For whom, Power doth crush.

Power is an unpredictable energy. Ask any dictator, revolutionary or parliamentarian. It scorns good and evil alike. It is absolute in its own character, changing, evolving, enticing but never faithful to those who pick it up from where it lies waiting for those who give it life.

Danger lies in its seductive, addictive and abusive nature. It grows, swells and balloons beyond the control of individuals and family cohorts. Like Atlas carrying the burden of our planet on his shoulders, Power finally weighs down its carrier into a broken shadow of their former self. It then deflates becoming again attractive to those who notice its siren call.
Like all drugs which produce initial feelings of grandeur and well being, abuse over use leads to paranoia and eventually death to dignity and self respect. Democracy is an evolving, thought out response to coping with Power’s alluring attractions.


Middle East Dictators, Royals and Authorian regimes face the Book of Power. Its changing personality offers little regard to current holders. Its  focus is on continuing existance. No one has ever controlled Power beyond a given cycle. For Syria, Lybia and the Gulf states, the weight of Power is crushing their cycle. 

 In a recent interview with an international women’s magazine the wife of the Syrian dictator allowed herself to be attached to the following published article. Bashar Al-Assad may be crushing his protesters seeking change but he should remember Power can desert any host, destroying him and his family.

Extracted from the Article "Asma al-Assad, A Rose in the Desert." February 25th 2011, A report of disturbing contradictions:

Asma al-Assad, Syria’s dynamic first lady, is on a mission to create a beacon of culture and secularism in a powder-keg region—and to put a modern face on her husband’s regime.

Asma al-Assad is glamorous, young, and very chic…..She’s a rare combination: a thin, long-limbed beauty with a trained analytic mind who dresses with cunning understatement. Paris Match calls her “the element of light in a country full of shadow zones.” She is the first lady of Syria.
Syria is known as the safest country in the Middle East, possibly because, as the State Department’s Web site says, “the Syrian government conducts intense physical and electronic surveillance of both Syrian citizens and foreign visitors.”
It’s a secular country…… the Muslim veil is forbidden in universities, a place without bombings, unrest, or kidnappings, but its shadow zones are deep and dark. …..In Syria, power is hereditary. The country’s alliances are murky. There are souvenir Hezbollah ashtrays in the souk, and you can spot the Hamas leadership racing through the bar of the Four Seasons. Its number-one enmity is clear: Israel.


Iraq is next door, Iran not far away. Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, is 90 minutes by car from Damascus. Jordan is south, and next to it the region that Syrian maps label Palestine. There are nearly one million refugees from Iraq in Syria, and another half-million displaced Palestinians. “It’s a tough neighborhood,” admits Asma al-Assad.
The story prints three comments Posted: 2-25-2011

1, In the midst of the chaos in the Middle East today, it is refreshing to read about Mrs. Assad. Polished, poised, well-educated, articulate, beautiful, she is a woman to admire in these tumultuous times


2, I really enjoyed my view into Mrs. Assad's world. She seems down to earth and dedicated to her causes. Great job for daring to profile a woman who is not a cookie-cutter American!


3, This may be the most disgusting article ever published in Vogue, and is surely the first time it has ever put out pure propaganda for a ruthless hereditary dictatorship. It is like all the pieces claiming that Gaddafi's son Saif was some kind of good guy reformist (how stupid do they look now). What's next for Joan Juliet and the once-admired sellout Nachtwey (writer& photographer) -- an admiring profile of Mugabe's first lady? Kim Il Sung's daughter? Hey if Gaddafi does somehow stay in power why not do one of his wives. You should be ashamed.

In democracy, opinion matters. As such it becomes less threatening to those who hold Power for the time they have it.
http://omgeemag.com/2011/03/07/vogue-on-asma-al-assad-the-first-lady-of-syria/

http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/asma-al-assad-a-rose-in-the-desert/

SuperState feels the heat. Bail-out crumbles as the Pig leaves the Euro Zone.

It was a bad day for Brussels as the Finns added to the rumble and hum of displeasure with the way the Euro crisis is being playing out. Or was it really that bad.

