Archive for August, 2012


A recent New Yorker cover carried a kitsch yet tragic image of a lone and all-puffed-out Father Christmas, sitting on a tiny disk of sea ice and leaning against a candy striped North Pole, like some absurdist and apocalyptic desert island scene at the very top of a hot and helter-skelter world.(*13&20 aug ’12)

George Monbiot’s scorchingly prescient piece on the record Arctic ice melt, in today’s Guardian, raises concerns that ‘a form of reactive denial’ drives lack of attention and a very muted response to this historic event. He describes 29th August, 2012 as…

The day the world went mad’:

As record sea ice melt scarcely makes the news while the third runway grabs headlines, is there aI wonder whether we could be seeing a form of reactive denial at work: people proving to themselves that there cannot be a problem if they can continue to discuss the issues in these terms…

(click above to Monbiot’s piece)

This interpretOr wonders whether cognitive dissonance drives the wretched and almost robotic ‘reactive denial’ bit, too…This event has the potential to impact upon all humanity – the phrase ‘earth shattering’ comes to mind…and all for that extra buckeroo for some oleaginous sociopath at mission control.

“Life for modern artists in China is not easy. Imprisonment, hefty fines and travel bans are just some of the intimidation tactics the state police use to silence those critical of the regime. But Beijing artist Zhao Zhao, once an assistant to artist Ai Weiwei, refuses to bend to the pressure.”

click here to access the full story @ SPIEGEL online

The platform also calls for the overturning of measures passed to regulate Wall Street in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse.

BBC @ Republican Party Convention

Mitt’s cOnvention?

…Costco shirts, praise them. Anne…Anne shops at Costco too. We both do. Yes, indeedy. Fellow Amurekunz, fellow Amurekunz…heck, I wear the pancakes in my house. Turning now, turning now to the economy, it is over-regulation and big, big, BIG government that caused our brothers and sisters on Wall Street so, sooo much pain. When we look at the deteriorating economical situation in Spainland and other cities across Yeurp, the prophesy of a great Republican leader and thinker sounds all too…all too presciented:

“One of the very difficult parts of the decision I made on the financial crisis was to use hardworking people’s money to help prevent there to be a crisis.”

These… are the words… of none otherrr than former Presidential collosus…George W. Bush, Washington, D.C….Jan. 12… 2009…We can draw strength and reassurances from my faith and yours fellow Amurekunz…George W. Bush…George W. Bush is the gold standard of faith ‘n good works. In 2008, as our President, he declared…

“I’ve been in the Bible every day since I’ve been the president.” 

Fellow Amurekunz, if it’s good enough for Anne, it’s good enough for you…I’m gonna hit you with my rhythm stick…here we go…we can hear you oh Lord…delegates, delegates, the Lord is channeling through me, channeling with this to say…

“We’ve got a lot of relations with countries in our neighborhood and the German asparagus are fabulous…”One of the things important about history is to remember the true history.” “There’s no question this is a major human disaster that requires a strong response from the Chinese government, which is what they’re providing, but it also responds a compassionate response from nations to whom — that have got the blessings, good blessings of life, and that’s us.” “Let’s make sure that there is certainty during uncertain times in our economy.” 

”We got plenty of money in Washington. What we need is more priority.”

Oh, oh, oh…there’s more…

“And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place.” 

Aymennn, Aymennn a doodlee oodlee!!!

Look, I see a maaan when I look in the mirror. I look at photos of me at my age – 67.4 – my eyes…they are browny. I like my teeth. I uhmm hate my freckles and wish my eyebrows were thinner – I have the bushiest eyebrows ever. I have them threaded every two weeks – it’s uhmph, sooo boring!!

Quite frankly there really is nothing worse than waking up with an eyelash hanging off and mascara on the pillow so, at the end of the day, I always remove my make-up, no matter how many drinks I’ve had. In the week, I am strict about what I eat, but at weekends I enjoy the odd treat – cheese triangles, frankfurters, Chinese takeaway, ice-cream. I’m good 86.5% of the time.

I have Baby Botox every nine months, in the final analysis errr much to my spouse’s horror – she thinks I am too young – I inherited frown lines, and heck, at the end of the day, I wanted to get rid of them! I get my nails done every two weeks, and every three months I have hair extensions made of real hair (apparently it’s Russian). Quite frankly, quite frankly you can never have hair that’s too big! Getting my hair blow-dried twice a week is my biggest indulgence and the one thing that I can’t live without.Look, uhhhh my beauty regime is time-consuming, and my accountant is horrified when I tell him how much all these things cost!

coming next week on ‘what I see in the mirror’  pt2: Teresa Gambaro  

“Herr Abbott…your pantz, they’re really hot” said Scott…

Why thank you Scott, I rather like them myself…

Noo, nooo Herr Abbott, your pantz…they’re on fire!!

