As he was waiting for the arrival of the mass-killer, a Norwegian man outside the court in Oslo said that he “just wants to have a glimpse of evil”.
A small, peacefull nation drown into a 666-orgy of insanity beyond comprehension. When hatred slides over the edge.
But the murdering man was not mentally stupid. No low IQ. He put together an astonishing 1500 page document about his thoughts and opinons. A long, dark tunnel. And it lead to a day of utter insanity. But the document is heavily on serious research. Without a doubt research inspired by certain thinking processes and research done to look for explanations for his visions. The research didn’t lead to a conclusion. The conclusion was searching for reasons. But for sure he went far back in world history to fuel his fear that the world keeps changing and it was change he didn’t like. And it was change he wanted to stop there and then. By a killing spree.
A document that became his bible for action. Guidebook to slaughter. Narrow minded fear + narrow minded visions + fear of tomorrow + guns = scary options.
A bible indeed. His deep rooted, conservative Christianity pushed his thoughts deeper and deeper into a certain tunnel. Religion is the opium of the masses, as Marx said. Probably the only thing Marx was spot on with, because his other theories were used in the former Soviet Union and the former Eastern Europe to turn states into prisons without hope. Left wing dictatorships. The area where extremisms – left or right – touches each other. Copy each other under a different banner. The goelags of Stalin and the concentration camps of Hitler. Same with religions. The conservative Christian massmurderer in Norway is the same evil as the 9/11 hijackers. Same terrorists. When reason stops, demons dance.
Human behaviour can easily slide into hell. Fear is a massive catalyst.
History is a tool that can be spinned and used and analysed by all to proof anything. But history is also there to show the undeniable, neutral fact that things change. They come and go. History – as the future will be – is not stable nor fully predictable and never (for anybody) as hoped and expected and planned.
The birth of the human race is traced back to Africa. But that continent is now the most tragic. The Egyptians ruled once. And the Romans conquered. And the Vikings caused fear as far as Paris. There was the Portuguese empire. And the Spanish one. And the British one. And the French one. And the Austrian-Hungarian one. And the Ottoman one. And the Third Reich. And the Soviet Union. And the Dutch ruled the old trade routes at one time. And the Indians (the red skins, not the Asians) where once the free roamers of what is now America. Things change. For better and for worse. It’s the unstoppable pendilum of time. And it’s clear that the economic might of China is slowly taking over global trade power. And it’s clear that Muslim faith is growing while Christianity is declining. All of the above have reasons. Mostly social-economic reasons. And always a multiple avalanche of reasons. Developments. Actions. Events.
But throughout the centuries there is the clear thread of mistrust. Of fear of the unknown. Fear of the future – which is a normal human response. Change is too often feared and disliked. Change is a rupture of comfort. Change – once again – can be good and bad. Can have good and bad consequences for humans and animals. And for the environment generally.
Fear is what make humans edgy. And in fact, what makes animals edgy too.
Christians hate Muslims. Muslims hate Jews. Blacks hate whites and whites hate blacks. Brits hate Polish. French dislike the English. Scots feel hated by the English. The Welsh feel forgotten. South and North Italians dislike each other. Gypsies are hated by all. Russians hate Georgians. Zulus hate Xhosas. Commies hate capitalists. Capitalists hate the left wing. CEOs dislike the unions. The Oklahoma bomber hated the State. The Romans hated Jesus. Lenin hated the monarchs. City dwellers hate farmers. Rural folks dislike the city slickers. Old people don’t understand the young. The young think the oldies are ‘funny’. Basks hate Madrid. Bosnians hate Serbs and Serbs hate them too. And the Kosovars. Tutsis don’t trust Hutus. Afrikaners and South African blacks have a history of hatred. Liberals and Conservatives can’t stand each other. The Flemish dislike the Walloons, and the Walloons think all Flemish are fascists. The Chinese hate the Tibetans. And the Taiwanese. The Japanese and the Chinese don’t really like each other. North and South Korea are the ultimate paranoid brothers. NY doesn’t like LA. Firemen hate pyromaniacs. Cows fear the butcher. Cats and dogs can’t stand each other. The Sunnis hate the Shi’ites. Hamas and Fatah don’t get along. The Tea Party followers hate Obama. Big business hate enviromentalists. Israelis and Palestinians have been at each other throats for too many years. Vegetarians hate McDonalds. Anarchists hate the banks. Fish hate fishermen. Sharks fear the Chinese. Whales hide for the Japanese. The river fish fears the eagle. The spider fears the scorpion. The bok fears the lion. The elephant hates the ivory traders. Northern Nigerians dislike southerners. Same north-south divide in Ivory Coast. Record labels hate (illegal) downloaders. Real Madrid supporters hate Barcelona fans. Decent journalists hate tabloid ones. India hate Pakistan, and vice versa.
