Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Wake Up Canada
As you wake up, Canada, take note that George Monbiot of Britian's Guardian newspaper is telling the world that you are one of the greatest obstacles to dealing with climate change at Copenhagen this month. It's the tar sands, stupid, and the petrol lobby (hell, Shell has no morals) and the weak right-wing politicians in Calgary, Ottawa and elsewhere. As you wake up, Canada, your reputation as peacekeeping moral consciences known the world over for good governance and high morals is in tatters. Of course the right-wing bloggers the world over are all over Monbiot this day over here in the somewhat United Kingdom, but Blackheath Canuck (and many others, I might add) are reminding you that your rep is gone, thanks to Harper, thanks to Martin, thanks to Calgary Tories and silent majorities. Wake up, Canada and tell us that you are green, going to throw out the Tories and their petrol dollars from all your capitals and start taking climate change seriously, not just when it hits you personally. The flatearthers have had their day. Wake up, Canada.
Friday, 9 October 2009
The Obama Peace Prize
Is it premature nobelification?
That is one of the arguments today as the world wakes up to the fact that Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office. That strange whining sound you hear is the right wing television and radio pundits tossing their radios and televisions out their windows in the Excited States this morning while screaming primally into their puffed up mirrors. God it is good to be on this side of the pond today.
The Nobel officials are saying that this prize isn't so much for what Obama has already managed to accomplish on the nuclear front as it is a carrot for him to continue to work for peace for people and the planet in the face of the juvenile and self-interested opposition he faces to health care and other reforms in America and around the globe. Well, it's their prize and they can give it to anyone they wish.
But let's then keep him honest on this account.
To keep the Nobel Peace Prize sacred, Obama must in the next days:
- Pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq. It ain't working. You have no moral authority. You are creating more hate against America, more terrorists around the globe willing to sacrifice. Get out now.
- Put Israel on notice that it is no longer immune to United Nations declarations. The billions the U.S. gives in hard and soft support allows Israel to punish mercilessly the Palestinians and provokes its neighbours throughout the Middle East.
- Cease the pseudo war against Iran. As John Pilger argues in the New Statesman, the U.S. has bowed again to its CIA operatives and put the country on the road to another illegal war, where millions of ordinary people in Iran, and hundreds of lower income "coalitions soldiers" pay the cost for the bloody folly.
There is a lot to love in Obama but he is still too reliant on Bush doctrine when it comes to dealings in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Now is the time for Obama to really wage peace. Use the Nobel currency to make real change in America and around the world, Mr. Obama, Mr. Nobel Laureate.
Blackheath Canuck
ps A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks had bad press before it came out. Since then I have not seen a real review. I may have just missed them. But, for what it is worth, I think it was a very interesting read. It offered a good slice of a London week in 2007, somewhat reminiscient of Saturday by Ian McEwen, though I wouldn't push the comparison too far. It is not as literary. But it is still a decent read. Unless you're a banker.
That is one of the arguments today as the world wakes up to the fact that Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office. That strange whining sound you hear is the right wing television and radio pundits tossing their radios and televisions out their windows in the Excited States this morning while screaming primally into their puffed up mirrors. God it is good to be on this side of the pond today.
The Nobel officials are saying that this prize isn't so much for what Obama has already managed to accomplish on the nuclear front as it is a carrot for him to continue to work for peace for people and the planet in the face of the juvenile and self-interested opposition he faces to health care and other reforms in America and around the globe. Well, it's their prize and they can give it to anyone they wish.
But let's then keep him honest on this account.
To keep the Nobel Peace Prize sacred, Obama must in the next days:
- Pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq. It ain't working. You have no moral authority. You are creating more hate against America, more terrorists around the globe willing to sacrifice. Get out now.
- Put Israel on notice that it is no longer immune to United Nations declarations. The billions the U.S. gives in hard and soft support allows Israel to punish mercilessly the Palestinians and provokes its neighbours throughout the Middle East.
- Cease the pseudo war against Iran. As John Pilger argues in the New Statesman, the U.S. has bowed again to its CIA operatives and put the country on the road to another illegal war, where millions of ordinary people in Iran, and hundreds of lower income "coalitions soldiers" pay the cost for the bloody folly.
