoes. Her brother is in hospital with stab wounds to the chest. The shoe-killer is still on the loose.
New shoes and a bloody knife in one hand. Easy to spot.
The incident did not happen at a mad shoe sale in a large shopping mall. It happened at the home of the victim. A simple disagreement on who owned a specific pair of shoes got out of hand. Seriously out of hand. Slipped into insanity and ended up in murder.
Speaking of tainted shoes!
From strangely and bloody human behaviour to breakfast with a buzz.
The fire brigade drove out in full force. I think it was in London, UK. The automatic alarm came from a VVVIP. And thus red lights were flashing brighter and sirens sounded louder. Pedal to the metal.
And off they went. And they arrived at Tony Blair’s house. That former British prime minister, better known as Bush’s poodle. Interesting legacy Blair left behind. He modernised the British Labour Party which saved it from oblivion. And then blindly followed George Bush Jr’s orders and took his nation to war all based on some lies and spin.
Anyway. All the mad rush for nothing. It was just a burned toast. Will we ever know if at the start of it all it was white or brown bread?
Staying in the United Kingdom. That former world power, now just some industrialised nation struggling to cope with reality. Anyway.
So a German person died in the UK. Obviously the family wants to take the body back to Germany for a burial. But they fear the repatriation costs.
So they put the corpse in a taxi and drive to Liverpool airport to catch a cheap flight back home. Put the dead one in a wheelchair and roll him/her up to the check in desk. Act like he/she is asleep and see if the trick works.
It didn’t! Caught out and fined. You just can’t take dead meat onto an airplane. Regulations are there for a purpose! Strange Germans...
The world has gone astray. Murder for shoes. Burned toast. And a dead man wants seat 24C.
So the Brits are having national elections on May 6. Only 4 parties in the contest. With some weirdoes on the fringes here and there.
The 2 traditional ones, Conservatives and Labour. Then the not-so-new-kids-on-the-block-anymore Liberal Democrats. And then the up and coming extreme right BNP. So the campaign has started. Politicians and politico-wannabees crisscrossing the UK in the next 4 weeks. Serious carbon footprint this campaign stuff. Flights, busses, cars.
The Conservatives still live in the dream to revive the Margaret Thatcher era. Hallucinations. There was a time when Maggie and her clone Ronald Reagan across the Atlantic were the rulers of the world. The Iron Lady and the 2nd hand cowboy. What a match! But those days are gone and the damage done.
So the Conservatives now have a young lad on the posters trying to appeal to a broader based UK public. For now opinion polls put him in the lead. But many polls worldwide have proven too many times pretty wrong over the many years they are being used as the holy grail of political uncertainty.
The youngster with the private education is up against the bulldog-looking Gordon Brown from Labour. Brown was handpicked as Blair’s successor and thus is now facing his first real election test. He doesn’t look as slick as his opponent and he spins things less convincing too. And he’s got baggage. Baggage from being in government for a long time. And baggage is difficult to sell. The trick is to turn baggage into experience. Brown with the scars of having been in the hotseat versus the young lad with the baby face. How appealing are scars of life? So it's the too often sad looking Brown (in a boring suit) against the botox smile of the young lad.
And then there is the Liberal Democrat party in 3rd place. Also with a young face on the posters. They bring some kind of alternative to the 2 traditional dinosaurs of British politics. But will the so called LibDems finally break through and become the2nd largest party?
And then there are the dark horses from the British National Party. A traditional extreme right party like similar clones in France, Austria, Belgium, Holland,... Anti this and anti that. They have been growing recently cashing in on voters’ frustrations with the economy, immigration, bad weather and the quality of breakfast sausages.
So we’ll see how it all goes on May 6. Democracy is a beautiful thing. Plenty of potholes and pitfalls but for now the best power tool humans have invented to manage a free and fair society based on the rule of law.
I wonder if Gordon Brown also has toast issues in the morning?
