Red Russian Army Choir & Leningrad Cowboys-

To understand other cultures, music and art, play a good part.

Returning soldiers.

They`re coming back, they`re coming back,
Leaving one million dead in Iraq.
They`re coming back to cry,
To live in subways, untill they die.

All the screams of Afghan children,
Behind them now, the tortured limbs,
Of women they never even kissed,
Before they killed them.

Never no more, willl they salute,
A bloodstained worthless rag,
The symbol of oppression and hate,
That has become the American flag.

June 2010. By Dave Colbourne.

Spy vs Spy, spooks, crooks and free-fall collapse.

Another reminder, from America itself, that some people still won`t believe the official story of the twin tower attacks....another fairly well-known name, Firedoglake, and once again, thy name has been spoken, Israel.

It`s still just talk and opinion, however we look at it, the matter has not been investigated to any proper extent.

@ beautiful sound.

A tribe has many faces.

The impossible Hamster (and economic growth)

Aye aye.....Been a few months since writing here, busy with work, and sorting out a few odds and sods.
I often wonder if the current state of macro-economics can continue, I`m getting towards retirement, and naturally find myself *downsizing*....
In the race to build everything bigger and better, faster and more efficient, ....is there going to be a winner?....Or will we just consume all of this planet in a futile show of competitive destruction.



.

Tools of peace.

The clip from youtube features three brave and spirited ladies, who are taking an ambulance to the residents of Gaza, donated by the people of Swansea in South Wales, bless`em.
Making peace takes an effort, and now there`s a multi-national convoy heading towards Gaza, of ambulances and medical supplies.
No guns, no ammunition, no security guards, none of that silly nonsense, Gazans have seen enough of war and absolutely need medical assistance, and from the UK, a convoy of around 80 vehicles set off earlier this month.

All driven by volunteers, and loaded with gifts, now in Turkey, being hailed and cheered, the Turks have also donated further vehicles and ambulances.
Most welcome too, is the news that almost 50 more supporters with vehicles have joined in from the USA no less!... including even some decidedly kosher gentlemen who feel that Palestine needs to be *Free*. (Click for link to Turkey.)



That`s over 200 vehicles due to arrive in Gaza on the 27th of December.



No drones, no smart bombs, no missiles, no soldiers, no weapons at all.




Just men and women, with more guts than any warmongering fool.

Hypocrites assemble.

In the city of Copenhagen, the illustrious and powerful are gathering to pronounce their opinions on "global warming"...or "climate change", and it appears that the ever-increasing consumption of fossil fuels is giving rise to a larger "carbon footprint".
The solution, according to some will be a "carbon-permit trading scheme."

A tax on consumption, the revenue that will be collected and administered by the same clever people who brought in "credit default swaps"(link...)
Good story here, from a young lady in New York.


Whilst telling us to be frugal and mindfull of our consumption, the stewards of our society are themselves living way beyond "our means". Some might call it a blatant plot to transfer yet more hard-earned capital from the pockets of the workers to the bank accounts of the elites and their sleazy servants.
Politicians do not create wealth, they only tax it!




In London, no less a news outlet than the Daily Telegraph picks up on the numbers involved that enabled this conference.

Caviar, limousines, private jets, luxury hotels, and prostitutes.....these hypocrites are not fooling anyone.

Nobody begrudges taxes, when they are used wisely, for roads, schools, hospitals, the disabled, our fire and police services etc, etc.
Indeed, "from each according to ability and to each according to need", a Marxism, but in the case of taxation, a sound ethic.
So why do these charlatans need to be "ensconced in luxury"?

Their carbon footprint comes from the shoe of conspicuous consumption!

Ridiculous, Sublime, Ongoing.

Capitalism seemingly creates millionaires and poverty in the same breath, it gives the oportunity to undertake an enterprise using borrowed money on the promise of future reward.
So when academics discovered some hitherto allegedly "unknown" properties of a common weed, they got themslves to the stock market with a bagfull of medicinal oils and wedge of scientific research.
"They done well", and after several years of documented research and hard work, "their plan is paying good".

A simple process to make plant-based tincture that can alleviate the pain caused by cancer.....wow... amazing.

Here`s how the "Pharma times" plays the news....

Shares in UK group GW Pharmaceuticals were on the rise yesterday following the publication of promising results from a trial of its cannabis-based drug Sativex in cancer pain in a peer reviewed journal.