There is a lot to love in Obama but he is still too reliant on Bush doctrine when it comes to dealings in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Now is the time for Obama to really wage peace. Use the Nobel currency to make real change in America and around the world, Mr. Obama, Mr. Nobel Laureate.
Blackheath Canuck
ps A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks had bad press before it came out. Since then I have not seen a real review. I may have just missed them. But, for what it is worth, I think it was a very interesting read. It offered a good slice of a London week in 2007, somewhat reminiscient of Saturday by Ian McEwen, though I wouldn't push the comparison too far. It is not as literary. But it is still a decent read. Unless you're a banker.
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
The Shock Doctrine
Read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine. Today.
It's true it has taken me a while to get to it. Apologies if you are way ahead of me on this as I have been obsessing with the world of fiction for the past couple of years. Meanwhile Canadian writer extraordinaire Klein has exposed the fiction around the way the world appears to work today.
But the paperback version of this "scary as hell" (John Le Carre) but true book came available at the Blackheath Village Library in southeast London and I grabbed it. Read it. Loved it.
If you want to understand the Iraq invasion and occupation, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand Israeli politics, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand the truly shocking debate around healthcare in the United States, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand Katrina, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand the political debate on the road to the election in the United Kingdom right now, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand the political debate on the road to the possible election in Canada, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand what is happening around HIV and AIDS, climate change, militarism, poverty and hunger in all their various permeations around the world, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to get at the deepest spiritual, theological and political issues facing the planet today, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand what is happening in your own city, borough or backyard, read The Shock Doctrine.
Better than anyone else, Klein gets to the heart, the ideology and the soulessness of the current ruthless brand of capitalism and its inherent blessing of the very few and the hell with the rest of us, and exposes its darkest secrets.
But all is not lost. There is power in the knowing, in the understanding, in the reading, in the debating, in the speaking out, in the acting out, in the organizing.
Read The Shock Doctrine. Today.
Tomorrow's too late.
Blackheath Canuck
ps Our own man on a wire, LC, has survived to sing another day. We wish him only good things as he continues his journey. As he has said, "It might be difficut, but be kind today." Indeed.
It's true it has taken me a while to get to it. Apologies if you are way ahead of me on this as I have been obsessing with the world of fiction for the past couple of years. Meanwhile Canadian writer extraordinaire Klein has exposed the fiction around the way the world appears to work today.
But the paperback version of this "scary as hell" (John Le Carre) but true book came available at the Blackheath Village Library in southeast London and I grabbed it. Read it. Loved it.
If you want to understand the Iraq invasion and occupation, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand Israeli politics, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand the truly shocking debate around healthcare in the United States, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand Katrina, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand the political debate on the road to the election in the United Kingdom right now, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand the political debate on the road to the possible election in Canada, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand what is happening around HIV and AIDS, climate change, militarism, poverty and hunger in all their various permeations around the world, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to get at the deepest spiritual, theological and political issues facing the planet today, read The Shock Doctrine.
If you want to understand what is happening in your own city, borough or backyard, read The Shock Doctrine.
Better than anyone else, Klein gets to the heart, the ideology and the soulessness of the current ruthless brand of capitalism and its inherent blessing of the very few and the hell with the rest of us, and exposes its darkest secrets.
But all is not lost. There is power in the knowing, in the understanding, in the reading, in the debating, in the speaking out, in the acting out, in the organizing.
Read The Shock Doctrine. Today.
Tomorrow's too late.
Blackheath Canuck
ps Our own man on a wire, LC, has survived to sing another day. We wish him only good things as he continues his journey. As he has said, "It might be difficut, but be kind today." Indeed.
Monday, 31 August 2009
Climate Camp
Two points that have been raised about Climate Camp, now taking place in our backyard here in Blackheath, UK, shouldn't go unchallenged. So, challenge them I will.