After all, nobody wants a mooching nation as a partner. And no nation wants to be a Pig either. (Portugal, Ireland, Greece)



You're barred ye wee slecher, yiv drank too much
 and now you're drunk. Come back when you're sober.

 This E.U. parlance about defaulting, restructuring, leaving, fighting in the streets, veto, burning bankers, haircuts and uncle Tom Cobley and all means only one thing. Something is gonna give and give very soon.

Look at it logically, no-one and I mean no-one is going to take unwanted medicine when they can throw the bottle in the bin. So Mammy says she will force you to take your medicine, to which, often is heard "Oh yea, you and and whose army is gonna make me."

That’s right, the EU has no army. Not like Rome with its mighty legions. Just a bunch of un-elected bureaucrats with no stomach for a bad press.

So maybe it is better and possibly the preferred choice if the over fed Pig were to cut loose. Let the Euro ship bounce back up on top of the waves, lighter and faster than before. Where it belongs. I don’t hear Norway, Sweden, Denmark or the UK complain about not being part of the Euro nor do I hear anyone else for that matter knocking on the door asking to be let in. But a Zone without the Piggi, well that a different story. (portugal ireland greece go independent).

Enter the Finns. Should they block the, or should I say, be encouraged to block the bail-out for Portugal. It is fait accompli for the crisis. Our Pig gets a break from the bacon slicer and the heat is off Mammy in Brussels to dish out the medicine. What’s the big deal, its only money after all. You just print the stuff.

Ireland: a choice of aspirations, a crisis of loyalty, a home to live in.

A recent visit to the family holiday destination of my teenage years washed up memories of Edna O’Brien, De Dannan and soft plumes of burning peat. Donegal never fails to stir passions and our love for this wild and beautiful land.
It is a dark, lonely and adventurous track to the holiday cottage, There was initial doubt in my choice of direction. But knowing Donegal it is best to stay on course and follow directions from those who have before paved the way.

The piercing wail of a banshee forewarns of tragedy.

“When you are poor for so long the taste of money from a spoon can be so sweet to a tired life,” I heard it on the wind. A shivering wail from the mysterious Banshee.

Aspirations to match the success of others is understandable and I believe every country has its fair share of those who would do irrational deals just to taste from the spoon of wealth.
The upgraded renovations to this thatched cottage outside of Killybegs retains traditional rural characteristics. A way of paying homage to human presence who developed a relationship with its environment.

Regeneration in general, is an aspect of progress alleviating the misery of poverty. It gives opportunity to enjoy comfort while appreciating our ancestor’s contribution to culture.
The house next door misses this principal to the land and its culture. It marries money to debt which in turn leads to misery. “What’s it for” I asked a local. “It’s a guy’s holiday home, he used to live around here in poverty, in dreadful conditions, he got good in England, now this is his statement. ”

Con's cottage Killybegs

Cormack's cottage Killybegs

“Better to be poor and free than rich and in bondage.” The calling cry of endless rebellion and insurrection.

For most of us individuals seeking improvement to our standards the answer to this call will never be tested.
But for Ireland there is no doubt. Our debt is to our traditions and culture and not the debt slave traders of modern politics, property monarchs and gladiator bankers.

As for the owner of the big one on the hill. Seems like, according to local legend, he renovated the old family hovel and lives there contented he became a success.

American Civil War, a view from across the pond

Political America has been on occasions compared to a football pitch. Not a regular pitch with 22 players fighting a turn at the ball for the camera to shine a light on their point of view, but one crammed with hundreds of players, each with something to say. Each believing their message to be the most important. Each knowing the game has only 90 minutes and when it’s over there is no point in playing on until the lights are back on and the game resumes.

Now, I ain’t no expert on Yankee speak or Southern ways. But what I do know is Uncle Sam can work for those who take to the pitch because they keep on showing up game after game after game.

