Easy Street Traffic Diverted to Austerity Avenue. Central Bankers Seize Crisis Management from Governments.

The news buzzing in downtown Europe this Thursday Dec 1 2011 is Easy Street traffic is being diverted to Austerity Avenue. The sign reads... repairs to sub structures to get started in earnest. These upgrades include moves to significantly reduce Western living standards. Many observers say these plans have been in place for quite some time. If Illuminate (banker elites) foot soldier defectors are to be believed ( a dodgy concept) the crash was orchestrated a decade ago. The next announcement according to the defectors is to reduce population numbers to steady living standards globally. Good reading if you like conspiracy.

Dutch citizens enjoy the easy life on the Hague's Scheveningen beach 2011,
not far from the prison where convicts of the International criminal court are housed.

But the fact is, global power has just made an inexorable and relentless shift from democracy towards the technocrat Masters of the Universe. Money power back in the driving seat. Central banks are controlling bond market moods while governments impotently watch from the wings; having forgotten their lines and suffering stage fright. The bankers are now an Ad hoc political committee, while politicians get new roles as office clerks. (G & T, that's a good chappie, shaken not stirred).

The United Kingdom this week entered another Winter of Discontent, last seen in 1978. A discontent which may turn to a decade of resentment. And a resentment, which will spawn the seeds for a democratic backlash. To manage the world through a financial steering committee using policies of mass instruction (where individuals matter none) for the well being of future individuals is contradictory.

This re-routing of society into Austerity Avenue is about saving the financial industry at all costs. An industry based on gambling and creating virtual money from debt and worthless insurance instruments. An industry which has failed to serve and protect society. Was it ever meant to. When democracy fights back and fight back it will. Power will shift again. But in what direction. Only time will tell.   

Book Review: To Live Outside the Law by Leaf Fielding; Operation Julie Acid Bust.

I began writing this review after a very long night of reading. During Summer past, I was asking myself about this book and what it could say to me as one of those who participated in the British 60's & 70's counter-culture. Sure, I had heard of Operation Julie. Big news at the time, but the details escaped me. I was busy then with a war in another part of the United Kingdom.

What made me read on and on was simply the story. Living outside the law is an exciting biography about Fielding's remarkable early life as a Hippy on the road and subsequent rise in Intertrans Acid supply company. But his story is more. It's also an account of the British Acid Movement's drug fuelled social revolution and how a whole section of society viewed their world at that time.

“What do you think about acid” he asked me straight out. “Mmm, difficult” I said ... Let's see...LSD is probably the best hope the human race has got of coming to grips with its problems.” (p 219).

That universal period of Hippy subculture is well documented in music and folklore. However, Fielding opens the door to the activities of a core British youth galvanised by heady events from Haight-Ashbury's Summer of Love in 1967 to the thrilling half a million strong Isle of Wight pop festival in 1970.

Leaf Fielding's Infidel Waltz 1979. He made the sketch while serving his
sentence in  Horfield  Prison with Alston "Smiles" Hughes and 13 other
 co-conspirators.  "Operation Julie" was the biggest ever L.S.D. bust.

This is a superb read for those who desire to understand the mind of a rebellious youth. A time of Hippy temptation and solidarity. Fielding fills the gaps and provides us with continuity. He describes the fate of those who led the British Acid Movement to Turn on, Tune in and Drop out after we all married and got sucked into the society we opposed.

Indeed I had spent some time with the legendary Alston “Smiles” Hughes, later to become a top player in the Acid ring. Meeting in London in 1970 when I was seventeen years old, we joined the party at the Isle of Wight after which we hitched together to north Wales and on to Birmingham. All the time discussing the merits of a bohemian sub-culture based around the use of a psychedelic drug people have used since religion was invented. And, a drug some informed people will continue to use as a source of spiritual and creative influence forever more.

The revealing detail around Operation Julie and the subsequent jail term is chilling. Fielding provides a rare insight into a tormented imprisonment for those who should not have been there. The fifteen strong Julie mob, as they are referred to in the book, bear more resemblance to a group of political prisoners. In many ways they were just that. Their collective motivations toward creating social change is captivated perfectly through Leaf's own personal stories. What a journey.

The book, for those who understand the effects of LSD, takes the the reader on its own gripping trip of discovery and ultimate realisations.

First there is the initial rush to reach the first plateau of awareness. Then it swiftly engages the delights of Fielding's mad crazy and unconventional behaviour often associated with the drug. The book then finally passes the doors of perception to reflect on its conclusive study while the inevitable bad comedown is reported from a prison cell. Clever Fielding, he knows his drugs.  

One Small Step for Angela Merkel; One Giant Leap for Europe.

November 27^thDispatches from the month that was. Two leaders, Two views. One Europe to save.

“Europe is in one of its toughest, perhaps the toughest hour since World War Two,” said Angela Merkel in the city of Leipzig. "The Euro is the symbol of unification. It is the symbol for half a century of freedom and peace....now we have to make sure that Europe will emerge strengthened from this crisis. If the Euro fails then Europe fails, and we want to prevent and we will prevent this, this is what we are working for.

“Irish problems are Slovak problems, Greek problems are Dutch problems and Spanish problems are our problem,” Merkel said. “Our responsibility does not end at our borders.”

A breakthrough in the crisis will be achieved not by less Europe, but more. The task of our generation now is to complete the economic and currency union in Europe and step by step, create a political union we never managed to build in the '90s. It's time for a breakthrough to a new Europe.”

Left: A time of crisis in West Belfast. A youth leaps away from a burnt out car. Fast forward and a visitor from the Basque Country sees a different view.   

“These are times of change. Assumptions are collapsing. Fears about Europe’s future are understandably intense.” Warned David Cameron at the Mayor's banquet in London. Think how the European Union looks to those watching. A source of alarm and crisis.

The Second World War gave birth to the European Union. But for me, 1989 is the key date, when Europe tore down the Iron Curtain and came together. Democratic nations working together across our continent.

How out of touch the EU has become. It’s the pointless interference, rules and regulations that stifles growth. There is a real sense that the EU is somehow an abstract end in itself, immune from developments in the real world.

It does not have to be like this. Out of crisis can come opportunity if Member States are ready to grasp it. Now is the chance to ask: what kind of Europe do we actually want. The answer is clear.

One with the flexibility of a network, (Confederate Nations of Europe) not the rigidity of a bloc (Federal Nations of Europe)......... whose institutions help by strengthening its members to thrive in a vibrant world, rather than holding them back.” …..dispatches ends......

Two Leaders. Two options. One solution. A two way Europe working in tandem. A choice and means to full fill destiny. The ultimate goal is unity but unity can come in different arrangements. A forced marriage is no marriage as we know too well.

It is time to ask the people in April 2012...what kind of Europe do you want. You have the choice to join either option according to your convictions. A Confederate Network or A Federal Union with a means to opt in and out in future elections. The step must come from Berlin with London's support if we all are to make a giant leap for Europe.