And on and on goes the carousel of hate, dislike, distrust, fear, and un-understanding.
And as the blood in Norway was drying up, came the news that singer Amy Winehouse was no more.
A young girl full of possibilities and opportunities that went over the edge. Self-destructive behaviour. A great voice. A great performer. Deep, meaningfull lyrics. But with a very dark side. Internal torment. And it ended as many feared. Alone in her flat. The heart gave up. It couldn’t handle the self-abuse anymore.
Wondering if Elton John will re-write his Princess Diana-tribute song “Candle In The Wind” for Amy: “Candle Under The Spoon”.
Wondering what Amy says when she knocked at heaven’s gate: “Is this rehab?”
Yes it is. The ultimate rehab. No return anymore. No falling back to dark habbits. No more back to black.
Human behaviour can be a sadly affair.
The US budget fights are technical and nearly ridiculous. The US is broke and thus something needs to be done. One is laughing with the Greeks, but the US is far far far far deeper in the red than anybody else. And in fact lots of the US debt is held by Chinese banks. Speaking of times’ changing!
The debates often sound like a domestic dispute. The mother screams at the father that he spends too much on gambling and on a new TV set. The father screams back saying she didn’t need a new oven nor a weekly hairdo.
Wondering if a US economist is about to enter a Chinese bank with Uzis, AK47s and semtex? Conservative capitalist mass-murderer causes havoc and death in a state-controlled, communist-named-but-capitalist-acting bank in the business district of Beijing. Nothing is what is was, nor what it will be.
Nobody is safe anymore. Nowhere. Never.
Throw out. Brian Fallon from Gaslight Anthems fame is soon releasing an album with his side-project The Horrible Crowes. The recordings are done. The album title unknown for now. The exact release date unknown for now. High expectations.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2011 is a cracker
Sex
Despite high unemployment the Zimbabwean prison service cannot fill its vacant post of….. hangman. It’s been trying to hire a new executioner for many months, but to no avail. No candidates applied.
Although the job comes with benefits. Regular income, pension plan, free food, free medical care, and your clients wont complain afterwards. Maybe not really customer’s”satisfaction guaranteed”, but no need for a customer hotline after the service has been rendered. What’s done is done. One take.
Imagine the job advertisement in the paper. Zimbabwean prison department seeks hangman. Stable job. Fixed hours. Extra benefits. Requirements: no joker; solid presence; can handle rope; no criminal record (!) – because we do not want a fellow inmate creeping up the job ladder.
No hangman for Zimbabwe. So deathrow has become an eternal waiting room for a candidate to apply the grimreaper’s job. Wonder if for some inmates in Zimbabwe it would not be better to die quickly than to rot in jail. Doesn’t sound too healthy. The rope around one’s neck is probably less suffering. Not sure what food you get inside a Zimbabwean prison these days. Torture, rats, tuberculosis, aids,… Visitors? Certainly no TV, radio or reading material. Hell on earth. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if some inmates are praying for a hangman’s visit as soon as possible. Deliver us from torment. Maybe the prison can organise that the deathrow inmates can hang themselves. Cheap option! A DIY job.
Human behaviour is a waiting room.
Southwards on the African continent till the bottom bit. The surf city of Durban has been the scene of student protests.
The youngsters didn’t scream and shout about the cost of education, the crap internet connectivity, the racial tendencies on the campus, the corrupt government, the environmental degradation, global warming, the cost of AIDS drugs, the waiting lists for driving license tests, the maths teacher’s insanity, the cost of booze and the illegality of marihuana. No the students left the classrooms to demand free condoms!
It’s all about priorities! Forget educational needs and job prospects. It’s all about sex! They are too ashamed to ask their parents; spent their pocket money on booze, drugs and a new cell phone,…. So condoms need to be handed out for free …. And on a daily basis.
Maybe when they grow old their kids will ask what they rebelled against while at university. As their kids will have heard how grandpa (and grandma) caused havoc by throwing stones against the apartheid police. The father will be cornered. “Well, son, my dad fought the authorities againts racial discrimination and for freedom. We, the next, free, generation rioted because we wanted sex. With condoms ofcourse, because even at our young age we were aware of all these little viruses and the dangers of all that partner swapping.” Free at last!