What’s that old uhh…that schoolyard taunt? Look…quite frankly Scott, I yah, I yah’ve got the latest from Mitt’s team and I’ve had a heck of a lotta opportunities to uhmm, ahh test them out this week. They’re so…look, they’re ahh, they’re soo good that I’ve ordered a few extra pairs for Julie, Alan, Bolty and erhh, for you Scott. You too shall wear those pantz. You’ll wear them with ahh, wear them with pride…

pussy putin…

Oleaginous cheeseball, Mor(m)on and US presidential wannabe, Mett Rimnoy, is proud to be a major contributor to global warming:

“Governor Mitt Romney, when campaigning unsuccessfully to inherit the Bush battle standard, was to appeal by claiming that global warming had nothing to do with the US. If the globe thought it was warming, then the globe could get on and do something about it, but leave Planet America out of it.”

Chris Patten, ‘What Next?’ (2008)

Chancellor of Oxford University & last UK Governor of Hong Kong.

Assange update – 17:26 Western Australia time – former Australian heavyweight diplomat on ABC’s RN stated clearly and calmly that the UK govt.’s extreme reaction of contemplating breaching Ecuador embassy leveraged by the US “having the goods on Cameron and his people…”

Here @ the interpretOr, we’d like to add that this extraordinary scenario reflects the veracity of Assange’s concerns about an actual agenda of a horrific and public form of ‘extraordinary rendition’. Storming an Embassy in such a situation would be in breach of International Law and a prima facie contravention of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Moronism is the religion practiced by Morons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Later Saint Day Knee movement. This movement was founded by Ed CreePbuhmlicker, Jr.beginning in the 1920s as a form of spiritual primitivism leg-slapping dance movement. During the 1930s and 1940s, Moronism gradually distinguished itself from traditional Protestantism. Moronism today represents the new, non-Protestant faith taught by CreePbuhmlicker, Jr in the 1940s. After CreePbuhmlicker, Jr’s death, most Morons followed the force to the Rocky Mountains as The Church of Later Saint Days (LSD Church).

Other branches of Moronism include Moron fundamentalism, which seeks to maintain practices and doctrines, such as public spanking with bacon, that were discontinued by the LSD Church, and various other small independent denominations.[1]

The term Moron is derived from the Book of Moron, one of the faith’s religious texts. Based on the name of that book, early followers of founder Ed CreePbuhmlicker, Jr. were called Morons, and their faith was called Moronism. The term was initially considered pejorative,[2] but is no longer considered so by Morons (although other terms such as Later Saint Days, or LSDs, are generally preferred).[3]

"In terms of theorists I was more influenced by Thomas Szasz’s The Myth of Mental Illness and his concept of the therapeutic state. When I was a very disturbed young man I felt my sanity under threat and picked up on Szasz’s thinking and started to think as Laing did,  that sanity was a bit like the realist novel — a socioculturally determined construct.
This may sound rather like a feeble answer, but I’m always amazed that other people don’t write about these things because they seem to me so obviously fascinating. "

this fascinating and funny interview is here free + in full @ the PARIS REVIEW

AUGUST 9, 2012
BY 
Even rainstorms can be sensitive in China. The recent storm in Beijing which killed at least 77 people caused the censors to come out in force, withnewspapers told to can coverage and online accounts of the deluge snipped.

But with 500 million internet users, the obvious question is, how does China do it? What are the mechanics of China’s internet censorship?

It makes things simpler if we divide the censorship first into two camps: censoring the web outside China and censoring domestic sites.

American journalist James Fallows very readable account of how China censors the outside web explains: “Depending on how you look at it, the Chinese government’s attempt to rein in the internet is crude and slapdash or ingenious and well crafted.”

(press ‘hot’ words to access story in full @ the Index on Censorship)

As the world faces the possibility of another right-wing, religious, ironed-bible, helmet haired fuckhead in the White House making loud noises about “Hiraynianns”, let us not forget the lessons of relatively recent history…

A right-wing, religious, ironed-bible, helmet haired fuckhead called Ronnie Reagan, moved in to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a mere 30 odd years ago and hatched a foul and cunning plot to raise slush funds to finance his favourite Central American fascist death squads, the Contras –

(A Human Rights Watch report found that the Contras were guilty of targeting health care clinics and health care workers for assassination; kidnapping civilians; torturing and executing civilians, including children, who were captured in combat; raping women; indiscriminately attacking civilians and civilian homes; seizing civilian property; and burning civilian houses in captured towns).

As truth is sadly, stranger than fiction, he embarked upon this nice little earner by covertly selling arms to…IRAN…and the relatively new and archly religious fundamentalist regime of …Ayatollah Khomeini…

more below on Iran-Contra from Wikipedia:

The Iran–Contra affair (Persian: ایران-کنترا‎, Spanishcaso Irán-contras), also referred to as IrangateContragate or the Iran-Contra scandal, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo.[1] Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress.

