E.U facedown, Inside Job, Betrayal and the Political process.

As revolution and rebellion sweeps across the Al Maghreb, a quieter revolution is happening this week in Ireland. Power is shifting by use of the democratic political process.

Democracy accommodates those on the edge of the political spectrum. The ruling Fianna Fail party is declared betrayers to the Irish Republic by its citizens and is punished accordingly at the polls. Being relegated to the edge does not necessarily mean an end to that party. Sinn Fein was once the mighty all Ireland party but was squeezed out into the cold after the civil war and independence. It is ironic, Sinn Fein, often belittled in the past by Fianna Fail, is now tipping its hat to this former establishment party as it passes it on route to success while Fianna Fail sulks towards wilderness.


E.U. is shown citizen anger. Frankurt 2011.                      Belfast 1981, Donaldson was murdered for betrayal of his people.

Enter the dragons of challenge. The Irish will question the terms of the Inside Job. (Bailout). The Three Presidents heading the EU are facing issues of credibility. Euro skeptics are focused on disclosures of indulgent spending, intransience over political transparency and the ever increasing knowledge, that change can happen anywhere if citizens decide to go for it.
If the marginalized Sinn Fein can march back into central Irish politics after so long as the result of a corrupted central party being itself marginalized, then the three EU presidents should take note.

“While not everyone might wish to plant a revolutionary bomb, everyone can plant a revolutionary vote.”

Donaldson, on the Sinn Fein 1981 election slogan (pictured above), was eventually executed for betrayal of his people. The gun is gone and politics has moved on from those troubled days and whereas, “times they are a- changing,” betrayal of the people never receives much mercy.

The Talented ‘Vinnie Who” comes to Rotterdam Town

Young, fresh and passionate is how “Vinnie Who” looked, sounded and performed on stage last night at the RoTown club Rotterdam. Just a touch over one hundred people of mixed gender, age and background turned up to hear an exciting gig on the second leg of their Live 2011 tour. Although they are just three years together, this band plays with the style and cohesion of a group who works, thinks and lives life together.

They classify themselves as pop/disco but sounded to me like an evolution of dance and rock. One thing’s for sure, this music will make you want to pop, disco, dance and rock to each and every number.

"We are a band from Denmark," Vinnie Who 2011 

Their front row line up, Kristina Kristensen, Niels Bagge and Dennis Morton bring the party to immediate life with their flair and stage action supported by the back row heavy sound of Simon Stefanski, Martin Sandberg and Martin Sahl. The audience appreciated the opportunity to join in and for the duration were captivated by the band’s strong sense of powerful style, rhythm, bass and synths rock.

“We just need to be on the road playing, being new and keeping in touch” said Simon backstage after the show. Earlier, I heard Neils introduce “Vinnie Who” simply saying “We are a band from Denmark” Lets watch and listen as they make it from Denmark onto the world stage.

As for keeping in touch I will hear the band again this Sunday 28th at Paradiso, Amsterdam where they gig in an evening line-up.

Long live the dead Ceauşescu, Gadaffi stars for martyrdom.

Just over twenty years ago I photographed the dead Ceauşescus from a Bucharest TV. Then I needed a vast array of portable equipment, a tonne of cash and a job with the Associated Press. This day, in Netherlands, I didn’t even need a camera, just two buttons on the computer keyboard, an optional coffee and the Internet. Streetfeed, (citizens journalism, crowd reporting) has changed the world.

From Ceausescu to Gadaffi, the monsters of Politics fall to the Evolution of the Revolution. Che LIVES..........

The era of Evolutionary Revolution is upon the 21st century. The American president may not have fully grasped the extent of his election slogan "Change we can Believe in" and the chant "Yes We Can" would determine the mood of other peoples desperately seeking just those words……….

The praetorian guards surrounding paranoid latter day sultans, emperors, kings and dictators alike are usually the last to admit the game is over for their paymasters. But when they do, usually they are the ones to administer the Coup de Grace….. for money of course.