From sticks and stones to… boners. Just a generation away.
Human behaviour can me measured in centimeters.
Sometimes reality is better than a Hollywood thriller. The movie script writers are facing a tough one… The British phone messages hacking scandal is like a tsunami. Newspaper closed; resignations; sackings, extra special parliamentary committees (live on TV), the Prime Minister shortening his oversees trip; company shares in decline; popular outcry; big headlines; specialists and analysts; scores being settled; FBI involvement; special police investigations; cops on the take; dirty detectives; the whistleblower found dead;... anything else?
It’s incredible. Can any blockbuster be better? If you miss 1 hour of British TV you missed 5 new developments; 4 new resignations; and 20 new details. It’s a rollercoaster of dirt. A mud slide.
So the soulless tabloid scum hacked into phonemessages of the family of British soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq. And of the royal family. And of Hollywood stars. And of sport stars. And of politicians. The drop that caused the bucket to spill over was the hacking into the phone messages of a murdered young girl. And now allegations that also the families of 9/11 victims were targetted. The dirt keeps spreading.
Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch is cornered. The old dude had to testify before a British parliamentary committee. The man who owns Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the Sun,…. and many many more media outlets worldwide, said he felt humble before the Britsh MPs. Since when is ‘humble’ a new term for ‘I am trying to save my company’s value’?
This scandal is far from over. The City of London saw its 2 most senior police chiefs resign within 2 days. It is claimed that the closed newspaper – News Of The World – had tens of London cops on its payroll. The stench of money.
Human behaviour keeps being driven mainly by cash. Greed is a demise.
The phone hacking has thrown Libya and Syria in the bin. No airtime for now.
In South Africa an investigation has found that the Department of Public Works (like a department in charge of government property etc.) signed 2 leases for 2 new police HQ’s. A national one and a regional one. Sounds fine. But the signatures were put on the lease document before the buildings were sold to the man who is the owner on the rental papers. In other words, a rental agreement was signed before the owner really owned the buildings. And, surprise, surpise, the owner is a friend of the ruling party. How the rot creeps. But the real core of the matter is that the government agreed to a rental fee which is far far far higher than the going market rate. Smelling the stench?
In the English scandal several people resigned right away. As an act of taking public responsibility. In South Africa the minister and the head of police haven’t been seen nor heard in public since the revelations. No comments, no reactions, no resignations. Is silence consent? Or is silence the fear of more cutthroat questions? The latter for sure.
Human behaviour stinks.
Death can come any time and from anywhere. Sad reality. Just like taxes.
And an event in Delbruck in Germany poves it once again. Sadly. It was raining and windy. A 17 year old kid opens his/her umbrella but it kind of doesn’t want to open as it should be. We’ve all seen those scenes where wind and opening an umbrella doesn’t really go together nicely and then the cheaper versions of umbrellas simply break.
So the kid had enough of his/her useless umbrella and throws it away. But the wind had other plans. It picks up the umbrella and takes it on its gusty journey towards …the chest of a 14 year old girl. The umbrella planted itself in the chest of the innocent youngster. Ambulance called. Ambulance arrives. Ambulance leaves with girl. Girl dies a few moments after arriving at the hospital.
Kick that! Maybe the 17 year old should not have thrown the umbrella away just like litter, but put it in a dustbin. Litter turned into a murder weapon.
Can you imagine the headmaster having to call the parents? Death by umbrella.
Throw out. American punkrockers Heartsounds have just released their sophomore album “Drifter”. Great tunes. An album full of well-paced, melodic punkrock with female/male vocals. The duo that started the band – Ben and Laura – played death metal before. A scary thought. But after the 666-years they turned back to their roots. “Until we surrender” was their first Heartsounds’ release and a cracker of note with clear Bad Religion influences. “Drifter” takes their craft further.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2011 is still trying to cope with reality
Although the job comes with benefits. Regular income, pension plan, free food, free medical care, and your clients wont complain afterwards. Maybe not really customer’s”satisfaction guaranteed”, but no need for a customer hotline after the service has been rendered. What’s done is done. One take.
Imagine the job advertisement in the paper. Zimbabwean prison department seeks hangman. Stable job. Fixed hours. Extra benefits. Requirements: no joker; solid presence; can handle rope; no criminal record (!) – because we do not want a fellow inmate creeping up the job ladder.