Throw out. The Texas punkrock’n’rollers from Born To Lose have just released their new, 11-track album “The dreams of kids”. And once again it kicks ass. Loud and proud. These lads have been around for a quite a while now and every release has just been great. And they don’t seem to stop. Rolling on. Like drunken bikers through the Austin night. “The dreams of kids” is once more full of anthemic songs and greasy guitar. Close your eyes as track 4 - “The bored and the lost” – kicks off. You might think for a few seconds that you are listening to Motorhead’s classic of classic albums “Ace of Spades” from way back when.
C-Ya
collateral – April 2010
A 46 year old woman got stabbed to death in South Africa during a fight over shoes. Her brother is in hospital with stab wounds to the chest. The shoe-killer is still on the loose.
New shoes and a bloody knife in one hand. Easy to spot.
The incident did not happen at a mad shoe sale in a large shopping mall. It happened at the home of the victim. A simple disagreement on who owned a specific pair of shoes got out of hand. Seriously out of hand. Slipped into insanity and ended up in murder.
Speaking of tainted shoes!
From strangely and bloody human behaviour to breakfast with a buzz.
The fire brigade drove out in full force. I think it was in London, UK. The automatic alarm came from a VVVIP. And thus red lights were flashing brighter and sirens sounded louder. Pedal to the metal.
And off they went. And they arrived at Tony Blair’s house. That former British prime minister, better known as Bush’s poodle. Interesting legacy Blair left behind. He modernised the British Labour Party which saved it from oblivion. And then blindly followed George Bush Jr’s orders and took his nation to war all based on some lies and spin.
Anyway. All the mad rush for nothing. It was just a burned toast. Will we ever know if at the start of it all it was white or brown bread?
Staying in the United Kingdom. That former world power, now just some industrialised nation struggling to cope with reality. Anyway.
So a German person died in the UK. Obviously the family wants to take the body back to Germany for a burial. But they fear the repatriation costs.
So they put the corpse in a taxi and drive to Liverpool airport to catch a cheap flight back home. Put the dead one in a wheelchair and roll him/her up to the check in desk. Act like he/she is asleep and see if the trick works.
It didn’t! Caught out and fined. You just can’t take dead meat onto an airplane. Regulations are there for a purpose! Strange Germans...
The world has gone astray. Murder for shoes. Burned toast. And a dead man wants seat 24C.
So the Brits are having national elections on May 6. Only 4 parties in the contest. With some weirdoes on the fringes here and there.
The 2 traditional ones, Conservatives and Labour. Then the not-so-new-kids-on-the-block-anymore Liberal Democrats. And then the up and coming extreme right BNP. So the campaign has started. Politicians and politico-wannabees crisscrossing the UK in the next 4 weeks. Serious carbon footprint this campaign stuff. Flights, busses, cars.
The Conservatives still live in the dream to revive the Margaret Thatcher era. Hallucinations. There was a time when Maggie and her clone Ronald Reagan across the Atlantic were the rulers of the world. The Iron Lady and the 2nd hand cowboy. What a match! But those days are gone and the damage done.
So the Conservatives now have a young lad on the posters trying to appeal to a broader based UK public. For now opinion polls put him in the lead. But many polls worldwide have proven too many times pretty wrong over the many years they are being used as the holy grail of political uncertainty.
The youngster with the private education is up against the bulldog-looking Gordon Brown from Labour. Brown was handpicked as Blair’s successor and thus is now facing his first real election test. He doesn’t look as slick as his opponent and he spins things less convincing too. And he’s got baggage. Baggage from being in government for a long time. And baggage is difficult to sell. The trick is to turn baggage into experience. Brown with the scars of having been in the hotseat versus the young lad with the baby face. How appealing are scars of life? So it's the too often sad looking Brown (in a boring suit) against the botox smile of the young lad.
And then there is the Liberal Democrat party in 3rd place. Also with a young face on the posters. They bring some kind of alternative to the 2 traditional dinosaurs of British politics. But will the so called LibDems finally break through and become the2nd largest party?
