Friday 18 February 2011

the march has begun

... but Egypt and friends are just the beginning.


Official unemployment in Northern Africa, Arabia and Iran
source: GEAB

With no jobs (real unemployment is more like three times the above rates), no value-added chains, no production base, climate change and the banksters' commodity bonanzas, i.e. soaring food and energy prices, the way north sounds like the only attractive option.

The case for urgent action in the global food system is now compelling. We are at a unique moment in history as diverse factors converge to affect the demand, production and distribution of food over the next 20 to 40 years.
The needs of a growing world population will need to be satisfied as critical resources such as water, energy and land become increasingly scarce. The food system must become sustainable, whilst adapting to climate change and substantially contributing to climate change mitigation.
There is also a need to redouble efforts to address hunger, which continues to affect so many. Deciding how to balance the competing pressures and demands on the global food system is a major task facing policy makers, and was the impetus for this Foresight Project.

The above you will find in a foreword of  Professor Sir John Beddington CMG, FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government, and Head of the Government Office for Science for a report on "The Future of Food and Farming: Challenges and choices for global sustainability"; well worth reading, not only in reference to the above but in its repercussions for our own future.

Global warming has caused the more temperate regions of the earth to become uninhabitable. A group of several thousand Africans migrate across the dry oceans to Europe. But this so-called promised land is overpopulated already, sparking severe racial and nationalistic tensions.

Above summary of The March, a 1990 UK drama might have included dry oceans and exaggerated the climate development; however, incapable politics and unleashed banksters make a drama reality which will hardly limit itself to several thousand African migrates.


19-02-2011

... and why Sterling should take shelter:


Proportion of the population under 25 years old in Arab countries and Iran
Source: Le Temps,
02/11/2011
- GEAB

About half of the Arab population is under 25 years old; in extremely difficult circumstances with soaring food and energy prices, low wages (if any), rising unemployment, reduced to a wasting away farming industry this young Arab generation will fight fundamentalists taking over; they want democracy; that might be the nice side of the picture. But with no infrastructure in place and old bonds and hardliners hardly giving up easily it might take a generation ( 30 years) to establish reliable democratic structures.

Meanwhile the once-was-superpower's influence is fading away fast leaving behind a powder keg filled with oil and Israel with a burning fuse as just that superpower's protection for the last resorts of despotism will just not do its job leaving behind more uncontrollable chaos.

With Russia watching and China being prepared the time of the Petrodollar is coming to its end.

Pound Sterling! You should just watch and be prepared for the very moment when it will be time to take shelter under what ever EURO there is for the simple task to weather out the storm! May be as soon as tomorrow!!?


Carpe diem!

Sunday 13 February 2011

Peter Alexander

... they come and they go! Some stay!





See you there, Peter!


Friday 11 February 2011

Deliver us, oh Lord ...

deliver us ...


Amen...

Carpe diem!



Wednesday 9 February 2011

euro's suicide, round III

Getting ready for OE x + QE y + ...


With Axel Weber out of the race for becoming ECB president and Ireland and Portugal printing more EUROs to pay their (bankster's) bills the flood gates could not be open(ed) any wider for the next rounds of Quantitative Easing... and the ongoing competition for the weakest currency showing the highest inflation. There could come a time where paying back EURO debts will be cheap...


Carpe diem!


Tuesday 8 February 2011

... going to Chicago

... music helps, blues heals!


Carpe diem!



Monday 7 February 2011

we better stay home, Tony!

Haunted by ghost of Gitmo!



The Independent called it "security fears"; the Guardian the "fear of violence" while Reuters added the word "torture".

Carpe diem!


update (sent by Eelviz Pestley)

Sometimes the truth is no words...





Golden days come and go...


I 've still got the blues for you...






Use to be so easy
To give my heart away
But I found that the haeartache
was the price you have to pay
I found that that love is no friend of mine
I should have know'n time after time

So long
it was so long ago
But I've still got the blues for you

Use to be so easy
Fall in love again
But I found that the heartache
It's a roll that leeds to pain
I found that love is more than just a game
Play and to win
but you loose just the same

So long
it was so long ago
But I've still got the blues for you

So many years since I seal you face
You will my heart
there's an emty space
Used to be

(SOLO)

So long
it was so long ago
But I've still got the blues for you

Golden days come and go
There is one thing I know
I've still got the blues for you


See you there, Gary!


Carpe diem!

Sunday 6 February 2011

Indignez vous! Outrage yourself!

... but don't just cry out!


The above photo of Stephane Hessel was part of an article in the Welt-Online on the bad spell of capitalism (in German). However, my point is the photo does not do Stephane Hessel and his latest plea for getting involved, for outraging yourself!, for indignez vous! any justice; so here is a better one that shows him more like he wants to tells us something that he believes is an important essence of a long and very experienced life. His experience, his life: Stephane was born in 1917!


His latest book, rather a tiny wee brochure is well worth reading; hard to find a good English online translation, here is one, and here comes a video in German on him and what he stirred up:


Here is an interview in French, some more articles in English you will find here, here, here and here; the last one being the only serious one I found in the English media. Why is that?

It is remarkable what he says and writes but it is also remarkable that it is difficult to find his original words in proper English; it begins with the fact that translating "Indignez vous!" is far from being "cry out!" It is his very strong plea to every one of his fellow readers to outrage himself, to make up his opinion, to phrase same, then get involved and change what is necessary to be changed: much more than the simple: "cry out!"

That explains why what Stephane Hessel says is not openly discussed, hardly anywhere; imagine, the students would not just cry out and shout but phrase, become involved and changed what is necessary to be changed.

Stephene Hessel: "To create it is to resist. To resist, it is to create!"


Carpe diem!

cutting our nose...

... to spite our face!



Highland Council needs to cut expenses!
Investments into education are regarded as just that: expenses!
So cutting our future might safe or save what...?


If you think that makes sense then don't bother! If not, please sign and discuss and indignez vous!! That is for all of us, whether for your own children or in responsibility for our society's children!


Support Highland Classroom Assistants Petition
Online Petition: Highland Council is proposing to axe all 350 Classroom Assistant posts from primary schools in the Highlands. We believe this will have an ...
www.gopetition.com/petition/42573.html


Carpe diem!