No hangman for Zimbabwe. So deathrow has become an eternal waiting room for a candidate to apply the grimreaper’s job. Wonder if for some inmates in Zimbabwe it would not be better to die quickly than to rot in jail. Doesn’t sound too healthy. The rope around one’s neck is probably less suffering. Not sure what food you get inside a Zimbabwean prison these days. Torture, rats, tuberculosis, aids,… Visitors? Certainly no TV, radio or reading material. Hell on earth. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if some inmates are praying for a hangman’s visit as soon as possible. Deliver us from torment. Maybe the prison can organise that the deathrow inmates can hang themselves. Cheap option! A DIY job.
Human behaviour is a waiting room.
Southwards on the African continent till the bottom bit. The surf city of Durban has been the scene of student protests.
The youngsters didn’t scream and shout about the cost of education, the crap internet connectivity, the racial tendencies on the campus, the corrupt government, the environmental degradation, global warming, the cost of AIDS drugs, the waiting lists for driving license tests, the maths teacher’s insanity, the cost of booze and the illegality of marihuana. No the students left the classrooms to demand free condoms!
It’s all about priorities! Forget educational needs and job prospects. It’s all about sex! They are too ashamed to ask their parents; spent their pocket money on booze, drugs and a new cell phone,…. So condoms need to be handed out for free …. And on a daily basis.
Maybe when they grow old their kids will ask what they rebelled against while at university. As their kids will have heard how grandpa (and grandma) caused havoc by throwing stones against the apartheid police. The father will be cornered. “Well, son, my dad fought the authorities againts racial discrimination and for freedom. We, the next, free, generation rioted because we wanted sex. With condoms ofcourse, because even at our young age we were aware of all these little viruses and the dangers of all that partner swapping.” Free at last!
From sticks and stones to… boners. Just a generation away.
Human behaviour can me measured in centimeters.
Sometimes reality is better than a Hollywood thriller. The movie script writers are facing a tough one… The British phone messages hacking scandal is like a tsunami. Newspaper closed; resignations; sackings, extra special parliamentary committees (live on TV), the Prime Minister shortening his oversees trip; company shares in decline; popular outcry; big headlines; specialists and analysts; scores being settled; FBI involvement; special police investigations; cops on the take; dirty detectives; the whistleblower found dead;... anything else?
It’s incredible. Can any blockbuster be better? If you miss 1 hour of British TV you missed 5 new developments; 4 new resignations; and 20 new details. It’s a rollercoaster of dirt. A mud slide.
So the soulless tabloid scum hacked into phonemessages of the family of British soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq. And of the royal family. And of Hollywood stars. And of sport stars. And of politicians. The drop that caused the bucket to spill over was the hacking into the phone messages of a murdered young girl. And now allegations that also the families of 9/11 victims were targetted. The dirt keeps spreading.
Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch is cornered. The old dude had to testify before a British parliamentary committee. The man who owns Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the Sun,…. and many many more media outlets worldwide, said he felt humble before the Britsh MPs. Since when is ‘humble’ a new term for ‘I am trying to save my company’s value’?
This scandal is far from over. The City of London saw its 2 most senior police chiefs resign within 2 days. It is claimed that the closed newspaper – News Of The World – had tens of London cops on its payroll. The stench of money.
Human behaviour keeps being driven mainly by cash. Greed is a demise.
The phone hacking has thrown Libya and Syria in the bin. No airtime for now.
In South Africa an investigation has found that the Department of Public Works (like a department in charge of government property etc.) signed 2 leases for 2 new police HQ’s. A national one and a regional one. Sounds fine. But the signatures were put on the lease document before the buildings were sold to the man who is the owner on the rental papers. In other words, a rental agreement was signed before the owner really owned the buildings. And, surprise, surpise, the owner is a friend of the ruling party. How the rot creeps. But the real core of the matter is that the government agreed to a rental fee which is far far far higher than the going market rate. Smelling the stench?
In the English scandal several people resigned right away. As an act of taking public responsibility. In South Africa the minister and the head of police haven’t been seen nor heard in public since the revelations. No comments, no reactions, no resignations. Is silence consent? Or is silence the fear of more cutthroat questions? The latter for sure.
Human behaviour stinks.
Death can come any time and from anywhere. Sad reality. Just like taxes.