However sometimes as we know, players turn nasty. The civil war 150 years ago should have taught “We the People” just how nasty a “Divided House” can get.
The slaughter was horrendous but the outcome gave certain possibilities for a united America to become comparable with mighty Rome. Was the price worth it. Only the fallen can give such approval. We can but only guess their answer.

A symbol of US unity flys over the Boston skyline 1988, a town synomymous with the birth of America 

Some say in America today a rot has set in, a belief, that America can split up based on the friction lines of 1835-1865 to become cosy enclaves for a variety of interested groups.
A spreading Spanish speaking America is annoying those who look back at Wasp power. Some bible belt Americans from the former Confederacy states don’t accept diluting Christianity as a daily influence guiding lives. And some in the multicultural north eye marriage with eligible Canada, a new mighty force with resources and markets to exploit. According to observers, American politics is becoming nastier and polarized.

But this is not 1861 and should the great man himself be around today he might well re-enforce the spirit of a united America, but a repeat of the division which taints some memories to this very day he would surely avoid at all costs.
America’s greatness lies in its ability to accommodate all those players on the pitch. Is the pitch becoming over crowded. Dividing it up, makes for smaller farms with bickering neighbours. Building extensions to the family home creates more work and room for all.
It’s a new world since 1861. Global is here to stay, warts and all. This is not America’s time to ponder division but time to play the last post on the Civil War. Honour all who gave their lives for America and look forward to centuries of destiny.
Rome was far from perfect, but it lasted so long because it mattered that it should last. Its decline is steeped in division and loss of direction. Divorces begin in the home and it is in the American homeland where healing is needed. The Civil War can become the Civil marriage. It just takes time out to plan a pitch strategy. The game goes on.

France lost its fifth Republic on April 11th 2011 entering an era of punishment, punishment and more punishment aimed at controlling the private choice of individuals.

Idiotic statements by French prime minister François Fillon, "The French Republic lives in a bare-headed fashion” is representative of the narrow minded views of extremists who destroy that which they don’t understand. Fillon, like his former foreign minister Michele Alliot-Marie is linked to north African dictators with little or no regards for human rights.

A new law aimed at bringing freedom and equality to French Muslim women imposes a fine of 150 Euros for women breaking the law against wearing clothing of their own chosing. They can be ordered to carry out public service duty as part of the punishment or as an alternative to the fine. Whether this law applies to foreign nationals visiting France and wearing Burkas remains to be seen.

Forcing a woman to wear a Niqab or a Burka is punishable by a year in prison and a 30,000 euro fine. Forcing a minor to do the same is punishable by two years in prison and 60,000 euro fine.


Lawmakers have cited security reasons forbidding people from covering their faces in public, “This practice, even if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place.” State Security services are excluded.

The Sarkozy government has called wearing the Burka "A new form of enslavement that the republic cannot accept on its soil."

Forcing people to undress by the French Government is permitted and apparently approved by 82 percent of the people. Given that France has a 10% Muslim population, similar in number to Egypt’s Christian Population where there is no law forcing Christians to wear the Burka, then every French man, woman and child is behind this violation. A remarkable assumption for a country who gave the world the French Revolution while embracing Thomas Paine’s “The Rights of Man.”

It is a perversion of terms to say that a charter gives rights. It operates by a contrary effect — that of taking rights away. Rights are inherently in all the inhabitants; but charters, by annulling those rights, in the majority, leave the right, by exclusion, in the hands of a few . . . They . . . consequently are instruments of injustice.

The fact, therefore, must be that the individuals, themselves, each, in his own personal and sovereign right, entered into a compact with each other to produce a government: and this is the only mode in which governments have a right to arise, and the only principle on which they have a right to exist……..Thomas Paine “The rights of Man” 1791

Clear majorities in Germany, Britain and Spain, have also backed Burka bans, a recent survey has found. Strange these former colonial countries with disgraceful histories towards the culture and human rights of others, profess this action to be in the name of Democratic choice.

Amnesty International is right to criticise France on this ban, saying it violates European human rights.