Gadaffi’s (mad dog) actions against the Lybian people has assured his place in the Graveyard of unmarked tombstones. The fact that no visible external threat from the great Satan or the little one either is producing incredible uprisings against these power and wealth drunks shows change is believable, happening and will continue to happen until Politics is changed forever. Gadaffi may claim to be the father of the Bunga Bunga, but a revolutionary Che Guevara he certainly isn’t.

The Arabs ride out, Jordanian tribes face Queen Rania. T.E. Lawrence gives advice.

Like some episode from SHE, thirty-six representatives of Bedouin tribes rode out to face their Queen whom they accuse of creating centres of power serving her own interests. Another in a series of remarkable events sweeping the Arab world.

A Bedouin rides from the treasury in Petra just north of the Wadi Rum. The Rock formation was named "Seven Pillars of wisdom after T.E. Lawrence of Arabia (above) who from there led the Arab revolt 1916-1918. Above Queen Rania and husband wave to the crowd in Amman Jordan. 

Queen Raina, who often appears on the covers of gossip magazines around the world, endures a glittering lifestyle. Her widely reported lavish 40th in the Wadi Rum desert last August raised more than party spirits. The Bedouin delegation produced a letter warning the Monarchy “Jordan will soon face the flood of Tunisia and Egypt.” They pointed to suppression of freedoms and the looting of public funds and highlighted her entourage as over indulgent.

Flashy Queens and party political leaders must realise that the game has changed. Leadership is for real in the modern world and no longer a safe career move for the crazy, the wealth drunks, the torture and control freaks. SHE, who must be obeyed, might take a leaf out of the book by T E Lawrence of Arabia: “Some believed that a rebellion would enable England to defeat Turkey….the nature and power of the Arabic speaking peoples made them think that such a rebellion would be happy….so they allowed it to begin…“Seven Pillars of Wisdom”

T.E. Lawrence by the way based his insurgent operation out of the Wadi Rum.

"Bye bye Belgium," welcome Wallonie, Vlaanderen and Brussels, capital of the new EU

If it is done, and now is as good a time as any, Belgians, by not reforming a central government, will evolve organically into a very loose confederation.

Under the wider stability of an EU Superstate and eventually the Eurozone, existing regional governments Le Gouvernement Wallon and Vlaamse Overheid will expand and continue to run their respective regions. Change is difficult but often necessary. It is unwise to force a marriage to continue when it is clearly over. Eupen is Germany.

For divorced Belgians it will be a release they can adapt to. Wallonia will need EU support as it restructures its economy and this also might mean a huge influx into Brussels by French speakers searching for work.

Can this help Brussels become a true capital for the EU. Maybe, it would need to happen. Brussels at present is an enclave for revolving bureaucrats serving the vast EU institutions. Whereas Whitehall, Washington, the Kremlin etc are also enclaves of sorts they preside over strong sovereign states which don’t get dissolved like Belgium.

Brussels is a capital of institutions rather than a State, federal, confederate or whatever. As it is, it can be easily dissolved by telling its ever increasingly expat community of revolving servants to just not turn up for work as we are now closed for business.

If Belgium ceases to exist and there are signs it will, then Wallonia and Flanders will become the first true members of Dimension; Art of Superstate.

Bahrain royals facing destruction

A Bahrain student wears a makeshift
gasmask during the Gulf war 1991

The Bahrain Royal family are facing imminent destruction. The cold murder of innocent civilians in the middle of the night by what is primarily a Praetorian Guard (recruited externally and loyal only to their Royal paymasters) can only lead to the formation of a counter freedom movement with military overtones. Iran is just north of Bahrain and the US 5th Fleet is stationed there. All the right ingredients are there for a classic insurgency against a dictatorship. Will Obama back the Royals. Can 3000 members of the Royal family hold out against 800,000 Bahrainis and a flood of Al Quds revolutionary guards. It's the Alamo over there for these guys. Except these Royals are supported by nobody, only other Royals. There is no Davey Crocket or Jim Bowie in their Ranks. I know I met some of them during the Gulf war. (post # the berlusconi effect). In this scenario it is essential the US supports the removal of the Al Khalifa family. A real democracy will see the wisdom of the 5th fleet. Young combatants in an Iranian backed insurgency will just see enemies.