First, some on the Beeb and in less savoury media outlets have been suggesting that these young climate warriors are flouting the law with their direct action (taking over the heath!) and because they may well be trained in other direct actions while so encamped. But as lawyers on the television show I watched the other day made it clear much of what is encouraged isn't illegal at all. There is also the question of the greater good. And a jury has ruled on that one, has it not? Climate Change is a real threat to the planet! It is time for extraordinary action. Hello, Gordon, are you listening? If life were fair and the rules of engagement were actually just, then perhaps there might be an argument for all of us just staying home and emailing our Parliamentarians nice polite letters. Many of us do this too. But the sad reality is that the great polluters continue unscathed while those with access to the powerbrokers at the table in Copenhagen will be smiling gents in pinstripe suits supplied by the megacorps, who are killing the planet. It is the representatives of these polluters who have the ears of our wimpering little pols and they are the ones too who support the political parties the weakkneed politicians represent. Tell me now, who is it that is really breaking the rules on climate? Not the friendly, tired-out campers in Blackheath just now!
The other suggestion these days in the Guardian (Peter Beaumont, who does good stuff, mostly) and elsewhere is that Climate Camp has become more about Climate Camp than it is about Climate Change. Well, maybe. But perhaps we can understand a bit their insistence on making sure Climate Camp survives. Perhaps there is a bit of paranoia when dealing with a mostly rabid corporatist media and the nasty police with their gestapo-like tactics when it comes to dealing with anything with a hint of irreverent free speech or action. If Beaumont makes a point about it being more about Climate Camp than it is about Climate Change, I say, look at who actually made it so.
For now.
Blackheath Canuck
ps This newcomer to the UK is still discovering the best literature around. Just finished Paradise by A. L. Kennedy. Very powerful look into the heart and soul of an alcoholic. Must read. Ask your library.
First, some on the Beeb and in less savoury media outlets have been suggesting that these young climate warriors are flouting the law with their direct action (taking over the heath!) and because they may well be trained in other direct actions while so encamped. But as lawyers on the television show I watched the other day made it clear much of what is encouraged isn't illegal at all. There is also the question of the greater good. And a jury has ruled on that one, has it not? Climate Change is a real threat to the planet! It is time for extraordinary action. Hello, Gordon, are you listening? If life were fair and the rules of engagement were actually just, then perhaps there might be an argument for all of us just staying home and emailing our Parliamentarians nice polite letters. Many of us do this too. But the sad reality is that the great polluters continue unscathed while those with access to the powerbrokers at the table in Copenhagen will be smiling gents in pinstripe suits supplied by the megacorps, who are killing the planet. It is the representatives of these polluters who have the ears of our wimpering little pols and they are the ones too who support the political parties the weakkneed politicians represent. Tell me now, who is it that is really breaking the rules on climate? Not the friendly, tired-out campers in Blackheath just now!
The other suggestion these days in the Guardian (Peter Beaumont, who does good stuff, mostly) and elsewhere is that Climate Camp has become more about Climate Camp than it is about Climate Change. Well, maybe. But perhaps we can understand a bit their insistence on making sure Climate Camp survives. Perhaps there is a bit of paranoia when dealing with a mostly rabid corporatist media and the nasty police with their gestapo-like tactics when it comes to dealing with anything with a hint of irreverent free speech or action. If Beaumont makes a point about it being more about Climate Camp than it is about Climate Change, I say, look at who actually made it so.
For now.
Blackheath Canuck
ps This newcomer to the UK is still discovering the best literature around. Just finished Paradise by A. L. Kennedy. Very powerful look into the heart and soul of an alcoholic. Must read. Ask your library.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Boxes
Isn't it time the British, Canadian, American and other so-called liberators left Afghanistan and stopped sacrificing our young, poor and barely educated for such dubious goals? Every soldier we send over is but another target and worse, additional inspiration for those who would kill in the name of religion, ideology or idiocy. The return ceremonies held in the UK for those who have fallen in battle in Afghanistan offer powerful moments of grief but are hijacked by those who would continue such shameless bloodshed. To what end?
It's time to look at other ways to persuade sister and brother citizens of the planet that we have great ideas and great ways. It's time to look at the colossal waste of human life and financial and planetary resources that mark this war (and all others). Educate, create jobs, tax banks and bankers, nurture our cultural lives. Stop the wars on people and planet.
Perhaps the poem says it better.
Boxes
The boys are coming home
In boxes red and blue
Finished all their killing
For God, me and you
Finished all their dying
For liberty, so true
Some of them are marching
Strutting the nation’s coup
Some of them just waiting
For the dole to see them through
We haven’t got a question
We haven’t got a clue
We see the gore of enemy
It lacks the royal hue
Stiff upper lip, soldier on
In search of glories new
The boys are coming home
In boxes red and blue
(22 June 2009, London)
What do you think?