Thomas Paine was tried in absentia, and condemned for writing “The rights of Man” in 1791. However he was unavailable for hanging, having departed England for France, where the Revolution against President Sarkozy’s Fifth Republic exploded on April 11th 2011.

Imagine a world of 123 billion people, population problem is a full blown myth.

If by some tragedy the population of the world was reduced to half its present number, and I continued to live, then in population numbers I would be back in the year 1968 listening to Jimi Hendrix playing All along the Watchtower and reading the Ehrlich’s book about impending mass starvation.

Back then at school we discussed population explosions, imminent food crisis, nuclear war and the end of time. It seems we have always discussed these topics with an apocalyptic overview.

Sweedish-American Plantagon, experiments with urban farming.

But the human being is made of sterner stuff. Whatever is thrown at it, war, disease, natural disasters and the rest, we march forward. We are better fed, live longer and are accelerating in knowledge and understanding faster than at any time in our history.

The idea of cutting population numbers to help mankind enjoy the labour of past generations is a full blown myth. Shoulder to shoulder we can put the world's, soon to be, 7 billion humans in the Los Angeles district. So what’s the fear over space. 70% of us will live in massive cities. Urbanism is here. Ruralism should become free and freer. Growing the food in down town office blocks converted to state of the art greenhouses will become a great food business. It will make transport and heating costs disappear while producing fresh and varied produce.

Genetic modification science is a tremendous gift to humans. It releases us from the constraints of past tales and fear of the unknown. Doomers and gloomers should think again over population. Population growth is welcome. What is needed is to embrace this explosion as wealth. Make more food and resolve problems collectively, as a unified species. What is to be gained from further confrontational politics. Anyway, the future is here as we speak. We add 6 million humans to the cause every month.

I see ahead, a world not of 9, 10, 14 billion people but 65, 95, 123 billion people creating a beautiful and realistic liaison with the planet. We constantly ponder over failure while forgetting our great ability to adapt and survive. We should accept the evolution of revolution. Strange I know, but then in 1968 didn’t people say Imagine and I have a dream.

The blindness of Absolutism and the fall of the house of Saud

There is an old story about a vain and foolish monarch who wears no cloths before his people. He parades in a procession naked because he has been told his new suit is invisible to those unfit for their position and/or, those who are hopelessly stupid. 
 

The Emperor cannot see the cloth himself, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing unfit or stupid; his ministers do the same. 
 

A child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor is wearing no clothes and the cry is taken up by others. The Emperor cringes, suspecting the call is true, but holds himself up proudly and continues the procession because to accept the truth he is a mere mortal like the rest of us would reveal his vanity and corrupted outlook on reality. 
 

The rise, rise and rise of people power is making the old political world cringe. And more so in the world of Arab autocracy, theocracy, dynasty and dictatorship.

Recent articles in western press makes grim reading for the House of Saud. They suggest the recent surge in oil prices is a planned shot across the bow of new Arab democracy movements and popular western support for it. The House of Saud is saying encroach on our easy street and we have the power to send you harsh recession and pain.

This strategy is of the same tale as the above story. The house of Saud does not hear the child cry out the truth. There is no longer any legitimacy in Absolutism.

Oil addiction is challenged by winds of change seeking to turn a new dirrection. Times is running out for the house of Saud as people grasp a rare moment of clarity over energy conflict.

Creating an oil price bubble by either cutting back on production or encouraging financial investment banks to buy oil at any price, hoard it in vast depots such as Rotterdam harbour and then bet on the price rising further will create a firestorm of public anger and resentment at the idea public standard of living is controlled by a few bankers and monarchs desperately clinging on to systems people have lost faith in. 
 

In such a scenario, it would be in the West’s interest to fuel regime change to support partners we can assist develop democracy, new energy, global co-operation and in whom we can be proud of. 
 

When push comes to shove, as it nearly always does in revolutions, the alliance of Absolutists and investor banker vampirism will face populations with more in common that they might realise. Betting on their own victory might prove a bit dicey; for small sparks can turn into flames.