And then there are the dark horses from the British National Party. A traditional extreme right party like similar clones in France, Austria, Belgium, Holland,... Anti this and anti that. They have been growing recently cashing in on voters’ frustrations with the economy, immigration, bad weather and the quality of breakfast sausages.
So we’ll see how it all goes on May 6. Democracy is a beautiful thing. Plenty of potholes and pitfalls but for now the best power tool humans have invented to manage a free and fair society based on the rule of law.
I wonder if Gordon Brown also has toast issues in the morning?
Throw out. The Texas punkrock’n’rollers from Born To Lose have just released their new, 11-track album “The dreams of kids”. And once again it kicks ass. Loud and proud. These lads have been around for a quite a while now and every release has just been great. And they don’t seem to stop. Rolling on. Like drunken bikers through the Austin night. “The dreams of kids” is once more full of anthemic songs and greasy guitar. Close your eyes as track 4 - “The bored and the lost” – kicks off. You might think for a few seconds that you are listening to Motorhead’s classic of classic albums “Ace of Spades” from way back when.
C-Ya
collateral – April 2010
Married at the age of 8
So Yemen might ban child marriages. Yes, indeed they might consider this.
Just maybe. They are not really sure in fact, but maybe Yemeni parliamentarians might consider to pass a law banning kids being forcefully pushed into marriage.
Maybe when they got a moment they might wanna talk about this law. Just maybe. We are not speaking about a headline saying ‘Yemen outlaws child marriages’. No, just maybe.
Mad beyond madness. Delirium.
Hundreds of mothers protested outside parliament in the capital Sana’a recently to demand a halt to this barbaric practice. And in defiance of sanity, two days earlier there was a large march to oppose such a ban. Kick that. The opponents, to no surprise, are conservative Islamists. They already have an image problem, but just seem to like walking on the path of ridiculousness. A path of oppression. A path where human rights are just a daydream.
So a whole bunch of Yemenis just love it that kids are being out-married like cattle. Like possessions. And the US is supporting such a country in its war against Al Queda related fighters. Who is barbaric and retarded here? Al Quada or those Yemenis supporting child marriages? It’s evil vs evil. A competition in madness.
In the women’s march there was a lady who got married at the age of 8 (!!!!) to a 28 year old man. How nuts is that? Barbaric. Crazy. Unacceptable. Torture. Sick. Empty the buckets of vomit please.
The law under discussion would fix the age threshold for marriage at 17 for girls and 18 for boys. Don’t get it why there is this difference between the sexes, but anyway a galactic improvement from the existing practice. But the law isn’t law yet as many conservative, Islamist members of parliament are opposing it fiercely. They seem to like barbarism. They say it is un-Islamic to fix a legal marriage-age. Religion again used for madness. Religion as a tool to own, use, abuse, violate, hurt,....
Last September a 12 year old girl died in childbirth in Yemen. How about that?
Human behaviour is often very sickening. Very!
So the US health care reform plan got voted. An American revolution.
But it seems some Americans don’t understand democracy nor are they politically tolerant. A majority of US representatives voted for the bill – otherwise it would not get passed. For sure you can protest about it and organise marches and rant on blogs. But this bill has passed all the democratic requirements in place, so democracy did what it had to do. But some Americans seem to have taken protest a step too far and too dirty and too undemocratic by throwing bricks through windows of Democrats and cutting a propane line at the home of the family of a congressman.
These are ridiculous tactics that don’t belong in a democracy. Probably these same perpetrators would scream and shout about thuggish behaviour when this would happen in an African or Arab state.
Probably very few citizens (if any) read the 2500-ish pages of the bill. Most of the screamers and shouters probably just base their anger on over-simplified, biased media and blog articles. And on their own narrow minded conviction of what freedom means. And on top of that for some it comes from a black president. The ultimate disgrace.