For now.
Blackheath Canuck
It's time to look at other ways to persuade sister and brother citizens of the planet that we have great ideas and great ways. It's time to look at the colossal waste of human life and financial and planetary resources that mark this war (and all others). Educate, create jobs, tax banks and bankers, nurture our cultural lives. Stop the wars on people and planet.
Perhaps the poem says it better.
Boxes
The boys are coming home
In boxes red and blue
Finished all their killing
For God, me and you
Finished all their dying
For liberty, so true
Some of them are marching
Strutting the nation’s coup
Some of them just waiting
For the dole to see them through
We haven’t got a question
We haven’t got a clue
We see the gore of enemy
It lacks the royal hue
Stiff upper lip, soldier on
In search of glories new
The boys are coming home
In boxes red and blue
(22 June 2009, London)
What do you think?
For now.
Blackheath Canuck
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Finding Home
27 August 2009
I love this barmy place, after all.
Despite the football wars, the knives on the streets, the weather, CCTVs watching your every move and shake, train disruptions and constant train announcements, I love this place. It has life and vitality, Olympic angst, political intrigue, Lord Mandelson and the true sport of watching the slow political death of Gordon Brown. London's every neighbourhood is another sparkling city in and of itself. Sure, there are some hell holes, but find yourself a bit of heaven, for every one of those - like Greenwich Park, the Blackheath Market on Sundays, the Blackheath Village Library, if you can figure out the erratic hours.
No saintly Stephen Harpers or Iggies from Harvard here. No sight of the NHL or the CFL or the bloody Calgary Stampede. No dour Mansbridge on the BBC, we have George A. and Michelle H. and a host of lovely men and women to read the news, sometimes foucusing on the continuing death of Michael Jackson to exclusion of all else, including half the world being ground deeper and deeper into poverty and submission. But they read ever so well.
And we have Climate Camp right in our very own backyard in Blackheath. Probably the best thing to hit Blackheath since the birthing of the Blackheath Poetry Society. We have been to Climate Camp and see it as one of the many tiny actions that just might save the planet. Camp on! And we have poetry in this country. Rhymes of it, if you will, all over the Beeb (Bless you, Auntie, on this at least) and that's why I'm finding it so civilised just now - and just may stay a while, linger even. We'll see.
Perhaps my search for a home is coming to an end.
For now,
Blackheath Canuck
ps Okay, so everybody is blogging these days and I thought I would join in. There may be brilliant days. I'm hoping. But it's just a chance for a Canadian living in London to get it all off his chest. Enjoy!
I love this barmy place, after all.
Despite the football wars, the knives on the streets, the weather, CCTVs watching your every move and shake, train disruptions and constant train announcements, I love this place. It has life and vitality, Olympic angst, political intrigue, Lord Mandelson and the true sport of watching the slow political death of Gordon Brown. London's every neighbourhood is another sparkling city in and of itself. Sure, there are some hell holes, but find yourself a bit of heaven, for every one of those - like Greenwich Park, the Blackheath Market on Sundays, the Blackheath Village Library, if you can figure out the erratic hours.
No saintly Stephen Harpers or Iggies from Harvard here. No sight of the NHL or the CFL or the bloody Calgary Stampede. No dour Mansbridge on the BBC, we have George A. and Michelle H. and a host of lovely men and women to read the news, sometimes foucusing on the continuing death of Michael Jackson to exclusion of all else, including half the world being ground deeper and deeper into poverty and submission. But they read ever so well.
And we have Climate Camp right in our very own backyard in Blackheath. Probably the best thing to hit Blackheath since the birthing of the Blackheath Poetry Society. We have been to Climate Camp and see it as one of the many tiny actions that just might save the planet. Camp on! And we have poetry in this country. Rhymes of it, if you will, all over the Beeb (Bless you, Auntie, on this at least) and that's why I'm finding it so civilised just now - and just may stay a while, linger even. We'll see.
Perhaps my search for a home is coming to an end.
For now,
Blackheath Canuck
ps Okay, so everybody is blogging these days and I thought I would join in. There may be brilliant days. I'm hoping. But it's just a chance for a Canadian living in London to get it all off his chest. Enjoy!
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