And an event in Delbruck in Germany poves it once again. Sadly. It was raining and windy. A 17 year old kid opens his/her umbrella but it kind of doesn’t want to open as it should be. We’ve all seen those scenes where wind and opening an umbrella doesn’t really go together nicely and then the cheaper versions of umbrellas simply break.
So the kid had enough of his/her useless umbrella and throws it away. But the wind had other plans. It picks up the umbrella and takes it on its gusty journey towards …the chest of a 14 year old girl. The umbrella planted itself in the chest of the innocent youngster. Ambulance called. Ambulance arrives. Ambulance leaves with girl. Girl dies a few moments after arriving at the hospital.
Kick that! Maybe the 17 year old should not have thrown the umbrella away just like litter, but put it in a dustbin. Litter turned into a murder weapon.
Can you imagine the headmaster having to call the parents? Death by umbrella.
Throw out. American punkrockers Heartsounds have just released their sophomore album “Drifter”. Great tunes. An album full of well-paced, melodic punkrock with female/male vocals. The duo that started the band – Ben and Laura – played death metal before. A scary thought. But after the 666-years they turned back to their roots. “Until we surrender” was their first Heartsounds’ release and a cracker of note with clear Bad Religion influences. “Drifter” takes their craft further.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2011 is still trying to cope with reality
Smash & grab
So this tea party lady – Buchannan or something?? – dreams of the White House. And the fame and glory that comes with it. But the tea party seems not so much clued in with history. This White House hopefull launched her presidency-lust in a town called Waterloo.
Waterloo, located in tiny Belgium, is known for the ultimate defeat of Napoleon back in 1815. Not a great spin to kickstart your journey to Washington DC. Or maybe it’s just a typical tea party character. Just like Sarah Palin has no clue about African states or the difference between North and South Korea, so has this Waterloo chick maybe no clue about anything that happened before yesterday.
The past is the past and of zero importance to anybody. Let’s just kick America forwards. History is for….. somebody else. Maybe we should just exterminate it from school programs and replace it with some good old Christian values. Christian stuff, you know. From that hero that died at the cross for all of us. Back in… well then. In the past… when they didn’t have access to lethal injections yet or to gas cocktails. Those Romans could learn something from todays fine US penitentiaty clean up model. Don’t ask me more about where and how these Romans did things cause as you know history ain’t my thing. Let’s take America forward. Let’s exterminate some more. Waterloo or no Waterloo. In fact there is indeed water in my loo. Progress! An American thing. Land of the free shits!
Human behaviour has a smell.
But…. if strong-man Napoleon was finally defeated in Waterloo… it means there was also a winner. The defeater! In fact it was a British-lead ‘coalition of the willing’. Maybe Bush Jr copied his anti-Iraq coalition on this Waterloo joint-venture? And thus maybe this tea party presidential hopefull indeed spins Waterloo around and sees it as a coalition of the willing to defeat Obama. Is Obama then a Napoleon-type? Oh,… slipping away. I thought ta party fans like strong-men in charge and thus would be more on Napoleon’s side. And Napoleon also fought the Russians. That would fit Sarah Palin and cronies. Tea versus vodka. Anyway, it’s hard for an outsider to keep track on all possible presidential candidates on the right side of US politics – aka tea drinkers and old party fans. From Obama’s side it’s in fact simple. He was voted into office – overwhelmingly – on the back of a disastrous Bush Jr presidency. That era has gone into the history books (and webpages) as how a presdient of a democracy can lie his people and nation into war. And how that presidency blindly refused to see the upcoming economic storm. Denial to protect the rich and its conglomerate paymasters. Anyway. History is the judge and jury. And Bush Jr doesn’t pass the test. Obama was maybe too young and too idealist. Riding on a wave of hope amidst a dark tunnel of war. But like all idealists the realities of murky, complex, soulless big politics hit hard. And bold plans and bold dreans and bold ideas got stuck in the DC mud.
Human behaviour faces tough reality checks. Crash tests.
From the US to a key ally. Saudi Arabia. Land of the not so free. Five women were taken into police custody because they were driving a car! Kick that. Not driving too fast, or recklessly, or on the wong side of the road, or without insurance, or with an SUV with technical faults, or without a licence, or drunk, or stoned, or while talking on the latest Nokia cellphone,…. No, just driving. Driving is only for men in the Saudi kingdom. Chicks should stay away from the steering wheel! Insanity gone crazy. Wonder what Bush Jr thinks about that. Mister Freedom and his Saudi pals.