So for some communism has arrived in their living room. The US might have won the cold war in the 20th Century, but the 21st Century is a different beat. China is becoming the driving force on this planet (sadly), and now this health care reform has introduced communism within the US. The ultimate defeat. So load the guns and read some Bible passages because evil has arrived. Big evil. Dark evil. Monster evil. The evil within. Traitors. Red whores. Anti-Americanism. Americans will soon be all enslaved and tortured and all their freedoms taken away by the communists from the Obama camp. May the Lord come and save America! First a black president and now communism. It’s truly the end of the world. Isn’t there something in the Bible about the end of the world and the return of Jesus? Well I guess some in the US think that time has arrived. So they gather in their churches and peep through the windows awaiting their saviour. Pray and sing and burn candles. Because for sure, the Lord has to be against this health bill. I mean, really!
Millions of Americans can’t afford health care. It’s health care for the rich and f*ck the rest. Nice that in the US of A people need to mortgage their home to be able to get their kids a needed operation! Is that the type of so called civilisation America should stand for? Is that progress?
This has nothing to do with communism. Nor socialism. Nor state control of what you do and what you want. This is about decency for those that can’t afford the basics of a civilised society. These systems work in the UK and continental Europe, why not in the US? Will it bring extra administration? Probably it will. So what, it’s the good of its goal that is the matter. And it won’t stop the middle and upper class from going to whatever doctor and clinic they want. You still can do your botox and lift your tits.
Debates on policy are great and necessary, but people should put it into perspective and stick to reality instead of blindly and dumbly spreading brainless vitriol. So get real, stay honest and debate in a democratic, wise fashion. That is part of a civil society!
And what is freedom exactly? The type of ultimate freedom is chaos, because ultimate freedom cannot have society rules. So traffic regulations are anti-freedom. Alcohol ban for under age youngsters is anti-freedom. Whoever decided to have 4 seasons per year and 24 hours in a day is anti-freedom. Must be communist plot! Gun laws are certainly a left wing conspiracy. Community regulations are totally anti-freedom. The fact that killing your neighbour is a crime is in fact anti-freedom. So there can’t be murderers or rapists because they were acting out their ultimate freedoms. Get real!
Oh and of course that child marriage ban under discussion in Yemen is anti-freedom too!
Human behaviour is a strange cocktail.
Throw out. The Flatliners from Canada are about to release their new album “Cavalcade”. I got the luck to get an advance copy and it rocks! Interesting that these lads played ska fused punkrock in their early years and now have shifted to straight forward powerful punkrock without much of a ska beat left. Like the new tunes.
C-Ya
collateral – last days of March 2010
Just maybe. They are not really sure in fact, but maybe Yemeni parliamentarians might consider to pass a law banning kids being forcefully pushed into marriage.
Maybe when they got a moment they might wanna talk about this law. Just maybe. We are not speaking about a headline saying ‘Yemen outlaws child marriages’. No, just maybe.
Mad beyond madness. Delirium.
Hundreds of mothers protested outside parliament in the capital Sana’a recently to demand a halt to this barbaric practice. And in defiance of sanity, two days earlier there was a large march to oppose such a ban. Kick that. The opponents, to no surprise, are conservative Islamists. They already have an image problem, but just seem to like walking on the path of ridiculousness. A path of oppression. A path where human rights are just a daydream.
So a whole bunch of Yemenis just love it that kids are being out-married like cattle. Like possessions. And the US is supporting such a country in its war against Al Queda related fighters. Who is barbaric and retarded here? Al Quada or those Yemenis supporting child marriages? It’s evil vs evil. A competition in madness.
In the women’s march there was a lady who got married at the age of 8 (!!!!) to a 28 year old man. How nuts is that? Barbaric. Crazy. Unacceptable. Torture. Sick. Empty the buckets of vomit please.