It seems, for those watching from the sidelines, the enemy of the state is the friend of the people.

Tunisia and Lybia fight on

Her Master's Voice "When I am on holiday, I am not foreign minister." Declared Michele Alliot-Marie, the French foreign minister, who has resigned following weeks of criticism over her contacts with the former leadership of Tunisia. This politician offered the Ben Ali regime, now tarred as a "Culture of Corruption," to send the French heavy squad to help defeat the citizens of Tunisia seeking change and democracy. She actually supports a discredited dictator. former foreign minister Michele Alliot-Marie offered to help punish citizens seeking democracy. "I do not feel that I have committed any wrongdoing" she said. It later transpired she was fiddling about in the cookie jar looking for gold plated sweets. Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! The times to start, or to finish, the times of lightening, or of suffering, My God! My God! ( Edith Piaf). And those in Paris, London and Berlin who have never agreed much on anything in the past and who play the political one- up- manship for the home game have the gall and audacity to undermine the EU external service minister Cathy Ashton. Ashton was given a mountain to climb and no doubt all the dodgy nods and winks of support swirling the corridors of a Byzantine court in the Place de Luxembourg. Ms Ashton's response might look limited. Getting some of Europe's foreign ministers to support democracy during an overdue popular uprising is a problem, never mind the Buzzcocks. The EEAS needs to speak for the EEAS. It is her job to be an alternative to the likes of Michele Alliot-Marie. the EU's Cathy Ashton Right now Ashton needs her voice to speak for Brussels. It is Brussels opinion we want to hear. It should reflect the spirit and view of the European project and not the chameleon interests of London Paris or Berlin. Revolutions begin at home, make one in EEAS Brussels.

The Irish election 2011, Sinn Fein goes South

In post heady days of Banker rule in Ireland and elsewhere, a severe hangover from the long party of greed has produced election results for a party of change.

Sinn Fein is on course to play a part in contemporary Irish politics after eighty years in the cold. The ruling Fianna Fail party of Ireland’s first president and IRA uprising commander Eammon De Valera, who split from Sinn Fein in 1926, has lost its mandate to govern; being accused of betraying the nation to bankers and property developers. But bankers and developers are not the only ones to carry guilt and responsibility for the mess. 

On the March. Sinn Fein pictured in Belfast 1989 during the movement's
 transgression from armed struggle to political success.


Opportunities are lost and won, as Sinn Fein knows very well. This opportunity to put Ireland first before the ingrained pursuit of financial and social betterment at all costs, which has bedeviled Irish society as a struggling emerging nation, will be tested from the beginning.

The Irish who had most in life generally had little money, but owned a wealth in music, culture and pride. They are admired more for this than their over inflated six million euro property prices which stand up for ridicule.

Europe is now part of the landscape, Art of Superstate will also be tested this year. Dealing with the EU needs attention, flair, vision and firmness. But most of all results which work to move Irish society forward.

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.

Tell them about the dream, Martin.




A Martin Luther King Poster in Berlin

 

Sitting out the heat in Manama 

"No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness, like a mighty stream."

"It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment."


 "Let freedom ring."

Bahrain monarchy, protests and the Berusconi effect

Taken in Bahrain 1991, these young are now men
 looking for revolutionary change. Salute.

While in Bahrain during the 1991 Gulf war I heard the most remarkable story. The place, as you might know, is run by a monarchy, the Al Khalifa family, which is a gang of some thousands. That’s the way things are done over there. You set up a country and you own it, lock, stock and barrel, supported by your US and British allies of course which pays to have military bases there. 
Well this story is about how the Royal Family were getting their kicks. Similar to the Berlusconi effect they liked a little spice in their lives. But given that the country is the size of a major European city it hampers ability to recruit locally and could prove hard to keep quiet. Enter the national airline. Gulf Air, according to my source, British and Irish (blonde) girls were embedded then in their legion of flight attendants, who knowingly became mistresses and party types to members of the Royal clan. Hundreds were involved in the merry go round.
Many people do the same thing, Europe is host such Bunga Bunga at high levels. But most people are not so hypocritical about ruling others on how to morally live their lives.