Human behaviour is often still in the silly lane.
Michelle Obama was in South Africa. Impressive speech in front of youngsters. Mountains of corruption in South Africa. The ruling party has gone astray from its roots and soul. Theft on a daily basis in the only focus. The gravy train on full speed. Still deadly protests in Syria. Libya in standstill mode. Trains crashed in India. Still nuke troubles in Japan. First female prime minister in Thailand. Belgium still has no government after more than a year. But who cares? French president Sarkozy’s singing lady is pregnant. Hope it’s from him. A president as a father type is always a good election campaign element. And Sarkozy might need some positive PR because he is suffering in the opinion polls and the French are voting soon. Next year? The caring father in charge of the nation again? Greece is still up against it with its debt repayments. Financial markets under pressure. And the world seems still going round and round. The UK in turmoil because of an ever-expanding phone-hacking scandal. Tabloid journalists gone rogue. Over the edge. Unlimited astray. Media mogule Robert Murdoch in the dock of public opinion. Newspaper closed. Deals put on hold. Investigations. Even in the US.
South Sudan is free. Independent. Away from the clutches of the madman in Khartoum. On July 9th they declared that they are the newest world’s nation. The Republic of South Sudan. A nation coming out of decades of civil war. Total destruction. Mothers have more chance to die in child birth here than anywhere else on planet earth. Tough one. Internal little wars with gung-ho warlords with visions of grandeur. But that should be dealt with smoothly and swiftly. With the helping hand of the USA which has plenty of military advisors on the ground. South Sudan is strategically important for the US (and the wider western world) in a region of Africa which is unstable, corrupt and in the shadow of a growing Muslim militant threat coming from Somalia. And thus the stakes or high. Geo politics with all its dirty waters.
But South Sudan isn’t starting well amidst the fanfare of independence and the flow of development aid. Last year it made 12 US$ billion on oil, but only 8 billion of that can be traced back in the books of the state. And thus one third has gone awol. Already the rot is deep. Very deep. The odds are not good. And the new constitution gives way too much power to the president. Like an emperor. For instance, the man in the presidential palace can declare war by himself. No need for a parliamentary vote for that. Scary! So if that man gets out of bed in a bad mood he can cause some senseless damage.
The future will tell but the birth ain’t too healthy.
Human behaviour is just too often a collection of powerhunger, greed, and a quick loss of reality sense. Amnesia of reality. Althzeimer of promises. Smash and grab
Sad but true. A history of mankind of missed opportunities. Weakness rules the globe. July 9th might have been a massive party in South Sudan, but with a ghost of Waterloo over it. Defeated at birth. Suicidal genocide.
Throw out. The Riverboat Gamblers. What’s in a band’s name? These lads just released a 4-track ep called “Smash / Grab”. The Gamblers stick to their rock ‘n’ roll infused, punk-ish tunes. Great for highway drives.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2011 is ticking away
Waterloo, located in tiny Belgium, is known for the ultimate defeat of Napoleon back in 1815. Not a great spin to kickstart your journey to Washington DC. Or maybe it’s just a typical tea party character. Just like Sarah Palin has no clue about African states or the difference between North and South Korea, so has this Waterloo chick maybe no clue about anything that happened before yesterday.
The past is the past and of zero importance to anybody. Let’s just kick America forwards. History is for….. somebody else. Maybe we should just exterminate it from school programs and replace it with some good old Christian values. Christian stuff, you know. From that hero that died at the cross for all of us. Back in… well then. In the past… when they didn’t have access to lethal injections yet or to gas cocktails. Those Romans could learn something from todays fine US penitentiaty clean up model. Don’t ask me more about where and how these Romans did things cause as you know history ain’t my thing. Let’s take America forward. Let’s exterminate some more. Waterloo or no Waterloo. In fact there is indeed water in my loo. Progress! An American thing. Land of the free shits!
Human behaviour has a smell.