The law under discussion would fix the age threshold for marriage at 17 for girls and 18 for boys. Don’t get it why there is this difference between the sexes, but anyway a galactic improvement from the existing practice. But the law isn’t law yet as many conservative, Islamist members of parliament are opposing it fiercely. They seem to like barbarism. They say it is un-Islamic to fix a legal marriage-age. Religion again used for madness. Religion as a tool to own, use, abuse, violate, hurt,....
Last September a 12 year old girl died in childbirth in Yemen. How about that?
Human behaviour is often very sickening. Very!
So the US health care reform plan got voted. An American revolution.
But it seems some Americans don’t understand democracy nor are they politically tolerant. A majority of US representatives voted for the bill – otherwise it would not get passed. For sure you can protest about it and organise marches and rant on blogs. But this bill has passed all the democratic requirements in place, so democracy did what it had to do. But some Americans seem to have taken protest a step too far and too dirty and too undemocratic by throwing bricks through windows of Democrats and cutting a propane line at the home of the family of a congressman.
These are ridiculous tactics that don’t belong in a democracy. Probably these same perpetrators would scream and shout about thuggish behaviour when this would happen in an African or Arab state.
Probably very few citizens (if any) read the 2500-ish pages of the bill. Most of the screamers and shouters probably just base their anger on over-simplified, biased media and blog articles. And on their own narrow minded conviction of what freedom means. And on top of that for some it comes from a black president. The ultimate disgrace.
So for some communism has arrived in their living room. The US might have won the cold war in the 20th Century, but the 21st Century is a different beat. China is becoming the driving force on this planet (sadly), and now this health care reform has introduced communism within the US. The ultimate defeat. So load the guns and read some Bible passages because evil has arrived. Big evil. Dark evil. Monster evil. The evil within. Traitors. Red whores. Anti-Americanism. Americans will soon be all enslaved and tortured and all their freedoms taken away by the communists from the Obama camp. May the Lord come and save America! First a black president and now communism. It’s truly the end of the world. Isn’t there something in the Bible about the end of the world and the return of Jesus? Well I guess some in the US think that time has arrived. So they gather in their churches and peep through the windows awaiting their saviour. Pray and sing and burn candles. Because for sure, the Lord has to be against this health bill. I mean, really!
Millions of Americans can’t afford health care. It’s health care for the rich and f*ck the rest. Nice that in the US of A people need to mortgage their home to be able to get their kids a needed operation! Is that the type of so called civilisation America should stand for? Is that progress?
This has nothing to do with communism. Nor socialism. Nor state control of what you do and what you want. This is about decency for those that can’t afford the basics of a civilised society. These systems work in the UK and continental Europe, why not in the US? Will it bring extra administration? Probably it will. So what, it’s the good of its goal that is the matter. And it won’t stop the middle and upper class from going to whatever doctor and clinic they want. You still can do your botox and lift your tits.
Debates on policy are great and necessary, but people should put it into perspective and stick to reality instead of blindly and dumbly spreading brainless vitriol. So get real, stay honest and debate in a democratic, wise fashion. That is part of a civil society!
And what is freedom exactly? The type of ultimate freedom is chaos, because ultimate freedom cannot have society rules. So traffic regulations are anti-freedom. Alcohol ban for under age youngsters is anti-freedom. Whoever decided to have 4 seasons per year and 24 hours in a day is anti-freedom. Must be communist plot! Gun laws are certainly a left wing conspiracy. Community regulations are totally anti-freedom. The fact that killing your neighbour is a crime is in fact anti-freedom. So there can’t be murderers or rapists because they were acting out their ultimate freedoms. Get real!
Oh and of course that child marriage ban under discussion in Yemen is anti-freedom too!
Human behaviour is a strange cocktail.
Throw out. The Flatliners from Canada are about to release their new album “Cavalcade”. I got the luck to get an advance copy and it rocks! Interesting that these lads played ska fused punkrock in their early years and now have shifted to straight forward powerful punkrock without much of a ska beat left. Like the new tunes.
C-Ya
collateral – last days of March 2010
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