To maintain control they made sure the selected never planted roots in Bahrain and were returned them home to the Islands where they reside. Thus ensuring they could not follow the Family who owns just about everything relevant in the Kingdom. It was a case of are you onboard.

Who told me this story, A member of the Royal family of course as he used his mobile phone in 1991 to call Dublin to inform his girl she had just been fired. She could keep the jewelry. What a show off. He knew I was British.

Now this same bunch is firing on its citizens who seek a bit of fair play and slice more freedom. A classic case of a minority ruling over a majority and doing it badly. Bahrain is on the list for revolution. Is there a growing demand for a dictators retirement camp.

European Identity.

Bridges don’t just appear, they get built.  A European identity is a challenge to accommodate the many national traditions forged and cultivated over past centuries. European identity is the revisionary idea of people seeking peace, unity and tolerance after the horror of war. Hohenzollern bridge, the busiest railway bridge in Germany. Although this identity needs to be developed, it is a fact that modern nation building, is the result of similar planning of nurturing cohesion between existing traditions and customs, a process, which in many cases is itself relatively recent. What compares national identity to  new European identity is necessity for unity. What contrasts is leadership dis-unity. National leaders need to help the public transcend reservations of losing control. They can see the future global landscape, realise the stakes involved but negotiate on principals which often are becoming outdated in an ever faster moving world. Lessons from recent revolutions since 1989 show that in the new knowledge society, wrongs can be quickly exposed and highlighted. People power is a de facto force to be taken seriously by the planners. Democracy guarantees the rights of citizens and, the use of high political position is no longer a tool for the rampant pillaging of a country’s wealth. The development of European identity will be a long process were many initiatives are needed to be employed encompassing culture, traditions, language and politics. But searching for votes is not the same as searching for solutions. The rise of inward looking isolationist policies may be temporary but this should not prevent a young European identity from looking outward.

Cameron and Merkel attack Multikulti.

Two former colonial powers retreat from embracing multiculture and parallel societies.

Both Germany and Britain, which spread their influence far and wide, are focusing on the Muslim community and its apparent slowness to integrate into society.

What interests me as a British national is the amount of times we have failed to do the same while visiting parts of the world legally and illegally.

Besides the 5.5 million Britons who choose to live abroad as expats, territories which have been populated and retained their Britishness range from Ulster, Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Bahamas, Falklands and a bunch of Islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Multikulti is a human condition
beyond the control of politicians.

It is not all plain sailing as we know but today these societies are now strong diverse democracies and are firmly beyond any identity crisis. It has always been a slow process including newcomers and their cultures.

To say it is not possible is to ignore the charismatic Little Italy and Chinatowns of our great cities. Their descendants will want to be as national as the next. Willingly expanding society with added diversity is not the same as forced identity change.

Cameron and Merkel should reconsider attacking multikulti as a cover to resolve a security problem which is largely of Western making and find a solution to speed up its evolution.     

Egyptians, Have No Fear. Victory is yours. Remember Ceausescu.

Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu on trail in 1989. Shortly after, they were executed
 for crimes against the Romanian people.

  

Egyptians, have no Fear. Victory is yours. Remember Ceausescu. A classic case of a dictator clinging on to power. Mubarak is another example of political power thinking it knows better than collective people power.  No Fear is the rallying battle call. And it works. Western people support this change because in change, there is opportunity for advancement. Let Dictators know the rules of engagement. If you attack the people you forfeit you life and any positive legacy to history. Remember Ceausescu 1989.

Arab revolution fueled by catch-up Youth

From Amman to Bucharest, youth move to catch up with Western standards.