The scandal began as an operation to free seven American hostages being held by a group with Iranian ties connected to the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. It was planned that Israel would ship weapons to Iran, and then the U.S. would resupply Israel and receive the Israeli payment. The Iranian recipients promised to do everything in their power to achieve the release of the U.S. hostages. The plan deteriorated into an arms-for-hostages scheme, in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of the American hostages.[2][3] Large modifications to the plan were devised by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council in late 1985, in which a portion of the proceeds from the weapon sales was diverted to fund anti-Sandinista and anti-communist rebels, or Contras, in Nicaragua.[4][5]

“I want a libwary. I…I…I want a libwary! I want A LIBWARY!!!” bellowed Gina.

Gina, dear, dear Gina. I hear you loud…and…clear, me dear. You shell have your libwawy. You shell have it post-haste, ehumphhh, vewy soon, my dear…

Ohhh, Lord Chwissie – I just knew that you’d understand such a, such a burning desire…

We shall furnish those mahogany shelves, uhmp, whoopsie dooo..ectually, I meant to say magnolia…we shall furnish those magnolia shelves, with the help of…

I know, I know, I know….with the help of elves. That’s it…elves…

Mmmmm, dear Gina…the shelves shall be furnished with litwature, with clessics…

Soooper doops, Lord C…uhmmm…Clarkson, Cookson, Cyrus…err, not forgeting El Wonnie Hubbard…

Smeashing, smeashing…The Fundamentals of Thought is one of Jamie-wamie’s ebsolute faves tooo, my steel magnolia…my, ehumphhh…

I want what Romney’s got too, Lord Chwissie…I want your assistance with procurement of the other first-edition-signed copy-book of…The Book of Mormon…you know the one, you know…aka Pearl of Great Price?

Dear Gina. Dear, dear Gina. Your wish is my command…

Just get on with it Monckton. I want my libwawy, and I want it NOW!!!

August 9th is The International Day of Indigenous Peoples and in advance of the occasion, Amnesty International have released a report that  details incidences around the world of Indigenous Peoples being denied the right to consultation (ergo informed consent, too) on matters that impact directly upon their very human existence:

“Governments continue to discriminate against Indigenous peoples by denying their right to have a say on decisions which may have devastating consequences for their cultural survival. The right to consultation, as established in various international human rights standards, is key for Indigenous peoples. This document provides a summary of some of the serious challenges that Indigenous peoples face on a daily basis as they claim the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent…”

Please click hereto go directly to Amnesty International’s download page.

The G192 report

The Stiglitz commission on the 2008 crash was obstructed and derided, especially by the US and UK. Five years on, with the crisis set to last, it is vital that the UN becomes a central forum for negotiation…”

by Robert H Wade

Small island with huge ambitions

by Philippe RivièreTwo private companies are now offering tourist trips to the Moon, using their own ships: one is Excalibur Almaz, in the Isle of Man.

Privatising space

by Philippe RivièreCompanies and corporations now want to supplement, and then maybe supplant, national governments in space exploration and exploitation…

The end of the Bedouin

by Jillian Kestler-D’Amours

Le Monde Diplomatique, English language edition, free and available by clicking any of the piece links above.

“Now we are creating air bases in Central Asia to seize Iranian oil reserves. Or, more dangerously to take on China en route to North Korea, or vice versa. Since these neoconservative contingency plans for world conquest will end more soon than late in our destruction one wonders why our media, bought and obedient as they are, cannot see that they are on the wrong side of human history, now more than ever fragile and out of control as we nuclearize space itself and attack nation after nation while silencing those few of our citizens who see what is up ahead for us.”

Gore Vidal

Point to Point Navigation, 2006.

Hot on the heals of Deputy Prime Minister, Wayne Swan’s revelations about the inspiration to him that is Bruce Springsteen, Tony Abbott, Federal Opposition leader and former Director of Australians for Consitutional Monarchy, has come out swinging, expressing his eternal adoration of 50’s US singing sensation, Pat Boone:

“Pat’s moral compass was evident, his course set. He navigated fame and stardom with sincerity and panache. I uhmm mean, quite frankly, he is sheer, uhmm, talent as a singer and actor, combined with his old-fashioned values, contributing to his popularity…”

Touching on Boone’s role as a cheerleader for fascist US politicians, Mr Abbott added:

“At the end of the day, Patty campaigned for Ronald Reagan to become Governor of California in 1966 and 1970, and actively supported Ronnie’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination in ’76. He was quite frankly absolutely right in arguing that Democrats and others who were against the president during the Iraq War could be questioned for their patriotism.[24] On Fox News he often had the courage and fortitude to express his outrage toward opponents of George W. Bush  He said that their criticisms of the president showed they did not “respect their elders”

Boone’s spokesperson, Ben Harridan, was unavailable for comment.

‘The wrecking by Rumsfeld of Iraq and Afghanistan, two countries that had not and could not have done us the slightest harm. Simultaneously as their cities were being knocked down at enormous expense to us, the tax payers, contracts were being given to the vice-president’s company, Halliburton, to rebuild those same cities that his colleague at the Defense Department had knocked down. This is a win-win situation for the higher corruption that governs us.’

Gore Vidal

Point to Point Navigation, 2006.