But…. if strong-man Napoleon was finally defeated in Waterloo… it means there was also a winner. The defeater! In fact it was a British-lead ‘coalition of the willing’. Maybe Bush Jr copied his anti-Iraq coalition on this Waterloo joint-venture? And thus maybe this tea party presidential hopefull indeed spins Waterloo around and sees it as a coalition of the willing to defeat Obama. Is Obama then a Napoleon-type? Oh,… slipping away. I thought ta party fans like strong-men in charge and thus would be more on Napoleon’s side. And Napoleon also fought the Russians. That would fit Sarah Palin and cronies. Tea versus vodka. Anyway, it’s hard for an outsider to keep track on all possible presidential candidates on the right side of US politics – aka tea drinkers and old party fans. From Obama’s side it’s in fact simple. He was voted into office – overwhelmingly – on the back of a disastrous Bush Jr presidency. That era has gone into the history books (and webpages) as how a presdient of a democracy can lie his people and nation into war. And how that presidency blindly refused to see the upcoming economic storm. Denial to protect the rich and its conglomerate paymasters. Anyway. History is the judge and jury. And Bush Jr doesn’t pass the test. Obama was maybe too young and too idealist. Riding on a wave of hope amidst a dark tunnel of war. But like all idealists the realities of murky, complex, soulless big politics hit hard. And bold plans and bold dreans and bold ideas got stuck in the DC mud.
Human behaviour faces tough reality checks. Crash tests.
From the US to a key ally. Saudi Arabia. Land of the not so free. Five women were taken into police custody because they were driving a car! Kick that. Not driving too fast, or recklessly, or on the wong side of the road, or without insurance, or with an SUV with technical faults, or without a licence, or drunk, or stoned, or while talking on the latest Nokia cellphone,…. No, just driving. Driving is only for men in the Saudi kingdom. Chicks should stay away from the steering wheel! Insanity gone crazy. Wonder what Bush Jr thinks about that. Mister Freedom and his Saudi pals.
Human behaviour is often still in the silly lane.
Michelle Obama was in South Africa. Impressive speech in front of youngsters. Mountains of corruption in South Africa. The ruling party has gone astray from its roots and soul. Theft on a daily basis in the only focus. The gravy train on full speed. Still deadly protests in Syria. Libya in standstill mode. Trains crashed in India. Still nuke troubles in Japan. First female prime minister in Thailand. Belgium still has no government after more than a year. But who cares? French president Sarkozy’s singing lady is pregnant. Hope it’s from him. A president as a father type is always a good election campaign element. And Sarkozy might need some positive PR because he is suffering in the opinion polls and the French are voting soon. Next year? The caring father in charge of the nation again? Greece is still up against it with its debt repayments. Financial markets under pressure. And the world seems still going round and round. The UK in turmoil because of an ever-expanding phone-hacking scandal. Tabloid journalists gone rogue. Over the edge. Unlimited astray. Media mogule Robert Murdoch in the dock of public opinion. Newspaper closed. Deals put on hold. Investigations. Even in the US.
South Sudan is free. Independent. Away from the clutches of the madman in Khartoum. On July 9th they declared that they are the newest world’s nation. The Republic of South Sudan. A nation coming out of decades of civil war. Total destruction. Mothers have more chance to die in child birth here than anywhere else on planet earth. Tough one. Internal little wars with gung-ho warlords with visions of grandeur. But that should be dealt with smoothly and swiftly. With the helping hand of the USA which has plenty of military advisors on the ground. South Sudan is strategically important for the US (and the wider western world) in a region of Africa which is unstable, corrupt and in the shadow of a growing Muslim militant threat coming from Somalia. And thus the stakes or high. Geo politics with all its dirty waters.
But South Sudan isn’t starting well amidst the fanfare of independence and the flow of development aid. Last year it made 12 US$ billion on oil, but only 8 billion of that can be traced back in the books of the state. And thus one third has gone awol. Already the rot is deep. Very deep. The odds are not good. And the new constitution gives way too much power to the president. Like an emperor. For instance, the man in the presidential palace can declare war by himself. No need for a parliamentary vote for that. Scary! So if that man gets out of bed in a bad mood he can cause some senseless damage.
The future will tell but the birth ain’t too healthy.
Human behaviour is just too often a collection of powerhunger, greed, and a quick loss of reality sense. Amnesia of reality. Althzeimer of promises. Smash and grab
Sad but true. A history of mankind of missed opportunities. Weakness rules the globe. July 9th might have been a massive party in South Sudan, but with a ghost of Waterloo over it. Defeated at birth. Suicidal genocide.
Throw out. The Riverboat Gamblers. What’s in a band’s name? These lads just released a 4-track ep called “Smash / Grab”. The Gamblers stick to their rock ‘n’ roll infused, punk-ish tunes. Great for highway drives.
C -Ya
collateral – July 2011 is ticking away
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