Ronald Regan famously said on June 8, 1982. " Freedom and democracy will leave Marxism and Leninism on the ash heap of history." Across the Arab world youth are looking at the West and parts of Asia leaving them behind in the journey towards broader wealth and growth. Western youth have better houses and better living standards. Arab Youth see the writing on the walls. Catch-up or get left in the dust. The old political order of grabbing and holding on to elitist power is drawing to a close. The people are demanding real change and that goes also for leaders wishing to fill vacuums. If Islam want to play a part it must also reform. Islam is a great religion but it must serve the people not the opposite. Can it adjust to the modern world and like Christianity become marginalised behind social media and people power. The Arab and World leaders are now facing a period of prolonged and continuing revolutionary activity. Marxism and Leninism may have hit the dustbin of history but revolution and its evolution is very much alive.

Revolutia Continua.

Peace keeping UN soldiers in Bosnia 1995

   

One day in Cairo 1990 

The Evolution of the Revolution continues. Power to the people continues. Shaming of politicians continues.  Facing down the greedy continues. Education of the people continues. Dissolution of religion continues. The spread of democracy continues. In the real world the greedy and the military are regrouping to attack the people. Netherlands is back into the war game pretending to protect Muslims in Afghanistan. What a shame on them to re-enter this disgusting game after their soldiers betrayed the Muslims at Srebrenica, 1995.    Dutch nationals are rightly alarmed at this unprovoked Afghanistan interference by their lackey politicians. 75% of Dutch voters oppose the move. The growing western military complex is creating more and more dangerous excuses for their unbridled and over financed existence. 90% of total world military spending is by the Atlantic Alliance. The next real revolution will happen in America where a great people are being mis-led by war mongers. The Egyptian people will walk to victory. Lets hope others will follow. Revolutia Continua.

One day in Cairo I met a wise man

A Cairo suburb 1990

I spent one day in Cairo. And during that day 20 years ago, I employed the taxi driver to just drive around the city. What a city! It was culture shock for me. But during the stop offs for tea I met a man who spoke perfect English. As it was he turned out to be a professor in politics. We talked and I enquired about the regional problems and how they will turn out. "Oh" he said "It is simple. We in this part of the world never take time too seriously. For we know that at one moment the people having had enough will rise up to take back what is theirs." Is now that moment for Cairo, Egypt has a major role to play in shaping a modern North Africa. It needs a modern approach to government and the shifting of power from elites to the people. Making protest illegal in any 21st century country is unenforceable, unreasonable and unacceptable.

Stark realities takes nuclear war to new Horror Level.

A lust for new Horror Levels shames past memory..
 Picture from the series De Kijk

Industrialised slaughter of civilians has always been the dark side of human conflict. From blood soaked Crusaders taking Jerusalem in the name of Christianity in 1099 to 20th century monsters in the name of Fascism and Communism. But in whose name did two British officials, David Owen and Michael Quinlan, argue over the threshold for a Horror Level of Russian causalities in a debate about a nuclear attack on Moscow in 1970’s. Owen threw the dice for one million while Quinlan selected a card for ten million. Recently released papers show the degree of disgust and contempt even seemingly democratic minded politicians have towards humanity. “In a Nuclear War, Britain would have to finished what it started and bring about the breakdown of the city as a functioning community.” Said Quinlan

Given that the majority of British live in a tiny cramped part of the island around London and therefore subject to entire annihilation from a retaliatory strike, it beggars belief to think these idiots were working for the benefit of the country.

And today, politicians want to be involved in every war going. Ex War prime minister Blair recently told the Chilcot inquiry he was saddened for the loss of life after he ordered the illegal war in Iraq. But added, we should still consider attacking Iran as its influence in the middle East is growing. And what is this so-called peace envoy’s threshold for an Iranian Horror Level. The population of Tehran is currently 8,429,807. Will that do it for him.

Self determination for Palestine and Israel. Peace be with you.