The multinational, randomised, placebo-controlled trial was designed to pit the effectiveness of Sativex (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] and cannabidiol) in improving pain against THC alone and a placebo, and involved 177 patients with advanced cancer who had failed to gain adequate pain relief with strong opioids.

Click to full article.



Of course, capitalism is a cruel thing, and financially, for those who aren`t in the investment circle, this news is of no relevance whatsoever.
For those in pain from cancer or other diseases, the news is perhaps bittersweet comfort.

About two thousand years ago, there was another group of researchers and investors with a similar medicinal compound.
Some saw it as a commodity to be sold and controlled, by the elders and the inner circle of the already wealthy.

Then there were those who estimed that by making the oil available to the sick as a charitable act, and a function of their class, they would thus civilise and improve the lot of the whole community, rather than enhancing the wealth of a minority few.

Link to an older story about a magic oil.

(Unusual graphics, but relevant tale)..... It creates some interesting asides, the website is an excellent resource for further information on the uses and histories of hemp....)

It`s good to know that science can identify and evaluate the properties of such a beneficial plant, however, the question of reinforcing a market monopoly using prohibition as a bar to all competition is downright ridiculous, sublime even...

A soldiers` job.

The first goal in life, our first breaths, are taken to survive..... the Cossacks certainly survived and thrived, more perhaps in their homelands than anywhere else...Fine bit of singing, if you enjoy the thoughts of galloping towards battle, with swords clashing, cannon and rifle shots etc, etc...

Clear images too, of what those men wore, their customs and outlook writ upon their frames.

Meanwhile, the US government strategy of avoiding battles by paying ransom is coming to the fore.....

A good article in the Guardian names the players and the amounts involved.
Once again, the names are familiar, sons and cousins of ministers and warlords, and the amounts run to billions, around 10% of the US money spent on war goes straight to Afghan "Security firms." (link).

So it seeems that all the talk of "new tactics", or "improved weapon systems", or even increasing troop numbers is simply adding good money to bad.

From another angle, there`s an Afghan minister, who alleges that some of the foreign troops, rather than shutting down the poppy fields, are actually profiting from the drug trade.

Nah... who`d a thunk it(link).

To say that the "war on terror" has become a sad and tangled parody of all wars is perhaps an understatement, but it has started to resemble in parts, the plot of the Joseph Heller novel, here`s a lovely clip or two from the film, with insights

....Milo Minderbinder from Catch 22, (link).....

The singing starts.

It`s been a quiet few days in Afghnistan and Iraq, maybe the winds of change are blowing.

Whilst career soldiers clamour for more troops and more helicopters, wiser political minds are calling for negotiation and settlement.





From Britain, Kim Howells calls for withdrawal....




The UK and the US are still in financial doo-doo, with rising unemployment, falling currency values, and they have earned the contempt of the Asian/ Moslem world, and are not particularly welcome in Latin America, or Africa....


The independent carries a fair editorial comparing the situation to that of former presidents, who "inherit" a war.




Apart from these two leading voices for ending the war, there is also a growing sense of disbelief and scepticism amongst the taxpaying voters.
No-one really believes any more that the Taliban are planning to invade the world, or that Iraq is/was full of WMD`s.



Whilst some think wars are won on the battlefields, the tactics and weapons are far more diverse, and it`s fair to say that if nothing else the US/NATO incursions have exposed the military forces of the West as lacking the most important pre-requisite for winning a war, and that is, as according to the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu the moral imperative..., that is to say the full support of their people, the troops and the generals.


It`s pretty obvious, given the rising amount of public protest, even the troops are beginning to doubt the purpose of these wars, and without doubt, the huge spending defecits in the UK and US are going to have to be curbed, and cuts to budgets will have to be made.

We use £50 million helicopters, which are downed by Taliban fighters with cheap Kalashnikovs,... Multi-million pound tanks, destroyed by £100 roadside bombs.

Maybe that`s what we should do in terms of defence spending... equip every town and village with a cache of roadside bombs, give every one a Kalashnikov , and then if any stupid warmongering bastards come round wanting a war, we can follow the example of the the Afghans, and the Vietnamese, the Irish, (to name but a few!) and send any invaders back whence they came.

Let`s face it, the "war" has been lost, not because of insufficient soldiers, nor because of tactics, nor for lack of helicopters or troop transporters, but simply because US and NATO forces lacked the moral imperative.