Self determination for people, from the Jerusalem Walks series 1991

  

"We have returned to our holy places... And we shall never leave them," Gen Moshe Dayan 1967 ……the establishment of the Jewish state was that Jews became more than just a collection of individuals, communities and fragments of communities. They became a sovereign collective in their own territory…………no longer as a ruled people, defeated and persecuted, but as a proud people with a magnificent country and one which always aspires to serve as "Light Unto the Nations". Benjamin Netanyahu 2010. The continuing tragedy of present day Palestine and the Jewish state gets continually mired in finger pointing accusations, perceived political arrogance and the colossus of historical burdens.   But let the facts speak for themselves. Regardless of where one stands in the heat of the debate, the majority of people in the Levant are moving forward both in population and in wealth. True, most of those suffering in the social lag are from the Palestinian community. And this is an unacceptable face of the problem. But, Israel is not a country without a conscience. It knows very well its destiny is tied up with its neighbours just like other countries, like it or not. Moving forward is short term advantage to Palestinians and long term advantage to the region. If peace can be won then Allah and Jehovah will be one.

Hey Joe, I gave her the Gun

A shop window in Cologne train station, Germany. 2011
This is a weapon, this is a gun, this is for fighting, this is for fun.

Moderne photojournalism, evolutionary revolution.




Professional Revolutionary Che Guevara
adorns a West Belfast Mural. From the Icons of Terror series 2008 

 

Revolution and social evolution are pillars for human advancement. Sometimes revolution alone fails to deliver progress but most often it is necessary. If evolution participates in the revolution then advancement is secured.    Moderne photojournalism places its evolution in acceptance of all things new in the media revolution. Whereas, People reporting and Crowd journalism is the revolution, and a powerful one at that, the evolution of photojournalism is exciting and just as daring. Roles for photojournalists can be created by themselves but more importantly they should respond to the incredible interest directed from the information Revolution.   Water finds its own level. As such, moderne photojournalism swims through nooks and crannies to work with a citizen's army using information to advance social evolution.   Revolution studies is now mainstream. The professional Revolutionary can replace his gun above the fireplace confident his camera, loaded with twitter and facebook will deliver better and more acceptable results. Up the Revolution!!!

Madonna is God's mistress

A shopping mall in Den Haag Netherlands



Writing about religion is never easy. The growing differences between Christians and Muslims is a sad fact. Religion, since the 11th century has been used as a marker to identify the other lot. Most people today don't really believe in God or gods. Certainly not to the extent of the Roman Pope or the many other Popes around the world. God is as dead in the hearts of citizens as Thor, Zeus or Athena. Religion is not dead because it gives to some people the umbrella to be separated from others. But one question can be raised. If we were able to get people to believe in this religious stuff throughout varying times of history and in some of the most ridiculous and incredible stories they followed, then why can't we promote a religion which is suitable to 21st Century economics and politics. Religions pass all the time and fade into myth and legend. If it suits to lie and create make believe for better harmony between the different parts of the world then so be it. Madonna is God's mistress, well who do you think gave the people Christianity and Islam in the first place.

Stuxnet launches first 5th dimension Cyber World War.

 A Child plays a modern game                                                                                        Nosatgia for the simpler life.

 

On Eminiar VII, the Enterprise finds a civilization at war with its planetary neighbor. Unable to discern any signs of battle from orbit, Captain Kirk leads a landing party to the surface where he discovers the entire war is fought by computer. Even though the war is simulated, citizens who are listed as virtual casualties still report to termination booths to be killed for real. After the Enterprise is destroyed in an attack simulation, Kirk must fight to keep his crew from death. Computer conflict has finally arrived as the 5th Dimension of Warfare. The US attack on the Iranian nuclear power plant, while seemingly preferable to an illegal bombing mission, still raises serious questions. Acquiring the capacity to build nuclear reactors for the Muslim world and possibly Africa is a business worth into trillions. Given that Muslim Kazakhstan is world first for uranium production and second after Australia for uranium reserves, it is not surprising the West doesn’t like the idea of an Iranian Nuclear plant business. As for the nukes, well any state with the right contact can purchase weaponry nuclear or otherwise. Captain Kirk shut down the computer warfare game declaring real war to be a nasty consequence to be avoided at all costs. Are we heading for a period of sustained Cyber attacks. Persistent retaliatory Cyber attacks will hurt and inconvenience citizens, but quo bono, why the arms industry of course.